“If you don’t want to talk about this, I have no reason to force you to tell the truth.”
Lin Zhengying was never an unreasonable person. He looked at Cheng Shuang with great seriousness, "But you need to tell me who taught you the Taoist arts. We must be wary of such a person."
Cheng Shuang did not consider 'Tianxuan Zhi' to be her private property. On the contrary, if this secret book was really evil and heretical, it would be safer to give it to Lin Zhengying than to anyone else.
The young girl wasn't a very selfless person. She was willing to take out the "Tianxuan Zhi" largely because she hoped to win Lin Zhengying's favor. Even if she only learned how to draw one or two talismans, she felt it would be a great gain.
Doing research on your own always involves taking many detours.
Lin Zhengying never expected that after his words, a tattered booklet would appear before him, with the words 'Tianxuan Zhi' written on it. He twitched his brow, but could not find any trace of this book in his memory.
He hesitated slightly; such a lineage of teachings should not be handed over to others so casually.
Cheng Shuang clearly understood his concerns and told the truth, "I dug this out of the ground. I learned the first three talismans from it: one for suppressing ghosts, one for deliverance, and another called 'drawing a prison on the ground.' I haven't learned the others. As for the formations, they're too complicated for me to understand. Take a look! I dug it out from under a skeleton." To avoid unnecessary explanations and lies, she didn't mention Zhang Bao's existence, especially since the two of them were almost never going to cross paths.
“What we find… might mean that this lineage has reached its end.” Lin Zhengying breathed a slight sigh of relief. Nevertheless, he still respected Cheng Shuang’s opinion as the owner and asked, “Can I really take a look?”
"Please do as you wish, I'm also afraid of learning bad things," Cheng Shuang said earnestly.
Lam Ching-ying carefully opened the tattered book. At first, his brow relaxed and his tone was easy as he read, “Many things are neither good nor bad; what distinguishes them is often people. The key is the humanity of the user.”
Commander Long curled his lips, "Why are you lecturing my little sister while reading your book? She's a good girl, otherwise why would you be so generous as to let her read this hard-won book?"
He clutched his chest, his eyes filled with sorrow. "The thought of my dear sister being driven to desperation to dig... cough, scavenge for a living, breaks my heart. I'm so sorry, brother, for leaving you all alone, wandering around in misery, having to dig up other people's graves to make ends meet... I'm truly heartbroken!"
Cheng Shuang finally understood why the two of them used the word "dig" at the same time; they thought she had been doing grave robbing!
How could that be? Does she seem like someone with that kind of ability? If she really did, she would have already wiped out everyone!
"No, it's quite shallow, not a tomb, I'm in..."
"Seven stars converging at the top?!" Lin Zhengying suddenly exclaimed, his sharp gaze fixed on Cheng Shuang. "Did you see the dagger stuck in that skeleton?"
"Yes." Cheng Shuang didn't think there was any need to lie about this, especially when facing an expert. "The remains were incomplete, and the dagger was outside." She coughed lightly. "I only mistook something inside because I saw the dagger."
Lam Ching-ying quietly observed her, trying to see if she was hiding anything.
"You said the dagger was outside. What color was it? Did you take it?"
"Alright, alright, Douchiying, are you interrogating my little sister? That's going too far! My little sister is so well-behaved, are you blind? Why are you questioning such a well-behaved child!"
Commander Long couldn't help but block Cheng Shuang's way, puffing out his chest menacingly, looking like he was going to teach Lin Zhengying a lesson.
Lin Zhengying glanced at him, knowing the damage caused by the 'Seven Stars Converging at the Top', which was why he wanted to find out. Therefore, he didn't argue with the protective Commander Long, but instead kept a close eye on Cheng Shuang, hoping she hadn't been hiding anything.
“I didn’t take it.” Cheng Shuang thought for a moment, then stepped out from behind Commander Long and stared intently at Lin Zhengying. “I will tell you everything I can. I found this book in a twin village, or a place called Fengluan Mountain Village. I was rescued from there.”
"This formation?" Lin Zhengying pressed.
"It wasn't broken." What they destroyed was only a memory hidden in the instance. If there really was a Phoenix Mountain Village in a real world, they would have no way of knowing whether the formation had been broken. But according to the usual practice of the Land of Death, most of the things that could appear inside had already been successfully conquered by the wanderers.
“That place no longer exists.” She shook her head gently.
I don't know what Lam Ching-ying and Commander Lung interpreted it as; one looked so serious, and the other looked so heartbroken.
Commander Long couldn't help but hug Cheng Shuang's shoulders, bend down and press his head against her forehead, his voice choked with emotion, "Fortunately, my little sister is alright, otherwise how could I, your elder brother, explain to our ancestors!"
"Big brother, I'm fine, I'm fine!" Cheng Shuang said, embarrassed by her disgust. As an adult male, Commander Long's face was incredibly oily, slippery and sticky, nowhere near as pleasant to the touch as her sister-in-law's or Nian Ying's. The little girl pushed him away a couple of times, but Commander Long, realizing his sister was old enough, pushed her away and stroked Cheng Shuang's head, repeatedly saying, "I'll never lose you again!"
Cheng Shuang remained silent; promises are always two-way, and she could not offer any answer.
Commander Long was careless and did not notice anything unusual about the little girl, but Lin Zhengying raised his eyebrows slightly and noticed something.
After all, it's a private matter between the siblings, and he won't interfere. However, he does need to take care of 'Tian Xuanzhi' and prevent a good child from going astray.
"The talisman is not a big problem, at most it has taken a detour and its effect is not as strong as the one passed down through proper means, but the formation is too insidious, I want to destroy it."
He was referring to the 'Seven Stars Converging at the Top', the last remaining formation in the book.
"Okay." Cheng Shuang nodded readily.
Lin Zhengying looked at the child with newfound respect and softened his voice, "Although this matter has little to do with me, since I destroyed your book, I will compensate you accordingly. I will teach you three true talismans."
"Thank you, Master Zhengying." The little girl beamed with joy, her happiness so undisguised that even the usually serious and stern-faced Lin Zhengying felt a sense of ease, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
In this respect, Cheng Shuang is like a real child.
Seeing his sister so happy, Commander Long hesitated for a long time, but ultimately his love for her prevailed, and he didn't say anything to discourage her. Even if he had, Cheng Shuang might not have listened!
The three talismans taught by Lin Zhengying are: the Suppression Talisman, the Lightning Talisman, and the Tai Chi Talisman.
The talisman for suppressing evil spirits is quite complex and extremely difficult to draw; it can drive away all evil spirits and malevolent forces.
The Thunder and Lightning Talisman, when combined with favorable timing and location, uses the power of lightning to vanquish all evil spirits. However, this talisman requires the artist to possess profound skill; otherwise, its effectiveness will be greatly diminished.
The Tai Chi talisman protects you, ensures safety, and wards off evil and disaster.
Because these three talismans severely test the artist's ability, a beginner like Cheng Shuang could only draw the surface but not the essence. Therefore, Lin Zhengying reduced the number of strokes in the three talismans that Cheng Shuang had already learned in the "Tianxuan Zhi", which greatly increased their power.
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