Chapter 009: Threats

“We can start work, but, Duke Du Fan, as you know, our Bilu tribe has just arrived here. So, only a few people have been sent there to mine. Although we could send more, for now, I can only ask our tribe members to hurry and prepare a place to live first,” said Chief Li immediately upon hearing Du Fan’s question.
“Good. It’s right that you arrange for those tribe members first. Hurry up with it. To be honest, in the north, my father is currently at war with the people of the Eighteen Frozen Kingdoms. That’s why I need a large amount of weapons and armor right now. Chief Li, please consider it—if possible, we need to start making armor and weapons right away,” said Du Fan loudly.
“Understood, Duke Du Fan. I’ll remember everything you said and arrange for the production of weapons and armor as soon as possible,” Chief Li replied promptly after hearing Du Fan’s words.
“Also, regarding my explosives—how can we eliminate the smoke? Can you think of a way?” Du Fan asked Chief Li.
“Duke Du Fan, I can’t think of one right away,” replied Green.
……
After leaving the Bilu tribe, Du Fan headed straight for the city of Doha.
Soon, he went straight to the laboratory.
“Ringtone, is there anything that can eliminate the smoke produced by explosions?” Du Fan asked as soon as he saw her.
“No, there isn’t,” Ringtone replied immediately upon hearing his question.
“Let’s see if we can come up with a way,” Du Fan said again after hearing her answer.
“Ah, my little master, when did you come in?” Chenchen appeared before Du Fan like a gust of wind.
“Chenchen, I wanted to discuss with you how to disperse the smoke generated by explosives in caves,” Du Fan said while looking at her.
“A direct method won’t work, but an indirect one will,” Chenchen said with a smile. “My master, you’re so smart, but why are you so foolish in some aspects?”
“Haha, then tell me, what’s the indirect method?” Du Fan didn’t object to Chenchen calling him foolish and simply asked for the method.

“Well, the smoke generated by the explosion of those explosives—if you look closely, you can see that it’s actually made up of tiny particles of dust. But because these particles are so small and light, they can easily float in the air. All we need to do is find a way to make these tiny particles heavier so that they fall down on their own,” Chenchen said, looking at Du Fan.

“Yes, but how can we make these tiny particles heavier so that they fall down on their own?” Du Fan asked right away.

“All we need is a mist magic spell to make those floating particles heavier, causing them to fall to the ground,” Chenchen said with a smile.

“Is that really possible?” Du Fan asked, somewhat skeptical.

“Why not give it a try?” Hearing Du Fan’s doubt, Chenchen immediately suggested an experiment.

“Okay, let’s give it a try,” Chenchen said.

In a lab room about thirty square meters in size, Du Fan lit a small amount of explosives and threw it in. Soon, thick smoke began to rise in the room.

As the smoke spread, Chenchen quickly threw in a scroll with the mist magic spell. Immediately, the spell covered the entire room.

Du Fan activated the True Eye. With its help, he clearly saw water molecules sticking to those tiny particles. Soon, those water molecules lifted them upward. In no time, as the mist disappeared, the thick smoke also vanished.

“It really works!” Du Fan whispered, watching the smoke disappear.

He opened the door to the room and stepped in. All that remained was a faint smell of smoke.

“It’s really good,” Du Fan said as he stepped out and spoke to Chenchen.

“Chenchen,” Du Fan said, with an expression as if he had reached the pinnacle of a sacred rank.

“What is it, my master?” Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Chenchen immediately knew that something unpleasant was coming again.

“Well, I was wondering if you could help me seal more mist magic scrolls,” Du Fan said with a smile.

“That’s no problem, my little master,” Chenchen replied with a smile. “How many do you need?”

“Five hundred, I guess,” Du Fan thought for a moment before saying.

“Five hundred! Do you think I’m a slave?” Chenchen snapped angrily upon hearing the random number Du Fan blurted out.
“Alright, Chenchen, if you don’t want to do it, I can do it alone. After all, Mist is just a second-level water magic, and sealing it is very simple,” Ringo said softly beside her.
“Du Fan, did you hear that? Ringo is so kind—you should take good care of her,” Chenchen shouted at Du Fan again, watching Ringo.
“Mm, of course,” Du Fan said with a smile after hearing Chenchen’s words. “Ringo, wait for me tonight.”
“Mm,” Ringo replied with a blushing face.
“Alright, Du Fan, go ahead. For Ringo’s sake, I’ll do it for you. Come pick it up tomorrow afternoon,” Chenchen said bluntly.
“Okay, I’m leaving then. Remember to rest—don’t overwork yourselves,” Du Fan said with a smile as he left.
After Du Fan left, Ringo suddenly whispered to Chenchen, “Chenchen, don’t you need Du Fan to take good care of you too?”
“What did you say?” Chenchen asked, confused.
It seems she really has forgotten everything! Ringo thought, seeing Chenchen’s reaction.
“Nothing, I was just joking,” Ringo said.
“Oh, that makes no sense,” Chenchen said, giving Ringo a disdainful look.
…
“Lord, Master Barbari requests an audience,” a guard rushed over as soon as he came out.
“Master Barbari? Where?” Hearing that Master Barbari wanted to see him, Du Fan’s lips curled into a subtle smile.
“In the reception room. It seems Master Barbari is in a hurry,” the guard replied promptly.
“Okay, I understand. I’ll be there right away. You go back to your duties,” Du Fan said to the guard.
“Yes, my lord!” the guard replied loudly before turning to attend to other matters.
“Duke Du Fan, you’ve finally arrived!” Barbari rushed forward eagerly upon seeing Du Fan.
“Please, sit, Master Barbari. What brings you here?” Du Fan smiled again at Barbari’s appearance.
“Oh, Duke Du Fan, I’ve come here with an important matter to discuss with you,” Barbari said as he sat down in front of Du Fan.

“Oh, what’s the matter that has made Master Barbari so anxious? Take your time, I’m listening,” said Du Fan.
“It’s this, Duke Du Fan. When our magic guild went out to recruit this time, we found that almost all the teenagers suitable for practicing magic had already been recruited by your people. After hard work, we managed to recruit just over eight hundred people, but Duke Du Fan, my guild leader assigned me a target of at least three thousand!” said Barbari.
“Hmm, so what do you mean, Master Barbari?” Du Fan asked, frowning upon hearing Barbari’s words.
Seeing Du Fan frown, Master Barbari suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
“What I mean is that I hope Duke Du Fan can be flexible and assign some of those recruits to our magic guild,” Master Barbari continued, looking at Du Fan.
“That’s not fair! Our staff have worked so hard to recruit just a few people, and now we’re supposed to share them with you?” Du Fan stood up immediately upon hearing this.
Seeing Du Fan stand up, Barbari suddenly felt guilty.
“Well, Duke Du Fan, it’s useless for you to keep those recruits. If we can’t gather enough people, our teachers won’t be able to come, and without teachers, the academy can’t operate,” said Barbari.
“Master Barbari, are you threatening me? The classrooms and laboratories are ready, and all my recruits are here. Yet you tell me your teachers can’t arrive on time. What do you really mean?” Du Fan said coldly.
“Oh, Duke Du Fan, that’s not what I meant. Please don’t misunderstand!” Barbari said, waving his hands frantically.
“If it’s not that, then what do you mean? You say you can’t recruit enough students, so you won’t send teachers to teach. What’s the point of that?” Du Fan pressed.
“I, I…” Barbari stammered.
“You’re threatening me,” Du Fan said sternly.
At that, Barbari had nothing to say. Indeed, his words did carry a threatening tone, but he didn’t realize Du Fan wouldn’t be intimidated by such tactics.
“Duke Du Fan, I just want a few of the students. Having so many won’t do you any good,” Barbari said, suddenly putting on a sad expression.

“Master Barbari, that’s where you’re wrong. If you want students, just ask politely. Why threaten me?” Du Fan brought up again the matter of Barbari threatening him.
“I, I… that wasn’t really a threat, was it?” Master Barbari tentatively said.
“It was a threat, Master Barbari. You see, you could have just asked politely. Why threaten? We’re partners—let’s discuss things properly.” Du Fan immediately put on a smile befitting a saintly being.
Seeing Du Fan’s expression change as quickly as flipping a page, Barbari began to sweat.
“Duke Du Fan, I just want to take some of your students and register them under our guild’s name,” Master Barbari said. “Duke Du Fan, do you think that’s okay?”
“Hmm. Let me think,” Du Fan said, pretending to ponder.
“Master Barbari, I think it’s fine,” Du Fan said abruptly after thinking for a moment.
“Really! Then, Duke Du Fan, two thousand five hundred will be enough for us.” This time, Barbari didn’t dare ask for too much.
“Master Barbari, but there’s a bit of a problem with this. Think about it—we’ve invested a lot of manpower and resources to recruit those students. We had to travel to every town, promote our services door to door, bring lots of testing equipment, and cover food and accommodation along the way. Just imagine how much it cost us,” Du Fan said.
“What do you mean, Duke Du Fan?” Hearing this, Barbari finally understood Du Fan’s intention.