Chapter 554: You Can Do It

His hand trembled, and the "Wu Jin Mud" almost fell to the ground.

Several black-clothed men also smelled the odor, they exchanged glances, not daring to speak.

The Masked Man lowered his head to look at the thing in his hand, unable to believe it, and leaned in closer to sniff again.

This time he was certain—it really was the smell of this "Wu Jin Mud," not his imagination.

He froze, motionless for a long while.

A black-clothed man cautiously asked, "Sir, what's wrong?"

The Masked Man took a deep breath, then was choked so hard he nearly passed out.

Another black-clothed man muttered softly, "Sir, this smell, it's kind of like..."

"Shut up!"

The Masked Man put the Wu Jin Mud back into the box and closed it.

He sat in the chair, hands spread, completely still, like a statue.

After a long while, the Masked Man slowly spoke, "Who did you get this from?"

The black-clothed men hurriedly replied, "We chased them from the Western Regions to Shazhoubao, gave the local chief a three-day deadline to find and hand over the Wu Jin Mud."

"However, we've been watching them secretly."

"On the second day after we arrived, that little girl and her several guards showed up for no reason."

The Masked Man's eyelid twitched: "Little girl?"

"Yes, it's the little girl you previously had us capture, but this time our goal is the Wu Jin Mud, not her, so we didn't lay a hand on her."

The Masked Man fell silent.

Could it be that this is exactly the special quality of the Wu Jin Mud?

After a moment, he pushed the box toward the black-clothed men: "Send an armorer in to have a look."

The black-clothed men froze: "Look, look at what?"

The Masked Man wearily shook his head: "Take a look, to see whether it's really Wu Jin Mud or, well, shit."

Black-clothed men: "..."

"Yes." One black-clothed man dashed out.

After a moment, the armorer arrived, trembling as he opened the box, leaned in to look, and sniffed.

Then his face changed.

The Masked Man stared at him: "Speak, what is this?"

The armorer swallowed, thinking, What should I say? Why did you have me look at a lump of shit, sir?

But how dare I not tell the truth!

He gritted his teeth: "Sir, this, this really is..."

"What is it?"

The armorer steeled himself: "Shit."

The Masked Man's hand clenched the chair's armrest tightly.

The armorer caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, his heart jolted—had he misspoken? Could this be the sir's beloved dog's droppings?

Then I'd better quickly say a few nice things!

"But, but this is definitely not ordinary shit!"

Black-clothed men: "..."

Masked Man: "......?"

"Sir, look, this luster, this texture—clearly it came from an extremely sturdy big dog..."

The Masked Man bellowed angrily: "Get out!"

The armorer, utterly confused, scrambled away rolling and crawling.

The room fell eerily silent.

A black-clothed man quietly asked, "Sir, should we go back to Shazhoubao?"

"No need." The Masked Man's voice calm, "They won't stay there waiting for you; they must have already fled."

"That brat," he muttered, "keeps ruining my plans over and over!"

Several black-clothed men looked at each other: "Sir, since this isn't Wu Jin Mud, should we make another trip to the Western Regions?"

The Masked Man waved his hand: "Sure, go ahead,"

"Yes!"

The Masked Man stared at his own hand: "Someone come!"

A servant hurried in: "Sir, what are your orders?"

"Draw water, bring in the most fragrant soap pods."

The servant blinked: "Ah?"

"Hurry! I need to wash my hands!"

"Yes!"

At the same moment, Xibei Daying.

Kang An had joined them, making the three little ones into four, who were now running wildly around the main camp, shouting and chasing each other.

Tuan Tuan, who was leading the pack, suddenly stopped.

Gongsun Yue and Xiao Jin hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Tuan Tuan?"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi strode over: "Miss?"

Kang An stood before her, his face full of concern as he stared at her face.

Tuan Tuan laughed: "Second Uncle, Seventh Uncle, Xiao An'an, the bad guy saw dog poop!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi: "......"

Lu Qi held back a laugh: "You only saw it now?"

Xiao Er snorted: "He definitely took it back to give to their master; he wanted to try it out, that's why he only just saw it."

Kang An's smile was bright, and he kept nodding.

Tuan Tuan tugged at Gongsun Yue and Xiao Jin: "Hey, look! Isn't Xiao An'an's smile especially pretty?"

Xiao Jin nodded, and Gongsun Yue said: "Yes, it's really pretty!"

Tuan Tuan waved her small hand: "Come on, let's go play over there!"

The four little ones started running again, and as they passed Feng Zhou's tent, Feng Zhou was sitting blankly at the entrance.

Tuan Tuan stopped, turned back, and shushed the three little ones.

Everyone stopped.

Tuan Tuan quietly walked behind Feng Zhou and jumped hard onto his back: "Feng Zhou! What are you doing here?"

Feng Zhou was startled by her, quickly reached back to support her, letting her lie steadily on his back: "Be careful not to fall!"

"I've been thinking about those keys, I've tried so many methods, why am I always just a little short? It's got me worried sick, my hair's almost turning white."

"The smelting technique left by the artisans of the previous dynasty is good, but it can't be used on the keys."

Xiao Er patted his shoulder: "You've had it rough."

Lu Qi recalled Shazhoubao: "This time we went out, we heard there's a supreme treasure in the Western Regions called Wu Jin Mud that can fuse and reforge broken weapons without leaving any flaws."

Feng Zhou's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Xiao Er shook his head: "Just hearsay; I don't know if it's true or false."

Tuan Tuan poked her head out from behind Feng Zhou: "Xiao An'an, you're from the Western Regions, have you seen that mud?"

Kang An froze, instantly stunned like a wooden chicken.

Tuan Tuan slid down from Feng Zhou's back, walked up to him, and took his hand: "What's wrong, Xiao An'an?"

Xiao Er felt a stir: "Kang An, if you've heard anything before, feel free to say it—uh, write it down."

Kang An lifted his gaze at him, still motionless.

Tuan Tuan furrowed her little brow: "Xiao An'an's so young, he definitely hasn't seen it. Come on, let's go play with the slingshot!"

Having said that, she grabbed his hand and tried to run toward the Training Ground, but Kang An pulled her back with a reverse grip.

Tuan Tuan looked at him: "What's wrong, Xiao An'an?"

Kang An raised his hand, traced the shape of a key, and pointed at Feng Zhou.

Tuan Tuan understood: "Oh, you're asking about the keys Feng Zhou is making—not the ordinary kind, but..."

She thought: those keys are broken; how can I explain that clearly to Xiao An'an?

"Feng Zhou, could you take one out to show Xiao An'an?"

Feng Zhou looked wary; that's not something you can just take out.

Kang An understood; it was a lack of trust in him, and he slowly lowered his head.

Tuan Tuan objected: "Xiao An'an wants to see it—just take it out for him, or else let's go inside and look."

"Go inside? That's even worse—the tent is full of secrets."

"Forget it; since the Young Alliance Leader let him look, and he's just a child, taking one out to show him is fine."

"I'll get it." Feng Zhou walked into the tent.

Moments later, he returned, opened his palm, and inside were three bronze pieces: a sword hilt, a blade, and a tip, one each.

He extended his hand toward Kang An: "Here, these three pieces fitted together make a complete key."

Kang An carefully picked up the hilt, examined the joint closely, then picked up the hilt again and looked at it.

Xiao Jin and Gongsun Yue came over to look: "Tuan Tuan, this is the key you were talking about!"

Tuan Tuan nodded: "Yeah! This is what I, my older brother, Second Uncle, and Seventh Uncle painstakingly found together."

She sighed: "Too bad, we've never been able to put it together."

"Only when we've assembled it all can we return to Jingcheng."

"That bad guy's taken over my home, how annoying! Xue Yi and Xiao Bai are still waiting for me to go back."

"Tuan Tuan's home's been taken over by bad people? She wants to go home?"

"So, it turns out we need to piece these keys together for Tuan Tuan to be able to go home!"

Kang An lifted his pair of blue eyes to look at Tuan Tuan, clenched his fist, and thumped his chest.

Tuan Tuan looked confused: "Xiao An'an?"

Kang An was a bit anxious, and thumped his chest a few more times.

Xiao Er's expression turned serious: "Kang An, you mean you can do it?"

Kang An solemnly nodded.