With a shake, Chen Ping'an suddenly became a temporary apprentice in Master Ruan's blacksmith shop. According to Master Ruan, someone needed to fill the void that Liu Xianyang had left. He needed someone to dig wells, build houses, create canals, and so on. There was no reason for him to look after Liu Xianyang for free.

And thus, Chen Ping'an became the busiest person in the blacksmith shop. Moreover, when it came to physical tasks, he was not inferior to any of the solidly-built men. When he had some free time, Chen Ping'an would head over to that building to visit Liu Xianyang. After taking a trip to the doors of death, Liu Xianyang had become much less energetic and talkative than before. He also looked especially sickly and fragile. Perhaps this was because he still felt a lingering sense of apprehension in his heart after barely escaping death, or perhaps his vitality and spirit had been damaged by the Mountain-moving Ape's vicious punch.

He always stared at the roof in a daze as he lay in bed, and apart from saying a few words to Chen Ping'an from time to time, he would almost never talk to anyone else. Chen Ping'an was also helpless against this situation. Fortunately, the wound on Liu Xianyang's chest was healing quite quickly even though it was extremely severe. In fact, it was surprisingly healing much quicker than the wound on Chen Ping'an's left hand.

Meanwhile, Ning Yao was still staying at Chen Ping'an's place in Clay Vase Alley. The man whom she referred to as Master Ruan had also surprisingly agreed to forge a sword for her, and even more surprisingly, he had said that the sword might be...