Have You Heard of Vampires?
"Can I at least clarify that these scales weren't pulled from a single whole serpent?" Mo Fan said.
Ah Li Junnan just laughed. Whether they came from one serpent or half of one, the absence of serpent markings was an ironclad fact — the material was garbage.
Well, perhaps "garbage" was too strong. For a low-level Mage, exotic scales like these could still fetch a million or two, no small sum by any measure.
But merchandise of this caliber was simply beneath the Huo family's reputation.
Mo Fan pointed at the scales. "The serpent markings are right here — the blue-green parts."
Ah Li Junnan, his patience exhausted, turned sharp. "You think I'm blind? There's nothing on it. Take your stuff and get out!"
Mo Fan was nearly beside himself. He wanted to explain, but one look at Ah Li Junnan's brutish scowl told him the man would never believe a word of it.
"What's all this racket? Little Ah Li, you trying to get yourself fired? Don't you know nothing irritates me more than being disturbed?" A shout came from somewhere deeper in the shop — the voice of an old man with startlingly purple eyebrows, beard, and sideburns.
Ah Li Junnan rushed to apologize to his master, all the while shooting Mo Fan a murderous glare.
Mo Fan knew better than to keep butting heads with a gatekeeper. Seizing the moment, he called out past Ah Li Junnan: "Master Huo! This junior is Mo Fan, referred here by Old Bao. I've heard that your skill in forging Armor Enchanted Gear is legendary throughout Magic City. I visited several other renowned smiths first — every single one told me that for materials this special, only Master Huo could do the job. So I've been waiting here especially to see you!"
Ah Li Junnan's jaw nearly dropped. The nerve of this guy. *"Waiting especially"?* He'd been here less than five minutes. How did he say that with a straight face?
"Don't try your smooth-talking tricks here. You think my master is the kind of man who falls for a few flattering words—" Ah Li Junnan cut off mid-sentence as the creak of a door came from behind him.
He turned to find his master already striding out, back straight, robes immaculate — every inch the grandmaster. His face wore the serene, unreadable expression of a sage above worldly concerns, though a flicker of self-satisfaction danced in his eyes.
"Lingxi, Gusu Lian, Che Rong," Huo Tuo said with a dismissive wave as he approached, "those half-blind old codgers can't hold a candle to me. At least they have the sense to know it. I, Huo Tuo, handle what no one else can — now then, boy, what have you brought? Let me have a look."
Mo Fan's face lit up the moment Huo Tuo appeared. Ah Li Junnan pressed a hand to his forehead. *How did I end up saddled with such a shameless master?*
Ah Li Junnan jumped in quickly: "Master, didn't you teach me how to identify Serpent Clan bloodlines? The nobler the bloodline, the finer the markings. This material is dark bluish-green all over — I can't see any markings whatsoever. My conclusion was that it's completely ordinary material."
Huo Tuo walked over and studied the two pieces in silence, his expression cycling through a rapid series of changes.
"You fool!" He rounded on Ah Li Junnan at once. "Didn't I tell you? Premium material must be laid on the finest ice-paper. How could you just leave it on the bare table? Do you have any idea how filthy this surface is? If even a speck of dust gets into it, do you know how much extra work I'll have smelting it?"
Still berating his apprentice, Huo Tuo went and fetched a sheet of ice-paper himself, settling the two scales onto it with meticulous care. The gleam in his eyes was unmistakably hungry.
"Such a shame," he said at last, with a quiet sigh. "These aren't true exotic scales. If they were, they'd be priceless treasures."
Mo Fan looked at the old man with fresh respect. "You have a remarkable eye, sir. These are refined serpent scales — processed, not naturally occurring exotic material."
"Still very impressive, mind you. There's a slight imperfection from the refinement process, but with proper craftsmanship, this could yield an exceptionally fine piece of Armor Enchanted Gear!" Huo Tuo said.
Beside them, Ah Li Junnan looked ready to lose his mind entirely.
*What?! Artificially refined material — no natural markings, the whole thing is a sophisticated imitation — this might as well be knockoff trash from a street stall!*
"Master, are you absolutely sure you don't want to throw him out?" Ah Li Junnan said.
"Throw him out? You're so dense, I'm the one considering throwing *you* out. Who told you there are no markings? The markings are enormous — they cover the entire piece!" Huo Tuo snapped irritably.
Ah Li Junnan only grew more baffled, muttering, "That's just the snake skin's natural color. Markings are supposed to be actual patterns..."
Mo Fan was starting to feel genuinely sorry for the man. He said carefully, "What you're looking at are just two tiny scales from that serpent. Its markings are blue-green. You'd need several dozen of them laid side by side before the pattern would become visible."
Ah Li Junnan's eyes went wide. "What kind of serpent is *that* enormous?!"
The question snapped Huo Tuo out of his absorption. He stared at Mo Fan, and something shifted in his expression. "Could it be," he asked carefully, "that this material came from...?"
Mo Fan smiled and nodded. *The old man really does know his goods.*
"Remarkable," Huo Tuo said. "No wonder Old Bao sent you straight to me. Any other smith would have been utterly helpless with scales like these."
The existence of the Totem Xuan Serpent was no longer much of a secret. It had taken Huo Tuo only a moment's thought to piece together where the scales had come from.
"Then I'll leave it in your capable hands, Master Huo. I'd like to commission a piece of Armor Enchanted Gear..."
"Certainly, certainly. Though I should mention — my order queue is backed up to the end of next year," Huo Tuo said.
Mo Fan was speechless.
*The end of next year? The Hunter Championship will already be underway by then. There's no guarantee I'll even get to wear the Armor Enchanted Gear before it's all over!*
"Isn't there any way to make an exception?" Mo Fan asked.
"Of course," Huo Tuo said, still admiring the scales without looking up. "Just pay three times the price. Overtime rates — legal holiday surcharge."
Mo Fan's expression went flat.
"Couldn't you do it for free, given how rare the material is?" he tried. "To demonstrate that your devotion to the forge is born of artistry rather than profit — the pinnacle of a craftsman's professional virtue?"
"Don't talk rubbish at me. You pay what you owe." Huo Tuo set the scales down. "If you can't cover the overtime fee, there's another option: do some work for me instead. People from Old Bao's circle tend to be capable hunters — and I happen to be short on some materials that ordinary hunters won't go near."
"I still have school," Mo Fan said, less than thrilled.
"Who said anything about going outside? Everything I need is right here in Magic City," Huo Tuo said.
"All right, tell me more," Mo Fan said.
Magic City was enormous — practically an ecosystem unto itself. It wasn't only humans who called it home, and Mo Fan had long since accepted that. Demon-Beasts and stranger things lurked in its depths.
Three times the price was simply out of reach. Old Bao had told him that even at the standard going rate, forging a single piece of Armor Enchanted Gear ran twenty million. Even after selling the Armored-Shell Giant Lizard's carcass, Mo Fan would still come up short — he'd need to dip into his own pocket just to cover the base fee.
Sixty million was highway robbery.
"Have you ever heard of vampires?" Huo Tuo asked, dropping his voice to a murmur.
"You mean like you?" Mo Fan shot back.
"Show some respect, you little—" Huo Tuo caught himself. "I mean the kind that walks among humans in broad daylight, perfectly ordinary-looking — but comes out at night to prey on women, feeding on human blood to sustain tremendous power. Demon-Beasts wearing human skin. These vampires drifted here from the West..."