Chapter 197: Longevity Locket
With Yan Ping’s help, Anji modified the design of her new device. Instead of borrowing heavy bells, her teacher found some small trinket bells made from silver. They wove the spells into the new trinket instead of the bells. Anji could even wear the new device on her waist because it was pretty and light.
When the senior researchers told Anji that their sect master was the best researcher to ever exist, second only to the sect’s founder, Anji often wondered what they meant. For two days, she accompanied Yan Ping through the remodelling process and witnessed firsthand what the top researcher of their time could do.
"Try it," Yan Ping told Anji after making the final adjustments to the silver bell trinket. "It should self-regulate and calibrate each time you refuel it with qi."
Everything from the physical structure to the underlying concepts had been changed. Yet, Anji thought her teacher had somewhat managed to capture the true essence of her original idea better than anything she could think of. It was both familiar and unfamiliar to the child.
Charging the trinket with qi, Anji watched as the silver bells vibrated lightly without making any sounds. Like the previous design, there were seven bells. However, they were no longer attached to a bulky frame. Instead, they were attached to a Longevity Lock commonly given to children. It also had a long tassel ribbon that made it attachable to many things, like a sword, in her hair or as an ornament on her waist sash. The round silver bells and elegant design suited the ancient and mysterious but graceful reputation that the Mystical Qilin Sect had. Anji never knew her teacher was talented with handicrafts until she helped Anji with her design.
Although it was unconventional for Longevity Lockets to have seven bells, Anji loved it. Normal amulets were crafted with five bells because people believed in the Five Fortunes, aligned with the Five Elements. According to her knowledgeable shifu, the Longevity Lockets were a custom of the people of the North. The nomads from Gu Ying’s birth land often handcraft them for children, and they would be worn until marriage.
"I didn’t think I should add that many tassel ribbons. The traditional Longevity Lock adds a ribbon each year until the child is twelve, when they would be considered a young adult capable of horse riding and accompanying adults for hunting, sheep rearing, weaving and caring for the children."
Anji smiled as the amulet vibrated lightly and went into a low humming mode that only she could feel. Unlike the previous mechanism, the locket would only respond to a sustained and stable flow of energy from Anji, unaffected by external fluctuation, but it will vibrate when it syncs with the environment. This harmonisation was an advanced calibration that Yan Ping claimed only two other senior researchers could do in the entire Mystical Qilin Sect. Anji did not feel as bad for failing after hearing how difficult it was. Instead, she wondered if it was possible to learn how Yan Ping calculated the sensitivity and matched it to the environment. Her shifu thought about everything from Anji’s growth and self-calibration, so the amulet would last for as long as it did not break. It was a very versatile tool.
Cheating a little to test if the silver trinket truly worked, Anji activated her Heavenly Eyes and tried to identify the colour of the energy surrounding them. With her shifu’s overwhelming presence, most of the energy’s purity around her was white and purple. White was the harmonisation of all natural energy, so Anji ignored it and reached within her to the sixth note.
From trial and error, Anji learned that the easiest way to sync with nature was to bring up specific emotions. Emotions, when strong enough, could affect the flow of energy naturally. Purple energy was related to the emotion of deep thoughts or wonder. Her shifu was a deep thinker. Like still water, she barely showed anything on the surface. However, Anji was starting to understand her little by little with more time spent together.
After a few minutes of focus, Anji finally found the harmony she had been seeking. The silver amulet shook a little at her waist, but only the sixth bell made a sound. The other bells moved, but there was not a single peep from them.
"It’s working well," Yan Ping acknowledged, breaking Anji’s concentration. "Each bell has a unique tone. You’ll get used to it more when you learn to activate them individually. Until you’ve successfully harmonised, the noise-cancelling spell embedded in each bell will not deactivate."
It was something Anji questioned silently before hearing the explanation. She had only seen her teacher embedding the silver locket with spells, but not the bells. Knowing that these silver bells were tampered with and specially crafted to produce different sounds that matched what she was meant to familiarise herself with, Anji finally got a clearer picture of how it was created.
Although she now understood the parts of the puzzle, Anji’s mind automatically zoned out when she tried to put the pieces together. It was truly complex, and Anji finally understood why Yan Ping was hailed the best researcher in the Mystical Qilin Sect. Her shifu was a walking example of what perfection looked like, and Anji’s admiration for Yan Ping increased exponentially.
Although Yan Ping could not see Anji wearing something that she crafted, the knowledge brought her joy. Many people have gifted Anji with different things. However, Yan Ping wanted to gift Anji something that would not only capture her essence but also be useful and protect her. Maybe it was a wilful thing to do. However, Yan Ping deliberately created a Longevity Locket for her disciple with a small hope that she would be protected for as long as possible. If it were up to her, she would add a hundred tassel ribbons in advance to guarantee Anji a full life. However, practicality screamed at her, so she only added one. Superstition was a dangerous thing, and as the leader of a sect that prioritised logic over rumours, Yan Ping decided to follow her head instead of her impulses.
"Seeing how easily you could activate one note, this should assist you with the rest of your familiarisation with the Seven Sound Mantra. Once you can activate each bell flawlessly, you should try channelling your energy to incorporate different combinations. The Seven Mantra book has more details about the different combinations you could use. However, you cannot go past five sounds at once without qi deviation."
Nodding seriously, Anji promised not to practice unorthodox arts. The Seven Sound Mantra was a double-edged sword. It would be unfilial of her to stray down the wrong path and have her shifu end her life with a sword.
"Yes, shifu! Thank you for the silver locket, I love it!"
Holding back a smile, Yan Ping nodded stiffly and told Anji to put that aside. She had something else more important to teach Anji before she was permitted to go into isolation training to master the Seven Sound Mantra.