At the Jin Sect port, people coming and going, Five Elements and various trades, there were many unique individuals, but the most exceptional in the fireworks trade belonged to Li Er the daredevil from Nine Shoal Lane.
It’s said that Li Er the daredevil’s ancestors were descendants of the fireworks trade’s founding master—Li Zhusheng.
This Li Er the daredevil had two nicknames, one was Li Eryang, and the other was Li Laoer.
The name Li Eryang came from his ability to make a type of two-burst firecracker, which was reportedly invented by his ancestors.
As for Laoer, it was because Li Er the daredevil was the second in rank in his family, but the eldest had gone to heaven three years ago, literally gone to heaven.
Li Er the daredevil said that his elder brother felt sleepy at noon, lay down on a bag filled with sulfur and gunpowder, and fell asleep. Somehow, those dozen or so bags of gunpowder inexplicably exploded.
But people from outside said that the Li Family’s eldest loved to smoke from a long pipe, which in the fireworks trade was the biggest fear. The Li Family’s eldest shouldn’t have made such a silly mistake, but he was too drowsy and absentmindedly lit the pipe’s bowl.
The tragic event that followed need not be mentioned, but the explosion was heard within a ten-mile radius of the Li Family’s eldest going to heaven.
Whether this rumor was true or not, no one knew since the Li Family’s eldest didn’t even leave behind a complete body. People could only guess randomly and treat it as dinner table humor.
Despite the jokes, no one in Jin Sect ever doubted that the Li Family’s founding master was Li Zhusheng.
The reason was that the Li Family’s firecrackers were indeed formidable. Even the military gun troops had approached the old man from the Li Family to inquire about the long-lost method of making iron-cast mortars.
At the time, in gratitude for the trust of the garrison commander, the old man secluded himself for two years researching.
Two years later, a thunderous boom suddenly echoed from Nine Shoal Lane. When Li Er the daredevil returned to the village, he found his home gone, and his father too.
However, the fame of the Li Family echoed throughout Jin Sect, with people claiming that the old man had manufactured an iron-cast mortar in his final moments, otherwise how could an ordinary firecracker blow away half an acre of ancestral home?
Both his father and elder brother of Li Er the daredevil died from their skill, and logically, he should have learned his lesson and steered clear of the trade, leaving behind a legacy for the Li Family. But Li Er the daredevil did not do so; instead, he became even more obsessed with researching the method of making iron-cast mortars.
During this time, various other fireworks artisans came to visit, but all were turned away by Li Er the daredevil.
Li Er the daredevil was arrogant, never taking other fireworks workshops or cannon manufacturers seriously.
In his eyes, they were all toys for children, and in the eyes of his founding master, the noise they made was no better than a fart!
Yet, what Li Er the daredevil didn’t know was that there were always greater talents elsewhere.
Apart from Jin Sect, the artillery trade in Liu County, Shangping, and Li County had already advanced significantly.
About two years ago, during the twelfth lunar month, Li Er the daredevil took his traditional two-burst firecrackers and grand chains to sell at the port’s fireworks market as usual.
To prevent fireworks from harming people, the market was divided into two areas, one on the port bank, and one on the frozen river pit.
That year, many fellow artisans from elsewhere came, but Li Er the daredevil was indifferent. His family’s firecrackers had always been the headliners, the first boom! No matter how good others’ firecrackers were, compared to his, it was like an old ox passing wind, weak and lacking vigor.
But that year, ’Living Immortal of Fire’ came from Liu County, wearing a priest’s robe and sporting a goatee. He didn’t compete with the Li Family on whose firecrackers were louder but innovated by modifying the two-burst firecrackers. Although not earth-shatteringly loud, they exploded crisply and brightly, most notably that the second explosion could bloom a colorful parachute flower in mid-air!
This amazed the people of Jin Sect. No wonder they called him ’Living Immortal of Fire’—this technique of colorful fireworks seemed beyond ordinary craftsmanship.
This time, Li Er the daredevil was genuinely stunned. How could a bumpkin from Liu County manage to create such fashionable things?
But he wasn’t panicked. Despite the aesthetics of those two-burst firecrackers, their loudness was lacking. During the year-end, people loved to compare who had the loudest firecrackers.
However, before Li Er the daredevil could think more, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled. When he realized, his ears were buzzing as if a hundred cicadas were screeching inside.
He held his ears, turned his head, and saw a young man from Li County lighting one two-burst firecracker after another. Without exception, they were as thick as forearms, looking like carrots with evenly cut ends.
Where did this talent come from?
Li Er the daredevil didn’t sell a single firecracker that day and scurried home crestfallen. Onlookers were puzzled, wondering why the Li Family firecrackers, the usual finale, so startling upon arrival each year, didn’t appear?
Not only did they not come that year, but the following year there were no Li Family firecrackers at the Jin Sect fireworks market either.
Some said Li Er the daredevil was afraid firecracker-making wasn’t safe, fearing he’d end his family’s lineage by blowing himself up, so he laid down his tools, got married, and started a family.
Others said Li Er the daredevil was too scared to emerge, intimidated by the outside competition.
There were those who suggested Li Er the daredevil, like his father and brother, was careless while making fireworks and ended up blowing himself away!
Thus, the Li Family firecrackers were indeed extinct, and no one came to sell them anymore.