Hidden Weapons

Qin Fang woke up early the next day and continued clearing out the cluttered items in the room, sweeping them out into the courtyard.

His body was too weak; after working for a short while, he was drenched in sweat and trembling all over, leaving him no choice but to work in short bursts and rest in between.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that the courtyard gate was knocked upon.

Qin Fang's heart stirred. He walked to the gate and peered through a crack, spotting Elder Wu, and hurriedly opened it.

Behind Elder Wu stood a sturdy youth with an honest face, pulling a flatbed cart piled high with various items.

"Elder Wu."

Qin Fang bowed respectfully.

Elder Wu nodded, turned his head, and said to the sturdy youth, "Move the things inside."

"You got it."

The honest youth responded and nimbly began moving the items from the cart into the house.

There were many things, including staples like rice and flour, as well as some vegetables. Beyond that, there were also items like bedding.

Qin Fang watched silently, a warm current flowing through his heart.

The youth worked with great efficiency, quickly moving everything into the courtyard. Seeing the pile of trash at the entrance of the tile-roofed house, Elder Wu instructed the youth to haul that away as well.

The youth readily agreed, nimbly loading the trash onto the now-empty cart.

Elder Wu then gave him a few copper coins; the youth bowed and scraped as he accepted them, offered his thanks, and pulled the cart of trash away.

"You won't be needing furniture for the time being, so I didn't bring any; you can add those slowly later. I just brought some bedding and the like so you can make do for now," Elder Wu said to Qin Fang.

Qin Fang shook his head and said, "This is already more than enough... Thank you, Elder Wu."

Elder Wu nodded, paused for a moment, and then said, "Wang Long came by this morning."

Qin Fang's heart jolted, his eyes narrowing instantly.

As expected, they didn't want to wait even a moment longer.

"Did he... give you any trouble, Elder Wu?" Qin Fang asked in a low voice.

He had promised them benefits to save his own life, and he could well imagine the fury of Wang Long and his gang when they finally found True Martial County stable enough to track him down, only to find him gone.

"Nothing of the sort; he wouldn't dare act recklessly at Spring Return Hall."

Elder Wu did not seem to care much, saying calmly, "I told him you had already left once your injuries had slightly improved. He looked quite angry..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Qin Fang. "What benefits did you promise them?"

A helpless expression appeared on Qin Fang's face, and he had no choice but to tell the truth: "You know my situation at the time. To save my life, I took out a gold chain, which I had accidentally obtained during my time as a refugee... I was afraid they would take the chain and not save me, so I had to say that I had hidden even more outside the city..."

"So that is what you meant by using greed?" Elder Wu raised an eyebrow.

Qin Fang nodded.

Elder Wu revealed a rare hint of a smile, nodded, and then said, "I don't think Wang Long will let this go, but how you handle it from here on out is your business. I will not intervene again."

Elder Wu had said as much yesterday, so Qin Fang replied respectfully, "Elder Wu has already done more than enough for me; I would not dare trouble you further."

"Wang Long is nothing to worry about. He has practiced martial arts for many years but hasn't even achieved Ming Jin... However, his younger brother, Wang Hu, has excellent aptitude and is already an An Jin martial artist... You should weigh this carefully."

Qin Fang's heart felt heavy... He had already learned this from Zhang Hao.

After saying this, Elder Wu did not continue the topic. He bent down to rummage through the supplies piled on the ground, found a porcelain bottle, and handed it to Qin Fang.

"Your skin is severely sunburned. Apply the medicine inside to the affected areas once a day, and it should recover before long... Once you recuperate and put on a little weight, the aura of a refugee will fade away. Only then should you go out."

Right now, anyone could tell Qin Fang was a refugee at a glance because he was too thin and his skin was heavily sunburned—the most prominent traits of a refugee.

After recuperating for a while and putting on some weight, the "refugee smell" would not be so obvious.

At the very least, he wouldn't be so conspicuous when walking down the street.

Qin Fang thanked him gratefully.

Elder Wu nodded. "That is all. I will come again in a while."

The food he brought would last for some time, and Elder Wu prepared to leave.

"Elder Wu." Qin Fang hurriedly called out to him.

"Is there something else?" Elder Wu stopped.

"Could you help me find some hidden weapons, like throwing darts or flying knives?"

Qin Fang made his request directly.

Elder Wu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you understand the techniques for using hidden weapons?"

True hidden weapons are not just about holding a dart and throwing it; that is merely hurling...

Hidden weapons have their own set of techniques.

The more advanced the technique, the greater the force and speed of the weapon launched with the same amount of strength, making it all the more impossible for an opponent to defend against.

But how would Qin Fang know?

However, thinking of the effects of an epiphany... as long as he could grind out the "Novice" level for Hidden Weapons, techniques and the like... should be something he could realize through an epiphany, right?

Still, he didn't dare to speak too confidently, only saying: "I don't know any techniques, I'm just practicing to see how it goes... You know how weak my constitution is, I need some means of self-defense."

Elder Wu squinted at Qin Fang, looked him up and down, then shook his head and said: "Hidden weapons are not so easy to master... Forget it, I will have them sent to you."

Having said that, he didn't say anything else, turned around, and left.

Elder Wu's agreement made Qin Fang heave a sigh of relief. After seeing Elder Wu off, he began to continue tidying up.

He laid out a makeshift bed right where he had slept yesterday, so his sleeping arrangements were settled.

He worked while taking breaks.

Elder Wu thoughtfully brought him breakfast—meat buns—which saved him the trouble of starting a fire to cook.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Elder Wu came again and handed Qin Fang four throwing darts.

Qin Fang's eyes lit up. These darts were only three inches long, gleaming with a cold light. They looked much sharper than his previous dagger, were diamond-shaped, featured blood grooves, and had red tassels attached.

Qin Fang weighed them in his hand; the balance was excellent.

Seeing his expression, Elder Wu shook his head and said again: "Throwing darts are not so easy to master."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the courtyard and rooms, which were much cleaner now, but ultimately didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Seeing Elder Wu off once again, Qin Fang gripped the darts, his eyes glowing slightly.

He then took action, found a discarded wooden board, drew a few circles on it with charcoal, and stood it up at the far end of the courtyard to serve as a target.

Qin Fang stepped back, stood at a distance of over three meters, took a deep breath, gripped a dart, aimed at the target, and the next moment, threw it!

Whoosh!

The dart streaked across several meters and then...

Stuck into the ground.

Qin Fang checked his panel; there was no reaction.

But this was within his expectations.

If it were that easy to activate a skill... he wouldn't only have the Dagger (Minor Mastery) skill until now.

He wasn't discouraged, though, and took a deep breath.

I must focus completely...

His expression became concentrated, and he began to throw the darts again and again.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The darts he threw lacked any real power.

After all, his constitution was so weak; the arc of the flight showed how limp they were.

He couldn't find the right technique at all.

He threw them over a dozen times, and every single one fell to the ground.

Even on the rare occasion that one "hit" the wooden board, it simply bounced off without sticking.

As expected, this thing wasn't something you could just pick up and master.

But his mindset remained calm, and he kept pondering the technique of throwing the darts.

Where to grip the dart, what angle to throw it at—it seemed that the force would be more fluid, the limp dart would fly a bit faster, and the tip would strike the target...

Qin Fang was completely immersed in it, even forgetting the passage of time.

Until a certain moment...

Whoosh!

The dart thrown this time immediately gave Qin Fang a completely different feeling; the force was very fluid, and the flight speed was noticeably faster.

The next moment...

Thwack!

A soft sound.

This time, the dart was firmly embedded in the wooden board.

It hadn't hit the bullseye he had drawn...

But the next instant.

His vision blurred, and a transparent screen appeared.

A line of text had been added to it.

Throwing Darts (Hidden Weapon) (Novice): 1/500

Qin Fang's eyes lit up instantly.

It worked?!