Qiu Yunru had imagined something far more dramatic. After all, Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits was known for its top-tier graphics and over-the-top effects. Perhaps there would be a giant wave that rose up from the heart of the lake and handed out the sword, or perhaps there would be a whirlpool that spat it out into Li Chenyuan's hands.
The reality was less ostentatious. A cool breeze blew through the air, and the lake's surface rippled slightly. Then, as though being drawn up by a fishing line, a sword floated up to the surface, washing onto the bank beneath Li Chenyuan's pale fingers.
What a peaceful affair! Qiu Yunru couldn't help but feel that it would all look good in one of those online meditation videos with some beach sounds in the background.
Everyone winced as Li Chenyuan picked up the sword. The silvery metal caught the rising sun, flashing and blinding everyone momentarily.
Qiu Yunru blinked over and over, eyes watering. He wanted to rub them so badly, but wouldn't that look improper in the middle of the ceremony? So he blinked the blinding light away, tears threatening to flow.
When he saw the sword properly, he was stunned.
It wasn't that it was anything unexpected, but...
He had truly never seen such a beautiful weapon before!
Cast from a silvery metal that turned white when turned one way and translucent when turned the other, the sword was long and elegant. The hilt was shiny and black, carved into the shapes of petals, which were adorned with ruby-like gems that glittered coldly. It was so pretty that it seemed almost like a decorative piece.
However, it was also clearly meant for battle: with a good weight in Li Chenyuan's hands and a eerily sharp tip, no one would want to come near that kind of thing. Even looking at that tip, Qiu Yunru's eyes began to hurt!
Li Chenyuan turned his new sword over, seeming pleased. He bowed three times again, stood, made a courtesy, then stepped back.
Qiu Yunru stepped forward and did the same then: three bows, and a kneel down to the lake.
He couldn't help but find the glow of the waters exceedingly pretty. This certainly wasn't something he'd be able to ever see in his past life, whether because of his illnesses or because it didn't exist. He felt a strange sense of gratitude come over him.
Someone shouted suddenly. It was their Shizun:
"Cai-jie! Please step back--!"
Cai-jie...couldn't that only be Cai Mingzhu, the infamous Head Cook of the Jade Clouds Sect?
He really wasn't supposed to look up and should focus on the water, but everyone was whispering and crying out. What was he supposed to do? He was a lover of gossip and drama through and through! So he looked up, just in time to see Cai Mingzhu storming towards him with a resolute expression, her apron flapping in the autumn breeze.
And then she shoved him in!
There was a great splash as Qiu Yunru stumbled and fell into the Sword Lake. Ripples quivered out from the spot he had fallen in. The shores of the lake weren't too deep, and yet, since the water was glowing, it was impossible to see his figure beneath the surface.
Everyone waited one moment, then two, then three.
"Qiu-ge!" Li Chenyuan shouted, wading into the water. "What the fuck is wrong with her? Qiu-ge!"
"Why isn't he swimming up?" Lei Ruolan muttered. "He can definitely swim..."
_____
Qiu Yunru suddenly woke up.
Had he been shocked by the cold? Had someone dragged him out? Qiu Yunru felt a little sick at the thought. If he had really passed out after falling in the water, that would be truly embarrassing...
However, no matter how much he looked at his surroundings, he couldn't recognize them.
The walls were carved from rough stone, and the ceiling above seemed to only be a thick, worn stretch of fabric. What's more, there was a thick smell of acrid smoke in the air. As soon as Qiu Yunru noticed it, he began to cough violent, tasting something metallic on his tongue.
What was this...? It wasn't the taste of blood, but rather real metal!
The only instance he knew where this kind of thing could happen was when breathing in the smoke from a blacksmith's forge.
There was indeed a blacksmith on Li Hua mountain, but his forge was much more advanced than this. The only option, then, was that...
"Isn't the Lake Blacksmith just a legend...?" He murmured, coughing again and waving some smoke out of his poor, stinging eyes. "Am I really hallucinating?"
He had to admit, everything around him felt strange--as though it was warping around him, like in a waking dream. The smoke was so thick that it was becoming hard to see, and yet he still couldn't find the source.
"Senior Blacksmith...?" He tried. So much smoke..."Ah!"
As he waved his hand back and forth to clear the air, a figure emerged suddenly.
It was hard to say if it was a man or a corpse; following it was the scent of rotting flesh, but its eyes were still healthy, peering down at Qiu Yunru with a lucid gaze that had a despondent quality to it. This gaze...
Was this what it meant to have a "thousand-yard stare"? Qiu Yunru felt that, if he kept looking into this blacksmith's eyes too long, he might start seeing visions of war and tragedy!
The blacksmith's frame was enormous, filling up almost all of Qiu Yunru's vision. His body was blackened with burns, but he still wore a cloth apron, holding a hammer in one hand and tongs in the other. He leaned close.
Uncomfortable, but not wanting to seem impolite, Qiu Yunru leaned back a little. This rotting stench--it really took him back to the Lan Bing caves! Eugh...
"Ah...Senior Blacksmith..." He stammered, coughing out some black smoke again. "I think I've been pushed into your lake. This humble one apologizes deeply for the intrusion."
The blacksmith said nothing. He merely continued to peer into Qiu Yunru's eyes. The air around him grew more and more oppressive.
What's more, the more Qiu Yunru looked at his face, the less he could understand it. It was like looking into a black hole: one moment, he thought he knew where the nose and mouth were, but the next, there was a cheek there instead. It was easier to imagine it all as a blackened, roiling surface.