IDWBE -Chapter 56 Blown Up

“Rise.”

Lin Yi was thrilled.

He thought the excitement coursing through him came from a sense of accomplishment.

But as he stood looking down at the crowd kneeling before him, he realized it was really the thrill of conquering others that exhilarated him.

So many people below—who would dare disobey him?

Who would refuse to listen?

He was suddenly startled by his own thought.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Bian Jing saw Lin Yi zoning out and couldn’t help asking.

“I’m fine,”

Lin Yi smiled, “Now that the rock has cracked, a chisel can easily knock it down. The work should go much faster.”

Bian Jing said, “Your Highness is brilliant! With this method, as long as there is a nearby stream, water is easily fetched, and the road could be cleared to the foot of the mountain in no time.”

He no longer called himself a mere “commoner.”

The Prince had already acknowledged them, these well-read scholars.

“Not enough, and too troublesome,”

Lin Yi shook his head, “Do you know how to make gunpowder?”

“Gunpowder?”

Bian Jing smiled wryly, “Your Highness, when we repaired the late Emperor’s tomb and stone was scarce, I used gunpowder to blast rock from the mountain. But in remote Sanhe, it’s difficult to procure, and I hadn’t considered making it myself. As for preparation, I only know the general idea, never tried it.”

Lin Yi waved his hand, “Organize the men and make it yourselves. Don’t be afraid of failure—just mix saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. Try different proportions.”

Exact ratios?

He was certain he’d never seen such records—otherwise he would have remembered!

Bian Jing agreed without hesitation.

Once they had gunpowder, its uses would be enormous!

The thought of blasting through mountains filled Lin Yi with excitement.

He continued inspecting some narrow paths, and whenever he saw wild fruit, his mischievous hands couldn’t resist plucking a few and stuffing them into his mouth.

By the time he returned to the residence, his hands were stained black from mulberries, impossible to wash off. His mouth numb, he picked up chopsticks, but couldn’t finish a single bite.

“Your Highness, have some soup,”

Mingyue and Zixia laughed so hard they nearly doubled over.

Lin Yi sighed, “Forget it, leave it. We’ll have it as a late-night snack if we get hungry.”

After dark, mosquitoes were abundant, and they retreated early into the mosquito net, counting stars through the window.

Silly as it was, the stars seemed endless.

In the night, he faintly heard someone shouting that the water had receded.

Standing bare-chested at the window, he saw the new Command Office across from the mansion erupting in towering flames.

Bao Kui bowed at the window, “Your Highness, the gunpowder made by Mr. Bian accidentally set the building on fire. Everyone is putting it out, so don’t worry.”

“Good grief! What kind of operation is this?” Lin Yi gawked. “Is everyone alright?”

Bao Kui said, “The elders all have some skill and quick reflexes. They got out safely.”

“Good,” Lin Yi exhaled, “don’t just stand there—go help.”

After Bao Kui left, Lin Yi wanted to throw on a shirt and check it out.

But his eyelids betrayed him, and before he noticed, they closed.

Anyway, it wasn’t serious. Whether he went or not didn’t matter. Thinking this, he fell asleep, caring little about whether the water had receded or not.

The next day, he went straight to the Command Office.

Fifteen tall tile-roofed houses occupied the large courtyard.

As Lin Yi entered, he saw one house had collapsed—the roof gone, bricks blackened by fire.

“Your Highness,” Bian Jing lamented, “I didn’t expect it to turn out this way.”

“This is a blessing in disguise,” Lin Yi smiled. “If everything had burned, you’d be sleeping on the streets.”

Bian Jing grimaced, head bowed, saying nothing.

“Your Highness, you don’t know!”

Shiquan suddenly shouted, “That was the storage room—all the grain inside burned!”

He was the youngest and lowest-ranking among the elders.

A minor official in Yongzhou, he had never raised his voice before, but now he yelled out unexpectedly.

“How much grain?”

Lin Yi sighed, “I just bought grain recently for you to aid the old, young, and schoolchildren in the city. It can’t—”

All gone?

“Your Highness,” Xie Zan said with a smile, “I will punish Bian Jing severely to set an example!”

“Truly gone?” Lin Yi squinted. “Ah, what a calamity from the heavens.”

“I, your servant, admit guilt!”

Bian Jing fell to his knees.

“Forget it, forget it. Failure is the mother of success. If you don’t fail a few times, you won’t even realize how foolish you are,”

Lin Yi snapped. “Go test somewhere else—don’t mess around at home.”

“Yes,” Bian Jing hurriedly said, “I’ll go to the mountain, just find a cave.”

“No!”

Lin Yi immediately rejected, “A cave is airtight—you want to die faster? Go by the river, build a few small houses, get a few helpers, don’t tinker alone anymore.”

“I understand,”

Bian Jing was overjoyed.

Days passed one by one.

Sanhe gradually cooled.

Lin Yi no longer wandered around bare-chested.

But there wasn’t much else to do anyway.

Now he understood why everyone liked big cities.

In a godforsaken place like Sanhe, besides fishing, what else could you do?

Their daily route was fixed: river, school, mansion—boring to the extreme.

The new school was finally built next to the mansion.

Five rows, over sixty large rooms—the largest complex in Baiyun City.

Thanks to Lin Yi’s insistence, both indoors and outdoors were cemented.

Spacious, clean, and beautiful.

The only downside: villagers often dried rice, fruits, or fish there, despite repeated bans.

Fortunately, they weren’t completely ignorant—no one occupied the children’s training grounds.

After all, some children belonged to their own families.

They may scoff at learning poetry or literature, thinking it useless—they couldn’t become top scholars anyway.

But they were happy the children could train in martial arts.

Martial arts had always been reserved for the wealthy.

Poor children had no access—until now, free training was available, and they rejoiced.

In a harsh place like Sanhe, survival was tough, and disputes countless.

More children, more clans—maybe somewhat useful, but limited.

Better to strengthen one’s own body and skill—then no one dared bully them!

Of course, not everything was positive—they now found chasing the kids exhausting. The children could climb rooftops, trees, and even leap across a ten-foot-wide river—impossible to catch!

The playground rang with shouting.

Not just schoolchildren, but local adults and even gray-haired elders—all chasing the unfulfilled childhood dream of a wandering hero.