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墨書 Inktalez
The child approached the pond, and with a gentle flick of a branch, he stirred the floating debris at the water's edge. The spirit birds gathered around, seeing this, flapped their wings and swooped down to peck at his head. He waved his hands repeatedly to shoo them away, but it was no use; he could only retreat. The spirit birds chased after him fiercely, but with a loud thud, they crashed into the barrier that enveloped the pond's edge.
The immortal had captured these birds without any intention of taming them, so he simply set up a formation to confine them. They could only perch on a few trees near the pond all day long and were often caught by the children of mortals. These spirit birds were clever and harbored resentment; whenever they got the chance, they would bully the solitary children.
Over time, cleaning the pond became a troublesome task. Qi Xiao rubbed his head in frustration and complained slowly, "Even if you peck my head, you still can't get out." His words only served to anger the spirit birds further. They continued to crash against the barrier, seemingly determined to break free and show Qi Xiao what they were capable of.
Seeing this scene unfold, he panicked and hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean it like that; please don't be angry." With the spirit birds now so agitated, how could he proceed with cleaning? If he didn't go in, the immortal would be upset; but if he did go in, he would surely end up with a head full of bumps from their pecking.
He picked up a branch and cautiously ventured into the barrier. The birds immediately lunged at his arm. A sharp pain shot through Qi Xiao's arm as he quickly withdrew his hand. Witnessing this, the immortal's expression darkened with displeasure. "You can't even handle a few birds, yet you want to be my disciple?"
Qi Xiao hung his head low, biting his lip in dejection. The immortal grew even more irritated and snapped, "Did I not teach you the Wind Control Technique? Use it to disperse them!"
"Oh, oh," Qi Xiao hurriedly began to channel his spiritual energy and recited the incantation with his fingers. The Wind Control Technique taught by the immortal was long and complicated; he couldn't remember it all and could only memorize the sounds by imitation. He stumbled through several attempts but achieved nothing.
He was sweating profusely, and under the piercing gaze of the immortal, his mind went blank, and somehow he managed to perform the technique. A gust of fresh wind burst forth from his fingertips, sweeping across the center of the pond, but it only blew into empty space. The spirit birds perched on the branches nearby didn’t lose a single feather.
They tilted their heads and stared at Qi Xiao with their pea-sized eyes, curiously watching him as if they couldn’t comprehend what he was trying to do. He lowered his head in shame.
Finally, the immortal couldn’t hold back any longer and scolded him. “You’ve been here for a month, yet you can’t even master the most basic Wind Control Technique. What are you even doing talking about cultivating and seeking enlightenment? If you continue to be this lazy, don’t bother coming back here starting tomorrow!”
Qi Xiao’s eyes turned red. His mother’s hopes rested entirely on him! Ever since he caught the immortal’s attention, his mother had been overjoyed; she stood taller than usual and seemed more spirited than ever. Even that scoundrel who had come to extort them multiple times out of fear of them being orphans had stopped showing up.
The day before his mother sent him off to the small courtyard, she had patted his clothing and told him, “They all laugh at me and say I have no fortune, that even my only child is a disappointment. But I know my son is the most promising one. You may be slower than other normal children, but there are advantages to being slow. As long as you persist, you won’t fall behind.”
Qi Xiao took his mother’s words to heart. So for the same spell, while others practiced it ten times, he practiced it once. He believed that as long as he persevered, he would surely be rewarded.
However, reality was far from ideal. “Immortal, I will work harder! Please don’t think poorly of me. I promise I will master the technique by tonight!”
The immortal merely looked at him, shaking his head with a sigh. “A rotten tree cannot be carved; such foolishness is hard to find.”
“From today onward, don’t come to class anymore. You are responsible for cleaning this pond. Come back only when you have mastered your Wind Control Technique.”
Qi Xiao sniffled, his eyes red-rimmed. He wiped his eyes with his hand and gave a low hum in response. He knew that the immortal’s words were as good as a promise; once spoken, they wouldn’t change. If he continued to argue, he might lose even the right to be here at all.
He could only silently swallow all his grievances.
"Hey, are we being too much?" A fair-skinned child touched his nose.
The chubby kid shot him a fierce glare, clearly displeased. "Too much? It's obviously that Qi Xiao is the one who is foolish and has drawn the immortal's disdain. What does that have to do with us?"
But in the end, he was also standing up for someone else. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have...
"Heh, you’re so kind-hearted. Why don’t you explain the situation to the immortal? Don’t forget, Qi Xiao has helped you before!"
The child froze, as if he had swallowed a fly, and quickly waved his hands. "Forget I said anything. Forget I said anything."
From that point on, aside from taking care of the immortal's small courtyard, Qi Xiao also had to clean the pond alone after everyone else left. The birds often vented their anger towards others on him.
As time passed, he grew annoyed, and his Wind Control Technique became more refined. At first, his technique was inconsistent; it was easy for those spirit birds to dodge it, and he often struggled to unleash it properly, only to be mocked by the birds as they flapped their heads and chirped away.
But as time went on, he became increasingly skilled—not only did he recite the incantation faster, but his spells also became more accurate.
One spirit bird tilted its head to dodge a blade of wind but was caught off guard by a small whirlwind that rushed at it from the front. It was swept up in the gust, flailing and squawking in confusion.
When the small whirlwind finished its work, all the spirit birds lay disheveled by the edge of the pond, dazed and disoriented. One particularly strong-willed bird managed to lift its head and let out a chirp, intending to scold Qi Xiao. However, before it could utter another sound, it fell back down with a thud.
Qi Xiao raised his small face and smiled triumphantly.
At first, he had been anxious about not being allowed to attend when the immortal taught others their techniques. But now he felt that the Wind Control Technique was quite good; not only could it knock these birds out cold, but it could also lift debris and clear fallen leaves.
He formed seals and recited incantations as the spiritual wind shifted with his thoughts, becoming extremely light and thin—like a sharp little knife gliding over the water's surface, sweeping all floating debris away.
In the next moment, these damp feathers were lifted by the changing wind and gathered into a pile before gently settling at Qi Xiao's feet. Not far away lay another heap of fallen leaves resembling a small hill, also swept up by his Wind Control Technique.
The immortal said that the Wind Control Technique could be used to lighten one's body and soar through the air, or to attack with the wind. However, Qi Xiao felt that besides these two methods, there were many other techniques that were quite good as well.
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