Preparedness Averts Peril

Ye Qiu did not waste much time. After getting a bag of Saltpeter from the shop owner, he left.

He arrived at the carving workshop where he worked, entered his private workspace, took out a pestle to grind the Saltpeter, then sifted it through a screen.

"All the materials are ready."

Ye Qiu took out some charcoal from a drawer along with the Sulfur he had prepared earlier, then mixed the three together in different proportions.

Although Gunpowder was relatively simple to make, Ye Qiu did not know the exact ratios for the ingredients. He could only run more experiments himself.

After all, he did not feel safe entering the Soul Hunting Forest alone. His Sharingan still had no offensive capabilities, and he had yet to test whether Illusion Technique could control Spirit Beasts.

In short, it was better to be prepared.

Leaving the bustling streets behind, he headed to a small grove far from any people and began that day's experiments.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"...

Boom!

After several duds, he finally heard an explosion. Ye Qiu immediately picked up the pace...

As the sun set,

A soot-covered Ye Qiu finally started his journey home, his steps noticeably lighter.

The Gunpowder's power was not as great as he had imagined, but quantity could bring about a qualitative change, even if it was troublesome.

Still, it was more than enough to deal with Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts.

It was somewhat useless against Spirit Masters, though. In actual combat, Spirit Masters were much smaller than Spirit Beasts and far more mobile. Before the explosive package he threw could even detonate, they would already have run away.

For now, the Gunpowder Ye Qiu made was only suitable for large-scale battles and dealing with Spirit Beasts.

"I'm back!"

Ye Qiu's voice rang out in Dormitory Seven.

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

Xiao Wu was the only one in Dormitory Seven. Tang San had gone to study with Master, while everyone else had their own jobs. At around this time every day, Xiao Wu would wait in the dormitory for Ye Qiu to return.

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

She wrinkled her nose. "Xiao Qiu, what's that smell on you? It's so strong."

"Your clothes and hair are a complete mess too—cough, cough!" As she spoke, she used her hands to tidy Ye Qiu's hair and pat the dust from his clothes, stirring up a fit of coughing.

"Alright, alright!" Ye Qiu caught her hand. "I need to take a shower first. How about you go buy us something to eat?"

"No problem, but..." She first agreed loudly, then suddenly became a little bashful. Blushing, she looked at Ye Qiu with wide, pleading eyes.

"What is it?" Ye Qiu asked curiously.

"I-I'm out of money. Tang San paid for my meals today."

Xiao Wu's resentful gaze made Ye Qiu feel a little awkward.

Although she could receive one Gold Soul Coin from Spirit Hall each month, the money basically all ended up in Ye Qiu's pocket.

It truly was his oversight. He took out his money pouch and placed it in Xiao Wu's hand. "Here, spend it. If you're not full, buy yourself some extra food too."

"Great! Xiao Qiu, you're so nice!" After hugging Ye Qiu again, she skipped out of the dormitory.

Ye Qiu remained where he was and muttered, "Am I that nice? What a silly rabbit. Hehe!"

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

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

"What good thing?"

"Ta-da-da-daa~" Xiao Wu's sleeve slipped down, revealing her forearm. There was an exquisite object like a bracer on it, with several sharp, short arrows embedded around its edges.

"This is... a Sleeve Arrow!" Ye Qiu's eyes lit up. He had not expected Tang San to have already started giving away Hidden Weapons.

"Huh? Xiao Qiu, you know what this is? Tang San said it was his own secret!" Xiao Wu was equally surprised that Ye Qiu recognized it. She had originally wanted to show it off.

"It is indeed his own secret. He is the only one who knows how to make things like this, called Hidden Weapons," Ye Qiu explained.

"Xiao Qiu, you know about Hidden Weapons too?!" Xiao Wu had only heard the term today. She had not expected Ye Qiu to have known about them long ago.

But she did not think much of it. She still wanted to pull Ye Qiu out for a walk. "Come on, let me show you how powerful it is! Okay?"

"Fine."

"Then let's go~ Hehe!" She grabbed Ye Qiu and rushed out the door with him.

They strolled to the small lake and sat side by side beneath a tree.

"Go ahead," Ye Qiu urged.

"What's the rush? Hmph, I'm about to fire it." Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at him. What a blockhead.

"Watch carefully." Before she finished speaking, Xiao Wu aimed her arm at the nearby tree trunk. The sound of something slicing through the air rang out. "Whoosh!"

Pfft! The arrow embedded itself in the tree trunk, sinking several inches deep.

Ye Qiu did not need to step forward to inspect it. His already activated Sharingan had seen everything clearly.

"Well? Is it impressive?" Xiao Wu raised her brows, looking rather pleased with herself.

"It's alright." Ye Qiu nodded.

To be honest, he was a little disappointed. Or perhaps he had set his expectations too high.

Mechanism-type Hidden Weapons were indeed decent for now, but their lethality was limited. Later on, the only thing worthwhile about those Hidden Weapons would be their poison.

Still, Hidden Weapons were called Hidden Weapons for a reason. The key was the word "hidden"—fighting without honor and catching people off guard.

It was only because the Douluo Natives did not understand these things that Tang San had so many shining moments.

"Can you take it off and let me have a look?" Although it would not be useful later on, that did not stop Ye Qiu from studying it. He had plans of his own.

"Let you look at it?" Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then her eyes darted around.

"Can't I?"

"Of course... of course you can!" Xiao Wu hurriedly replied excitedly. She did not want to refuse Ye Qiu at all.

With a flushed face, she lowered her head and held out her arm, saying softly, "A-actually, you don't need to take it off."

"Uh... (~_~;)" Ye Qiu rubbed his forehead speechlessly. Did this Hooligan Rabbit always love taking advantage of him so much?

"Fine, then."

Just as Ye Qiu was about to reach out, she beat him to it. Their fingers interlocked.

Faced with his strange look, Xiao Wu stammered, "J-just look at it like this. It's... convenient!"

Ignoring those minor details, Ye Qiu lifted the Black Silk. The Sharingan appeared in his eyes, and purple energy flickered in the tiny pupils at their center as he analyzed the Sleeve Arrow's construction piece by piece.

As expected, he tampered with it. If someone tries to take it apart, it will automatically break itself down. But I've already seen it clearly! Ye Qiu studied the Sleeve Arrow intently.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, was studying Ye Qiu. Her crimson eyes did not blink.

As if she had thought of something, she asked, "Xiao Qiu, do you dislike Tang San?"

"What are you talking about? Why would I like a man?" Ye Qiu lowered Xiao Wu's arm and looked at her with his blood-red eyes tinged with purple.

Ye Qiu froze. Before him was a dazzling expanse of white.

Xiao Wu met his gaze, her heart thumping wildly as her face reddened like sunset clouds. "I-I didn't mean that! I meant, it seems like you don't really like him."

...Seeing that Ye Qiu had not reacted for a long time, Xiao Wu called out again, "Ye Qiu?"

"Huh? Oh." Ye Qiu came back to his senses and shook his head. The Sharingan had already closed. He silently recited Amitabha three times, hoping Buddha would forgive him.