Peach Haven Village (19)

Ding Shi glanced at the main quest interface. The main quest was still to participate in the sacrifice. He had originally been marked by a ghost, and now an additional demon mark had appeared. The demon clearly referred to the mountain sprite.

The mountain path grew steeper, changing from an incline into steps. These steps were carved out of yellow earth with hoes. Washed away by rain, the steps that should have been right-angled had become slanted. He had to press down with the balls of his feet to plant them firmly on each step, further draining Ding Shi's stamina and making the climb even harder.

By now, Ding Shi was completely certain of one thing: White Cloud Daoist was no ordinary man. Ding Shi had used the system to cheat, turning his luggage into cards and lightening his burden. White Cloud Daoist was seventy years old, yet he could carry thirty-five jin of luggage up the mountain. At the very least, he had mastered some kind of lightness skill.

Every climb eventually came to an end. After nearly three hours of trekking, Ding Shi finally caught sight of White Cloud Temple.

There was a strange rock formation halfway up Peach Garden Mountain, shaped like a fallen U. White Cloud Temple had been built within that U. The rock served as its roof and floor, while wooden walls had been erected on either side to block the wind.

Ding Shi climbed the final step and stood at the edge of the strange rock. Ahead of him hung a plaque bearing the words White Cloud Temple. The front entrance stood wide open. There was no lintel, no threshold, not even a door. When he shone his flashlight inside, he immediately saw the statues of the Three Pure Ones enshrined upon a stone altar.

What Ding Shi felt most strongly about White Cloud Temple was its simplicity. There were almost no unnecessary facilities. To the left of the main hall housing the Three Pure Ones was a winding path that vanished into the depths, leading who knew where. To the right of the main hall was a crude stone bed, upon which a black-bearded old Daoist sat cross-legged.

More than a dozen oil lamps were lit within White Cloud Temple, so the lighting was not too poor.

The old Daoist's eyes gleamed sharply as he sat motionless, watching Ding Shi look around. Ding Shi acted as though he had not seen him. He took three incense sticks from the altar table and lit them with an oil lamp before the offering table. Holding the incense in his left hand, he waved his right hand to fan out the open flames. Then he held the incense properly and bowed three times, muttering under his breath with an air of utmost piety.

Whether it was an act or not, the old Daoist was quite pleased with Ding Shi's behavior. He silently approached Ding Shi, cupped his hands, and said, "Greetings, layman."

Ding Shi hurriedly turned around and returned the greeting with a slight bow. "Greetings, White Cloud Daoist."

White Cloud Daoist nodded and asked, "What brings you to see me?"

Ding Shi said, "My name is Ding Shi. I am the assistant to the village chief of Peach Haven Village. A ghost appeared in the village a few days ago. Although Blind Zhao dealt with it, several villagers still died. The chief reflected deeply on the matter and realized that Blind Zhao's aptitude was too poor for him to advance any further. So he sent the smartest person in the village, me, to White Cloud Temple to learn some demon-slaying and ghost-subduing skills from you, White Cloud Daoist."

Ding Shi spun the lie without even blinking, leaving White Cloud Daoist utterly at a loss. Only after a long while did he say, "This way, please."

A flattened boulder nearby served as a table, while two relatively level rocks served as chairs. An oil lamp sat atop the stone table.

Beside the table stood a honeycomb coal stove. Once they were seated, White Cloud Daoist placed a kettle on the stove to boil water.

By the light of the oil lamp, White Cloud Daoist studied Ding Shi for a while before saying regretfully, "This old Daoist does possess some ability to suppress ghosts and subdue demons, but you cannot learn it."

Ding Shi was unconvinced. "Why not?" He learned things quickly. Smoking, drinking, fighting, framing people, exploiting them, threatening them, intimidating them, sowing discord, picking locks, surfing the internet, climbing over walls—he had mastered all of it without a teacher.

White Cloud Daoist merely smiled without answering. "Perhaps if fate lets us meet again in a few years, we may discuss it at length by candlelight."

Ding Shi settled for less and took out the talisman paper. "Blind Zhao owed me a favor and gave me this. He said you could teach me the hand seals and the method for drawing talismans."

White Cloud Daoist took the talisman paper, gave it a look, then returned it to Ding Shi and gestured for him to watch his left hand. There were only two movements. First, he pinched all five fingers together. Second, he extended his index and middle fingers, pointing them toward the talisman paper.

The movements were simple. Ding Shi copied them quite convincingly on his first try.

White Cloud Daoist corrected Ding Shi's posture. "The five fingers form a lotus. When the five fingers draw together, none stands higher or lower than the rest, and the fingertips resemble a lotus beneath the seat. This is also the opening gesture for most talismans and incantations. Yes, just like that. For the second movement, form a sword with two fingers. Keep them taut, let the force reach your fingertips. Good, just like that."

Ding Shi performed the hand seal several more times and earned White Cloud Daoist's approval. Taking advantage of the moment, Ding Shi made his second request. "Daoist, how is this talisman drawn? I've studied it for a long time, but it's hard to complete it in a single stroke."

White Cloud Daoist smiled. He poured hot water into both Ding Shi's cup and his own, bent down to pick up a piece of coal slag from the ground, and began drawing on the stone table as he explained, "This talisman contains the power of the Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and must be drawn according to the cycle of generation. Metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, and earth generates metal. Any one element may serve as the primary element, while the other four serve as supporting elements."

White Cloud Daoist divided the talisman into five parts. The four supporting elements occupied the upper left, lower left, upper right, and lower right, while the primary element occupied the center.

For a talisman with metal as its primary element, one had to begin with the character for water, follow the generating cycle all the way through, and finally draw the character for metal in the center.

That was only the main framework; there were many more details. For instance, where water generated wood, this talisman used the raindrop technique. The key to drawing the raindrop technique was making the dots connect without breaking. It was the most difficult part of water generating wood.

Only then did Ding Shi realize there were so many intricacies. He and Blind Zhao had originally believed that as long as they found the starting point and drew to the end, they could complete the talisman in one stroke.

Ding Shi had once considered finding a photocopier and mass-producing talisman paper without limit. But after hearing White Cloud Daoist break down and explain the talisman, Ding Shi understood that every character, every dot, and every stroke on it had its own meaning.

White Cloud Daoist had an exceptionally good temperament and patiently taught Ding Shi how to fully understand the talisman paper. Never satisfied, Ding Shi threw out a third question. "Daoist, what talisman is this?"

That question stumped the kind White Cloud Daoist. Other people asked in the order of: What is this? How is it drawn? Ding Shi's order was: How is it drawn? What is it?

White Cloud Daoist asked, "If you do not know what talisman it is, why do you want to learn it?"

Ding Shi explained, "As the Master said: learn it, then practice it regularly."

White Cloud Daoist did not understand. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Ding Shi explained again, "Learn first, then do the practical training."

White Cloud Daoist did not understand, but somehow found it impressive. After a long pause, he finally said, "This is called the Five Thunder Talisman: metal thunder, wood thunder, water thunder, fire thunder, and earth thunder. If metal is the primary element, it is metal thunder. If wood is the primary element, it is wood thunder."

Ding Shi asked, "Is it powerful?"

White Cloud Daoist answered, "That depends on the talisman maker's understanding of the Five Elements."

Ding Shi said, "Please instruct me, Daoist."

White Cloud Daoist did not hold anything back. "The Classic of Difficulties says: that which gives birth to me is my mother, and that to which I give birth is my child. Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals says: wood is the beginning, water is the end..."

It sounded simple, merely the usual principles of generation and restraint. Yet it was not simple at all, for it contained White Cloud Daoist's own unique insights into the Five Elements.

To give the simplest example, fire restrained metal, which sounded like a bad thing for metal. White Cloud Daoist believed otherwise. If metal was not restrained by fire, it could not take shape and could not become a useful vessel. Fire restraining metal was what fulfilled metal. The same principle applied to metal restraining wood and the rest.

They asked and answered, and several hours passed just like that.

During that time, Ding Shi also asked about materials for talisman paper, which was likewise a very complicated subject. In theory, cinnabar and yellow paper were enough. In reality, there were also ink, chicken blood, gold powder, white paper, green paper, and gold paper.

Taking the Five Thunder Talisman as an example, if Ding Shi possessed his own understanding and insight into the Five Elements, he could choose the materials most suitable for himself. If his understanding of the Five Elements was limited, White Cloud Daoist recommended using cinnabar and yellow paper.

Although ink was weaker than cinnabar at warding off evil, it could carry the talisman maker's spiritual essence. For the Five Thunder Talisman, ink could strengthen a particular element according to the talisman maker's own traits. Cinnabar was more versatile, but its proportions had to be balanced, and there was no single absolutely correct ratio. Only by considering the talisman's purpose and the talisman maker's abilities could one blend the cinnabar most suitable for that talisman maker.