Chapter Twenty-Four: The Mysterious Handicraft

  Finally got hold of Chu Dongyang's dagger, Jiuniang was delighted to take it in her hand and examine it carefully, even using her thumb to test the blade, then raised an eyebrow and looked at Chu Dongyang, saying: "Indeed a good dagger, no wonder you treasure it so much."

  This dagger is really identical to the one she collected in her previous life, even the patterns on the blade are the same.

  Jiuniang gently stroked the blade of the dagger, the icy touch was both real and illusory. The smile on her face became even more radiant, with a hint of nostalgia in its gentleness.

  She inexplicably crossed over to this place, but now that she sees this dagger, Jiuniang can't help but think that perhaps her arrival was predestined.

  "It's been a long time, I don't know if I'll be rusty, let me practice first." The dagger spun around the tip of Jiuniang's slender white fingers for a few circles, agile and effortless. Then she picked up a thick wooden stick as thick as her fist and began to whittle with practiced movements.

  Chu Dongyang saw Jiuniang carelessly holding the bloody dagger in her hand, and his heart inexplicably tightened into a knot. He couldn't help but want to snatch it back from her hand, and he somewhat regretted agreeing to lend her the dagger.

  It was rare to see such tenderness and joy between her eyebrows, Chu Dongyang couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and in the end still didn't go back to grab it.

  He furrowed his brow and said, "The Blood Drink is very sharp, be careful not to cut your hand."

  "I know!" Jiuniang responded without lifting her head, her dagger dancing on her fingertips as wood shavings fell continuously.

  Chu Dongyang sat on one side watching, from initial shock to later frowning.

  He was really puzzled, where did Jiuniang learn this skill from? With such a skill, why would the Feng family still be poor to the point of selling their daughter?

  The longer Chu Dongyang spent with her, the more shocks Jiuniang gave him.

  Cooking is delicious, can make bows and arrows, dare to go up the mountain to hunt, using dagger techniques are very skilled... maybe later will let him see even more powerful ones.

  Chu Dongyang pursed his lips, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes as he stared at her hands.

  Her movements were swift and smooth, every knife cut was extremely neat, all her thoughts focused on the wood in her hand. When she finally finished and stopped, Chu Dongyang asked out his doubts.

  "Jiuniang, who did you learn all these from?"

  "If I told you that I'm self-taught, would you believe me?" Jiuniang carefully pinched the finished object in her hand, puffed out her cheeks to blow away the wood shavings and dust on it, before smiling and winking at Chudongyang.

  Chu Dongyang naturally didn't believe it, this was obviously him being unwilling to tell him.

  Chu Dongyang's dark eyes flashed with a hint of gloom, staring intently at Jiuniang. But she suddenly looked serious and said to him, "Some things, the truth is often more unbelievable than lies. Just like if I told you that I'm actually a soul from another world, would you think I'm just making it up?"

  Chu Dongyang was stunned again, his mouth twitched, and he said: "You this woman——"

  Jiuniang shrugged her shoulders and smiled with a knowing expression, saying: "See, I told the truth, but you think I'm just talking nonsense."

  A soul from another world?

  Chu Dongyang's eyes had an unusual emotion, his lips were pursed tightly, staring at Jiuniang for a while, suddenly said: "No wonder I've been feeling that you're strange these past few days."

  "Ah?" Jiuniang's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Chudongyang, thinking to herself that he couldn't possibly believe her words.

  "Do you believe?" asked Jiuniang.

  Chu Dongyang gazed at her with a profound look in his eyes and said, "I don't believe it. However, things being this way now isn't necessarily a bad thing."

  Of course it's a good thing! She has become so capable, taking care of him carefully and working hard to make a living, where can you find such a woman?

  Jiuniang smiled and glared at Chudongyang, then placed the finished item in front of him, raised her chin, and said proudly: "Look, isn't my craftsmanship amazing?"

  It was a palm-sized butterfly with very thin wings, under the sunlight and clear wind, lightly trembling its transparent wings, dancing gracefully.

  If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes that she had carved it out knife by knife, he would have thought it was a real butterfly.

  Chu Dongyang found it utterly unbelievable.

  He lightly touched the butterfly's trembling wings with his fingertips, and the tactile sensation that belonged to wood was very real, making him feel shocked and unbelievable again.

  "Don't you think it's amazing and unbelievable?" Jiuniang smiled and said, "If it were dyed with color, it would be even more beautiful."

  Some plant juice is a natural dye, Jiuniang is going to find some on the mountain later.

  "What else will you do besides this?" Chu Dongyang asked softly after a moment of silence.

  The ninth girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said seriously: "Hmmm, there are too many things that can be done, it's hard to finish with just a few words. You'll understand once you see the results."

  Chu Dongyang stared at the lifelike butterfly, no longer speaking.

  Jiuniang continued to make several small animals, including dragonflies, frogs, and turtles... each one was vivid and lifelike, very nice to look at.

  Finally, Jiuniang found a piece of wood as thick as a large bowl and spent an hour carefully carving a peony flower basin. The flowers bloomed with ten different postures, grand yet elegant, symbolizing perfection.

  "These things should be taken to town, shouldn't someone buy them?" Jiuniang arranged the finished goods on the table and turned around to ask Chudongyang.

  Although it doesn't have her set of tools, being able to produce something of this standard with just this dagger is already quite good.

  "Hmm." Chu Dongyang murmured a response after a while, his voice barely audible.

  "These little animals can be sold to children for play, and this pot of peonies can be sold to rich people, it's also a good idea to put them in the living room as decorations." Jiuyan thought seriously, then patted the wood shavings on her body, stood up and walked out, not forgetting to say to Chudongyang: "You stay at home and take care of them, don't let anyone come and take them away. I'll go to the back mountain for a walk, I'll be right back."

  After Jiuniang left with the bamboo basket, Chudongyang sat at the table, deeply thoughtful and staring at the exquisite and beautiful object on the table, his eyebrows furrowed.

  Jiuniang can make these things and exchange them for silver in town, so the Feng family will never be poor to the point of selling their daughter.

  Is it necessary to investigate the Feng family?

  At the time when Chu Dongyang was staring blankly at that pot of peonies, Leng Shuang returned with a bow and quiver on his back, both hands full of game, and quick footsteps.

  "Brother Chu, I'm back!" Leng Su entered the house, throwing down the game he had hunted, and said to Chu Dongyang with a pleased expression: "These will be enough for us to eat for several days."

  Those prey piled up on the ground a small heap, indeed not a few.

  Chu Dongyang couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and looked at Leng Su, asking: "How is this bow?"

  He was taken aback for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly: "It's really great! If we had used such powerful crossbows at the Battle of Moliri River..."

  At this point, Leng Su suddenly stopped and looked at Chu Dongyang with a face full of apology, saying: "Chu big brother..."

  Chu Big Brother was injured in the leg during that battle at Muliriver, if there were such powerful crossbows at that time, we would have won a landslide victory, and Chu Big Brother wouldn't have been injured...

  Chu Dongyang smiled wryly and waved his hand: "It's all in the past, no need to mention it again."

  "Brother Chu, Master Absolute Shadow will definitely be able to cure your leg." Cold and solemnly said: "If he really doesn't want to come, I'll go bind him and bring him to treat you."

  Jueying Master is a renowned divine doctor, said to have the technique of reviving the dead. However, he is very particular and does not easily treat people's illnesses, nor will he take the initiative to offer his services to others.

  The place where the Master of Absolute Shadow resides is very far away, and it takes more than half a month to get there on horseback day and night. A normal person would lose weight after being jolted for over ten days, let alone someone with injuries who wouldn't be able to withstand it; many people die on their way to seek medical treatment.

  Chu Dongyang let out a light sigh and said, "If my leg is crippled, then it's crippled. Otherwise, I won't have any peaceful days."

  "Brother Chu——" The cold and stern face clenched his fists in anger, but was interrupted by Chu Dongyang, who said: "From now on, don't mention these things again. I don't want to have any more involvement with the imperial court."

  "Got it." Leng Su responded with a stuffy tone after a while.

  "I'm hungry, where's my sister?" He coldly scanned the room and didn't see Jiuniang's shadow, but finally found those lively and lovely handicrafts on the table. He walked over, picked one up, and examined it carefully for a while, exclaiming in surprise: "These are all made of wood? They look just like real ones."

  Chu Dongyang gave Leng Su a cold glance, his light voice tinged with displeasure, saying: "Don't ruin them, these were all made by your sister-in-law, they're to be taken to town and sold for silver."

  His face was stern and full of surprise, just about to say something, when he heard Chu Dongyang continue: "Your sister-in-law said we eat too much, afraid that later on we'll starve our stomachs."

  Leng Shu moved his mouth slightly and thought to himself, "What does Chu Da Ge mean by this? Is he telling me to eat less in the future or is he asking me to go make some money?"

  Digression

  Strongly recommend "Farmer's Medicine Master" author Fengjian Yunwei's latest work "Fragrant Colorful Garden: The Farmer's Wife Wants to Turn the World Upside Down" for you to uncover the mysterious veil of ancient fragrance techniques. If you like farming texts, girls can go support it, muah~