Shen Le stared at the young man.
The young man stared at Shen Le.
They faced each other in silence.
Shen Le's face was full of indignation. "You inspected the porcelain figurine I fired just now!"
"You approved the porcelain body, its translucency, the positions of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper—even the lower two of the Nine Apertures. You tipped the figurine over and examined them carefully, and you said they were fine!"
"A product that passed inspection one hundred percent still doesn't meet your standards? Then it isn't a problem with my production—it's a problem with your design!"
The young man pressed his lips tightly together and stared at the pile of shattered porcelain on the ground, his eyes churning with reluctance. After a moment, he took two steps forward and crouched amid the shards. His hand seals shifted as he muttered an incantation: "Seek what lies in the unseen; Heaven and Earth were born together. Scatter, and they become qi; gather, and they take form—"
As he chanted, the dead branches and fallen leaves around them trembled. Dust rose into the air, swirling into a small vortex.
The vortex grew taller and larger, from half a foot to one foot, then from one foot to three. Then, as though something had suppressed it, it stopped growing.
Instead, its center darkened further and further. At the deepest black, a trace of jade-green flame rose up, growing brighter by the moment—and ever more chilling to behold.
"...Go!"
At last, the young man's incantation reached its end. He raised his palm and thrust it straight ahead.
Green fire carried black wind as it surged at his command, pouncing on the shattered porcelain. From between the cracks in the shards came a harsh, grating creak:
Standing five or six steps