I asked Master Liu about the deserted village after Sima Jie and Zuo Qingmu left. "You remember, eh?" He gave a thoughtful "Hmm" and touched his chin. "I suppose you would. It"s of no import now, you"ll see when we go there."
I nodded up at him. If my memory served, the village was shock full of ghosts, but none of them attacked us last time.
We reached home and went about our tasks. Master Liu shooed me away so he could concentrate. I practiced making amulets, Da Hong fist, meditation, cleansing, my jade, and finally got to the dragon scales.
Sima Jie promised that he would smelt the scales for me. Though, I guess the three rainbows and all of his important duties distracted him. He"d forgotten to take them with him.
I brought them to Master Liu for help. He worked on the material for several days, asking me to create special paper amulets and burn them for ash water. I did as told and concocted some very supernaturally heavy water. I"d never heard of amulets used to make water like this before. When I questioned Master Liu"s instruction he said, "A Taoist named Ou Yezi founded that method at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period."
He went on to tell me that the water functioned to transfer supernatural energy into weapons, promoting them for more mystical works. "My first work, the Dragonsword, was submerged in water of the very same." Master Liu told me.
"Ou Yezi"s was a very unique Taoist. He"s focused his time and practice on creating weaponry, instead of promoting his own power. Most avoid that route because it takes much longer to become strong enough to defend yourself. No one ever lived up to Ou Yezi"s status. It was a shame when he pa.s.sed."
"What did you notice about the refining amulets I had you craft?" He asked
"They"re very different. The book says the cinnabar has to be mixed with rust, and applied with strength, not focus. And that the momentum of application influences the function!" I replied. Being the good student, I went on, "And the incantation is rough! It took me nearly four minutes to say the whole thing. Why is it like that?"
"It"s not used very often." He replied with a light smile.
Between my amulet crafting and Master Liu"s knowledge, we were moving forward with the scales at an incredible pace. We had to put it in the ash water each day and let it soak for about half an hour. After seven days we could move onto the next step. While we waited for the scales to soak, Master Liu and I talked of the skills required to be a Taoist. He taught me the concepts of repelling ghosts, igniting flames, suppressing souls, and casting curses.
"Curses?" I asked. The old man nodded, his face turning serious. "Why do Taoists practice curses?"
"It is the only skill that can affect the living. Sometimes it is necessary to…let"s say deal with enemies on this plane."
As he explained it, Taoist curses were very different from those of witchcraft. Taoist curses worked much faster, but were half as effective. A witch"s curse worked slowly and would maim or kill everyone it touched. "In the beginning, curses were only meant to trick others into fleeing. As we practiced the concept, the idea grew in power. You must remember, only use this skill to save others from harm, or to protect yourself."
He peered down at me until I nodded.
As the week pa.s.sed and we continued soaking the scales, I practiced my own skills. I could summon my green spirit for almost an hour now, give or take thirty seconds. I was pretty proud of myself.
When the scales were finished soaking, Master Liu took them to the forge. He returned that afternoon wielding a large oval creation the size of a textbook.
"Is it a shield?" I asked as he hefted it into the table.
"No. A Taoist has no need of a shield." He said, marveling at the thing, "Plus it"s far too thick to use as a shield." He paused for a moment. "I have an idea."
He hefted the scale slate and took it outside to the tool bench. After half an hour of grunting, grinding, and some detail work, he brought it back in. The smoothed, oval dragon scale was now a mirror. Master Liu polished the surface where he"d carved in the Eight Trigrams. "I call it the Peach Blossom Mirror." He said with a smile.
Peach wood, dragon scales, and the eight trigrams were representatives of Yang power. "This mirror embodies significant power. If you used this to reflect moonlight on a red spirit, it wouldn"t be able to bother you any longer." He smiled over it. "What do you think?"
"I love it!" I told him, grinning like an idiot at my reflection in the newest treasure of my collection.
I carried the mirror with me almost constantly. The boys started to mock me, calling me girly names because I had a mirror on me. I didn"t care. I thought it was super cool. Little did I know of how effective it would be as a weapon. Other Taoists might have swords, whips, bells and clocks, but me…I have a mirror.
My time with Master Liu was fleeting. After only a few weeks he pulled me aside after dinner and said the inevitable.
"I must go soon. Your jade stone is almost cleared."
I gave him a sad smile and nodded my head. He"d come and gone so many times that the sting of loss was but a splinter now. "I understand. Thank you for everything you"ve done. When will I see you again?"
He returned my smile. "You"ve grown into quite the young man, Xiao Yong. I"m proud of you." He tussled my hair annoyingly. "I"ll be back in five years time when we must attend to the deserted village. During those years I expect you to practice the skills I taught you. They will serve to protect you in my absence."
"What about my eyes?" I asked. He only shook his head.
"Perhaps we will find a solution next time. May I tell you something, Xiao Yong?" I nodded enthusiastically.
"Sima Jie told me years ago that I would never take an apprentice. While you are not a Taoist, you are my G.o.dson. However much you learn from me is up to you now." I bowed to him,
"Thank you, Master Liu." My parents and Master Liu talked for a very long time on the front steps the night he left. I heard my dad comforting my mom because she was crying.
Breakfast was eerily silent the next morning.
When Spring Festival came around my dad brought me some new clothes, and even gave me some lucky money. I was honestly surprised. After a day of revelry, we returned to the house as a family. It was over dinner that the shoe dropped.
I was laughing at something when my dad suddenly cleared his throat. I fell silent and looked at him, not used to this kind of address. He peered over his reading gla.s.ses at me.
"Xiao Yong, you"re going to have a sister." A smile bloomed beneath his nose. "What do you think?"
"A sister?" I asked, stunned. My head was reeling. I thought they I was enough to keep them busy, what with the ghosts and whatnot. I couldn"t think of anything to say.
"We want you have a partner, a friend! Otherwise our house will be so quiet." Mom said. She smiled at me. I didn"t return it.
Dad broke the silence. "By this time next year you will have a new sister and a new room!" He raised his hands as if in triumph. "We"re moving!"
"This isn"t fair!" I thought, not daring to voice it. "They"re the parents, they give the orders."
"The adoption papers have already been filed." My mother said, placing her hands on the table like an excited school child. "There"s a family in a nearby village that has had trouble keeping children. They have a little girl, who"s only three years old. Her sister died of a strange illness and they don"t want her to go the same way. We"re going to invite her into our home and our hearts." Her smile couldn"t be any bigger.
Mom came home with the little girl on the fifteenth two months later. I remember because it was the first month of the new lunar year. Something about that stuck out to me. I was waiting on the front porch, arms crossed and ready to hate the new member of our family. Mom walked up, carrying her and my loathing melted away. The girl had big brown eyes and chubby cheeks. She looked around like everything was new and amazing and I…well I didn"t hate her.
She never lost her temper at the house. She sat quietly anywhere we went. If I gave her food, she would eat it without complaint. The only things that worried me were her eyes. She looked like a lost cat in a new place.
"What should we call her?" My mom asked my dad. "What do you think, Xiao Yong?" She turned to me.
"How about Wen?"
Mom lit up. "Wen is a beautiful name! Wen it is!"
All of us looked at the little girl sitting on the floor across the room. "h.e.l.lo Wen!" Mom cooed at her.
"What"s in store for you?" I wondered.