As soon as Sheng Changying arrived, An Jiu estimated that Zhu Pianxian would come sniffing around—and sure enough, the very next day, she showed up with Lou Xiaowu in tow, offering a rather peculiar excuse: Xiao Wu missed Mo Sigui.
The moment they set foot on the island, Zhu Pianxian unceremoniously dumped Lou Xiaowu in An Jiu’s room and dashed off to find Sheng Changying.
An Jiu eyed the girl before her, who was deeply engrossed in tinkering with an explosive crossbow, and thought to herself, With this level of distraction, does she even have time to miss Mo Sigui?
After finishing a set of Plum Fist exercises, An Jiu sat down opposite Lou Xiaowu to rest for a moment, then picked up a cup of tea. “Why not go see Mo Sigui?”
Without looking up, Lou Xiaowu replied, “Sister Zhu said I’ll be living on the island from now on, so I’ll see him sooner or later anyway!”
Her visit actually had nothing to do with Mo Sigui. If there was any unavoidable reason for her coming, it was to discuss compact explosive crossbows with An Jiu. Back at the Hebei military camp, Lou Xiaowu had discovered that An Jiu was practically a genius when it came to weaponry—her suggestions could be described as nothing short of divine inspiration. So occasionally, Lou Xiaowu felt the urge to see her. As for Mo Sigui, it was entirely Zhu Pianxian’s doing—she had heard he was Lou Xiaowu’s savior and thus fabricated the excuse on her behalf.
Lou Xiaowu finished assembling a small explosive crossbow and handed it to An Jiu. “What do you think?”
An Jiu’s heart raced as she examined this prototype of a “gun.” Setting down her teacup, she swiftly disassembled the crossbow.
Lou Xiaowu blinked in surprise—An Jiu’s disassembly speed was at least twice as fast as hers.
“Well?” Lou Xiaowu looked at her expectantly.
An Jiu laid out all the components on the table and picked up the bolt. “You said the materials for crafting explosive bolts are hard to come by. Why not consider a different approach? With this level of propulsion force, the bolt might explode before it even leaves the barrel.”
“You’re right.” Lou Xiaowu’s dark almond eyes gleamed with excitement as she shifted restlessly in her chair. “I tried using something else once, and it exploded within five zhang . Then I tried replacing the bolt and chamber with iron—but it detonated even faster.”
“Of course. The sheer friction heat from rapid propulsion is no small matter,” An Jiu remarked.
“You mentioned a different approach—what kind?” Lou Xiaowu pressed.
“The bolt doesn’t have to rely on explosion to inflict damage.” An Jiu dipped her finger in tea and sketched the shape of a bullet on the table. “Guess how lethal this could be.”
The bullet’s appearance was far simpler than that of a bolt. Lou Xiaowu frowned at it for a moment before shaking her head. “Just from the looks of it, I can’t tell.”
Since An Jiu had posed the question, the lethality must be considerable. If it were just a solid metal projectile, it would be no different from an ordinary hidden weapon. So Lou Xiaowu guessed there must be some mechanism inside.
An Jiu searched the room for paper and a brush, intending to sketch it out for Lou Xiaowu. But controlling a brush was tricky—even someone proficient in writing Chinese characters might struggle to draw fine, smooth lines, let alone An Jiu, whose skill level was still at a child’s stage. After a moment’s thought, she decisively abandoned the paper and drew on the floor instead.
An Jiu carefully outlined the bullet’s internal structure.
Lou Xiaowu’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected something so simple in appearance to have an internal mechanism even more intricate than the entire crossbow."This is the bullet tip, this is the casing, and this is the primer." An Jiu disassembled the bullet further. "The bullet tip has shell grooves on both sides. A single-sided crimping groove, and this curved shape reduces resistance, making it easier to penetrate objects. The casing walls need to be thin but must withstand friction from speed. The primer structure is slightly more complex—here's the primer cup containing the ignition charge, with the flash hole above it. Between the flash hole and primer cup is a thin sealing layer..."
Lou Xiaowu listened intently, occasionally asking questions. "How big is this thing?"
"It can be adjusted according to the size of the Explosive Crossbow, but generally around two inches," An Jiu replied.
Lou Xiaowu studied the diagram thoughtfully. "How much does it weigh?"
An Jiu paused. How many grams equal one tael?
"It's very light. Actually, the bullet tip's lethality isn't closely related to weight." An Jiu realized Lou Xiaowu wasn't asking about the actual weight but whether there were weight restrictions. "We usually refer to the bullet tip's kinetic energy as its 'vitality.' The greater the vitality, the higher the lethality. For example, with enough speed, an egg can penetrate stone—though the egg would inevitably shatter in the end."
This was a physics problem, and An Jiu could only explain it roughly. Given her poor language skills, she felt proud of herself for managing even this much. The rest depended on Lou Xiaowu's comprehension.
After pondering for a while, Lou Xiaowu asked, "But how much does it weigh?"
This time, she genuinely wanted to know the bullet's weight. With no other choice, An Jiu had Lou Xiaowu fetch some silver, and the two compared weights.
An Jiu picked up a piece. "This is about right."
"This is less than one qian!" Lou Xiaowu weighed it in her hand, wondering how such a light object could penetrate flesh at the right speed.
What she initially thought was simple now seemed challenging, but the difficulty only excited her more. "Assuming the bullet tip weighs less than one qian, with a speed of sixty-five zhang per breath at one hundred fifty zhang distance, it should be lethal even beyond a thousand paces..."
But this was a later consideration. Based on Lou Xiaowu's experience, she believed they needed to make the bullet first, test it, identify issues, and then improve it. Imagination alone wouldn't suffice.
Soon, Lou Xiaowu pointed excitedly at the casing. "We don’t necessarily have to fill this with the same powder used in the Explosive Crossbow. We could ask Brother Mo to prepare some Medicine to put inside!"
What if they loaded it with Gu poison? A biological bomb, perhaps...
An Jiu's face lit up with anticipation.
Encouraged, Lou Xiaowu immediately grabbed paper and brush to sketch the entire bullet design.
"Speed is crucial for its lethality... The original crossbow's thrust clearly isn't enough..." Lou Xiaowu murmured.
With that, she settled into An Jiu's room, sprawled over the desk to redesign the crossbow mechanism.
An Jiu went to fetch Medicine from Mo Sigui.
He had only just emerged from his quarters after receiving the poisonous flower seeds from Chu Dingjiang. Now he wandered the island with a basket on his back, accompanied by two tigers.
Using her Mental strength, An Jiu sensed his general direction and headed that way.
As the sun set by the riverbank, Da Jiu diligently dug holes with his paws while Mo Sigui, pipe in mouth, lounged on Xiao Yue's back. After each hole was dug, he casually tossed in a seed, and Da Jiu covered it with soil. In no time, they had planted over a dozen seeds."Oh, you're here?" Mo Sigui exhaled a ring of mist, his half-lidded peach blossom eyes reflecting the sunset, laziness radiating from him like a dazzling ten-mile stretch of blooming peach blossoms.
"My medicine ran out," An Jiu said.
Mo Sigui fished out a small bottle from his sleeve and tossed it over. "There are ten pills here. Ah, what a rush! I won't feel at ease until you finish them all in one day!"
An Jiu pocketed the medicine. "Can the Gu poison be cured now?"
"Nope." Mo Sigui blew out another puff of smoke. "Haven't you noticed I've been seriously practicing my skills? I plan to use True Energy to locate the Gu worm, pin it down, then cut it out directly with a knife!"
Mo Sigui's eyes sparkled as he looked at her, his entire face screaming: Well? Pretty brilliant idea, huh!
"Oh," An Jiu said. "So when do we start?" (To be continued...)
OpenNovel