Chapter 134: The Master of Ink and Spirit

Isn’t this just a blatant scam?

These decorations didn’t have any effect on warding off ghosts or protecting their owners, yet this shop was selling them as Feng Shui lucky charms.

Even though the prices were very low, no matter how one looked at it, it was still a scam.

I continued walking further into the street, passing by more storefronts like folk item shops and antique stores.

I even spotted a shop specializing in “Ink Treasures,” specifically writing Spring Festival couplets and ancient calligraphy.

The shop owner was writing on the spot in front of his customers.

As long as the customer paid to request certain characters, he would immediately lay out the paper, grind the ink, and begin writing.

Moreover, the owner’s brush and inkstone were actually Dharma artifacts.

Although they emitted a black spiritual light, it was completely different from the ominous, baleful aura of ghosts.

This spiritual light looked more like the deep, pure black of ink itself.

When he wrote, his presence was as grand as a surging rainbow, and his brushstrokes were so forceful they seemed to penetrate the wood.

The four characters “Peng Cheng Wan Li,” symbolizing a great future, were completed in a single, fluid motion with a vigorous and powerful style that carried an indescribable momentum.

When the calligraphy was finished, the owner signed it and pressed down firmly with a Shoushan stone seal.

That seal was also a Dharma artifact.

The spiritual light of these various artifacts was almost perfectly integrated with his own aura.

If they weren’t ancestral heirlooms, then he must have used them for many years until their energies had completely synchronized.

Finally, the calligraphy was mounted on a silk scroll.

The spiritual light began to flow continuously over the sharp, elegant strokes of the characters.

This scroll had already transformed into something similar to a Daoist talisman.

If placed in an environment with a strong energy field for nurturing, it could very likely become a complete Dharma artifact that could permanently protect the owner’s career luck.

Even without such an environment, it could still maintain the owner’s fortune for a significant amount of time.

Many sample scrolls were hanging in the shop, bearing phrases like “Pure and Upright,” “Smooth Sailing,” and “Good Luck and Prosperity.”

Each scroll emitted a different spiritual light.

Combined, they shrouded the entire shop in an atmosphere that felt like ink drifting through water.

Without a doubt, this owner was truly capable.

His level was far beyond that of the Feng Shui shop I saw earlier.

However, his shop was mostly deserted; after he finished that one piece, there were no other customers.

The reason was simply that his prices were too exorbitant.

The first two lines of the price list were for the ink and paper alone.

The best ink sticks and the highest grade of Xuan paper were priced at over a thousand yuan.

Combined with the silk mounting for the scroll, the price reached ten thousand yuan before a single word was even written.

Then came the price for the characters themselves.

The most expensive large characters cost twenty thousand yuan per word; writing four words would cost eighty thousand, which was nearly the price of a mid-to-low-tier Dharma artifact.

Even the second-tier characters cost ten thousand yuan each.

Of course, there were smaller characters, such as transcriptions of famous calligraphy sets.

The price listed was five hundred yuan per character.

If one wanted a full transcription of several hundred words, the price would be even higher than a large plaque.

Calculated this way, a single scroll of his could cost over a hundred thousand yuan.

Since he wasn’t a world-famous calligrapher, almost no one was willing to spend over a hundred thousand on a single piece of his writing, unless they knew he possessed true ability.

“Little girl, do you like calligraphy as well?” the owner asked, having noticed me staring at his work while he was idle.

“Boss, your prices for ink and paper are so high. Is there some kind of special reason for that?” I asked in return.

“Hehe, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you. I can only say that the materials for this paper and ink are absolutely the real deal,” the owner laughed, shaking his head.

“Is it because high-grade materials can retain more spiritual energy?” I asked.

The owner’s eyes suddenly widened. He looked me up and down before sighing in admiration.

“So you’re a connoisseur! That’s rare. For a girl as young as you to be able to see spiritual energy… you’re right. The better the material, the more solid the energy field.”

“Then what about the prices for the characters? How does the writing differ at different price points?” I inquired.

“Hehe, different amounts of energy are invested, so the effects are naturally different. If I focus all my concentration using my family’s ancestral calligraphy, I won’t go so far as to say I can change your destiny, but the level is definitely not low,” the owner said proudly, possessing absolute confidence in his skill.

“Just how high is the level?” I asked curiously.

The owner didn’t give a direct answer but described it metaphorically. “Oh, about three or four stories high.”

“Alright. I want to make progress in my studies. Can your calligraphy help me?” I asked.

“That’s a small matter. But little girl, if you want to see the level where I invest my maximum effort, I’m afraid you might not be able to afford the price.”

The owner seemed to think my words were a challenge, but I genuinely wanted to witness his full potential.

“If I want to see your highest level, how much money would it take?” I asked.

Talking about money was a bit vulgar, but these days, how else could you get someone to put in their full effort without discussing payment?

The owner glanced at me, seemingly possessing a certain pride in his own strength.

“If you want to see my true skill, I can write two vertical scrolls for you. On the left, ‘Diligent Study and Hard Practice,’ and on the right, ‘Never Weary of Learning.'”

“But if I use my maximum investment to write these eight characters, it’s twenty thousand per word, which is one hundred and sixty thousand. Adding the price of the brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and the two scrolls, I’ll charge you one hundred and eighty thousand.”

One hundred and eighty thousand.

It was more expensive than the Dharma artifact I had bought for Xiao Qing, roughly equivalent to a Rank 3 White-Spotted Gu insect.

But I didn’t care and simply nodded. “Fine. One hundred and eighty thousand it is. Go ahead and write.”

“Little girl, can you really afford one hundred and eighty thousand? You aren’t here to make a fool of me, are you?” The owner looked at me skeptically.

A high school girl really didn’t look like someone who could casually pull out one hundred and eighty thousand yuan.

“I can pay a deposit first,” I said directly.

The owner looked at me and said, “Fine. A deposit of one hundred thousand. Give me that, and I’ll start writing.”

I didn’t hesitate and transferred the money immediately.

When the owner saw that I had actually transferred the hundred thousand yuan deposit without a word, his expression turned serious.

“The little girl truly understands. I haven’t been this serious in a while. Please wait a moment.”

He went specifically into the back of the shop to bring out an ink stick and Xuan paper.

The ink stick itself possessed inherent spiritual energy; it wasn’t a Dharma artifact, but rather made from spiritual materials. It was already half-used.

The two sheets of Xuan paper were pure and flawless, radiating a bright, clean glow like moonlight in the night. Clearly, they were no ordinary items.

A good horse needs a good saddle. If the owner wanted to perform at his peak, he couldn’t lack any of the “Four Treasures of the Study.”

After he finished his preparations, he even lit incense and meditated to adjust his state to its absolute best.

Once he felt his mindset was perfect, the owner stood up and personally began to grind the ink.

Holding the ink stick, he rotated it in circles against the inkstone with movements full of power and rhythm.

Before he began to write, I asked, “Why don’t you just write ‘Eight Bushels of Talent’ or ‘A Wealth of Knowledge’? Wouldn’t that improve my scholarship even more?”

The owner laughed upon hearing this.

“Hahaha! Little girl, if you were a PhD or an academician, you might be able to bear the weight of those eight characters. But right now, you’re just a high schooler.”

“Your life-path doesn’t match those words. It would only be counterproductive.”

“Calligraphy is about tailoring the work to the person—fitting the clothes to the body. It’s not about aiming for the unreachable and being detached from reality.”