Chapter 175: Selling body, not selling art
With the sound of hammers, Lin Mu Yu and Tang Xiao Xi waited for close to two hours. The efficiency of this blacksmith was quite high, so with four-five blacksmiths working together, Lin Mu Yu’s new scabbard was made in just a short two hours. Scarlet Gold Wood, a wood that was scarlet gold in colour. It was very polished and covered in Scarlet Gold. There were gorgeous patterns adorned on the metal that looked like the patterns on the Dragon Spirit Sword.
“Is sir satisfied with this?” The boss said with a smile.
Lin Mu Yu took the sheath and looked it over. It weighed around three pounds which wasn’t bad. He raised the Dragon Spirit Sword’s sheath and with a flutter of black cloth, the boss did not even have time to see the Dragon Spirit Sword’s true form before it was inserted into the sheath. It was a perfect fit, this truly was good craftsmanship!
Seeing Lin Mu Yu’s satisfied expression, Tang Xiao Xi said with a smile, “Alright, can we go now?”
“Wait a bit longer.”
“Oh? What are we waiting for……”
“In a bit, Wei Chou and the others will come over.”
“Oh?”
Tang Xiao Xi was confused, but she kept strolling around on Tong Tian Street with him. After a while, Wei Chou led several dozen Falcon Nest soldiers over. They had several horse carriages which were for carrying the Dragon Snake Shields.
“Sir!” Wei Chou cupped his fist as he said with a smile, “We can go pick them up now.”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Arriving at the ironworks shop, the shopkeeper already recognized Lin Mu Yu so he came up to welcome him with a smile, “Sir Lin Mu Yu, the Dragon Snake Shields are finished. Please come with me!”
“Un.”
Entering the iron workshop’s inner courtyard, there was a pile of dark Dragon Snake Shields piled there. The shopkeeper picked up one of the shields with difficulty and swept his hand across the smooth metal surface. He said with a smile, “The main material of theses Dragon Snake Shields are the Dragon Snake scales. The outside is a layer of profound iron which is cast with one hundred year old profound iron. This grip is made with leather which is impervious to fire and water. This shield can be described as indestructible and there shouldn’t be a weapon in this world that can cut apart a ten thousand year old Dragon Snake scale, right?”
“Is that so?”
Lin Mu Yu revealed a faint smile as he suddenly drew his sword. The Dragon Spirit Sword was covered in battle qi as it created an arc of flames in the air, directly sweeping across the Dragon Snake Shield before returning to the sheath after half a second. This speed had shocked Wei Chou, Tang Xiao Xi, and the shopkeeper, it was as fast as lightning.
“Pa……”
The profound iron layer of the Dragon Snake Shield split apart and the shield cracked into two parts, with one part falling each of the shopkeeper’s hands.
“This……This……”
The shopkeeper was shocked as he said, “How is this possible? I…..We have tried many times but even the strongest blacksmith in the shop using the best weapon couldn’t even cut the Dragon Snake Shield. They couldn’t even make a single dent on the Dragon Snake Shield…..Sir Lin Mu Yu, what sword is that?”
Lin Mu Yu raised a brow and said, “I’ll only tell you that there is no such thing as indestructible in this world. Alright, help me load the Dragon Snake Shields onto the carts!”
“Yes!”
Wei Chou looked at the pile of Dragon Snake Shields and he happily said, “Sir, these shields…..Are these for the Falcon’s Nest?”
Lin Mu Yu quickly poured cold water on him, not giving him any hope at all, “No, you will come with me to Dragon Cliff Mountain after this and help me send these shields there. These were prepared for my Dragon Courage Camp.”
“Ah?” Wei Chou narrowed his eyes, “Sir’s mercenary group?”
“That’s right, it has been formally registered…..”
“Hei, formally registered makes people jealous. The Dragon Courage Camp people can actually use such good equipment, even the most elite team of the royal army could not use such equipment!”
“If you’re envious, then you can quit and go to the Dragon Courage Camp to be a vice leader!” Lin Mu Yu said with a teasing smile.
Wei Chou also smiled, “Sir is joking, this subordinate has sworn loyalty to the royal army…..”
“Ha, ha, ha……”
Lin Mu Yu did not keep going. The Dragon Courage Camp was just a personally established army, naturally it couldn’t compare to the Imperial Guards. After all, the Imperial Guards were the most elite troops in the empire and the Dragon Courage Camp was only a nameless and powerless army.
An entire five carriages were loaded with Dragon Snake Shields and bound with a black cloth as they slowly moved through Tong Tian Street.
When they pa.s.sed the Seven Seas Duke’s manor, Tang Xiao Xi had to go home. She pouted as she bid farewell to Lin Mu Yu, promising to meet again in the future. Actually they didn’t set a time, but Lin Mu Yu promised that he would come to the Seven Seas Duke’s manor to come find her when he had time.
Slowly leading the procession of carriages, not long pa.s.sed before the sounds of crying came from in front of them. A group of young girls in rags appeared on the street with royal army soldiers guarding them. There was no need to guess who they were, they were camp women.
They moved past the carriages. There was one girl who looked younger than fifteen with dirt on her face, but that didn’t cover up the beauty underneath. Her arms and legs were covered in marks, clearly having been whipped before. Lin Mu Yu was riding his horse and looking down at her, and this girl also turned and looked up at Lin Mu Yu. When their gazes met, the young girl’s lip moved like she was going to say something, but nothing came out.
“Wait a minute.”
Lin Mu Yu shouted. Wei Chou was instantly alert and said in a low voice, “Sir, don’t be impulsive again…..Even if you rescue these camp women, there will be more women sent in. Don’t be impulsive, you don’t want to be sent into the Heaven Connecting Tower again, right?”
“Of course not.”
Lin Mu Yu revealed a faint smile before turning around. Looking at the young girl, he asked, “Where are you from?”
The young girl was filled with timidness, “Heaven…..I’m a local from the Heaven Connecting Province…..”
“Why are you in Orchid Goose City?” Lin Mu Yu revealed a smile that was as bright as the sun, letting her not be that nervous.
The young girl’s lips paused again as her eyes filled with fear. She knew that the person in front of her was a high level officer and if she was careless with her words, perhaps her fate would be even more tragic. She lowered her head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “Mom and dad were killed by mercenaries and I was sold here by those mercenaries. I…..”
“I understand.”
Lin Mu Yu sat on his horse feeling a bit indecisive.
At this time, the hundred man commander in charge of the group respectfully said, “Sir Lin Mu Yu, these forty camp women have just been selected to be delivered into the barracks. We are just following orders, so we ask sir Lin Mu Yu not to make things hard for us, after all, we can only follow our orders.”
“Un, I understand.”
Lin Mu Yu asked, “This sir, how many of these forcefully sold women are there in the orphanage right now?”
The hundred man commander had a worried look, “In total, there fifty of them. Sir, what are you thinking?”
“I know…..” Lin Mu Yu nodded. He said with a smile, “No need to be worried, bring these women into the camp, but don’t let anyone touch them yet. Wait an hour for me, can you do that? Just give me a bit of face.”
The hundred man commander cupped his hands with a smile, “Sir commander is joking, this is something this subordinate should do.”
“Un, good.”
Watching the young girls being sent into the camp, Wei Chou had a look of confusion, “Sir what are you doing?”
Lin Mu Yu revealed a self ridiculing smile and said, “I thought that I was great in the past, I thought I could change everything, I thought that I wouldn’t tolerate any sand in my eyes at all. Now I truly understand the meaning of the words ‘change what you can about yourself and accept that you cannot change’. Perhaps my strength cannot change this camp women system, but I can change a few things. Wei Chou, where is the biggest place to drink and play in Orchid Goose City?”
Wei Chou was stunned, “This…..Sir, Wei Chou is of common birth and most of my salary is sent back to the elders back home, how can I have money to spend on drinking and playing? However…..This subordinate does know a place, a small alley called “Red Smile”. There are many places there for drinking, for guests to stay in, and etc.”
“Immediately bring me there. The others will send the Dragon Snake Shields to the Falcon’s Nest and I’ll deal with them when I come back.”
“Yes!”
The two of them moved quickly and they entered a bright alley not soon after. There were many flowery signs everywhere, giving it a Li Chun Yard feeling to it. Lin Mu Yu could not help smiling.
[TL Note: Li Chun Yard is a brothel in one of Jin Yong’s novels.]
He and Wei Chou were both young and heroic Imperial Guards, currently wearing bright armour, they quickly became people that the “brothel owners” wanted to win over. A brothel owner not far away with a mole on her chin quickly came over to greet them. She was not afraid as she grabbed Lin Mu Yu’s reins, giggling as she said, “Aiyo, this sir, you haven’t come here in a while, right?”
Wei Chou couldn’t help laughing, “Sir, I never thought you would also…..”
Lin Mu Yu said with a straight face, “f.u.c.k, I can use my personality to promise I’ve never been here before. This is just a part of their technique.”
“Is that so?” Wei Chou revealed a look of disbelief.
Lin Mu Yu came off his horse and the brothel owner quickly grabbed his hand as she affectionately said, “Sir, do you have any girls you are familiar with here? You can tell me whatever you want, there is no need to be polite or embarra.s.sed.”
“Un.”
Lin Mu Yu deliberately raised his arm and slowly pushed away the brothel owner. He said with a smile, “I want to ask you a question. The girls you have here…..are you selling?”
“Yes, of course. Otherwise, where would there be guests…..Sir, please look. Our lead girl here is two gold coins per night. A second rate girl is fifty silver coins per night. A third rate girl is even cheaper, she is only ten silver coins per night!”
Lin Mu Yu’s face filled with black lines, “I’m not talking about that kind of selling…..”
“What is sir talking about?”
“I’m talking about directly selling themselves.”
The brothel owner gave a “charming” laugh, “Sir is truly bad. Our girls all sell their bodies and don’t sell their art…..”
Lin Mu Yu already wanted to die. Wei Chou on the side cut in, “A third rate girl is worth ten silver coins per night? Are there any girls that are worth ten copper coins a night for me to see?”
The brothel owner said with a smile, “This sir is joking. One worth ten copper coins a night isn’t a woman, it is a sow.”
Wei Chou: “……”