Chapter 77: Ink Treasures

Lu Jianxing bowed, questioning the two little ones.

The Demon spirit's split soul had been suppressed and killed by Li Xiang, and at this moment, the little one also slowly woke up.

Blinking their eyes, they leaned on Li Xiang, feeling a bit dizzy.

"Senior Brother, I'm so sleepy."

"Senior Brother, who is he, and what is he asking about?"

The little one looked up at Lu Jianxing, tilting their head slightly.

Seeing the newcomer, Lao San reached out and shielded Li Xiang and the little one behind him.

Clutching a sickle, he looked at Lu Jianxing with some wariness.

He had no good impression of this man.

He had been arrested for no reason; if Mr. Su Qin had not come to resolve the situation, he might already be on his way to being escorted to the Prefecture.

"What do you want!"

"Stay away from my child!"

"Don't be nervous. A Demon has entered the County, and we urgently need the power of the Confucian Dao to help."

"These two are both students of Mr. Su. If they can contribute, that would naturally be best."

"If they cannot, that is also fine. I would like to invite you all to the inner hall of the Demon Slaying Division. After all, since you are Mr. Su's disciples, if you were to get hurt, I would have a hard time explaining it."

Lu Jianxing stood to the side, gently explaining.

"If Mr. Su has taught you any world-shaking essays, or perhaps some poems that can suppress the nation."

"I ask the young masters to go to the inner hall and write some on rice paper."

Hearing this, Li Xiang was suddenly a bit curious.

"Essays and poems?"

"Yes! Essays and poems!"

"If you can have the blessing of Haoran Qi, when you write these things, recalling the artistic conception your teacher taught you, you will be able to write some Ink Treasures."

Lu Jianxing looked at Li Xiang and Zhao Zheng with some anticipation.

Although these two were still young.

But one would think, as students of a Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth.

No matter what, they could not be judged by common logic.

That Earth Dragon earlier was only barely killed thanks to their care.

"Ink Treasures?"

"What are those?"

Li Xiang was a bit confused.

"Ink Treasures are formed by Heaven, with the tip of the brush falling with sharpness."

"If you have poems or essays taught by your teacher, when you write them, if you recall the artistic conception your teacher taught you in your heart, you can borrow the words on the paper to write out a bit of momentum, and it will naturally have the blessing of Haoran Qi."

"Although an Ink Treasure is not a Spirit Treasure, it can still produce a deterrent effect against evil spirits. Now that evil spirits have entered the city, it is extremely dangerous for my brothers to go out. If they can carry an Ink Treasure in their bosoms, their chances of surviving will increase significantly."

"Young master, if you remember the essays your teacher taught you, you can try writing one."

As Lu Jianxing spoke, he reached out, signaling Lao San to put down the sickle and inviting them to the inner hall of the Demon Slaying Division.

He had already sent people to prepare paper and ink.

Ink Treasures are divided into two types. One is to imitate the artistic conception of predecessors; when the brush falls, one gains a bit of the predecessor's artistic conception, which can attract the blessing of Haoran Qi.

It is just that this object is not lasting; after a few days, it will lose its spiritual effect, and the Haoran Qi on it will dissipate with the wind.

The other type is for those with great talent who perceive Heaven and Earth, perceive human relationships, and write true world-shaking essays out of inspiration in their hearts. These are recognized by Heaven and Earth, receive the descent of Haoran Qi, and can exist in the world for a long time.

It is just that in this remote small city, where could one find such spiritual objects?

Every time the Demon Slaying Division goes out to handle a case, being able to beg for a single paper of safe-passage from Master Qi of the Qingyun Study is already extremely difficult.

Lu Jianxing cast his gaze toward Li Xiang and Zhao Zheng.

Both of them were Su Qin's disciples. If they could write something, even if it wasn't too strong, being able to help them get through today's crisis would already be a very comforting thing.

After all, these were his own brothers.

If they were to fall here, Lu Jianxing would also feel sad in his heart.

"I wonder what the two young masters think."

"Hmm, Senior Brother, Senior Brother, has Uncle-Master taught you anything? 0.0"

"I haven't been awake for long, and Master hasn't really given me any lectures; he just told me to pay attention to resting and not to think about random things."

The little one muttered to themselves.

Lao San also looked at him; he was also very curious about what Li Xiang had learned from following Su Qin.

"Uh..."

Feeling everyone's gaze, Li Xiang felt a little pressure.

No, I'm only three years old; can you please treat me like a child!

"I can try."

"However, my Confucian Dao has not yet entered a Grade. Relying on a brush given by my teacher, I can indeed stimulate some Haoran Qi, but I don't know if I can write the Ink Treasures you want."

"That would be excellent! Then, I will trouble you, young master."

Lu Jianxing cleared the way, inviting them to enter the inner hall first.

Passing by the entrance, Li Xiang took a look at the surrounding villagers and the Official Runners of the Demon Slaying Division.

His brows furrowed again.

Six of the Demon Slaying Division's Official Runners were entangled by Demon spirits, only they had not yet manifested.

Among the villagers, four had also gone mad; they were tied up, thrown at the entrance, and left under guard.

The speed at which this Demon Spirit spreads is simply bizarre.

Once the fire of desire is ignited, the Demon Spirit can influence those around it in a very short amount of time.

At this rate, I fear that after tomorrow, everyone in the entire Chiyang County will be plagued by the Demon Spirit, transformed into evil ghosts, and scorched by the fire of desire.

"Little Master?"

"Little Master?"

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh!"

Li Xiang had actually become a bit distracted.

Looking at the painful expressions of these people, he felt a sense of unbearable pity in his heart.

They are not NPCs in a game; they are living, breathing villagers.

They are villagers who live in the same village as him!

Li Xiang slowly made up his mind.

He would first write the calligraphy for Lu Jianxing, and after finishing that, he would find an opportunity to use Haoran Righteous Qi to slay the Demon Spirit for these few people, so they wouldn't die so inexplicably.

He followed Lu Jianxing into the inner hall.

Crossing the threshold, a faint, bloody scent drifted from inside the room.

"Please forgive me, Little Master."

"The people of the Demon Slaying Division often come into contact with Demons, so we frequently have external injuries; please do not mind the stench in the room."

Although Li Xiang looked to be no more than six or seven years old, Lu Jianxing did not dare to be the least bit negligent.

After all, he is a disciple of a Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth.

Whether they can survive tonight depends on him.

If Zhang Xiao cannot bring Master Qi back, and this little fellow cannot write the calligraphy, a large number of the brothers in the Demon Slaying Division will likely die.

Thinking of this, Lu Jianxing's brows furrowed once more.

You must study hard and remember the essays your teacher taught you.

As he spoke, Lu Jianxing led them into the study within the inner hall; this was where he usually worked.

He stepped forward, reached out, and pushed all the clutter on the table onto the floor.

Lu Jianxing took several sheets of rice paper from a box, secured them with stone weights, and signaled that Li Xiang could begin.

Li Xiang looked, then flicked a uniquely styled writing brush from his sleeve.

It was the Ranyi Bone Pen.

The moment the pen landed, Lu Jianxing's eyes flickered.

As expected of a Great Confucian's student; the pen he uses is so extraordinary.

Li Xiang gripped the brush, dipped it into the ink Lu Jianxing had ground, and looked at the rice paper, lost in thought.

What should he write?

The history of this world runs in reverse; basically, any world-shaking essays that should exist have likely already been written by the ancients.

He didn't dare to write essays from before the Spring and Autumn period, as he wasn't sure what great Causality he might provoke.

For example, the "Dao De Jing"—this thing clearly should have appeared in the future, yet it has already been passed down for thousands of years.

This made Li Xiang feel very strange; it seemed the history of this world wasn't as simple as just running in reverse.

After pondering for a while.

"Forget it, I'll go with this essay. I imagine it must have been written by someone before, but if I can grasp that artistic conception, I might just be able to produce calligraphy."

He lifted the brush and set it to paper.

Whoa!

It's so ugly!

With a wisp of Haoran Qi wrapped around the brush, Li Xiang wrote slowly.

In his heart, he recalled an essay he had learned long ago in a middle school classroom, an essay he liked very much.

Looking back on the past, the little details of school life flickered through his heart bit by bit.

The teacher's voice had long been forgotten.

The faces of his classmates had also gradually blurred.

The only thing he hadn't forgotten was the spirit the teacher conveyed in that lesson, a momentum imprinted within the poetry and prose.

As Li Xiang wrote.

Inside the room, an inexplicable momentum suddenly began to brew.

At this moment, the entire Demon Slaying Division entered into a strange, surrounding artistic conception.

The brush moved, the words fell, and Haoran Qi gathered.

The pale golden Haoran Qi shone through the paper, radiating light like a morning sun.

It illuminated the entire study.

As Li Xiang's brush tip finished its stroke, a power that was hard to describe, yet made one's heart surge, was condensing within their souls.

"Heaven and Earth possess Righteous Qi, which manifests in various forms."

"Below, it becomes rivers and mountains; above, it becomes the sun and stars."

"To man, it is called..."

"Senior Brother, what are you writing?"

"Why, why does it feel... why does Zheng'er feel so warm in the heart?"

The little fellow whispered.

Inside the room, the righteous Qi was like the morning sun, slowly rising.

Watching the changes all around.

Lu Jianxing's eyes suddenly widened.

"This is..."

"Is this a piece of calligraphy of Yellow Grade or higher?"

"It hasn't even been finished yet, and it has already entered a Grade?"

(End of this chapter)