Qingshi Town is located in the hilly area at the junction of Chu and Wu, not very prosperous, but because it is located beside the north-south commercial road, there are merchants coming from the south and north to rest, which is lively. In the east of the town, there is a small blacksmith shop. The shop owner's surname is Lin. He is a taciturn middle-aged man with a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy named Lin Fu.
Lin Fu was not Lin Ironworker's biological son. Ten years ago, when Lin Ironworker found him in the graveyard outside the town, he was still in the cradle, wrapped in a piece of brocade embroidered with strange cloud patterns, nothing else. The blacksmith Lin had no children, so he adopted him and named him Lin Fua, teaching him the skills of blacksmithing.
It has been half a month since the continuous autumn rain started in autumn. In the evening, the rain grew heavier, and pea-sized raindrops pounded on the tin roof of the blacksmith's shop, making a cracking sound. Lin Fuzheng was helping Lin the blacksmith to tidy up the tools and prepare to close the shop. Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at the door, accompanied by heavy breathing.
"Open the door! Open the door quickly!"The voice of the person outside the door was hoarse, with obvious pain.
Lin, the blacksmith, furrowed his brow and looked at Lin Fu. He motioned for him to stay in the house while he picked up a smooth iron crowbar by the door and slowly pulled the door latch open.
As soon as the door was opened a crack, a black-clothed man with blood all over him stumbled in. He had at least seven or eight wounds on his body. Rainwater mixed with blood dripped down his clothes, creating dark stains on the muddy ground. Not far behind him, in the rain, a few figures with weapons could be seen moving quickly towards him.
"Your Excellency..." Just as the blacksmith Lin was about to speak, the black-clothed man suddenly grabbed his arm and spoke in a very low voice:"Help me... This thing... Entrust to... Cloud pattern..."As he spoke, he took out a black wooden box the size of a palm from his chest and handed it to Lin the blacksmith. Then, using the last of his strength, he pushed Lin the blacksmith into the door and turned around, pulling out his short knife from his waist and shouting as he rushed towards the figure chasing after him.
"Dad!"Lin Fu exclaimed, wanting to rush out, but was held down by Lin Ironworker.
Lin Fu exclaimed, wantingto rush out, but washeld down by Lin Ironworker.
The blacksmith Lin pushed the wooden box into Lin Fu's arms and pushed him into the inner room:"Hurry in! Hide it! No matter what you hear, don't come out!"His voice had never been so stern, but there was a resoluteness in his eyes that Lin Fu had never seen before.
Lin Fu was pushed into the inner room, and Lin the blacksmith slammed the heavy wooden door shut with his back. Immediately afterwards, there was a sharp sound of swords clashing outside, the muffled groan of a black-clothed man, and the angry shouts of several unfamiliar men.
"Where is that old thing?!"
"Search! We must find the token!"
Lin Fu crouched in the corner, tightly holding the cold wooden box in his arms, his heart beating like it was about to explode. He looked through the crack of the door and saw that Lin, the blacksmith, was holding a crowbar and fighting with three men dressed in the same uniform. The three men were obviously not weak in martial arts, their knife techniques were ruthless, and every move was deadly. Although Lin, the blacksmith, was a blacksmith with incredible strength, he ultimately did not understand the rules, and after several rounds, he added several wounds to his body and his movements gradually slowed down.
"Dad!"Lin Fu couldn't help but shout.
The blacksmith Lin heard the sound, turned his head and looked at the crack of the door, a trace of unwillingness flashed in his eyes, then clenched his teeth and swept the iron crowbar out with all his strength, forcing one person back, and then used all his strength to crash into the iron anvil next to him.
"Clang!" The huge impact caused the roof to fall and dust to fall, and several bundles of ironware piled up next to the anvil collapsed, blocking the way of the three men.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin, the blacksmith, stumbled towards the door, as if trying to distract them. But the three men obviously didn't want to let him go, one of them was very fast, and in an instant, he circled behind Lin the blacksmith and slashed with a knife.
"Pfft -"
Lin Fu watched in horror as the sharp blade plunged into blacksmith Lin's back, blood spurting out. The blacksmith Lin slowly fell down. Before he fell down, he looked at the direction of the inner room one last time. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't make a sound in the end.
"Dad –!"Lin Fu's crying was stifled in his throat, and tears blurred his vision.
The three men examined the body of blacksmith Lin, but couldn't find what they were looking for, so they began to rummage through the blacksmith's shop, cursing and swearing. They smashed the bellows, overturned the stove, and scattered the ironware all over the place, making a loud noise.
Lin Fu held the wooden box and curled up in the corner where the miscellaneous items were piled up, not daring to breathe. He could hear his own heartbeat and the sound of people rummaging through the boxes outside. I don't know how long it took, but the sound outside gradually stopped.
"Boss, we can't find it. Could it be hidden by that old thing?"
"Search carefully! The token is very important and must not be lost!"
"There's only so much space in this room, and I've already searched it thoroughly... Was he taken away by the black-clothed man just now?"
"It's impossible, we've searched him thoroughly. Let's go out and take a look, maybe it's hidden nearby!"
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and the sound of rain seemed to grow louder, beating on the roof and also beating on Lin Fu's broken heart.
After a long time, confirming that there was no one outside, Lin Fu crawled out trembling. He rushed to the side of the blacksmith, Lin, and hugged his father's cold body tightly. Tears finally burst forth.
"Dad... Dad, wake up... It's my fault... I shouldn't have let you..."He sobbed uncontrollably, and sorrow and fear overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.
The rain is still falling, and the night is getting darker and darker. The blacksmith's shop was in a mess, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and rust. Lin Fu cried for a long time, until his throat was hoarse, and then slowly calmed down. He knew that now was not the time to cry; his father had died to protect him and the wooden box, and he could not let his father die in vain.
With trembling hands, he carefully laid the body of the blacksmith Lin flat, then brought a clean cloth and gently wiped away the bloodstains on his father's face. After doing all this, he picked up the black wooden box.
The wooden box is slightly cool to the touch, has a smooth surface, and has no ornamentation, appearing plain and unremarkable. He tried to open it, but found that the lid was very tight and seemed to have some mechanism. He did not dare to exert force, for fear of damaging the contents inside.
At that moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside, and there was more than one. Lin Fu's heart tightened, quickly hiding the wooden box in his arms, then blew out the only oil lamp in the room and hid again in the corner.
The door was gently pushed open, and several beams of flashlight light swept in, making it particularly glaring in the darkness.
"Something seems to have gone wrong here." A young voice spoke up.
A young voice spoke up.
"Go in and take a look." Another calm voice responded.
Several people walked in, their footsteps very light. Lin Fuping held his breath and looked through the crevices of the clutter. He saw that the three people who came in were two men and a woman. They were all wearing ordinary clothes, but their figures were tall and their eyes were sharp. They were obviously not ordinary people.
One of the older men squatted down and examined Lin the blacksmith's body and the blood on the ground, frowning tightly: "It was done by people from the Black Wind Hall, and the wounds are from their usual 'broken wind knife'.
"Black Wind Hall? How did they come to such a small place?"The woman asked in confusion.
The young man looked around the room, and when he saw the junk piled up in the corner, he paused for a moment, then slowly walked over.
Lin Fu's heart was on the verge of his throat, gripping a small iron hammer hidden behind him.
At that moment, the old man suddenly spoke up, "Young friend, come out, we have no bad intentions."
Lin Fu's body stiffened and he dared not move.
The young man crouched down and said gently to the pile of junk:"We were just passing by and came in to see what was going on. Don't be afraid, we are not bad people."
Lin Fu hesitated for a moment, saw through the crack that their eyes were indeed not malicious, and was not the clothing of the previous group, slowly crawled out from the clutter.
He was covered in dust and had tears on his face, with a look of vigilance and fear in his eyes.
"Are you from this blacksmith shop?"The older man asked, he looked to be in his fifties, with a kind face and a commanding gaze.
Lin Fu nodded and his voice was tinged with tears:"They... They killed my father..."
"I'm sorry for your loss." The older man sighed, "Do you know why they wanted to kill your father?"
Lin Fu shook his head, then suddenly thought of something and instinctively hugged the wooden box in his arms.
This action did not escape the eyes of the three people. The older man looked at what was in his arms and asked thoughtfully, "Are they looking for something?"
Lin Fu bit his lip and didn't speak. He didn't know who these people were and didn't dare to trust them easily.
When the young man saw this, he took out a badge from his bosom and handed it to Lin Fu:"We are the people of the 'Zhengqi Alliance', my name is Shen Qing, this is our leader, Qin Zhengshan, and this is Miss Su Muyun.We are on a mission to track down the Black Wind Hall, and we passed by here."
Lin Fu took the badge and saw that it was engraved with the words "Zheng Qi League" and a peculiar sword-shaped mark. Although he lived in a small town, he had also heard of the righteous alliance, which was a well-known righteous faction in the world, with the mission of eliminating evil and upholding justice.
Seeing the badge, his vigilance in his heart slightly relaxed, but he still did not mention the wooden box.
Qin Zhengshan saw his concern and didn't ask any more, just said:"Black Wind Hall is ruthless, and your father may have been involved in their affairs unintentionally, which led to this disaster. It's not safe here anymore, and it's too dangerous for you to stay here as a teenager."
"I...I don't know where to go..."Lin Fu said blankly, his only relative in this world was Lin Ironworker, and now that his father was dead, he was like a kite without a string, not knowing where to fly.
Shen Qing looked at Qin Zhengshan, and Qin Zhengshan nodded. Shen Qing then said to Lin Fu:"If you trust us, come with us first. We will help you bury your father and then make plans."
Lin Fu looked at the body of his father on the ground and then at the three strangers in front of him, struggling in his heart for a long time. He knew that if he stayed here, he would either be found by the Black Wind Hall or end up on the streets. And by following them, there might still be a chance of survival and uncovering the truth about my father's murder.
Finally, he nodded and tears fell again:"Thank you... Thank you..."
Qin Zhengshan sighed and said to Shen Qing and Su Muyun:"Shen Qing, you go around and find some people to help with Lin Ironworker's funeral. Mu Yun, first take this child to the inn in town and settle him down. I'll come back here and see if I can find any clues."
"Yes, Senior Qin." The two replied.
Su Muyun walked over to Lin Fu, gently patted his shoulder, and said softly, "Come with me, first wash up and change into clean clothes."
Lin Fu nodded, took one last look at his father's body, and followed Su Muyun out of the blacksmith shop where he had lived for more than ten years. The rain outside is still falling, the night is deep, and the road ahead is uncertain, but he knows that from this moment on, his life will be completely changed. And the black wooden box in his arms, like a heavy secret, will pull him step by step into the world he has never known.
(Chapter 1 End)