Parchment

Biodata

Background / History

The Parchment and Quill appeared in Lin Shan’s mind when he touched a cluster of black light and acquired his Specter Physique. He immediately sensed that he could summon the objects, but postponed examining them until after leaving the mysterious hall 4.

Lin Shan first tested the Parchment while keeping watch at camp. It identified his remaining lifespan, established its payment system, and explained that its bestowal of a Specter Physique allowed him to possess two physiques and follow two pathways. He spent twenty years of lifespan on Heart Light material-acquisition guidance, beginning his pursuit of Transcendence 6.

The Parchment later obtained the Blood Wing formula through a process it called “theft.” After this transaction and the purchase of ingredient locations, Lin Shan noticed a stronger sinister chill and corrosion beneath it. He suspected that payments might strengthen the object, but no definite rank or advancement was established 19.

Appearance

The Parchment is a piece of dark-yellow leather, soft to the touch but exceptionally cold 6.

• Written questions: Lin Shan’s handwriting appears golden, flickers, and disappears 6.
• Answers: Black text appears in standard Chinese characters and vanishes after he reads it 6 12.
• Map display: Its surface can change into a radar-like arrangement of colored points and distance annotations 6.
• Quill: Palm-length, with a white tip, ink-black feathers from an unknown beast, and mystical patterns 6.
• Damage: An unknown being’s gaze blurs portions of its writing and produces a tiny tear while it is inside Lin Shan’s mind 23.

Abilities & Functions

Lifespan-for-Knowledge Exchange

The Parchment quotes a lifespan price for information; Lin Shan normally completes a transaction by writing his agreement to pay 6.

• Can answer questions about the Ash Fog Universe, Transcendence, physiques, supernatural objects, and potion advancement 6 11 15 19.
• Payment has a perceptible physical effect: the twenty-year Heart Light purchase leaves Lin Shan feeling weakened and as though he has lost something 6.
• A paid potion package can cover later related questions. Exact Heart Light preparation instructions require no additional payment 12.
• Payment does not guarantee a useful answer. It charges for locating Lin Shan’s parents, then reports that they have not crossed over and cannot be located 6.

Lifespan and Condition Assessment

The Parchment distinguishes a person’s lifespan balance from the time they can actually survive under a lethal condition 9 11.

• Reports fifty-one years and three months of lifespan but only thirty-seven days of survival after the Specter Thread Fish’s curse 9.
• Revises that survival estimate to ten days after the Red Lantern worsens the curse 11.
• Lifespan-balance queries appear to be free, as Lin Shan observes when checking his condition 9.
• Explains that lifespan represents the soul’s duration, not guaranteed survival, and that successfully taking a sequence potion grants a new lifespan rather than adding years to the previous balance 15.

Mapping and Target Tracking

The Parchment displays locations both on its physical surface and directly within Lin Shan’s mind 6 9.

• Its initial map marks Lin Shan in gold, the Specter Thread Fish in black, Ashatu in gray, and the Purple Soul Flower in white 6.
• Reveals directional drift caused by the Ash Fog, allowing Lin Shan to correct his route despite misleading physical perception 10.
• Tracks moving targets through shifting markers and updated distances 27 31.
• Locates named people: Lin Shan pays seven months of lifespan to find seven pioneers by name 34.
• Marks suitable ingredients precisely, selecting seven-leafed Mercury Grass rather than nearby eight- or nine-leafed plants 30.
• Supports route planning during the Human Race’s relocation and displays depth, including a target eight hundred meters beneath a lake 42 46.

Potion Formulas and Acquisition Guidance

The Parchment supplies ingredient identities, quantities, processing methods, and instructions for obtaining dangerous materials 6 12 19 33.

• Explains how torches can restrict the Specter Thread Fish and how burning its main body yields the required ash 6.
• Searches progressively wider areas for a Specter Physique formula before announcing “Theft successful” and revealing Blood Wing 19.
• Identifies Sikatini’s required core as being inside the eyeball concealed in its mouth 28.
• Warns that full digestion of the Sequence 9 potion is required before advancing to Sequence 8; the necessary time varies by individual 19.

Documented Formulas

• The initial Blood Wing ingredient list calls the plant Mercury Grass, while the exact preparation instructions call it Mercury Flower 19 33.

Unsolicited Warnings

The Parchment can produce information before Lin Shan writes a question 11 12.

• First does so after the Red Lantern attack, explaining the worsened curse and offering a method of controlling the lantern 11.
• Warns against hunting Sequence 8 ingredients with Sequence 9 abilities and reminds him that he can pursue a second sequence 19.
• Issues an urgent “Run!” before the fox girl’s protector appears; the warning does not prevent Lin Shan from being killed 26.
• Warns that prolonged activity without a physical body can cause him to lose consciousness and become an instinct-driven supernatural entity 33.

Measurement

The Parchment displays weight readings used to prepare potion ingredients accurately 14 34.

• Weighs leaves during Heart Light preparation 14.
• Provides readings while Lin Shan measures materials for the Blood Wing potion 34.

Documented Prices

Limitations & Risks

• Not omniscient: Cannot determine how long a particular person needs to digest a potion, and answers “Unknown” when Lin Shan’s horse becomes a moving skeleton 19 24.
• Racial fortune interference: The Cat Clan’s racial fortune blocks inquiry into its intentions; Lin Shan encounters the same obstruction with other race-related questions 19 22.
• Human Race exception remains unexplained: It confirms that it can locate the Human Race. Lin Shan proposes either a connection to humanity or humanity’s lack of racial fortune at that time; neither explanation is confirmed 33.
• Possible growth through payment: After the Blood Wing purchases, it seems colder and more sinister and corrodes a bedboard pitch-black. Lin Shan’s belief that it may be growing is speculation 19.
• Vulnerable to higher powers: An unknown gaze interrupts its warning, damages it, and leaves it temporarily silent 23.
• Unusual persistence: It remains available after Lin Shan’s body and head are shattered by spiritual pressure, unlike the physically crushed Red Lantern. Its survival mechanism is unexplained 26 27.
• Danger of dependence: Concerned that absorbing too much lifespan might let it turn against him, Lin Shan resolves to restrict non-potion questions unless necessary 28.

Apparent Personality

The Parchment introduces itself as “ordinary” and “unpretentious,” despite immediately demonstrating extraordinary knowledge. Its unsolicited messages can sound more personal than its direct answers, sometimes narrating Lin Shan’s thoughts or warning him sharply. Lin Shan suspects that it has a mind of its own, but the passages do not establish an independent identity or ultimate motive 6 12 28.

Lin Shan treats their association as a transaction rather than unconditional trust: it needs his lifespan, and he needs its knowledge. He continues using it despite fearing that its power may eventually turn against him 19 30.

Notable Quotes

“I am merely an ordinary, unpretentious parchment. Pay with your lifespan, and you shall know what you wish to know.” 6

“Blocked by racial fortune. Unable to determine.” 19

“Theft successful.” 19

“Run!” 26