Lord Zhang Fei

Chapter 9: Gun Powder

Seeing that his father had relaxed after his journey, Zhang Fei asked. “Father, did you find what you were looking for in the city?”

After hearing his son’s question, Mu Tuo couldn’t help himself from smiling mysteriously, and said, “My dear son, what do you think this is?”

Mu Tuo, suddenly, raised his hand and the sapphire ring on his finger flashed brightly. He turned his palm over, and from the thin air, a stone box suddenly appeared in his hand. The stone box was about one foot square, and was bare of any decoration.

“Long live father.” Zhang Fei uttered. He immediately stretched out his hands excitedly, wanting to take the stone box from his father’s hand.

Mu Tuo swiftly raised the stone box higher in the air, before it could be snatched by Zhang Fei, and said repeatedly. “Be careful, son!! Don’t grab it. This thing is very dangerous. You must handle it cautiously.”

Then, Mu Tuo carefully handed the stone box over to Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei held the stone box firmly but cautiously, and squeezed through the crowd with excitement on his face. He ran to his chamber, beaming from ear to ear.

Sisters, Shuang and Hong, quickly followed Zhang Fei when they saw what was happening. The two of them were like Zhang Fei’s mothers, looking after Zhang Fei’s daily welfare and safety. For Zhang Fei, they were simply inseparable.

.....

“Save a little bit for me, son. That was for five pieces of animal skins. Hehe, this stinky boy.” Mu Tuo chuckled lightly, watching his son disappeared swiftly into the midst of the happy tribe.

“Is it dangerous to let Fei play with this kind of thing?” Daxia came to Mu Tuo’s side, leaning lightly on his broad chest, watching worryingly as Zhang Fei ran away with the box.

“It’s okay.” Mu Tuo regained his thoughts and said to his wife. “Fei’er is a talented and smart child, and can always make unexpected things. If it weren’t for fear of him being in danger, I would have given it to him when he asked me a year ago. I bought it for him at that time. After so long, I believe our son is fully prepared. Let us look forward to what he will do. As you know, the young eagle always has to spread his wings to fly higher.”

Mu Tuo looked at his wife lovingly, and raised his hand. With a flick of his fingers, a beautiful jade hairpin suddenly appeared in his hand. Mu Tuo gently inserted the jade hairpin on Daxia’s head.

“Since the day you’ve been with me, you have endured too much.” Mu Tuo gently pulled Daxia, who was still patting the hairpin, closer to him. He looked affectionately at her beautiful face, and sighed. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you.” The corners of Daxia’s mouth curled up, and she smiled. “And I like this kind of life. I can only feel happy when I’m with you.”

Daxia couldn’t help but put her cheek on Mu Tuo’s spacious chest, turned her face sideways, listening to Mu Tuo’s powerful heartbeat before looking at the joyous people, and muttering. “And we have our son, daughters, and our people. I like this kind of free life.”

In the chamber, Zhang Fei carefully placed the stone box on the table. He gently opened the lid and saw that the box was filled with some dark powder.

Gun dust.

Shuang knelt and sat at the table, staring at the dark things with big curious eyes and asked. “Fei’er, what is this? How can this make you so happy?”

Zhang Fei touched a little of the black powder with his finger, grounded it with his hand, and replied casually. “I’m also seeing this for the first time. This powder is called Huoyao, the gun dust. The fire dust my father brought back a year ago were made of this kind of thing. At that time, I wanted to get some to use, but my father said that Huoyao was a rare thing, not easy to find. But now, I finally got it. Time to try some things out!”

Zhang Fei found a bamboo slice, picked out a bit of it, and said to the two sisters. “Let’s go outside and try the effect.”

Afterwards, the three came outside the chamber. Zhang Fei poured the black powder on a flat rock, found a handful of hay, rolled it up, and then ignited it with flint. Carefully, he stretched it to the side of the black powder. As the flame approached the powder, there was a sudden whizzing sound, and the black powder suddenly flared strongly, and the blazing flame shot up to the air.

Shuang was staring at Zhang Fei’s every move, but was dazzled by the sudden flash of light. She couldn’t help closing her eyes and shouting. “Ah, my eyes. I’m blind, I’m blind. I can’t see anything.”

“Me too. I can’t see anything anymore. My eyes are so uncomfortable.” Hong next to her rubbed her eyes vigorously, tears bursting out.

“Oh, my bad. I forgot to warn you in advance.” Zhang Fei stuck out his tongue and said with a smirk on his face. “Father said that after lighting it, it will emit a bright light, and looking directly at it will cause temporary blindness. But don’t worry, it will wear off soon.”

The two sisters made note to pay more attention to whatever Zhang Fei would do in the future. Now, they knew that if they had kept on watching, they could be blinded. However, the two sisters didn’t have to worry now, their eyes would be restored in a while.

Shuang resisted the sharp pain in her eyes, and said bitterly, “Well, Fei’er, really? You used this weird thing to torture us? If this happens next time, be careful that I don’t tear your face off.”

Zhang Fei knew he was a little mischievous this time, and suddenly apologized. “I’m so sorry. Next time, I’ll let you know if there’s anything worth mentioning. It’s going to get dark soon, I have to go and practice my meditation. By the way, sisters, please rest here for a while, and your eyes will recover in no time. It was only a flicker of light.”