Pottery Making

It was a little late when we got back to the neighborhood. Yu Xiao Xue was still watching TV, waiting for us.

I turned on the lights in the yard, moved a pile of pottery-making tools to the open space, put on my gloves, and started diluting and screening the clay.

Yu Xiao Xue and Zhao Qian both gathered around, becoming curious babies, watching what I was doing.

"I'm making a teapot," was my answer to the two of them. If I had said I was making an urn for ashes, they probably would have run off.

The soul urns for raising ghosts don't need to be very big, just palm-sized, flat, and round. They could even be made to look like a teapot, but the key was that the drawn patterns had to be precise, and they needed the talisman core of the runes.

Without the talisman core, the soul urn would be useless and couldn't summon spirits.

It took an hour to finish selecting and preparing the clay. Yu Xiao Xue found it boring to watch, but only Zhao Qian knew that I had risked my life to get this material, so she knew it wouldn't be as simple as just making a teapot.

I turned on the pottery wheel, put on plastic gloves, and started shaping the initial form. However, I misjudged the speed of the wheel, and with a bit too much force, the form collapsed into a lump.

"This mud smells a bit… is it from the fish pond?" Yu Xiao Xue asked, pinching her nose.

"Heh heh," I replied without speaking, continuing to fiddle with the clay according to the pottery-making methods on TV. I thought about telling her it contained corpse blood or flesh, which would probably scare her unconscious.

Zhao Qian knew the origin of this Yin Earth. The smell of rotten fish came from where I collected the soil. I hadn't known it at the time, which was understandable, but if she didn't understand now, she'd be truly stupid. There must have been dead bodies buried there.

I continued to try and make a round pot, but unfortunately, I failed to shape it properly three or four times in a row. I even started lowering my standards, just wanting to make something that looked like a pot, even if it was crooked.

The strange thing was, they couldn't even hold their shape.

My hands were trembling from the cold. The Yin Earth contained resentment, making it tremble as if it had a will of its own. This was the reason for my failure.

"Tian Ge… how about I try? My hands are a bit more nimble," Yu Xiao Xue said, approaching me and staring at the scarlet, foul-smelling mud.

Then, while I was still fumbling with it, she reached into the bucket of clay!

"Don't touch it!" I shouted immediately, trying to stop her, but it was too late. Yu Xiao Xue had already plunged her hands into the mud, and her skin immediately turned white.

"This is fun!" Yu Xiao Xue exclaimed happily, kneading the clay. I was flustered watching her.

She took the clay, pushed me aside, and grabbed my spot at the pottery wheel.

"Be good now, turn into a teapot for me!" Yu Xiao Xue said, shaping the clay with her delicate fingers. In just a few moments, the pot that I couldn't even form was shaping itself in her hands as if it had a life of its own!

I slapped my forehead. It seemed I definitely had no talent for pottery!

"Xue, don't you feel cold?" I asked, seeing that Yu Xiao Xue showed no ill effects from touching the clay, and even seemed to enjoy it. I was curious, as I felt uneasy even with gloves on.

"No, it's just cool and fun," Yu Xiao Xue replied. She then took some clay and sawdust, mixing and applying it as she worked, which was to prevent the finished product from cracking during firing. Her technique was quite skilled.

"Have you played with this before?" I asked. It seemed I couldn't handle this material due to the heavy Yin energy, but Yu Xiao Xue and Zhao Qian didn't seem to have any problems.

"Yes, my teacher taught us some before. We used to make things with others for fun, and then when the adults were building houses and firing bricks, we'd put them in. It wasn't as convenient as this, though," Yu Xiao Xue said.

"Oh, I see." I understood. It seemed people really do have areas where they excel and areas where they don't.

Grandma also had a lot of Yin energy, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to inherit the Ghost Raising Dao lineage. So, if she needed to make pottery jars, she probably also needed someone else to do it for her.

"Alright, make a few more for me like that, and remember to make the lids too." I realized I was too foolish trying to do everything myself. Since Yu Xiao Xue was so clever, I'd let her handle it.

"I still need to bake and dry them, and then carve some things on them." I plugged in the electric stove and placed the two finished jars inside, setting it to low-temperature drying.

While they were baking, I picked up the white plaster figurines I had prepared and bought from the street, and tried to carve some more advanced runes on them.

I ended up carving several complex runes, but they were all crooked. I often slipped or pierced straight through. Even if I managed to finish one by luck, when I picked it up, it looked like it had been chewed by a dog. Could this even work?

My heart sank like a stone. Was it different from drawing talismans? How clumsy could my hands be!

Frustrated, I almost smashed the useless things, but then Zhao Qian took one of the plaster figures. The carving knife danced in her hand like a sword, and with a few elegant, swift strokes, she perfectly copied a talisman that had taken me a full head of sweat to draw!

Instantly, tears welled up in my eyes: Was my hand really this clumsy?

With a few more quick strokes, Zhao Qian finished another rune and held the plaster figure in front of me. "Is this okay, Qian?"

"Mm, not bad, quite neat. Although it lacks the fluidity I have, but, well, since Xiao Xue has taken on the pottery work, I can't favor you over her, right? I'll leave the rune drawing to you. Oh, and I need to teach you a few incantations for the talisman core. Remember to burn incense and paper while you carve and recite them," I nodded, pretending to be mature as I praised the young girl.

"Oh." Zhao Qian lowered her head and smiled softly, looking very pretty.

My old face didn't blush, and my heart didn't skip a beat. I took out Grandma's book, pointed to a few incantations, then indicated where she should draw them, and taught her the incantations for the talisman core.

Zhao Qian diligently recorded them and began practicing on the plaster figures. What chilled me was that she only took about ten minutes to draw them quite well.

If it were just one or two runes, it would be fine, but with a whole string of incantations, you could tell the connection and difficulty involved. Although I had practiced before, she definitely made it look easier than I ever did. It seemed I was definitely inferior to her in carving.

I wondered how her talisman-making skills were. Maybe I should teach her a few advanced talismans later and see if she could replicate them.

They say wealth, dharma, companions, and a place are important. Companions are a crucial element. If they were interested, I'd want to train both of them into experts. In this way, I gave up the idea of making them myself and became the behind-the-scenes coordinator and supporter, while they could directly crush me with their practical skills.

Complete soul urns soon appeared in their hands, their quality even better than Grandma's. Combined with the runes I selected, they would definitely be suitable for raising Xijun.

Although the book recorded that this type of rune and crafting method was considered basic, meant for slightly more powerful fierce ghosts, I was satisfied with this quality. If conditions allowed in the future, they might even be able to craft Ghost King-level soul urns, though that was impossible now.

By the time the sixth soul urn was made, the clay was completely used up. All six initial forms were identical. I carefully placed them into the electric oven like treasures.

I turned on the switch, set the temperature and the power-off time, and then breathed a sigh of relief. If luck was on our side, perhaps one or two would be successful by tomorrow morning. After all, the success rate for soul urns with inscribed runes wasn't very high, as too many factors were involved.

Looking at my phone, it was 12:30. I prepared to take Zhao Qian to the Zhao Family Manor by car.

"It's about time. Get ready, use all your useful belongings, and we'll head to the manor. Tonight is the last night of guarding the spirit. Tomorrow, we'll send the old man up the mountain." I felt my brow twitch involuntarily. The last night would definitely have some trouble, otherwise Zhao Qian's second uncle wouldn't give up, as he hadn't gotten what he wanted yet.

"Mm, Qian understands." Zhao Qian's face turned a little somber. She looked at me, unsure of what to do.

"Zhao Qian, don't worry. If those two old geezers behave themselves tonight, your Tian Ge will let them run wild for a couple more days. But if they dare to make a move tonight, I'll kill them immediately!" Thinking about how Zhao Qian almost died in the hospital last night, I gritted my teeth.

"Wow, Tian Ge, you're so fierce!" Yu Xiao Xue grabbed my hand, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she looked at me.

"Hmph, what do you think?" I puffed out my chest and looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Tian Ge... Thank you." Zhao Qian's face immediately turned rosy. She looked at me with a deeply moved expression, thinking that this was how a man should be. Her earlier dejection vanished.

I felt like I had put on enough of a show, so I quickly got into the car. I told Yu Xiao Xue to sleep well at home and absolutely not to sleep on the sofa tonight. If she was scared, she could call Han Shanshan to come over and sleep with her.

Zhao Qian's house had pretty good Feng Shui. With a Star Fixing Compass kept in the safe, even ordinary fierce ghosts wouldn't dare to get close.

After all, I had my own considerations. While terrain calculation and deterring fierce ghosts had their advantages, when it came to a real fight, someone like Xijun was needed. This thing wasn't meant for exorcising ghosts.

This time, Zhao Qian brought her money sword, peach wood sword, and bells. It was a whole suitcase full of items. Although she wasn't on the night shift, she definitely wouldn't just sit there and wait for death like last night.

After the car started, Zhao Qian got into the passenger seat.

Seeing that the beautiful Miss Zhao had calmed down, my mood improved significantly. I felt that even if we encountered any difficulties tonight, I could resolve them step by step.

But as soon as the car drove out of the gate, Zhao Qian's phone rang. She frowned slightly. "It's Dad."

"Answer it. He's probably asking when you'll arrive at the manor," I said, trying to comfort her as I saw her worry.

"Dad, it's me." Zhao Qian nodded.

But then, Zhao Qian fell silent. After a while, her face gradually turned pale.

Trouble had arrived. From Zhao Qian's expression, I knew it. Besides, Zhao Xi wouldn't call his daughter for no reason. Once he did, it was undoubtedly a major issue, perhaps something ordinary people couldn't accept.

(

https://./html/90/90820/

)

Remember the official website for 1 second: .. Mobile version URL: m.