It’s summer, the fourteenth year of Yongping.

Yannu was fifteen years old. He was sitting on a big rock outside Chashan Castle, looking north, waiting for Aweng's return.

He was bare-chested and barefoot, with a piece of grass in his mouth.

Every day he would stay here in a daze for a while, because the view here was the best. If anyone wanted to return to the castle, this would be the first place to see him.

Last month, he also heard that the Tufa clan had reached the north bank of Jishui, while Qingzhou governor Gou Xi's army was facing off on the south bank.

He didn't know where Jishui was, but he only knew that Aweng was in Gou Xi's army.

It has been a year since Aweng was sent to the battlefield. He has never been separated from Aweng for such a long time, and he only hopes to come back soon.

"Pa!" Suddenly a whip struck Yan Nu's back, leaving a blood-red mark.

He still has many similar marks on his body, but he seems to be used to them.

"You untouchable, how dare you be lazy when I ask you to carry water?" The steward of Chashan Castle always treated him with a vicious look, just because Yan Nuer always had a playful smile and was not as respectful and fearful as other untouchables.

"I've finished carrying the water." Yan Nu's face was bright.

"Crack!" Another whip came down.

The steward said angrily: "How can we finish the selection! Don't you know that the castle owner has issued an order to store water all the time? Has the spring on the tea mountain been damaged?"

Yan Nu nodded seriously: "Yes."

The steward was stunned, and then he was whipped several times, causing Yan Nu'er's skin and flesh to burst open, and he grinned in pain, but Yan Nu'er never wanted to show any fear on his face.

But the more he behaved like this, the more annoyed the steward became, and he whipped him a few more times until a group of rural warriors from Chashan Castle rode up from a distance.

"A strange thing! A strange thing! The spring on the tea mountain has dried up!"

"We haven't experienced severe droughts in the past years, but now it's the rainy season! Are there some evil spirits or monsters?"

The village heroes discussed and rode into the fort like the wind.

The steward stopped his whip and was stunned. He didn't expect that the tea mountain spring had really dried up?

Seeing that Yan Nu'er was still sitting on the big stone and not moving, he said angrily: "Humph! Then you can't be lazy! Go to the forge for me again! There is still a shortage of people at the smelting and forging yard, and there will be less than 300 kilograms of steel to be inspected tonight.

, you can’t even think about eating.”

Yan Nu giggled: "Okay, okay, why are you so angry? I'll just go help you blacksmith."

He was coaxing like a child, which made the steward very unhappy, so he whipped him from behind: "What a moron!"

Without looking back, Yan Nu returned to the fort under the disgusted gaze of the steward, and walked into the bustling forge where countless craftsmen were sweating profusely to help.

There is the sound of forging iron everywhere, and there are three hundred craftsmen working day and night, smelting iron and forging weapons.

The castle owner said that all the iron ore brought must be smelted, and the more weapons forged, the better.

In times of great chaos, barbarians, bandits, and even wandering hungry people may threaten the wealthy forts. Naturally, the more weapons and equipment the better.

"Yan Nu'er is here, come and help me." The man who shouted to him with a hammer was sweating profusely.

"Hey! Uncle Hong, what should I do?" Yan Nu hurried over.

"Just be responsible for the quenching. You can't swing this hammer!" Uncle Hong's big hammer weighs forty kilograms. Every time it hits the red-hot iron, this action has to be repeated countless times.

It also needs to be quenched, tempered, hammered repeatedly, and refined hundreds of times before it can become steel.

"Okay!" Yan Nu glanced at the sky while quenching the forged iron.

It was getting late, and he guessed that he might not have anything to eat tonight, so he put the grass in his mouth into his stomach, thinking that he had a lot of hay stored under his bed, so he could have a good meal if he was hungry at night.

He has been able to eat grass since he was a child, and he digested it instantly. I heard from Aweng that when he was a baby, he had no breast milk and had to survive by eating grass.

For the next fifteen years, he was homeless and living in poverty. He ate more grass than rice. It is not an exaggeration to say that he grew up eating grass.

In addition, he is not afraid of cold snow or boiling water.

He is not even afraid of being hit by stones, nor is he afraid of steel. A knife can't even break the skin of his body.

It's not that he has rough skin and thick flesh... Ordinary iron and even wooden thorns can hurt him, but the hundred-refined steel used by warriors cannot.

Only he and Aweng knew about these things. Aweng said that this was due to his innate supernatural powers. After being chopped down by a powerful warrior when he was a baby, he was no longer afraid.

"I miss Aweng so much. I wonder when the world will be peaceful and Aweng can come back."

Yan Nu muttered about quenching the red-hot iron, and his thoughts had already drifted to the place called Jishui.

"Hey! Be careful of the burn!"

Uncle Hong suddenly shouted a reminder, and Yan Nu came to his senses and found that his hand was immersed in water. The bucket of water had been quenched several times and was almost boiling.

"Oh, I'm fine." Yan Nu hurriedly took out his hand. Aweng had reminded him to try not to show his weirdness to outsiders.

However, he doesn't know how to lie by nature, so he usually pays attention to carrying someone behind his back. Just now, he was completely distracted.

Fortunately, Uncle Hong didn't have time to care about him. Thinking that he was holding on, he said, "Is it burned? Go and soak it in cold water!"

Yan Nu obeyed and did as he was told, and continued quenching after returning.

Uncle Hong was chatting with him while blacksmithing: "Don't be distracted, do you miss you, Aweng? Jiang Weng is our birthday boy. God bless him, he will be fine."

"Is there any news?" Yan Nu asked expectantly.

Uncle Hong curled his lips and sighed: "Who knows? Logically speaking, it has been a month, and there should be news from the front line, but I guess only the nobles have received it... There have been no merchants or refugees for many days, we untouchables

Where can I get news from so far away?"

Yan Nu suddenly said: "So that's the case, then I'll ask the noble man!"

After saying that, he dropped his things and started to leave.

Uncle Hong was startled and quickly grabbed him: "You are such a fool!"

"If you ask like this, I won't tell you... In this case, you work hard and I will ask you, okay?"

He coaxed Yan Nu helplessly. He knew that this boy really dared to ask the nobles.

As long as you show Yan Nu the way, this kid will definitely do it. He is very courageous.

When Jiang Weng was seriously ill, he told Yan Nu that there was medicine in the warehouse of the training ground. As a result, the boy broke in directly to get the medicine and came back to treat Jiang Weng's illness. In the end, he was whipped by the nobleman until he almost died.

He regretted his talking too much, and from then on he regarded Yan Nu as his nephew.

"The manager should also know, but he... if we complete the quota of blacksmithing and ask him again, he will definitely tell us." Uncle Hong said firmly, but in fact he was not very confident in his heart.

Yan Nu said enthusiastically: "Oh? Great, then I also want to forge iron. I must complete today's quota no matter what."

Seeing that he was about to strike again, Uncle Hong curled his lips and said, "This is a forty-pound hammer, and you have to swing it with one hand. Where can your little arms go?"

Yan Nu stubbornly said: "How will you know if you don't try?"

Uncle Hong found it funny, then thought of the steward's ferocious face, and said: "Okay, I'll give it a try, let's agree first, if we can't meet the quota, we won't ask! When it is completed, let's ask together, okay?"

"

"good!"

Seeing Yan Nu agree, Uncle Hong smiled, immediately made a place for him, and placed a heavy hammer on the anvil, as if he was watching a joke.

Yan Nu followed suit by clamping a piece of red-hot iron and placing it on it. He held the handle of the hammer with his right hand and lifted it hard.

Just like that, without using his horse's stance or using his waist strength, he just used brute force to swing the sledgehammer! Then his whole body fell backwards with the hammer...

Uncle Hong quickly supported him and laughed loudly: "Silly boy, this won't work. If you exert force like this, you will only strain yourself."

Yan Nu was dissatisfied and smiled: "Then how to exert force? You teach me!"

Uncle Hong grinned and said: "Do you really want to complete the quota? Forget it, I'm not kidding you. In fact, it is impossible to inspect and accept three hundred kilograms of steel in one day."

"Although I can punch twenty pounds a day, not everyone has the strength and skills like me. Most of the three hundred craftsmen are apprentices like you, and some have to forge weapons. After making steel in a day,

Just give it a weight of 200 to 230 jins."

"The manager deliberately set a target of 300 kilograms to make us afraid of him. If we fail to achieve the target, he will still give us food. We all have to be grateful to him."

"Of course, the quantity cannot be too small. If the manager really sees who is unhappy, he will take the opportunity to deduct the meal."

Yan slave didn't care about this and said stubbornly: "I want to fight too, and I will definitely be able to fight three hundred kilograms! Please teach me, Uncle Hong."

Uncle Hong ignored the first half of his words and nodded: "That's okay. Although you are not strong enough, you can learn the skills first and then slowly switch to a heavy hammer later."

His whole family is dead, and he regards Yan Nuer as his nephew, so of course he wants to learn from him.

Not long after, Yan Nu was learning from the side with a small hammer, and he soon became decent.

Uncle Hong taught him while he was blacksmithing, correcting his movements at the same time. Soon the postures and movements of the two were almost in sync.

Seeing that he learned quickly, I was also pleased: "I usually see you as a silly boy, but I didn't expect that you have some talent for blacksmithing."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished praising, Yan Nu said: "Have I learned it? Give me the heavy hammer quickly!"

Uncle Hong was furious: "What did you learn just now? Don't say you don't have enough strength. Even if you grow a few more years, you won't be able to do it. You still have to learn how to adjust your breath and luck! Do you really think you can use brute force for a day?"

"What is breath control luck?"

"Let's start with the simple ones. Watch me breathe...inhale...exhale..."

Yan Nu followed suit, and didn't feel anything at first, but as he gradually mastered the rhythm, his breathing became more and more rhythmic, and he vaguely felt that there was a majestic energy surging in his body, mobilized from his limbs and bones.
To be continued...