Chapter 7

"Heng'er, you must be exhausted. Quickly drink some water and rest." The old mother wiped the sweat off Yang Heng's face with a handkerchief. In fact, there wasn't much sweat; it had evaporated as soon as it appeared due to the heat. Only now, after stopping and moving away from the furnace, did a little sweat appear on his face.

"It won't work, Mother. I think we should pack up and leave the city at dawn to return to our hometown. Otherwise, if that Li Sanlang comes, we won't be able to leave. He might use some underhanded tricks. When I was sick and couldn't get up, they didn't come, but now that I've appeared, he will likely come soon. This time, I don't think he will just buy it; he will use some means." Yang Heng's guess was correct. The next day, after they left, Li Sanlang came with the constables, and of course, he had an excuse ready, claiming that Yang Heng had stolen something and was reported by a scholar.

"The boy is right. I heard the same thing from someone. But now it's fine. With these tools, we can live well in the countryside." The old father nodded and chimed in.

"Alright, I'll start packing, but what about our house?" The old mother was not without her wits, but when it came to matters of life and death, she panicked. After all, she was a woman and knew less about the outside world.

"The house will still be here. If he wants to take it, let him. But when we become successful, we might take it back." Yang Heng gritted his teeth. Just as I arrived in this world, the people here gave me a harsh welcome. I am a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which translates to "time traveler" in English), and according to the logic of web novels, I am a transcendent existence. Li Sanlang, just wait for my wrath.

"What's there to pack? We don't have much. In the back storage room, there's a wooden cart, a spinning wheel, a few old mats, a half box of old clothes, and a few hemp straw quilts."

Then there were the tools he had just made. "Grandfather, when we leave the city, will anyone check if we're carrying weapons?" Yang Heng asked worriedly. There was no concept of dangerous goods back then, right?

"No, it hasn't been strict in recent years. As long as we don't have military crossbows, it's fine. Besides, I know the gate guards, and I have a pass. I often go out to deliver goods and buy raw materials." The old father said nonchalantly.

"That's good, that's good. Ah, right, Grandfather, can you dismantle this furnace?" Yang Heng suddenly remembered something and pointed to the largest furnace in front of him.

"I can't, I'm afraid." The old father was a bit embarrassed, not knowing something in front of his son. "But I can build that kind of furnace."

"Can that one reach the same high temperature?" "No, that one can only heat iron to a red-hot state." The old father directly denied it.

"That won't do. I need to take this one with us." "How can we take it? Can we lift it onto the cart?" "Of course not, but I noticed it's built with bricks. We can dismantle the outer bricks and take the main part inside. We can draw a diagram of the outer structure and rebuild it later."

Saying this, the father and son began the process of dismantling the furnace. They removed the outer bricks layer by layer, and Yang Heng drew various marks on a piece of cloth with charcoal. In the end, only a small furnace and a ventilation duct remained. These parts were very hard, and it took a lot of effort for the father and son to dismantle them. By the time the old mother had finished packing everything, the father and son still hadn't finished dismantling the furnace.

"What are you two doing?" The old mother, having finished packing the other rooms, noticed the father and son dismantling the furnace. "We're taking this furnace with us." "Yes, it's better to take it. The construction of this furnace hasn't been passed down." The old mother affirmed.

"This furnace has been moved many times over the past few hundred years. I never thought it would be moved again in my lifetime." The old mother was very sad. It seemed that Yang Heng's idea was right. This furnace was very important. If it were lost, it would be much more difficult to forge things in the future. There were materials that could reach high temperatures, but using coal as fuel, Yang Heng was very concerned about whether it could ensure the quality of the steel. From the knives he had made, he could see that the steel was not much worse than in the future, but according to his knowledge, good steel existed at this time, but it didn't reach this level. According to legend, even that steel was much worse.

"People say that the hoes and other farming tools we forge are much better than those forged by others, but the ones we forge with the other two furnaces are much worse." The old mother said again.

"Alright, you two, stop talking. Let's go now. We won't say goodbye to the neighbors. I think the city gate will open in a little while." The old father urged. It seemed he was sure that someone would come today. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager to forge the tools and pack up.

"Go, go. You go first. Let me take one last look at our house. We might never come back." The old mother, with tears in her eyes, looked at the house behind them. In Yang Heng's memory, they had faced difficulties several times, but they had never left. They always hid in a cave in the back room for ten to fifteen days and then came out. But this time, they had to leave. Hiding in the cave wouldn't work; others were coming to seize the house. After all, the house was in a good location in the city.

"Mother, it's no use looking. When we do well, we'll come back." Yang Heng consoled his mother. "Alright, I'll wait for our Heng'er to succeed. Mother, let's go."

With that, the old mother turned and locked the door. Even though they were leaving, the door still needed to be locked. It was different for someone to break in by smashing the lock than to just push the door open.

It was still early, and the city gate hadn't opened yet, but some people were already waiting to leave. The old father was talking to a familiar gate guard.

"Mr. Yang, you're leaving the city? Where are you going?" An old man greeted the old father at the city gate. "Ha, old man, you're on duty today. I'm going back to the countryside. Here's my pass." "Hey, no need to show it. Who doesn't recognize you, Mr. Yang the blacksmith? This time, the whole family is going?" "Yes, my son is already this big. It's time for him to meet his grandfather." The two men chatted.

"Creak," the gate finally opened, and the eastern sky began to brighten. Or perhaps, Yang Heng's new life began with this escape.