63: Chapter 0063 Life is Like a Play

"This... this is a bow?"

*Hiss!* "No! These discs on it... are they pulleys?"

"Oh... this way, even with less effort, one can easily draw the bow to its full extent!"

Old Yu looked at it with great excitement, as if he had found a priceless treasure.

What Lin Xiao had given him was exactly a sketch of a compound bow with eccentric pulleys.

"As expected of a royal craftsman, to understand the use of these eccentric pulleys so quickly."

Lin Xiao even admired himself; with his drawing skills, even Picasso would call him an expert.

It could only be said that Old Yu's comprehension was extremely strong, seeing through the key points at once.

A compound bow allows an archer to save effort while enhancing the bow's range, penetration, and stability.

On the current battlefield, whether it was the Dagan army or the Hu people like the Northern Barbarians and Western Qiang, cavalry was their trump card.

Raising cavalry was too expensive; Lin Xiao didn't have such a large fortune, so he could only start with the bows and crossbows that could be improved.

As long as they could pierce armor from a distance, the lethality of the cavalry would be significantly weakened.

Lin Xiao didn't think he could really keep winning with fewer numbers by just relying on killing the enemy's main generals.

Once the enemy took him seriously, being trapped in an enemy camp would lead to certain doom!

A single trick cannot work forever; therefore, the army's frontal combat capability must be improved!

"My lord, did you design this bow?"

Old Yu looked at Lin Xiao in disbelief.

"It was passed down from my ancestors!" Lin Xiao replied.

"Which master was your ancestor?" Old Yu asked curiously.

Lin Xiao couldn't explain it: "Don't worry about that. I'm just offering a starting point; you can modify it according to the actual situation."

"I only care about the results, not the process!"

Old Yu let out a sigh. "What a pity... if only my group of craftsman friends who built the imperial tombs were here. This requires extremely high casting skills."

"Although I can understand your meaning, my lord, I am old. I can't handle some of the heavy labor alone anymore."

Casting?

Lin Xiao had a sudden idea: "How about this, I'll find a team for you to command at will!"

That afternoon, Lin Xiao summoned a large number of craftsmen from the whole city.

According to Old Yu's requirements, Lin Xiao selected those with high talents from their traits.

Finally, he added the "Casting Genius" Yao Gang as well. This childhood friend had a legendary trait; perhaps he would bring a surprise!

"Commander Lin, is it because I'm too useless at fighting that you're sending me away?"

Yao Gang was summoned to the workshop, feeling a bit dejected.

"What are you thinking?"

Lin Xiao hurriedly patted his brother's shoulder: "This weapon crafting is the core secret of our army!"

"If there weren't a confidant like you in the workshop, how could I be at ease?"

"Yao Gang, I trust you the most. You must help me keep an eye on the workshop and cooperate with Old Yu to do the job well!"

The big dark man's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"So that's how it is? Don't worry! Leave it to me!"

Lin Xiao looked at the ambitious-looking Yao Gang and felt relieved.

He wasn't just humoring Yao Gang; Lin Xiao really did value technical confidentiality.

This compound bow was just the beginning. Step by step, more technological innovations would surely be made, and by then, it would have to be managed by someone trustworthy.

Returning to the manor in the evening, Xiao Qingxuan was planning to go out with Mu Wanying and Leng Bingyan.

"Husband, you're back! We were just about to go look for you!"

Lin Xiao saw the three women dressed quite simply and couldn't help but wonder.

"Isn't it almost time for dinner? Why are you still going out?"

Xiao Qingxuan said with a smile, "Didn't you prepare an opera troupe for the soldiers and civilians reclaiming the land, husband? Many people have been watching the plays these past few days."

"I heard it's quite lively, so I planned for us to go see it together and hear everyone's feedback. After all, we're the ones paying for the opera troupe."

"Lin-lang, you should come too," Mu Wanying invited.

Lin Xiao thought that he had been busy for days. Aside from sparring with the two women at night, there hadn't been much spiritual communication.

Going on like this really wouldn't do.

"Alright! Let's go as a family!"

The two women were overjoyed upon hearing this, as it was their first time going to a play with their beloved.

Lin Xiao deliberately changed into ordinary casual clothes, but as soon as he reached the hill outside the city where the play was being held, he was quickly recognized.

"Commander Lin is here!!"

"Everyone, come and thank Commander Lin!"

Men, women, young, and old, all tanned dark by the sun, swarmed around.

Most people had a hint of awe on their faces and didn't dare to get too close, while some came up to greet him with smiles or even knelt down to kowtow.

Lin Xiao really didn't expect such a big reaction to his arrival.

"Look, husband, everyone supports you. Because you came, everyone has food to eat and will have land in the future."

"This is all thanks to you, my lady. You've worked hard," Lin Xiao smiled and squeezed the woman's hand.

Xiao Qingxuan lowered her head and smiled beautifully, "With those words from you, husband, I am satisfied."

Watching her husband being so popular with the common people, Mu Wanying's beautiful eyes also sparkled with wonder.

"Commander's Wife, these plums are sweet, have some!"

A local villager held out two green plums and offered them to Mu Wanying.

Mu Wanying's face flushed, and she hurriedly waved her hand, "Uncle, I'm not the wife..."

Lin Xiao heard this and reached out to take the plums from the old man.

"How are you not? Even if you are the junior one, you are still my wife!"

Lin Xiao said as he stuffed one plum into Mu Wanying's mouth and fed the other to Xiao Qingxuan.

As the two women ate the sweet and sour plums, their hearts felt sweet as well.

"Big sister, there's more here, would you like to try one too?"

A little girl offered another plum to Leng Bingyan.

Leng Bingyan hesitated for a moment before taking it and saying "thank you."

"Little girl, you really gave it to the wrong person this time; she really isn't my wife!" Lin Xiao teased.

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more cheerful.

Leng Bingyan gritted her teeth in anger, "Just because I'm not your wife doesn't mean I can't eat a plum!?"

She took a huffy bite, causing everyone nearby to laugh again.

A short while later, the opera troupe began their performance.

Lin Xiao felt that the drama in this world was similar to the local operas back home, but more primitive and crude.

After all, on the Tianwu Continent, martial arts flourished while literature languished. Writing poetry was acceptable, but there were too few literati who wrote scripts.

Everyone seemed to be watching with interest, but Lin Xiao felt bored.

With nothing to do, Lin Xiao suddenly remembered that he hadn't refreshed the system mall today.

Mainly because the mall hadn't produced anything useful lately, he hadn't been paying much attention.

"Refresh!"

A large batch of items in the mall was replaced.

[Ding! Achievement 'Life is Like a Play' obtained: Drama props refreshed in the mall. (yellow grade) Prestige +10]

Huh? There can even be an achievement for this?

Lin Xiao glanced over and found that many new things had indeed appeared!

"Python Robe (yellow grade): A prop used on the drama stage. 50 Prestige"

"Red-tasseled Spear (yellow grade): A prop used by martial actors in drama. 50 Prestige"

"Voice-Opening Pill (mystic grade): Taken before singing a play, allows one to hit high notes easily. 100 Prestige"

"Little System, what's going on? Does your mall come with big data monitoring?"

[System: I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!]

Lin Xiao was amused and annoyed. Luckily he came to see the play today; otherwise, it might have been a long time before he noticed.

However, refreshing drama-related items didn't seem very useful, and more importantly, they were quite expensive!

He scrolled down, and suddenly!

A particularly expensive cultivation technique caught his attention!

"Disguise Technique (yellow grade): Created by a Master of Face-changing, it allows one to transform into another appearance by altering facial muscles. (Upgradeable) 1500 Prestige"