Bai Yueliang looked like a gaping fish as she looked at the field in front of her. No longer was it the peaceful clearing full of grass and life. There were bodies strewn everywhere in lifeless heaps. All manner of wounds were on them from needles to cuts and bruises. There were enough hidden weapons scattered around to arm a small army, but that wasn't the part that astonished Bai Yueliang the most. There were plenty of assassins known for their amazing hidden weapons and throwing techniques.
"Where the hell did you get all these daggers?!"
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
"Are you the illegitimate son of an assassin clan?! Part dragon?! How did you breath fucking fire?!" She was screaming and freaking out as she stared at the small boy beside her as if he was an alien. For all, she knew he might as well be one. It took her a moment before what he said registered in her brain.
"How did you know?!" Qing Shan gasped with wide eyes like a deer in headlights as if he was a woman caught amidst committing adultery. With a mock look of sorrow and a grave voice, he let loose a terrifying sentence out of his little mouth
"Now that you know, I'll have to eliminate you."
Qing Shan stared at her as she turned pale as a ghost before laughing. This silly girl was so fun to tease! So naive he was slightly worried about her future.
"I'm just kidding, calm down. LOL. Sorry. You're just so cute, it makes me want to bully you."
Bai Yueliang's red face only made him laugh some more. She stomped her foot and turned away with a pout. It was always like this. she was always getting dragged into his pace. He had a strange charisma that drew people in to follow him.
"You didn't answer my questions!" ' And what does LOL mean??' she didn't voice the last part because she knew he would make fun of her again.
She was a Martial Artist! She wasn't aiming to become a scholar so why did she need to learn so many words? If people didn't understand her then she'd just make them with her fist! If Qing Shan knew her thoughts he might have busted a gut at her simple-minded and barbaric philosophy.
"A thousand apologies little princess, please forgive me. This humble servant shall answer your questions with haste. I commissioned the daggers from the local blacksmith, Mr. Chang's if you recall from last week."
"Eh?! When? How? There's like hundreds of these!"
"I'd hope so since I've been ordering some every week for months now. He's really gotten better at these. You should've seen his first prototypes, their center of balance and sharpness were atrocious."
Qing Shan could remember the frustration of practicing his throwing skills with those terrible products, not that he ever told that to Mr. Chang as it wasn't his fault for being bad at making something he has never done before. He usually made simple tools for farmers and household objects such as plows and buckets. The more experienced blacksmiths were too arrogant to do a commission for a 'brat like him who was only messing around'.
"What about the fire and the needles?"
Even powerful and experienced warriors might not be able to survive such a barrage from his hidden weapons, it was frankly frightening that such a dangerous object was in the hands of an 8-year-old boy.
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"It wasn't magic if that was what you were wondering. It was simply science. More specifically chemistry and engineering."
"Sci-lance..? You're an Alchemist?!"
Her eyes twinkled in amazement. She had completely ignored the last part of his sentence. Alchemist was a prestigious and well respect occupation. No matter where they went they were prized talents. They could create wondrous and miraculous medicine, they say even if you were on the verge of death a skillful alchemist could bring you back so long as you still had a breath in you! That wasn't all. Having an alchemist in your ranks could boost the power of the group to a whole new level! Pills and concoctions could help your cultivation and strengthen your pathways in ways no mere mortal medicine could.
If Powerful Martial Artists could stroll around arrogantly amongst the people, then Alchemist could wantonly act amongst most nobles, even a king would show them proper respect.
"Not 'sci-lance', Science, and no, it wasn't alchemy." According to what the books he had read, the two weren't too different in concept on a technical level, but their principles and methods were completely off. Alchemy was actually a truly dangerous job! There was no advanced technology like in his world, no microscopes, no internet or large public library to share information.
Everyone learned through 3 methods. Being part of a large family with their own records, becoming an apprentice of a master, and trial and error!
It doesn't need to be said how incredibly dangerous the last one was and how difficult to acquire anything useful was. Death was incredibly common for those foolish enough to experiment without a master's guidance.
The large restriction in learning materials and hoarding of information had set back everything thousands of years! Even mundane occupations such as blacksmithing or the revered Martial Arts and Cultivations manuals were no exception.
There was no standardization, which made the fields suffer as there was no quality control. The same shield from two different stores could have differenced between breaking in the middle of battle to lasting years. This was the reason why most families had their own private forces and suppliers. Schools that Noble kids are sent to like Qing Shan is, are rare and incredibly expensive even for such basic training to unlock Ki, the truly powerful families teach their kids early and with their own hidden styles.
"The needles are stored within my forearm protector. It's a contraption I made to defend myself with nonlethal force."
Although some of the bandits would've probably preferred to die, Bai Yueliang decided to not voice this thought.
"And the fire was merely ignited moonshine we made a few weeks ago, remember all those overly ripe or rotten fruits we gathered? Alcohol is highly flammable after all." An average man would've died from liver failure if they drank Qing Shan's specially distilled liquor with its incredibly high purity, but it was perfect for his purposes as lighter fluid and disinfectant he has been using it for. By clicking a mouthpiece he had hidden inside his mouth a spark would light up the mist of moonshine he spat at others or splashed them with.
"Ah! So that's what they were for." Who would've thought those wastes that nobody wanted would be so useful in her little master's hands.
While the two were happily conversing, the bandit leader was trying to wake up from the living nightmare he found himself in. The vicious demon in the guise of a child had him strip himself and his brothers down to their underwear and took all their money! He might've taken that too if some of them didn't start crying. Ruthless! Absolutely ruthless!
Imagine a gang of mafias decided to steal candy from a baby, but out of nowhere the baby pulled out a gun and robbed them blind!
Normally Qing Shan wouldn't have been so high handed in dealing with this small time gang. They were simply unlucky he was in a bad mood. Yes, it wasn't actually because they were bandits or they had tried to rob him. They were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, pitiful victims of his, self-acknowledged, displaced anger.
He has spent months dealing with snot-nosed brats making trouble for him! He was fucking sick and tired of it! He wasn't a saint, and even Buddha had limits! So he used these guys as a stress reliever and boy did he had a lot of pent up aggression.
The poor bastards.
Having the boss lead the way, like a young tyrant Qing Shan made the ones able to walk carry their comrades back to their base, and claimed it for himself.