We're Craftsmen Now

After eating the Craft Spirit, Zhang Laifu collapsed to the ground.

Li Yunsheng hurried to his feet and helped Zhang Laifu up.

Zhang Laifu felt as though a balloon full of nails had burst in his stomach. First came a violent, swelling pain, then an endless stabbing ache.

"Now that the Craft Spirit is in your belly, your soul and Physical Essence must come together to form a Craft Essence. This won't be easy to endure!" Li Yunsheng fetched a sheet of Talisman Paper and handed it to Zhang Laifu. "Brother Laifu, hold on tight!"

Zhang Laifu gripped the Talisman Paper, and Li Yunsheng began to chant:

"Fire shall not scorch the heart, nor cold invade; advance and retreat in measure, and the breath shall flow evenly; balance yin and yang to open the three apertures; let the craft stand beside you, not weigh you down..."

Zhang Laifu bit down on the Talisman Paper and reached toward Li Yunsheng. "Listen... listen..." he managed to say.

Li Yunsheng nodded. "You have to listen carefully!"

He went on chanting. What Zhang Laifu had meant was that the Incantation was too obscure this time. He couldn't understand it.

Li Yunsheng misunderstood him and kept chanting. Less than two minutes later, Zhang Laifu passed out.

Now they had a problem.

Li Yunsheng dared not wake or move him. Disturbing him might shatter his dream, and that would ruin everything.

But leaving Zhang Laifu lying on the ground wouldn't do, either. This was Pearl Street, one of the busiest streets in Heishakou.

Li Yunsheng quickly lit three more sticks of incense. All he could do was hope Zhang Laifu woke soon.

Some people slept for a month when they entered a Trade Circle; others slept only a few hours. This Craft Spirit was of such fine quality that Zhang Laifu probably wouldn't sleep long.

A Wooden Box slipped out of Zhang Laifu's clothes. Li Yunsheng picked it up and examined it.

The pale-yellow Wooden Box was about the size of a Mooncake Tin from the Outer Province. It had never been painted, oiled, or polished, yet it felt remarkably fine and smooth.

This was no ordinary object!

Li Yunsheng studied the Wooden Box for a moment, then noticed Zhang Laifu's eyelids twitching.

In his sleep, Zhang Laifu saw scattered sparks of fire drift into view, vanish, then return.

At times the firelight was clear; at others, hazy. A veil seemed to hang between him and the flames.

The pain in his stomach gradually faded, and Zhang Laifu calmed. The flames stopped dancing and no longer dazzled his eyes. They became a soft white light that spread before him until it filled his entire vision.

Zhang Laifu opened his eyes and looked at Li Yunsheng.

Li Yunsheng helped him up and brought him a chair. "Brother Laifu, that really was a fine Craft Spirit. You slept for less than half an hour."

Zhang Laifu wiped away his sweat. He wanted to speak, but his tongue felt stiff. He wanted to get up and walk, but his legs felt weak.

Li Yunsheng fanned him. "Don't rush to speak or move around. First, I need to ask you something important. Did you dream just now?"

"Did!" Zhang Laifu forced out.

"Do you remember everything in it?"

"Remember!" Zhang Laifu nodded hard.

Li Yunsheng's brow relaxed. "Good. Brother Laifu, you're a Craftsman now. Your Trade Circles lie in that dream."

"Good!" Zhang Laifu was genuinely delighted. After a long pause, he finally managed a full sentence. "A Craftsman can't be bullied!"

Li Yunsheng nodded with a smile. "That's right! No one can bully you. Brother Laifu, what did you dream about?"

Zhang Laifu thought for a long time. "Fire. Lots of fire."

Li Yunsheng looked troubled. "Fire is a difficult clue, because so many trades use it.

"Blacksmiths use fire, cooks use fire, and brickmakers need it too. Think again. Was there anything else in the dream?"

Zhang Laifu rubbed his forehead, trying to recall what the flames had looked like.

"Take your time," Li Yunsheng said, lighting three more sticks of incense. "Some people spend years as Craftsmen without finding the right Trade Circle. This really isn't something you can rush."

"Years without finding the right Trade Circles? Is that one dream the only way?" Zhang Laifu had never imagined this could happen: becoming a Craftsman without knowing his own trade.

Li Yunsheng nodded. "That one dream really is your only clue. Was there anything unusual about the fire?"

As Zhang Laifu struggled to remember, a hawker's cry came from down the street: "Wontons! Fresh from the pot!"

The Craftsman who sold wontons had come again. They smelled so tempting that Zhang Laifu could no longer concentrate.

Perhaps a bowl of wontons would help him think. He was about to buy some when he glanced at the firewood beneath the pot and remembered the shape of the flames in his dream. "It wasn't like that fire. The fire I dreamed of was much smaller."

Li Yunsheng looked toward the wonton stall. "Smaller than a stove fire? Then it probably wasn't a food trade. Charcoal burners, brickmakers, and blacksmiths all use large fires, so we can rule them out. Brother Laifu, how small was it?"

Zhang Laifu looked at the incense burner.

"About the size of an incense ember?" Li Yunsheng asked.

Zhang Laifu shook his head. "Bigger than that."

"Then about the size of a candle flame?"

Zhang Laifu thought for a moment, then shook his head again. "A little bigger than a candle flame. It kept drifting back and forth in front of me."

At the mention of drifting, Li Yunsheng thought of a peculiar kind of flame. "What color was it? Green?"

Zhang Laifu understood what he meant. "It wasn't a ghost light. I've seen those. This fire was steady and even, but a little blurry, like..."

It was hard to find an example of that light in broad daylight. As Zhang Laifu looked around, Li Yunsheng began to catch on.

"Brother Laifu, could it have been a lantern?"

A lantern?

Zhang Laifu recalled the firelight drifting back and forth in his dream, clear yet hazy. He nodded repeatedly. "It might have been a lantern."

"'Might' isn't enough, Brother Laifu. You have to be sure. There are plenty of people selling lamps on Candle Oil Road. Go have a look when you can and see whether the lanterns stir anything in you."

"If you truly feel a connection when you see one, then learn the craft. Once you enter the wrong Trade Circles, turning back won't be easy."

A Top Hat, some Snuff, a Drum Skinner, and a Celestial Master had been planted, yet the fruit they bore was a Lantern Maker?

Whatever the case, he had found a possible Trade Circle.

Zhang Laifu took out ten Silver Dollars and placed them on the table.

"What's this for?" Li Yunsheng asked, startled.

"I became a Craftsman, and you helped me a great deal. This is the payment I owe you."

Zhang Laifu stood to go to Candle Oil Road, but nearly fell after two steps.

"Brother Laifu, rest a little longer. You've only just entered the Trade Circle, and your body is still weak."

Li Yunsheng poured him more tea and pushed the ten Silver Dollars back. "We're friends. I won't take your money."

Zhang Laifu insisted. "If I keep bringing you trouble without helping you earn a cent, what kind of friend would I be?"

He had a point. Li Yunsheng took the ten Silver Dollars and smiled. "It's easy to enjoy the shade with a big tree at your back. With these ten Silver Dollars, I won't need to set up my stall for three days.

"Brother Laifu, sit a while. There's something else important I need to tell you."

Li Yunsheng took a Wooden Box from the table. "This fell out of your clothes earlier. I haven't opened it, so I don't know what's inside, but the Wooden Box itself is unusual. Do you know where it came from?"

Zhang Laifu didn't hide it. "When I used the Bowl to grow the Craft Essence, it produced this Wooden Box along with the Craft Spirit. I figured it was some sort of extra."

Li Yunsheng shook his head. "The Bowl never produces extras. Everything it produces has a use. For it to produce such a fine Craft Spirit and still have enough left to produce this Wooden Box, you must have used an exceptionally rare Bowl."

Zhang Laifu studied the Wooden Box for a long time but saw nothing special about it. "How do I use it?"

Li Yunsheng wasn't sure either. "I can only sense some Animus in it. You'll have to work out its purpose yourself."

"What is Animus?"

"All life grows and changes; all things possess Animus. Craftsmen can perceive it, which is why they make things so quickly and so well."

Zhang Laifu still didn't understand. "I'm a Craftsman now too. Why can't I see it?"

"Because you've only just begun. Your skills are still shallow. They need hammering and honing."

Zhang Laifu staggered to his feet. "That place is called Candle Oil Road, right? I'm going to start hammering!"

The good life of a Craftsman had begun. No one could stop Zhang Laifu now!