Night of the Broken Gliph

Chapter 52

Ah? Sell the shop? Chui Yim turned to Kiu Chi Gong, startled. 

Yes! Kiu Chi Gong gritted his teeth. The Kiu Clans ancestry was extremely important to him, that was why he insisted on cultivating the style passed down to him as he hoped to make the Kiu Clan great again.

Thus, the Kiu Clans Divine Weapons store which was located at where they made their mark was extremely significant, making it priceless to Kiu Chi Gong. I will never! he snarled. The Chan Clan can dream on! 

Chui Yim kept silent, furrowing his brows. 

The reason why the Chan Clan has been letting Kiu Chi Gong survive is because hes  no threat to them. Kiu Chi Gong is just a harmless stray dog to the Chan Clan. Not only will there not be any backlash, the Chan Clan will also be perceived as generous and welcome to competition. But when the dog suddenly turns into a tiger, things change. So what is the factor that led to their change in attitude? Chui Yim pondered. 

But no matter how hard he thought, he didnt realise that it was the Fallen Stars Rod which led to all this. He wouldnt know about Chan Lai Faats comments, as well as how valuable the rod turned out to be that the Chan Clan now viewed Kiu Chi Gong as a threat. To Chui Yim, the Fallen Stars Rod was just an ordinary weapon. 

Stunning Thunder, Vanguard Soldiers and Hidden Cloud were neither rare nor difficult gliphs to carve,  and they didnt require high grade materials as well. Not only that, the rod was made as a test weapon before creating the knife for Lam Ming. This was just like a mage who appeared out of nowhere in a world where magic didnt exist and randomly cast a Fireball. Fireball might just be ordinary magic to mages, but all the local inhabitants would be badly shocked. Only the mage himself wouldnt realise the impact he had brought to the world.  

In his previous life, Chui Yim had successfully created two divine weapons. In fact, he was a divine master with his forging knowledge alone,  just that his knowledge in gliphs was weak and he had a heart deficiency. This was why he paid no attention to the grade two weapons he made. 

But it was already unimaginable to the Chan Clan who viewed great masters highly. 

Kiu Chi Gong jumped up out of the blue, bringing Chui Yim back to reality. Where are you going?

Im going to make things clear with the Chan Clan! Kiu Chi Gong replied strongly. How dare they ask to buy my shop and to become their elder! Who do they think I am! I will not let anyone step over me. This is the Kiu Clans Divine Weapon store and always will be! 

If not for his determination, Kiu Chi Gong would have spent all his money on entertainment when his father sold their grade three gilph weapon for money. It was his determination for cultivation and forging that still preserved this shop. 

However, Chui Yim shook his head in response. Youre wrong, he said and looked up at Kiu Chi Gong. Youre the Kiu Clans Divine Weapon shop. As the only descendant of the Kiu Clan, your death will be what really puts an end to the Kiu Clan. Imagine if you are killed by the Chans, whats the use of an empty shop?

As long as youre alive, no matter where you go, the Kiu Clans Divine Weapons store will be where you are.

Hearing him, Kiu Chi Gongs body jolted. He said nothing, and all he did was lower his head. After a long pause, he spoke up roughly. Master, what should I do?

Sell it, of course! We are short on money. Chui Yim sneered. I, Flame, have never really been afraid of any metalsmith. They are afraid of us forging, huh? Who says we cant forge without a shop? 

Lam Ming Sum stared at Kan Hang sitting directly opposite of her around the bonfire. She might not have known him for long, but after the frightening crisis that put their lives at risk, she could tell that Kan Hang was trying to protect her with all his heart, or he would have just left her to die and escaped. 

They were currently situated in a cave, and despite Kan Hang being badly injured, he didnt forget to make a bonfire for Lam Ming Sum. It did have a calming effect on her who was still shaking from the previous event. 

Are you Are you alright? Lam Ming Sum asked unhappily. Her eyes stayed on Kan Hangs pitch black hands; since he didnt drive out the poison in time, it had permeated through his meridians already. The striking hole on his left wrist was all the more terrifying as she could see his flesh and bone through it. 

Youre talking about this? Kan Hang turned to Lam Ming Sum, a weak smile forming on his pale face as he raised his left hand. My chambers are the heart chamber, wind chamber and both my legs. The injury on my hand is fine. If the worst comes to the worst, I cant use the Soul Chasers anymore. He shook his head. But it wont affect our journey, and luckily Im a right hander. Kan Hang rarely jokes, but he did so to make Lam Ming Sum feel better. 

However, Lam Ming Sum kept her head low down and teared up. Why did my life turn into this? 

A while ago, I was such a happy girl. I had my mummy, my teachers, my classmates and brother Chui. I could spend my days researching new recipes and cook for brother Chui. Why did this happen? What did I do wrong? 

Its not a change, but fate. Kan Hang shook his head after a long pause. Youre related to the Lam Emperor by blood, which means that youll never live the life of a commoner. 

But I dont want to be a princess or be related to the emperor! I only want to be an ordinary girl! Unable to hold it in, she finally wailed. 

Kan Hang sighed but remained silent. While he spoke to Lam Ming Sum, he wasted no time cultivating at the same time to regain energliph while trying to stop the poison from spreading to other parts of his body. After the intense fight with Mo Yung Kwong, the poison had seeped into the veins of both his arms. He was already at his limit trying to lift his hands. He also faced difficulty trying to lift his fingers, making it somewhat troublesome when trying to set the fire. 

Luckily, like what he said, none of his chambers were in his arms, so it didnt affect him too much even if his arms were crippled. As long as he had enough energliph, he could still perform his gliphility, Embroidered Cloth and Nightwalk. He hoped that nobody else found him; it was like finding a needle in a haystack to find gliphers in this world with the ability to catch up to his Nightwalk. It also took time for Mo Yung Kwongs death to be discovered, so Kan Hang was going to take this chance to replenish his energliph.  

As he was thinking, it came to his mind to change the conversation. Oh right, what was the light that protected you? 

Being a ten-year-old, Lam Ming Sum was easily distracted. She forgot her sadness and looked down at her knife on hearing Kan Hang. It was then she realised that it was now different. Heart Defender was made to fit in her hand, and a faintly discernible flowy ray of light was seen previously, but not anymore. 

What gliph is it? Kan Hang turned to look at the knife Lam Ming Sum passed him. He was in utter shock to realise that the gliph on the wooden handle was foreign to him. The knife was dark brown, and the gliph was of a similar black colour too. It was easily neglected unless one looked at it carefully. So this knife is grade three instead of a grade two gliph weapon? 

Since the knife wasnt a gliph weapon, the grade didnt really matter. To Lam Ming Sum, the gliph in the knife saved her life. As the Imperial Guard who had served the Emperor for many years, he had come across a large variety of gliphs in the palace. But Kan Hang was surprised to see that he couldnt recognize the gliph placed in front of him. 

After some time, Kan Hang spoke up. Despite being unable to recognise this gliph, I can still figure out some things. It should be used for defence and will attack when activated. Its mostly used by gliphists and if Im not wrong Kan Hang tried to put energliph into the handle and his eyes lit up instantly. Indeed! Im able to put energliph in to activate it. However, theres another limit. I guess the most it can defend you from is a three-chambered glipher. As for a four-chambered gliphThats another story. This time round, its most probably because Mo Yung Kwong was almost drained of energliph after a night of chasing. 

As a four-chambered glipher, Kan Hang did have discerning judgement, and indeed, this never passed Chui Yims mind. The possibility of an ordinary girl getting chased by a four-chambered glipher should have been zero. 

Wait a minute. Since this knife has such an ability, Ill put my energliph in for extra protection.

Are we going to die? Lam Ming Sum didnt resist, but she asked in fear instead. 

Nope. Kan Hang shook his head slowly at Lam Ming Sum Im even more confident of our journey back to the palace now. 

Chui Yim and Kiu Chi Gong were currently on a coach, set to arrive at Chui Yims hometown. It was still the same coachman that ferried him home weekly from school previously. He was slightly suspicious of Kiu Chi Gong who was a new face to him but since Kiu Chi Gong obviously didnt have any ill intentions towards Chui Yim, the coachman said nothing. 

In no time, they arrived at the village. Chui Yim got off the coach first, ignoring the whispers from the villagers and walked into his room with Kiu Chi Gong trailing right behind him. Bang! They closed the door, shutting out all the gossip about them outside. 

This is my room, which youre not allowed to enter, that room as well as thats my fathers room. Are you okay with sleeping in the living room? Chui Yim asked loudly, acting as if the whole house belonged to him. Kiu Chi Gong looked at him speechlessly, but he was okay with the arrangement as only forging mattered to him. 

This is the kitchen, theres everything you need: condiments, charcoal, rice and so on. You can use it freely. Dont worry about money either, Ill send you some every now and then.

Okay, Kiu Chi Gong answered and said nothing more. 

Now, put down your bag and come with me.

Oh Okay! It was funny to watch, seeing a ten-year-old teenager walking in front of a buff adult following behind respectfully. 

After putting down their baggage, they left the house and arrived at a mountain wall. There was a huge, spherical rock in front of them. 

Watch me closely. Chui Yim came to the side of the rock and continued. The rhythm is important. Three beats, stop, and two more beats, Chui Yim said as he tapped on the mountain wall quickly. When the last two beats landed, the rock moved aside slowly, revealing a crack. Kiu Chi Gong was unable to believe his eyes! It dawned on him that previously when Chui Yim made the knife, it had something similar too. 

Lets go! Why are you standing there in a daze! When Kiu Chi Gong came back to his senses, he realised Chui Yim was shouting at him in front of the cave. He went in immediately. Master, whats this? 

Oh, nothing much Just some random mechanism, I can teach you if youre interested, Chui Yim said casually as he made his way into the cave. But he suddenly stopped in his tracks, face turning weird. 

Something was off! 

He hadnt been here for five years, but as the one who made the entire cave, he was extremely familiar with it and knew that something was out of place the moment he entered.