Night of the Broken Gliph

With that, Kam Chin Kee returned to the palace while Chui Yim prepared some wine in celebration.  

Just then, he was interrupted by a visitor. His forehead throbbed as he glared at the door from his living room. “Speak up or get lost! I don’t have time to entertain you.” He then turned towards Yeung Chun and said, Uncle Yeung! Prepare a room, someone’s moving in!”

“Alright!” Yeung Chun replied.  

The chubby teen hesitated as he stole glances at Chui Yim, who got increasingly annoyed.

“Why the hell do you look so constipated? If you have nothing to say, then go home!”  

“Wait… Hold on, brother Chui. Of course, I am here for a reason.” The chubby teen tried to calm him down. “I’m Chau Chung.”

[TL Note: “Chung” means heavy in Chinese.]

“Heavy indeed.” Chui Yim nodded after looking at him. “Hurry up and speak.”

Chau Chung laughed bitterly. He’s indeed not someone easy to get along with. No wonder he creates so much mess. 

Chau Chung was the chubby teen that recognized Ceremony Mountain back when Wong Chow Yip and Chor Kwong Laan were fighting. 

“I see that brother Chui has taken several orders from our classmates. I’m curious, what’s brother Chui’s current rank?” Chau Chung probed.  

“What does that have to do with you? Are you here for a custom gliph weapon too?” Chui Yim retorted.  

Chau Chung waved his hands immediately. “I’m also a one-chambered glipher, but I’m not interested in fighting. I like business instead.”  

“Business?” Chui Yim’s ears piqued after hearing him. “Okay, continue.”  

Chau Chung chuckled gently. “Does brother Chui know about the Black Tortoise Auction House?” 

“Of course,” Chui Yim replied, raising his thick brows in contrast to his bald head.

“I’m from the auction house, which is why I have a quota in the Cloud Palace outer sect,” Chau Chung started slowly. “However, the outer sect is just my stepping stone to high society. I have zero interest in gliphism or becoming one of their disciples.” 

“Thus, brother Chui’s talent has caught my eye.” Chau Chung went on with a solemn expression on his face. “As brother Chui might be aware, you’re one of the few fire-forgers in the South, and I’m here to ask if you’re interested in a collaboration.” 

“I’m indeed a fire-forger, and since I can customise gliph weapons, I’m of the great master rank.” Chui Yim raised his eyebrows once again.  

Chui Yim admitting his rank made Chau Chung ecstatic. A thirteen-year-old great master blacksmith? Such a talent couldn’t even be found in the Blazing Skies Mountain, where the best blacksmiths congregated!   

But he calmed himself before continuing, “Fire-forgers are the minority in the South as Southerners’ tattoos usually use gliphic plants, which are gentler ingredients. Water-forging and grass-forging are more suitable with such gentle ingredients and generally suit Southern cultivators more. But fire-forgers are irreplaceable due to the powerful effects brought by fire-forging.

“Water and grass-forged weapons suit wood and water-attributed gliphilities and skills, but it’s different for fire-forged weapons. Be it Yin-Yang or other attributed skills, you can make them using metals and various materials via fire-forging. Even if it doesn’t work as well as water or grass-forged weapons with water or wood-attributed techniques, it’s still better due to the limitations grass and water-forged weapons face with other attributes.

“Being a fire-forger is the best way to earn money as a blacksmith, but it’s much harder to pick up. The Southern climate means there are more gliphic plants, so water and grass-forging are the mainstream here.” 

“I already know everything you’ve mentioned. Get to the point; how are you planning to collaborate with me?”  

Chau Chung was excited after hearing Chui Yim. “With brother Chui’s ability, it’s a waste just to customise gliph weapons for our classmates. Think about it, how many one-chambered gliphers are there in the South Imperial City after considering that one-chambered gliphers are the most common? Who would refuse a custom weapon?”  

Chau Chung waved his chubby hands excitedly before being cut off by Chui Yim. 

“Sounds nice, huh? So now, tell me where one-chambered gliphers will find the money to order a custom weapon.”  

“Now, this is something I have an idea for.” Chau Chung giggled.  

“Representing the Black Tortoise Auction House, I’ll assign a few workers and form a team under brother Chui. Those without silver taels can come too, as not only do we accept cash, we accept gliphic plants and other precious items for payment. We will value their items with the unique valuation method used by our auction house.  

“If you still can’t pay, it’s fine. We have a referral plan for you to get a discount by referring another one-chambered glipher over. The more weapons you purchase, the cheaper each weapon will be!  

“Think about it, brother Chui. You can only earn ten thousand at a time, but I can get you ten or even twenty gliphers at a time with my method! You might earn a bit less per weapon than now, but you’ll save a lot of time finding customers! 

“This is a marketing method I created. I call it bulk purchasing!”  

Chui Yim’s jaws fell as he kept thinking about it. After a pause, he spoke up again. “How about this? I won’t make grade-one gliph weapons.”  

“Brother Chui…” Chau Chung’s heart fell immediately.  

“I’ll make custom grade two weapons.” Chui Yim cut him off again, and Chau Chung was completely stunned.  

A grade one gliph weapon’s market price was only a few thousand, but even the weakest grade two gliph weapon could fetch for 10,000 taels. The market price for grade three gliph weapons was about 200,000 taels. The higher the gliph weapon’s grade, the more expensive it was as the difficulty of forging increased. 

It was simple to get an artist to draw a normal painting, harder to paint two different pictures with each hand, and much more difficult to paint different pictures with each hand and leg.  

This was the same for customised gliph weapons. For now, Chui Yim only sold his customised weapons at 10,000, but grade two versions would cost a minimally 100,000 taels! 

Gliph weapons were like a glipher’s life. A great weapon could save your life in battle, thus anyone would spend willingly for a weapon. 

“Are you serious, brother Chui?” Chau Chung couldn’t care as he grabbed Chui Yim’s hands tightly, the meat on his hands jiggling. “If you’re telling the truth, we’ll be rich!”

Chui Yim rescued his hands from him immediately. “Why do you have so much to say? Of course I mean what I say. I have no opinion about your share as well; you can come up with the percentage yourself. However, I have a request.”

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