Letter from Ziteng Incense Candle Shop

"My lord, please forgive me! I don't know if he is an adult... If I knew, I... ah..." Before finishing speaking, the woman's face suddenly became ferocious, and her beautiful appearance was like a cracked earth. From a young woman to an old woman.

"Yeah—my face, my face..."

Zi Ye didn't even look at her, she pulled me around and left. "Follow us closely and don't go away again. It's very dangerous, especially for a cute child like Xiaoteng."

"What's the matter with that girl?" I'm curious, did you really buy it from a 'Youth' vendor?

"That old woman is called the Demon of Time. She stole 'youth' from mortals and sold it to other people. But to get 'youth', you have to pay a higher price, but you can only restore instant youth."

Zi Ye said that people who have their "youth" stolen will become old even if they are young.I remember it was said in the news that a young girl turned into an old woman overnight after using cosmetics bought on the street.

Zi Ye took me to stop outside a shop. The stall under the canopy at the door was filled with all kinds of goods, colorful, many of which I had never seen before.

"I want cinnabar, agar, and Lanniao's blood. By the way, how do you sell the water jade?" Zi Ye asked the boss for the price.I looked around boringly, but I couldn't see the master.

Obviously he came to buy the materials because he asked me to teach me how to make the best shikigami, but now there is no sign of him.

Zi Ye fished out the transparent beads from the crystal plate and put them under the sun to look at them, then suddenly squeezed the beads into fine pieces, and the expression on his face became ruthless, "Boss, I haven't seen you for decades, you sell it Fakes are coming."

The face of the pointy-nosed boss turned green, and he was so frightened that he almost got under the table, "Big... my lord... I really don't dare... how dare I lie to you!" He knelt on the ground and kept licking his head.

"Then what's the matter with this water jade seeping into the glass?"

"My lord, you don't know. Now the water source is seriously polluted, and it is impossible to find natural water jade. These are artificially cultivated, and in order to make them more transparent, they will seep into the glass." The boss was very helpless. He kept sighing, "But a small one can guarantee that it won't affect the utility."

It turns out that monsters also sell fake products. This world is really speechless.However, it is not all false, half true and half false, the technology is really advanced.

After buying all the materials, the master came late carrying two bottles of wine.It turned out that this was his real purpose.What makes the best shikigami turns out to be just an excuse.Both Zi Ye and I stepped into the big trap.

Maybe he received the unfriendly eyes from Zi Ye and me, the master touched his nose, "A Ye, this is Gui Chun's collection, let's drink together tonight."

After hearing this, Zi Ye immediately stared at the glazed wine bottle, her eyes shining brightly.One sentence bought him, it is really speechless.The master turned around again and stretched out his hands to pinch my face, "As for Teng'er... I'll buy you candy, don't be angry."

"Master!"> mouth

Due to the relationship between the Mid-Autumn Festival, many shops are displaying festive merchandise.There are all kinds of moon cakes, fruits, chestnuts and water chestnuts.The master really bought me a bottle of candy.There are colorful star candies in the glass bottle, floating gently in the bottle.The boss said to be careful when opening the lid, don't let the stars fly back into the sky.

On the way back, you can still see rows of colorful lanterns.I was fascinated by the light fans in the glazed cage. Although it was not dark yet, but it was approaching dusk, the light balls gave off a faint light, which was very beautiful.

"That's a soul lamp, do you want to buy it, Xiao Teng?" Zi Ye told me that it was a lantern made from souls captured by monsters.Very popular with monsters, both for viewing and eating.

I quickly shook my head and waved my hands, joking, I don't want to hold human souls.Zi Ye looked at it and laughed, "They are all fakes. Even if they weren't fakes, they would catch bugs or spirits like little demons to replace them. You have to go to the ghost market to buy a real soul lamp."

Turning around, he saw that the master was looking up at a lotus-shaped lantern, with nostalgia and sadness in his deep eyes.Perhaps he recalled some sad memory.I couldn't help tugging at the hem of his clothes, "Master, Zi Ye said that he wants to leave."

"Oh..." The master seemed to come to his senses suddenly, "Xiao Teng, do you like this lotus lamp?"

I shook my head, "I don't like it." I'm not a child, and only girls like this kind of appearance.Seeing me like this, disappointment flashed in the master's eyes, which made me feel anxious, but a little bit unwilling.In the end, Zi Ye bought the lotus lantern, saying that it was lit in the yard for the festival.

Back at Tengjian, Ziye started to cook.I pestered my master to make shikigami.

He asked me what kind of shikigami I wanted to look like.

"The mighty bird." I can be said to be full of resentment towards the bird-shaped shikigami.Never make a fat chicken again, so I specially put the accent on the word '飞'.

The master nodded, asked me to take out the two beads that he gave me before, and asked, "Would you like white or black?"

"White!" Of course, the bird looks better if it is white, and the black bird will only think it is a crow.And I've seen Su Jinyan's work before, the white eagle landed on his shoulder, so handsome and cool.

The master took out the white beads and asked me to put away the black ones.

"In addition to the ability of the maker to affect the power of the shikigami, the main body is also very important to make a powerful shikigami. Therefore, the paper shikigami can only be used once to three times."

"The body affects the attributes of shikigami. Paper is afraid of water and fire, wood is afraid of fire, and gold is prone to rust. To make long-term shikigami, the body is best made of jade."

As the master said, he took out a small brocade box and handed it to me. Inside were carving knives of various sizes.He asked me to pick a knife with a fine point.

He made me sit on his lap, holding my carving knife hand in one hand and the jade stone in the other.

He took my hand and quickly carved the rune pattern on the bead.Yin and Yang gossip, life is inseparable from it.In fact, I also understand these runes and formations, but it is really difficult to engrave on such a small jade, and if you engrave it wrong, all previous efforts will be wasted and a spirit jade will be lost.Now I know why he asked me to practice carving patterns of paper butterflies.

His hands were large, rough, calloused, powerful and steady.Every subtle movement is handled with ease, like flowing clouds and flowing water, and the carving is completed in an instant.

Looking at the surface of the jade beads densely packed like ants, it is really not easy.If it's just me, I can't make it at all.

He said that I can add patterns I like.That pattern will appear on the shikigami produced at that time.

How dare I add it indiscriminately, what if the engraving is broken.Probably aware of my concerns, the master said, "At least engrave your signature."

I suddenly remembered the wooden box and the symbols on the jade flute.The master's signature is the hexagram 'Qian', and his name will come to mind when you see it.So, does that crescent symbol also represent another maker's name?

Just as I was about to speak, the master handed me a piece of paper, "This pattern is very suitable for you."

What I saw above was a young vine drawing a half-arc, with a small leaf attached below.A fairly simple composition should be able to be engraved in a very small position.

I nodded, and carefully carved the pattern on the bead with a carving knife.Wash the beads with clean water and polish them smooth with water.

Then, under the guidance of the master, he prepared the purchased materials and drew a summoning formation on the ground.The five-element beads are placed in the five corners of the formation, and the incense burner is lit in front of the formation.The master said that he had to sacrifice to the gods, and summoned a powerful spirit to attach to the beads.However, not now.

"If you are a master, you can make a suitable soul yourself." The master stood with me in the center of the formation.

"Shape the wheel of life, the shape of the soul emerges in the heart, and seal it in the jade." The mellow male voice like a cello echoed in my ears.What he means is that I want to create the shikigami form in my mind.Sincerity leads to spirit, this step is quite critical.

Birds are of course respected by the phoenix, and they have all five virtues. Of course, it is best to shape them into a phoenix.Think about summoning a phoenix with a flick of your hand, which is much more windy than an eagle.

Thinking of this, my fingers hurt. It turned out that the master cut my wrist with a knife, and blood gushed out immediately.Although it was very painful, seeing the blood rushing out was really frightening.However, the warmth from the master's hand reassured me quickly.

After reciting the summoning spell, the formation activated and emitted a golden light.The blood dripping on the jade beads quickly penetrated into the beads as if they were alive, and flowed through the engraved formations and mantras, making them red and bright.

"I call your name here!"

The master's voice suddenly rang in my ears, and I knew it was to name the shikigami.So he called out the name on his mind.

[The essence of white jade, 珝 is your name. 】

The jade beads emitted a dazzling light, and when the light gradually dissipated, I was full of anticipation to see the phoenix spread its wings.But they found that there was a big fat chicken in the center of the formation.

The fat chicken stretched out its thick chest, clucked and flapped its wings vigorously, and rushed towards me.

"Wow~~~" I slapped it reflexively, and the fat chicken bounced away like a ball.

"Fuji, don't be so rude to the newborn shikigami."

Although the master said so, but...

Looking at the fat dick looking at me with watery, buckled eyes, I really can't be gentle.In fact, it's not bad that I didn't go berserk like the first machine.Why?Always create a fat chicken shikigami!I don't get along with Fat Chicken.

The master picked up the fat chicken and put it in my arms, "The newborn soul is very fragile, and there is still a baby bird complex."

I hugged the fat chicken, and although it was soft and feathery, it was not too hot.The water-blue eyes are beautiful and pure, like sapphires.But it's far from the handsome image I imagined before, alas~~~

I looked up and saw that the master was still waiting for my reply, he hugged the fat chicken tightly and rubbed it on its face, "I know, I will take good care of it."

"It's really good to be able to produce this kind of result for the first time." The master touched my head with his hand.Regardless of whether these words are consoling or not, I am really happy to be praised by my master, and the depression in my heart is swept away.