Chapter 691: A Satisfactory Product
The next day, Ye Zhiqiu, true to his initial promise, handed Yang Haoran twenty Smiling Face Masks.
Crafting the Smiling Face Masks posed no difficulty for Ye Zhiqiu. After all, Yang Haoran's demands were minimal; besides sufficient refinement, he only required the masks to be sturdy, with no other stipulations.
Initially, Ye Zhiqiu needed about an hour to craft a single Smiling Face Mask. As he progressed, the time required steadily decreased, and once proficient, he could complete one in just half an hour.
Thus, in merely a day, he delivered the twenty masks to Yang Haoran as promised.
While Ye Zhiqiu was crafting the Smiling Face Masks, Yang Haoran sought out Bai Xue once more, requesting some demon beast fur from her.
The primary material for crafting Skins was beast hide, specifically demon hide. Ordinary beast hide was too poor in quality and couldn't withstand much power; if one insisted on forcing it into a Skin, the Skin would very likely shatter from the inability to bear the immense power.
To ensure the quality of the Skins, demon fur was typically chosen as the main material for their refinement.
Yang Haoran wasn't certain if Bai Xue possessed demon fur. However, the Spirit Police had slain numerous minor demons a few days prior, and it was possible their corpses were in Bai Xue's possession, which was why Yang Haoran approached her.
Fortunately, Bai Xue did not disappoint him. Although not all the corpses of the minor demons slain by the Spirit Police recently ended up in her hands, a portion of them had indeed been collected by her.
Yang Haoran needed these corpses, and Bai Xue was not stingy, handing all the minor demon corpses over to him. In her view, Yang Haoran was most likely requesting these corpses to give them to Ye Zhiqiu, but she didn't hide them away because of that.
The fur of minor demons, of course, couldn't compare to that of greater demons. However, with no greater demon fur currently available, he could only make do with what he had. Even if the fur of a minor demon was subpar, it was still hundreds, if not thousands, of times better than ordinary beast fur.
Furthermore, Ye Zhiqiu had no experience whatsoever in crafting Skins. If he were to start by using overly precious fur, even the thickest family fortune wouldn't be able to withstand such waste.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Yang Haoran first made a trip to the Spirit Police headquarters, personally requesting some demon fur from Luo Dui. Demon corpses and fur had always been objects of study for the Spirit Police, so they had a supply of such items at their headquarters.
Since Yang Haoran himself had made the request, Luo Dui naturally found it difficult to refuse. He retrieved some of their stored demon fur and presented it to Yang Haoran, even including some from greater demons.
Yang Haoran, without exception, gave all of this fur to Ye Zhiqiu for practice.
Afterward, Yang Haoran issued an order to his Night Watchers, instructing them to pay close attention to demons. Should any news of a demon emerge, they were to inform him immediately. He worried that Ye Zhiqiu might not have enough demon fur for practice, so he wanted to make preparations from multiple angles.
Ye Zhiqiu was not idle either. He first found ways to gather the other materials for crafting Skins one by one. Originally, these other materials weren't difficult to find in the mortal realm, but with the world now in chaos and no one in Lecheng conducting business, some items were hard to acquire.
Nevertheless, Ye Zhiqiu spent some time and ultimately managed to gather all the necessary auxiliary materials. As for the methods he employed, that remained unknown.
Once the materials were complete, Ye Zhiqiu began attempting to refine Skins in his room, while Yang Haoran, in his villa, cultivated Soul Pills to enhance his strength, read books to learn, and simultaneously kept an eye on external developments.
To make full use of his time, Yang Haoran didn't dedicate specific periods solely to refining Soul Pills. Instead, after consuming a Soul Pill, he would leave it to his body to naturally absorb the Pure Yin Qi released by it. While this method didn't allow for the quickest refinement of the Soul Pill, it enabled him to engage in other activities during the process.
For instance, reading books, or consulting information via the Underworld Iron Tome to broaden his knowledge. Sometimes, he would also take out his talisman brush and paper to draw some Talismans.
One day, half a month later, Ye Zhiqiu sought out Yang Haoran and handed him a Skin.
Gazing at the Skin before him, a habitual smile spread across Yang Haoran's face.
The Skin Ye Zhiqiu gave him had been crafted to the specifications of that female Evil Spirit's figure and appearance. As no ghostly entity had yet possessed it, the Skin currently appeared shriveled.
It wasn't Yang Haoran's first encounter with Skins; he had not only purchased them but also commissioned them on multiple occasions. While his understanding of Skins couldn't compare to the professional Skin masters of the Underworld, he could still discern their quality. Even though no ghostly entity currently inhabited this particular Skin, he could tell its quality after a thorough inspection.
The Skin crafted by Ye Zhiqiu, when compared to those refined by the master craftsmen of the Underworld, exhibited a considerable difference. Although at first glance it seemed almost indistinguishable, a closer inspection revealed many details that simply couldn't measure up.
Nevertheless, Yang Haoran was quite satisfied with it. After all, this was the first finished Skin Ye Zhiqiu had ever crafted. He had never refined such an item before and lacked any prior experience. To be able to produce a Skin of this caliber within half a month was truly commendable.
In Yang Haoran's opinion, with this first successful experience, undertaking such tasks in the future would be much simpler. Failing to reach the standard of the Underworld's master craftsmen on the first attempt didn't mean it could never be achieved.
"Heh heh, I told you you could do it, but you didn't believe me. Look at the Skin you've crafted; it's practically indistinguishable from those sold in the Underworld."
Yang Haoran spoke with a chuckle, a satisfied smile plastered across his face. Even though he knew full well that Ye Zhiqiu's crafted Skin had a noticeable gap compared to those sold in the Underworld, he chose not to say so, instead telling Ye Zhiqiu that there was practically no difference between them.
"I know perfectly well the quality of the Skin I've crafted; you don't need to sweet-talk me so much. Besides, I failed several times before I managed to refine this one," Ye Zhiqiu replied, seeing through Yang Haoran's flattery.
Ye Zhiqiu knew Yang Haoran was intentionally speaking so flatteringly, so he immediately called him out.
Yang Haoran didn't feel awkward in the slightest, chuckling as he put away the Skin.
"Heh heh, you've worked hard this time. You surely haven't rested properly these past two weeks. Go ahead and take a few days off now; I don't have any other tasks for you at the moment."
Upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, Ye Zhiqiu shook his head.
"No need for rest. Since you don't have any tasks for me, I'll go out and find a few demons to practice on," Ye Zhiqiu stated.
"There's no rush. Your body is your capital. Only when you're well-rested can your strength be fully utilized when you go out," Yang Haoran replied with a smile.
"Where do I have time to rest now? If I'm not mistaken, that white snake's power has already surpassed mine. As for you, I can't even compare. If I don't find a way to improve my own strength soon, I'm afraid I won't be of much value to you then. My wife is still counting on you to save her; if I lose my value to you, then who will save my wife? " Ye Zhiqiu said, taking a gulp of wine.
"Heh heh, you're speaking too formally. What I've promised you, I will certainly deliver on. You don't have to worry about that at all," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
"You have your way of doing things, and I have my own style. So, I know what I need to do," Ye Zhiqiu responded.
"Alright then, since you've made your decision, I won't try to dissuade you. But do be extra careful. Half a month has passed, and some people might already know that their sons have met with an accident."
Ye Zhiqiu, of course, understood what Yang Haoran meant. He nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave the study.
"If you encounter trouble you can't handle, remember to activate the Death God Pendant I gave you. Don't try to tough it out. If not for yourself, at least think of your wife."
Yang Haoran called out a reminder to Ye Zhiqiu's retreating back. Ye Zhiqiu paused, replied with a simple "Got it," and then exited the study.
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