Chapter 4 (1/2)

In the humble cottage, an oil lamp flickered with dim light. An old wooden case was open, revealing a pale cyan dagger, a yellowing scroll and a dark grey inscribing pen that was half-foot long.

An inscribing pen was a tool used to inscribe the spiritual tattoos by the spiritual tattooists, like a Chinese brush. The tip of it was a sharp edge instead of some soft animal hair. For this reason, it was also called the tattoo knife.

Lin Xun preferred this term, for it sounded like “Wen Dao” in Chinese, meaning seeking the basic laws of the nature and life.

For quite a while, Lin Xun couldn’t get his eyes off the yellowing scroll and the dark grey inscribing pen, both of which were extremely special to him.

The title-less scroll was three-finger thick. Its cover was cut from an animal skin, already worn-out, indicating it had existed from long time ago. A simple glance would generate a spontaneous feeling of antiquity.

The half-foot inscribing pen was unique and quite different from other ones that were commonly seen. Other than a pen, it looked more like a sword, which was dull and engraved with mysterious moire patterns. Its tip, like the sharp edge of the sword, gave out an icy coldness that chilled one’s heart and bones.

These two things were the most secret treasures of Lin Xun.

In addition, there were some spiritual materials like bones, animal skins, plants and ores in the case, which could be used to refine artifacts directly or as the spiritual ink or ingredients to inscribe spiritual tattoos after special treatment.

They were all collected by Lin Xun during his long journey, which could have been sold for a great fortune.

In the corner of the case piled some rugged sticks of thumb size, looking like jade.

They were from a special kind of tree called “Lycopodium Silver”, hard as stones, but of little value.

For an apprentice like Lin Xun, it was the best material for practicing.

Lin Xun took the scroll out of the case with great caution, and sat before the desk by the window.

He did not open it. He was just sitting there, looking at it quietly, and pondering.

Thoughts flooded into his brain and brought him back to the past.

…

It was an isolated prison built within a mine, where a lot of people were locked up.

Lin Xun had been in that prison since he was an infant. The sky was always dark with no trace of the sun, so the prison was always damp.

The air was subdued, for prisoners died every day, and new ones were just kept sending in.

As far as he could remember, no one had ever escaped from that prison until the day it was completely destroyed.

Lin Xun was not a prisoner to be exact. He had been abandoned as an infant, and had nearly been swallowed by those fierce prisoners who found him.

He heard all these from Master Lu, thanks to whom, he survived.

No one knew about the past history of Master Lu, yet he was specially treated and highly respected by both the guards and the prisoners.

…all because he was a spiritual tattooist!

He took in and raised Lin Xun, who was asked to do all kinds of things since childhood.

He taught Lin Xun how to read, to identify spiritual materials, to make spiritual ink, and to memorize and inscribe spiritual tattoos. In the meanwhile, he also needed Lin Xun to do all the chores for him, such as serving tea, washing his clothes, making dinner and so forth.

Lin Xun had always considered himself as Master Lu’s apprentice, so had the guards and the prisoners.

Master Lu, however, had never acknowledged his relationship with Lin Xun. He once said he had wanted to take no apprentice in his whole life, and Lin Xin was merely a handyman in need.

Lin Xun was upset by those words for quite some time, but he gradually forgot as time went by. Deep inside, he had always taken Master Lu as his teacher and looked up to him.

Life in this dark prison had been boring, until the day he turned nine. That was the day when Master Lu first took him out of the prison for a short period of 3 days.

For the first time in his life, he had seen the bright sunshine, the blue sky and the floating white clouds.

The wide world began to spread out in front of him.