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ut Kou Chiang knew the answer anyway。 Feng Li said “You have the skill of your master。 You can forge a。 few swords of your own。 They might not be inferior to those owned by Wu。”Hsieh said “I cannot forge swords anymore。”Feng Li asked “Why？”Hsieh held up his hands。 On both his hands， the thumb and the index fingers were gone。 He said sadly “Thumbs and index fingers are required for forging swords。 Iam a。 cripple。”Kou Chiang said “Did you enemy cut away your fingers？”Hsieh said “No， my fellow student did it。” “Your fellow student？ You mean Fong HuTzu？ Why did he doe it？ Ah！ It must be that you have greater skill than he。 He beame jealous and cut away your fingers。” Hsieh remained silent。 Ko Chiang said “I was thinking about inviting Fong from Chuh， but now Isee he won”t e because he fears your vengeance。“Hsieh said ”Your Majesty is indeed wise， but Fong is no longer in Chuh。 He is in Wu。 Ko Chiang said “He……He”s in Wu？ What“s he doing there？”Hsieh said “Three years ago， Fong came to my home and took out a。 precious sword for me to inspect。 Iwas astounded。 That sword was forged by my master for Chuh。 It is named the Flowing Fabric。 The blade was full of runes that flowed like water。 Iheard from my master that he forged three swords for Chuh。 That was one， the others were Dragon Spring and Ching Ah。”Kou Chiang said “Then the king of Chuh must have given it to Fong。”Hsieh said “Indirectly。 Fong said that after the army of Wu broke the capital of Chuh。 Wu Tzushi took the sword from the grave of the previous king。 When he returned to Wu， he heard of the skills of Fong， so he gave the sword to him as a。 gift。 He said the sword was a。 legacy from our master and that Fong was the rightful owner。”Kou Chiang said “Wu TzuShi let the sword go？ He is truly a。 great hero to let such a。 treasure go。” Then he laughed “Fortunately， Fu Chai has already taken care of him for me。” Then he asked “What did Wu TzuShi wanted in return from Fong？”Hsieh said “Wu Tzushi merely said that he admired our master。 Fong felt grateful after he received the sword， so he went to Wu and thanked Wu TzuShi in person。 Wu TzuShi treated as an honored guest。”Kou Chiang said “That”s how he make people bee loyal to him， even onto death。“Hsieh said ”Your Majesty is wise， but Fong didn“t understand Wu Tzushi”s true intentions， so he asked again and again how he could repay the great favor done to him。 Wu Tzu Shi merely said he would not ask anything of an honored guest。“Kou Chiang said ”The old fox！“Hsieh said ”Fong finally said to Wu Tzushi that he had little skill except forging swords。 In return for Wu TzuShi“s favors， he will forge afew precious swords for him。”Kou slapped his thigh and said “Got him！”Hsieh said “But Wu Tzushi said the kingdome of Wu already had many precious swords and needed no more。 Besides， the forging of a。 precious sword is a。 tremendous labor。 Years ago， when Keng Chiang and Mo Yeh were forging their sword， the sword refused to e into being until Mo Yeh flung herself into the fire。 Wu Tzushi had no intention of repeating that kind of tragedy。”Kou Chiang said “He didn”t want Fong to forge swords for him？ Strange。“Hsieh said ”Fong was baffled too。 Then Wu Tzushi visited him again。 They said that the army of Wu was fully capable of fighting with superpowers like the kingdoms of Chi and Jin。 Wu“s warriors were courageous， but their skills in chariot warfare were inferior。 Moreover， their swords and spears were not sharp enough。 Fong began to talk to Wu TzuShi about the way of forging swords。 What Wu TzuShi wanted wasn”t a。 few precious swords with mysterius powers， what he wanted was thousands and thousands of sharp swords。“Kou Chiang understood and looked at Feng Li and Wen Chung。 Worry filled Wen Chung”s face。 He asked “Minister Feng， what do you think？”Feng Li said “Even though Wu Tzushi is crafty， he is not wise enough to escape Your Majesty”s schemes。“Kou Chiang laughed ”I am afraid that Ihave never been Wu Tzushi“s match。”Feng Li said “Wu Tzushi is already dead。 What more can he do to threaten Yueh？”Kou Chiang laughed “True。 Hsieh Chu。 Did Fong finally started forging swords？”Hsieh said “Yes。 He went to Mt。 Mo Keng。 He saw one thousand swordsmiths working there。 He corrected and improved their techniques。 After this， every sword in Wu is sharper than anything made in other kingdoms。”Kou Chiang nodded “So that”s why。“Hsieh said ”After one year， Fong became too fatigued to continue， so he told Wu Tzushi my name。 Wu Tzushi readied lavish gifts and asked Fong to invite me to work for him as well。 Iremembered the hatred between Wu and Yueh。 If Wu“s sharp swords could kill the people of Chi and Jin， they could also kill the people of my home， so Icounseled Fong not to return to Wu。”Kou nodded in approval “You have foresight。”Hsieh said “Thank for your praise， Your Majesty， but he didn”t listen to me。 That night he slept in my home。 In the middle of the night， suddenly he put his sword at my neck， then he chopped off four of my fingers so I“ll never forge another sword。”Kou Chiang became angry “If he fell into my hands， Iwould chop him into meat paste！”Wen Chung said “Master Hsieh， even though you cannot forge swords by yourself， but you can teach our swordsmiths。 We， too， can make as many sharp swords as the Wu swordsmiths。”Hsieh said “Minister Wen， both Yueh and Wu produce the necessary iron needed for sword blades， but Yueh produces copper and Wu produces zinc。”Feng Li said “Wu TzuShi is guarding the zinc mines and forbids any private mining， is that right？”Hsieh showed surprise on his face “So you knew already。”Feng Li smiled “No， Iam merely speculating。 Now that he”s dead， his order may not be followed anymore。 We now can purchase zinc， if we“re willing to pay for it……”Kou Chiang said “But a。 source of water far away cannot extinguish a。 nearby conflagration。 By the time we gather all the materials， train the swordsmiths and start production， at least two or three years would have passed。 That”s not counting any setbacks along the way。 If Fu Chai died before we“re ready， wouldn”t that be the greatest regret in our lives？“Feng Li and Wen Chung bowed deeply ”Yes， we will find another way。“Feng Li walked out of the palace， thinking ”His Majesty couldn“t wait two or three more years？ Why， Ican”t even wait one more day……“ Adull pain came to his chest as he remembered the image of that unmatched beauty which could stun the world。 Her name was Si Shi。 She lived next to Huan Sha River He found that woman who gathered all the beauty of the land of Yueh into her person and he had to send her away into the palace of Wu。 The road from the capital of Yueh to the capital of Wu was not long， only a。 few days by river， but that was long enough for love to grow beyond control。 The white face of Si Shi was full of pearllike tears and her voice was soft as a。 whispering stream ”Shao Bo， promise me that you will e and get me as soon as possible。 Iwill wait for you， day and night。 Say that you will never forget me， forever and ever。“Vengeance against Wu could wait， as far as Feng Li was concerned， but Yi Kwan，that”s his name for Si Shi， was in the embrace of King Fu Chai。 Love and jealousy gnawed at his heart。 He must find to way to make as many sharp swords as possible， even sharper than those wielded by the invincible Wu swordmen……
He walked aimlessly on the street。 Eighteen armed guards followed him faithfully。 Suddenly someone was singing a。 Wu song “My sword is sharp！ My enemy has no courage！ My sword is sharp！ My enemy has no head！”Eight men in blue， arm in arm， swaggered down the street， showing no concern for the pedestrians who were hurrying out of their way。 They were the eight Wu swordmen。 They were obviously very drunk。 Feng Li frowned。 He could feel his anger rising。 The eight swordmen stopped in front of Feng Li。 One of them looked sideways with his drunken eyes and said “You……you are Minister Feng？” Then he broke into uncontrollable giggles。 Two guards leaped in