The days are becoming more promising, of course, if it weren’t for that annoying Fox Spirit next door, Zhang Chen would be living more happily.
"Hmm?"
Just as Zhang Chen was lost in thought, walking back home, he suddenly turned his eyes and saw the eagerly awaiting Fox Spirit, causing his eyelids to twitch. The Dragon Qi within him trembled slightly, but soon settled down.
"What’s going on? Why is the Dragon Qi within me reacting to the Fox Spirit before my eyes?" Zhang Chen’s heart was filled with astonishment, and the Fox Spirit there also looked at him bewilderedly, eyes full of confusion.
Zhang Chen didn’t say much, just casually hung the hunted prey on the wall, thought for a moment and after feeling the silver in his pocket, headed to Blacksmith Cui’s house, thinking it would be better to repay Cui’s debts first to avoid future troubles that might implicate him. Those people were clearly not easy to deal with.
"However, if those people come to trouble me, I could flee into the mountains and utilize a snake den to swallow them up, perhaps that’s a plan. But I believe the Beast Taming skill can be used for more than that; I should look for some group-living animals beforehand and use them as a trump card at a critical moment to deliver a fatal blow." Zhang Chen walked out the door, his mind flashing with countless thoughts, pondering the nearby mountains for group-dwelling beasts, besides wolves, it seems there are no other beasts that live in groups.
At this moment, a buzzing sound reached his ears, Zhang Chen followed the sound and saw bees diligently collecting nectar in the air, his pupils shrank:
"Wait a minute, there’s another one!"
Not bees, but hornets!
Bees have limited offensive power; hornets are the truly terrifying force, and are considered overlords of the wild. The key point is that hornets don’t have barbs on their tails; generally, even if they sting a person, they don’t die. Moreover, hornets are small in size, extremely difficult to defend against, and without prior preparation, humans facing hornets are only likely to flee in panic.
"If I can raise a nest of hornets, as long as the enemy doesn’t come in hundreds, I’ll have a chance to escape." Zhang Chen’s eyes lit up; he seemed to have found a defensive skill. Most importantly, in this world, there aren’t all kinds of super insecticides like in future generations, once hornets act out, they truly are invincible.
"I should raise some hornets, but need to be careful not to get stung by them. However, the offensive power of hornets is somewhat insufficient, being stung by a small number won’t cause death but is enough to cause people to run in agony." Zhang Chen walked to the village entrance, countless thoughts swirling in his heart, he felt hornets might not be sufficient for killing enemies but are more than enough for self-defense.
"Still, the number of hornets in one hive is uncertain, ranging from hundreds to several hundreds; gathering thousands or tens of thousands is tough because every hive will split automatically after a Bee King emerges. Gathering pairs or multiple Bee Kings in one place might just lead to fighting among Bee Kings." Zhang Chen scratched his hair: "But if I can get several hundred hornets, it would be enough! After all, bandits wouldn’t send dozens to capture me."
That aside, being murdered is just a precaution he took upfront; maybe they aren’t interested in him at all and won’t bother him.
"Gunpowder is the ultimate option; I must make it as soon as possible." Zhang Chen muttered as he arrived at Blacksmith Cui’s house, hearing the clanging sounds from inside, Cui was busy forging.
"Uncle Cui!" Zhang Chen called from outside the door.
Upon hearing Zhang Chen’s voice, the clanging stopped, and Blacksmith Cui came out cheerfully, but then upon seeing Zhang Chen empty-handed, the cheer disappeared: "What do you want, kid?"
"I’ve come to repay the debt, here are ten taels of silver, please take them." Zhang Chen handed the silver to Blacksmith Cui.
Blacksmith Cui looked at the silver and was momentarily stunned, then lifted his head to look at Zhang Chen in surprise: "Where’d you get ten taels of silver, kid? Let me tell you, we must never engage in illicit or illegal activities."
Facing Blacksmith Cui’s concern, Zhang Chen smiled and said: "Luck was good, caught a swan during hunting, then a wealthy person took interest in it, and I sold it at a good price."
"You really did that? Catching such rare animals as swans?" Blacksmith Cui, hearing this, put the silver in his pocket, his eyes full of envy.
"Uncle Cui, I saw that group of people yesterday, they don’t seem to be of good character, probably troublemakers for the future; you better prepare yourself." Zhang Chen looked at Blacksmith Cui, who was in his thirties, with skin darkened from years of smithing, his body covered in muscles, looking robust.
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Blacksmith Cui quickly looked around, and then pulled Zhang Chen into the house, lowering his voice cautiously: "I’ve already boarded the pirate ship, no chance of disembarking. Don’t come to me in the future, and better stay away from the village, set up a refuge in the mountains to avoid being implicated by me."
"Is it really that troublesome? What are they? Mountain bandits or thieves?" Zhang Chen showed a trace of concern in his eyes.
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Blacksmith Cui shook his head without saying much, just looking grimly: "Just keep your distance from me in the future!"
Zhang Chen couldn’t say anything, was about to turn and leave when he suddenly saw the object on the smithing stand, his pupils shrank, even though it wasn’t fully formed, he could see it was armor!
Forging armor! This is a head-losing affair!
Armor in the cold weapon era is equivalent to missiles, historically, the Jurchens rose with thirteen sets of armor, showing the importance of armor.
Blacksmith Cui seemed to notice Zhang Chen’s gaze, subtly stepped forward to block Zhang Chen’s view, forcing a smile on his face: "You better leave, don’t worry about me, I’m a craftsman, as long as I don’t act rashly, I shouldn’t lose my life."
What could Zhang Chen say?
He couldn’t say anything, could only smile helplessly, then turned and left the house.
Watching Zhang Chen’s distant figure, Blacksmith Cui stood in the house for a long while, then returned to the furnace, looked at the unfinished armor, and numbly raised the hammer in his hand.
Under the night, back home, Zhang Chen slowly lit the lamp, staring dazedly at the flame for a long time in silence, eventually letting out a breath:
"Is the world about to fall into chaos? Nonetheless, with my current skills, even if chaos descends, I can manage one meal, won’t starve to death, but chaotic days will be tough."