Chapter 85: I Rely on My Skills to Make a Living
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This thought popped up very suddenly.
But the more Zhou Shu thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Was there a need for a Grand Craftsman to hide the weapons he forged?
!!
If it was one or two, it might be possible.
But there were seven heaven-grade weapons here!
Zhou Shu couldn’t understand why he was hiding these heaven-grade weapons!
Even if there was nothing wrong with these weapons, there was definitely something wrong with Zhu Chuanfeng himself!
In any case, if Zhu Chuanfeng had personally forged these weapons but wasn’t doing anything with them, then was he already plotting something?
If this matter was revealed, would the Imperial Court suspect him?
Zhu Chuanfeng probably doesn’t have the courage to rebel. The fact that he’s hiding these heaven-grade weapons doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s up to no good. Rather, it’s more likely that there’s something wrong with the weapons themselves.
Zhou Shu had already inspected these weapons. Although he was only a Forging Apprentice, he still had a good eye. At least on the surface, he couldn’t see any problems with these heaven-grade weapons.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove this.
Zhou Shu frowned. Even though he had a conjecture, there was no way he could verify it. How could he prove that these weapons were not made by Zhu Chuanfeng?
… Unless the people who had forged these weapons came forward to testify against Zhu Chuanfeng!
A thought flashed through Zhou Shu’s mind.
Zhu Chuanfeng had asked his younger brother if there was any trouble. His brother had said that the trouble had been dealt with.
Could he have gotten rid of the people who forged these weapons?
Zhou Shu was shocked by his own thoughts.
To be able to forge a heaven-grade weapon, one had to be a Grand Craftsman. Would Zhu Chuanfeng dare to send people to plot against Grand Craftsmen?
Not only did he plot against Grand Craftsmen, but he had even brought back the heaven-grade weapon forged by them?
Does he want to pa.s.s off these heaven-grade weapons as his creations?
Zhou Shu shuddered. He felt as if he was gradually approaching the truth.
If my guess is correct, let’s start from the beginning.
Zhou Shu’s heart was in turmoil.
Zhu Chuanfeng sent his brother to plot against certain Grand Craftsmen and brought back the heaven-grade weapons they forged. Perhaps these heaven-grade weapons were just forged by the Grand Craftsmen and had yet to be revealed to the world.
In that case, no one will suspect Zhu Chuanfeng if he says he forged the weapons himself. After all, the original creators have already died, and there’s no evidence.
But even a Grand Craftsman isn’t able to create so many heaven-grade weapons in a short period of time. So Zhu Chuanfeng hid them and took out one every once in a while…
If that’s the case, then there are seven heaven-grade weapons in this secret chamber. Does that mean that at least seven Grand Craftsmen were murdered?
Zhou Shu couldn’t help but shiver. They were Grand Craftsmen! In all of Great Xia, there were only three to four hundred Grand Craftsmen still alive.
This might sound like a large number. But one should know that in this world, cultivating the Martial Dao was common. The lifespan of people was generally longer, and living for a couple of hundred years was common.
Under such circ.u.mstances, even among the billions of people in Great Xia, there were only three to four hundred Grand Craftsmen. From this, one could tell how difficult it was to become a Grand Craftsman.
Even if the scope was expanded to the entire continent, the number of Grand Craftsmen wouldn’t exceed ten thousand. But Zhu Chuanfeng had killed at least seven of them?
If it was true, how insane was this!
Zhu Chuanfeng himself is a Grand Craftsman. Is there a need for him to do this?
Zhou Shu frowned. Actually, he could probably think of a reason now.
In his previous life, academicians and experts plagiarized academic papers or even fabricated academic papers. Even Grand Craftsmen would do such things.
It might be difficult for Zhu Chuanfeng to forge his own heaven-grade weapon, so he used this method to maintain his reputation.
Taking out a heaven-grade weapon every year is something that only the most skillful Grand Craftsman can do.
It’s actually not difficult to verify whether my conjecture is true. I just need to check how many Grand Craftsmen have been killed in recent years!
Grand Craftsmen were humans as well. It was possible that they would meet with an accident and die.
This wasn’t strange at all. Countless other countries wanted Zhu Chuanfeng dead. It would be strange if he didn’t encounter a few a.s.sa.s.sinations every year.
Although the various countries spared no effort in protecting their Grand Craftsmen, accidents would definitely happen.
However, if Zhu Chuanfeng had really done this, once Zhou Shu found out how many Grand Craftsmen had been killed, he might be able to find some clues.
The Divine Constable Bureau should have the relevant files, but Ma Fengzhang isn’t in the capital. It’s too late to go to the Divine Constable Bureau at the last minute to search for files.
Zhou Shu sighed. But he was no longer in a hurry.
If his conjecture could be confirmed, then Zhu Chuanfeng would be consigned to eternal d.a.m.nation!
Impatience will spoil great plans.
Zhou Shu restored everything in the secret chamber to its original state. Then he cleared traces of his arrival before returning to the surface.
Zhou Shu glanced at Zhu Chuanfeng’s unconscious younger brother and clenched his fists.
If what he thought was indeed the truth, the person who did it had to be this man.
He really wanted to slap him to death.
But if he really killed him, he would alert the enemy.
I’ll let you live a little longer!
The fire in the Zhu Estate was quickly put out.
For some reason, Zhu Chuanfeng felt his eyelids twitching.
Did something happen to my brother? Zhu Chuanfeng thought. He could no longer sit still. He hurriedly ran toward his younger brother.
The moment he entered the room, he saw his brother lying unconscious on the bed. His expression immediately changed.
He hurried to the bed and shook his brother hard.
Pa! Pa! Zhu Chuanfeng slapped Zhu Chuanzhi’s face and yelled, “Brother! Zhu Chuanzhi! Wake up!”
Zhu Chuanzhi woke up groggily. He opened his eyes and saw his elder brother’s face. “Brother? Why are you here?”
“Why am I here? What happened to you? Who ambushed you?” Zhu Chuanfeng said anxiously.
“No one ambushed me.” Zhu Chuanzhi’s eyes gradually focused as he came back to his senses. He shook his head and said, “I was a little anxious when I was cultivating just now and triggered my previous injuries. I’ll be fine after resting for a while.”
“I’m not asking if you’re alright! Is the secret chamber alright!” Zhu Chuanfeng was frantic. He ignored Zhu Chuanzhi, hurriedly opened the door to the secret chamber, and then went inside.
Zhu Chuanzhi knew how important this matter was, so he quickly entered too.
Inside the secret chamber, the Zhu brothers carefully inspected everything before heaving a long sigh of relief.
“Fortunately, nothing happened!” Zhu Chuanzhi patted his chest.
Zhu Chuanfeng frowned. “Just now, there was a fire in the manor, and you were injured. Are the things happening recently just a coincidence?”
“Are these matters related?” Zhu Chuanzhi asked. It was an old injury. The weather was dry, and it was not impossible for a fire to happen.
As for Zhen Cai’s death, it was purely an accident.
There was no connection between these matters.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Zhu Chuanfeng shook his head. He didn’t know how these matters were related. “Brother, we can start preparing for the escape route you mentioned earlier!”
“Big Brother, have you changed your mind?” Zhu Chuanzhi said in surprise.
“Just in case.” Zhu Chuanfeng shook his head. “As long as I can make Zhou Shu submit, I will be able to take over the benefits of the Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Sabers, Horse Slaying Sabers, and Spring Embroidered Sabers. That boy doesn’t know how to make use of them and has wasted a great deal of benefits.
“Once we get this money, we will have almost enough money. By then, even if we leave Chang’an, we can live a carefree life.”
“Big Brother, it’s good that you’ve thought it through,” Zhu Chuanzhi said with gratification. “That Zhou boy is just a Forging Apprentice. He won’t be able to escape from you, Big Brother.
“I will get in touch with those people right now and lay out the route first. When we’re ready, we’ll be able to get away at any time.”
Zhu Chuanfeng nodded, his eyes flickering. No one knew what he was thinking.
After returning from the Zhu Estate, Zhou Shu threw his clothes into the smelting furnace.
Although he was sure that no one had seen his actions at night, there was no guarantee.
Anyway, Mi Zhifu had prepared many clothes for him. He didn’t need to worry about spending money.
Zhou Shu hadn’t expected that Zhu Chuanfeng was actually after the benefits of his weapons.
He would never have imagined that Zhu Chuanfeng, who possessed so many ranked weapons, would be interested in the small benefits of standard weapons.
But even if he knew, he wouldn’t care. He would never give in.
Zhou Shu knew that Huben Sabers, Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Sabers, and Horse Slaying Sabers could make a lot of money.
How could arms dealing not make money?
Even if he had to give the Forging Division a cut, the amount of money that would end up in his hands would definitely be astronomical.
If it was just one weapon, Zhou Shu might not have the right to speak. But after developing four weapons in succession, he already had the qualifications to negotiate with the Forging Division.
But he didn’t do it. Other than Yin Wuyou giving him the ownership of the Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber, Zhou Shu didn’t care about the other sabers at all.
Zhu Chuanfeng saw money, but Zhou Shu saw a platform.
With the Forging Division as a platform, he could make the weapons he forged the most effective, allowing the benefits from the Legendary Armament Canon to be the greatest.
As for money, Zhou Shu didn’t care. Look at his living conditions. Was he someone who lacked money?
Zhou Shu was never worried that he would run out of money, and his goal had never been to make money.
Forging weapons and becoming stronger was his goal.
Zhu Chuanfeng was short-sighted.
Regarding that old thief Zhu, I’ll go to the Divine Constable Bureau to investigate. I still have to deal with the Forging Division’s monthly examination, Zhou Shu thought.
What’s with those people? Why do they have to doubt my forging ability? Do they really think that I, a workshop superintendent, am a pretty boy who only became a workshop superintendent because of the grand minister? I rely on my skills to make a living, okay? I really have to slap your faces!