"It's about time. Give it a try," the old man reminded Zheng Qing as he watched the flames slowly die out.
Zheng Qing stared at him blankly, thinking dazedly, How was he supposed to try out a piece of hide? Aren't spellbooks supposed to look like books? Could my spellbook be something special, like a parchment scroll?
The hide lay limply in midair, squirmed, and curled itself into the shape of a parchment scroll. After rolling around twice, it spread itself flat again, returning to a single piece of hide.
This hide doesn't seem to like turning into a parchment scroll! Zheng Qing was startled by his own thought.
He figured he must have lost too much blood and become dizzy.
"What kind of spellbook do you like?" the old man prompted from the side.
Shaking his dizzy head, Zheng Qing cautiously imagined what his spellbook ought to look like.
In midair, the milky-white hide shifted with his thoughts, changing like latex.
A soft, white cover, a blank title page, translucent pages, and leather clasps.
It looked exactly like what he had imagined.
Zheng Qing reached out and caught it.
The spellbook shook, rustling as if it were laughing in satisfaction.
A feeling of blood connection spread from his palm through his whole body. Enlightened in an instant, Zheng Qing took a deep breath, relaxed all over, and slowly descended to the ground.
"Not bad for a bare book." The old man nodded approvingly. "A wizard without imagination is not a good wizard. The richer the details you imagine, the greater this spellbook's potential."
He beckoned and summoned the spellbook from Zheng Qing's hand.
"Any taboos?" The old man opened a drawer in the table and laid out a row of tools—scissors, hammers, awls, nails, and the like. Raising his eyelids, he asked, "For example, can't touch silver? Or allergic to peach wood?"
"Doesn't know." Zheng Qing shook his head.
"Doesn't know!" The old man frowned, then relaxed. "Then brass it is. Brass has a mild nature and decent texture. As far as I can remember, no one has any taboos against brass."
He tapped the toolbox at his side. Inside, brass sheets, brass nails, and brass clasps stood in neat rows, then leaped onto the white spellbook. Under the old man's ding-dong hammering, they obediently flattened and rounded out, becoming book nails, corner fittings, and decorations on the clasps.
After hammering in the last brass wire along the spine, the old man set down his tools, dusted off his hands, and blew out a breath.
"Very good. Such a promising little fellow that I'm almost reluctant to sell it to you." The layers of wrinkles on the old man's face twisted, forcing out a rather unsuccessful smile as he handed the book to Zheng Qing.
"What was that black stuff you pulled out of me just now?" Zheng Qing took the book, his mind still a mess. Remembering the black ink droplets the old man had drawn from his chest with a spell, his face turned pale.
"Wasn't that demon spirit something you brought with you?" The old man put away his unsuccessful smile, his face full of displeasure. "Bring me the receipt from the front desk first."
Zheng Qing froze for a moment, then immediately handed the blue-green book list to the old man.
"A freshman?" The old man widened his eyes as he examined the blue-green paper before him. His pitch-black pupils looked even more frightening. "You're a freshman at First University? The scholarship kind, too?"
"Mm." Zheng Qing blinked. A strange thought drifted through his mind, and he nodded weakly.
"Then one Gold Bean." Instead of saying anything else, the old man nodded in apparent relief and closed his eyes again. "A publicly funded student wandering into my pitch-black workshop must be after the bottom price of one Gold Bean."
Zheng Qing smiled awkwardly.
"Your little sprites just yanked several hairs out of me." He took those glittering little objects from his shirt pocket and held them out to the old man. "They also gave me these."
"They usually only pull a couple of loose threads from customers, or remove a button. They're rarely this rude." The old man extended his pinky and used his long nail to pick up a tiny crystal, bringing it close to inspect.
"Not exactly rude." Thinking of those exquisite little beauties, Zheng Qing changed his wording. "At most, they were a little spoiled."
He was somewhat worried that the old man would punish the sprites.
"Not bad. It looks like they really do like you. They didn't give you shards of glass." The old man's voice was full of amusement. "When they used to ask customers for souvenirs, they would give them only a few glass shards at most. What you have there are fine jade fragments, excellent stabilizers for the laboratory. They're worth far more than one Gold Bean."
Zheng Qing licked his dry lips and tightened his grip on the milky-white wizard book.
He desperately wanted to invite those little sprites to come back and yank out his hair again. Maybe if they did it a few more times, his living expenses for an entire school year would be covered.
But such shameful thoughts could only remain thoughts.
He stepped out on weak legs. Thomas was already waiting not far outside the bookshop.
Seeing Zheng Qing's pale face and unsteady steps, then hearing the rough account of what had happened, Thomas shook his head vigorously. "Old Payne is being ridiculous. How could he use the Blood Refining Method to consecrate a wizard book for you?"
"Is it very dangerous?" Hearing several sensitive words, Zheng Qing's vision darkened slightly.
"Not at all." Thomas shot Zheng Qing a sidelong glance and explained, "Quite the opposite. A wizard book consecrated this way offers considerable enhancement to spells and has tremendous growth potential. But you're only a publicly funded student. No matter what, you shouldn't have received treatment like this!"
"Maybe he mistook me for someone else." Zheng Qing recalled what had happened when he entered the shop, uncertain.
"Very possible. Or perhaps he saw something he liked and couldn't resist. Old Payne is famous for doing whatever he pleases." Thomas took a Jade Bottle from his robes, poured out a bright-red pill, and stuffed it into Zheng Qing's mouth. "Blood replenishment. Eat it. Otherwise, I seriously doubt you'll take a few steps and pass out on the ground. Being an interviewer really isn't work I should be doing. I'm practically a male nanny."
He patted his spellbook, leaving a sphere of water by Zheng Qing's mouth.
The red pill entered his mouth. Zheng Qing chewed it laboriously a few times, leaned forward to drink several mouthfuls from the water sphere, and swallowed it.
After wiping his mouth, a scorching sensation surged from his stomach to every part of his body.
His face burned, and he even felt some swelling in his lower body.
"This is for replenishing blood? It feels way too strange!" Zheng Qing awkwardly pressed his legs together, fanning himself with his brand-new spellbook as he desperately convinced himself that his flushed face was due to rushing blood.
"You'll know how to make it by your second year." Thomas grinned maliciously. "For many second- and third-year students, these little pills without side effects can be useful in plenty of situations! Of course, that's assuming you pass your first-year exams."
Zheng Qing simply could not ignore Thomas's teasing. His face reddened even further.
I'm not the one saying such embarrassing things, so why am I blushing?
He roared inwardly.
Before you continue