After beating the bear doll until its head was covered in lumps, the Blood Doll’s face was full of apology.
Perhaps sensing the awkwardness as well, after confirming that the teddy bear’s eyes had been sewn back properly, she had no plans to stay any longer.
“Thank you, Sister Bai Tang. Then Emily will head home first. Here’s your payment~”
Five Ghost Coins clattered onto the counter.
“Mm. Goodbye, Emily.”
Watching the Blood Doll’s figure disappear at the end of the street outside the general store, Bai Tang withdrew her gaze and returned the needle and thread she had taken out back to the shelf.
Sucking on her pricked index finger, she furrowed her brows slightly and murmured to herself.
That feeling from just now…
Recalling the critical moment she had just experienced, Bai Tang could no longer remember exactly how she had done it. She only recalled her brain instinctively trying to avoid the bloody maw that the bear doll had opened…
She tried imitating the situation from earlier a few more times.
Finally, after several failures, an invisible spiritual force spread outward from her body as the origin point under her control, forming an energy impact identical to the one from not long ago.
As she felt her own spiritual power depleting rapidly, Bai Tang noticed that the living merchandise on the shelves behind her was clearly affected. The Curse Snake that had been curled up dozing in its glass jar suddenly whooshed upright. Its body stiffened and tensed in place, looking as if it were facing a formidable enemy.
“Spiritual impact? If I can control the direction precisely, I wonder if it can reduce the consumption of spiritual power.”
After repeating the attempt a few more times, Bai Tang quickly learned how to properly wield her spiritual power.
“Hiss~”
She had originally wanted to try some other applications, but her spirit suddenly felt listless. Bai Tang shook her head and sucked in a breath of cold air.
“It seems spiritual power is also linked to my overall condition. If I exhaust it, I’ll probably pass out.”
Although she anticipated that her spiritual power would increase along with her level, she could not squander it recklessly for now.
Thinking of this, Bai Tang took out the Demon Hunter Revolver from her pocket.
She had considered this before. When the Demon Hunter lady had handed her the revolver, she had not explicitly said it was a “loan.” Perhaps it had already been given to her.
Now, it seemed that before she raised her own level and her spiritual power became sufficient to defend against bizarre creatures, she would still need to rely on the power of weapons. The Demon Hunter Revolver, which had armor-piercing effects against the [Evil] alignment, was the best choice.
The crucial point was that the Demon Hunter lady had only given her five silver bullets, which had been completely expended that same night.
How to obtain ammunition for the revolver was currently the most critical issue.
“Silver bullets will probably be hard to get. But if it’s copper bullets, I wonder if the blacksmith shop has any.”
Having one more life-saving measure in this dangerous bizarre world was always good. Seeing that the general store did not look like it would receive any more customers today, Bai Tang decided to make a trip to the blacksmith shop at No. 213 Undead Street.
She put on her spare key and her new straw hat.
This was Bai Tang’s second time venturing out!
“Every time I leave the Witch teacher’s protection, it might be testing the boundary between life and death. But I am no longer the same as before. As long as I can return before Long Night falls, there shouldn’t be any problems!”
With that, the girl solemnly stepped out the door.
……
Unlike the Goat Tavern located in front of the general store, the direction to the blacksmith shop was completely opposite, and the distance was considerably farther.
Fortunately, aside from a few Wandering Souls serving as background scenery, Bai Tang encountered no other dangers along the way and soon reached her destination.
Clang—clang—clang…!
The blacksmith shop was not difficult to locate. Even from quite a distance, the clear clang clang sounds of the iron hammer striking the anvil could be heard.
Under a semi-open forging shed constructed from scrap iron sheets, a gaunt and emaciated figure was hunched over, gripping a large iron hammer and striking the red-hot iron block in front of him again and again. Sparks flew in all directions, burning several small holes into the apron tied around his waist.
Bai Tang approached. Her right eye’s gray pupil slowly displayed textual information.
[Name: Ronald]
[Race: Blacksmith Ghost]
[Level: 18 (Fierce Ghost Level)]
[Alignment: Chaotic Neutral/Chaotic Evil]
[Introduction: Owner of the blacksmith shop at No. 213 Undead Street. He has forged suitable weapons for several Demon Hunters who passed through this area. If you encounter him during White Day, congratulations. For a certain price, he will provide you with absolutely worthwhile weapons. If you encounter her during Long Night, then congratulations as well—you are about to become part of one of his satisfying creations.]
The sound of forging gradually ceased. The Blacksmith Ghost had noticed Bai Tang’s arrival. His face, covered in wrinkles like dry tree bark, made his expression impossible to discern.
“Human?”
“Hello, Mr. Blacksmith. Could I trouble you with one thing?” Bai Tang took out the Demon Hunter Revolver and showed the empty cylinder to the Blacksmith Ghost. “I would like to purchase bullets of this caliber. Do you have any here?”
According to the information from the Eye of Breaking Delusions, the Blacksmith Ghost during White Day belonged to the Chaotic Neutral alignment and would not normally harbor excessive malice. Bai Tang maintained the politeness she should.
The Blacksmith Ghost lowered his head to glance at the revolver, then shook his head after a moment.
“No.”
The Blacksmith Ghost raised his iron hammer once more and continued hammering the red-hot iron block before him.
Bai Tang stood to the side, blinking her large eyes. His answer was actually within her expectations. Besides the outsider Demon Hunter lady, she had never heard of any Demon Hunters residing on Undead Street. Therefore, it was normal not to have bullets for the Demon Hunter Revolver.
In truth, she mainly wanted to ask if he could custom-make some bullets.
“Can you custom-make bullets? I can pay extra Ghost Coins as compensation.”
Seeing that Bai Tang had no intention of leaving, the Blacksmith Ghost stopped his forging motions and straightened his hunched back.
Staring at Bai Tang with eyes like a pool of stagnant water, he took the Demon Hunter Revolver from her hand and carefully examined the caliber of the applicable bullets.
“What… material?”
There was hope! Joy surged in Bai Tang’s heart.
“Copper! If not available, iron will do too!”
“Possible. But how will you pay?”
Whether it was her imagination or not, when the Blacksmith Ghost asked this question, Bai Tang inexplicably felt a chill run through her.
But this was clearly a blacksmith shop!
“Will Ghost Coins work?”
The Blacksmith Ghost shook his head. No emotion could be seen in his hollow eyes. His dry finger pointed toward the blazing forge furnace, where several ferocious human faces could faintly be seen within the flames.
“Ghost Coins are only the most basic material and processing fees. You also need to provide me with a sufficiently fresh soul as fuel.”
Bai Tang’s body trembled almost imperceptibly.
If it had been before, she would have subconsciously assumed the other party harbored malice and was targeting her soul.
But now, the improvement in her spiritual power made it easier for her to calm down and gave her time to consider more possibilities.
Bai Tang nodded as if she half-understood and asked earnestly.
“Then, Mr. Blacksmith, may I ask where I can buy a sufficiently fresh soul?”
The next moment, the Blacksmith Ghost slowly raised his hand. His finger pointed toward the farther end of the street outside the blacksmith shop. His voice was low and hoarse.
“Over there… there is a slaughterhouse.”