IRON SHELL

Chapter 006: Flame and Emblem

Did you come up with this kind of sword

The old blacksmith couldn't help asking Anwen after the childe left.

Hmm. "Anwen nodded.

Thousands of years of Chinese civilization have condensed the unique appearance of the Chinese sword. Nowadays, the great wisdom of these ten thousand generations has been stolen and usurped by An Wen, but no one doubts it.

This made Anwen secretly feel a bit proud.

"Amazing!" The old blacksmith's praise made Anwen blush more or less.

"This town can't be sold, which doesn't mean it can't be sold to other towns." The old blacksmith said with a smile. This sentence is a cunning wisdom that has been honed through decades of trials and tribulations, and also a way out for future financial resources to roll in.

"If you are interested, I can help you." The old blacksmith said, "How about we work together then?"

Okay, "Anwen nodded.

The industry of blacksmiths does not rely on nature for a living. Even if the vast majority of the people are too poor to afford kitchen knives, hoes, and shovels, blacksmiths can still create swords and armor for nobles and wealthy people. People who rely on their craft to eat are unlikely to starve to death.

This may be a way out in the future.

An Wen was walking back to the village with 45 gold coins, but as it was getting dark, he couldn't walk too fast. Fortunately, the moon came out early and was particularly bright, so An Wen did not get lost halfway due to the darkness.

As he walked, he thought a lot and gradually came to understand some of the words that Qiu Li had said. In the past, under the care of his father or with the help of the Qiu family in recent years, he had not experienced much of the hardships of life, so he couldn't help but immerse himself in the idealization of his mother's ideals.

Now that he is an adult and facing a cruel world, he realizes how great his modern civilization is. The various inventions that seem to drag humanity away from the pure and peaceful world of nature have what significance they have for the sustained existence and happy life of humanity.

Without the roar of those machines, there would be no peaceful countryside. The ideal peace lacks material support and can only be a dream. When locusts fly, their dreams shatter.

Machinery itself is not wrong, what is wrong is that humans are too greedy; Human greed is not wrong, because it is the instinct of life and the driving force of development

What's wrong with that?

Anwen thought seriously, but there was no answer. But he became increasingly certain that some of his mother's views were actually incorrect. If there were no modern civilization, human beings would still be rushing around for food and clothing, striving to survive, where would there be any leisure and romantic thoughts? What are you thinking about cultivating your soul and seeking inner peace?

Only when there is great material abundance can one begin to pursue the soul, and then in turn blame those who create material things for their utilitarian greed. This is not fair.

He thinks recklessly, using it to create boredom.

Gradually approaching the village, the flames lit up the road ahead, but he felt a bit uneasy. That fire is extremely unnatural, jumping and rising in the distance, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, not a bonfire

Fire.

Although the village holds a bonfire party once or twice a year, he believes that in this year of major disasters, no one will have any interest in holding a party at this time.

He was a bit nervous and couldn't help but accelerate his pace.

The village approached, and the flames also approached. When he finally determined that the fire originated from a disaster and seemed to be located in the position of the Qiu family, he rushed forward crazily.

The fire came from the hut of the Qiu family, and it was a matter of time before the hut had collapsed and completely turned into ashes. The villagers had tried their best to save the situation, but still couldn't stop it. At this moment, seeing no hope, they all stood there with their hands tied and sighed. Anwen rushed into the yard and grabbed an uncle's sleeve, anxiously shouting, "Where's Aunt Liana? Where's Xiaowu

Uncle's sad gaze explained everything.

Why is this happening? "An Wen sat down on the ground.

Even if the fire broke out, the two of them wouldn't even have a chance to escape

Xiao Wu is over there, "Uncle pointed to a corner in the courtyard.

An Wen's heart was pounding wildly, thinking that a miracle would come down from heaven. He ran there with his hands and feet, but after only a few steps, he stopped.

Qiu Xiaowu lay quietly there, his hair still disheveled, and there were still countless hay shavings on his body. It's just that he no longer has that annoying runny nose.

His chest was covered in blood, with a dagger stuck in it. The blood had dried up and turned into a crimson black stain, as if ink had spilled all over Qiu Xiaowu under the glow of the fire.

We should have been robbed, "sighed an old man

An Wen sat dumbfounded next to Qiu Xiaowu's body, staring straight at his friend who had lost his breath. three

Robbery?

What is there to grab in this poor village? Even if there is one, why kill people or burn houses?

He looked at Qiu Xiaowu and remembered when he first met. At that time, his eyes were hazy, only a faint human figure could be seen. As he woke up and fainted, the figure kept swaying around him.

He still remembers the joyful smile on Qiu Xiaowu's face when he woke up after recovering from his injuries, as this unfamiliar young man was finally saved.

He still remembers Qiu Xiaowu teaching him to speak sentence by sentence.

He still remembers Qiu Xiaowu holding a broken book and teaching him to write.

He still remembers Qiu Xiaowu teaching him to sing the small song of Kemang Village.

He still remembers the never-ending runny nose in Qiu Xiaowu's nose. He still remembers many things about Qiu Xiaowu.

These have all turned into memories, and the events between him and Qiu Xiaowu have all turned into stories. In the future, they can only be remembered sadly in the dead of night, forgotten one by one after getting old and dizzy, but will not increase again.

Happy things, sad things, laughing together, quarreling and fighting are all gone.

Life and death are like a chasm, separating them from each other. From then on, Qiu Xiaowu, like his mother, could only live in his own memory.

Why kill someone?

Why?

He painfully grabbed his friend's hand and held it tightly, as if trying to snatch him back from the hand of Death. （

But the god of death was merciless, only silently watching from the sky, but unwilling to let go and let go of Qiu Xiaowu's soul.

Qiu Xiaowu's right hand clenched tightly, as if grasping something. It was a long time before An Wen realized this. He wiped his tears and forcefully opened his good friend's hand, only to see a badge.

That is the aristocratic home, with a shiny silver background and a pattern of gold threads on it. He had seen this pattern not long ago and hung it on the proud chest of the wealthy young man.

Anwen was stunned.

He couldn't understand.

One is a high-ranking nobleman, and the other is a snotty kid from a mountain village. How could there be any intersection between them? Even if there is, it is never possible to develop to the point of life and death struggle.

Thieves? What are the noble children trying to seize in this poor mountain village?

At dawn, the fire completely extinguished. People opened the fire together and found Lena's remains, which had been almost completely burned to ashes. The tragic incident was reported to the town overnight by the village chief. In the morning, the town's security officer personally brought a person to inspect the scene and determined that it was a thief who had committed theft and was found to have committed murder.

Anwen silently stood by his friend's body, calmly watching the endless scolding of the imaginary thief, and pledging to the villagers that he would surely quell the surrounding bandits as a security officer.

He stared at the sheriff's chest and tried to find the same badge as the one on the childe's chest, but there was nothing there.

No, it's not that there's nothing. If you look closely, you will find a little bit of damage, just like something delicate tore the clothes a little bit.

When the sheriff and his two security forces were about to leave, Anwen walked over.

Adult. "He slowly extended his hand, and the badge flickered in his palm.

I just fell off you, "he said.

His gaze was clear and seemed sincere, but only he knew that he was using this sincere gaze to hide his inner fear and anger.

His actions were a bit risky, because if the sheriff had discovered his badge was lost last night, he would have understood that the young man who presented it had already understood everything.

Oh! "The sheriff showed a surprised expression and looked down at his chest

Thank you, young man. "He took the badge and patted Anwen's shoulder. If it weren't for you, I would be ashamed of my ancestors from all ages. You know what? Our family has a hundred year history, longer than the history of Kemang Village. This badge has been passed down from generation to generation and is a very precious antique

He even took out a silver coin and stuffed it into Anwen's hand. An Wen bowed in gratitude and saw off the sheriff. His hand shaking as he held the silver coin.

Now he can confirm that it was the sheriff who killed Qiu Xiaowu, the sheriff who killed Liana, and the sheriff who burned down this once warm home with laughter.

But why is this?

There are many mysteries, and he cannot understand.

How could the magistrate of Tangtang Shengdun Town have such a deep feud with the mother and son in the small village?

From various signs, it seems that the sheriff did the wrong thing in his current uniform at that time. And since they came wearing uniforms and were naturally performing official duties, why would they commit murder?

An Wen couldn't figure it out.

But he knew there was a way to figure it out for himself.

The funeral of Liana and Qiu Xiaowu was very simple.

In this disaster year, no one had a surplus, but the villagers still pooled some money to buy them an extremely thin coffin.

The tomb was chosen on a green mountain by the village. There is a place there, which is the family cemetery of the Qiu family. There are several graves inside, burying Qiu Li's father, mother, and grandparents. Liana and Qiu Xiaowu are now reunited with them, but Qiu Li is still in the distant capital without any news.

There is a small courtyard in the village with mostly damaged wooden fence walls, and there is a pile of ashes originally called home in the courtyard.

This is the ending of the kind Qiu family.

An Wen stood in front of their tomb and sat down quietly after everyone had left.

Once upon a time, there was a place called Tianchi where a big fish grew... "He told the story of Qiu Xiaowu's tomb plaque, where the fish turned into a bird and flew tens of thousands of miles into the sky.

Qiu Xiaowu's tomb plaque remained cold and silent. After Anwen finished telling the story, he could no longer hear the innocent laughter and misinterpretation of the true meaning of the story

So he began to cry.