Dang Tong watched the fires spread from the hilltop overlooking the little village. His horsemen below galloped through the muddy grounds capturing all they could.

“Report, sir.” The young officer stood at attention.

Dang Tong nodded for him to speak.

“We… We found no more evidence of demonic activity…” The young man was nearly stuttering as he kept glancing at the village below.

Dang Tong nodded again. The monster of a man had seemed to infect those around him with a rage. He had forced the general to take drastic measures. It was surprising that no demonic aura was left behind.

Another young man began rushing up the hill.

“Lord Dang! Lord Dang!” he held a missive above his head as he shouted. He was completely out of breath by the time he had handed over what was in his hand, collapsing next to the commander's horse.

As Dang Tong unrolled the paper his calm face began to contort with anger. He let out a shout that was infused with his qi.

The two young men were both frozen in fear upon feeling it. Lord Dang was a soldier rather than a cultivator but he was still one of the most powerful men in the entire kingdom. Having reached the upper spiritual realm, he had even made a name for himself in the neighboring kingdoms. “The Mad Dog” as he was referred to in whispers.

He didn’t care. He had seen far too many demons slip past detection and cause harm. Too many Blood Cultists slowly draining villages. He would not allow any leniency.

Yet now, it seemed that he was being forced back to Iron Falls City.

“Burn it all.” It was the last order he gave that day.

____________________________________________________

I was a bit overwhelmed lately. Zhou had been bringing wine and vegetables regularly, profusely thanking Long Fa for “Such a wonderful farm tool”. As well as the hunter, Mr. Wang apparently, who constantly brought us meat as thanks for the kitchen utensils. It was an incredible feeling.

They liked what I made. They liked it so much that they kept trying to give us more even though they already paid for the work. It was something I had trouble imagining.

I supposed that it wouldn’t make sense to anyone that had lived their entire life in a consumer society.

“How long have you been staying here with me now Henry?” Old Long was the only person that had gotten the pronunciation of my name down so far, but I couldn’t really complain since I was just as bad. I had been remembering the Guard as “Joe”.

“Honestly I’ve always been bad with keeping track of that sort of thing, a few weeks though. Why?” We were in the forge, drinking morning coffee. He was squatting on his little wooden chair rubbing his stubbly chin.

“And in all that time, you haven’t tried shaving that monstrosity off?” he gestured towards my face.

I was appalled. I have been growing my beard for over three months now. Ever since I came to this world. It was almost braidable! Well, not really, but I do grow a damn fine beard if I say so myself.

“No way.” It was a firm stance. Old Long shook his head.

“You’re gonna go up in flames boy.” There was a bit of honest concern in his voice but mostly mirth. Thinking about me getting lit up like a Christmas tree no doubt.

“Old man! Beast man!” A shout came from around the other side of the house. The entire thing was a single rectangle with a door on each side, one leading to the roadway the other leading to the forging area in the back. We both leaned over to look through since the doors had been left open. Wang Hu was waving at us from the entryway. A grin that seemed a bit too suspicious on his face.

Long Fa waved him over and the boy rushed to the back of the house.

“What are you two making today?” He had been coming by for a few days now. He really enjoyed watching the work. I expected his father to want him to become a hunter like he was, but his parents seemed to like the fact he was spending time around the forge so long as he made it home for dinner. I didn’t mind. He was a bit mischievous, but overall a good kid that soaked up everything around him like a sponge.

“Xue needs new sewing needles. Normally I wouldn’t make them, but the merchants haven’t come through the village recently.” he began to explain to the kid while lining out his tools.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Aren’t needles really small? How can you make those with a hammer?” he was popping up over each of Long Fa’s shoulders as he spoke.

“Sit next to Henry if you plan to watch, and stay quiet.” He didn’t say it harshly. So Wang Hu sat down on the wooden bench next to the house with me. Still bobbing side to side trying to get a better view.

Long Fa took the thinnest piece of metal he had and placed it in the fire. It was barely thicker than some wire but rather long. Once he did things went quickly. Such thin pieces heated up extremely fast and cooled down even faster, making them difficult to work with. He spun the entire thing in his off hand quickly and constantly, swinging his hammer faster than I probably ever could to smooth out and stretch the needles at the same time, giving them a rounder finish. It was one of the most impressive displays of dexterity I had ever seen.

"Henry." I got up at his word and grabbed a chisel, quickly placing it on the last few inches of the metal he was working with. He hit the chisel and chopped of the needle. I thought it was going to end up like a nail at first, but the thinness was insane, it was hardly larger than a modern sewing needle.

Then, he repeated the process. It only took a few minutes for each needle and he had me chop off each one for him.

Before long there were a dozen needles.

“Woah…” Wang Hu had been unable to take his eyes away the entire time. I was just glad he said it before I accidentally did. I took a moment to realize I had been holding my breath.

The old man looked a bit too prideful, but I couldn't even imagine trying to put down what I had just seen. So I would find something else to poke fun at him about later.

Long Fa looked at both of us in turn. Then he sighed.

“I suppose it’s already happening…” I could barely hear him under his breath and little Hu probably didn’t even notice.

“Hu, go tell your mother that I’d like to talk to her, alright.” He had a soft smile on his face. The kid nodded and rushed back to his home.

“And you, You’re already broken but some of these things will still come in handy.” He pointed an accusatory finger at me.

“What?! Broken?” I almost dropped the last of my coffee when he said it. The hell did he mean, broken?

“Hmph, Two stupid apprentices at once.” he was shaking his head and I had to stifle a laugh.

“Well, aren’t you going to kowtow to your master?” he had adopted an exaggerated air about him as he looked to the sky.

“Oh I’m sorry, it seems I’m too ‘broken’ to know what you’re saying old man.” We had a momentary staring contest before we both started to laugh.

Before long Mrs. Wang had arrived with Hu in tow.

“Hey there boys!” she announced her presence loudly as always. The cooking spoon I made the other day tucked into her apron like a sword.

“Why don’t you and Hu head out back for a bit, go ahead and make something.” The old man gestured towards me. Alright, I guess the ‘ADULTS’ were talking without us.

“Little buddy let’s go.” I waved as I went out the door.

“Who’s you calling buddy beast man?!” He always got salty when I tried to be nice. Kill them with Kindness though, right?

Once we were in the back it didn’t take long to get started since the forge was still hot. Hu was rambunctious but he knew better than to get too close thankfully.

“So what are we making now?” He was bobbing back and forth like he was earlier to try and see every step.

“A machete. It’s like a really big knife.” I told him.

“So like a sword?” His response was normal, boys love swords. But it was also something that probably shouldn’t be encouraged.

“Not quite. Swords are meant for fighting. Machetes are for small trees and vines, it helps clean trails too. Doesn’t your dad have one?” Hu shook his head.

“Dad uses a hatchet, said swords are bad.” He spoke while waving side to side. I nodded.

“Well, Let’s make your dad one too if we get the chance.” It would be a good gesture. Besides, their entire family had been way too helpful. Hu nodded eagerly at that.

I took one of the chunks of unprocessed iron and started to heat it up. It was one of the weird pieces. The old man probably wouldn't mind too much since these ones were barely workable anyways. I pulled the chain for the bellows and started to bring the flames higher.

"Why is it so much hotter?" Hu's question was a normal one, yet somehow not one I could answer anymore.

"Magic." That's close enough in my mind. If I don't understand it, it was probably wizards.

It took me a lot longer to work the metal this time. I had finally started to figure things out instead of just listening to some weird instincts. I took my time as much as I could. trying my best to hold the posture the old man had taught me. I always remembered seeing blacksmiths standing but the old man was insistent.

Deep breath in, slowly out. I tried to feel my body flow with the motions. Like how a punch starts in your toes. I tried to make sure every swing was exactly the same as the last. My eyes even began to glaze over as I kept up for some time.

Head empty. Swing hammer.

Before long I came back to. The major shape of the machete was somehow completed in my trance. That was something I needed to make sure didn't happen going forward. there is no way in hell it's safe. So I flipped it around and began to work on the handle. I made it the exact size for my own hand. I turned back and saw Hu staring at what I was doing with so much focus and energy it was incredible. Honestly how does a ten year old kid sit quietly like that, just 'learning'.

I looked down at his hand and back at the handle I was shaping. Ah, so that's why Bilbo thought his knife was a sword.

I tempered the blade and quenched it before letting the fires go back down. Once everything was finished I took a pair of chunks of the redwood like material to make the handle from. That was definitely the most tedious part with no power tools. By now I had nearly taken off two of my fingers learning how to use the stupid hand carving tools. once I was finished I couldn't have been happier with it though. If fit perfectly into my hand. the lacquer giving an incredible red hue.

“That’s a cool sword!” Hu’s enthusiasm was infectious.

“Hell yeah it is.” I responded with a grin.