135: Chapter 135 Photos

On Saturday early morning, Chen Zhen did not wake up on time as usual.

He was jolted awake by the vibration of his phone.

On the screen was a message from Zhou Rui, containing only four characters: "Master, it worked."

He glanced at the time—4:43 AM.

It was still dark outside the window, with sporadic dog barks in the distance.

He sat up, leaned against the headboard, and replied with one word: "What?"

Zhou Rui replied instantly: "That talisman. I used the calming flower to mix the ink and drew a Heart-Clearing Talisman. The effect is three times better than before."

A photo followed.

In the photo was a talisman, with pale purple lines flowing on the talisman paper, the light very steady.

Chen Zhen zoomed in to take a look.

The structure of the rune was correct, and the flow of spiritual power was also correct, but it was different from a normal Heart-Clearing Talisman—he had added a circle of dense dot arrays around the outer edge of the core rune, orbiting the main structure like satellites.

This point, he had not taught.

Zhou Rui had figured it out himself.

Chen Zhen typed a few words: "Not bad. Bring it tomorrow to take a look."

Zhou Rui replied with a smiley face.

Chen Zhen put the phone down and lay back in bed.

The light on the ceiling was just a blurry outline in the darkness.

He closed his eyes and used Internal Vision to look at his Dantian.

Seventeen light spots were slowly rotating.

The golden seed in the center was suspended among them.

That line was still there, very faint, but stable.

It was not in a hurry.

Neither was he.

At seven in the morning, Chen Zhen went out.

Today was Saturday, no classes.

But he didn't go to the Secret Base; instead, he went to the vegetable market.

The vegetable market was crowded, with shouts, haggling, and the sounds of chickens and ducks all mixed together, lively to the point of being noisy.

He passed through the meat section and walked to the vegetable section.

In front of a stall, an old woman was picking out leafy greens.

She was bent over, her fingers rummaging through the leaves, moving very slowly.

The stall owner was a middle-aged woman, a bit impatient: "Auntie, are you going to buy it or not?"

The old woman ignored her and continued rummaging.

Chen Zhen walked over and stood next to the old woman.

He glanced at the greens; the leaves were a bit yellow, the roots had mud on them, and they didn't look very fresh.

The old woman looked up and glanced at him.

Her eyes were cloudy, the whites yellowed, with deep wrinkles at the corners.

But she stared at Chen Zhen for two seconds and suddenly said: "You have something on you."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

The old woman lowered her head and continued picking through the vegetables.

"Golden," she said, "on your chest. Flashing."

Chen Zhen squatted down, looking at her at eye level.

"What else did you see?"

The old woman didn't look up.

"Before, I saw black ones, everywhere. Now there are fewer. Did you do all that?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

The old woman finished picking the vegetables, stood up, and pulled a crumpled plastic bag from her pocket.

She paid and left, carrying the vegetables.

After walking a few steps, she stopped and looked back at Chen Zhen.

"Thank you," she said.

Then she turned and slowly walked away.

Chen Zhen stood there, watching her back disappear into the crowd.

He remembered the name in Old Lin's notebook—Li Xiuying, 87 years old, Old East District.

It might be her.

He bought a few jin of greens, some tomatoes, and a block of tofu, then headed home.

When passing the Bookstore, he turned in.

Grandpa Wu was organizing the bookshelves; hearing the door, he didn't even turn his head.

"Not open today."

"Grandpa Wu, it's me."

Grandpa Wu turned around, took off his glasses, and glanced at him.

"Oh, it's you. You came just in time, there's something for you."

He took a kraft paper envelope from under the counter and handed it over.

Chen Zhen opened it.

Inside was a photo, an old black-and-white photo.

In the photo was a mountain, with a rock on the peak, covered in runes.

It was exactly the same as the one at Dongshan, but larger and older.

On the back of the photo, a line was written: "1937, Beishan, rune stone. This stone was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and no longer exists."

Beishan.

Chen Zhen put the photo away.

"Who sent this?"

Grandpa Wu put his glasses back on and continued organizing the bookshelves.

"An old man. Don't know him. He said you'd know once you saw it."

Chen Zhen thought about it—an old man he didn't know, who knew his address and his relationship with the Bookstore.

"What did he look like?"

Grandpa Wu didn't look up. "Wears glasses, thin, speaks slowly."

Old Lin.

Chen Zhen nodded. "Thank you, Grandpa Wu."

Grandpa Wu waved his hand. "Go on, go on, don't delay my work."

Chen Zhen pushed the door open and left.

The sun was already high, and people were coming and going on the street.

He looked down at the photo in his hand.

Beishan in 1937, the rune stone.

It's gone now.

But the runes were still there.

They would disappear if carved on stone, but not if carved elsewhere.

He quickened his pace and headed towards the Secret Base.

At two in the afternoon, Chen Zhen pushed open the door.

Zhou Rui was squatting in front of the workbench, with a talisman laid out before him.

Hearing the movement, he stood up, turned around, with a smile on his face.

"Master."

Chen Zhen walked over and picked up the talisman.

Just like in the photo, there was an extra circle of dot arrays around the core rune.

Thirty-six dots, corresponding to the number of Tiangang.

Spiritual power circulated within the dot array; for every rotation, the brightness of the main rune increased by a fraction.

The structure was ingenious, the spiritual power stable, and the materials used were precise.

[Heart-Clearing Talisman (Zhou Rui Edition)] Effect: Heart-Clearing +200%, Calming +100%. Quality: Top-tier.

Chen Zhen put the talisman down and looked at Zhou Rui.

"When did you think of this?"

Zhou Rui thought about it. "Last night while drawing the talisman. Halfway through, I suddenly felt something was missing. So I added a circle of dot arrays around the outside, and I didn't expect the effect to double."

He paused. "Master, is this what you called 'Talisman Array thinking'?"

Chen Zhen nodded. "Yes."

Zhou Rui smiled. "Does that mean I count as having entered the door?"

Chen Zhen looked at him. "You entered the door long ago."

Zhou Rui was stunned for a moment, then smiled even more happily.

Shen Nian looked up from the pile of spiritual plants. "Don't just talk, come over and see this."

Chen Zhen walked over.

On the leaves of that Mutant Seedling, the golden lines had increased from twenty-seven to thirty.

But unlike before—these lines were no longer unordered, but had formed a complete pattern.

A core circle, radial curves, nested geometry.

Exactly the same as the Dongshan Rune.

The seedling was drawing runes on itself.

Shen Nian pointed at those lines, his voice a little shaky. "It started changing last night. It's still moving now."

Chen Zhen squatted down, staring at those lines.

They were moving slowly, like they were alive.

With every fraction it moved, the rune became more complete.

It was also drawing.

After it finishes, then what?

He stood up. "Don't touch it. Let it draw by itself."

Shen Nian nodded and recorded it in his notebook.

Chen Zhen walked to the center of the array and sat down.

He looked down at his chest.

The seed was still spinning.

That line was still glowing.

The seedling was drawing runes.

The seed was waiting.

He was waiting too.

At nine in the evening, Chen Zhen sat alone in the center of the array.

He took out the old photo and looked at it for a long time.

1937, Beishan.

At that time, Shen Zhiyuan was still young, and his Master was still alive.

They had discovered that rune stone in Beishan.

Eighty years later, the stone was gone, and the people were gone too.

But the runes remained.

Carved on the seedling's leaves, carved in Zhou Rui's talisman, carved inside him.

He put away the photo, stood up, and walked to the window.

The city lights were like scattered stars.

Li Xiuying should be asleep.

Xiaoxue should be dreaming.

Two hundred and thirty-seven people, all could have a good night's sleep tonight.

He turned around, walked back to the center of the array, lay down, and closed his eyes.