The "Celestial Master" skill could turn Lu Yuan into a living lightbulb.
The "Craftsmanship" skill, on the other hand, let Lu Yuan craft things by hand!
As long as he had the materials, Lu Yuan could craft it!
Especially since Lu Yuan, who also possessed the Holy Body, was in fantastic shape.
Take the bullets for this Flintlock Gun. Lu Yuan just found a small piece of iron and rolled them out in his hands.
As for why he was making this Flintlock Gun…
For self-defense, of course.
Although Lu Yuan was incredibly tough with his Holy Body and wasn't afraid of the living…
…he was even less afraid of the dead, since he had the Celestial Master Sword.
However, having to roll up his sleeves and get into a brawl every time trouble started just wasn't Lu Yuan's style.
It was so uncivilized.
This was especially true for creatures like the Xingzi. Even with the Celestial Master Sword, you still had to get up close to slash them.
Lu Yuan always found those things creepy and was reluctant to get near them.
How could that compare to blasting one from a safe distance?
Then, he could stylishly blow the smoke from the barrel and say, "My lord, the times have changed."
'How cool is that?'
As for whether this Flintlock Gun was effective against a Xingzi…
Yes!
Extremely!
Years ago, a powerful Xingzi had appeared here in Taiping City.
There was a great drought that year, and droughts were the perfect breeding ground for such undead creatures.
Sure enough, after the lake at Wang Family Stockade dried up, a row of coffins was exposed.
The villagers considered it bad luck and left them alone.
Those corpses, which had been bloated from soaking in water, reanimated at night after baking in the sun for several days.
I heard they even started growing white fur.
That thing caused such chaos in Taiping City that even several Celestial Masters brought in from the Provincial City couldn't take it down.
In the end, they had to call upon the soldiers garrisoned at the foot of Taiping Mountain.
These soldiers brought in three Red Coat Cannons.
After one night of bombardment, the Xingzi was nowhere to be found.
Of course, part of the reason they were so effective was that the soldiers themselves were formidable.
The soldiers were imbued with the Evil Qi and ferocity of the Empire.
What Xingzi would dare challenge the soldiers?!
Another reason was that the Red Coat Cannons had seen battle.
They were true weapons of slaughter, wreathed in their own Evil Qi.
But all that aside, the bright flash and loud bang of the firearms were the fundamental reason for their success.
Lu Yuan had read "Celestial Master" and knew that these Xingzi were most afraid of bright lights and loud noises.
Such things were devastating to creatures like them, which were missing some of their essential souls.
It could easily shatter the single soul they had left.
And especially…
…Lu Yuan had even dipped the iron bullets for his Flintlock Gun into the inkwell of his Lu Ban's Ink Pot.
Now how's that for deadly?
Besides, the world was not a peaceful place; there were plenty of bandits and highwaymen.
This thing wasn't just for defending against ghosts—it could defend against people, too. It was pretty damn useful~
As for why Lu Yuan didn't just build an automatic pistol or something—after all, those were also simple.
In fact, the internal mechanism of a real gun was even simpler than some modern toy guns from Earth.
However, while the gun was easy, the cartridges were hard to make.
They had to be made to exact specifications; otherwise, the barrel would just explode. You'd blow yourself up before you hit anyone.
Not that it was impossible for Lu Yuan to craft them by hand.
It was just that with his current skill level, having just learned "Craftsmanship," crafting a single, perfectly standard-compliant bullet would probably take him ten days to half a month.
So, he decided to make do with a Flintlock Gun for now.
As Lu Yuan fired the shot, shattering the tiles on the roof of the side building, Lin Fusheng, inside the East Wing, was scared into a frenzy, yelling at the top of his lungs:
"What's going on!!
What's going on!!"
Meanwhile, Su Liyan, who was next to Lu Yuan, still had her hands clamped over her ears, her beautiful face a mask of astonishment.
Su Liyan had seen firearms before.
Back during the chaotic times of war, soldiers were a relatively common sight.
But one so short and exquisite…
Besides, those firearms always needed someone to help light the fuse…
'This…'
While Su Liyan was still stunned, Lu Yuan frowned at Lin Fusheng, who had just rushed out of the room, and said:
"You've got some nerve!
Do we have to shout for you just to get you to eat?!
From now on, come out to eat when it's time. If you're late, there won't be any food left in the pot!"
Lin Fusheng didn't dare talk back to Lu Yuan's scolding.
'Who could argue? He's the Madam's sweetheart.'
Lin Fusheng could only say pitifully:
"But I have to keep watch at night…"
It would have been better if Lin Fusheng hadn't mentioned keeping watch. The moment he did, Lu Yuan went up and gave him a kick, saying:
"Vigil, my ass. You snore loud enough to shake the heavens."
"Enough nonsense. Hurry up and eat. We're going into the city after we're done!"
After speaking, Lu Yuan led his wife inside.
Lin Fusheng, however, had no complaints and scurried off to the kitchen to get his own food.
Lin Fusheng truly had no complaints.
The fact was, the food Lu Yuan provided was just too good.
There was fish and meat at every meal. Even when he was back at the estate, he'd never eaten so extravagantly!
So, from his initial feelings of resentment toward Lu Yuan, Lin Fusheng had now come to accept his situation.
'If I have to be Lu Yuan's dog, then I'll be his dog.'
'What's so bad about being a dog?'
'Besides, being Lu Yuan's dog means being the Madam's dog.'
'The Madam dotes on Lu Yuan so much!!'
'The carriages from the city have been arriving every single day without fail!!'
'She treats him as dearly as her own son!'
…
"After we eat, change into some nice clothes. We're going into the city today to buy some things for the banquet."
"And while we're at it, I'll take you to meet our Aunt Zhao."
Lu Yuan said to Su Liyan as they ate.
Lu Yuan truly never expected that after what happened last time…
…Aunt Zhao wouldn't think any less of him at all.
Although Lu Yuan hadn't seen Zhao Qiao'Er these past few days, and thus hadn't seen the Multiplication Factor above her head…
…judging by the things she had people deliver here every day…
…food, drink, clothing, and even jewelry for his wife…
…even without seeing it, he knew.
It had been seven or eight days since the last incident.
The person who delivered things yesterday said that the Celestial Master from the Provincial City had arrived.
Since that Celestial Master was here…
…there was naturally nothing for him to be afraid of anymore.
'They probably took care of that Liu Family Xingzi last night, right?'
That's why Lu Yuan was planning to go into the city today.
He couldn't buy everything he needed for his banquet in the local town; he had to go to the city.
It was also the perfect opportunity to visit Aunt Zhao.
Having received so many favors for no reason, Lu Yuan couldn't really repay her.
But at the very least, he had a mouth, so he had to go and say thank you.
He also had to bring his wife along for her to see.
After all, they had said it back then: neither of them had any close relatives left in this world, so he would treat her as family, and she would treat him as family.
Su Liyan, at his side, nodded obediently.
'On matters like this, her husband naturally had the final say.'
After the meal, Lin Fusheng prepared the horse-drawn carriage.
Once Lu Yuan and Su Liyan were seated securely in the carriage, Lin Fusheng cracked the whip, and they set off.
Around noon, the three of them arrived in Taiping City.
The rest was simple. Lu Yuan wrote out a list of everything they needed to buy and had Lin Fusheng go get it.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan led Su Liyan straight to Zhao Qiao'Er's large residence.
Although it was his first time visiting, he knew the way; he had asked for clear directions yesterday.
Along the way, the two of them also bought a few things—some small pastries and such.
It wasn't anything valuable, but the main thing was not to arrive empty-handed.
When they arrived, they saw a massive estate. There were seven or eight guards standing watch at the gate alone.
It looked exceptionally grand.
Lu Yuan led Su Liyan forward. He had originally planned to say he was Aunt Zhao's nephew.
But it felt a bit strange, and he was a little embarrassed.
In the end, Lu Yuan looked at the guard walking toward him and said:
"Excuse me, sir, could you please announce me? I'm the Madam's… relative, here to visit her today."
Lu Yuan was about to say something more, but the guard first froze for a moment, then said:
"You must be the Young Nephew, right?"
Huh?
Seeing Lu Yuan's reaction, the guard knew he had guessed correctly.
The guard's demeanor instantly became incredibly friendly and polite. He bowed repeatedly and said:
"Young Nephew, please, come in quickly."
"The Madam isn't in the city at the moment. Please come in and wait."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded. 'It seems the matter with the Xingzi has been resolved after all.'
'Aunt Zhao can go out as she pleases now.'
Lu Yuan also asked casually:
"So, the matter with the Liu Family's Xingzi… it's all been taken care of, right?"
After Lu Yuan spoke, the guard froze. As Lu Yuan looked at him with a puzzled expression…
…the guard shook his head and said:
"No…
Something terrible happened last night. The Celestial Master from the Provincial City is dead."
Lu Yuan: "????"