Ruan Qiong's resolve remained completely unshaken by this sentiment, and he chortled, "No matter. If the Yingyin Chen Clan or some other power really did dare to use me as a pawn, then once I ensure the safety of my daughter, I'll be sure to exact my revenge on them!"

At the same time, he thought to himself, If that really is the case, then that would be perfect for me. At the very most, it'll only take me a century to forge that sword, and once it's complete, I'll be able to go anywhere and kill anyone I please!

After a brief moment of silence, a curious look appeared on Ruan Qiong's face as he asked, "Could it be that Chen Ping'an really is the heir to Qi Jingchun's lineage?"

Old Man Yang raised his pipe, then gently tapped it against the wooden bench before pulling out some new tobacco leaves from a cloth pouch attached to his waist as he scoffed, "How am I supposed to know?"

Ruan Qiong knew that Old Man Yang had accumulated far too many secrets throughout his life, and he smiled as he said, "In order to enter the town, each person needs to give the town's gatekeeper a pouch of gold essence copper coins. 

“This generation's gatekeeper was a man by the name of Zheng Dafeng. There's no way that those priceless copper coins would've fallen into the hands of the emperor of the Great Li Empire, so I can only assume that you've come into possession of them. What exactly do you intend to do with those copper coins?"

"Would you tell me if I asked you how you plan to forge that sword in your heart?" Old Man Yang countered, and Ruan Qiong immediately burst into laughter.

"I'm taking this temple away with me," Old Man Yang suddenly said in an indifferent manner.

Ruan Qiong was rather taken aback to hear this, but he quickly replied, "As long as you don't take it out of the town, I have no objections."

Old Man Yang smiled as he nodded in response. "Seeing as you agreed so easily, I can tell you a little secret."

Ruan Qiong gestured for Old Man Yang to go ahead.

Old Man Yang blew out a dense cloud of smoke, and smoke scattered into thin wisps before surrounding the entire temple. As it turned out, the temple had already been enveloped within a thin layer of white mist prior to this, and it was clear that this was a concealment measure that Old Man Yang had taken as an additional safety precaution. 

Old Man Yang heaved a faint sight, then continued, "Do you know what was most remarkable about Qi Jingchun?"

Ruan Qiong smiled as he replied,...