Becoming a Martial Master: Starting as a Swordsmith

Shen Chu remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

He didn't waste any more words, but turned to look at Xu Zhibao and Xu Qingqing beside him.

He trusted the skills of these two, and they had fought side by side before, so their teamwork was even better.

"Officer Xu, Miss Xu, please come with me," Shen Chu said in a deep voice.

Without saying a word, Xu Zhibao and Xu Qingqing readily agreed.

However, just as the three were about to set off, a slightly childish voice rang out from the side:

"I'll go too."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Hu Bai who was speaking.

The usually taciturn boy was now standing beside his mother, looking calmly at Shen Chu without the slightest fear or hesitation.

Madam Hu's face paled, and she subconsciously tugged at Hu Bai's sleeve. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't speak.

Shen Chu frowned slightly:

"What are you going to do? This is no child's play."

"More people means more effort; I can help."

Hu Bai's tone was very confident, "Brother Shen, please believe me. I've been good at finding things since I was a child, and my intuition is very accurate. Maybe I can find its location."

Shen Chu stared at Hu Bai for a moment.

He recalled the boy's composure when facing the monster outside the dilapidated temple, and also his taciturnity and keen observation throughout the journey.

He had a vague feeling in his heart.

This boy harbors some unknown secret.

Now, this secret might come in handy.

"it is good."

Shen Chu didn't hesitate any longer.

"Stay close to me and don't wander off."

Hu Bai nodded, released Madam Hu's hand, and quickly walked to Shen Chu's side.

Madam Hu stood there, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her dress, her eyes slightly red, but she remained silent, refusing to utter a word to stop them.

Seeing this, Li Chengwen's heart broke. If his father hadn't been watching him closely, he probably would have rushed over to comfort him long ago.

Situ Aotian watched this scene from the side, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end only uttered a brief admonition:

"Be careful. If we can't find it, we'll come back and think of another way."

Shen Chu nodded, and without further delay, turned and hurried towards the county government office.

That's the initial area where the red light burst forth; searching from that direction offers the best chance of finding it.

Xu Zhibao, Xu Qingqing, and Hu Bai followed closely behind, and the four figures quickly disappeared at the end of the street.

......

The four hurried along the street toward the county government office. The doors of the houses on both sides of the street were tightly closed, and occasionally a few frightened eyes would peek out from the cracks in the windows before quickly closing again.

The air was thick with an eerie atmosphere, a mixture of the stench of blood and the glow of red light. From time to time, roars and screams echoed from afar, reminding them that this city had become a living hell.

As we turned a corner, seven or eight swaying figures suddenly appeared ahead.

It's a resurrected puppet!

They were covered in blood, some even with missing limbs, yet they still dragged their broken bodies toward the four of them, emitting strange growls.

Shen Chu didn't slow down; instead, she quickened her pace.

"Rush!"

He and Xu Zhibao charged forward side by side, their blades flashing as they instantly felled the two puppets at the front.

Xu Qingqing protected Hu Bai and followed closely behind, occasionally thrusting her weapon from the side to force back the puppets that tried to flank her.

The four worked in perfect coordination, crushing their way through and cutting down the puppets with almost no pause in their steps.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the gate of the county government office came into view.

This is where the red light is most intense.

The entire county government office was shrouded in a faint blood-red halo, as if the light seeped from the depths of the earth, staining the blue bricks and gray tiles with an eerie crimson.

Without a doubt, Honglian is most likely here.

"Separately search; that will save the most time."

Shen Chu made a quick decision: "Officer Xu, you and Miss Xu search from the left, I'll search from the right. Send the signal immediately after you find it."

Xu Zhibao and Xu Qingqing nodded and turned to run towards the left corridor. Shen Chu was about to walk to the right when her clothes were suddenly tugged gently.

He turned around and saw Hu Bai.

The boy looked up at him, a hint of certainty in his eyes, and said in a low voice, "This side... I feel something's not right. Should we start looking from this side?"

Shen Chu glanced in the direction Hu Bai pointed.

That was a passageway behind the main hall of the county government office, leading to a courtyard further inside.

He hesitated for a moment, but remembering that Hu Bai had said he had an intuition about Honglian's aura, he ultimately chose to believe him.

"Okay, this way."

The two walked quickly along the passage.

The further you go in, the more intense the red light in the air becomes, and the temperature rises noticeably, carrying a sweltering atmosphere.

Just as Shen Chu was about to quicken her pace, Xu Zhibao's voice suddenly came from behind.

"It's here! Found it!"

Shen Chu perked up and immediately rushed over to the sound.

In front of a small room, the door had been kicked open by Xu Zhibao. The red light emanating from inside was so intense that it was almost impenetrable, turning the entire room into a blood-red hue.

As Shen Chu stepped across the threshold, the sight before him made his pupils shrink sharply.

In the very center of the room, a giant red lotus floated in mid-air, slowly rotating.

Its petals are layered upon layered, and its entire body is a nearly transparent crimson red, as if it were formed from pure congealed blood.

With each rotation, countless tiny red dots of light drifted out from the petals and merged into the air, seemingly maintaining the blood-red barrier that enveloped the entire city.

Around the red lotus, three old men sat cross-legged.

When Shen Chu saw the three men's faces clearly, she was shocked and blurted out, "Master Zhang? Master Li? Master Wang? How could it be you?!"

The three men were none other than the three blacksmiths from the Li family's forging compound. Apart from Sun Ping, whom he had taken away earlier, the remaining three master craftsmen were all sitting here!

They closed their eyes, formed hand seals, and chanted incantations, as if performing some kind of eerie ritual.

No matter how much Shen Chu called out, they ignored her completely, not even lifting an eyelid.

Clearly, it has been completely controlled by the power of the Crimson Lotus and has become a puppet to protect her.

Xu Qingqing, being the most impatient, saw this and without saying a word, drew her knife and slashed at the red lotus.

The long sword, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, struck the petals of the red lotus.

With a sharp clang, sparks flew everywhere!

The knife bounced back, leaving a tiny crack on its blade.

Not a single mark was left on the petals of the red lotus!

"Why is this thing so hard?!"

Xu Qingqing stared wide-eyed at the knife in her hand in disbelief.