Thursday morning brought a Potion Class.
Because the Dragon Boat Festival called for ancestor worship of the Dragon Ancestor and prayers for blessings and protection from evil, Zheng Qing and his companions had left later than usual. On their way to the teaching building, many students, familiar or unfamiliar, suddenly came up to tie a Five-Colored Silk Thread around strangers' wrists. It was an ancient blessing, and no one refused it.
As a result, everyone took longer than usual to reach the classroom today.
They made it just before the bell rang.
The Stick Figure behind the door unexpectedly did not mock them. Zheng Qing looked closer and discovered that some kind person had smeared a streak of Realgar Wine across its forehead.
The orange-yellow color stood out sharply against the entire drawing, seeming almost to glow.
It had been happily rolling around on the spot ever since.
Zheng Qing stopped, hesitated for a few seconds, then pulled a High Noon Talisman from his Gray Cloth Bag and hung it on the Stick Figure's sheet of paper, tying it in place with colorful silk thread.
The High Noon Talisman was not a talisman for telling the time. Like the yellow smear and the Five-Colored Silk Thread, it warded off evil and prayed for blessings. That morning in the dormitory, Xiao Xiao had asked Zheng Qing to draw several extra copies.
"For you, there could be no more fitting blessing to give to others," Dr. Xiao had advised.
And that was indeed true.
On the way to class, whenever someone tied Five-Colored Silk Thread around Zheng Qing's wrist, he gave them a High Noon Talisman in return. The effect had been excellent. The talisman now hanging on the Stick Figure's paper had been poorly infused with spiritual power, making it slightly