Mortal Cultivation

Chapter 7: Cannon Powder

“Hey, Zhao, men of the same age as you already have many children, but you don’t even have a wife. Yet you still have a face to say it.” Qi Shuang said with a smirk on her face as she walked along Qiu Hong who appeared to be lost in thought.

Adjusting the rope-net, Qiu Shuang sighed softly. “Which girl in the clan doesn’t like a strong man who is also great in hunting? But look at Big Brother Zhao, how can a girl like marry him? Won’t she go hungry every day?”

“Not really, sister. Zhao’s arrow skills are outstanding in the clan. Not to talk about his hunting skills, Zhao’s harvest is not less than others. How can he make any woman hungry?” Qiu Hong asked softly.

Qiu Shuang couldn’t help laughing when she heard this. “If brother Zhao is so good, why don’t you marry him?”

Qiu Hong immediately scolded: “It’s you who need to marry. I only have time to take care of Wang Wei.”

Hearing what Qiu Shuang had to say, Zhao originally felt blood rushing up to his head, but Qiu Hong’s words were like a bowl of cold water poured on him, from his head to his feet.

It was true that Qiu Shuang and Qiu Hong were not the only female in their own clan, but even if there were more than a dozen small tribes nearby, they couldn’t find any more beautiful women than these two. If anyone married one of them as wife, it would be a blessing that could only be cultivated in a few lifetimes.

.....

From afar, a village composed of a few dozens of dwellers, gradually appeared in front of them. This was the Ironwood tribe to which Wang Wei belonged. Compared to four years ago, the tribe had obviously expanded a lot, and the population had increased from less than one hundred to around three hundred dwellers.

It could be seen that Wang Wei’s father had managed the tribe very well in the past few years, and some displaced people often come to join him.

Wang Wei and his group walked into the tribe with smiles on their faces. From a distance, they heard someone from the tribe shout. “The patriarch is back! The patriarch is back!”

At a distance, on the other side of the village, a group of people were walking towards the settlement, carrying large bags from the hillside.

The man walking at the front was about two meters tall. He had a dignified figure and a handsome face. His pair of tiger eyes were like cold stars, and they seemed to have piercing powers. This person was Wang Wang Mu Tuo, the patriarch of the Ironwood tribe, and Wang Wei’s father.

The group of people cheered, and soon joined the waiting tribe. The things they brought dazzled all over the floor. The people of the tribe immediately gathered in a big circle, and looked around with sparkling eyes.

“Father.” Wang Wei squeezed through the crowd and ran to Wang Mu Tuo in three or so steps.

“Hello, son.” Wang Mu Tuo happily hugged Wang Wei and held him high above his head. “Tell me, have you been naughty during my absence? Have you made your mother angry?”

“No, father. I’ve been behaving well. And I have been practicing archery with Uncle Zhao. My arrow skills are better now, father. You can ask uncle Zhao.” Wang Wei pointed to Zhao who was running towards them with a bear demon on his shoulders: “See father, we also hunted down a bear demon by the way.”

Wang Mu Tuo smiled and waved to Zhao who ran the remaining few steps, and threw the bear demon to the ground, in front of the gathered crowd. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Zhao couldn’t help but smile at the patriarch, and kicked the bear demon on the ground with his foot, feeling very proud.

The tribe fell into a festivity mood as they celebrated the return of their patriarch.

A few hours later, seeing that his father had relaxed after his journey, Wang Wei asked. “Father, did you find what you were looking for in the city, this time?”

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

Wang 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.” Wang Wei uttered. He immediately stretched out his hands excitedly, wanting to take the stone box from his father’s palm.

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

“I promise to be careful, father.”

“Alright, here it is.” Wang Mu Tuo carefully handed the stone box over to Wang Wei.

Wang Wei 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 Qiu Shuang and Qiu Hong quickly followed Wang Wei when they saw what was happening. The two of them were like Wang Wei’s mother, looking after Wang Wei’s daily welfare and safety. For Wang Wei, they were simply inseparable at this point in time.

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

“Isn’t it dangerous to let Wang Wei play with this kind of thing at this age?” Wang Jing came to Wang Mu Tuo’s side, leaning lightly on his broad chest, watching worryingly as Wang Wei ran away with the box.

“No need to worry, Jing’er.” Wang Mu Tuo re regained his gaze and said to his wife Wang Jing. “Wang Wei 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. But after so long, I believe he’s 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.”

Wang Mu Tuo looked at his wife lovingly, and raised his hand. With a flash of flare, a beautiful jade hairpin suddenly appeared in his hand. Wang Mu Tuo gently inserted the jade hairpin into Wang Jing’s hair. “Since the day you’ve been with me, you have endured too much.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Thank you for being by my side.” Wang Mu Tuo gently pulled Wang Jing in front of him, looked affectionately at Wang Jing’s beautiful face, and sighed. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you.” The corners of Wang Jing’s mouth curled up in smile. “And I like this kind of life. Only when I’m with you can I feel happy.”

Wang Jing couldn’t help but put her cheek on Wang Mu Tuo’s spacious chest, turned his face sideways, listened to Wang Mu Tuo’s powerful heartbeat, looked at the joyous people, and muttered. “And our Wang Wei, our people... I like this kind of free life.”