Divine Powers

"Ah, boss, how much do you sell this string of star and moon bodhi?" 

After leaving the stall, Fang Yi did not rush home but instead entered an antique shop near the market entrance that sold various cultural curiosities. He pointed to a slightly yellowed string of star and moon beads hanging on the wall. 

Fang Yi had previously told the chubby man that he was going home to find the string of star and moon beads from yesterday, but he was more aware than anyone that the string around his neck was indeed the one that Man Jun had produced yesterday. As for why it had transformed from a new string into an old one, that remained for Fang Yi to verify. 

However, before he could confirm anything, Fang Yi needed to purchase another string of star and moon beads to take home; otherwise, he would be unable to explain the situation. He couldn't claim that the beads were his master's while the string given by Man Jun simply vanished into thin air, could he? 

"That's five-year-old seed, authentic Hainan star and moon. If you want to buy it, it's twelve hundred…" The owner, who had been reading with his head down, glanced at Fang Yi and casually quoted a price. 

"Twelve hundred? That price seems a bit steep…" Fang Yi murmured to himself, then pointed at a string of vajra bodhi inside the glass cabinet and asked, "How much for this vajra bracelet?" 

"This string has twelve segments, about twenty-one in size, six hundred…" 

The owner didn't even lift his head this time. Those who engage in commerce are astute, particularly when it comes to discerning people's worth. From the clothes Fang Yi wore, the owner could tell that the young man standing outside the counter was not the type who had money to spare for curiosities. 

"Boss, for both strings, I can offer a thousand…" Fang Yi pulled out a stack of cash from his pocket and said, "This is all I have on me. I'm genuinely interested in buying, so are you willing to sell at this price?" 

Indeed, Fang Yi had only this much money, which was given to him by San Pao, who insisted that a grown man should carry some cash. Fang Yi had reluctantly put it in his pocket. 

"A thousand is a bit low, don't you think?" 

Finally putting down his book, the owner replied, "Young man, the price reflects the quality. Although my star and moon beads are priced a bit higher, they are indeed Hainan star and moon. This vajra bodhi also comes from Nepal. If you're looking for something cheaper, you can find star and moon beads from Vietnam for a hundred a string; why would you want to buy mine?" 

"Ha ha, boss, I'm offering a fair price…" 

Fang Yi chuckled and said, "Hainan seed star and moon beads are indeed more expensive, but your cost price surely doesn't exceed four hundred, right? This vajra is sold by weight, and with only twelve beads, it's worth maybe two hundred. If I give you a thousand, you still make a profit…" 

Fang Yi's afternoon of study was not in vain; Zhao Hongtao had not only taught him some basics about cultural curiosities but also shared insights into the market prices, which is why Fang Yi knew the current wholesale prices of various beads. 

"Ah, I see I've encountered an expert?" Upon hearing Fang Yi's words, the owner couldn't help but smile and said, "Alright, a thousand it is. Let's consider ourselves friends…" 

In the business of antiques, transactions are often made with familiar customers, who are usually players with some knowledge of the trade. Only such players can develop into regulars. If Fang Yi had not articulated that earlier, the antique shop owner might not have sold his goods for a thousand. 

"Boss, no need for packaging…" Seeing the shop owner prepare to put the vajra in a box, Fang Yi stopped him and directly wore the vajra bracelet on his wrist, while the star and moon beads hung inside his shirt. 

"Hmm? Young man, could you show me your star and moon beads?" In the summer, clothing is limited, and as Fang Yi donned the star and moon beads, the string around his neck was revealed. 

"Boss, let's discuss this another time; I have some matters to attend to…" Fang Yi was unwilling to reveal the string of beads and waved his hand, turning to leave. 

"Hey, don't run off! Show me your beads, and I'll knock a hundred off your price…" The owner shouted after Fang Yi's retreating figure. His keen eye had discerned that the beads Fang Yi wore were of exceptional quality. 

"This kid sure runs fast…" By the time the owner pushed open the counter to chase after him, Fang Yi had already vanished from sight, leaving the owner feeling a bit frustrated, as he hadn't even gotten a good look at Fang Yi's face. 

...

Upon returning to Man Jun's home, Fang Yi headed straight upstairs into his room and opened the wooden box left to him by his master. 

"This string of beads is indeed identical to the one passed down by my master…" As he took out a string of beads made from the same material, Fang Yi sensed the magical power contained within, which was strikingly similar to the string of star and moon beads around his neck. 

"Indeed, it's magical power; this too is a magical artifact…" 

He handled the beads passed down from his master one by one, even examining the three copper coins left behind, and he finally confirmed that these items were imbued with magical energy. 

However, Fang Yi was puzzled; these magical artifacts had been in his master's possession for decades, yet the string of beads around his neck, having only been played with for a night, contained just as much magical power. The mystery behind this eluded Fang Yi. 

"Could it be that during my meditation, I inadvertently imbued the items in my hand with magical energy?" Fang Yi removed the items from his neck and wrist and sat quietly on the bed, pondering. 

"Never mind; overthinking won't help. Let's try the vajra bracelet first…" After contemplating for a while and finding no answers, he decided to set aside his thoughts and reached for the newly acquired vajra bracelet. 

Both star and moon bodhi and vajra bodhi are seeds from trees; the star and moon bodhi tree is known as the red vine tree in Hainan, and the mountain-dwelling Miao people refer to it as the red vine fruit. The vajra bodhi is similar, but it is entirely covered in serrated edges, differing from the smooth star and moon. 

Cleaning the vajra bodhi is quite tedious; one must use a brush daily to remove the dust from the serrated edges. This is where the saying "rub star and moon, brush vajra" comes from. At this moment, as Fang Yi held the vajra, he felt a prickly sensation at his fingertips. 

However, having grown accustomed to chopping wood in the mountains since childhood, Fang Yi could almost ignore this sensation. He began to silently recite a Daoist scripture, continuously rubbing the vajra bodhi. Within less than an hour, Fang Yi's true energy had circulated through his body, and he recited an entire chapter of the Dao De Jing. 

"Is… is this truly the string of star and moon beads that my family imbued?" When Fang Yi awakened from his meditation, his first glance fell upon the vajra bodhi in his hand, and he was taken aback. 

Originally grayish-white and yellowed, with prickly edges, the vajra bodhi had undergone a dramatic transformation in less than an hour of handling by Fang Yi. If he hadn't known that the beads had never left his hand, he would have suspected they had been swapped out. 

The vajra bodhi now in Fang Yi's hand had become remarkably smooth, as if it had been polished for years by human hands. The color had shifted from grayish-white to a deep reddish-brown, and it faintly radiated a patina of age, appearing strikingly beautiful. 

What shocked Fang Yi even more was that he could also sense magical power within this vajra bodhi. This meant that what had once been an ordinary string of beads could now be considered a magical artifact. 

"This patina must have accumulated over at least seven or eight years, right?" 

As he played with the vajra bracelet, the prickly sensation had completely vanished. Now, Fang Yi's touch was incredibly smooth, and the sensation was hardly different from that of rubbing the smooth star and moon beads. 

The only flaw was that Fang Yi had not cleaned the vajra with a steel wire or bristle brush, and now, the accumulated patina contained many black deposits of dirt, significantly affecting the overall quality of the beads. 

Though the beads were not perfect, the remarkable transformation from new to nearly a decade's worth of wear and magical enhancement had undeniably occurred, and it had happened right in Fang Yi's hands. 

"What… what on earth is happening?" 

Fang Yi took a deep breath, set the vajra bodhi aside, and summoned a wisp of true energy from his dantian, beginning to circulate it again. He sought to uncover the root of this transformation within his true energy. 

"Compared to before entering the depths of the sea of consciousness, the changes in my true energy don't seem significant?" 

After about another hour, Fang Yi opened his eyes, filled with confusion. The meridians he had previously failed to unblock remained blocked, and in terms of both quality and quantity, he felt that his true energy had hardly changed at all. 

"It must be that some unknown events occurred once my consciousness entered the sea…" 

Fang Yi shook his head helplessly, attributing the cause to the anomalies experienced in the sea of consciousness. Throughout history, those who pursued the Dao had regarded the sea of consciousness as the most mysterious realm, and no one could clearly articulate what changes might occur once consciousness entered there. 

"The ancients did not deceive me; indeed, divine powers exist…" 

A glimmer of excitement appeared on Fang Yi's face. Those who cultivate the Dao naturally seek immortality and transcendence, yet such pursuits seem too illusory. Even after over a decade of cultivation, Fang Yi had remained somewhat skeptical. However, witnessing this unknown divine power manifesting within himself sparked a glimmer of hope for achieving the Dao. 

"Let's see if simply rubbing the beads without reciting scriptures will induce any changes…" 

Having confirmed that he seemed to possess a divine power, Fang Yi began to ponder again. Only through continuous experimentation could he discern the nature of the Daoist divine power he had grasped.