Nightfall

The round stones at the bottom of the stream slightly quivered, as if it intended to move yet failed eventually. Instead, those round stones just struggled to make several tiny swirls around. Then they rose to pass through the dense water weed and along with them, bubbles attached to the bottom of those weed leaves were brought up.

“It proves that the talisman is effective, but it’s too weak. So we can just achieve some effect with the help of the flotage of stream water.” Fourth Brother lowered his head to see the pearl-like bubbles in the water and asked coolly, “Little Younger Brother, I appreciate your attitude to apply your knowledge of Talisman Taoism to real objects rather than talk empty talks. But I can’t understand why you made this Wind Talisman so tiny? Where do you plan to use it?”

After a moment of silence, Ning Que answered, “I plan to carve it in arrows, so it must be tiny.”

Fourth Brother looked back at him quietly and praised, “Good idea.”

Ning Que smiled, yet before he could smile to his heart content, he heard Fourth Brother said,

“… Pitily it is still a daydream.”

He asked with big surprise, “Why?”

Fourth Brother answered, “Carving talisman on suits of armour can help to defend ourselves and carving talisman on knives and swords can help to kill others. Don’t you think somebody has thought to carve talisman on arrows? Since ancient times, numerous people have thought about the idea, yet they all failed.”

Ning Que frowned and asked, “Why?”

“There are thousands of reasons but only one reliable explanation, which is, all the previous attempts to carve talisman on arrows failed. So at least up to today, it is a good idea that is bound to fail.”

“Failure is the mother of success.”

“You are right, but don’t forget, many mothers also give birth to unsuccessful children.”

“Then it doesn’t matter if I try it again, right?”

“And then you need to redesign your talisman line. Now only the columns of Daming Palace are wide enough for you to carve your talisman. Even if you are powerful enough to regard the column as an arrow, then where to find such a thick bowstring?”

“Fourth Brother… ”

“Yes?”

“It is until today do I find you speak so acridly.”

“As a Talisman Master majoring in this skill, what I focus on is to carve characters at extremely acrid (tiny) places.”

“Good answer.”

…

…

Ning Que has thought of carving talisman on arrow to strengthen its power and enlarge its shotting range a long time ago. In fact, earlier last year during their journey back from the grassland when he heard about the narration of his hardship and sufferings in cultivation from the elder Lyu Qingchen, he has already formed the idea.

After being tempered in Min Mountain and the frontier fortress for many years, he has fostered an excellent skill of shooting arrows beyond compare. Therefore, when thinking and analysing how to fight with those powerful cultivators, he would naturally choose arrow. If Talisman Taoism could be applied in arrow, the safety distance and the suddenness of the attack would be ensured in the fight against a powerful cultivator.

When the elder Lyu Qingchen heard of this idea during their journey back last year, he directly denied it – Arrow was too light for a talisman to be carved on, and the primordial Qi would vanish too quickly. Unless these two intractable problems could be solved, or else arrow couldn’t be the kind of weapon chosen by a cultivator.

Back then, Ning Que had the least experience of Talisman Taoism, thus he didn’t think too much. However, he was at present a successor of Divine Talisman Master Yan Se and has encountered so many crazy and sublime beings in the Back Mountain of the Academy, so he always felt it possible to carve talisman on thin arrows. If it made sense, it would solve all the problems!

Although Ning Que had been discouraged by Fourth Brother’s acrid words by the stream, he didn’t completely lose heart. When back to Chang’an City, he bursted in the temple of South School of Haotian Taoism to visit his master, who finally gave him some suggestions after being badgered with for three days and two nights. And then Ning Que returned to Old Brush Pen Shop. After pondering for quite a long time with the pen and ink and foot line, he eventually contracted the Wind Talisman he prepared to carve on arrows to its smallest size.

…

…

It was midnight, and the lamplight was slightly swinging.

Sangsang who was coated with white cloth allover slowly flew up from her bed.

The white cloth was densely pasted with slender pieces of paper scrip.

On those pieces of paper scrip one could faintly recognize some weird lines.

A burst of muffled sob was heard from the tightly-closed window.

The pale-faced Ning Que stood beside the bed, faintly looking at her.

The whole picture looked extremely strange and horrible.

After continuously drawing over forty Wind Talismans, he felt his Psyche Power in the Ocean of Qi was almost pressed out, and his face was extremely pale at the moment. However, at the sight of the little handmaiden slowly drifting up and those talismans pasted on her, he was filled with joy.

With the fluctuation of Sangsang’s thin figure in the air, Ning Que moved his hands up and down, emotionly saying, “What is the flying trapeze? This is! If I were to play magic, who cares about Liu Qian (a famous modern magician)?”

Sangsang who was hanged in the air frowned and said, “Young master, I don’t know who Liu Qian is.”

…

…

When arriving in the Back Mountain of the Academy, Ning Que took out that slender talisman and seriously handed it to Sixth Brother, saying, “Senior Brother, succeed or not, it all depends on your skill.”

Sixth Brother took the talisman and examined it with confusion for quite a long time. Then he picked up the an arrow thrown by Ning Que the previous day and folded the talisman into a cylinder. And next he stuck the cylinder tightly to the thin arrow, finding them perfectly matched.

“Although they are suitable in size, I’m also afraid it still will fail later.”

Sixth Brother took out the delicate scorper and sat at a bright place near the window. He began to carve following the lines of talisman sticked to the arrow and his fingers moved quite stably without any trembles at all. The seemingly blunt movement of the scorper actually resulted in extreme accuracy. Instead of pursuing the meaningless beauty of movement, he preferred to focus on the real effect. The hair-thin blade perfectly copied the lines in the talisman.

After finishing carving those talismans, Ning Que picked up the arrow and looked at it against the sunlight. He was shocked by the beautiful and smooth lines on the thin arrow and sincerely praised, “Sixth Brother, you are really excellent in craftsmanship.”

Sixth Brother put the delicate scorper into the leather box and answered with an honest smile, “I’m a true craftsman.”

The two walked out of the house and reached the Mirror Lake.

Ning Que first took a deep breath and calmed down. And next he put the arrow on a boxwood bow and slightly loosened and tightened his five figures of his left hand alternatively to transfer his Psyche Power from the Ocean of Qi to the lines of talisman on the arrow. In terms of an ordinary Talisman Master, his Psyche Power was the key and the talisman he wrote was the lock. Only his own Psyche Power could stimulate and release the power of the talisman.

“Buzz!” The tightened bowstring of the boxwood bow bounced back.

Almost simultaneously, his Psyche Power triggered the talisman on the arrow.

Between the bow, a gust of wind bursted out and quickly scattered, yet as for the arrow… it had gone elsewhere.

The surface of the lake was as quiet as a mirror, where no flying trace of an arrow was found.

In the woods on the opposite side of the lake, no flying trace of an arrow was found.

Under the blue sky, no flying trace of an arrow was found either.

If something flew by or climbed by or walked by, it must leave a trace, but where had the arrow carved with Wind Talisman gone in an instant?

Ning Que blankly put down the boxwood bow and turned back to Sixth Brother with an inquiring look.

Sixth Brother unfolded his hands, also showing an honest and confused expression.

Just at the moment, Seventh Sister walked out from the pavilion in the middle of the Mirror Lake. She looked enraged with her thin arch brows inverted, whose body was covered with extremely tiny chips of wood allover, as if she had just crawled out from some warehouse of a logging camp.

Ning Que failed to refrain himself from laughing out at her embarrassed look, thinking to himself, “she really looked silly.”

Since Sixth Brother cast weapons and engraved talisman all year round, he already fostered a pair of sharp eyes despite his simple and honest traits. He had already seen the trembling right hand of Seventh Sister which tightly clenched because of anger, and he also saw the cold metal arrow bunch held in her hand. He suddenly felt a sense of chilliness in his heart, his body somewhat stiffening. So he turned away without any word, walked into his iron-forging house and tightly closed the door.

Not knowing what had happened, Ning Que looked back to see the tightly closed iron-forging house with confusion and then turned back to shout at Seventh Sister who was in the pavilion, “Senior Sister, do you see an arrow?”

Seventh Sister difficultly suppressed her rage and forced a smile, asking, “What knid of arrow?”

“It’s an… arrow whose shaft was carved with various things.”

Seventh Sister smiled and took out the arrow bunch that was tightly grasped in her right hand, asking, “This one?”

Ning Que answered with a surprise, “Yes, it is… eh, why there is only an arrow bunch? Where does the shaft go?”

Seven sisters flicked the hair beside her cheek and flipped off the wooden chips in between her hair, saying with a fascinating and charming smile, “Here.”

Ning Que finally understood and turned to dart to the direction of the iron-forging house without any hesitation, shouting, “Sixth Brother! Help! Open the door! Quickly!”

Hardly had he reached the iron-forging house did he stop running with a stuffy hum.

He difficultly turned back to see the back of himself, with a pale face. He almost cried out.

More than a dozen of embroidery needles were poked on his ass, which all went deep into his flesh.

Inside the pavilion, Seventh Sister gently pinched the embroidery frame and said with a cold smile, “Knife, Sword and Needle, and now it should be arrow’s turn! If I don’t teach you some lessons, maybe you will even muck about with firearm!”

…

…

After the short episode, They had to continue with the innovative work of studying Talisman Arrow. And because of the farce beside the lake, they had been looked on by two more viewers, which was, Chen Pipi who just sent food to the chess addicts under the pine tree and was adling about contemporarily, and Seventh Sister, who couldn’t concentrate on embroidery for fear that she would be showered by another rain of wooden chips and simply put down the embroidery frame to take a curious look.

“Even if talisman can be carved on shaft, the shaft can still hardly bear the strength of Wind Talisman and the bowstring.”

With a lid in her hand, Seventh Sister patted away the remaining wooden chips off her shoulder and said to Ning Que and Sixth Brother, both of whom were busy with their next experiment, “If you do not solve this problem, then all your tries will be useless.”

“Has anyone tried this way before? Yes! Did they succeed? No! Are those former sages and Divine Talisman Masters more talented than you? Did they succeed? No! So I do not know why you should stick to this idea.”

Chen Pipi lifted the Stainless-steel pot for the delivery of food, shook his head and said, “It is a pure waste of time and life.”

The two onlookers seemed to offer various suggestions yet they never missed the chances to beat Ning Que’s confidence. However, Ning also did not show any care, who directly pulled the bow and put the arrow on it, saying, “Get ready.”

“The fourth experiment of the unprecedented new-style Talisman Arrow, and now let’s countdown, three, two, one, launch!”

Chen Pipi shouted. The moment he shouted out the word “Launch”, he lifted up the Stainless-steel pot to cover his face immediately. But because his face was too fat and too round, although that Stainless-steel pot was big enough, the outer part of his chubby face was still uncovered, making it ridiculous.

Seventh Sister even reacted faster than him. When the word “Third” was uttered, she had already raised the lid with both of her hands to cover her flowery face with all her strength.

Even Ning Que sheltered himself immediately behind Sixth Brother the moment that the Talisman Arrow shot out. The strong figure of this Senior Brother could block off any possible hurt.

The previous three tests of shooting the Talisman Arrow had caused traumatic consequences. The fish drifted white-belliedly on the lake and the bloody blackbird that was bombed into blurred figures were all direct evidence of this brutal force.

Instead of covering his face, Sixth Brother carefully looked for the trace of that Talisman Arrow in the sky. As a weapon developer and manufacturer, he never lacked in such adventurous spirit. And then after a moment, he shook his head and said, “You may go out.”

Seventh Sister cautiously stretched a little half of her face out from behind the lid and asked, “Senior Brother, where is the arrow?”

Sixth Brother pointed to the dense woods on the other side of the lake and replied, “It seems to be over there.”

Chen Pipi put down the Stainless-steel pot and said with a big laugh, “That is where the two Senior Brothers playing lyre and flute.”

Seventh Sister waved his hand and said, “It ‘s all right, once the two Younger Brothers began to play lyre and flute, nothing can disturb them. They even won’t move an inch if an arrow prinked into their asses, and then what’s the matter with a wooden chip shower.”

Upon these words, Ning Que slightly trembled and said to Sixth Brother, “It seems the shaft really does not work.”

Sixth Brother took the last arrow from the quiver and asked, “Wanna try again?”

Chen Pipi shook his head and said, “It does not make any sense. If Ning Que can successfully develop the Talisman Arrow, he can open and build his own school. So why bother to learn the true meaning of Talisman Taoism.”

“I know you are cursing me,” Ning Que shrugged and said, “But I still want to try again.”

Finding Chen Pipi and Seventh Sister nervously lifting the pot and lid again, he shook his head with a smile and said, “This time I will try on the original site, so you needn’t cover your face.”

Taking off the arrow bunch from the Talisman Arrow, Ning Que released all his Psyche Power from the Ocean of Qi which directly stimulated the talisman on the shaft.

Suddenly the fine and delicate lines on the shaft lightened, around which all Qi of Heaven and Earth quickly concentrated, thus producing a gust of wind. The wind was constantly winding and rotating around the slender shaft.

Staring at the shaft, Ning Que percepted the direction and regulation of that wind flow carefully with his Psyche Power.

Suddenly, those lines visible on the shaft had somehow sunken deeply into the shaft. The wood that had made the shaft suddenly tightened which was then split into pieces of very fine Wood fiber!

“Puff!” Suddenly smoke and dust were blowing beside the lake and wooden chips were flying all over the sky.

Bursts of coughing were brought out.

…

…

Ning Que whisked off the wooden chips from his body and said, “Ordinary materials can’t be used to make Talisman Arrow, so we have to change the material.”

“Change for what?”

“Stainless-steel.”

Chen Pipi shook his head and said, “The Stainless-steel can naturally withstand the tearing force of the breath of wind, but the problem is, arrows made of Stainless-steel… How to shoot them? Where to find such a bowstring?”

“For the bow we can use mort, and as for bowstring… we also have solutions. But the problem is, the arrow made of Stainless-steel is so strong, and even I don’t have the ability to shoot it out.”

Seventh Sister asked, “Will the Stainless-steel arrow be lighter after carving talisman on it?”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “Fourth Brother and I tested it the previous days, and even if it can be lighter, it’s just a little bit.”

Suddenly Sixth Brother interrupted, “I can use Stainless-steel to make a hollow tube.”

Chen Pipi said, “In order to strengthen your perception of the strength of the talisman on the shaft, I suggest you add some silver inside.”

Sixth Brother nodded, “It will be easy.”

The eyes of Ning Que gradually lit up.