Chapter 8 Her God: From now on, I'll keep you from going hungry...
Ever since he learned that Lin Jianyu was a girl, Lin Jinshui had been looking at her with suspicion from time to time.
It wasn't that Lin Jianyu didn't look like a girl; it was mainly because he had preconceived notions that she was a boy. When she suddenly said she was a girl, and there was no way to prove it, he couldn't help but be suspicious.
Lin Jianyu understood him, but she couldn't stand the way he looked at her with suspicion from time to time.
So, after he looked at her with suspicion for what seemed like the umpteenth time, she threatened, "If you look at me like that again, I'll take my pants off and show them to you."
Lin Jinshui: "..."
Lin Jinshui was worried that she might actually take off her pants if things got heated, so he had to find another way to question her.
Soon, Lin Jianyu noticed that he no longer looked at her with suspicion, but instead spoke the words "little girl" in a suspicious tone, muttering to himself as if he were talking to her rather than to her.
Lin Jianyu was exhausted by his series of bizarre actions and regretted telling him that she was a girl.
"What is it about me that doesn't resemble a girl?"
Looking at her with her short, choppy hair, dressed in boy clothes and shoes, and with an androgynous face, holding a sesame seed cake in one hand and a scallion dipped in sauce in the other, Lin Jinshui found it hard not to mistake her for a boy.
"It's not a matter of whether you look alike or not. It's just that I've always thought of you as a boy, and I can't quite accept it. You'll be fine in a few days."
"You'll be better in a few days, but I'll be insane," Lin Jianyu said coldly.
"Then it won't take several days, just one day."
Are you sure?
Lin Jinshui nodded uncertainly.
Lin Jianyu, for the time being, believed his lies.
After dinner, the two went to the market where they sold talisman paper yesterday to sell the talisman paper that Lin Jinshui had worked overtime to draw last night, and then went to buy clothes.
"Why do you need to buy clothes?" Lin Jianyu asked, puzzled.
He bought her two sets yesterday, which is more than enough for her to change into. We're not a wealthy family, so why buy so many clothes? Wouldn't it be better to save that money for food?
"With you dressed like this, it's hard for your teacher to see you as a little girl."
"Then don't treat me like a little girl."
“This is difficult too.” After he learned that she was a girl, it was hard not to see her as a girl, but she didn’t look like a girl either, which always made him involuntarily fall into doubt. “Come on, pick a set.”
"I don't like these girly clothes," Lin Jianyu said.
Lin Jinshui: "..."
Lin Jinshui began to doubt again whether she was actually a girl.
"Then I'll help you choose." After saying that, he immediately started picking, choosing all the little skirts.
Lin Jianyu saw this and quickly stopped her, saying, "I'll choose for myself." She picked out the simplest and most unpretentious outfit in the store, and most importantly, it was cheap.
Since learning that they were not wealthy, she has become much more frugal with her money.
It's not that she's particularly considerate; it's mainly because her master basically doesn't spend money and doesn't have a second apprentice, so all the savings are his own.
Clothes in this era were not fancy at all; the simplest and most unadorned clothes, like the beggar's outfit she wore before, were neither fish nor fowl, and did not distinguish between genders.
"This outfit won't do, let's change to something else, I want a skirt."
"No short skirts."
"I want a little skirt."
"don't want."
...
Neither of them would give in, but after the shop owner's persuasion, they each compromised and bought a pair of trendy overalls to wear with a wool sweater.
After changing into it, she finally looked a bit like a little girl.
that is……
Looking at her short, dog-chewed hair, Lin Jinshui picked out a knitted hat for her.
After putting it on, Lin Jinshui could tell she was a girl without even taking off her pants.
Great, if he looks at her dressed like this for a day, he'll be able to accept the fact that she's a girl.
He recovered, but Lin Jianyu did not.
This outfit, including the hat, cost them nearly half of their savings.
"The talismans I sold this morning were a waste of money."
"It's alright, I'll draw some more later. We'll sell the talismans first thing tomorrow morning and then head into the mountains." Their original plan was to sell the talismans first thing this morning and then head into the mountains, but things didn't go as planned. The fact that she was a girl caught him off guard. Not only did he not draw many talismans last night, but he also had to spend time getting used to her new gender today.
"The longer we stay, the greater the danger." We're not doing legitimate business, and there's no risk of being exposed in this age of science if we're going to pretend to be supernatural or cheat people.
"What danger could there be?" This town has very little spiritual energy. There are no mountain and sea creatures awakening from their slumber, let alone any undead.
Lin Jianyu wanted to say that there was a risk of being exposed for lying, but then she thought that he was so ruthless that he even lied to himself, showing no awareness of being a charlatan. To avoid disagreeing with him, she came up with another reason: "What if someone sees our business is booming and gets greedy, and tries to trip us up?"
"Is it really that bad?" Their business has been booming since yesterday's accident, but because his talisman-drawing efficiency is too low, they haven't actually sold many, so it shouldn't be enough to make people envious.
"It's not ten thousand that I'm afraid of, but a million."
"It's just in case, not a million."
"As long as the meaning is the same."
"It means something else. Never mind, it's not important. I'll teach you slowly later." You can't expect too much from an illiterate person.
Because they needed to draw more talismans to sell, the master and apprentice went to the incense and candle shop to buy yellow mounting paper after lunch.
After buying the yellow paper, the two did not wander around the streets anymore, but went straight back to the guesthouse to draw talismans.
Drawing talismans is a skill that Lin Jianyu didn't know how to do. Lin Jinshui, worried that she would be bored, taught her to write their names and let her practice on the side.
When Lin Jianyu was very young, she had learned some characters from her mother, and had also held a pen and written characters. However, because her mother did not teach her seriously, and because she was too young at the time, she has basically forgotten them all now. But that's not the point. The point is that her mother taught her to hold a pencil and to recognize and write simplified characters. This is the first time in her life that she has ever held a brush and written traditional characters.
Lin Jinshui only wrote it twice for her to see, without even teaching her how to hold the pen. When he saw that her pen-holding posture was wrong, he didn't correct her. He practically had the word "unreliable" written all over his face.
Fortunately, Lin Jianyu had a certain ability to learn on her own. After discovering that her pen-holding posture was different from his, she gradually adjusted it by imitating his posture and eventually became quite good at it.
When I first started writing with a brush, it was hard to control the pressure. Sometimes I used too much force, and sometimes too little. The characters I wrote were so ugly that I couldn't bear to look at them.
Lin Jianyu glanced at the two names written by Lin Jinshui, which were written with vigorous and powerful strokes. Then he looked at the two names he had written, which were written like a dog's scratch, or, to put it more abstractly, were just scribbles.
Thinking of the scribbled symbols, her gaze unconsciously fell on Lin Jinshui, who was drawing symbols beside her.
Lin Jinshui's handwriting is very beautiful, but his talisman drawing is really not good. Not only is he slow, but he also often makes mistakes. It's fortunate that he draws in private. If he draws in front of others, no matter how good his jinxing is, not many people will buy his talisman paper.
Seeing how seriously he was drawing, Lin Jianyu couldn't resist starting to draw as well. At first, she stumbled along, but as she drew more, she became more and more skilled, and the runes she drew gradually surpassed those of Lin Jinshui.
When she finished drawing with flowing grace, she couldn't help but boast to Lin Jinshui, "Master, look, I've learned how to draw talismans."
Lin Jinshui's drawing of the talisman was interrupted by her sudden voice, and he ruined another drawing.
He wasn't angry. He first put the discarded talisman paper aside, then turned his gaze to the Xuan paper she used to practice calligraphy. He didn't pay much attention to the talisman paper at first, thinking she was just drawing along with him. But when he saw the few talismans she drew later, he was shocked.
"Did you draw this?" he asked Lin Jianyu, pointing to one of the runes.
Lin Jianyu nodded.
"I didn't expect your handwriting to be so bad, but your talisman drawing is quite fluent." Lin Jinshui said, looking at her handwriting which looked like a dog's crawl.
“It complements my master perfectly,” Lin Jianyu said.
"That's good." Lin Jinshui really had no talent for drawing talismans, nor did he like it.
“I’ll help Master with the drawing.” Lin Jianyu rolled up his sleeves, eager to try.
"Not yet."
"Why?" Lin Jianyu asked, puzzled. "Wasn't my drawing good enough?"
"It's not a problem with the drawing itself, it's that you don't yet know how to convert spiritual energy into spiritual power. Without the blessing of spiritual power, no matter how well you draw the talisman, it's just a drawing and can't become a talisman. It's like you're drawing it on rice paper, it has no effect whatsoever," Lin Jinshui explained.
Lin Jianyu, who didn't believe in the existence of spiritual energy in this world at all: "..."
Should she expose him, or should she stick with him and engage in self-destructive behavior?
How do I convert spiritual energy into spiritual power?
"First, focus on sensing the spiritual energy around you, then absorb it into your body. The spiritual energy absorbed into your body will automatically be converted into spiritual power for your use."
Lin Jianyu used all his strength, but still couldn't sense the spiritual energy he was talking about.
So she lied through her teeth, pretending that she had felt it.
Lin Jinshui, who was born with the ability to sense the presence of spiritual energy, did not doubt that she was lying. He gave her his talisman-drawing brush and yellow paper and asked her to draw something.
After Lin Jianyu took it, he didn't even need to look at the talisman paper that he had drawn. He picked up the brush and started drawing on the yellow paper. His movements were smooth and fluid. The talisman he drew was exactly the same as the one he had drawn. Unfortunately, there was no spiritual energy fluctuation. It was just a drawing.
"It's a beautiful painting, but unfortunately it lacks spiritual power."
Lin Jianyu didn't know how he could tell there was no spiritual power supporting her, and suspected he was lying to her, but he had no reason to do so.
It's impossible that there really is spiritual energy in this world that she can't see, right?
That's impossible.
All the supernatural beings and demons are fictitious, including spiritual energy; they don't exist at all. He must be deceiving her, or rather, he's just being presumptuous.
She had already made up her mind, but she didn't refute him. Instead, she went along with his words and said, "Then Master, please use your spiritual power to bless me."
“No.” Lin Jinshui shook his head. “Spiritual power is only effective when it is injected during the painting process.”
"Then I'll draw, and Master will infuse it with spiritual energy?"
"That won't work either." Lin Jinshui shook his head. "The person who paints it must infuse it with their own spiritual power."
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Lin Jianyu suddenly wanted to refute him, that there were no demons or monsters or his so-called spiritual energy in this world, but she held back in the end.
Destroying someone's livelihood is like killing their parents, especially since the other party is her master, and she herself may very well need to make a living from this job in the future. Regardless of whether she believes in these things in her heart, she must at least pretend to believe them. In this respect, her master can be said to be very successful.
How many people in this world can see spiritual energy?
"Spiritual energy is invisible and intangible; it can only be felt with the heart and absorbed by the body."
"That solves the problem. No one can tell that the talisman I drew wasn't blessed with spiritual power," Lin Jianyu said.
“Talismans that haven’t been blessed with spiritual power are ineffective and can’t do anything. Selling such talismans to people is cheating them, and cheating is wrong,” Lin Jinshui said righteously.
Lin Jianyu endured it for a long time, but finally couldn't help but stand up, put his hands on his shoulders and shook his body a couple of times.
"What are you doing?" Lin Jinshui was completely baffled by her behavior.
"I didn't do anything." Lin Jianyu swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, which made him feel like a charlatan. He withdrew his hand, sat back in his chair, and casually made up a story, "I was just helping Master to perk himself up."
"Do you want to make your teacher more aware of things?" Lin Jinshui asked.
"Is it that obvious?" Lin Jianyu looked at him in surprise.
"It's almost as if it's written all over his face," Lin Jinshui said.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
Lin Jianyu tried to argue, but Lin Jinshui spoke first. He said to her in an unprecedentedly serious tone, "I don't care what you were like in the past, but since you have become my disciple, I have an obligation to guide you back to the right path. I hope you will never do those swindling, cheating, or petty theft things again."
"I'll be here from now on, and I won't let you go hungry again." When he said the last sentence, his voice was noticeably softer, but his tone was still very serious and solemn, as if he were making a promise to her.
Upon hearing this, Lin Jianyu felt an inexplicable urge to cry, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
She wasn't a crybaby. She didn't cry when her mother died, nor when she was bullied by that man's family, nor when she wandered alone, enduring all kinds of hardships and suffering. From a very young age, she knew that crying wouldn't solve anything, and no one would care about her tears.
But at this moment, she wanted to cry, she really wanted to cry, because she had someone who cared about her.
This person, whom she met by chance, saved her from dire straits.
If there truly are gods in this world, then he must be her god.
"Master, may I hug you?"
"No, men and women should not touch each other."
"If you won't kiss me, then give me a hug."
Even a hug isn't allowed.
"Then I'll cry for you."
"I won't look... Sigh, why are you crying so suddenly? Can't I give you a hug?"
"Wow……"
"I already gave you a hug, why are you still crying?"
"..."
"If you want to cry, then cry, but don't get your tears and snot on my clothes."
"..."
"Don't use my clothes to blow your nose!"
...
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