Water elemental became a god, ultimately becoming the master of heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers

Chapter 41 Sou Shan
The master craftsman, who was hammering the iron blank, stopped. He was dressed similarly to Chen Shunan, wearing black clothes and a mask, so his build and age were not discernible.

The master craftsman glanced at Chen Shunan and said in a deep voice,
"Requirements, timeline, and drawings?"

"Have!"

Chen Shunan was prepared. He took out a piece of scrap paper from his pocket, on which a rough pattern was drawn with a coal briquette.

These are a pair of shoes with a thousand-layer sole and hundreds of stitches, with embedded steel mechanisms, each concealing four thin blades, shaped like daggers.

Moreover, according to Chen Shunan's notes, these thin blades can be retracted and extended. When retracted, they can be folded back into the shoe sole layer, and when extended, they resemble blood droplets. Ideally, they can also rotate and be launched out.

To balance concealment and lethality, the appearance of patchwork shoes must be neither ostentatious nor shabby.

Ideally, it should be poison-treated, easily disassembled and replaceable, and suitable for all four seasons...

Chen Shunan named it 'Python Tooth Shoes'.

Compared to weapons such as swords, spears, and hammers, the most suitable weapon for Chen Shunan is actually this kind of custom-made 'system' weapon!
It can fully utilize Chen Shunan's terrifying agility.

The master craftsman stared at the blueprint in silence for a long time, then said softly,
"Your weapon is a bit strange. And you have a lot of demands."

Chen Shunan frowned and said,
"Can't fight."

The master craftsman shook his head and said, "It will cost more."

Chen Shunan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

If something can be solved with money, then it's not a problem.

The master craftsman glanced at Chen Shunan's feet and said,

How much more money can you add?

The master craftsman was inquiring about Chen Shunan's skills, the environment in which the python-tooth shoes would be used, and the quality of the raw materials needed, to prevent the shoes from breaking with a single step.

Chen Shunan said decisively,
"Add as much as you can!"

The master craftsman understood and nodded.

"That's a top-grade weapon, worth 140 taels of silver. You can pick it up in seven days. 50% prepayment, no credit, not a penny to be repaid."

Chen Shunan groaned, his heart bleeding.

San Dezi's medium-sized blade cost only thirty taels of silver.

A normal high-grade weapon would cost no more than seventy or eighty taels.

His "Python Teeth Boots" are worth two top-grade treasure weapons!
Chen Shunan gave a few more instructions, tore up the blueprints, paid the deposit, took the token, and then turned and walked out of the blacksmith shop, heading towards the Ghost Market along the Sancha River.

The sky was dark, and will-o'-the-wisps flickered.

Just as Chen Shunan left...

Not far away, under a large tree on the riverbank, three figures emerged.

One of the figures, skilled in light footwork, took a deep breath and landed silently, then chased after Chen Shunan.

The remaining two entered the blacksmith's shop, bowed to the master craftsman, and smiled.
"Mr. Zhu, is that Sun Shi a decent man? Is he capable of opening up the border?"

The master craftsman shook his head and said, "It's a passing tsunami; we can't break it."

The three of them were speaking in the slang of the underworld, a kind of jargon used in the martial arts world.

'Sun Shi' refers to a boy, while a little girl is called 'Dou Hua Zi'.

'Is that Sun Shi a tough guy? Can he fight?' In other words, is that man difficult to deal with? Can he fight?

Tigers are also called "tsunami tigers" because they are tough and difficult to deal with, and should not be provoked. They are at least in the late second-tier level.

Upon hearing the master craftsman's words, the two men's expressions changed slightly, and they immediately dispersed without informing the person chasing Chen Shunan.

In reality, the fact that they didn't follow up was already considered a notification.

This is also one of the industry rules.

We can't open the gates if we don't have everyone present.

……

"Huh? Why did they leave?"

In a dilapidated theater not far from the ghost market.

Chen Shunan muttered a few words and came out from behind the embankment.

He had just left the ghost market when he realized someone was following him.

Mr. Chen thought he had encountered a greenhorn who was easy prey, and that he could double-cross him and make a fortune.

After all, that's how it's written in the storybooks.

Who knew that the man had only followed for a short while when he decisively retreated and plunged back into the ghost market.

Chen Shunan was somewhat impressed by this person's decisiveness.

So Chen Shunan silently put away the throwing knife in his hand.

These days, the people who frequent the ghost market are all incredibly cunning and treacherous.

As for the less clever ones... they're long dead.

"Did the master craftsman leak my information?"

Chen Shunan understood.

And don't talk about professional ethics or the bottom line of being a decent human being.

They've all ended up in the ghost market; they're no longer human.

Chen Shunan simply kept this debt in mind.

After all, he's not human either.

……

After changing his clothes, Chen Shunan, as usual, went to the fish market to find a bargain and bought three catfish.

Then he went to find Jinzhenli to determine the pharmacological properties of the moldy deer antler.

As Chen Shunan had predicted, the deer antler contained trace amounts of aconitine.

Although it is not a lethal dose that can kill instantly, if Chen Shunan had taken it during his convalescence, he would most likely have developed various complications and died, and it would have been extremely difficult to detect the toxins!
Chen Shunan remembered that the deer antler was a gift from a gossipy young sailor in Inoue who was always talking behind people's backs. He was quite close to Ahua.

"Are some people just too impatient...?"

Chen Shunan understood something and sighed.

It was still early, and there was still an hour before the shift ended.

Chen Shunan simply wandered around.

Passing by the entrance of an alley, I saw many tomb raiders squatting on the ground, with various faded and old books and bamboo slips in front of them.

I don't know where they dug them out of.

How much is your copy of "Breaking Acupoints"?

Chen Shunan stopped in front of one of them, knocked out his pipe with the sole of his shoe, and casually flipped through the contents.

This martial art can break acupoints and sever meridians, and is specifically designed to counter vital energy and blood. It can barely be considered a mid-level martial art, but it lacks many techniques and only has three moves left.

Moreover, without any instruction, one must study on one's own or pay to have a martial arts instructor at the academy explain things.

The risks are enormous.

"Sixty taels of silver." The man didn't even look up.

Chen Shunan put down the cultivation technique and turned to go to another place.

A finger technique of dubious origin and incomplete condition was being sold to Chen Shun'an for sixty taels of silver. They're treating him like a pig to be slaughtered.

The man didn't try to stop him, silently rearranged the "Breaking the Acupoint Finger" manual, and waited for the next sucker.

After wandering around, Chen Shunan discovered that these tomb raiders were all in cahoots, each one more adept at deception than the last.

Some even sell 'yin-yang dungeons'.

This is a superior cultivation technique. One person sells the first half, and another sells the second half. If you want to cultivate it, you have to buy the whole thing together.

The price, of course, is astronomically high!

They're really reaching into the coffin for money, desperate for cash!
Left with no other choice, Chen Shunan went to several martial arts schools that specialized in upper body martial arts, hoping to formally become an apprentice and see if they had any suitable finger and palm techniques.

When Chen Shunan arrived, the gatekeeper assumed he was there to enroll his grandson in martial arts lessons.

Upon hearing that he wanted to learn it himself, he would either turn his face to the side and refuse decisively, or demand an exorbitant fee for martial arts training.

Moreover, to truly master the art, one must start from humble beginnings, paying for tea, providing clothing for each of the four seasons, and making winter and summer offerings...

I've endured ten or eight years of hardship before I could pass on just two moves to you.

They learned every bad habit of the Holy Dynasty's officialdom perfectly in the military academy!

Silently marveling at how our great Holy Dynasty truly is blessed with outstanding people and resources, where everyone is like a dragon among empresses.

Chen Shunan then went to some jewelry shops, cosmetics shops, and shoe and hat pawn shops, hoping to pick out a suitable birthday gift for the old lady.

The old lady is turning eighty this year, which coincides with Wang Linggong's birthday, which is June 24th. So it will definitely be a grand and lively celebration.

Chen Shunan also wanted to please the old lady, ease the conflict between the two families, and take the opportunity to ask for the follow-up techniques and true skill diagrams of "Flesh Immortal". Therefore, he must not be careless in preparing birthday gifts.

When giving a gift, it should touch the heart.

Although the Zhang family has declined, they are still descendants of the Zhang family, a prominent clan in Tongzhou. Even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse, and the old lady probably wouldn't be interested in ordinary gold and silver jewelry.

The old lady didn't have any hobbies like raising birds in cages, spinning iron balls, or watching operas; she was just a happy old woman enjoying her grandchildren.

This put Chen Shunan in a difficult position. He couldn't find anything satisfactory after looking around, so he had to leave disappointed.

finally,
Chen Shunan bought twelve gold darts at the polishing factory.

Shaped like a large coin, with a sharpened edge and paper-thin edges, it is far superior to the previous willow-leaf throwing knife in both lethality and concealment.

Of course, it also requires a high level of wrist strength and skill from the user.

Dragon and Elephant Bone Tempering Pill, Medicated Bath Pack, Red Ginseng and Polygonatum...

Chen Shunan didn't hesitate at all when it came to buying things; with a wave of his hand, he prepared everything.

Chen Shunan spent over a hundred taels of silver just from going out casually.

Chen Shunan felt both heartache and joy.

Seeing that everything was ready, Chen Shunan simply sat down at a wonton stall and ate two bowls of shredded chicken wontons.

After the meal, Chen Shunan leisurely hailed a mule cart and headed towards Weiheng Street.

But not far from Banno Tsudo, a noisy argument could be heard from a distant intersection.

Chen Shunan peeked out and looked over.

Then, at the fork in the mountain path, a group of men dressed in black, with goose-feather sabers at their waists and hard bows on their backs, stood like iron towers blocking the intersection.

They even set up fences and roadblocks, directly blocking the side roads.

And the direction of that mountain road is...

Micang Mountain.

Many civilians and members of the motorcade surrounded the group of men in strong suits, cursing and expressing their anger, yet they were helpless.

"These people at the mill are way too domineering! They even blocked the road. Do they think they're some kind of government officials?"

"Keep your voice down! I heard that the rice granary at Wanlong Rice Mill was burned down! The rice mill is searching the whole area for the culprit, turning the entire area within dozens of miles of the rice granary. Don't provoke them!"

"Huh? Such a big thing, why didn't they report it to the authorities?"

"How do you know? Maybe they're not clean themselves. Perhaps they're beggars, doing dirty things like harvesting and mutilating animals!"

Usui's reaction was a bit too strong...

Was it for that batch of hibiscus oil?
Or... a matchbox?

Chen Shunan narrowed his eyes, glanced at it twice, and then got back into the mule cart.

Anyway, with Shuiwozi, Zhao Dongjia, and Instructor Lin backing him up, what is he afraid of?
Even if they eventually find out who the mysterious expert who stole the treasure is, what does it have to do with Chen Shunan?
The mule cart continued on its way, and soon it turned from the mountain road onto the main road, its wheels rolling as it headed towards the county town.

Suddenly, Chen Shunan slapped his forehead, as if he had remembered something.
"I almost forgot to sacrifice my physical appearance. I'll go home first and practice daily. I must not forget."

　Book recommendation~ A fantasy set in the Republican era, a fast-paced, action-packed story with a strong sense of immersion. Reading this book reminded me of my days pulling rubber balls in Beijing.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)