1897 The Sky Mind Like Knife
“Sky Mind like knife. What does that mean?” Qing Li held the wood board and wrote down the four words. She looked at Han Sen with a modic.u.m of confusion. She knew the four words, but she did not understand the meaning of their combination.
“Go home and look it over. When you understand it, you can write it. And when you can write it, I will take you as a student.” Han Sen smiled.
“As long as I am able to write out those four words, you can accept me as a student? That simply?” Qing Li did not believe Han Sen. Copying out four words to pa.s.s a test was far too easy.
“Yes, it is that simple. Now, go and practice. But I have a rule for you to follow, and that is, you cannot ask for the aid of others. You have to write this out by yourself. If you get help to do this, then you forfeit.” Han Sen smiled.
Those four words were simple, but copying them was not easy.
The words Han Sen wrote contained the Teeth Knife knifemind. The words could be copied, yes, but the feelings they elicited could not.
He gave Qing Li this task because he wanted her to give up in her pursuit. That being said, if she did understand the meaning behind the text and could copy it as she had been instructed, then she’d be something of a genius. No one would mind taking on such a student, if that was the case.
“Okay, you said that. No regrets now.” Qing Li was too young, and Han Sen thought she was too naive. She didn’t understand the real task that she had been given.
“I won’t have any.” Han Sen smiled.
Qing Li left for home quite merrily with the wooden board. She planned to write down four beautiful words for Han Sen, so he’d have no choice but to accept her as a student.
When she was back home, she could not wait to start practicing.
Rebate generally took their education seriously, but Qing Li was an exception to that rule. She studied, but she didn’t focus on it too much. She’d finish any homework she was given, but she wouldn’t go the extra mile with practice.
It was fortunate that Flower King was good at teaching and that he had forced her to practice some writing.
Qing Li’s writing was not the best, but it wasn’t too bad, either. If this was just writing, Qing Li had a chance.
But when Qing Li started to write out the words Han Sen had given to her, she felt rather strange. And that was because she was unable to write them out like he had. When she started, she thought they looked similar, but the further she went, the more she realized they drifted apart.
“Weird! Why is this happening?” Qing Li held up the wooden boards to investigate. It was then that she realized the words were changing.
They weren’t exactly changing, though. It was because the markings on the board were getting deeper, and the words elicited the feeling of them changing. It was as if the text could move.
“Teeth powers.” Qing Li immediately realized that the words Han Sen had written out contained the power of Teeth. Teeth powers were breaking the wood; that was what was happening.
But no matter what, this would not scare Qing Li away. It actually flared her curiosity and her urge to go on. She swore to her G.o.d that she’d write it all out, if it was the last thing she did.
This time, Qing Li tried her hardest. She kept trying to write down Han Sen’s words and practicing the knife skills at the same time.
As the daughter of Flower King, many teachers would be willing to teach her if she was willing to learn writing and knife skills. Plus, Flower King had a wide collection of writing techniques, and she was a naturally smart woman. So, it should not have been too difficult.
It was hard to learn writing in such a short time. But the added pressure made her focus more. The more she watched Han Sen’s words, the more fascinating she found them.
It wasn’t because of how well they were written, though. It was because the knifemind was so strong.
As Qing Li looked into the writings and the knife skills, she realized that the four words were really unpredictable. The more she wrote, the less she found herself following. She was starting to think she couldn’t practice it at all.
Pat!
After ten days, the wooden board cracked. The knifemind and the Teeth powers broke the boards. And then, the four words disappeared.
Qing Li was shocked. She understood that this was the time limit given to her by Han Sen. She felt depressed. She had failed to copy them down, and on top of that, they were now broken. She had failed the test.
“Qing Li, why have you been hiding yourself away at home for so many days? The event is going to start!” A woman’s voice sounded from the outside, and then she pushed the door open.
The person who entered was a Rebate woman the same age as Qing Li. Her name was Du Lishe. She was Moon Wheel King’s daughter, and they were members of Moon Garden. They were also best friends.
Qing Li was an outgoing person. But she had been hiding away at home for ten days, and she hadn’t gone looking for her friends once. Du Lishe was curious about what was going on, and so, she came looking for her friend.
“The Buddha is already here. Why don’t you come take a look? Why are you hiding at home?” Du Lishe asked.
“Ah, you are practicing writing? Did Uncle Flower force you to?” Du Lishe saw writing all around the place. She picked up one and went on to say, “The words aren’t bad. You have definitely improved.”
“Father did not force me. I wanted to practice this myself!” Qing Li shook her head.
“That is strange! You are practicing writing out of choice. That’s not your style at all. What made you take this up?” Du Lishe looked at Qing Li with surprise.
Qing Li looked depressed and said, “You know I admire the queen? Well, I want to be her student. But she said that I am not qualified enough to learn Teeth Knife, and so she did not accept me as a student.”
“I know. But that was a long time ago. Is this still on your mind?” Du Lishe said.
Qing Li shook her head. “Queen is my idol, and that’ll never change. So, I thought that if I could not have her as a teacher, I would become the student of her student. Then, that would make me her student’s student. It can’t be all that different, can it?”
The daughter of Flower King is becoming Han Sen’s student? Even if you wanted to obey him, I doubt he’d take you.”
Du Lishe smiled.
“He didn’t reject me. He wanted me to write down four words. If I do them successfully, he’ll take me as a student,” Qing Li said.
“So, you’ve been practicing how to write this the entire time?” Du Lishe saw that all she had written were sky mind like knife.
“Yeah, I have been practicing for so long, and yet I still fail!” Qing Li felt depressed.
“How can it be so difficult? Let me see.” Du Lishe was curious about this.
Qing Li shook her head. “The text is gone.”