Chapter 18 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

First Journey Down the Mountain

"A group of six outer sect disciples will be sent to Đá Trắng village, half a day's journey from Lam Thủy Town, to assist in repairing the old faded amulets," Nhiêu Bá Tường announced during the lesson, holding a list of names. "This is the first practical exercise outside the sect's campus for your class. Those whose names are called, prepare your luggage and leave tomorrow morning," Diệp Sương held her breath when she heard her name announced, along with Âu Bội Nhi, and most surprisingly, even Wei Bá Tuân was also on the list.

"Why does he have to be in the same group as me?" Âu Bội Nhi whispered worriedly as she left the classroom, but Diệp Sương just shrugged, trying not to let that affect the excitement of her first real practice.

*

The trip down the mountain took most of the morning. The group of disciples walked along the winding trail, each carrying a light luggage bag containing spell-drawing tools and a few spare clothes. This was the first time Diệp Sương had left the campus of Tông Vân Các since the day of her initiation, and breathing the countryside air and hearing birds singing among the trees brought back memories of the mornings she had followed Mrs. Chín Lài into the forest to gather medicine.

"Do you miss home?" Âu Bội Nhi asked, walking side by side, noticing her friend's distant eyes.

"Yes," Diệp Sương admitted, "but I'm also happy to be able to go out like this. It feels different from staying in the sect all day."

The supervisory instructor led the group, occasionally stopping to explain the terrain and how to recognize unusual signs of Linh Mạch through field observations - knowledge that cannot be fully learned just through books in the library.

Đá Trắng Village was nestled on a white limestone hillside. It was smaller than Tùng Lĩnh Village and sparsely populated; most residents lived by quarrying and farming narrow terraced fields. When the group of disciples arrived, led by an elderly monk in charge of supervision, the villagers gathered in the communal-house yard to welcome them, their eyes both hopeful and cautious.

"The talisman at our village gate has been fading for nearly three years," explained the head of Đá Trắng village, a thin old man whose voice trembled with both age and worry. "We have reported to the town many times but no one has ever come down to fix it. Recently there have been some unusual signs, we are very scared."

Hearing those words, Diệp Sương couldn't help but remember her Tùng Lĩnh Village, recalling the old talisman that had almost failed to protect anyone on the night the monster attacked. She understood, more than any other disciple in the group, what it felt like to live under a fragile layer of protection, never knowing how long it would last.

*

The group of disciples divided into many points in the village to check and repair old talismans - from the protective talismans at the village gate, to the small talismans scattered around wells and food warehouses. Diệp Sương and Âu Bội Nhi were assigned to inspect the area near a small stream running through the edge of the village, where there was an old talisman that had almost lost its effectiveness.

"This drawing is so strange," Âu Bội Nhi commented, carefully taking down the old talisman to prepare to replace it according to the standard procedure she had learned. "It doesn't look like what the sect teaches, it looks like it was drawn by someone who was self-taught, just like your situation."

Diệp Sương picked up the old talisman, examined it carefully, and a familiar feeling rose in her heart—these drawings, although mostly faded, still had a warmth and closeness that was immediately recognizable, exactly like Mr. Tám Mực's style.

"Perhaps the person who drew this talisman is also self-taught and does not belong to any sect," she said thoughtfully. "Just like my grandfather Tám Mực—talented, but never properly trained because of his circumstances."

When it was her turn to draw a new talisman, Diệp Sương decided not to follow the sect's standard formula completely. Instead, she applied her hybrid drawing style, combining the traditional spirit-weave with a variation she had learned from Mr. Tám Mực and adapting it to the area's underground water, which created a kind of damp energy unlike the familiar dry air of Cảnh Linh Đài.

*

The results exceeded expectations. Once completed, the talisman Diệp Sương had drawn emitted a steady, warm light that naturally covered the area around the stream, moving in harmony with the water instead of forcing it into submission as standard sect talismans often did.

"The way you drew just now is so different," said the supervisor, who happened to pass by to check on the progress, stopping to observe with obvious surprise. "How did you get the talisman to blend in with the natural water flow like that? I've never seen this technique in any official textbook."

"I'm just trying to adjust to the feel of this area," Diệp Sương explained, somewhat worried if she was breaking any rules. "I think, instead of suppressing the water according to a fixed pattern, maybe I should let the talisman adapt to it."

The teacher was silent for a long time, his eyes full of thought. "This is an interesting approach," he said at last. "I will report this back to the elders. Perhaps this is a line of research that deserves more serious consideration."

*

However, not everyone views this achievement positively. Wei Bá Tuân, when hearing about Diệp Sương's "unusual" talisman spreading throughout the group, could not hide his discomfort.

"It's just luck," he said to his group of close friends, loud enough for Diệp Sương to hear as he passed by. "There is no way that someone without formal training could create something that surpasses what the sect has researched for hundreds of years. There must be something wrong, maybe breaking the rules without anyone knowing."

Those words, even though they were full of malice, also sowed a bit of confusion in Diệp Sương's heart. She went to Âu Bội Nhi to share her worries that night, when the group stayed at the guest house in Đá Trắng village.

"Don't listen to him," Âu Bội Nhi reassured, "the teachings have already recognized it. Wei Bá Tuân is just jealous, don't let it make you doubt yourself."

"But what if something is really wrong?" Diệp Sương asked, her voice truly worried. "I don't want to accidentally do something wrong without knowing it."

*

That night, the villagers of Đá Trắng held a small dinner to thank the group of disciples. The atmosphere was cozy, despite the meal's simplicity. When the village chief heard about Diệp Sương's concerns, he came to speak with her privately.

"Daughter," he said, his voice gentle, "I don't understand much about spirit talismans, but I understand one thing: the talisman you drew today, when I stand near it, I feel a peace of mind that is different from the previous talismans that were placed here. Not the peace of mind because someone is imposing to protect me, but the feeling like this land itself is being listened to and respected."

Those simple words, more than any compliment from the teacher or harsh criticism from Wei Bá Tuân, touched Diệp Sương deeply and dispelled most of her remaining confusion. She realized that the true value of what she was doing lay not in whether it broke official rules, but in the real sense of security it brought to those who needed protection—which, after all, was why she had first picked up a pen to draw charms in her childhood days in Tùng Lĩnh Village.

The next morning, before the group of disciples set off to return to Tông Vân Các, the whole White Stone village came out to say goodbye, the atmosphere was as warm as the send-off in Tùng Lĩnh Village last year. The village chief personally gave the group a basket of fresh fruit picked from his garden, instructing his disciples to stay healthy on the way home.

On the way back to the mountain, Wei Bá Tuân walked much more quietly than usual, no longer making sarcastic comments. Diệp Sương overheard a conversation between him and a close friend: the protective talisman he had been responsible for repairing at a village granary had needed to be redrawn three times to meet the requirements, while Diệp Sương's talisman had worked on the first attempt. Perhaps, Diệp Sương thought, behind Wei Bá Tuân's arrogant appearance was an insecurity greater than she had ever imagined - a pressure to always be perfect, always worthy of his family's reputation, no less than the pressure that Cố Thanh Việt himself had once shared with her in the library.

She didn't say anything, just quietly walked on, a vague sympathy rising in her heart for the person who always saw her as an opponent, even though she knew that sympathy, at least at this time, could hardly change anything in the tense relationship between the two.