"Back already?" Huang Fei's voice was as languid as ever.
"Mm." Tang San said nothing more. He sat down on the bed and laid out the parts from the cloth bag one by one.
Cylinders, springs, bolts, trigger mechanisms—the parts for ten sets of sleeve arrows covered the bed, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the dim light.
He began assembling them.
The first set took about the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Not because it was difficult, but because he hadn't handled these things in so long that his fingers needed to find their rhythm again.
He fitted the spring into the bottom of the cylinder, attached the trigger mechanism, inserted the bolt, and put on the cap. Every step was etched into his muscle memory. He didn't need to think; his fingers knew what to do on their own.
When he finished the first set, he picked up the cylinder, aimed it at the wall, and pulled the trigger.
"Click."
The bolt shot out of the cylinder and sank more than halfway into the earthen wall.
Tang San walked over, pulled the bolt from the wall, and examined how deep it had gone. Not deep enough. The spring needed more power.
He made a mental note of the problem, returned to the bed, and started assembling the second set.
The second set took almost half as long as the first.
Then came the third, the fourth... By the time all ten sets were finished, the dinner bell was ringing outside.
Tang San put six sets of sleeve arrows into the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, then picked the best of the remaining four and set it aside.
"Huang Fei," he called.
"Mm." Huang Fei was still leaning against the headboard, his posture almost unchanged. If anything had changed, it was that he had switched the positions of his hands behind his head, with his left on top and his right underneath.
"Here." Tang San handed him the set of sleeve arrows. "Silent Sleeve Arrow. I made it. Strap it to your arm and cover it with your sleeve. You can use it if you run into danger. It doesn't need soul power; anyone can use it."
Huang Fei opened his eyes and looked at the metal cylinder in Tang San's hand, then at Tang San's face.
Tang San's expression was earnest, his eyes filled with undisguised sincerity. When he had made these things, Huang Fei had been the first person he thought of.
Huang Fei reached out and took it, turning it over in his hand to examine it.
The cylinder wasn't large, about six inches long and as thick as an adult's wrist. Its metal surface had been polished smooth, gleaming silver-gray in the lamplight.
There was a small mechanism at the mouth of the cylinder. A light press would set it off.
"Sleeve arrow?" Huang Fei asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Yeah. Strap it to your arm and hide it under your sleeve."
As he spoke, Tang San showed him the set he had already strapped on.
The cylinder was secured to the inside of his forearm by two leather straps, the arrow tube snug against his skin. Once he lowered his sleeve, there wasn't a trace of it.
"It works best at close range, when you catch someone by surprise," Tang San added.
Huang Fei nodded and set the sleeve arrow beside his pillow.
He didn't strap it on right away or refuse it. He only said, "Thanks." His tone was even, but Tang San could tell he meant it.
Outside Dorm Seven, the sun was sinking behind the mountains to the west.
Orange-red light streamed through the window, bathing the entire room in warmth.
Tang San put away the remaining sleeve arrows, stood up, and headed for the cafeteria.
When he reached the door, he glanced back.
Huang Fei was still leaning against the headboard, in the same position, but his eyes were open.
He was looking at the metal cylinder beside his pillow, a faint, faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
Tang San didn't think much of it and left. What he didn't know was that the moment he stepped out of Dorm Seven, Huang Fei heard the system's cold prompt in his mind.
"Ding—Target Tang San has obtained the Hidden Weapon 'Silent Sleeve Arrow' (Common quality). The host has triggered the reward mechanism. Generating corresponding reward..."
"Generation complete. Congratulations, host. You have obtained: 'Silent Divine Crossbow' (Enhanced Version)."
"Would you like to claim it now?"
Huang Fei closed his eyes and moved his lips slightly. "Claim it."
"Reward issued. Please enter a private space to claim it. An unoccupied place is recommended."
Huang Fei opened his eyes, picked up the set of sleeve arrows Tang San had given him, and tucked it under the covers. Then he got out of bed.
He left Dorm Seven, crossed the corridor, and pushed open the door to the communal bathhouse.
There was no one inside. At this hour, everyone had gone to dinner. The steam hadn't risen yet, and the tiles felt cool.
He went to the farthest corner and made sure no one was around. Then he focused his mind.
A silvery-white light appeared at his waist—the storage space of Forty-Eight Moons Embracing the Stars had opened.
What emerged wasn't an ordinary object, but something far smaller than Tang San's sleeve arrow.
Huang Fei reached out and caught it.
It was only about three inches long, slightly thinner than an adult's little finger, and streamlined in shape. Its shell was made of a metal somewhere between silver and dark gray—not iron, not steel, and unlike any known metal in this world.
There were no seams or screw marks on its surface. It was a seamless whole, as if some force had shaped a single block of metal into this form.
It was so light that it barely had any weight in his hand.
Huang Fei turned it over and saw two tiny characters engraved on the cylinder wall: "God Crossbow."
The characters were silver, nearly blending into the color of the cylinder. They were almost impossible to spot unless one looked closely.
He tried sensing it with his mind. Yes, this thing didn't need to be triggered by hand.
Like Forty-Eight Moons Embracing the Stars, it could merge with his body and be controlled by thought.
Triggering the mechanism, firing the bolts, even shooting them in rapid succession—all it took was a single thought.
Huang Fei sent a thread of soul power into it.
In an instant, all the information about the Hidden Weapon flooded into his mind—the Silent Divine Crossbow, an enhanced version of the Silent Sleeve Arrow.
Bolts: twelve could be fired in succession with a single loading, no manual reloading required. Range: three times that of the Silent Sleeve Arrow.
Penetration: five times that of the Silent Sleeve Arrow. Additional effect: bolts inflicted brief paralysis when they hit a target. The duration depended on the target's Soul Power Level.
Most outrageous of all was its size. It was only three inches long, half the size of Tang San's sleeve arrow.
That meant he could strap it not only to his arm, but also to the inside of his wrist or ankle—or even hide it in his palm.
More concealed, more unexpected.
Huang Fei pressed the Silent Divine Crossbow against the inside of his right forearm and focused his mind. The silver metal seemed to come alive, spreading to fit his skin and forming a thin patch he could barely feel.
Once his sleeve fell back into place, nothing was visible.
He tried it again, triggering it directly with his mind. A faint vibration passed through the inside of his forearm—the signal that a bolt was about to fire—but he cut it off in time, and nothing was actually shot.
The whole process was astonishingly quiet.
Not a sound.
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