Chapter 63: A Lousy Joke

“Ai Hui, you’re learning embroidery from Master Han Yuqin?” Lou Lan continued joyfully, “This is great . Embroidery is a very lucrative trade . ”

The remaining sand transformed into a cloud filled with the word “money . ” Ai Hui’s eyes caught the sparkling light reflected by the sand clumps as the words danced around in front of him like water ripples .

“Make money!” Upon hearing these two words, all Ai Hui could see was money .

The dense, sparkling cloud of “money” fluttering around in front of him caused blood to rush to Ai Hui’s head .

“How can I make money using embroidery?” Ai Hui instinctively blurted out .

Money was one of his greatest weaknesses . At the mention of money, any determination and rationality of his would fly out the window! He never used to be this much of a money grubber, but the debt of eighty million yuan had become such a huge burden that he would now get a rush with even the slightest mention of money .

“Embroidery has many uses,” Lou Lan answered instructively . “The current form of embroidery has departed greatly from the ancient techniques . In the past, cultivators would weave seals and spells into special materials, creating infused treasures . Modern embroidery is derived from the same basis . Following the disintegration of spiritual force and the rise of elemental energy, however, the properties of the materials have completely changed . The seals of the Cultivation Era have completely vanished, but it was later found that dire beasts and certain plants have naturally occurring seals . As such, they became the main source of materials . The grass sword that you previously used is one such example, created from sword reeds .

“These naturally occurring seals can be activated by elemental energy and are known as elemental traces . The usefulness of a material can be determined by the presence of these elemental traces . Seals found in nature are often imperfect; some are badly damaged while others are malformed . Perfect elemental traces rarely occur in nature . Most materials thus require further refinement before they can be used, and that’s where embroidery comes in . ”

Ai Hui listened intently, finally understanding why there were other things, like swords, in the embroidery workshop .

Back in the Wilderness, he had heard the elementalists mention ‘elemental traces’ before, but he had never quite understood what they were . Listening to Lou Lan’s lecture today had, however, cleared up all his doubts .

He inadvertently asked, “Elemental traces can be altered through embroidery?”

“Indeed, especially those of plants . It was initially thought that elemental traces could be altered through drawing, but this method was soon discredited . Regardless of whether it’s perfect, every natural trace has its own elemental energy field, which repels all other materials that contain elemental energy . The pigments used in painting were unable to adhere to these natural traces . Speaking of which, there’s a joke about this . Would you like to hear it?”

“You can even tell jokes?” Ai Hui was astonished .

Lou Lan’s voice rang out from the sand cloud . “I saw it in a book . ”

“Go ahead . ”

“In the past, grass weapons were commonly refined using chemical painting methods . ”

The cloud of “money” reformed into a cluster of yellow sand . One clump of sand transformed into a miniature person while another became a miniature sword . The miniature sand person was immersed in the act of painting on the sword .

Ai Hui was dazed . Was this a live enactment?

Was Lou Lan getting smarter? There must be some kind of misconception!

“The methods of that period were rather backward . After using special chemicals to restore and improve its elemental traces, a sword would still have to undergo two more processes . The sword was first completely covered with yellow clay, following which a silver mist paste rich in elemental energy would be poured over it . Whenever the elementalists set out for battle, a war chariot carrying two large vats would follow closely behind . The vats separately contained yellow clay and the silver mist paste . ”

The yellow sand suddenly dispersed, transforming into a group of miniature people charging ahead with swords in their hands . Trailing behind them was a war chariot carrying two large vats .

“When they encountered dire beasts…”

Bang! A clump of yellow sand turned into a group of dire beasts, colliding with the miniature people .

“As the intense battle raged on, the pigments on the blade would eventually fall off . Without any hesitation, the soldier would whip out another grass sword to block the enemy’s attacks, seizing the opportunity to fling the grass sword back onto the chariot . The chemist on the chariot would grab the sword, swiftly dipping it into the vat of yellow clay and then into the vat of silver mist paste . He would then throw the sword back out, shouting for the next sword . ”

The yellow sand brought the entire scene to life, vividly showcasing the entire process . The miniature person on the chariot was frantically busy as the swords rapidly flew through the air .

“They once encountered a huge pack of dire beasts . ”

The yellow sand shifted again, this time transforming into many miniature dire beasts . A trail of flying debris fanned out behind the miniature beasts, exhibiting their impressive momentum .

Ai Hui watched the events vividly unfold with relish .

“The situation was intensely fierce . ”

As the battle raged on, the weapons were clinging and clanging throughout the battlefield . The small swords were now flying through the air at a much faster rate as the miniature people struggled to keep up with the pace of the battle .

“In the end, the chemist died of exhaustion . ”

The miniature person on the chariot collapsed .

Ai Hui was fully engaged in the story when everything suddenly stopped . Subconsciously, he asked, “What happens next?”

“That’s all,” Lou Lan said, as he resumed his normal form . He tilted his head to the side and looked at Ai Hui . “Was it not funny? Why are you not laughing, Ai Hui?”

Ai Hui replied honestly, “It wasn’t very funny . ”

Lou Lan was taken aback . “I thought that it would be hilarious! The book said that it was one of the top ten jokes of the year . ”

Ai Hui coughed lightly, and changing the topic, he said, “Let’s continue talking about embroidery . ”

Ai Hui had noticed that Lou Lan’s morphing abilities seemed to have improved . The miniature people that he had just created were remarkably true to life .

Ai Hui, however, was thinking further than that . Morphing was a technique commonly used by sand puppets and was one of the more effective moves at their disposal . Although practically all sand puppets could morph, sand puppets who could morph at Lou Lan’s exceptional standards were quite rare . Lou Lan’s morphing abilities would be truly formidable in battle .

The standard of a sand puppet’s morphing abilities largely depended on its cognition . Lou Lan’s cognitive abilities should thus be considerably remarkable .

Perhaps he could help Lou Lan improve this aspect of his abilities? With his level of cognition, Lou Lan could definitely further enhance his morphing abilities . In their previous battle together, relying on his morphing alone already had a significant impact .

This idea lingered in Ai Hui’s mind for a moment before swiftly vanishing .

Ai Hui felt that he was overthinking . Lou Lan was a domestic sand puppet and shouldn’t be steered towards battling . The battlefield was a cruel place from which he might not even make it out alive .

Ai Hui reminded himself that he was no longer in the Wilderness and that he had started a new life that was completely different to what he had experienced in the past three years .

Life was not all about fighting—for Lou Lan at least . All that mattered was that he could boil soup and clean rooms .

Fighting should be left to people like him who were already used to the violence .

Ai Hui revealed a smile that was as radiant as the sun .

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