Weapons

"Damn it, White-Robed Sword Saint Lu Shaoyou!" As Qin Xuanlong disappeared around the corner, a flicker of resentment crossed Little Leopard's face. Sure enough, the books from his previous life had been right: scholars used their writings to undermine the law, and martial heroes used their prowess to violate its prohibitions.

These fellows with martial skills all thought themselves great heroes, doing what they considered right, roaming about upholding justice, yet never realizing what enormous consequences their actions could have for ordinary people.

In this chase, half the responsibility for the people Blood Wuy a had killed along the way to vent his anger had to be laid at Lu Shaoyou's feet.

Of course, Little Leopard was no arbiter, nor was he an upright gentleman possessed of an extraordinary sense of justice. He was resentful because Blood Wuy a could pose an enormous threat to his family and even himself. It was precisely because his own interests had been infringed upon that he particularly hated Lu Shaoyou and Blood Wuy a.

Although Little Leopard felt utter contempt for Lu Shaoyou's brand of chivalry, which cost more than it gained, he could only express it in his heart.

In a certain sense, it had nothing to do with him at all.

For the next dozen days or so, however, he could only hole up in the ironworks. Every day, aside from practicing his martial arts, he forged iron. In his boredom, he began brewing Soul-Dazing Pills again. Ever since discovering their miraculous effects, he had developed an interest in the business of brewing medicines.

The ingredients for Soul-Dazing Pills were not precious anyway. A trip around the streets would get him enough for several batches. Moreover, brewing Soul-Dazing Pills let him familiarize himself with the techniques of preparing medicines, laying the groundwork for making Bone Tempering Pills in the future. After all, the ingredients for Bone Tempering Pills were far more valuable than those for Soul-Dazing Pills; he would have no room to waste them.

The first time he made Soul-Dazing Pills, he had wasted more than half the ingredients. By now, however, he could turn all his raw ingredients into pills. In just a dozen days or so, he had filled ten small porcelain bottles with Soul-Dazing Powder.

This so-called Soul-Dazing Powder was simply the powder he ground his finished Soul-Dazing Pills into. Whenever he looked at those porcelain bottles, he felt rather like a successful lecher.

As time slowly passed, the two legendary eighth-rank experts, White-Robed Sword Saint Lu Shaoyou and Blood Wuy a, remained confined to Green Ram Market's stories and gossip. Like the foretold end of the world back on Earth, legends remained legends. Even if they truly existed, their paths were unlikely to cross those of ordinary people like Little Leopard.

Legends were legends, after all. After a period of panic, the people of Green Ram Market discovered that nothing had actually happened. Life gradually settled down again, and the tension that had shrouded the entire market slowly dissipated.

Little Leopard's days remained as peaceful as ever. Forging iron and weapons, brewing medicines and making pills-he lived quite a carefree life. When loneliness occasionally struck, he sat by the window and gazed thoughtfully at the moon, recalling all the things from his previous life, which seemed just like a dream.

One day, after finishing a round of the Tai Chi Fist Technique and some breathing exercises, he picked up a throwing dart beside him, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

My martial cultivation has reached a bottleneck. It seems I ought to forge myself a weapon that feels right in my hand!

After cultivating for so long, his martial abilities had reached the highest limit possible for someone his age. Of course, he could force them higher without difficulty, but as a child who had not yet reached puberty, forcibly increasing his strength and the toughness of his body would certainly affect his later development. It might even affect his future potential for growth. At this stage, therefore, he only needed to maintain his current level; there was no need to force things further. After all, no matter how anyone looked at him, he was still a child, and he was not in any dangerous circumstances. There was truly no need to push himself now.

A weapon that suited his hand could maximize his current fighting strength, though he felt that whether he improved his fighting strength or not,

it would make no difference to him at present.

He was a blacksmith and had spent so long forging weapons that he was thoroughly familiar with them. He had also pondered what sort of weapon he needed now and had wavered over the choice, but now he had decided.

I'm so young that carrying a saber or sword would draw far too much attention. If I took it home, the old man might beat my backside till it blossomed. Better to make something smaller. I've gained some skill with hidden weapons now. When I throw these darts, I may not hit a hundred times out of a hundred, but I can manage nine out of ten. Still, throwing darts alone are too limited. I'm no Little Li's Flying Dagger, able to solve every problem with a flying blade. Better to forge two kunai!

As a Naruto fan in his previous life, he had studied this weapon, the most common and frequently seen in the series, quite extensively. About eighteen centimeters long and shaped much like a throwing dart, it had far more uses than a simple dart. Besides the basic function of being thrown, it could also perform four fundamental attacks used with longer weapons: horizontal cuts, downward chops, diagonal slashes, and straight thrusts. It was very suitable for Little Leopard's present needs, so he decided to forge two kunai to carry with him. For one thing, they really were useful; for another, they could serve as a memento of his dreamlike previous life!

He was a blacksmith at the Wu Ironworks, forging weapons for the Wu Household. The weapons he made were not for his own use, but for sale. If he wanted to forge weapons for himself, he had to find another way. Of course, he could make them at the Wu Ironworks, but he would have to pay for the materials.

Those were the rules.

As a blacksmith at the Wu Ironworks, however, he received a very favorable price on materials. He could pick them out directly in the storeroom, get a slip from Old Zhang, who guarded the materials storeroom, take it to the accounts office to pay, and then return to Old Zhang to have the payment checked.

The courtyard of the Wu Ironworks was not particularly large, so naturally the storeroom was not very far away. After lunch, Little Leopard wasted no time and went straight there.

"What? You want to buy materials to make a weapon?!" Old Zhang was a little surprised when he learned why Little Leopard had come, but he readily opened the storeroom door. He knew that Little Leopard was learning martial arts from Qin Xuanlong and needed weapons. Still, if there was one thing the Wu Ironworks did not lack, it was weapons. As long as he did not take them outside, he could use whatever he wanted within the ironworks. There was no need to forge something specifically for himself; it was not as if he were setting out to roam the martial world.

Of course, he said none of this to Little Leopard. The boy naturally had his own reasons for wanting to forge weapons. He himself was merely an old man guarding a storeroom. As long as the boy paid, he could take whatever he liked.

This was not Little Leopard's first visit to the materials storeroom, so the dazzling array of materials inside did not distract him. He simply made his way with practiced ease from one pile to another, selecting what he needed.

When he had finished choosing and came out of the storeroom, Old Zhang looked surprised. "So little? That's not enough even for a short sword!"

"I'm not making anything big. I've been learning to throw darts from Master Qin lately, so I want to make a few darts to play around with!" Little Leopard said with a smile.

"Oh!" Understanding dawned on Old Zhang's face. He took out a slip and quickly wrote on it. Once he had finished, he handed it to Little Leopard. "Pay at the accounts office, then come back to collect your materials. No credit!"

"Understood!" Little Leopard took the slip with a smile and left the materials storeroom.