Chapter 11: Preparedness is the Key

Not wasting much time, Ye Qiu left with a bag of saltpeter, following the shop owner. 

Arriving at the carving workshop where he worked, he entered his exclusive studio, took out a pestle, ground the saltpeter, and sifted it through a sieve. 

"All the raw materials are ready." 

Ye Qiu took out some charcoal from the drawer, along with pre-prepared sulfur, and mixed the three ingredients in different proportions. 

Although the method of making gunpowder is relatively simple, Ye Qiu didn't know the exact proportions of these ingredients, so he had to experiment multiple times. 

In reality, entering the Spirit Hunting Forest alone was not very reassuring. His current Mangekyō Sharingan still lacked any attacking ability, and he hadn't tried the illusion and hypnotism effect on soul beasts. 

In any case, being prepared is being safe.

 Leaving the bustling city, he arrived at a small forest far from human activity and began his experiments for the day. 

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

"Boom!" 

After several dud explosions, he finally heard a loud bang. Following that, Ye Qiu increased his pace. 

As the sun set, Ye Qiu, with a dirty face, finally set foot on the journey back, walking much more lightly. 

Although the power of the gunpowder was not as great as he had imagined, quantity could lead to quality, even if it was a bit troublesome. 

However, it was more than enough to deal with thousand-year soul beasts. 

Dealing with Soul Masters was a bit mediocre. In actual combat, Soul Masters were much smaller than soul beasts, and their mobility was too strong. The thrown explosive packs hadn't detonated before they had already run away. 

Currently, the gunpowder produced by Ye Qiu was only suitable for large-scale battles and dealing with soul beasts. 

"I'm back!" 

In Dorm Seven, Ye Qiu's voice echoed. 

"Xiao Qiu, you're finally back. I was so bored without you around!" 

Dorm Seven only had Xiao Wu. Tang San had gone to study with the Grandmaster, and the others had their own jobs. Almost every day at this time, Xiao Wu would be waiting in the dorm for Ye Qiu to return. 

Like a swallow returning to its nest, she threw herself into Ye Qiu's arms. 

Wrinkling her nose, she said, "Xiao Qiu, what's that smell on you? It's really intoxicating." 

"Your clothes and hair are also messy, cough!" As she spoke, she used her hands to tidy up Ye Qiu's hair, patted the dust off his clothes, and stirred up a coughing fit.

 "Okay, okay!" Catching her hand, Ye Qiu said, "I need to take a shower first. How about you go buy some food for me?" 

"No problem, but..." At first, she agreed loudly, but then suddenly became a bit awkward, blushing as she looked at Ye Qiu with eager eyes. 

"What's wrong?" Ye Qiu was curious. 

"I, I don't have any money left. Tang San, that guy, treated me to dinner today." 

Xiao Wu's resentful eyes made Ye Qiu feel a bit awkward. 

Although she could receive a gold soul coin every month from the Soul Hall, most of that money ended up in Ye Qiu's pocket. 

This was indeed his negligence. He took out a money pouch and handed it to Xiao Wu. "Here, go ahead and spend it. If you haven't eaten enough, you can buy more." 

"Great, Xiao Qiu, you're so good!" After hugging Ye Qiu again, Xiao Wu bounced out of the dorm. 

Leaving Ye Qiu standing there muttering to himself, "Am I really good? She's indeed a silly rabbit. Hehe!" 

... 

After dinner, Xiao Wu tried to pull Ye Qiu out for a walk, but he refused. 

"Come on, Xiao Qiu, I'll show you something good!"

"What good thing?" 

"Ding, ding, ding, ding~" Xiao Wu's sleeve slid down, revealing a delicate item resembling a wristguard, with several sharp, short arrows embedded in it. 

"This is... a sleeve arrow!" Ye Qiu's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Tang San to start giving hidden weapons. 

"Huh? Xiao Qiu, do you know about this? Tang San said it's his secret!" Xiao Wu was also surprised that Ye Qiu knew about this, and she had wanted to show off. 

"It is indeed his secret. Only he can make these things called hidden weapons." Ye Qiu explained. 

"Xiao Qiu, you know about hidden weapons too?" Xiao Wu had only heard this term today and didn't expect Ye Qiu to already know. 

Without thinking much about it, she still wanted to take Ye Qiu out for a walk. "Come on, I'll show you its power! Okay?" 

"Sure." 

"Then let's go~ Hehe!" She pulled Ye Qiu out of the door. 

They strolled to the edge of a small lake and sat side by side under a tree. 

"Let's begin," Ye Qiu urged. 

"Why so impatient? Hmph, I'll shoot it now." Xiao Wu shot her arm towards a nearby tree, and a breaking wind sound followed. "Whoosh!" 

Thud! The arrow embedded itself in the tree, several inches deep. 

Ye Qiu didn't need to go closer to check; his already activated Sharingan saw everything clearly. 

"How is it? Impressive?" Xiao Wu raised her eyebrows, showing a bit of pride. 

"It's okay," Ye Qiu nodded.

 To be honest, he was a bit disappointed, or perhaps he had set his expectations too high. Mechanical-type hidden weapons were indeed okay for now, but their damage was limited. In the later stages, these hidden weapons would only have the advantage of 'poison.' 

However, hidden weapons relied on surprise and lacked martial morality, and it seemed that the native Soul Land residents didn't understand these things. Otherwise, Tang San wouldn't have had so many highlights.

 "Can you take it off and show me?" Although he might not use it later, it wouldn't hurt Ye Qiu to learn. He had his own plans.

 "Show you?" Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, her eyes rolling.

 "Is it not okay?"

 "Of course, of course not!" She quickly responded excitedly. Xiao Wu didn't want to refuse Ye Qiu.

 Blushing, she lowered her head and extended her arm, whispering, "Actually, you don't need to take it off."

 "Uh (_;)" Ye Qiu was speechless, putting his hand to his forehead. This silly rabbit always liked to take advantage of him like this.

 "Okay then!"

 Just as Ye Qiu was about to reach out, she beat him to it, and the two clasped their hands together. Facing his strange gaze, Xiao Wu spoke somewhat incoherently, "Just watch it like this; it's more convenient!"

 Ignoring these details, Ye Qiu uncovered the black silk, and the Sharingan appeared. The tiny pupils in the center emitted a purple glow, analyzing the structure of the sleeve arrow.

 'Sure enough, he did something to it. If someone tries to dismantle it, it will automatically self-destruct. But, I've already seen through it!' Ye Qiu carefully examined the sleeve arrow.

 Xiao Wu also stared at Ye Qiu on the side, her crimson eyes blinking without a break.

 As if thinking of something, she asked, "Xiao Qiu, do you not like Tang San?"

 "What are you saying? How could I like a guy?" Ye Qiu, putting down Xiao Wu's arm, looked at her with blood-red eyes tinged with purple.

 Ye Qiu was stunned. Before him was a white expanse.

 Xiao Wu also met his gaze, her little heart pounding, her face like a burning cloud. "I didn't mean that. What I meant is you seem to not like him much."

 ...Seeing that Ye Qiu didn't react for a long time, Xiao Wu called out again, "Ye Qiu?"

 "Ah? Oh." Ye Qiu snapped out of it, shook his head, closed his Sharingan, and silently chanted the Buddhist mantra three times, hoping that Buddha would forgive him.

(End of this chapter)