The Portal of Wonderland

Soul Magician

“This boy will keep it in mind,” Shi Mu didn’t dare to refute when he heard these words. Therefore, he replied in a courteous manner. Then, he tucked the light-red jade slip into his bosom.

“Good; you can leave now,” Meng Gu seemed satisfied with his reply. Therefore, he calmly indicated for Shi Mu to leave the hall.

There was complete silence in the hall.

Shi Mu was about to ask the way towards the exit of the hall when the translucent lights suspended mid-air started to ripple. Then, they started to emanate an endless strand of white light that shrouded Shi Mu’s body.

Shi Mu couldn’t see anything for a while since his eyes were dazzled by the bright light. He realized that he was standing in the small room of the General Library by the time he could see his surroundings again.

Shi Mu observed his surroundings as he started to regain his composure. He noticed that Young Master Ju wasn’t around. He didn’t wish to leave the room immediately. So, he moved his feet and carefully left the huge circular pattern. Then, he started to examine the silver patterns and the enigmatic text engraved on the ground.

Shi Mu couldn’t understand anything. However, he guessed that these patterns and text should be related to the Blood Chamber, and could only be activated by Young Master Ju’s yellow paper-charm.

Shi Mu fished out a yellow paper-charm from his bosom as this thought crossed his mind. This was the same charm that he had received from that Xian Tian warrior — Ye Hong Yao of the Wonderful Sound Sect — to help him find the Black Turtle Sect’s messenger.

He had left the Yun Xia Mountain Range the same day in order to recuperate from his injuries. But, he had been studying this charm ever since.

This paper-charm was just a long strip of paper. But it was filled with some strange designs and text; they constituted a strange pattern. It seemed to have some mysterious function, but it was beyond his understanding.

Previously, Ye Hong Yao had healed Shi Mu’s broken arms in a split second by using her two healing charms. And now, Young Master Ju had used another charm to transmit him to the Blood Chamber.

The mysterious functions of these charms made Shi Mu envious.

Shi Mu had memorized the patterns and text of these charms even though he had seen them just for a split-second when Ye Hong Yao and Young Master Ju had invoked them.

Shi Mu compared the charms in his mind. He realized that Young Master Ju’s charm was more complicated in terms of patterns and symbols than the messenger-charm he held in his hand. However, the healing charm was the most complex amongst the three.

Then, he compared the pattern drawn on the ground with his messenger charm. He found that both shared similarities in their patterns and characters even though they looked different.

Shi Mu was pleasantly surprised by this discovery.

Shi Mu slipped the charm back into his bosom after some consideration. Then, he left the room. After that, he started to walk towards the room that contained ancient books.

He had barely entered the room when Young Master Ju’s voice resounded, “Young boy, you stayed there for a long time. This means that you must’ve gotten a good result. Isn’t it?”

A fat man as huge and bulky as a mountain stood behind the square table; his hands were rested on his back. The huge parrot rocked its head endlessly. The parrot opened its mouth to say something when it saw Shi Mu. But it hesitated as it remembered the presence of the fat man, and remained silent.

“Thank you for your concern, Young Master Ju. This boy has indeed found a cultivation art — the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape,” Shi Mu walked towards him as he replied frankly without making any effort to conceal the art he had chosen.

“Oh, that’s good. But, hold on! Why did you choose this art? Didn’t Meng Gu warn you?” The fat man revealed a trace of satisfaction amidst a pleased expression since he felt Shi Mu’s honesty. But then, he thought of something, and a startled expression spread across his face. He looked at Shi Mu with a perplexed look as he asked in a loud voice.

“Yes, Elder Meng Gu told me everything about this art; everything that I should’ve known before selecting it.” Then, Shi Mu repeated Meng Gu’s words in front of the fat man.

“I never thought that you’d be such a strong kid. I wonder how far you can go. Hehe… Now, you should choose a martial arts technique with the remaining six Flaming Demon Tokens.” The fat man sized him up. He then waved his hand as he spoke these words.

Then, the fat man shifted his gaze towards his huge parrot. It seemed as if Shi Mu no longer existed there.

Shi Mu responded respectfully. Then, he looked at the left and the middle bookshelves. He hesitated for a moment before he walked past the table and towards the middle book shelf.

“Are you determined about choosing this ‘Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants’? Don’t blame me later for not reminding you. Although this art looks easy… it requires a huge amount of pills, and they would be quite expensive. Furthermore, even though practicing two cultivation arts simultaneously isn’t very strange… it would be like biting-off more than one can chew. I accept that there were some predecessors in our Sect who had practiced two cultivation arts simultaneously… but I hope that you’re smart enough to understand its pros and cons. And don’t forget… martial arts techniques are equally important at the time of a real fight.” The fat man stared at Shi Mu in a strange manner when he saw the thick bundle of bamboo slips Shi Mu had put on the square table.

“Young Master Ju, thank you for reminding me. But, this boy has made-up his mind,” Shi Mu replied. Then, he cupped his one hand in the other and placed it across his chest in obeisance. He then handed-over his last six Flaming Demon Tokens to the fat man.

The fat man received the tokens without saying anything. Then, he took out a white jade slip. He placed it and the bamboo slip successively on Shi Mu’s forehead and murmured an incantation.

After that, he passed the jade slip to Shi Mu; along with some necessary words of advice. Then, he pointed towards the door and asked Shi Mu to leave.

“Young Master Ju — are you a magician?” Shi Mu asked unknowingly as he stretched his hand to receive the white jade slip.

“Hehe, I didn’t know this kid has such good eyesight. Yes, I’m a magician of the Spirit Grade — a rare Soul Magician. How else could I’ve summoned such a useless bird from the other world?” A complacent look traced across the fat man’s face. Then, he started to blaze with fury as he glared at his giant parrot and poked it with a wooden stick.

“Master, please don’t… ah…” the giant parrot cried as it begged for mercy.

Shi Mu acted tactfully as he saw the fat man’s indignant expressions. He decided not to ask anything further. He carefully bore the mention of ‘Soul Magician’ in his mind — as spoken by the fat man. Then, he said goodbye to him and walked down the stairs.

It was noon by the time Shi Mu came out of the General Library. He started to walk in the direction of his stone house.

He ate some dry fruits upon reaching his room. After that, he sat down cross-legged on his bed and pulled-out the two jade slips from his bosom. Then, he started to read them.

These two ancient books were meant to be memorized within three days. Therefore, he couldn’t afford to waste any time.