Chapter 2669: Chapter 890: Choosing Cinnabar for Fu Methods
Just as described in that famous conjecture from the Austian spacetime theory, the more active the mind, the faster time passes.
The giant green snake that appeared at the Anti-Magic Festival in the North District seems like news from yesterday, visiting the Horse-Man Tribe in the Silent Forest during the Qingming Festival feels like a memory from last night, discussing the Austian spacetime theory with Xiao Xiao on Wednesday noon seemed like just a nap ago, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for Zheng Qing to fulfill his assistant duties again.
The seventh Thursday of the second semester of sophomore year seemed no different from the sixth one.
Except there would be three new students in the class.
It wasn’t until before class that Zheng Qing realized he felt a vague and inexplicable fear about today’s lesson, standing outside the huge tent of Edge Academy, watching the faint shadows passing through the door slit, and hearing those indistinct sounds of laughter, he inexplicably felt an urge to turn and flee.
A wizard does not fear without reason.
The beating retreat in his heart sounded like a drum urging him to quickly leave this dangerous place.
But reason kept warning him that skipping class for no reason would result in punishment from the academic office, which meant his plans for early graduation would be affected.
With this mixture of feelings, he suddenly gained a deeper understanding of why Korma chose to build the academy on the edge of a cliff—why is it that many times, people know there’s a huge danger in front yet still grit their teeth and stand at the edge?
Because they have no choice.
This conclusion allowed Zheng Qing’s rationality to regain control over his body.
"Impulse is the devil."
The young assistant at the tent’s entrance murmured, encouraging himself in a low voice: "... And I am the Sin Bearer of the devils, the one who manages the devils!"
This mental construction effectively suppressed the many absurd thoughts that flashed through his mind.
The young assistant lifted the tent’s flap, with a serious expression, holding today’s lecture notes, he strode towards the podium, endeavoring to imitate Old Yao’s aura.
The corners of his robe billowed behind him like it was eager to fly, carrying the cold air from outside the tent, passing through the hall, instantly cooling down the previously slightly noisy atmosphere in the classroom, followed by the sound of pages turning.
Zheng Qing also opened the roster on top of the lecture notes.
Traditionally, roll call is necessary.
However, when his peripheral vision caught sight of the three ’Zheng Su’ at the end of the roster, he quickly closed the booklet, intending to start the class directly.
As an assistant, he had such a privilege.
Moreover, since the three-headed parrot, who usually oversaw the class, was absent today, perhaps off playing somewhere, and everyone in the classroom were acquaintances, skipping the roll call occasionally wouldn’t raise any objections.
The tall podium effectively concealed the young assistant’s current nervousness.
He looked around, striving to speak in a tone of several degrees of authority: "Today’s lesson, we’re discussing ’The Choices of Cinnabar in Fu Method’. I believe many of you have heard a saying in the wizard world: ’A bit of Aura is a charm, people waste ink and cinnabar’, which suggests that for talisman drawing, talent and inspiration are most critical, while external items like cinnabar aren’t necessary.
Here, I can clearly tell you all, this saying is wrong for you.
This is because the person who said this is the famous Legendary Wizard of the Middle Ages, Master of Fenyang Sa. He could say ’A bit of Aura is a charm’ because his bit of Aura indeed could manifest into a charm, while for all of us who haven’t even passed the Registered Wizard exam, claiming to be a ’wizard’ is still debatable, how could we truly understand Sa Master’s experience? An expert can ’win without moves’ because he’s an expert first.
You aren’t at that level, understand?
For you, choosing the right talisman paper, cinnabar, talisman pen, as well as the suitable time and place for drawing talismans, every detail that can increase your success rate in drawing is extremely important. Trying to reach the top in one step will only lead to constant failures, not gaining any experience..."
The professional content guided the professional thought, allowing Zheng Qing to gradually overlook the anxiety in his heart, his lecture becoming increasingly fluid, his tone more relaxed, and his expression much gentler.
But as the Trident Sword often says—people have a fluke mentality; until the last moment, no suspect will voluntarily confess—before danger truly appears, everyone feels the world is peaceful, everything is well, thinking a patched-up house can still be lived in.
Zheng Qing was eloquent and fluent on the podium.
In high spirits, he casually asked a question: "... Although cinnabar is red, it is classified into the Five Elements, does anyone know the different names of the Five Element classifications of cinnabar?"
He raised his arm, smiling as he looked around, sweeping the small classroom with an encouraging glance.
But the next moment, his smile gradually froze on his face.
Because except for the three Great Elves sitting in the front central row, no one in the classroom raised their hand. Not a single one. Even Nicholas and Carmen, with arms crossed, appeared uninterested, as if they hadn’t heard Zheng Qing’s question.
There must be a conspiracy here.
Zheng Qing felt a chill run down his back.
The three Great Elves sat properly in the first row, wearing robes embroidered with the insignia of the Qingqiu Su Family, their big eyes flickering, little arms raised neatly, like three freshly cleaned pieces of tender white lotus root.
Li Meng sat to the left of the Great Elves, whispering something softly to one of them; Jiang Yu sat on the other side of the Great Elves, notebook on her lap, chin in hand, smiling at Zheng Qing—at that moment, Zheng Qing was very grateful he had told Jiang Yu about the Great Elves early on, leaving no room for Li Meng to gossip.
Silence persisted in the classroom for nearly a minute.
Still, no one else raised their hand.
Zheng Qing could clearly feel the increasing number of those strange gazes around him, many filled with malice and schadenfreude.
"Ahem!"
The young assistant coughed lightly, lowered his head somewhat flusteredly, and finally gritted his teeth, randomly calling one of the Great Elves: "Uh, then, Zheng Suyi, you answer this question."
The Great Elf sitting next to Jiang Yu stood up with great enthusiasm.
"Hello, sir!"
She bowed very politely before answering clearly: "According to the Five Elements, cinnabar can be divided into Fire Sand ’Super Arrow’, Gold Sand ’Vermilion Mark’, Wood Sand ’Mu Li’, Earth Sand ’Yellow Mark’, Water Sand ’Black Mark’, among which Black Mark is native to Chen State, Super Arrow is bright red, Vermilion Mark contains a golden hue, Mu Li is reddish-purple, and the color is dark..."
Though her answer was somewhat jumbled, with omissions and inaccuracies, it conveyed substantial information, clearly showing she put in effort.
Combined with the Great Elf’s fluent expression ability.
Even with a bit of anxiety in his heart, Zheng Qing couldn’t suppress a rather bright, aunt-like smile on his face.
