Lan Jing Forest (6)

At the present time, in Tan Academy.

Zhou Xin had received a short tour of the residence. Since it wasn't too big of a place, she got the hang of knowing where to go pretty quick. As soon as the tour was over, Zhou Xin headed straight to the library followed by Tan Ren and Chen Liang.

There weren't many servants around. The residents of Tan Clan are independent people who preferred to do things on their own. As a result, Zhou Xin only had a short briefing of what her responsibilities were and was free to go wherever she wanted.

The library building was in one of the treehouses. It was one of the tallest structures, built within a large oak tree. It started with the main room on the ground which was extended with circular stairs towards the other parts of the house.

The main room itself held multiple shelves filled with books. Each shelf had different labels carved into them.

'History of Magic'

'Spiritual Energy'

'Land Magic'

'Sky Magic'

Chen Liang had been chattering as Zhou Xin was looking around.

"This first room is for beginners. Mostly for someone like me who just started using magic. Anyway, it's boring stuff. Students and outsiders can borrow these books, regardless of what kind. Which is weird, because I thought there might be some forbidden knowledge! I mean, there's a shelf about sea magic! I didn't even know we're allowed to even have those books."

Zhou Xin stopped and asked, "...Sea magic?"

Chen Liang pointed to a corner of the room.

"I think it's somewhere over there. I never touched them, though. I don't like reading."

As Zhou Xin approached the corner, she heard Tan Ren speak.

"I have. I think there's only like five books. None of them explained how to use sea magic, it's mostly the risks and recorded incidents and stuff. All of them had a warning about it."

As both of the students mentioned, there was a small two-tier shelf at the corner of the room. Four books were placed on the top part and one book at the bottom. 

Zhou Xin grabbed one of the books on the top part and opened the first page.

[This book explores the records of sea magic. Readers are discouraged from learning or seeking guidance in the practice of this forbidden art. However, the pages that follow provide knowledge on this topic at the reader's discretion.]

As she flipped through the pages, she could see information regarding known sea magic users for past centuries in the Southern Peninsula. It included their criminal acts, the backlash from conducting sea magic, and how each mages met their ends.

She put the book down and flipped through the other ones. They all had similar warnings on the first page.

All of a sudden, Chen Liang spoke.

"Oh, didn't you say you wanted to read about charms? I think it's in the third room. I'll go check real quick."

Zhou Xin didn't give a reply as she heard Chen Liang's footsteps fading into the stairs.

She crouched down and picked up the book on the bottom part of the shelf.

Unexpectedly, the book wasn't a record or a warning list of the dangers and risks of using sea magic. It was a rather thin book with a jarring title on the cover.

[The Sea Witch]

It looked more like a fairytale book. Although it was actually about a legend that was said to happen less than a decade ago.

On the first page, there was a painted illustration of the sea witch instead of a warning.

A massive creature with long flowing hair and large tentacles emerged from the sea. She was surrounded by multiple ships that seemed small compared to it in the painting. Her skin was the color of the ocean and her hair was as black as the depths of it. 

What struck as odd was the delicacy with which the face of the sea witch was depicted. Her eyes were just shaded black and were shaped as if they were frowning. It seemed like an angry expression at first glance, but the more Zhou Xin stared at it, the expression looked more of anguish.

And for some reason, Zhou Xin felt a sense of familiarity with that face.

The tale of the sea witch was common knowledge throughout the five lands as it was a big incident for magic users. All the gathered evil spirits dispersed in one night as Shin Minji killed the vessel.

Because of this, some believed that the dark energy in sea magic was no longer as dangerous as before. After the end of the hunt, more people started practicing sea magic.

However, the dark nature of the magic itself was enough reason to not risk drawing power from sea spirits. The risks could harm civilians and the users themselves.

At some point, Tan Ren was already behind Zhou Xin, looking over her shoulder.

He said, "It feels weird to know that the sea witch hunt happened not too long ago. Even our master was present in the battle, but he didn't talk much about it."

Zhou Xin flipped through the pages.

Other than the story that she already knew about the sea witch, there were lists of her known victims in the latter half of the book.

There were the ones that died on the hunt, the seafarers throughout the year of the sea witch reign, and notable mages she killed before becoming the sea witch.

2,281 recorded victims.

Tan Ren noticed that she stopped at that page a bit too long.

Without looking up from the book, Zhou Xin asked a question.

"Do you think the sea witch was really evil?"

Her voice didn't have any specific emotion behind it.

Tan Ren read the number again.

He wasn't sure what the blank-faced girl meant by that question.

He decided to answer based on the common conception.

"Well… considering the amount of people she killed…"

And the fact that she willfully offered her body to be possessed by sea spirits. Or that she had been killing mages way before she became the sea witch.

Before Tan Ren could continue, Chen Liang's thumping down the stairs could be heard growing louder.

"Charms are on the third floor! It's Just as I thought! Let's go!"

Then he ran back upstairs.

Zhou Xin wondered how a person can constantly be so energetic.

She put the book back on the shelf and walked towards the stairs. Tan Ren followed after her.

Going up the stairs, they went past the second room briefly. It was filled with books that focused more on sky magic.

At the end of the room, there was another door that led to a different set of stairs outdoors, leading to the third room. It was built on the largest branch of the tree.

Reaching the door, Chen Liang spoke excitedly.

"I think I've only been to the third floor once. I've just started learning about how to activate charms, not how to make them. It's too difficult. It's like learning a different language."

Chen Liang wasn't far off.

The symbols on charms could be considered a language on its own. Even the strokes would be different depending on which type of magic needed to activate it. 

Other than how to carve them, mages need to know which medium can contain spiritual energy most effectively. Regular stones wouldn't last too long, it would need something sturdier. If mages use paper such as talismans, then the ink should have better quality.

Zhou Xin wasn't sure which book to start with, so she randomly approached a shelf and scanned through the books. 

A particular brown colored book caught her attention. The cover was faded and ragged. It looked so fragile that it might turn to dust at any time. There was a title on its spine, written in oddly shaped symbols.

It wasn't written in a language that Zhou Xin knew of or could read. It also didn't look like any charm symbols. However, the strokes somehow looked familiar.

She grabbed the book carefully and opened it. Her face turned into a frown shortly after.

The whole book was written in weird symbols. It was definitely some kind of ancient language.

"Hey! What are you reading there?" Chen Liang asked from the opposite shelf aisle.

Zhou Xin looked through the gaps of the books on the shelf and saw Chen Liang's grinning face.

She gave a short answer, "I don't know."

Tan Ren happened to pass by the aisle she was in and took a quick glance at the book she was holding.

He explained casually, "I once asked my master about that old book. I think it was from the central plains."

Then it was probably written in the central language.

Zhou Xin didn't know anything about the central plains, but she remembered her parents told her that it was where magic was first discovered.

Zhou Xin was quite sure that she never came across the written language of the central plains, so why did the symbols look familiar?

As she continued to flip through the pages, trying to remember where she saw the symbols, a distant gong sound could be heard from the main entrance of the academy.

Dong! Dong!

Two gong chimes.

Zhou Xin recalled her instructions that if the gong chimes twice, it meant that the academy had guests that the servants had to attend to. 

Chen Liang spoke, "That's calling you!"

But Zhou Xin was already on her way to the stairs.

Didn't the elders say that the academy was off-limits to outsiders and currently not accepting any visitors? Why were there suddenly more guests?

Zhou Xin quickly arrived at the front building and was immediately instructed to serve tea.

Upon seeing the guest, Zhou Xin was no longer confused. Instead, she kept her head down as she served the tea set on a low table.

Sitting on the wooden bench was an elegant mage with robes as black as her hair, enhanced with a touch of blue fabric. A sword rested on the side, noticed instantly by Zhou Xin. The sword had saved her back in Chunfeng Alley.

The guest was the Midnight Mage of the Western Valleys, Shin Minji.

Zhou Xin prayed in her head that the powerful leader of the Shin Clan wouldn't recognize her.

She seemed to be discussing something important with the sect leader. The old elder sat upright, stroking his chin with one hand. Despite a significant difference in age, he held Shin Minji in the same high regard.

The sect leader spoke, "To form an alliance with the clan head of the west is quite an honor. Surely, you didn't lack any contenders from your land, did you? Why have you come to the south, Shin Minji?"

Shin Minji took a sip of tea in a relaxed manner.

"It would be better for mages to partner with those that complement their abilities. I have mastered the techniques of my land, so I'm looking for those that use magic in ways that I haven't specialized in."

She put down her cup and continued to talk.

"The central people are not interested in immortality, the northerners are in opposition to alliances for this matter, and the easterners are too reserved for my liking."

It was true that mage clans from the central plains never participated in the search of everlasting flowers for generations. Except for a small clan that managed to get the flowers of the sixth cycle about two centuries ago.

As for the mage clans from the north, they were known to be greedy when it comes to power and immortality. Of course, they would rather hoard the flowers than to form an alliance.

The sect leader wasn't sure why Shin Minji didn't consider mage clans from the east. He assumed it was just something that had to do with her preference.

"Southerners, however," Shin Minji said. "Are the most advanced in charms. Which, I admit, is not the strong suit of my land."

The sect leader laughed and asked another question.

"Then why have you come to our sect? If it's power you're looking for, I bet Chen Rongguang wouldn't turn down to partner up with the Midnight Mage."

Shin Minji smiled at that.

"I don't need more power."

Zhou Xin felt chills down her spine. She understood that statement to mean, I have enough power on my own.

"Ho! Interesting. Well, then,"

The sect leader stood up and motioned Shin Minji to follow him.

"Let's see if anyone is willing to go with you."

Shin Minji finished her cup of tea and went to follow him.

The sect leader continued, "Everyone is usually busy as they have disciples of their own. Then again, educational activities are temporarily suspended, so they should have quite the leisure."

As he talked, both of them had gone out of the room, walking on an open corridor that extended to the next building.

Zhou Xin followed a few steps behind, being on standby if the two needed anything.

Shin Minji spoke after the sect leader was done explaining.

"I've been meaning to ask that. Upon greeting me, you gave a warning to be cautious when using magic. You said it was due to the unstable energy around here. What happened?"

Because they had their backs turned from Zhou Xin, she couldn't see their expressions.

The sect leader answered Shin Minji's question.

"Lan Jing forest has been tainted with dark energy. Some of our students have fallen ill because of it, so we're taking precautions."

"That's unfortunate. I heard it has been happening for months now. Has Tan Sect found what caused it yet?"

"I suspected a disturbed soul had wandered into our forest, and for some undetermined reason, they had lost their life there. And as they left behind their spirit, the resentment remained."

Although Zhou Xin acted as if she wasn't paying attention, she listened intently to the conversation.

Either the elder lied, or he knew nothing of this matter.

Zhou Xin didn't quite know yet how to differentiate regular spiritual energy with dark ones, but she was sure that it shouldn't be too hard for someone like a sect leader to detect them. 

Kou had found multiple spots of obscure energy within one night. And he mentioned that none of them were weak. Any elders from this sect should have noticed if they walked through the forest.

"So no one has found where the spirit rests?" Shin Minji asked.

The sect leader chuckled.

"It is a large forest."

Zhou Xin frowned.

She felt that the sect leader's excuse sounded too unprofessional.

After a while of silence, Shin Minji started to talk again.

"Strange. Mages draw power from positive spiritual energy by default. Resentful spirits usually don't affect those who won't act upon their will. Of course, unless there was a curse."

Zhou Xin was surprised by Shin Minji's deduction.

That statement should have stricken the sect leader somehow, but he didn't react at all, much less give a response.

Shin Minji continued, "Then again, a curse from a single soul would be too little of a threat for a great sect such as yours. It shouldn't even cause any significant trouble, yet the Tan Clan are limiting magic activities in the residence. I can understand closing off from visitors, but even the academy had gone inactive."

Zhou Xin realized that it did sound weird for outsiders who wouldn't know the details of this matter.

Normally, if mages fell ill because of magic, then they would be advised to keep drawing spiritual energy daily but in smaller concentrations. The routine would build their resistance and magic stamina.

Shin Minji still had more to say.

"I find it odd that everything seemed to shut down just because some students had gotten sick. I respect that the Tan Academy puts the health and safety of their disciples first, but I'm not sure that is all there is that prompted these strict precautions. An occurrence must have happened that had taken a toll on the sect."

At that moment, Shin Minji stopped abruptly which caught Zhou Xin by surprise as she halted as well.

Shin Minji asked firmly.

"A life was taken because of this matter, hasn't it?"

The sect leader stopped walking and turned. His expression was calm.

"You are sharp, indeed." he said with a smile.