13 The Power of Names

Elder Ling led Cha Ming down a narrow hall. Like the outside of the house, these walls were also plastered in talismans. The walls outside had contained words like "impenetrable," "invulnerable," "solid earth," or "tough as steel." The talismans inside the hallway were more specific to evil, like wards repelling the undead, vampires, ghouls, zombies, and so on. Here and there he spotted wards with the words "demoness," "hag," or "witch."

Cha Ming shot Elder Ling a strange glance, to which he sheepishly replied, "That's a secret you don't need to know about." Upon exiting the hallway, they entered a small living room. Beside the living room was a simple kitchen, and in the living room was a Weiqiboard. It had been a lifetime since he'd played, but it had been one of his many hobbies in his past life.

The Weiqi board was slightly different than in his past life. First, the board was black instead of wooden, possibly made from obsidian. Next, the lines were white as alabaster. It was still a 19 x 19 board with 361 spots to play. An additional but intriguing difference was that each white stone had the character "angels," while the black stones had the character "devils."

Seeing Cha Ming's interest, Elder Ling asked, "Do you play Angels and Devils? It's rare to find young players who are willing to commit the time to learn. Usually players are in their thirties or forties or much older, since cultivators have a longer lifespan."

"Yes, I have played a similar game in the past. I was just wondering if the rules are the same."

Hearing this, Elder Ling became quite excited and rushed to make tea, seating Cha Ming in front of the board. Mr. Mao Mao shot him a jealous glare and started sharpening his claws on a nearby whetstone.

This cat has a whetstone for its claws? The cat was clearly a problem, and he hoped it was too lazy to do anything or that it had a low level of cultivation, if any.

Soon Elder Ling came and sat in front of Cha Ming, pouring them tea over a wet tea table . Once they both had tea, Elder Ling went ahead and explained the game.

"I'm not sure what the game you played was called, but this game is called Angels and Devils. Black plays first, as destruction came before creation. The mortal realms are the same, so it is said. Once, the mortal realms were overwhelmed by the devils, intending to grow their influence in all the planes. Not willing to let them have the advantage, the Jade Emperor Yucame down from the heavens with his host of angels. Blessed by heavenly luck, the angels managed to overcome the demons at great cost.

"This game was introduced to all mortal realms from the heavens in remembrance of this great war. To offset the advantage in initiative from the devils, the angels get an additional 5.5 points, signifying their karmic luck. Despite this perceived advantage, the game is a statistically even game and has been praised by many human emperors since then. It is popular amongst cultivators due to its depth of strategy and myriad possibilities."

Elder Ling then continued to explain the remainder of the game. It was, in fact, exactly the same as Weiqi in all aspects. Seeing that Cha Ming understood, he let Cha Ming have the first move.

The game continued for three hours and ultimately ended with Elder Ling winning by a half point. Given his experience in the game, Cha Ming knew that Elder Ling had strung him along the whole time. He clasped his hands and bowed slightly.

"Thank you for the game!" Cha Ming said. "I feel that our difference in skill is very significant. I believe in the future I should play with an appropriate handicap so you can teach me better, all the while having a pleasant game yourself."

Hearing Cha Ming's modest words, Elder Ling smiled and agreed that Cha Ming should have a six-stone handicap. "I've never seen a youngster like you play so well," he said. "I always invite the elders to my place, but they never seem to make it here. I always end up playing at their homes." Elder Ling sighed gently. Mr. Mao Mao purred.

Seeing that there was now an awkward silence, Elder Ling broke the ice. "It seems you've come to my shack not just to play Angels and Devils. Have you decided to take me up on my offer to learn talismans?"

Cha Ming nodded silently.

Elder Ling continued. "I can see that you've reached the third level of qi condensation. This is good. While talisman crafting is not particularly taxing on qi, it is very taxing on the soul. Additionally, you have split your elements into five, so while others might be able to start at the first level, you had to wait a little longer. On the other hand, increasing your cultivation has a large effect on your soul. Your spiritual perception will be greater and your control over qi will make it easier to craft talismans.

"Now, I'm not going to ask you to acknowledge me as a master or anything like that. Calling me teacher is fine. I have a feeling that you will reach heights much greater than Green Leaf City, so I don't want you to feel any obligation to stick around this miserable city. I have two other teachers who assist me when things get busy, and I have two other students. Most people in the city think there are only three people who make talismans, but these people are only registered talisman artists.

"My other students are a little lousy, but don't tell them I said that. They usually produce low-level talismans, which are produced in great numbers. Besides, they had a falling out with Mr. Mao Mao, so they haven't been here in a while. As such, the other teachers and I have been a little overworked. I've had to seclude myself to this hut for five out of seven days to keep up with demand. Now, what do you know about talismans, young one?"

"Teacher, I apologize for my ignorance," said Cha Ming, "but my experience is very shallow. I have heard from one of my friends that talismans use ink, paper, characters, and qi to cast single-use spells, but I am not sure of the specifics. From what I know, one uses special ink to draw on special paper and effectively 'store' a spell."

"Hm. It doesn't seem like you know much, so I will start from the beginning," said Elder Ling. "The origin of talismans is very profound, stemming from the beginning of the universe. Every being in the universe has a true name. Every object, energy, and spirit in the universe also has a true name. Most are not aware of it, while others who know their true name guard it closely. Devils in particular have a very specific weakness. If their true name is known, they can easily be restrained and controlled. This is, of course, if the one using the talisman has sufficient power.

"When the demons invaded the mortal realms, many humans and non-humans were tempted by the devils. They were taught the true names of lesser devils to summon them to the mortal plane. It is normally very difficult for a devil to travel to the mortal realms, but they are very powerful. Humankind became overwhelmed. As such, Emperor Yu sent down many angels to fight against the devils. He also taught Daoist priests the magic of talismans. In the best of cases, experts in divination would discover the names of devils, and talismans would be crafted to destroy them. In the worst of cases, these were mass produced, with the names for 'devil,' 'evil,' or perhaps the names of the commander of specific devils.

"The power of names was effective due to the power of fate. Each name was said to have a fate, a destiny, or a string of karma. Eventually, with the devils banished, talismans lost their popularity. It was later discovered by some experts that devils not only had true names but elements and magic as well. Instead of devil blood and devil names, they used special ink and the true name of the elements to call upon fierce magic. While these were not as powerful as the original talismans, they became quite useful, as this was effectively like storing a spell.

"Over time, the talisman-crafting tradition has continued, but other trades have taken the forefront. After all, medicinal pills can aid one in cultivation and achieve better effects than talismans in certain regards by amplifying and combining rare medicinal ingredients. Spiritual blacksmiths' weapons offer very concrete advantages to a cultivator, while spiritual doctors save lives. Other specialties who rely on spiritual power have increased battle prowess or serve other vital functions in society. What talismans offer are extra choices and temporary battle power or protection. They are one-time use items and not permanent. As such, they are seen as a bit of an extravagant money sink."

Cha Ming nodded. Talisman crafting was truly interesting, much more so than he had originally thought. Thinking of something, however, he frowned. "Teacher Ling, I've thought of something. Why is your entrance hallway plastered in protections against evil? Surely Green Leaf City is very safe."

Elder Ling pondered a moment before answering. "Many decades ago I used to belong to another sect. There, I got married to a beautiful woman. Little did I know that she was a demonic, vile temptress! I'm actually hiding here with Mr. Mao Mao." Elder Ling smiled. "But you don't have to worry about that. These are small problems, and I will solve them myself. Next, I will teach you about the basics of crafting talismans."

Elder Ling then brought Cha Ming to his study, which was littered with thin strips of paper. There were many shelves containing brown bottles with inky substances, and there were perhaps hundreds of different bottles. There was also a small cauldron stained in ink. On the desk were various sizes of brushes from thin to thick. The largest brush could paint one inch wide and was two feet long. Moving to the desk, Elder Ling brought out a small chair seemingly from thin air and placed it beside the larger chair. He then sat down and picked up a brush, a bottle of ink, and a paper.

"Talisman crafting has three important components," explained Elder Ling. "The first component is a spiritual brush. I highly suspect that the brush you picked at the treasure pavilion is a spiritual brush. The next component, as I explained previously, is a name. Names are many, and all names hold power. For example, if I wrote the name for Burning Crimson Lotus, the spell would need to invoke these three things, or a combination thereof. This specific talisman would contain the properties of burning, the properties of crimson, and the properties of a lotus. While it might seem strange that a color could be invoked, colors truly have special effects when combined with the elements.

"Finally, the ink also plays a very important role. The ink is made with a combination of herbs, ores, natural items, and crushed spirit stones. That is why this occupation literally eats away money. The ink must naturally hold the properties that you are trying to imitate. Take, for example, this Burning Ink of the Crimson Lotus. The base materials are fire essence stones, fifty-year-old lotus roots, and live crimson beast blood. These materials could be used to invoke a variety of effects, but it has been matched to these specific characters. Special materials are able to invoke special characters, and some materials can be used as ink without being blended with spirit stones. These materials are, of course, very valuable, and only used for more expensive talismans." A pensive look appeared on Elder Ling's face, as though he was thinking about whether to say something or not.

The pensive look was very brief, and Elder Ling suddenly became extremely focused. He took the brush and dipped it in the ink pot. After he took the brush out, Cha Ming noticed that the brush was not stained in ink, just like his own brush. Elder Ling brought his brush to the piece of paper and slowly began to write the five characters. It seemed to be an extremely draining process. As the brush flowed along the piece of paper, the talisman slowly gained a reddish hue.

The piece of paper was soon decorated in bright red lotuses, and the edge developed flamelike patterns. The process took a total of thirty minutes, and Elder Ling had to dip his brush in ink several times. Then, when the final stroke was completed, the talisman turned a crimson color, and the characters burned black. He then picked up the talisman and inspected his work, handing it over to Cha Ming after it was complete.

"This is a mid-grade mortal talisman. It has the power of a fifth-level qi condensation artist's strike at full force. Try using this on that dummy there." Elder Ling pointed to a shabby gray dummy in a corner of the room.

Cha Ming frowned and threw the talisman at the doll. After making contact, the doll was suddenly enveloped in a crimson lotus. The lotus lingered and burned for five seconds, after which it faded away. The attack was quite a bit more powerful than Cha Ming could currently manage.

While Cha Ming stood in shock, Elder Ling went to a back room and retrieved a dusty old book, along with five brushes and five pots of ink. He put them in a small bag along with a large stack of paper.

"Here is a starting kit for you. The book inside contains instructions on making one talisman for each element. Each brush is suited to its own element, and each ink is not very potent but suited to multiple kinds of talismans of each element. Try to practice with normal ink first. I'm sure you'll figure it out. You seem like a smart boy. If you can make five of each talisman, you'll have broken even on the ingredients supplied, and you can give these to my shop to pay for the supplies. Anything extra you can keep for yourself and sell however you see fit. You can come back to me once you run out of materials, and I'll teach you the next batch.

"Basically, anything you make will make up for some of the supply gap in low-level talismans, and this will relieve a lot of the pressure off myself and the other teachers. While we can make each talisman in about a minute each, our time is very valuable, and as such these talismans are in quite short supply at the academy. The only ones who would use them are those in the first to third levels of qi condensation. If you think about it, that's at least a thousand students in your year, as well as many cultivators in the city. There are other groups in the city which supply them, though, so demand never gets too out of hand.

"Now, I forgot to tell you something very important. Do not write the basic characters for each element alone and unaccompanied. Being specific, in a sense, weakens the power of each name. Pure elements, while their names are simple, are extremely powerful. Without the appropriate materials and spiritual force, you will not be able to write them, and even worse, you could lose control of them and cripple or kill yourself!"

Cha Ming raised his eyebrows in shock—he hadn't realized that such a simple thing could have such dire ramifications. Seeing the serious look on Elder Ling's face, he decided to heed his warning. After all, without that warning that was likely the first thing he would have tried. He could have died!

Cha Ming bowed deeply and accepted the little bag from Elder Ling. Peering inside, he was shocked to notice that it seemed to contain about one cubic meter of space.

This must be very valuable for most students, he thought. He would definitely need to put in his whole effort into crafting talismans so he didn't let Elder Ling down. Elder Ling hadn't asked for anything, after all. I'll need to make sure I join him for a game of Weiqi once in a while. I should probably bring a tribute for Mr. Mao Mao and get on his good side, too. That cat is a ticking time bomb.

After saying goodbye to Elder Ling, he walked back to the residence hall. By the time he arrived, it was very late at night. Fortunately, he didn't have any classes to attend. That night he had a lot of trouble sleeping, and all he could see as he went to bed were bright, five-colored characters dancing in his dreams.