Chapter 66: Chapter 59: Completely Insane
What does it feel like to kill?
Once upon a time, Carpenter Li was afraid of killing, it was a terrifying thing. Taking a life meant snatching away another’s life with your own hands. Blood would flow all over the ground, and the knife would get stuck in the bones, and those dying people would repeatedly call out in his dreams, asking him to return their lives.
He fainted at the sight of blood, feared death, and never thought about anything related to murder.
But now, Carpenter Li understood.
Killing was no different from splitting wood, a familiar task.
In fact, splitting wood was even harder; after all, some wood wasn’t so neat, with knots and scars that could jam the axe— but flesh was different. When the sharp ax blade passed through flesh, it almost felt no resistance.
As for the bones beneath the flesh, to this sharp axe, they were nothing more than slightly hard, small branches.
"So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is..."
Carpenter Li, his eyes bloodshot, looked at the axe in his hands and laughed maniacally.
"Turns out it’s just carpentry; I’m good at this."
Saying this, Carpenter Li raised his head, surveying the remaining nomadic warriors in front of him.
"Hmm... no, no, rotten wood can’t be carved."
"Watch out! He’s got A Xuan’s axe!"
One of the blood-eyed nomadic people had already recognized the axe in Carpenter Li’s hands.
"He’s gone mad! Kill him quickly! Quick..."
But the scream that was about to burst out was sealed in his throat.
The nomad who had just called out to his companions now had his entire head severed, his limbs twisted into bizarre shapes by the axe handle, lying flat and inverted like a bench.
And Carpenter Li, who completed all this in just a moment, even walked over to sit on it.
"It’s usable, just not very sturdy."
Saying this, Carpenter Li swung the axe handle, striking the tailbone of the headless corpse.
The shattered bones stacked together, becoming much sturdier now.
After completing his first piece, Carpenter Li finally raised his head.
"Uncarved wood cannot become a tool."
Surveying the few remaining nomadic warriors in front of him, Carpenter Li, seated on the human bench, stood up.
"You all need some fixing as well."
"..."
The blood-eyed nomads glanced at each other.
Then they fled in panic.
Indeed, as warriors under He Xiqing, as eagles under the vast sky, they should not cower from battle, nor should they flee—but all this is based on the premise that this is at least a battle.
Was what they faced now truly a battle?
No, this wasn’t a battle, nor even a massacre; what stood before them was something far stranger and inexplicable.
Just like now, that entity, though limping on one leg, chased them like the wind, and with a few swings of the big axe, had beheaded a lagging nomad, sculpting it into a lantern.
The piercing cold wind blowing from behind was so familiar; as people from the northern desert, how could they not recognize this feeling? After all, they all claimed to be warriors honed by the northern desert winds, men that even frost and snow couldn’t kill.
But now, this familiar wind from home was siding with that monster.
With the wind’s push, even with a limp leg, the monster moved swiftly; with just a few strides, the door leading to outside was completely sealed by the battle axe.
Carpenter Li had never had such an easy task.
Benches, tables, chairs, lanterns, oil lamps, even cart wheels, Carpenter Li carefully carved each piece. The wood that originally needed effort to cut was now unexpectedly easy—if there was anything wrong, it was that the fresh wood had too much sap, not only spilling all over the ground but even spraying all over his head and face.
However, these woods weren’t without advantages, and their greatest advantage was understanding his intentions. As he finished crafting several wooden creations, more wood surged in through the door themselves—Carpenter Li had countless times imagined having two kids to assist him later, since hiring workers was too costly, and his income wasn’t that high.
Now, no need to wait for the kids to grow, these sawed-off woods lined up to come in themselves.
"These are cut a bit short, but can be used."
Carpenter Li just thought a little, and a rough outline formed in his mind.
Though the wood was not long enough, using mortise and tenon techniques could join them into usable pieces—incidentally, he remembered his brother Du had a good horse now, but lacked a stable in the yard, handling these materials now was perfectly suitable.
So Carpenter Li swung the axe, swiftly dealing with all the wood that rushed in.
To be fair, these woods were indeed handy, although they grew somewhat loose with extra sap, the peeled-off bark was sturdy enough, just right for using as a covering on the stable roof.
Carpenter Li even once thought of using the bark to make boots; after all, he heard that heading north, in the snowy lands, people there traditionally used bark to make shoes. But Carpenter Li had only heard of this, not knowing how to make them—moreover, there wasn’t enough bark now, and the cords extracted from the wood wouldn’t suffice either.
