Eternal madness

Chapter 44 Gray-eyed Bamboo
Upon seeing the pistol, Deng Yuechuan was terrified and his whole body went numb: "Master, where did you get this?"

"What are you afraid of? I've spent half my life in the underworld, what's the big deal about having a gun? Do you even know how to use a gun?"

"I don't know how, I've never even touched it."

"Your dad's a ruthless businessman, he won't even teach you how to use a gun?" Old Wang shoved the gun into Deng Yuechuan's hand. "I'm giving you this gun."

Deng Yuechuan dared not accept it: "Master, there's no use for me to keep this."

“It works. This is no ordinary gun. It was grown in a bowl and its spirit has been straightened out. Every shot can fire. As long as you can aim accurately, you can shoot wherever you see it. You can sell it on the street for two thousand dollars, which is not much.”

“Master, what use is such a precious thing to your disciple? Wouldn’t that be a waste…”

“I don’t want to waste it. I want you to use it to kill Zhang Laifu and vent my anger.”

"I really don't have that skill; I've never even killed a chicken!"

“Killing someone is easier than killing a chicken. No need to bleed them or pluck their feathers. One shot and it’s over.” Master Wang then took out a box of silver dollars and placed it in front of Deng Yuechuan.

With tears in his eyes, Deng Yuechuan shook his head repeatedly: "Master, you're sending me to my death. You yourself said Zhang Laifu is a craftsman, how can I possibly beat a craftsman?"

“He’s new to the trade and doesn’t know anything. He can’t even make a complete lantern right now. If you kill him, I’ll give you his skills and find you a bowl. Then you’ll be a craftsman.”

As Master Wang kept raising the price, Deng Yuechuan's heart trembled.

It would be a lie to say they don't want to; every person in Wansheng Prefecture dreams of becoming a craftsman.

But the matter of killing someone was still too great a challenge for Deng Yuechuan.

Master Wang gnawed on a chicken leg and drank a bowl of wine: "All this talk is a waste of my breath. What's the point of someone as spineless as you following me?"
"I'll give you two silver dollars. Go home and farm. When you're farming, stay away from skilled craftsmen. If they pick up a hoe, they can scare you to death!"

Deng Yuechuan gritted his teeth, gripped the pistol in his hand, and drank the wine in his bowl: "Master, when do we make our move?"

"Don't rush, I need to make some preparations and find someone to help you." Wang Tiaodeng poured Deng Yuechuan another glass of wine.

……

Zhang Laifu studied the alarm clock in the room and roughly figured out some patterns.

Without winding, the hands of the clock don't move at all.

Each time the clock is wound up, the hands of the alarm clock will move at the opposite speed to a normal clock, with the hour hand moving faster than the minute hand, and the minute hand moving faster than the second hand.

Whether this alarm clock can be wound up once every twelve hours is due to its inherent characteristic or because Zhang Laifu's abilities are limited remains unknown.

No matter how many times he winds the clock, it always shows one o'clock. This must be due to Zhang Laifu's ability, because he had heard the old helmsman say that an alarm clock can point to two o'clock, but Zhang Laifu can't do that now.

After one o'clock, a puff of green smoke will definitely emerge from under the alarm clock.

This cloud of green smoke has never harmed Zhang Laifu. Even if Zhang Laifu is breathing normally, as long as he is holding the alarm clock, this cloud of green smoke will not get close to him.

But one time, a cockroach crawled out from under the table. Zhang Laifu, holding an alarm clock, glanced at the cockroach, and green smoke immediately rushed towards it. The cockroach, touched by the green smoke, died on the spot.

The smoke is indeed poisonous; it can follow Zhang Laifu's gaze. As for why it can sense Zhang Laifu's gaze, that remains unclear.

Within a minute, regardless of whether the poison reaches any living creature, the green smoke will definitely return to the alarm clock, and the three hands will immediately reset and point to twelve o'clock again.

No other patterns have been found so far.

Besides figuring out the alarm clock, Zhang Laifu was also seriously studying his craft. He had mastered the basics of making lantern frames, but he was missing one thing. Lao Liang told him to follow the strength of the bamboo ribs, but after trying for so many days, Zhang Laifu still couldn't find where the strength of the bamboo ribs was.

He's treating the lantern like a wife, so why can't he figure this out?
This really requires experience; it can't be mastered simply by talent. Zhang Laifu was anxious, breaking hundreds of bamboo strips every day, his fingers covered in cuts, but unfortunately, he didn't make much progress.

If he continued practicing like this, his fingers would be seriously injured. Zhang Laifu decided not to work on the skeleton yet, and instead learned some special skills from Lao Liang.

Paper lanterns can be used as weapons, and each move is very particular. Lao Liang knows many moves, and Zhang Laifu is a craftsman. The two work together very well, and in less than a month, he has learned all of Lao Liang's skills.

Practicing martial arts is a very interesting thing, especially after you've mastered a certain foundation, the more you practice, the more tricks you can come up with. Zhang Laifu was practicing martial arts in the room, holding a bamboo pole in his left hand and a piece of rough-edged paper in his right, following a set of books given to him by Lao Liang, when he suddenly heard his servant Xiao An calling from outside the door: "Laifu, the boss wants you to run an errand."

The phrase "running errands" actually refers to urging Zhang Laifu to learn a trade.

Usually it's Xiao Chu, the waiter, who comes. Why is it Xiao An who came today?
Zhang Laifu agreed, "I'll go right away."

He didn't rush out; first, he found a cotton-padded coat and put it on. This coat was a gift from He Shengjun; it was large, thick, and very loose.

Zhang Laifu took out the sewing box that Xiaozhu had given him, tore a piece of cloth from his dirty long gown, sewed a hidden pocket inside the hem of his cotton-padded jacket, and put the alarm clock inside.

He walked a few steps in front of the mirror, feeling that the hem looked a bit unnatural. He removed the hidden pocket, sewed it back on several times, and made sure that no flaws could be seen before Zhang Laifu went out.

When they arrived at Lao Liang's door, Zhang Laifu called out several times, but no one answered.

Zhang Laifu sensed something was wrong and was about to return to his room when he suddenly heard Wang Tiaodeng say behind him, "Laifu, it's been a long time since I've seen you."

"Master!" Zhang Laifu turned around and bowed. "Where have you been all this time?"

“I went there, I didn’t go anywhere…” Master Wang couldn’t finish his sentence for a long time. This was the question he should have asked Zhang Laifu.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this," Master Wang waved his hand. "I heard that the shopkeeper taught you a lot of skills. You should be able to make frames now, right? Make one for me to see."

Zhang Laifu nodded: "I won't do it."

Wang Tiaodeng angrily retorted, "Why are you nodding if you're not going to do it? Why won't you do it? I'm your master, can't I control you?"

"The shopkeeper sent me to run an errand, but I'm busy right now."

"The shopkeeper has gone out and given me instructions."

"I've given you the instructions, now go and run the errand." Zhang Laifu turned and left.

"Come back! Make a skeleton for me to see first, then go run errands for the shopkeeper later." Master Wang flicked eight small bamboo strips out of his sleeve, then flicked out a piece of candle, flicked it with his fingertip, and lit the candle.

Master Wang finished roasting the bamboo strips and tossed them directly to Zhang Laifu. Zhang Laifu caught the bamboo strips with a steady and accurate catch, without getting burned at all.

"Master, watch carefully!" Zhang Laifu got into position, put on gloves, and bent the bamboo strip. The curvature was slightly off, but it was enough to support a frame.

The commotion attracted a lot of workers and apprentices who came to watch.

Master Wang's gaze softened considerably as he looked at the skeleton Zhang Laifu had made.

"Laifu, you've really put in the effort. Take off your gloves and let them see your hands."

Zhang Laifu was somewhat surprised; Master Wang's attitude changed rather quickly. He took off his gloves, and the others whispered among themselves when they saw the cuts all over his hands.

Learning a trade is not easy!

"Laifu is a promising young man; otherwise, why would the shopkeeper have taken a liking to him!"

Chen Xiaowang was still a little choked up: "Brother Laifu, well done!"

Master Wang smoothed the bamboo stalks: "Your technique is already impeccable, but you're still lacking in the strength of the bamboo fibers."

Zhang Lai Fu nodded repeatedly.

That's why he's the head chef; he can spot the key point at a glance.

“But this bamboo-like strength can’t be developed overnight. I practiced for two whole years, but I didn’t make much progress.” Master Wang seemed to be struggling with the problem as well.

The crowd murmured, "They still have a lot of work to do."

"You can't learn a skill without putting in hard work."

Chen Xiaowang gritted his teeth and clenched his fists: "Brother Laifu, if you put in more effort, you'll definitely succeed!"

Just as Zhang Laifu was about to chat with Chen Xiaowang, he suddenly heard Master Wang say, "Laifu, go to the old shipyard's iron grate warehouse and buy a bundle of gray-eyed bamboo."

Zhang Laifu was taken aback: "Where is the old shipyard? What do you need this bamboo for?"

Chen Xiaowang said, "Let me do the errands. I know where the old shipyard is."

"You want to do it? Who do you think you are?" Master Wang glared at Chen Xiaowang. "The boss told me to teach Laifu the craft, what are you doing here? Go make lanterns!"

Chen Xiaowang walked away with his head down. Master Wang lowered his voice and said to Zhang Laifu, "Gray-eyed bamboo has a spirit and the strongest tendons, making it the most suitable for practicing. This is my unique skill, and I can't let them learn it. You should go and buy some bamboo now."

(End of this chapter)