Feeling low, deeply despondent? At this moment, forget Old Meng and the others; even Pi Qiushi couldn't help shaking his head, inwardly cursing under his breath about who knows what.

There’s a saying that goes, "Bitchiness is just being dramatic"—it describes the current situation perfectly.

Wang Guan has only been in Hong Kong for a few days, yet he’s already unearthed several rare treasures one after another, and he still claims this place is his sad ground? Isn't he afraid of inciting public outrage?

Of course, everyone grumbled internally for a bit, but seeing Wang Guan's mind was set, they didn't press the issue. They simply escorted him to the airport, bid their farewells, and watched him board the plane.

Accompanying Wang Guan back to the capital would certainly be Bei Ye and Pi Qiushi, but Qiao Yu stayed behind, seemingly to deal with some family business or other matters that wouldn't be finished anytime soon.

Wang Guan was quite pleased with this arrangement. After agreeing to gather again when they had time, he promptly pulled Bei Ye along and left.

The flight was swift, arriving smoothly at the Capital Airport. From there, they navigated the familiar route directly to Elder Qian's grand residence. Because a call had been placed beforehand, Elder Qian had timed his arrival perfectly and was already waiting at the gate.

The instant he saw Wang Guan, Elder Qian offered a brief greeting before reaching out directly, demanding, "Where is the Gongbu Sword?"

"Here."

Wang Guan understood Elder Qian's eagerness and immediately presented the sword casket.

Seeing the casket, Elder Qian smiled faintly, nodded, and his urgency dissipated. Instead, he gestured them in, saying, "Very good, everyone stop standing around; let’s go inside and talk. After a cup of tea, you can tell me the details of your experiences in Hong Kong."

Wang Guan and the others naturally had no objections. Upon entering the living room, Wang Guan didn't wait for Elder Qian to act; he took the initiative, setting up the water and brewing the tea. His movements were fluid, utterly lacking any trace of common domesticity; his tea ceremony skills had clearly reached a level of mastery.

At this moment, Elder Qian gently opened the sword casket and carefully lifted out the Gongbu Sword. While admiring the fine, dense grain patterns on the blade, he lightly touched the metal, a look of appreciation spreading across his face.

“The jī starts at the neck and stops at the spine, like beads that cannot be crushed, the patterns flow like an unbroken stream,” Elder Qian recited softly, then sighed with a smile, "It is exactly as recorded."

"Even more remarkable is that after more than two thousand years, the edge remains incredibly sharp."

Just then, Pi Qiushi chimed in with a smile, gesturing with his hands, "Brother Wang tested it; with a single swing, he effortlessly cleaved that massive roll of rush matting clean in half."

"It is a sword of supreme dominance; naturally, it must be incomparably keen."

Elder Qian wasn't surprised, but his expression of admiration deepened. Simultaneously, he lowered his head in thought, then suddenly said, "Wang Guan, don't rush the tea. Go bring a basin of clean water."

"What is the clear water for?"

Wang Guan paused, but asked no further questions, simply leaving to fetch a basin of clean water as instructed. After he set the basin down, Elder Qian did not immediately reveal his intention, instead continuing to study the patterns on the Gongbu Sword.

Seeing this, Wang Guan grew curious. "Elder Qian, is there something unusual about the patterns on the blade?"

"It's not that something is wrong..." Elder Qian smiled, then asked, "Wang Guan, tell me, since the Gongbu Sword has flow-like patterns, does it belong to the category of smooth patterned steel or coarse patterned steel?"

The distinction between smooth patterned steel and coarse patterned steel is actually quite easy to understand.

For example, take the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber in Wang Guan's possession, or the Japanese katana presented by Hu Shao. Although the surfaces of these weapons exhibit clear grain lines, the patterns are very subtle. When touched, the surface is smooth and delicate—this is definitely smooth patterned steel.

As for coarse patterned steel, that refers to weapons like the Malay Keris or China's Goujian Sword of Yue. The texture on these weapons can no longer be described merely as distinct; rather, it is dense, resembling a honeycomb, giving a rough tactile sensation.

Of course, this roughness is deliberately created. For instance, the Malay Keris is made with coarse surface patterns so that poison can be effectively sequestered in the grooves of the texture, increasing the weapon's lethality. As for the Goujian Sword, it was purely an aesthetic choice; the ancients considered blades featuring such rough surface ornamentation to be exquisite, so they were intentionally forged that way.

However, at this point, Wang Guan felt a touch of surprise, because this was a factually obvious matter. Even though the Gongbu Sword featured flow-like patterns, its blade was smooth and fine, clearly classifying it as smooth patterned steel.

"Smooth patterned steel?" At the same time, Elder Qian chuckled softly, then picked up a soft cloth, dampened it in the basin of clear water, wrung it out, and slowly began wiping the blade.

After several minutes, Elder Qian meticulously wiped down the entire Gongbu Sword. Nothing unusual occurred during the process, other than the blade shining brighter under the slightly damp conditions.

At that moment, Elder Qian suddenly stood up, grasping the sword with both hands, holding the blade perfectly level, the spine parallel to the ground, before tilting it slightly. Once the angle was set, he motioned, "Fetch a cup of water, and slowly pour it onto the hilt area. See what happens."

Hearing this, Wang Guan grew even more curious. But before he could move, Pi Qiushi, standing nearby, immediately picked up a cup and walked over. Then, following Elder Qian's instruction, he carefully and slowly poured the water.

Wang Guan, of course, watched with unblinking eyes, observing closely.

Because Pi Qiushi poured so slowly, the clear water from the cup did not splash but rather flowed obediently along the sword's spine, quickly covering the entire blade surface, about to spill over the tip and drip back into the basin.

Yet, in that very instant, Wang Guan’s eyes widened, a look of sheer disbelief crossing his face. Pi Qiushi, watching beside him, couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "How is this possible..."

It was no wonder they were shocked. At that precise moment, the clear water in Pi Qiushi's cup had been entirely emptied, but the water flowing along the spine should have dripped straight back into the basin following the tilted angle, as dictated by gravity—the very law Newton grasped after being hit by an apple, summarized and never since overturned, still held as sacred truth today.

But Wang Guan hadn't expected to witness a scene that seemed to defy the law of universal gravitation at this moment. He was naturally dumbfounded, stunned alongside Pi Qiushi.

"The fact is right before your eyes, so why is it impossible?" Elder Qian smiled slightly. "Wang Guan, now tell me, what kind of texture does this blade have—is it smooth or coarse?"

Wang Guan involuntarily shook his head; he genuinely could not answer this question. If the blade were smooth patterned steel, the water should have flowed smoothly across and dripped directly into the basin.

But the reality was the exact opposite. The clear water flowed along the spine, smoothly reaching the tip as expected, and then logically should have fallen due to gravity. What amazed Wang Guan and the others was that the moment the water passed the tip, it didn't fall down; instead, a subtle swirling phenomenon occurred.

It was this swirl that caused the water, which should have dripped off, to coalesce, lingering for a long time without falling. If this had happened on a coarse patterned steel blade, one could understand it, given the existence of texture grooves. But this was an undeniably smooth blade—how could such an effect occur?

While Wang Guan and the others watched in astonishment, the water droplet at the sword's tip finally yielded to gravity, slowly dripping back into the basin. Even so, under the sunlight, they could clearly see the refracted light waves shimmering off the water flowing over the spine, resembling continuous, overlapping carp scales...

Wave after wave of water patterns continued for quite some time—a full four or five minutes passed before the very last drop drained away, and the blade returned to its original state, though imbued with a subtle sheen of added luster.

Only then could Wang Guan finally ask, "Elder Qian, do you know the reason for this? The adsorption force of the Gongbu Sword is incredible. Despite having a smooth, fine surface, it behaves almost like a sponge, managing to hold the water suspended for so long."

"Actually, the Gongbu Sword is nothing extraordinary," Elder Qian replied, shaking his head with a faint smile. "The truly terrifying ones are the Yu Chang and Chi Xiao famous swords."

"I can understand why Yu Chang is terrifying," Wang Guan mused again. "But why is Chi Xiao terrifying?"

"Historical records state that the Chi Xiao sword emanates chilling light, its edge like frost and snow," Elder Qian reminded him with a smile. "So tell me, where did the 'Chi' (Red) in Chi Xiao come from?"

"Ah!" Wang Guan gasped, a flicker of horror accompanying his sudden realization. "You mean..."

"Exactly what you are thinking."

Elder Qian smiled, stopping just short of elaborating. He then gently flicked the blade with his finger, pointing to the patterns on the metal. "To explain the Gongbu Sword's extremely strong adhesive force, we must begin with its sword-forging process."

"As is well known, ancient Chinese weaponry possesses a very high cultural significance, representing the pinnacle of a dynasty's economy, culture, and technological advancement. The forging patterns displayed on these blades are the most splendid examples of this artistry."

Elder Qian spoke slowly. "The forging of ancient Chinese swords is broad and profound, but generally, it can be divided into several major categories: Tuan Da (Clump Forging), Liu Shui (Flowing Water), and Xuan Han (Rotary Welding), among others."

"'Clump Forging' is a very common form of folded forging; the process is relatively simple, saving labor and time, making it suitable for mass production. However, the resulting patterns are relatively coarse, often resembling undulating mountains, with the laminated steel layers clearly visible at the edge, thus resulting in relatively inferior quality."

Elder Qian commented, "As for 'Flowing Water,' it is relatively advanced. After being subjected to thousands of hammerings and repeated folding and forging, the patterns become extremely dense; the flowing water texture spreads smoothly, like trickling streams. There is also another texture, similar to ripples spreading on water, uniformly distributed across the blade body, which is why some call it the 'thumbprint pattern.'"

"This Gongbu Sword is undoubtedly a masterpiece representing the pinnacle of the Flowing Water forging technique."

As he spoke, Elder Qian sighed faintly. "And undoubtedly, it is the apex creation of the Flowing Water pattern's development. If you observe closely, you will notice the stream patterns on the blade are densely distributed, and the degree of fineness between the patterns is perfectly consistent—it can truly be called precise to the millimeter, as if etched and measured by precision instruments..."