Chapter 796: The Advent of Soap

Afu lives up to its title as the king of the mountains; it is a skilled hunter.

Chen Wuji followed it around the mountain for a while and finally understood why Afu stopped it from returning the prey—because they simply weren't lacking.

In just two hours, five rock goats and muntjacs famed for their agility fell to its jaws.

Chen Wuji, who had honed his archery in these mountains and thought his hunting skills were quite good, managed to hunt only a single deer.

Their results differed enormously.

"Almost done; I originally wanted to give these three brats some game as a gift, but instead you kid showed me up. How about this—give me face and let me make you a cooked meal?" Chen Wuji shouted.

No matter how awesome Afu is, it definitely won't have this skill.

Afu heard the sound, its body turning into a blur as it leapt from the forest, skidding to a halt before Chen Wuji with a low growl, then, like a cat, it nudged his leg with its head.

"So you like cooked food, huh!" Chen Wuji chuckled.

Afu had eaten cooked food before.

Looking at its eager appearance, it was clearly already enamored with the taste of cooked food.

"Without a doubt, start a fire! Then handle the deer." Chen Wuji ordered.

"Here!"

Chen Wuyi glanced at Afu, the corner of his mouth twitching.

He also understood Afu's earlier action.

This tiger wants to eat cooked meat, and it likes it a lot.

Surely there's a reason this mountain is called Shenxian Ling—the tiger actually dislikes raw meat and has taken a liking to cooked food.

After today's experience, Chen Wuyi felt that seeing tigers barbecue in the mountains thereafter would hardly surprise him.

Soon, a roaring bonfire rose up.

Chen Wuji placed the simply marinated venison on the fire.

Afu, with its three cubs, lay honestly to the side, staring without blinking.

Just the drool at the corner of its mouth was hard to control.

"Just wait a moment, it'll be ready soon." Chen Wuji said with a smile.

In his lifetime, he could also be said to have truly seen the world.

"Roar!"

Afu let out a low growl, lowered its head, and seriously licked its blood-stained paws.

There was quite a bit of drool in its mouth; it probably didn't want to waste it.

The three cubs clearly didn't know what their father and this human Chen Wuji were talking about, but they imitated him by licking their own forepaws.

After just a moment they lost patience, clambered over their father's sturdy body, and all ran to Chen Wuji's side, playing and crowding together beside him.

No matter the animal, when young they seem comparatively cute.

Chen Wuji picked up the three little fellows and examined each one.

Afu has both sons and daughters.

After about half an hour, the venison on the fire was done.

Chen Wuji first gave some to Afu and the Three Little Fortunes.

Seeing them eat heartily, he then ordered Chen Wuyi and the others to also get to work.

Eating in the mountains, even if the seasoning is a bit plain, the flavor seems even better.

About ten people and four tigers actually managed to cleanly finish off an entire deer.

Their combat power could be called terrifying.

Of course, the biggest contributor among them was Afu.

It alone processed about half a deer.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Wuji bade farewell to the reluctant Afu and brought the game down the mountain.

Although it was still early, today's haul was already plenty, so there was no need to linger.

Descending the mountain and returning home, just as he entered the courtyard, Chen Wuji saw Xiao Zong sitting there, talking nonstop with Xu Zengyi, his words flowing like lotus blossoms.

"Master Xiao, how many days have you gone without sleep again?" Chen Wuji asked.

Today Xiao Zong looked even worse than a few days ago—his eye sockets were sunken, his dark circles so black they seemed to have seeped into his skin, and both eyes were bloodshot.

"Commander, you don't need to worry about how many days I've gone without sleep—this is trivial. The soap has been made, it's a huge success; I've tried it and it's perfect!" Xiao Zong shouted excitedly.

Chen Wuji's face darkened. "Master Xiao, sleep is definitely not a trivial matter!"

"You are a truly talented person; soap is just a minor trick. I have something even better here that I want you to figure out for me. Given your Zhe Teng Method, how many more years do you think you can live?"

Xiao Zong stared for a moment, "It's just a few days without sleep; it shouldn't be… right?"

"If it's really just a few days without sleep, that's not a big problem—but is that actually your issue with sleeplessness? You're my father-in-law, and you're so eager for me to attend your funeral?" Chen Wuji snapped angrily, "If you can't kick this habit, I won't employ you for such matters in the future!"

Hearing this, Xiao Zong panicked and shouted, "No, no, no, Commander, I'll change, I'll change!"

"Is that for real?"

"Really! Really! I can swear!"

"I don't believe your oath. Like this, move your workshop to Xishan Village; from now on you'll work here, and I'll have Xingyuan keep an eye on you. If you dare to keep pulling this stunt, as soon as Xingyuan reports once, you're done working!" Chen Wuji barked.

Already ashen-faced, Xiao Zong heard this and instantly looked as if he'd lost his parents, "This…"

He mumbled for a while, then said in a low voice, "Commander, moving the workshop isn't a small matter; the paper workshop over there has just expanded its scale—this, in the short term…"

Chen Wuji cut him off bluntly, "Stop making excuses! Don't you forget your daughter is my woman? She's already told me all this. You've long abandoned the paper workshop over there—what inconvenience could there be staying with me here? This is settled."

Xiao Zong opened his mouth, then finally slumped his head in resignation.

"Soap? Let me have a look!" Chen Wuji said.

Upon hearing that, Xiao Zong's complexion instantly brightened visibly; he quickly pulled a paper‑wrapped bar of soap from the nearby wooden box and presented it to Chen Wuji like an offering.

"Commander, look!"

Chen Wuji opened the package, took out the soap inside, whose color was not very pure but already infinitely close to snow‑white, held it under his nose and sniffed, giving off a strong osmanthus scent.

He walked over, scooped a ladle of water from the water vat, and washed his hands with this piece of soap.

The fragrance is rich, and its cleaning ability is also quite good.

In this era, such a product can be called a perfect work.

"Mr. Xiao, begin preparations for large‑scale production." Chen Wuji said happily.

As soon as this product hits the market, things like bath beans will inevitably become a thing of the past.

In the time and space familiar to Chen Wuji, soap has gone through three stages.

Bath beans were the earliest prototype, using a great deal of ingredients, mainly pig pancreas, and were people's main cleaning item from the Wei‑Jin to Tang dynasties. In the Song dynasty, people replaced bean flour with soda and plant ash, which gradually evolved into pancreas, and only after several more centuries did it become the soap known today.

Bath beans were already the past form of soap.

Soap delivering a dimensional strike against it is both reasonable and logical.