"Shen-dàgē here I am, remember that you promised to teach me martial arts yerter... oaaah !!! Chen-dàgē is here!!! Shen-dàgē, why did not you tell me you were going to invite Chen-dàgē... "" Little Xun, calm down! I have not forgotten the promise I made yesterday, but to teach you martial arts, you need to learn to concentrate at will" said Qiang Shen. "mm" said Qiang Xun nodding "very well Shen-dàgē, tell me what I have to do""First you need to learn to concentrate, I do not ask you now to do it at will, but you must know how to do it" said Qiang Shen "first sit on the floor and cross your legs like that" he began to explain to Qiang Xun "Dàgē, it hurts a little!" he said complaining while Qiang Shen accommodated him in the lotus posture. "That"s because you need to have your body flexible, go practice this position in your room."
After Qiang Xun went to his room to practice the lotus posture, Qiang Shen started moving to clear the dining room, later he went to his room and took out a red bird-shaped censer from his room, went to his parents" room and took a tiger-shaped statuette and a small mirror, from his backpack took out a drawing of a dragon and went to his brother"s room, saw that his brother was still trying to get used to the lotus posture, he went to where the toys were, I take out a turtle-like monster and take it away.
When he returned to the room where his parents and his friend were, he grabbed the four objects and arranged them in a cross at an approximate distance of 1m of separation, the toy set him in the direction of the north, the drawing of the dragon set him in the direction of the east, the censer in the shape of a bird set it in the direction of the south and the tiger figurine set it in the direction of the west. His father knew that they represented the 4 divine beasts: Qing Long (dragon), Xuang Gu (turtle), Bai Hu (tiger) and Zhu Que (vermillion bird). Afterwards, Qiang Shen grabbed his sketch book and started writing a few words and when he had finished, he tore off the sheet and put it in the middle of the objects.
"What is that?" mama Qiang asked when she approached and saw that on the sheet there was western writing.
"c.u.m MENTEM ET COR CAELI SUPER TERRAM VOBIS ITER AD TE ELEGIT LUDERE"
"What does that mean?" Ask papa Qiang "It is a spell to know the way you must follow" Qiang Shen replied "it is not that you can read the stars, the future or luck, only see in the depths of your heart the desires you have and reveals the desicion that unconsciously you have taken but that doubt does not let you see".
When he finished arranging everything, Qiang Shen addressed his mother, "Mom, it"s getting dark, it"s the best time to do the ritual" "Why it"s the best time?" Jiang Chen asked "Because it"s the time when you can combine light and darkness, the day and the night. An old friend from j.a.pan once told me an old belief where they believe that at dusk, demons come out of hiding to spread fear, lies and pain, then he told me that half was true. It is true that at dusk, mystical beings come out, but they are the spirits of the earth, and they reveal the truth to the people who seek it.
The 4 divine beasts represent the elements and the seasons, they are the representation of all existing elements. Now mom, I need you to stand on the sheet with the spell, grab this mirror and put it at the level of your heart, close your eyes and think about the kind of magic you want. Your conscience will enter a blank s.p.a.ce. That will be your heart, and when you are there, tell us what you see "
Mama Qiang nodded, stood on the sheet of paper, closed her eyes and thought what kind of magic she could practice.
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When mama Qiang reacted, she saw exactly the blank s.p.a.ce, there was no up or down, it seemed that she was floating. At that time she began to see how a snake appeared and began to move and where it started, plants, rocks and metals began to appear. When she try to grab one of the plants she saw how everything started to turn dust and became a small lake and when she turned his head to see the snake, she saw it disappear little by little.
At that moment, she opened her eyes.
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When mama Qiang closed her eyes, no one said a word, after a minute had pa.s.sed, she started talking and describing what she was seeing. They only listened to her.
After she finished talking, mama Qiang slowly opened her eyes. The first to break the silence was Jiang Chen "Bro, what does she mean?" he ask puzzled. "Alchemy" replied Qiang Shen, "mom chose the path of alchemy. The plants, metals and rocks represent objects, its destruction represents transformation, the lake represents the creation of something new and the serpent symbolizes something good and bad to the once, like a double-edged sword. "
Dear, do you feel anything different? "Asked papa Qiang," I do not know how to explain it, it"s like I had knowledge that I did not have, but somehow I know that the knowledge was there," said mama Qiang.
"You must rest, the mana of your body is almost exhausted, by tomorrow in the morning you will have new knowledge and you will have recovered the mana you used" said Qiang Shen. "Mana?" mama Qiang asked, "we cultivatores use the internal energy to absorb the energy of the earth and strengthen the body and spirit. Mana is like a sleeping ability to feel the natural energy, think of it as if it were a small sponge that goes growing as you use it, but as we never use it, it will always be small, a better example is as if it were a small seed, which grows little by little while the fences are feeding, this energy the magicians use to manipulate the energy of the earth and have an effect on reality, they do not absorb it, but they control it and modify it. "
"Somehow I understand the concept," said Jiang Chen. "When you feel it for the first time, it becomes natural," said Qiang Shen, "it"s like when you learn to drive a bicycle, when you learn, you can stop using it for several years but the knowledge is saved. Well, my father is next, please put yourself on paper with the spell!"
After speaking to his father, papa Qiang was put on the spell waiting to know what his heart wanted.