The black dagger lay stark against the crimson velvet lining of its sandalwood box—
Unadorned.
Unassuming.
To most, its austere appearance might seem underwhelming.
But Qin Lu, whose own sword bore no decorative flourishes, found its simplicity perfect.
Even before assessing its rarity, the dagger's very aesthetic resonated with him.
"Would Your Highness care to inspect it?"
Gu Yanshu's prompt came as Qin Lu remained motionless, transfixed.
Complying, Qin Lu lifted the dagger—
And instantly recognized its extraordinary nature.
Though seemingly plain, subtle patterns emerged along the scabbard and hilt as light shifted.
A tilt of his wrist revealed the truth:
Twin elk motifs—meticulously carved—flowed across the surfaces.
"Well? Does the little deer approve?"
Gu Yanshu's teasing lilt referenced both the engravings and Qin Lu's childhood nickname.
But this was no longer the Qin Lu who'd blush at such provocations.
This was Niohuru·Qin Lu—
A man now capable of countering with equal audacity:
"Shouldn't my beloved's token bear his childhood name instead?"
His gaze flicked pointedly to the elk-shaped jade pendant at Gu Yanshu's waist.
"Ahem!"
Gu Yanshu's ears pinkened instantly.
On the nickname battlefield, he'd learned retreat was wiser than engagement—
Unless he wanted "Ruǎnruǎn" whispered into his ear all night.
Recognizing the warning flush, Qin Lu mercifully shifted focus back to the dagger.
Initially puzzled by Gu Yanshu's secrecy over what seemed ordinary, handling it revealed the truth.
Though primarily a swordsman, Qin Lu's martial expertise extended to countless blades.
This dagger's weight distribution and grip were... different.
Subtle yet unmistakable.
"Snick—"
The blade slid free soundlessly—
Its matte black surface absorbing light rather than gleaming.
But Qin Lu's attention locked onto the edge.
A dagger's soul lies in its edge.
This one was perfection:
Paper-thin yet radiating palpable sharpness.
Even Qin Lu's prized sword hadn't possessed such innate lethality when newly forged.
Testing a hypothesis, he plucked a hair from his crown.
The strand floated downward—
Slicing cleanly upon contact with the stationary blade.
Hair-splitting sharpness.
Rather than surprise, Qin Lu's expression showed dawning comprehension.
"As I thought..."
Scanning the room, he called out abruptly:
"Zhige!"
The guard entered promptly—
Only to recoil when Qin Lu reached for his sword.
Spotting the black dagger, Zhige hastily produced his own blade instead:
"Perhaps use this, Your Highness!"
(One guardsman's sword had already fallen victim to that monstrosity earlier.)
Qin Lu accepted the substitution without protest.
"Clang—"
The moment the blades met, Zhige's dagger sheared apart—
The fracture line razor-straight.
And Qin Lu hadn't even exerted force.
Examining Gu Yanshu's gift anew, he found its edge pristine—
Not the faintest nick from the encounter.
At this moment, Qin Lu finally sensed something amiss:
"This isn't hundred-fold forged steel?"
Indeed, upon discovering the dagger's extraordinary qualities, Qin Lu had initially assumed it was crafted from hundred-fold forged steel—
A legendary alloy requiring a blacksmith to hammer and refine iron a hundred times to achieve perfection.
Due to its labor-intensive process and the exceptional skill required, even with Tianqi's full resources, only a limited quantity could ever be produced.
Though rare, Qin Lu's status had granted him ample exposure to such steel—
His current sword was forged from it.
Yet this familiarity only heightened his realization:
This dagger's material was fundamentally different.
While his sword could split a hair, it required substantial inner energy to cut through metal effortlessly—
Unlike this dagger, which achieved the feat with effortless grace.
"Your Highness has a keen eye. This is indeed not hundred-fold forged steel."
Gu Yanshu's confirmation came at last.
Of course it wasn't.
The hundred-fold forging method had been obsolete since the 17th century in Gu Yanshu's previous world, replaced by more advanced techniques like co-fusion steelmaking.
But this dagger wasn't made using either method.
Instead, it employed a revolutionary smelting technique developed after the apocalypse.
Gu Yanshu couldn't recall its name—if it even had one. Post-apocalyptic survivors might've simply called it "the new method."
In a world overrun by zombies, what was the most coveted resource?
Weapons.
Before异能者 (superhumans) fully developed their abilities, even they relied on blades and firearms.
But guns and ammunition were scarce—especially in Gu Yanshu's homeland, where pre-apocalypse regulations had barred civilians from accessing them.
As the saying went: "A living man won't let himself piss his pants out of desperation."
Faced with shortages, survivors began crafting their own arms—
Starting with modified baseball bats and kitchen knives, then progressing to makeshift forges.
Through trial and error, the new smelting method was perfected.
By the ninth year of the apocalypse, weapons forged this way weren't just razor-sharp—
They possessed supernatural properties:
Corrosive edges that caused even zombie flesh to necrotize upon contact.Energy-absorbing blades that leveled up like cultivation novels' artifacts by slaying undead.
However, these effects required embedding zombie cores during forging—
An impossibility in Tianqi's zombie-free world.
Yet even without cores, even stripped of magical enhancements—
This method far surpassed Tianqi's hundred-fold forging in sheer metallurgical superiority.
A blade crafted this way could slice through hundred-fold steel as if it were paper.
Qin Lu, oblivious to these details, pressed:
"If not hundred-fold steel, then what is this?"
Gu Yanshu's lips curved.
"Your Highness may call it... Dawnlight."
Gu Yanshu fell silent for a moment before finally speaking the name.
"Dawnlight."
The emergence of this steelmaking method had granted ordinary people—those without awakened abilities—the power to fight against zombies in the apocalypse.
It had also significantly increased the survival rate of those battling the undead.
To call it a ray of dawn piercing through the apocalypse's gloom was no exaggeration.
"Dawnlight..."
Qin Lu murmured the name quietly, finding it exceptionally fitting.
With such material, if it could be applied to other weapons, it would undoubtedly become the dawn of hope for Tianqi's soldiers.
At this thought, curiosity inevitably arose in Qin Lu's heart:
"Who created this 'Dawnlight'?"
"Why not guess first, Your Highness?"
Gu Yanshu raised an eyebrow, his eyes sparkling with amusement, even the tail end of his words carrying a faint upward lilt.
Seeing this reaction, Qin Lu already had an answer in mind—yet he still found it hard to believe:
"Could it be... the Princess Consort himself?"
This time, Gu Yanshu didn't respond verbally. Instead, he shot Qin Lu an approving glance, confirming his guess.
Standing nearby, Zhige couldn't resist adding:
"Not only that, but the dagger in Your Highness's hand was personally forged by the Princess Consort."
"What?"
Qin Lu was genuinely surprised this time.
Whether it was glass, silver mirrors, toilet paper, or telescopes, Gu Yanshu had always leaned toward delegating tasks to professionals rather than doing them himself.
Yet now, Zhige claimed this dagger had been forged by Gu Yanshu's own hands.
Qin Lu looked up at Gu Yanshu, who didn't refute the claim, merely smiling as he said:
"Since it's a token of love for Your Highness, of course I had to make it myself to show sincerity."
His words were an outright admission.
"Steel forging is labor-intensive. You could've left it to others—why trouble yourself?"
While touched by Gu Yanshu's gesture, Qin Lu couldn't help but feel a pang of concern.
Given Gu Yanshu's physical condition—struggling even to hold a horse stance for long—Qin Lu worried he might have overexerted himself for this gift.
Before he could voice his worries, Gu Yanshu spoke up:
"Though forging steel is laborious, it wasn't a burden for me. Besides, the Dawnlight method is relatively simple and doesn't require much effort."
After consistent training, Gu Yanshu was no longer the frail scholar he once was. Forging a dagger was strenuous, but manageable.
"Simple method?" Qin Lu murmured under his breath.
From glass to telescopes, Qin Lu had already noticed a pattern in Gu Yanshu's creations—
Their production methods were straightforward and scalable.
Yet hearing Gu Yanshu himself say "simple method" still felt surreal.
"Truly simple," Gu Yanshu chuckled lightly, then tapped the dagger's sandalwood box. "Since this dagger is Your Highness's token of love, the forging method naturally comes with it."
Following his gesture, Qin Lu noticed a letter tucked inside the box—
Previously overlooked due to his focus on the dagger itself.
Unfolding it, Qin Lu saw the words "New Steelmaking Method" written clearly.
Unlike the labor-intensive hundred-fold forging, the "Dawnlight" method was remarkably straightforward, eliminating the need for endless hammering—though it did require precise materials and techniques.
"This method..." Qin Lu's throat tightened slightly. "You're giving it to me?"
"Naturally," Gu Yanshu replied lazily, propping his chin on one hand. "If Your Highness has any questions, you can ask Yang Tietou—he's already quite familiar with the process."
Yang Tietou was the blacksmith Zhige had recruited under a life contract to Prince Li's estate.
Knowing the significance of this new steelmaking method, Zhige would never have chosen someone disloyal.
At the mention of "Yang Tietou," Qin Lu understood everything.
Likely, the secret task Gu Yanshu had assigned Zhige—the one he hadn't wanted Qin Lu to know about prematurely—was this very project.
He also realized that, from the beginning, Gu Yanshu had intended to gift him this revolutionary method.
Suppressing the surge of emotion in his chest, Qin Lu lowered his gaze to the dagger again, trying to steady himself.
This time, he noticed a subtle texture near the dagger's hilt.
Upon closer inspection, he found two engraved characters:
"Ruǎnruǎn."（The nick name of Gu Yanshu）
The moment he recognized the name, the emotions he'd barely restrained surged forth like a flood, unstoppable.
Meanwhile, Zhige had already slipped away quietly after revealing the dagger's origins—
Leaving the two alone in the quiet of the chamber.