My wife is a reborn big boss

Li the blacksmith had been in Taiqing City for several years, when he was destitute.

However, it was precisely because of his excellent blacksmithing skills that he was able to open a blacksmith shop through his own efforts.

A modern blacksmith, with his career in his right hand and... well, he's enthusiastic, generous, and full of youthful energy. He opened a blacksmith shop so that everyone in the martial arts world could have a weapon!

That day, he was dozing in his shop when two customers entered through the door.

One of them was a young man dressed in a green robe, and the other was a lazy Taoist nun dressed in a light blue Taoist robe.

Li the blacksmith's eyes lit up. What a handsome young man!

He paid no attention to the beautiful Taoist nun beside him.

"Young master, what kind of weapon do you want? I'm not bragging, I have everything here!" Li the blacksmith patted his chest with a loud thud.

"I'll just take a look around first," Wu Qiong said with a smile.

As soon as he entered the blacksmith's shop, his gaze was fixed on the empty cuff on Li the blacksmith's left hand.

A connection to Ye Qingxuan, a one-armed man... Could it be that this guy is...?

Wu Qiong cupped his hands in greeting: "May I ask your honorable name, brother?"

The blacksmith laughed heartily, "Young master, you're too kind. My surname is Li, and my given name is Zongrui. You can just call me Old Li."

Li Zongrui... Wu Qiong chuckled. This guy is definitely the prime suspect!

"I'm a little curious, please forgive me, Brother Li." Wu Qiong glanced around at the weapons displayed in the shop, then asked calmly, "I wonder about your arm, Brother Li..."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with talking about this," Li Zongrui sighed. "When I was young, I was learning to forge iron. Once, I accidentally spilled a bucket of molten iron, which melted my left arm. Fortunately, I survived. I'm sorry to have made you laugh at me, sir."

"Melted iron..." Wu Qiong said calmly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It just reminded you of something sad."

The blacksmith's answer was perfectly natural, but... why was he wearing a long robe instead of shorts in such a hot place as the blacksmith's shop? Unless he was trying to hide something. For example... his left arm had been severed, and there was a clean wound.

"Let's not dwell on the past," the blacksmith said with a smile. "What kind of weapon does the young master desire?"

"A sword," Wu Qiong said earnestly. "I want a sword that can kill, three feet seven inches long, with a blade that isn't too wide. Do you know of any fine swords available here?"

"This..." The blacksmith hesitated for a moment, "I don't have one ready-made, but I do have a similar sword blank in my shop. I can forge it. If you are serious about buying it, please come and pick it up tomorrow. By the way, the deposit is ten taels of silver."

"Alright, it's settled then. I'll come to collect the sword first thing tomorrow morning." After Wu Qiong finished speaking, he turned to Zhang Yu and said, "Fairy, could you please lend me the deposit for now? I'll return the money to you later."

Zhang Yu took out ten taels of silver and handed it to the blacksmith, asking with a puzzled look, "Money is no problem, but we have important matters to attend to. How will we have time to pick up the sword tomorrow?"

Wu Qiong replied, "There's no need to rush that matter. You can take care of it tomorrow. I will come here alone to retrieve the sword."

He noticed a detail: Li the blacksmith's hands... were growing backwards.

"This..." Zhang Yu was about to ask again when he saw Wu Qiong's smiling eyes.

She remembered the candied hawthorns from before, and Wu Qiong had the same look in his eyes back then.

So she lowered her head and pretended to be dead, remaining silent.

"Then I'll take my leave." Wu Qiong cupped his hands in farewell and turned to leave.

Zhang Yu slowly followed him out of the blacksmith shop.

Li the blacksmith watched them leave with a smile on his face, and then went back to the back room to find the sword blank.

.........

"Benefactor, do you know something?" On the way back to the mountain, Zhang Yu was slightly curious.

Wu Qiong turned around and saw that she was tilting her head slightly, her beautiful eyes half-open and full of confusion. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Guess."

"..." Zhang Yu ignored him, turned his head, and silently walked up the mountain.

"Alright, alright, I'll just say it straight." Seeing that she was angry, Wu Qiong said with a forced smile, "There's something wrong with this blacksmith; he's one-armed."

"So?" Zhang Yu asked, puzzled.

"Fairy Maiden, do you know what Brother Dao regrets most in his life?" Wu Qiong asked, changing the subject.

"What don't you know? He encountered a lecherous thief who cut off his own arm to beg for mercy. He took pity on him and let him go. But after he left, the thief came back and raped a woman, causing her to hang herself..." Zhang Yu's eyes widened suddenly: "You mean...?"

"Indeed, I suspect that this blacksmith Li is the lecherous thief." Wu Qiong was confident: "As the saying goes, the more dangerous the place, the safer it is. He is hiding in Taiqing City. Although you have been here before, your sect's weapons are all issued by the sect itself, so he does not need to buy weapons from the blacksmith's shop."

He gazed at the Taiqing Sect's mountain gate ahead and said leisurely, "Besides, in such a hot blacksmith's shop, he's wearing a long robe. Fairy, have you ever heard of a blacksmith wearing a long robe? He's clearly trying to hide something. As I think, he's probably trying to conceal the shape of his severed arm."

Zhang Yu asked, puzzled, "Since Master knows, then why...?"

Why not kill him?

"Because this is your inner demon, Daoist brother." Wu Qiong glanced at her. "This is a tool left by Master Ziyang for you to temper your heart. To prevent him from running far away, Master Ziyang must have used some method to keep him at ease in Taiqing City. For example, he may have believed that he has reformed, so he has forgiven his past actions."

"Master is just an old Taoist priest who spends his days eating, drinking, gambling, whoring, and smoking. At most, he's skilled in martial arts. How could he possibly..." Zhang Yu murmured.

She felt that her worldview had been turned upside down.

Wu Qiong said helplessly, "My silly fairy... Your sect suffered a great calamity decades ago, with most of your experts killed or injured. If Master Ziyang is really that kind of good-natured person, then how come the Taiqing Sect has remained as stable as Mount Tai for decades? Don't tell me it's because your Taiqing Sect has good interpersonal relationships."

"Brother Wu..." Zhang Yu bit his lip, looking confused, "What should I do..."

Upon suddenly learning that her master was not as carefree as she had imagined, Zhang Yu's heart was in turmoil. She instinctively grasped at the nearest lifeline and even addressed him with greater intimacy.

Wu Qiong laughed and said, "It's fine as usual. Just do what you did in the past and what you will do in the future."

"But......"

Wu Qiong interrupted her: "But what? I can see that Master Ziyang is genuinely kind to you, and he truly cares about the Taiqing Sect. If that's the case, what does it matter how he acts towards others? Do you think his kindness towards you has always been a facade?"

"Yes," Zhang Yu said with a relieved smile, "that's enough."

"So what do we do now?"

"I'll ask Brother Wen in a bit and let him make the decision. I'm sure that's what Master Ziyang is thinking too." A glint of wisdom flashed in Wu Qiong's eyes.

However, after returning to the mountain and meeting with Ye Qingxuan and the others...

"What? You're saying that lecherous thief severed his right arm?" Wu Qiong was shocked.

"Yes, is there a problem?" Ye Qingxuan asked, puzzled.

"..." Wu Qiong stroked his chin.

[Am I mistaken?]