167: Chapter 167 Healing

Uncle Chen's blade tip pierced into the edge of the crack.

It sank slowly.

His wrist was very steady; with every strike, the blade sank into the soil.

It was like inserting chopsticks into a block of tofu, without any unnecessary wobbling.

When the blade was one-third submerged, he stopped.

His palm pressed against the hilt, eyes closed, lips pursed into a thin line.

After a while.

He opened his eyes and withdrew the blade.

He changed positions and continued.

Zhou Rui watched from the side, holding a small pinch of stabilizer in a spoon, not rushing to pour it.

"Uncle Chen, when the blade pierces in, what do you feel?"

"Resistance."

"It's like sticking a needle into a taut drum. If it's too tight, the needle won't go in; if it's too loose, it can't hold the force."

Uncle Chen changed the angle of the blade tip.

This time it pierced deeper, and half the blade was submerged.

"It's a bit looser here; the Qi is leaking here."

Chen Zhen squatted opposite him, holding the Beishan original plaque upright, letting the side of the jade plaque touch the ground near the blade, continuously injecting spiritual energy.

The jade plaque glowed, not with scattered light, but with a beam of extremely thin dark golden light, heading straight down, passing through the soil, and landing deep within the crack.

[Seal: Status stabilizing]

[Repair progress: 2%]

Zhou Rui looked down at the system panel—Chen Zhen had shared the system panel, which was floating above the crack, translucent, like a piece of glass drifting in the air.

Zhou Rui scanned the numbers and continued to look down, adding his stabilizer.

The powder fell into the crack, not settling like sand, but dissolving halfway down, turning into a pale gray mist that seeped downward.

"Master, the stabilizer is being sucked in."

"It is in Fusion."

After Chen Zhen finished speaking, he stood up and walked a few steps, changing positions, holding the jade plaque against the ground, and re-injecting spiritual energy. The golden beam of light followed his movement, as if guided by a lamp.

Yun Xi stood a few steps away, looking at Zhou Rui's stabilizer bottle. "How long can that stabilizer of yours last?"

"I don't know. It's my first time using it." Zhou Rui put the bottle away. "Theoretically, it can last three to five days. But in reality, it depends on the Seal's own appetite."

Yun Xi glanced at him. "Appetite?"

"It's like it's alive." Zhou Rui said, "When I mixed the stabilizer, I used a little anshen flower powder; the Seal's reaction to it was more obvious than to cinnabar. It likes that flavor."

Uncle Chen withdrew the blade.

The blade was stained with dark brown soil; he wiped it with his thumb, looked at it, and sheathed it.

"Alright. It should last for a while."

"How long is 'a while'?" Zhou Rui asked.

"Three to five years." Uncle Chen stood up and patted the dirt off his knees. "Longer than the last time."

He glanced at the jade plaque in Chen Zhen's hand.

"This plaque of yours is more useful than the one that old man had back then. When he stabbed his in, the Seal wouldn't accept it. When you stick yours on, it absorbs it by itself."

Chen Zhen put the jade plaque away.

"The plaques are different."

Uncle Chen didn't ask any further, put the short blade into his cloth bag, and fastened the strap.

He looked at the crack; the soil color had deepened, and the edges were no longer cracked, as if moistened by rain, slowly closing up.

"Before, when we repaired it, there were no powders and no jade plaques. We just relied on stabbing it hard with the blade. After stabbing it, the Qi would still leak, so we had to stab it several times a year."

Zhou Rui put the storage box into his backpack. "So, can my stabilizer help?"

"It can. Fewer stabs needed."

Uncle Chen turned and walked down the mountain. "Let's go. The sun is high, and the shadows in the mountains have shortened."

At 3:00 PM, the four of them returned to Uncle Chen's house.

Uncle Chen didn't go in; he stood at the doorway and took off his shoes, which were covered in a thick layer of mud.

He placed his shoes on the steps, stepped into the house barefoot, pulled out a pair of old slippers from under the stove, and put them on. "Hungry? I'll cook some noodles."

Zhou Rui scraped the mud off his soles at the door, asking as he did so, "Uncle Chen, you said the Seal is like a living thing. Does it have emotions like a person? Like, being happy or unhappy?"

Uncle Chen was pouring water into the pot; upon hearing this, his hand paused for a moment.

"It does. But not like a person. It doesn't get anxious, it doesn't get angry. It only has one feeling."

"What feeling?"

"Sleepy." Uncle Chen put the lid on the pot and wiped his hands. "It always wants to sleep. When it's touched by someone, it will wake up for a bit. Then it slowly falls back asleep."

Zhou Rui took out his notebook to write, whispering, "Sleepy... like it's alive... will wake up... will sleep..."

Yun Xi leaned against the doorframe, took off her windbreaker, and hung it on the hook by the door.

"Then what state is it in now? Is it awake or still sleepy?"

"Half-asleep, half-awake."

Uncle Chen began to chop green onions. "It was touched, but not fully awakened."

"Then what about the next time someone touches it? Will it wake up more?"

Uncle Chen's hand, chopping the green onions, paused for a moment.

"Yes. Every time it's touched, it wakes up a bit more. If it wakes up too much, it won't be able to sleep. By then, no one will be able to contain it."

The noodles were served; they were hand-rolled noodles, uneven in width, but with a good, chewy texture.

The soup was a soy sauce broth with green onions and eggs, steaming hot.

Zhou Rui ate with his head down, then looked up at Uncle Chen after a few bites. "Have you repaired the Seal like this before?"

"I have. But never one this big."

"Has it cracked before?"

"It has."

Uncle Chen put down his chopsticks. "Thirty years ago, there was a crack. It was even smaller than today's. That old man covered it with a paper talisman, covered it for half a year, and it grew back together on its own."

Zhou Rui's hand holding the noodles paused.

The noodles hung in mid-air, steaming.

"Covered with a paper talisman, and it grew back on its own?"

"Yes."

Chen Zhen put down his bowl. "What did that paper talisman look like?"

"Yellow, with red characters drawn on it. Different from the ones you have."

Chen Zhen took Shen Zhiyuan's notebook from his Storage Space, flipped to the Beishan section, and quickly scanned it.

There was no mention of a paper talisman.

He closed the notebook. "Is that paper talisman still around?"

Uncle Chen glanced at him.

"It is. Wait a moment."

He got up and walked into the inner room. After a while, he brought out a tin box covered in a layer of dust.

The box wasn't large, the size of a shoebox.

He blew off the dust, opened it, and took out a folded piece of yellow paper.

The paper was already brittle; the edges crumbled at a touch, and the color had faded significantly, but the talisman markings on it were still recognizable.

It wasn't cinnabar, but red ink, with very fine lines.

Zhou Rui leaned in, holding his breath, and watched for a long time.

"Is this... a Lesser Seal Talisman?"

Chen Zhen took it and unfolded it.

The paper was very thin, twice as thin as ordinary talisman paper, as if it were handmade.

The structure of the talisman was unlike any talisman he had ever seen.

It wasn't drawn from the core outwards, but in a single stroke from beginning to end, with no breaks.

The entire talisman looked like a pattern made of a single line, winding, looping, and finally ending right next to the starting point.

He took out his phone, took a picture, folded the paper back up, and put it back into the tin box. "Thank you."

Uncle Chen closed the box and put it back in the inner room. "If it's useful, you can take it."

The sun was about to set.

Chen Zhen stood in the courtyard, looking at the persimmon tree.

The orange-red fruits were translucent in the setting sun, like little lanterns.

Zhou Rui walked out of the house and stood beside him.

"Master, that Lesser Seal Talisman, do you want to try it?"

"Investigate it clearly first."

"Investigate what?"

"The person who drew it." Chen Zhen looked back at the house; the light shone through the window, a warm yellow glow.

"Shen Zhiyuan knew him. Uncle Chen also knew him. Neither of them mentioned his name."