That night, an unfamiliar visitor arrived at the blacksmith shop. The man appeared to be roughly 30 years of age, and he was quite tall and broad, with fair skin and a pair of sleek, long brows. His elegant and delicate appearance coupled with his imposing stature presented a rather peculiar contrast to behold.

After being informed of the man's arrival, Ruan Qiong arranged a welcome that was far more formal than the one he had prepared for Cui Minghuang, where the two had only had a brief chat at the entrance to the swordsmithing room. On this occasion, he instructed Ruan Xiu to carry out a pair of bamboo chairs, and he even brought out two flagons of fine wine, one for each person. 

The visitor gladly accepted the flagon of wine, removing the clay seal before taking a swig, then smiled as he said, "You've really made a bold statement with what you did earlier, Master Ruan. I don't know how the imperial court is going to react for now, but as the newly assigned kiln supervision official and head official of Dragon Spring County, you've saved me a lot of trouble. 

“I should've been the one to bring some good wine to visit you, but I heard about what happened on the way here, so I was in a hurry to get here, and in my haste, I passed by the shop on Dragon Riding Alley. I owe you two large urns of apricot blossom wine."

Master Ruan waved a dismissive hand as he said, "There's no need for these pleasantries. If our negotiation goes well here, we'll have plenty more opportunities to chat over wine in the future, and if the negotiation goes awry, then you won't have to bother trying to get on my good side."

The man burst into laughter, and he appeared much more like a traveling hero than an official of the Great Li Empire's imperial court. He dabbed at his own lips with his sleeve, then set his flagon of wine down onto his knee, and it seemed that he was about to discuss something serious with Ruan Qiong. "As I'm sure you're already aware, the mountains here were sealed off by the imperial court during the Spring Crest Year. 

“Of course, that's only the official explanation given by the ministry of revenue. According to the local chronicles, the actual reason for the mountains being sealed off is because halfway up the mountain known as Dragonspine Mountain, a large piece of naturally formed Dragon Slaying Platform appeared. Prior to coming here, I had a meeting with His Majesty, and I was explicitly told that the Dragon Slaying Platform is to be shared between the Wind Snow Temple that you belong to, and True Martial...