Dang Tong arrived in the little village and found far more people than he had expected. The place didn’t even have a proper village elder and suddenly it was exploding with growth. He hadn’t heard about any sudden gold mines or secret realms. More than that it seemed to only be mortals that had gathered. Merchants and builders outnumbered the residents by a wide margin.

He had to admit that it was a beautiful area. Usually he wouldn’t be investigating something like this alone, or directly, for that matter. However with the numerous prisoners he couldn’t spare any men. The lord had also all but given him orders to drop the investigation for some reason. So the less people that knew he was here the better. He even had to change out of his signature black armor. He almost felt naked without it.

Thankfully he couldn’t feel any demon qi. The previous village he investigated had a wicked miasma that had enveloped it.

He made his way to a large tent that seemed to be a gathering place for the people bustling about. There wasn’t anyone that stood out to him. He tried his best to hold back his aura and it seemed to be working. Then again, part of it was also the imposing armor and famous name. The general ordered food and was pleasantly surprised by the small meal.

Then he felt something terrible. He felt danger emanating from every shadow in the room. It was the aura of a demonic path cultivator. He tried glancing to the entryway as subtly as he could and saw a tall woman with the red hair of an elemental manifestation and dual sabers in her sash. She was grinning while the portly host led her to a table. He needed to keep his cover, and she seemed to be familiar with the staff here. He would keep an eye on her from a distance. It was unlikely he could defeat someone like that anyways.

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Usually a letter opener was sort of resized to fit your hand even if the blade was meant to look like a miniature of something. Old long was insistent I make this thing to the exact same size as the one the slimy cultivator was trying to get repaired. Well, he is a customer now so I shouldn’t insult him too much.

“I said make it like a proper sword. That thing will fall apart the moment it’s swung.” I gave the old man an indignant look. He wanted to make sure this little thing was battle ready for some reason.

After a few more tries to get the handle right I finally had something satisfactory. It was a small straight sword. I was actually a bit proud of myself. It was just missing the tassel and artwork to resemble what you’d see in old kung fu movies. Neither of those were probably actually useful but it wouldn’t really matter. I had felt the sort of pull that appeared when I went into a trance but it didn't force me in like it normally did. It almost felt like I was being guided. Like a path appeared in a way, and all I had to do was follow it.

“Hehe, perfect. That rat bastard will fork out the good stuff for something like this.” Old Long was grinning at the finished product when a strange look overcame him.

“Wait… both of them are… that son of a bitch!” His eyes went wide as he jumped up. He began to search around the workspace for something.

“What are you doing?” He had begun to crawl along the perimeter and inspect the individual rocks.

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“I was greedy. He found the loophole and now they’ve gotten a mark through.” He didn’t stop his strange crawl as he inspected the area.

I nodded. I didn’t know what the hell he was saying but sometimes it’s better to smile and nod.

“This just caused the price to double. Keep that in mind.” I nodded again as I watched the elderly man continue to check every inch of the area.

He finally seemed to give up and started contemplating something. He went back over to where the workers were building the new place. It had only been a week and things were nearly done. Yet now the old man had a new requirement for them. It seemed the workers would have to put up with him a little bit longer.

“Not bad.” The voice was gruff and deep. It seemed to come from nowhere. I spun around and didn’t notice anyone at first.

“Rude one, aren't ya?” I glanced down and had to prevent myself from jumping and screaming. It was a giant rat. A very giant rat wearing simple but elegant robes. He was holding the letter opener in his paws. It seemed to be a… It was his sword. It fit him perfectly.

“Didn’t expect ‘rat bastard’ to be so literal.” His eye seemed to twitch at my statement.

He then proceeded to smirk. For a rat he certainly had very human expressions.

“Hmph, I’ll deal with him in a moment. This is your work then?” The rat was fastening the sword to his belt as he asked. I nodded. It was probably best to keep my mouth shut.

The rat pulled out a small ring and tossed it onto the workbench before popping his neck and beginning to swagger towards the old man.

Without another word he seemed to blur out of existence. He appeared next to the old man with sword drawn flying through the air. Old long was able to avoid him and had his sandal in hand before the large rat could land. They stared each other down from a distance away. neither so much as twitching while they watched the other's eyes. Then both blurred from sight. I couldn't actually see what they were doing but I could feel the vibe. They seemed to be on par with each other as they clashed numerous times.

I couldn’t process what was happening in front of me. I had been trying to mentally prepare myself for the first time I got to see two masters fight each other. I was ready to see beautiful fairies cutting down demons the size of mountains. Elegant scholars that carved the space around them with their swords. I was not ready for this.

I had expected to see great masters fight in beautiful scenery, wielding the laws of nature or some shit.

I hadn’t expected that fight to be at a construction site, between an old man with a sandal and a rat with a letter opener.

A portly old man was sitting on the bench watching. I didn't notice him until he spoke.

"Those two will probably be at it for some time. Would you happen to have any tea you could serve an old man?" He asked while stroking the long white beard he kept. I was jealous of it. He looked like a Chinese Santa Claus. I recognized him as the man that bought the spear we made the other day.

"Uh, sure thing." The fight was incredible but it hurt my eyes to try and keep up. I went inside and found the container of tea leaves. The old man and I both drank coffee more often than not so I'm not sure I can make a proper pot of tea.

Those assumptions were all but confirmed when I brought out the cup and the bearded man flinched at it. He set it aside without drinking and instead sighed while watching the duel.

He seemed to be correct that they were going to continue for some time. I picked up the ring that the rat-man had given me. That definitely sounded racist, I need to think of a better term, or is trying to come up with a different term even more racist?

The ring seemed to be made from polished jade. The countless veins standing out vibrantly against the dark base color. It was a nice ring but I've never been the type for jewelry. It was also way too small for me.

I put the intricately carved jewelry into my coin pouch and continued to watch the battle.

Both seemed to be winded by now. the old man's sandal was covered in countless little cuts. The rat was definitely smiling.

The construction workers seemed like they were ready to run away from this job as soon as they could.