Controlling the Copper Ring

Crescent was rather frightened and hid a little farther away. Hesitantly, she said, "That old Daoist's things might have ghosts in them. Why haven't you thrown it away? If some evil presence latches onto you, that'll be terribly bad."

Little Bug was quite bold. He casually took the copper ring, glanced at it once, and could not help but freeze.

Six characters were engraved in intaglio upon the copper ring. He had seen much of this sort of writing over the past few days—it was precisely the inscription from the stone stele deep in the mountains.

The boy secretly mused, The intaglio characters on this copper ring are the same as those on that stone stele. Could these characters be some kind of spell? If I learn them, could I turn heaven and earth upside down, move mountains, and drive seas?

Little Bug had a dull, quiet disposition and usually studied poetry and essays, but he occasionally read miscellaneous books as well. He knew there were extraordinary people and strange men in this world, as well as immortals. Such people possessed the power to summon wind and rain, the divine ability to overturn rivers and seas, and mastery over countless formidable skills.

The white-bearded old grandfather who had taken all the children from the village some time ago had been such a person. He could summon a whirlwind from level ground, wrap people inside it, and carry them away through the air. The short black-robed Daoist they had encountered earlier was the same sort of person, able to command monsters to fly through the skies and burrow through the earth.

Yet ordinary people could go their whole lives without seeing such unusual figures. It was said that the emperors of every dynasty had yearned for the art of immortality and searched the whole realm, yet still failed to find any true immortal masters. At most, they could get hold of a few wandering sorcerers, who might know some spells but did not understand the gate to eternal life.

Little Bug came from a family that passed down poetry and books. His mother had earnestly instructed him, hoping that he would place high on the imperial examinations and make something of himself. She absolutely did not wish for her son to leave home and learn the Dao, but how could he help entertaining such fantasies?

Little Bug silently recited the stele inscription and compared it character by character with the six words on the copper ring. Before long, he found more than ten matching passages. Most of those passages shared only two or three characters with the ring. Only three inscriptions entirely contained all six characters from the copper ring, and each was several times longer than the writing on the ring, exceedingly verbose.

With nothing else to do, Little Bug drew out a sheet of white paper from his book bag and copied down the three lines of inscription that fully contained the six characters on the copper ring. He pondered them over and over. There was nothing else to do on the road, so he treated it as a game to while away the time.

Crescent assumed her young master was studying and did not dare disturb him. Sixth Son was lively by nature and soon lost patience. He eagerly looked out of the carriage at the passing scenery.

After the carriage had traveled for several hours, evening arrived. Uncle Wang called out a reminder that their lodging was not far ahead.

Only then did Little Bug put down the copper ring and the sheet of paper bearing the three lines of strange writing. He slightly raised his head and was about to lift the curtain for a look when golden stars suddenly burst before his eyes, making his body sway faintly.

Seeing this, Crescent hurried over to support him. Sixth Son also asked, "Young Master, have you read so much that you're feeling dizzy?"

Little Bug waved his hand to show that he was fine, but inwardly he was astonished. A character, majestic and grand, gleaming as brightly as daylight and shifting unpredictably, hung before his eyes. Like a living carp, it darted and circled with incredible agility.

It was one of those three lines of writing!

Little Bug was slightly startled and tried to focus his mind.

That majestic, grand character, gleaming as brightly as daylight and shifting unpredictably, gave off a faint glow. A strange power seemed to flow through it, and the copper ring hidden in his sleeve suddenly gave a soft chime.

The chime was extremely faint. Neither Uncle Wang, Sixth Son, nor Crescent heard it. Little Bug also kept a straight face and gave nothing away.

Uncle Wang drove the carriage into a small city and settled them at the city's only inn.

After dinner, the four of them went to rest separately.

Little Bug and Crescent stayed in a suite. Crescent slept in the outer room, while he took the inner room. Uncle Wang brought Sixth Son to sleep in the carriage to save some lodging money.

After traveling all day, Little Bug was quite tired as well. He read for only a little while before his strength failed him, and he climbed into bed and sank into a deep sleep. In the middle of the night, he suddenly felt an urgent need to relieve himself. Little Bug got up and went to the outer room. Without waking Crescent, he found the chamber pot and began to piss noisily.

After emptying his bladder, Little Bug felt light all over. Rather than returning to sleep, he pushed open the window and looked at the moonlight outside, suddenly feeling a stir of interest.

Wang Chong's mother had kept him under strict control. Though he was an exceptionally obedient child, he still felt constrained within. Setting out on a distant journey to study and leaving his mother behind made him especially reluctant, but he had finally cast off his restraints, and there was no lack of a little excitement in his heart.

Looking at the moonlight outside, Little Bug could not help feeling refreshed. Suddenly, he wanted to take the silver-disc moon into his palm, and he casually reached toward the night sky.

He knew it was nothing but a wild fancy. No one could possibly grasp the moon. The thought had arisen from the moment's exhilaration, entirely natural and without the slightest distracting thought.

As his arm stretched out, that majestic, grand character, gleaming as brightly as daylight and shifting unpredictably, gave off a faint glow. A strange power flowed within it. It suddenly slipped into his sleeve, and the copper ring hidden there abruptly swelled to nearly twice its size. With a mournful hum, it flew out in response to his thought.

Little Bug jumped in fright and involuntarily curled his fingers in an empty grasp. The copper ring buzzed twice, shrank back to its original size, and flew back into his hand, where he caught it in one grab.

Little Bug stood dumbfounded for a long while, both shocked and delighted. He secretly mused, That majestic, grand character, gleaming as brightly as daylight and shifting unpredictably, can actually command this copper ring to grow and shrink, fly out and return!

Could this be an immortal art?

Little Bug tried again, but the copper ring did not move.

He tried hard several times. Then, inspiration suddenly struck him. He silently steadied his mind and contemplated the stele inscription for a while.

After less than half an hour, Little Bug felt as though his heart had become a crystal-clear lake. The moment a thought arose, that line of inscription from earlier flew out of his mind and landed upon the copper ring in his hand, indeed causing it to slowly rise into the air.

A flicker of delight arose in Little Bug's heart, and with it came distracting thoughts. The copper ring immediately fell to the floor with a clatter.

He was slightly alarmed, afraid of waking Crescent. Snatching up the copper ring, he secretly slipped back into bed.

Little Bug had been quite clever to begin with. With two attempts behind him, he gradually found the key. Once every three or five tries, he could command the copper ring to fly. Even if he failed and it fell onto the bed, the thick quilts would catch it, so it made little sound.

Little Bug played to his heart's content. Only when the rooster crowed at dawn and the sky began to brighten, knowing they still had to travel during the day, did he reluctantly put away the copper ring, forcibly close his eyes, and nurture his spirits.

The next day, Uncle Wang continued driving the carriage onward. Little Bug could not be bothered to speak along the way. He held a book in his hands but did not read it, merely reciting the stele inscription over and over in silence.

Yesterday, he had used one line of the inscription to control the copper ring, making it grow or shrink, fly away or return. He vaguely understood that the writing on the stone stele must be an immortal secret art, peerless in its mysteries.

There were three hundred and sixty-five lines of writing on the stone stele in total. He did not know what uses they all had. That day, he had only forced himself to memorize them, fearing that if he went too long without reviewing them and forgot even the smallest part, he would regret it beyond remedy.

Crescent and Sixth Son did not dare disturb their young master while he was "studying." The three children said little, and the carriage felt rather stuffy.

In the blink of an eye, three or four days passed. Uncle Wang drove the carriage to Egret City, the place where Wang Chong's mother had sent him to study.