"I'm going to sleep, you need to leave."
Wen Ran kicked him out to his guest room. She closed the door and finally had a good sleep after days on the road.
The next day, led by Ye Sui, they went to the Sword Furnace and met the Master Swordsmith of the Hidden Abyss Valley.
Master Lu was a vigorous middle-aged man, with a robust physique and arms full of muscles that exuded an explosive force.
It is said that he has been staying at the Sword Furnace for years, with sword forging as his only interest. He has also brought up many excellent swordsmiths for Hidden Abyss Valley and is a very approachable person.
Taking a look at the two broken swords, Master Lu clicked his tongue in wonder, "These two are excellent swords. The power that broke them must be extraordinary."
Wen Ran looked at Shen Wu.
Shen Wu said calmly, "We encountered a thousand-year-old snake demon earlier, and it was at that time these two swords were broken."
Master Lu gave Shen Wu and Wen Ran a few more glances, and finally, his gaze fell steadily on Shen Wu, "Your strength is remarkable; facing a thousand-year-old snake demon and only losing your sword while keeping your life is no small feat."
Ye Sui asked, "Master Lu, can these two swords still be repaired?"
"It's not impossible, but both swords are extraordinary, and they require excellent Xuan Iron as supplementary material."
Ye Sui frowned, "Xuan Iron is too rare. It would take some time to find."
Master Lu smiled, "Why go so far? I remember that girl Qiu Shui received a piece of excellent Xuan Iron from her father when she came of age."
Ye Sui frowned even more.
Even Wen Ran could guess that getting something from that girl named Qiu Shui wouldn't be an easy task.
But Ye Sui eventually relaxed his brows and politely said to Shen Wu and Wen Ran, "I will find Xuan Iron as soon as possible. Please stay in Hidden Abyss Valley for a few days."
Wen Ran and Shen Wu bowed, "Thank you, Mr. Ye."
Ye Sui left first, while Wen Ran and Shen Wu were kept by Master Lu to talk about how they dealt with the snake demon.
Shen Wu recounted the situation back then, although he didn't mention some details. Master Lu naturally wouldn't ask about what he didn't know, so from his words, Shen Wu and Wen Ran seemed to have only escaped due to luck.
"You are quite fortunate." After sending them out of the Sword Furnace, Master Lu said, "I will do my best to help you repair the swords."
Shen Wu said, "Thank you."
Master Lu admired the promising young Shen Wu, a bit envious that Wen Xun had such an excellent disciple. He noticed Wen Ran gazing forward, and Master Lu looked there too.
Under a maple tree, a red-lipped, white-toothed young man was acting coquettishly as he held Ye Sui's hand.
Master Lu said, "That boy Qiu Shan is different from Qiu Shui. Qiu Shui dislikes Mr. Ye, but Qiu Shan is quite attached to him. They have a good relationship."
Wen Ran looked at the lively youth a few more times, feeling a strange sense of incongruity in her heart.
"Ranran."
Upon hearing someone call her, Wen Ran withdrew her gaze, looked up, and found a bun placed in her hand.
Shen Wu kindly said, "You didn't eat much for breakfast. Don't go hungry."
Master Lu was even more impressed with Shen Wu, reminiscing about his own youth when he once fought with his fellow apprentices over a girl at the Flower House.
Master Lu smiled and, sensing he shouldn't disturb young couples, turned and went back to the Sword Furnace.
Wen Ran examined the bun in her hand, guessing it might be the one bought from that old man last time. Things kept in storage spaces stay the same; only non-living items can be stored. So, although a day had passed, the bun hadn't spoiled.
His generosity in giving her a normal piece of food made Wen Ran suspicious whether he had some ulterior motive, "Why are you so concerned if I'm hungry or not?"
"Isn't it normal to care for one's fiancée?"
Wen Ran showed doubt.
Shen Wu sighed softly, "Ranran, you can't think so ill of me. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have saved you in the Forbidden Land cave."
Indeed, he had saved her, but during that game, he had made her little heart race like crazy.
Under the tree, Qiu Shan was gleefully walking away with Ye Sui. Ye Sui brushed the fallen leaves off Qiu Shan's head, earning a bigger smile from Qiu Shan. From their backs alone, it was clear how good their relationship was.
Wen Ran mumbled, "Really strange…"
Her view quickly became obstructed by someone, and Shen Wu curiously asked, "What's strange?"
"That person named Qiu Shan." Wen Ran wanted to turn her head for another look but was blocked again.
Shen Wu asked confusedly, "Ranran, you haven't fallen for that sissy, have you?"
"What are you saying? I've only met Qiu Shan twice and haven't even spoken to him. How could I fall for him?"
His tone revealed delight, "You also think he's a sissy."
Otherwise, why did she know he was talking about Qiu Shan as soon as he mentioned "sissy"?
Wen Ran paused; she didn't like gossiping behind people's backs, so she took a bite of the bun and mumbled, "I never said that…"
Suddenly, her face scrunched up as she tasted a familiar sourness.
Wen Ran immediately tore open the bun to find small red berries inside. She extended the bun in her hand, "Shen Wu, what is this?"
"A stuffed bun."
Seeing Wen Ran's face growing angrier, Shen Wu thought he might have missed the point, so he focused on her hand with the bun and added, "And your little chubby hand."
When the little chubby hand formed a fist to punch at him, he had already run far away.
"Stop right there!"
Of course, he wouldn't stop.
That day, Wen Ran chased him for half a shichen, yet she couldn't even touch a corner of his clothes!
Days went by, and Ye Sui had yet to give any good news about finding Xuan Iron. Obviously, Qiu Shui had no intention of being helpful. It was her item, and no one could force her to give it up if she didn't want to.
Since it was about her situation, Wen Ran couldn't just sit idly by. So, one morning, she specifically dragged the sleepy Shen Wu from bed and stood in front of the residence of the Hidden Abyss Valley's young lady, politely asking a young maid if she could meet the young lady.
The young maid quickly returned, seemingly troubled, "The young lady refuses to see anyone."
Wen Ran and Shen Wu had no choice but to leave empty-handed. As they walked, Wen Ran touched her chin and said, "That doesn't make sense…"
Shen Wu curiously asked, "What doesn't make sense?"
In the story, this Hidden Abyss Valley young lady was a supporting female character infatuated with the male lead. Before meeting him, she already admired his name.
Because the male lead liked Qin Susu, she frequently targeted Qin Susu. Of course, she was spoiled by nature but not completely villainous, so her ending was much better than Wen Ran's.