Chapter 27 Comprehension and Talent

The moment Yu Qingwan saw Li Chen, the panic on her face finally eased as she let out a long breath.

While hiding in the cellar, she had faintly heard the sounds of fighting and screams outside. She had been terrified ever since.

Seeing that Li Chen was unharmed, she finally relaxed. She called out, “Husband,” and tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.

“It’s alright now. Come up.”

Li Chen reached out and pulled her up.

“The day before yesterday when we entered the city, Zhang Guang tried to rob me of my money and grain. I killed him. Tonight, the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold came for revenge. I killed them all.”

Li Chen explained briefly.

Although he spoke lightly, the little maid wife’s face turned pale with fright. She clutched Xiao Hu, who had not yet opened his eyes, and stood there helplessly.

“Don’t worry. Those mountain bandits won’t dare come again for a while,” Li Chen reassured her.

The day had been exhausting beyond words. With the immediate danger gone, the two of them fell asleep as soon as they lay down.

In the middle of the night, perhaps because she had been too frightened, the little maid wife suddenly jolted upright in her sleep. Tears streamed down her face as she clawed blindly at the air with both hands, “Let go of my husband! Let go of my husband…”

Li Chen sat up and gently pulled her into his arms, patting her back.

After waking, she was still caught in the nightmare. She buried herself in his chest, sobbing, “Husband, I dreamed those bandits captured you and were going to kill you…”

“Dreams are the opposite of reality. I will never be captured by them. Instead, they should worry about my revenge,” Li Chen comforted her.

Yet inwardly, he was calculating. It seemed necessary to eliminate Black Wind Stronghold once and for all.

A thief may steal for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against thieves every day.

Otherwise, his little maid wife would continue living in fear, and they would never have peace.

“Mmm…” She gradually fell asleep again in his arms.

The next morning, Li Chen rose early as usual to train with his brothers.

However, when he stepped outside, he froze.

In the hazy early dawn, amid thin morning mist, a large crowd stood at the entrance.

They were of all sizes and heights, unevenly lined up, more than 50 in total.

From children of about twelve or thirteen to youths of seventeen or eighteen, nearly every child in the settlement had gathered.

“Why are there so many?” Li Chen frowned.

“Brother Chen, these kids heard about what we’ve been doing and want to learn from you too. We… we really couldn’t send them back,” Liu Chenxu explained awkwardly.

“I can’t take that many. Go home.”

Li Chen spoke calmly and waved them away.

The light vanished from the children’s eyes. Disappointment filled their faces.

Li Chen did not look at them. He turned and led Liu Chenxu and the others up the mountain to train.

Without his permission, the children could only stand there and watch for a long while. After Li Chen and his group disappeared into the hills, they finally dispersed reluctantly.

“Brother Chen, why not take them?” the simple-minded Zhao Dashi asked as they jogged.

“This kind of training requires proper nutrition. If they can’t keep up nutritionally, those already weak children will run into problems.”

Li Chen finally gave his explanation.

“So that’s why. I knew Brother Chen wouldn’t hide anything selfishly!”

Zhao Dashi suddenly understood and grinned.

This kid really was straightforward and honest, Li Chen thought with a faint smile.

After completing all the training, Li Chen was drenched in sweat but felt excellent.

He had already recovered about half of his former strength.

If he continued this intensive training, with his current solid physical foundation, in half a year he should regain over 80 percent of his previous ability.

With sufficient strength as assurance, he could calmly face many unknown challenges.

“How did you all sleep last night?” Li Chen asked casually during the meal.

Although he had handled everything discreetly, he still worried that the killings might have been discovered by villagers. That would be troublesome.

“Last night was the best sleep I’ve ever had. The moment I lay down, I passed out. It exhausted me,” Zhao Dashi said, stuffing a large mouthful of rice into his mouth and then cramming in a huge piece of chicken, speaking unclearly.

The remaining half of the Pine Grouse from yesterday had been stewed by the little maid wife. From now on, Li Chen intended to ensure they had meat at every meal so their nutrition could keep up.

The others also nodded, saying they had slept deeply. Li Chen felt reassured.

“You brute, eat a little less and leave some for Brother Chen!” Hou Xiaobai snapped, knocking Zhao Dashi’s chopsticks aside. The man ate far too quickly.

“Ah? Am I eating that much?” Zhao Dashi grinned sheepishly.

“You eat as much as three people. Isn’t that a lot?” Hou Xiaobai glared at him.

“It’s fine. Eat your fill. Only with enough nutrition will training be effective,” Li Chen said with a wave and a smile.

“See? Brother Chen said so. I’ll keep eating,” Zhao Dashi said as he reached for more meat, earning collective eye rolls from Liu Chenxu and Hou Xiaobai.

After the meal, on a whim, Li Chen taught them a few basic movements with long and short blades.

Unexpectedly, the blades were of such poor quality that after only a few blocks, one snapped clean in two. Li Chen felt disappointed.

The Great Yan Empire’s ironworking techniques were mediocre at best. Weapons were either brittle or too soft. This strengthened his desire to forge weapons himself.

However, forging weapons required building a blast furnace. A blast furnace required refractory bricks. Without them, the temperature would never be high enough, and steelmaking would be a joke. The development of the steel industry was far from easy.

Once the idea took root, for a weapons enthusiast like him, it became a torment.

In the coming days, he planned to visit Pingyang County City again to inquire about skilled craftsmen capable of building a blast furnace and to look for suitable refractory materials.

After resting briefly, Li Chen went down the mountain and found the strongest stag. Using a careful technique, he drew a bowl of blood without harming the animal and without taking too much.

He carried it back.

“Fresh deer blood strengthens muscles and bones and helps restore stamina and energy quickly. Everyone drink some.”

Li Chen poured the blood into bowls for everyone, including a small bowl for the little maid wife, and drank his portion in one gulp.

The others struggled with the taste at first. The little maid wife’s face twisted at the fishy flavor.

But since Li Chen told them to drink, no one dared refuse.

After finishing, Hou Xiaobai approached with a bag in hand, scratching his head with a grin. “Brother Chen, could you teach me how to make that crossbow of yours? The past few nights, I tried making parts based on your design, but I can’t assemble it properly. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Hou Xiaobai opened the bag. Inside was a crossbow roughly the same size as Li Chen’s powerful model. All the components were there, not a single piece missing.

With just one glance, Li Chen understood. Hou Xiaobai did not grasp the principle of three-string calibration, and the two eccentric wheels he made were not identical.

Even if assembled, the accuracy would be terrible and the power negligible.

However, Hou Xiaobai had only looked at it a few times and managed to craft all these parts. Such comprehension and talent were truly rare, one in ten thousand.

Li Chen could not help but admire him.