“Big Brother Liu, stop always tapping my head. It’s going to make me stupid.” Xiaochan covered the spot that had been tapped with his hand, looking at Baili Yan with a pitiful expression as he complained.
“You weren’t smart to begin with. Now tell me, do you understand?” Baili Yan paid no attention to his feigned pitiful act, though he hadn’t actually used any real force when tapping him.
“I understand. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t even tell them.” Xiaochan muttered, handing the Death’s Grasp over to Baili Yan while teaching him how to use it.
“This Death’s Grasp truly lives up to its name as the king of concealed weapons. Are the needles inside coated with poison?” Powerful as the Death’s Grasp was, if the fine needles within were merely ordinary ones, it would be difficult to inflict fatal injuries on martial arts practitioners within a short span of time.
“Of course they are, of course they are! Look at this set of black needles; they have been soaked in throat-searing poison. Anyone struck by these needles will die due to cardiac paralysis, blood vessel blockage, blood coagulation, and asphyxiation.” Xiaochan carefully tucked that set of Death’s Grasp into a wooden box.
Then he pointed to the set in Baili Yan’s hand and continued, “The set in your hand was soaked in anesthetic. Anyone struck by these needles will suffer whole-body paralysis and collapse in a matter of minutes. It might look harmless at first glance, but if those ox-hair-fine needles enter the blood vessels, and the victim circulates their internal energy or engages in strenuous exercise that accelerates blood flow, the needles will travel with the blood straight to the heart, sealing the victim’s doom. Once needles enter a person’s body, unless they are surgically cut out by slicing open the flesh, they will continuously destroy the victim’s internal organs until death claims them. Even if a limb is hit, the flesh must be cut open to extract the fine needles, otherwise it will leave behind lingering ailments. This item is far too vicious; Master instructed that unless it is an absolute last resort, it must not be used lightly.”
Xiaochan accepted the Death’s Grasp handed back by Baili Yan, stored it away properly, and continued, “Actually, none of those are the greatest feature of Death’s Grasp. Its greatest characteristic lies in the fact that the needles it fires are extremely fine and difficult for people to notice. Even though the needles are thin, their firing force is immensely strong, and they are not easily disturbed by external factors.”
Listening to this, Baili Yan felt a secret shock; the lethality of this concealed weapon far exceeded his comprehension. No wonder the ancient texts recording the Mohist School contained so many mysterious accounts. The silly rabbit’s image in his mind underwent another significant upward revision.
He picked up the sleeve arrow on the table to examine it. Ordinary sleeve arrows simply housed bolts inside a tube equipped with an internal spring, firing a bolt upon pressing a mechanism. However, the sleeve arrow in his hand was far more intricate, capable of firing five to six small bolts simultaneously. The craftsmanship behind setting up the mechanisms of these small items could truly be called miraculous.
After packing up the items he needed to take, including his mechanical manual, Death’s Grasp, sleeve arrow, repeating crossbow, and various tools, Xiaochan returned to the inn together with Baili Yan.
The next day, Baili Yan purchased a carriage. Traveling by horse from Amixian to the prefecture capital took a full day. Since Xiaochan didn’t know how to ride a horse, his physical condition wasn’t suited for a long journey on horseback either. Beaming with excitement upon seeing the carriage Baili Yan led over, Xiaochan circled around it in delight, his mind racing with ideas on how to combine the original body’s craftsmanship to turn this carriage into an ancient-style simplified RV.
“Big Brother Liu, can I modify this carriage?” Xiaochan asked excitedly. In his previous life, he had always dreamed of owning an RV and going camping in scenic locations.
Yet in his past life, his family’s savings had been completely exhausted to pay for his medical treatments. Forget about buying an RV; by the later stages, even his medical bills had no source of funding. Thinking of this, his mood inevitably dipped, and he remembered his parents from his previous life. They had given so much for him, and perhaps his death had been a blessing in disguise, as they would no longer have to labor endlessly for him and could focus entirely on raising his younger brother. With his brother around, he wouldn’t have to worry about his parents being left without anyone to lean on in their old age. As someone constantly facing the test of death, he couldn’t do anything for this family; the only thing he could do was empty his mind, accept treatment happily, and stop letting his family worry about him.
Yet things were different now; he no longer had to worry about the Grim Reaper dropping by for tea at any moment. Furthermore, he could build his very own ancient-style RV with his own hands, and at that thought, his spirits surged right back up.
Seeing him bounce between excitement and melancholy, Baili Yan simply assumed he was thinking of his deceased master, and reached out to ruffle the top of his head. “Modify it however you like.” With that, he handed over a stack of silver banknotes. “When you’re out and about in the world, you always need some silver on hand for protection.”
“Mhm, mhm! Big Brother Liu, you’re just like an older brother to me.” Imagining his dream coming true, Xiaochan’s eyes curved into crescent moons of joy.
Hearing the phrase you’re just like an older brother to me, Baili Yan’s body stiffened slightly. This fellow really was a simpleton, as they had already shared a bed, yet he still viewed him as an older brother. But he didn’t want to be his brother at all.
“My apologies, two esteemed guests! The front hall was busy just now, so I went over to help out. Let me help you take the horse to the stable right away.” An inn waiter walked in from the front hall, spotted their carriage, and hurried forward to take the horse away, leaving the vehicle parked right in the backyard.
Over the next two days, Baili Yan stole the ledger mentioned by Wealthy Benefactor Niu and patronized the county yamen to collect ample evidence of County Magistrate Liu’s corruption and bribery.
As for Xiaochan, he was even busier. He equipped the carriage with a simple suspension damping system and built numerous well-concealed hidden compartments inside, storing his concealed weapons inside compartments secured with hidden locks. As for the smaller open cubbies, he planned to keep small snacks and tea sets in them, while two slightly larger compartments were reserved for changes of clothing.
Inside the carriage, he installed a folding seat and a simple table, both designed to be pulled out whenever needed. The table even featured two recessed slots to hold teacups securely in place. By nightfall, the table and chairs could be folded away, and bedding could be laid out across the carriage floor so the two of them could squeeze together for a comfortable night’s sleep.
At the rear of the carriage, he installed a luggage compartment that closely resembled a double-door wardrobe. The cabinet was divided into five tiers: the top tier held one mattress and two quilts; the second tier housed his tools; the third tier stored grains like rice and flour along with dried vegetables; the fourth tier held simple kitchen utensils such as wooden bowls, bamboo chopsticks, and knives; and the bottom tier contained a small iron pot, a bronze basin, and a small bronze kettle used for boiling water. The doors of the luggage compartment were secured with a bronze longevity padlock, and both he and Baili Yan each held a key.
Looking at the unpretentious, outwardly unchanged carriage, Baili Yan marveled at Xiaochan’s ingenious ideas. He truly never expected that the usually foolish-looking Xiaochan possessed such remarkable skills.