Upon entering the residence, Old Man An looked at Li Qing, who was dressed in thin clothing, and let out a heavy sigh. "Master Li, are you practicing martial arts?"
Li Qing, full of vitality, nodded and replied, "Just practicing some fist and foot techniques to increase my strength a bit. This way, forging iron will be easier."
In this world, mastering a skill is quite important, which is why both Yan San and Old Man An respect him so much.
In the current Obsidian City, where nine out of ten houses are empty, it is nearly impossible to find a blacksmith skilled in forging. A blacksmith like Li Qing, who possesses decent skills, is even rarer.
Old Man An glanced at the pile of completed cutting blades beside the courtyard, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes.
"Ah, I used to see quite a few martial artists back in the day, but now they are seldom seen. With no crops growing in the fields, it's hard to achieve anything remarkable." Old Man An shook his head and continued, "Master Li, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I may not have many other merits, but I've lived long and seen much, so I should be able to answer quite a few of your questions."
Upon hearing this, Li Qing felt a slight stir in his heart. This meant that in Old Man An's youth, there were many martial artists, suggesting that food was not so scarce in that era.
Indeed, the Eternal Night World is not truly eternally dark; otherwise, such a level of human civilization could not have developed.
In the past, or at least several decades ago, there must have been a sun!
This was also the question Li Qing was most concerned about at the moment.
"Old Man An, are you saying that crops could be grown in the fields back then?" Li Qing tentatively asked.
Old Man An was momentarily taken aback, then seeing Li Qing's youthful face, he let out a bitter laugh. "Yes, about several decades ago, there was still a sun in the sky. Master Li, you are still young; I suppose you don’t know what the sun is, do you?"
"It was a massive sun that emitted light, much brighter than the red moon above. You couldn't look directly at it, or your eyes would go blurry!"
"Back then, the sun warmed the sky, and crops would grow in the fields, much tastier than these black rye mushrooms."
One must say, once he started talking about this, Old Man An became quite talkative, sharing a considerable amount of knowledge about what the era with the sun was like.
Then one day, the sun never rose again, and this world fell into darkness, where cold and hunger became the dominant themes.
Because it was so long ago, the days when the sun rose have become legendary tales told by older people like Old Man An.
Those born later treat such tales as myths, for they have never seen the sun and do not believe that such an era truly existed.
"Young Master Li, you are also a person of misfortune, haha, living in this sunless world, only able to eat black rye mushrooms. Everyone is a person of misfortune!" A hint of longing and yearning for the past appeared in Old Man An's eyes.
To this, Li Qing said nothing more and did not express any doubts.
He asked, "So where did the sun go? Why did it disappear?"
Old Man An did not expect Li Qing to first question the existence of the sun; instead, he asked where it had gone, which surprised him a bit.
His granddaughter would roll her eyes every time he mentioned this, not believing a word of it.
Old Man An spoke in a reminiscing tone, "I don’t know; no one knows. At that time, some said we angered the deities, so they took the sun away to punish us."
At that time, there were also those who took the opportunity to preach various doctrines, gathering crowds to amass wealth, causing trouble in the region.
However, as the time of the sky's dimness grew longer, these opportunistic sects gradually perished, and fewer and fewer people survived in this era.
It can be imagined that if the black rye mushroom had not been discovered, the entire Eternal Night World might have fallen into desolation, with no one to be found in sight.
Soon, Li Qing asked a third question: "With a family like the Yan family causing trouble, isn't anyone managing them?"
He wanted to know if there was any existence similar to a court or government in this world or the region he was in.
However, Old Man An's answer was not beyond his expectations.
"When the government was still around, there were people managing things, but now that the government is gone, the Obsidian City is entirely under the control of the Yan family."
Li Qing's eyes quickly narrowed. Since there was no government, it was unreasonable for the Yan family to exchange the martial arts secrets of those martial halls for black rye mushrooms!
In other words, if he were among those powerful martial halls, in a situation of near starvation, the first choice would definitely be to raid the Yan family's granary, not to exchange their martial arts manuals.
As the saying goes, "If neighbors hoard grain, I hoard weapons; neighbors are my granary!"
For the Yan family to maintain such a large granary is inherently unreasonable.
It seems that either the Yan family has powerful enforcers or they have a formidable backing.
Regardless of which possibility it is, the Yan family is not someone he can easily offend at the moment, so it is best to maintain this relationship and not let them take notice of him.
Li Qing's thoughts moved as swiftly as the flames in a furnace. He set the damaged iron pot on the fire to heat it up.
This level of damage was quite simple to repair; for him, it wouldn't take long at all. A few strikes with the hammer would suffice.
While repairing the iron pot, Li Qing asked one last question that concerned him greatly: "Are there other cities near Obsidian City?"
Old Man An answered without a second thought, "Of course there are. If you go out through the west city gate and keep walking, there’s a Great Rock City, which is much larger than Obsidian City. To the south, there’s also a Black Earth City, from which we mainly transport the coal we burn."
"However, Young Master Li, you must not think about traveling far outside the city alone; the road is far too dangerous, and one can easily encounter misfortune alone!"
Listening to Old Man An's admonition, Li Qing quickly repaired the iron pot.
"Alright, I have no more questions. Old Man An, you can take the pot back now." Li Qing handed the still warm iron pot to Old Man An.
Old Man An looked grateful and said, "Young Master Li, thank you so much!"
Without lingering, he sent Old Man An away and securely closed the courtyard gate.
Today’s conversation with Old Man An deepened his understanding and knowledge of this world, allowing him to roughly sketch an impression in his mind.
"The sun disappeared and angered the deities?" Li Qing murmured softly to himself, then shook his head.
Whether in his past life or this life, he has always been a staunch atheist.
He believes in the existence of powerful beings, but the notion that a deity could take away the sun in a fit of anger is clearly something he finds hard to believe.
With a light scoff in his heart, Li Qing returned to his comfortable room, preparing to enjoy a good sleep.
After practicing martial arts, he placed greater importance on his sleep. Fortunately, having traversed to the Eternal Night World, he had ample time to accomplish this.
(End of Chapter)