Chapter 43: Having Been Rained On, I Now Want to Hold an Umbrella for Others

"Ah, right, channel!" Duan Wu answered, his smile suddenly stiffening, "His... His Majesty? Why are you..."

"Come to the city tower," Xiao Qidi said coldly.

"Yes, yes!" Duan Wu was stunned, only feeling a cold wind on the back of his neck.

It's over, I'm doomed...

My teasing of His Majesty was heard by me.

He felt as if his soul had been lost, hurried to the city tower, found General Li there, and only then realized that His Majesty had just been heard through General Li's Walkie-Talkie.

It's all my fault for being outspoken!

"His Majesty... this humble general..." Duan Wu knelt on both knees, "This humble general knows—"

He hadn't finished the three words "know the mistake."

Xiao Qidi, as if nothing had happened, said calmly, "Stand up and speak, General Li just brought news: the explosives have been successfully mixed."

"Done?" Duan Wu rejoiced, such good news dispelled his terror.

After that blasting of the cavern, everyone witnessed the power of the explosives.

Soon after, the Jinli Fairy sent the raw materials for the explosives and gave His Majesty a device called a cell phone, in which one could see how to formulate the explosives from the materials.

The Fairy had said this item was extremely dangerous, requiring careful handling; only after fully understanding it would she send more materials.

"Not only succeeded, but someone also made this, similar in principle to the explosive box the Fairy used to blast the cavern," Li Yao showed Duan Wu a half‑palm‑sized round Ceramic Jar, "The gunpowder is sealed inside, leaving a hemp fuse outside. The hemp fuse is soaked in stone‑wax water, making it sturdy and not easy to break, and easy to ignite."

Duan Wu scratched his head, "It's so labor‑intensive, why not ask the Fairy to send the finished ones..."

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime," Li Yao said, "Surely the Fairy wants to teach us, and His Majesty also learned from the Fairy that we can find the explosive materials here; once the Fairy teaches us how to refine them, we won't need to trouble the Fairy any more."

Duan Wu realized, "So that's it, the Fairy is not only giving us things, but also guiding us!"

General Li said, "His Majesty, because the Fairy previously gave us limited materials, we only made two, one of which has already been used to test its power. Don't underestimate its size; its power is huge. Would you like to see?"

Xiao Qidi naturally wanted to see, so the three went to an open area outside.

General Li lit the fuse and quickly threw it far away.

The small Ceramic Jar hit the ground, and with a "boom" it exploded.

Thick smoke rose, and the dry, hard ground was left with a shallow pit about a yard wide.

"Not bad," Xiao Qidi nodded approvingly.

General Li clasped his fists, "His Majesty, although this is far inferior to what the Fairy used to blast the cavern, it's already impressive. If we have enough gunpowder, we can make a larger version; during battle we could toss it into enemy ranks, even use a catapult—its killing effect is obvious."

Duan Wu added, "It can also be buried along the enemy's path; just make the fuse long enough, and when the enemy passes, detonate it! It will catch them completely off guard!"

The two quickly thought of a use.

Xiao Qidi nodded, "General Li, reward well the ones who mixed the explosives and made this item; I will go tell the Fairy and ask her to send more materials."

"Yes! His Majesty!" General Li left immediately.

Duan Wu scratched his head, smiling broadly, "His Majesty, this humble general..."

Xiao Qidi gave him a glance, "Go fix the latrine yourself; don't ask anyone else for help."

"Repair... repair the latrine?" Duan Wu's face stiffened, "His Majesty means... all the latrines in the western gate city tower?"

Xiao Qidi's mouth twitched slightly, "Since General Duan has taken charge, then renovate them all."

Duan Wu:...

After respectfully seeing His Majesty off, he made a mournful face, raised his hand and slapped himself hard twice, "My reckless mouth! Sigh!"

When Xiao Qidi passed through the Spacetime Portal and arrived at the factory, Ning Jinli was eating breakfast in the dormitory.

He was already familiar with the route from the small warehouse back door to Ning Jinli's dormitory, and he even helped himself to a breakfast.

"I truly don't know when the people of Daxuan will all be able to afford such a breakfast," Xiao Qidi remarked casually.

In fact, not only the common folk, even the kings and nobles of various Royal Cities have never seen such delicate food.

From the ingredients to the preparation method, it's beyond the productive capacity of his era.

"Later I'll send you seeds and fertilizer; gradually we can grow good crops," Ning Jinli said softly. "Actually, this kind of breakfast, most ordinary people in our country have only been able to eat regularly in the past few decades."

Xiao Qidi was incredulous, "From my time until now, Huaxia has developed for over two thousand years, yet only in the past few decades have the common people been able to afford such a breakfast?"

Ning Jinli gave a wry smile, "Yes, and it's not that everyone can eat it; there are still some remote, impoverished mountain areas... lacking such conditions."

Xiao Qidi frowned silently.

Ning Jinli deliberately teased him, "That's my fault."

"Blame me?" Xiao Qidi's brows furrowed tighter, "What do you mean, Miss Ning?"

Ning Jinli bit into a fried dough stick, "Figure it out yourself."

Xiao Qidi:...

Indeed, once again it proves that after more than two thousand years, a woman's thoughts remain unfathomable to gods and spirits.

"Miss Ning," Xiao Qidi, after finishing his food and wiping his mouth, said seriously, "In Lin Xian Village, the locals have already prepared explosives and even made something that can be detonated."

"That impressive? How did they make it?" Ning Jinli said in surprise.

Xiao Qidi gave a rough description.

He also told her Li Yao's and Duan Wu's ideas.

"Isn't that just the most basic, simplest bomb?" Ning Jinli's eyes suddenly lit up, "Why use a Ceramic Jar? I happen to have a bunch of gas canisters in my warehouse!"

"Gas canisters?" Xiao Qidi looked puzzled.

Ning Jinli's eyebrows danced, "Although I can't directly give you hot weapons now, I can provide explosive materials and gas canisters, which would let you make your own bombs, right?"

"I recall seeing it in the news: in some underdeveloped foreign regions that can't produce standard bombs, they modify gas canisters!"

She stopped eating breakfast, rushed to a warehouse in another production area, and moved the gas canisters!

Driving the factory's transport vehicle, she spent two hours and finally moved the stored gas canisters into a warehouse within the range of mental teleportation.

Not many, about seven or eight hundred.

But it will definitely be enough for the short term.

Xiao Qidi went over first to arrange personnel to receive them; then she transferred these gas cylinders and also several dozen tons of explosive raw materials over.

Just as the transfer finished, the scout came to report.

He reported that they had discovered an important situation: Yu Guo's 200,000-strong elite army had already stationed itself over a hundred li away, and had dispatched 30,000 troops, all fully armed, now marching toward Xi Tun Guan.

A commander analyzed that this should be a vanguard force coming to probe Xi Tun Guan's military strength.

Xiao Qidi made a swift decision, ordering to quickly manufacture some bombs from the gas cylinders, then use these bombs to ambush the 30,000 enemy vanguard.

Whether they are here to probe or have other aims, hitting them off guard is definitely correct.

——

On Ning Jinli's side, she received notice that the property deed for that villa at Lanyue Villa had come through.

She took advantage of having some time in the morning to go collect the deed, and meanwhile visited the villa.

Having experienced the kidnapping a few days earlier, Ning Jinli specially hired four bodyguards, two to protect her and two to guard Su Yi at the hospital.

The assailants are already dead, and there's no way to trace who hired them behind the scenes.

But since the behind-the-scenes black hand failed last time, it's likely to strike again, possibly even harming Su Yi.

Ning Jinli therefore has to be on guard as well.

At ten o'clock in the morning, she drove to Lanyue Villa, and her car stopped near her villa.

According to the lease contract left by the previous landlord for her, the lease term will end in a few days.

And the tenant named on the lease is none other than her ex-boyfriend, Zhao Bin.

The law stipulates that sale does not break lease.

Before the lease ends, Zhao Bin must continue to live here.

But renewal is impossible.

This time she came not only to see the house, but also to tell Zhao Bin that she will not renew the lease.

Ning Jinli, carrying her old school backpack, was about to get out of the car when she saw Zhao Bin sending a young girl out the door, the two still indulging in affection at the doorway.

"Huh? If I remember correctly... his girlfriend isn't this one, is she?"

Ning Jinli recalled seeing on Zhao Bin's social media a photo of him posing at this villa and showing off their love.

The woman in the photo is in her thirties, dressed maturely with big waves, while this girl is clearly only eighteen or nineteen, probably just started college.

One has to admit, Zhao Bin this scumbag really has his ways.

His character is so terrible, yet he always manages to deceive women.

"Scumbag!" Ning Jinli pulled out her phone, recorded a video, then opened editing software and mosaicked the girl's face in the video.

According to Ning Jinli's judgment, whether it's the wealthy older sister Zhao Bin flaunted on social media or this girl now who is about her age, both likely don't know Zhao Bin is cheating.

If she ever gets the chance, she wants to give this evidence to that wealthy older sister so she won't be deceived by that scumbag again.

Seeing the girl finish her affection with Zhao Bin, Zhao Bin turned and went back inside the house.

Ning Jinli had the two bodyguards stay in the car, she herself got out and intercepted the girl.

"Beautiful lady, hello." Ning Jinli politely greeted her.

The other party eyed her suspiciously and said, "Hello... do we know each other?"

Ning Jinli said, "We don't know each other, but I know Zhao Bin; he's my ex-boyfriend."

The girl instantly looked wary, "What do you want? He's with me now, you're not allowed to harass him."

Ning Jinli directly pulled out her phone, opened Zhao Bin's social media in front of her, scrolled to the recent content where he flaunted wealth and showed off love, and said, "Here, look for yourself."

"This..." The girl's pupils constricted on the spot, tears welled up instantly, and she froze, not knowing what to do.

Ning Jinli's heart also gave a twinge; at this moment she seemed to see herself when she had just started college.

But back then, she had not discovered Zhao Bin's true nature.

And no one had given her a reminder……

Ning Jinli had once been caught in the rain; now she wants to hold an umbrella for someone else.

"How long have you been together with him?" she asked softly.

"Two... two months..." the girl said between sobs, "He pursued me, he promised me he only loves me, how... how could he be like this?"

"It's okay, it hasn't been long." Ning Jinli gave a wry smile, "I've been with him since college; just recently after graduation he dumped me, and only then did I realize he's a scumbag."

Four years……

Those beautiful romances he fabricated, those that once made her intoxicated with love, were all fake.

However sweet the memories, when the truth is exposed the feeling is just as painful.

"No... I want to ask him!" The girl picked up her phone to call, then thought better and simply turned to prepare to go back and knock on the door to confront him face to face.

Ning Jinli grabbed her hand, "No need for that; while your relationship with him is still short, you should quickly draw a line and stay away from the scumbag."

The girl, upon being reminded, directly blocked and deleted all of Zhao Bin's contact information.

"Sister, thank you!" The girl wiped her tears and bowed.

"It's fine," Ning Jinli said with a smile, "Study hard in college; there will be plenty of good men in the future."

"Mm! I know." The girl nodded seriously.

After the girl left, Ning Jinli came to the front gate and pressed the doorbell.

A few minutes later, Zhao Bin came out.

"Ning Jinli?" Zhao Bin looked surprised, seemingly also somewhat astonished, "Why are you coming to my house?"

"I want to talk about something." Ning Jinli said with a smile.

Zhao Bin's eyes flickered with a barely perceptible strange expression as he glanced toward the door, catching a glimpse of the Mercedes G-Class parked more than ten meters away.

But he did not discover that there was still someone in Ning Jinli's car.

"Talk about business?" Zhao Bin frowned, his tone wary, "What business?"

"About this house." Ning Jinli had no intention of beating around the bush; as she spoke, she prepared to take out the property deed and the rental contract from the original landlord from her bag.

"Heh, what do you mean?" Zhao Bin curled the corner of his mouth, "Seeing on my social media that I'm living so well, you're thinking of getting back together with me?"

Ning Jinli instantly had a head full of question marks?

Where does this scumbag's inexplicable confidence come from?

Zhao Bin looked him up and down, smiling as he said, "You're still carrying this bag? When you first started college, I gave it to you; you really can't bear to part with me, huh."

He subconsciously wondered again, wasn't the taste of being kept by an old man unpleasant, so he came here to seek comfort?

But the words rose to his lips, he swallowed them, a glint flashing in his eyes as he grabbed Ning Jinli's arm, "I'm in a good mood today; let me first show you around."

This morning, he brought along his rich older woman girlfriend and also brought over a young girl he had deceived.

He had intended to sleep with her, but she resisted and didn't consent, so just as he was seeing her out, under his sweet talk, she ended up hugging and kissing him.

This taste is not pleasant.

This left him with a belly full of wicked thoughts and no outlet.

Just then, Ning Jinli showed up at his door; perhaps... after four years of college being unable to fulfill his regret of sleeping with her, if he could make up for it this time, he wouldn't lose out!

"No need for a tour." Ning Jinli firmly shook off his hand, stepped back a few paces, "Just looking at the doorway is fine; let's get straight to the point—this house—"

"Come in!" Zhao Bin, unable to hold back any longer, lunged forward, tightly hugging Ning Jinli and, without a word, forcibly dragged her into the villa!