Iron Pot

The snow fell harder and harder, and the accumulation on the ground grew deeper and deeper, already reaching past their ankles.

The biting cold wind swept through the caravan, forcing everyone to wrap their clothes tighter around themselves.

Yizhe walked at the very front of the group, activating his Byakugan from time to time to scan their surroundings.

The farther north they traveled, the flatter the terrain became, and the vegetation along the way grew sparser. From the lay of the land, he did not think it offered the enemy suitable conditions for an ambush.

However, there were always exceptions.

That was why he had gone to the trouble of walking ahead and scouting the route. He did not want to give the enemy any opening.

When it was time to rest again, Yizhe suddenly remembered something he had yet to prepare.

"Captain Qing Shi!"

"Whew—"

"Lord Yizhe, y-you... what... what do you need?" Hearing Yizhe call him, Qing Shi hurried over at a jog.

The snow was quite deep, making walking difficult. For a fat man like Qing Shi, jogging over such ground was especially strenuous. After only a few steps, he was already panting heavily.

"Do you have anything like a bronze bell or a large cauldron in the caravan?" Yizhe asked softly.

"My lord, you must be joking! Things like bronze bells and large cauldrons are usually only found in temples! They are rarely seen even in ordinary homes, much less traded!"

"I transported some for someone once last year, but aside from that, I've never come across such things!"

"What? Are you planning to buy one? Once we finish this job, I'll make a special trip to the Land of Craftsmen and have one custom-made for you. How about it?"

The caravan did not have what Yizhe needed, so Qing Shi could only keep smiling apologetically and promise to have one made later.

"You really don't have one?" Yizhe asked with a stern face, glaring at him.

"I really don't, my lord!" Qing Shi said miserably.

"By the way, my lord, what do you need that junk for?" Qing Shi wiped away the few tears he had squeezed from the corners of his eyes and asked cautiously.

He was rather curious. A ninja like Yizhe should have been interested in ninja tools, so why would he care about bells and cauldrons?

"Nothing... This is going to be troublesome." Yizhe furrowed his brow.

"Huh? Are those things important?" Qing Shi's heart skipped a beat as he asked quietly.

"I need them to prepare for repelling the enemy! Do you think they're important or not?" Yizhe turned and shot him a vicious glare.

"Ah—To repel the enemy?" Qing Shi froze, then wailed, "My lord, can't you think of another way? We really don't have anything like bells or cauldrons!"

"Or could you use something else as a substitute?"

"A substitute?" Yizhe's eyes lit up as he sank into thought.

Seeing Yizhe's thoughtful expression, Qing Shi stopped making a fuss, afraid of disrupting his train of thought.

"I've got it!"

"What have you got, my lord?" Qing Shi hurriedly asked.

"Go find me several large pots. The bigger and sturdier, the better! Hurry!" Yizhe urged.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll go right away!"

After hearing that, Qing Shi did not dare ask what Yizhe wanted large pots for. He hurried off to look through the caravan.

Before long, Yizhe saw Qing Shi and two warriors carrying over two large pots.

"My lord, these two pots are used for cooking in our caravan. They're also the largest and sturdiest ones we have!" Qing Shi wiped the sweat from his forehead and directed the two warriors to set them down.

"You two can leave now. That's all!" Qing Shi dismissed the warriors.

Clang, clang, clang—

Yizhe casually struck the pots a few times, producing ringing clangs that drew everyone's attention.

"Sorry! My apologies! Sorry for disturbing you!" Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Yizhe quickly waved in apology.

"My lord, we've brought you the pots. Is there anything else you need?" Qing Shi asked quietly.

"That's all. Captain, you should go rest as well."

Yizhe crouched down and carefully inspected the two pots, dismissing him casually.

"Mm..." Qing Shi agreed verbally, but his feet did not move an inch. He craned his neck, wanting to see exactly what Yizhe was going to do.

Yizhe did not explain the pots' purpose, which only made Qing Shi even more curious. How could he bear to leave?

Of the two pots on the ground, the smaller one was nearly two meters in diameter, while the larger one was close to three meters across. They were about a finger thick, black all over, and still had plenty of soot clinging to their bottoms.

They were much like the huge wok-style cooking pots Yizhe had seen in cafeterias in his previous life.

"The large one is certainly large enough, but it's a little thinner than the smaller one. It probably won't withstand the force when the time comes, so it'll be difficult to use!"

"Then... I'll choose the smaller one." After comparing them, Yizhe selected the smaller pot.

"Why are you still here?" Yizhe stood and asked Qing Shi helplessly.

He knew the fat captain was curious, but Yizhe had no intention of explaining. This was a secret weapon for repelling the enemy; the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

Moreover, under the current circumstances, not every guard in the caravan could be trusted.

Especially the group Qing Shi had recruited at the inn.

Yizhe suspected that, aside from the young warrior named He Feng, there were others with unclear motives mixed in among them.

If he had been Red Ant's leader, he would have taken advantage of Qing Shi recruiting people at the inn to slip his own men into the caravan.

Therefore, he had no intention of telling anyone about his preparations against the enemy.

Not even Qing Shi, the caravan's leader!

"Heh, heh! I'm bored anyway. Why don't I stay here and watch what you're preparing, my lord?"

"Don't worry! I absolutely won't disturb you! You can rest easy!" Qing Shi declared solemnly, lifting his chin.

Seeing Qing Shi's shamelessly stubborn expression, Yizhe could do nothing about it.

His requisitioning of the pots probably could not be kept secret. The entire group would likely hear about it. But as long as he kept his mouth shut, no one would be able to guess what he was planning.

If Qing Shi wanted to watch, then let him watch!

Yizhe circulated chakra and coated his hands with it. He lifted the smaller pot, turned its opening toward himself, stood it upright on the ground, and carefully applied force to bend its rim inward.

He wanted to bend the pot into the shape of a bell!

Round after round, Yizhe repeatedly pressed and bent the pot. He did not stop until Qing Shi had grown impatient and was about to leave.

The original pot had completely changed shape. Its rim had been forcibly folded inward, reducing the nearly two-meter-wide opening to just over one meter.

It was still quite different from the large bell Yizhe had envisioned, but there was nothing he could do about that. After all, he was not a professional craftsman and did not know how to forge ironware.

It'll have to do! Yizhe thought.

"My lord, you're finished already?" Qing Shi asked, suppressing a laugh as he looked at the strange-looking "bell."

"There's still one more step."

With that, Yizhe pulled a kunai from the pouch at his waist.

"Wind!"

With a thought, a faint gleam coated the kunai's blade.

"My lord, what are you..." Qing Shi asked quietly, the smile vanishing from his face.

Yizhe did not answer. He flipped the completed "bell" over onto the ground, gripped the kunai, and lightly carved a circle into the bottom of the pot.

Once he was done, he put away the kunai and flicked the "bell" lightly.

With a dull thud, a round iron disc fell from the pot's bottom and smashed into the snow, leaving a face-sized hole there.

"Lord Yizhe, why did you break a perfectly good pot?" Qing Shi asked in confusion and dissatisfaction.

"You'll find out later!"

Yizhe did not explain. He took out a scroll and sealed the completed "bell" inside it.

One "bell" might not be enough! I might as well process the remaining pot too!

After all, it was better to be prepared!

With that thought, Yizhe began a new round of modifications on the other large pot.