"What on earth is this kid doing?"
Bi Bi Dong was utterly perplexed, her eyes shifting as she searched for clues.
Soon, she noticed the stack of white paper in the upper left corner. It depicted various shaped components with dimensions annotated.
"Some kind of weapon?" Bi Bi Dong murmured, her eyes filled with surprise and doubt. Could Ye Tian actually be a weapons master? She hardly dared to imagine it.
She shifted her gaze to other parts of the room. If the commotion was due to researching some weapon, there must be other clues in the room. For instance, the missing medicine mortar?
Scanning the surroundings, Bi Bi Dong finally noticed a detail she had overlooked in her earlier haste. The Pill Furnace, which should have been in the center of the room, had mysteriously moved. Judging by the marks on the floor, it had shifted at least a few centimeters to the left.
On the upper right surface of the Pill Furnace, there was a fresh layer of soot-blackened marks. Combined with the toppled screen on the right side of the furnace and the fragments of the wooden medicine mortar embedded in the screen and scattered on the floor, it was clear that the weapon had been triggered to the right of the Pill Furnace—and likely aimed directly at it, causing the nearly four-square-meter, two-meter-tall furnace to shift leftward by a few centimeters.
From this, the weapon's power was certainly not insignificant!
If Ye Tian knew of Bi Bi Dong's deductions, he would surely applaud her. However, there was one point she got wrong: Ye Tian had actually triggered it at his desk but managed to throw it away in time, thus avoiding disaster.
Splash!
The sound of running water came from the washroom. Ye Tian leaned on the washbasin, staring at his refreshed youthful face in the mirror, and couldn't help but smile. It seemed compressing gunpowder couldn't rely solely on brute force. Overdoing it could easily lead to excess heat and cause spontaneous combustion. He also needed to guard against static electricity.
Ye Tian's mind cleared and began functioning normally again. Perhaps he could try dividing it into small doses and compressing them separately. That way, even if an accident occurred, it wouldn't cause significant harm.
As Ye Tian pondered in front of the mirror, Bi Bi Dong outside grew impatient and urged, "Hurry up and come out if you're done!"
"Coming, Teacher," Ye Tian replied, hanging the towel back and stepping out.
Just as he passed the screen, he saw Bi Bi Dong beckoning to him.
"..." Ye Tian noticed the black palm print on Bi Bi Dong's face and belatedly realized—was she going to subject him to torture?!
Before even reaching her, he asked nervously, "Teacher, what is it?"
"Making such a racket in the middle of the night—doesn't that count as something?" Bi Bi Dong retorted irritably, pointing to a spot in front of her. "Come stand here right now!"
"Ah, okay..." Ye Tian nodded and stood before Bi Bi Dong.
It appeared Bi Bi Dong hadn't yet realized she had turned into a little mess.
"Can your ears hear clearly now?" Bi Bi Dong still sat with her legs crossed, her fair foot swaying. Even with dust on her arch, it didn't lose its delicacy.
Ye Tian merely glanced there and then looked embarrassed. From his angle, Bi Bi Dong's skirt wasn't very...
Though nothing could be seen, it was still improper.
"Thank you for your concern, teacher. My hearing has fully recovered."
Ye Tian slightly lowered his gaze and answered softly, then couldn't help but raise his hand to point beneath Bi Bi Dong's skirt.
"That... teacher, perhaps you could sit more properly?"
"??!"
Bi Bi Dong raised an eyebrow, glanced down at her legs, and immediately started in surprise. She hurriedly put her legs down, sitting properly with them pressed together, her back straightened perfectly straight. Yet her face couldn't conceal her embarrassment, flushed with a hint of angry red as she stared intently at Ye Tian.
She had completely forgotten she had come wearing her nightgown!
"Uh..."
The silent air made Ye Tian somewhat flustered. He forced a dry laugh and clarified, "Teacher, rest assured, I didn't see anything."
"Shut up!"
Bi Bi Dong gritted her teeth. Even if Ye Tian had seen something, what could she do? It wasn't as if she could have him executed.
Taking two deep breaths, Bi Bi Dong decided not to dwell on it any longer and said coldly, "From now on, I'll ask, and you'll answer."
"Alright, teacher, go ahead and ask."
Ye Tian nodded promptly. He had already noticed earlier that Bi Bi Dong had been flipping through those blueprints.
"Are you researching some kind of weapon?"
Bi Bi Dong asked directly.
"Well~ you could say that!"
After a moment's hesitation, Ye Tian nodded in admission. "Those blueprints are indeed for a weapon I plan to create. When used, it spits out tongues of fire, so I've named it the 'Fire Tipped Spear'!"
"Where is the weapon then?"
"It hasn't been made yet!"
"Then what was that explosion in your room?"
"That's different from what's in the blueprints!"
Ye Tian shook his head. "That was 'Palm Thunder.' I just ran into a bit of trouble during the compression step of the materials."
"Palm Thunder?"
Bi Bi Dong looked deeply at Ye Tian, her inner shock nearly overflowing. This kid was actually making weapons!
"Teacher, don't worry. I've already thought of a solution just now. Nothing like that will happen again in the future."
Ye Tian chuckled teasingly, already imagining the scene of throwing 'Palm Thunder' as a Self-created Soul Skill in the future. That would definitely be sneaky!
"..."
Bi Bi Dong stared at Ye Tian, gazing into those dark eyes filled with anticipation and excitement, feeling somewhat dazed.
Was this kid even human?
"Hmm?"
Noticing Bi Bi Dong's distraction, Ye Tian found the five finger marks rather amusing, but he didn't dare delay. Clutching his sleeve, he boldly stepped forward.
"..."
Bi Bi Dong caught the Pill Fragrance on him and snapped back to attention, merely curious about what Ye Tian intended to do.
Soon, Ye Tian provided the answer.
He raised his hand and went straight for Bi Bi Dong's noble face.
He had only gently wiped it a couple of times when Bi Bi Dong emerged from her brief stupor. Her jade-like hand lifted and came down with a slap—smack!—hitting the desk beside her hard.
"Audacity!"
Bi Bi Dong's furious shout made Ye Tian's hand tremble involuntarily, his sleeve slipping down, his fingertips brushing against Bi Bi Dong's cheek.
Ye Tian's eyes widened. After just two swipes, he pulled his hand back as if electrocuted.
Remaining calm under pressure, he quickly retreated to his previous spot.
"What are you doing? Asking for a beating?!"
Bi Bi Dong glared coldly at Ye Tian, appearing utterly enraged.
This was the third time tonight that Ye Tian had touched her like this!
Considering he had been dazed by the explosion, she had let the first hand touch and the second face push slide. But now that he was fully conscious, how dare he openly take liberties with her like this?
Bi Bi Dong stood up,
leaned close to Ye Tian, and looked down at him as she continued:
"You'd better have a reasonable explanation, otherwise... I'll beat you to death—very cruelly!"
Ye Tian raised his eyes and smiled awkwardly.
"Teacher, I just noticed some dirt on your face and wanted to help wipe it off."