Chapter 208: Ink Pot

Luck...

So Fen Wu's luck is really that bad?

Holding a skeptical attitude, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe pondered this question. He and Seeing Lan Shiwen were mere acquaintances; although they had cooperated a few times, they had no real friendship, and this guy was always trying to freeload off him and get him to work for free.

Emotionally, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe preferred to think Seeing Lan Shiwen was bullshitting him. After all, he wasn't anyone special to Seeing Lan Shiwen, so why would he risk offending Fen Wu to give him such precious intelligence? Revealing the rule characteristics of one Ascender to another was a very, very, very offensive act.

But rationally, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe knew Seeing Lan Shiwen's claim was likely correct. Fen Wu wanted to hunt him down to obtain "Zhao You," and the rule of Zhao You was luck.

"Assuming the core rule of Fen Wu indeed has the side effect of 'bad luck,' then it's easy to understand why he would want to obtain Zhao You to seek fortune and avoid disaster for himself."

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe pondered for a moment, a suggestive smile appearing beneath his mask, and muttered to himself: "But, is Fen Wu—this man considered to be nearing the end of the Path of Ascension—really that simple?"

Just as Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe was pondering the various implications of Seeing Lan Shiwen's words, a knock sounded on the cabin door of the airship. Seeing Lan Shiwen said "Come in," and a young man in a dark blue uniform walked in.

"The diplomat from the Dai Ke family has filed another protest, demanding to meet with Fan Daike immediately to confirm his personal safety."

Seeing Lan Shiwen nodded. "I know."

The military attaché of the European United States Embassy in Yunzhou, Edi Dai Ke, belonged to the same Dai Ke family as Fan Daike. They had already received news of their clansman's disappearance and were beginning to pressure Yunzhou.

"Your advice was very useful to me. In return, I'll help you clear this up," Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe said, extending his hand toward Seeing Lan Shiwen. "Let's go. I'll accompany you to meet the Dai Ke family's diplomat."

"I am truly grateful." Seeing Lan Shiwen immediately threw a look of confirmation at the uniformed man standing at the door, then turned to Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe. "Do we need to prepare anything? Fan Daike's body? His clothes? Or his granting artifacts?"

He didn't know the specific principles of Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's ability to disguise himself as others; he was just asking tentatively.

"Bring everything you mentioned," Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe said nonchalantly. "The more, the better."

In fact, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe didn't need any bodies, clothes, or granting artifacts to disguise himself as someone else, but he was happy to act as if he needed them, as if he couldn't transform without them.

Seeing Lan Shiwen's men quickly organized Fan Daike's body and his granting artifacts and brought them up.

In modern society, titles weren't worth much anymore. Some countries that relied on tourism even offered different tiers of nobility packages for tourists, personally signed by the royal family—you could buy a Baron title for about five thousand yuan, which was convenient for posting on social media.

But for a powerful noble like Fan Daike, who had a family, a fief, industries, and connections, it was a different story. The weight of his Marquis title was higher than that of the presidents of some small countries.

Fan Daike had many granting artifacts on him. After sorting, there were four in total:

A straw man woven from wheat stalks, a pure silver fountain pen, a wooden ink pot, and a blank paper voucher.

"The straw man and the pen are easy to explain, but this ink pot doesn't look like something a foreigner would use." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe picked up the ink pot and looked at Seeing Lan Shiwen. "Where did it come from?"

An ink pot, also known as a line marker, originated in China and was a professional tool used by ancient carpenters and architects. Since houses in ancient times were mostly earth-and-wood structures, these two professions could effectively be seen as one.

The purpose of an ink pot was clear and simple—to draw lines, specifically straight lines. When carpenters cut wood, they would use an ink pot to snap a straight reference line on the timber; construction workers would use it to snap straight lines on walls perpendicular to the ground. Masons and tilers couldn't do without this simple, practical tool. The ink pot invented in ancient times is still widely used in the construction and carpentry industries today.

But as a granting artifact, what would its use be?

"This is something from the Lou family," Seeing Lan Shiwen said. "After the Millennium Massacre, the remnants of the Lou family in Qinzhou fled abroad and were secretly sheltered by the European United States. The ghosts and granting artifacts they took abroad were the capital they used to exchange for protection."

"I see." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe weighed the ink pot in his hand and then asked, "I suspect this group of foreigners didn't just take in the Lou family."

"You guessed right." Seeing Lan Shiwen didn't deny it. "The Dai Ke family sending people to meet the fugitives from the Liu family this time was for the same purpose."

Seeing Lan Shiwen waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to leave the room. Only after closing the door did he continue:

"I don't have intelligence on the other granting artifacts, but I do know the specific function of the Lou family's ink pot. Two words: 'Division'."

"I'm all ears." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe said immediately.

"It's a bit troublesome to explain. I'll demonstrate it for you directly."

Seeing Lan Shiwen took the ink pot from Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's hand and placed it on the table.

—The ink pot consisted of four parts: the 'ink reservoir' that held the ink, the 'line wheel' that wound the ink line, the 'ink stylus' used to press the line, and the 'ink line' that soaked in the reservoir and was used to draw lines.

Seeing Lan Shiwen placed a sheet of white paper on the table, pulled the ink line from the pot, drew it straight across the air above the paper, and flicked it with his finger. *Swish*—a straight black line appeared on the white paper.

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Then he turned the line wheel to retract the ink line, pinched the paper—now divided in two by the pitch-black straight line—with two fingers, and took a lighter from Fan Daike's body with his other hand.

*Click*—

The flame ignited. The tip of the flame brushed across a corner of the paper, and the leaping fire quickly expanded. The white paper was scorched and curled by the high heat of the fire, burning to ash.

Then, a bizarre scene occurred. Although the leaping flames were fierce, all the changes that occurred on the paper—from ignition to flourishing to extinction—did not cross that insurmountable line.

Using that straight ink line as the boundary, half of the paper was scorched into fragile ash, while the other half remained as white as before. The scorching flames could not leave any trace on the other side of the paper.

This was the rule of the Lou family's ink pot—Division.

"After being divided by the ink line, the two sides of the line are no longer viewed as the same sheet of paper."

Seeing Lan Shiwen muttered, "People are the same."