The lodging provided by the shrine was simple, yet also big enough that Hachiman and Sagami were no longer forced to share a closed space side by side as usual. Yui was kind enough to lend a temporary partition, which he was glad for.
So he put his bag on the corner of his designated space. He inspected the content and especially his Long Ruler.
"This one won't hold for much longer." He sighed. He will need to go to Mihama as quickly as possible to get a replacement. As expected, a Foundation level cultivator using cheap metal weapons just can't last!
"Hey, we're going back to the town to get supplies!" Sagami called. "You're coming with us?"
"What kind of supplies?"
"Weapons!"
"I'm in!" Hachiman said as he put his weapon into a bundle and carried it on his back. "I need a replacement for my Long Ruler."
"Replacement? Not repair?" Sagami asked him, curious. "I know an Iron Ruler isn't that expensive but isn't it wasteful?"
"The problem is this piece of garbage is hot forged." Hachiman laughed. "However, the use of Mist Fire and Yin Fire caused its crystal structure to destabilize."
Hachiman rolled his eyes aside. "Any more hard fight, and it'll shatter to fragments... no, it might turn into dust."
"Ha, so you need something cold-forged to last." Sagami scoffed. "But I wonder if there's any blacksmith that can do cold forge for cheap, around here."
"I know one!" Yui said. "I know a Mohist* uncle who had a machine forge in the dock. Perhaps he could help?"
"Is he a blacksmith?"
"I believe he owned a boat engine service shop."
Sagami squeezed her eyes in disbelief. "Yui, I know you're naive but seriously? Why would a boat engineer agree to make a sword for him?"
"Hey! It doesn't hurt to ask!" Yui said with an embarrassed face. "Mohist are kind people who would help people in need!"
Ah, yes, of course. After all, Mohism put emphasis on Universal Love. That is, to respect people who are the same as them or different than them, indiscriminately.
"Let's go there, then." Sagami pointed.
"We just returned from the dock, though." Hachiman grouched.
Ah right.
As they walked through the crowds, they headed toward a strange shop littered with operating machinery. Hachiman immediately noticed the giant waterwheel spinning quite fast and the echoing sounds of a hammer inside.
"Please excuse me! Is Uncle Dan here?"
"Oh, Lady Yui! Please come in!" A stout middle-aged man with a long mustache greeted her. "Is there anything I can help?"
"This might be unusual, but can you cold forge a sword for a friend of mine?" Yui asked politely.
The man brushed his mustache. "Cold forge a sword... not hard. Not hard at all. It might take some time, and I'm not too confident about the quality. It might just end up a first-grade sword at best."
"Even a first-grade sword would have been plenty." Hachiman politely clasped his hand. "As long as it can resist the Yin element."
"Huh? I see! I see! Young lad. What kind of sword do you want?"
Hachiman unbundled his Long Ruler and presented it. The man inspected it so closely it made Hachiman uncomfortable! In the end, Hachiman simply gave it away for him to examine under a magnifying glass.
"So many microfractures! I never saw an Iron Ruler take this much beating! I've seen this a lot in boat engine, though." The man hummed as he put the bludgeoning implement on the table. "Did you try to split a waterfall or something?"
"No, it's just my cultivation element." Hachiman raised both hands and made a blue and black fire, respectively.
"Hmm?! A genuine Yin Fire!" The man said in amazement. "And dual cultivation with Yang element Mist Fire, peculiar."
"This Long Ruler is an ordinary weapon hot forged by a low rate blacksmith, so even though it's thick, it can't stand the fluctuation." Hachiman made his fires disappear.
"A hot-forged weapon is more suitable for Yang element cultivator!" Sagami added. Then she noticed how Yui's mouth hung open in shock. "...What's so surprising?"
"Ah... eh... no, nevermind." Yui flailed her hand and then looked at Hachiman.
There's no doubt it was him after all!
"Hmm, in that case, it might be possible to make a second grade Iron Ruler after all!" The man slammed the table. "If you can help me forging it, young lad!"
Hachiman pointed himself, dumbfounded. "Me? I never forged anything before."
"It's fine! It's fine! This old man will help you for free!"
Hearing that it's free, Hachiman was tempted. On the other hand, he will likely do some heavy labor. On the other hand... a master craftsman forging a second-grade sword?
Dreams betray many, but hard works betray no one!
"Please use him as you see fit!" Sagami pushed Hachiman. "We'll take care of shopping!"
"Oi! I haven't agreed!"
But Hachiman had no intention to reject anyway. A second-grade treasure sword, it's not something he can buy with his money right now!
"Do you have Yin element pills with you?"
"Not much." Hachiman put his pill bag on the table, which the man examined.
"Hmm, if only you have third-grade Yin element pills... just three or four of them should be fine." Uncle Dan said. "It's to increase the chance of success!"
Sagami put four Spirit Water Essence pills, their glow as ethereal as always! Hachiman just realized that Sagami carries tons of water element pills due to her forbidden technique!
Hachiman was wondering if Sagami being generous, but the way she perversely looked at Hachiman... yeah.
"You can repay me later for that one." Sagami winked.
Now Hachiman got tied in a debt! He could use his pay from tomorrow's job to pay but still! The first rule of being a traveling cultivator: never acquire a debt!
But still, second-grade Iron Ruler! How could he say no!
"There's really no room for me to reject, was there?" Hachiman sighed in disappointment.
"Hohohoho, Female Cultivators are spicy as always." The man elbowed Hachiman. "Which one is your lover, young lad?"
"Neither!"
The commotion outside interrupted them and Hachiman decided to pick his damaged Long Ruler and came out.
"I just want a chance to talk! Would lady Yuigahama be so rude as to ignore me?"
Hachiman could hardly look at an even more typical arrogant rich youngster when he saw him. A long-haired and handsome man with an entourage of musclebound hired guards, hitting upon two seemingly helpless maidens!
"If it's just talking then, I'm perfectly fine." Yui wrily smiled. "But you made your intent clear enough, Young Master Shimoda. Besides, don't you already have lovers?"
Lovers. Plural.
"Please think about it again! My family will contribute so much more to the Dosojin Shrine if we have family relations. About the summoning ceremony tomorrow, I can also have my men protecting you!" The young man offered with a disgustingly lecherous face.
Hachiman wondered why Sagami didn't just unleash the full strength of her killing intent, right there. These bunch of ruffians, they're mostly in the Ki Condensation stage, and a few didn't even touch that!
Feeling a bit bothered, Hachiman decided to interrupt.
"If I may interrupt, Young Master. Do you have anything to do with my women?" Hachiman said with an exceptionally fake smile.
Yui and Sagami looked at Hachiman with a mixture of surprise and disgust. However, they decided to stay quiet.
"Wait a minute, brother. YOUR woman? Why I haven't heard about this?" The handsome man glared at Yui.
Yui just glared back in anger, but she was quiet and didn't say anything.
"Since that's the case, I sincerely wish that we can put this dispute aside!" Hachiman told him.
Sagami legitimately wanted to set Hachiman's pants on fire. But she understands why Hachiman would say that. This bastard seems to be someone from a big name clan, whatever it is. Making too much commotion would be reckless!
"Did your lowly mother not taught you manners? Who are you to decide!"
"My mother is a very respectable Government Official, thank you very much!" Hachiman retorted with a flat tone.
"Yeah? Then fuck your mother, and fuck your sister too!" The tallest bald-headed guard screamed at Hachiman and then punched his face. "Do you know who you are talking with, you son of a whore?!"
A second.
A single second.
Yui froze on her spot when she felt a terrifying rush of killing intent. Sagami, on the other hand, was gleeful.
"What did you say about my sister?" Hachiman snapped.
"I wonder what kind of sister you have?" The Young Master taunted. "Maybe she's a little bitch."
And just like that.
Before he can realize it, the Young Master's face was pulverized as Hachiman smashed him with his fist. His body flew so hard and bounced on the water several times, like a meat pebble!
However, it didn't end there.
Hachiman swung his Iron ruler in a wide arc. Several low ranked guards got their leg swiped off the ground from the force, and they also fell on the floor.
As for the tallest guard who insulted Hachiman's sister...
"You-"
Hachiman put all of his Ki in his palm and struck his opponent's dantian with full force, causing the condensed Ki inside to implode!
But that was not enough.
His Iron Ruler, filled with fiercely fluctuating black and blue fire, smashed to the guard's head hard enough, the iron bar exploded into dust!
By the time everyone regained their senses, there was only a path of carnage left.
"You could slap me all you want. You could insult my father and my mother. I don't care." Hachiman looked at the rest with a murderous face. "But no one talks shit about my sister."
Yui finally managed to muster a word. "Eh? Eh?! Did you just... killed..."
Did Hachiman just murdered people in broad daylight?!
"Yui, please! Brother Daoist is kindhearted, modest, and frugal**! There's no way he spends that much effort to kill walking garbage like them."
As Sagami said that, she was calmly walking on the water surface. While dragging the almost-drowned young master. Yui didn't even realize that Sagami had left!
"Which family did you come from again? Shimoda, was it? Should I burn your entire estate to the ground?" Sagami asked. "I'm not as generous as Brother Daoist there, you know? I might just wipe out your entire clan from the face of Earth!"
Foundation Establishment!
They're Foundation Establishment!
"Stop bullying him..." Hachiman asked Sagami. "I'm sure he learned enough lessons... right?"
"Y-Yes! Yes! I'm sorry!"
"Good."
Hachiman felt a strong sense of bitterness behind his mouth. He fought not just once or twice, he already killed before, but the one sin he doesn't want to commit is to become monsters he despises.
Bullies.
Because bullying isn't a crime, bullying relies on someone strong enough to oppress the weak but stay within the boundaries of the law. And they reap a sense of euphoria and satisfaction from it!
Unlike Sagami, he reaps no pleasure from the suffering of others.
Today's beating is not for him but for his beloved sister's honor.
"Because Brother Daoist is generous, I'll forgive you." Sagami threw the young master to the ground. Around the same time, the bald guard woke up.
"Uhhh, my head!" The bald guard whined. A big lump and a few scratches can be seen on his head. However, he regained full consciousness when he saw the condition of his employer. "Oh! Young Master!"
"If you dare to step within three meters from Yui again, don't blame me for being impolite. Scram!" Sagami told them off.
"HIIII!!!!"
Hachiman felt that Sagami should tone it down, but then again, she was defending the safety of her friend. As he watched the people running away, he then looked at the hilt in his hand.
"Crap, now it's broken for real."
"Uh... the bald guy was fine? Thank god!" Yui let a sigh of relief. "But how?"
"It's because the Iron Ruler was full of microfractures. The young Daoist forced his contradictory Ki into it, caused the rift to go wider, drawn along the incredibly fine grains." Mohist uncle Dan came and approached them with an amused smile.
"In other words, it became a mace of powdered iron." Sagami finished the explanation.
"Oh! I understand!" Yui clapped her hands and smiled. "Powdered Iron is often used in nonlethal weapons, right?"
Whether it's weighed gloves or chained bag... powdered iron makes for a potent but surprisingly benign stunning weapon. Yui used it before, as an apprentice training weapon, by putting bagged iron powder on a pole.
It could still kill and maim. It just takes incredible effort to the point that a naked wooden pole would be more dangerous than bagged iron powder.
"Well, I'm sure he wouldn't dare to bother you two again... at least for today..." Hachiman said. "Be careful."
"En. We'll be careful, Brother!" Sagami winked and then yanked Yui. "Let's go!"
"Ah, uh? Yeah! You should be careful too! That jerk is persistent, you know?" Yui warned Hachiman.
"Whatever."
And so the two young women left, this time for real.
"Young lad, don't you know? You shouldn't leave a hanging thread uncut." The Mohist Master remarked. "Otherwise, the entire fabric will unravel and fall apart."
The essence of that proverb is simple: eradicate the problem before they fester. Essentially, an overwhelmingly brutal response is necessary if one wanted to stop the cycle of revenge.
Such is the rule of the Pugilistic world, where dog eats dog, and the weak must fear the strong!
But Hachiman couldn't be arsed to care. "There's no shortage of people who wanted me dead. Even so, that doesn't mean I enjoy killing. You're a Mohist, so you should understand that, Uncle."
As a Mohist, Uncle Dan absolutely encourages self-defense above revenge or preemptive attacks. The only reason why he asked about it before was to test Hachiman's resolve.
However, Hachiman made his bed and will sleep on it.
Uncle Dan smiled brightly. "Now that's more like it! Let's go and forge a new weapon for you while the ladies are gone!"
* Mohism (墨家; Mòjiā; 'School of Mo') was an ancient Chinese philosophy of logic, rational thought, and science developed by the academic scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (c. 470 BC – c. 391 BC) and embodied in an eponymous book: the Mozi.
** The Tree treasure of Daoism refers to three virtues that Daoist must pursue: Compassion, frugality, and humility.
