He stopped fluffing and turned towards me, his face thoughtfully serious. "No," He started, "But there are some rules. Have a seat." He patted the bed next to him.
"There are ten… let's say commandments." He held both hands up and began ticking down the fingers. "Firstly, you shall never make money off of the amulets. You can receive a small amount of reimbursement only. Second, you cannot hesitate. If you start an amulet, you must complete it. Third, you must concentrate throughout the process, no daydreaming. Fourth, you must not use this skill for personal gain. Fifth, you shall not rise above your station. This is a gift from the Gods. Sixth, you shall not kill the innocent. Seventh, you shall not drink wine. Eighth, you shall not be wasteful. Ninth, you shall not abuse those weaker than yourself. Tenth, you shall not casually choose apprentices. This is an otherworldly gift and you must keep God's secret."
"Xiao Yong," He said, all ten fingers now folded down. "You were chosen by Liu Chunan, which means you are skilled at a good many things. But you are young. You hesitate when challenged. You cannot hesitate when making these amulets. I will teach you this skill as instructed by your master, but you have to promise me that you won't pass it along. Promise in the name of Triple purity.
"I promise…In the name of Triple Purity." I nodded eagerly.
"Very well." Master Ge continued, "Following the commandments are the eight warnings." He raised his fingers again.
"First, you must avoid the companionship of a woman. Second, you mustn't succumb to lustful feelings. The amulets are only to be used for pure actions. Third, you may only craft the amulets when you are of sound mind. Don't even try if you are sick, tired, or drunk. Fourth, if you do marry, you may not craft them on your honeymoon. Fifth, you may not use them if you are rich. If fortune favors you with coin, you would be challenging the Gods by crafting more. Sixth, you shall avoid indifference. Seventh, you mustn't craft the amulets for unseemly men. Eighth, you cannot use the amulets for heightened status. If fortune favors you with a powerful standing, you must be very careful."
He looked at me with an absurdly serious gaze. "When you can recite those back to me, I'll teach you what I know."
"What?" I said, shocked. I ticked my fingers up to ten and then looked back at him. He nodded.
"Go now. You need practice and I need rest. If you can recite them back to me tomorrow after school, we will begin."
I lay in bed that night stumbling over the eighteen statutes, counting on my fingers and toes until sleep took me.
I was still recounting the commandments and warnings as I walked to school the next day. Zhao Jie and Shang Haoming were waiting outside the schoolyard when I arrived. Shang Haoming said something and Zhao Jie laughed. I was too busy to notice.
When we walked into the building we were greeted by a spattering of whispers and sneaked glances. "What's with everyone?" Zhao Jie asked.
"They heard about your little ghost trip over the weekend!" Ku Tou said, marching up with a wicked grin on his face. "You guys are like real life exorcists now! Famous and freaky!" He gave Shang Haoming a shove that was returned twice as hard.
"Whatever." I said, walking to class and reciting the commandments in my head with each step.
After school, I rushed back to the house to find Master Ge. "Can we begin?" I asked and stumbled through the eighteen statutes almost perfectly.
"Not yet. Practice your Da Hong fist and finish your homework first." He said.
"But-" I started. He cut me off with a wave of his hand.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, lad. Besides, I have to rest. I haven't gathered enough supernatural air yet." He turned and went into the spare room. I made myself take a deep breath and follow instructions.
"Okay!" I called after him, "I'll come get you when I've finished my things!"
The rest of the week passed far too slowly. Each day after school Master Ge would say the same thing. Homework first, training first, I need to rest first. When Saturday morning came I didn't have the patience to let the old man sleep in.
I woke him up by bounding in the room and drawing back the curtains. "I don't have any homework and I've already done my training for the day! Will you teach me now?"
He blinked sleep out of his eyes and looked at me like I was something unnatural, then he smiled. "Yes. I suppose it is time." He rolled into a seated position. "Go gather the yellow paper and ink stone that Master Liu left. And give me a moment to wake up." He yawned. I dashed out of the room and found Master Liu's old bag at the bottom of my closet.
I dashed back in with the items in my hand. Master Ge shook his head with a forlorn smile. "The tools alone are useless to you in this condition." He said, "We have to prepare first."
"Prepare?"
It turns out that preparing to make enchanted amulets consisted of taking a bath. I couldn't quell the boiling impatience as we went about heating the water. "Do we really have to bathe?"
"This is divine work, boy. We have to clear away any impurities before beginning anew." He pulled a powder out of his pocket and sprinkled it into the bath water.
"Strip down, get in." He instructed.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the powder now sitting atop the water.
"Poison." He said. I looked at him in horror and he started laughing. "Sorry, no time for jokes, eh? It's a rare herb that will help draw the evil air from you."
I climbed into the water, feeling the heat as it overtook me.
"You won't have to bathe every time you want to craft the amulets. Most Taoists are clean. The evil air can't reside in their bodies. But this is your first time, with a little bit of experience you'll be able to judge your air and decide whether it's pure enough to begin."
I nodded and started to scrub myself in the water.
An hour later I was warm, dry, and soft as a newborn babe. "I feel amazing!" I told Master Ge.
"I don't doubt it. Look how much dirt we got off of you!" He gestured to the bath water, which was now a very deep gray color.
A hot flash of shame filled my cheeks. "It's been a while." I told him in a low voice, hoping my mom wouldn't hear.
The next step was drawing. "Now, you won't be making a real one right off the bat, but here is the pattern for the soul binding amulet. Trace it. Feel it. Know it." He said.
I did so, tracing the pattern again and again until it was engrained in my hand muscles.
"When you're making one for real, you'll need to rinse your mouth, pray, and make a handprint on the base paper. Then you'll need to say the incense incantation, clean mouth incantation, clean body incantation, clean sky incantation, and clean land incantation. After that is the conjuration footwork to gather the supernatural air." I gaped at him, trying to remember every word.
"After that comes the golden light incantation, godly invitation incantation, and retrieval incantation. Is that clear?" He asked.
I closed my mouth and nodded, unsure of how I'd ever remember all of this.
"And that's it. Follow these steps and your paper amulets are done." I continued to stare blankly.
"I think the most difficult part for you will be the lack of supernatural air. Masters, like myself, can use their own, but you'll have to invite that spirit you spoke of. Which means you'll need to use the stable incantation as well. If your supernatural air isn't stable enough to enter into the amulets, then all of your efforts will be in vain."
"Should I be writing this down?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow at me and continued.
"The final step is sending away the spirit you're using for supernatural air. If you invite it, you must also send it back to end the ritual."
"You don't have to do that." I said, connecting the dots.
"No. As a master I can use my own air for the job. My master before me was able to match his soul and heart together in this work. With his abilities, he could compose an amulet of water using only his own power."
"Whoa!" I said, "He must be amazing! Where is he?"
"He died many years ago." Master Ge said.
"Oh," I said, feeling guilty. "Sorry."
"Let's begin." He told me.
I spent the day and the whole next week memorizing the various incantations required. In theory, I could have finished eight amulets in one day if I worked non-stop and skipped meals. Still though, I thought I could do it.
I practiced and recounted the incantations over and over again, seeking out Master Ge with questions time and time again. By the following Saturday I had most of the process memorized and had begun begging Master Ge to stay around longer to teach me more.
"In time." He said. "Now, the soul binding amulet has a very specific pattern to it. Yours still needs work. Do as I do and don't hesitate!" He traced the pattern onto the paper between us. I followed his hand movements with my own. After tracing it with my finger several times, I took out my own paper and writing brush.
My first attempt was less than perfect.
"No, no, no!" Master Ge said, shaking his head. "Like this." He folded his old hand around mine and moved the brush in the correct pattern.
The second attempt was no better. I practiced all day until an irate Master Ge began knocking me on the head with his writing brush each time I made a mistake. When the sun was long gone and we both started to yawn, he dismissed me.
"We'll continue tomorrow."
The next morning he made me take another bath, though this time without the powder. "Don't I need that to cleanse my air or whatever?" I asked him. He gave me a flat look.
"You're not my godson. I'm not going to waste all of my materials on you!"
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Mean old man!" He pushed me into the water.
After the bath I settled at the desk and began tracing the pattern again. I mumbled through the incantations, pausing between each to insure the correct order. After what seemed like ages, I held up a complete paper amulet.
"What do you think?" I asked him.
The old man's face folded. "You're wasting my paper and cinnabar. This amulet is useless!" He raised it in both hands and tore it in two.
"What was that for?" I yelled, heat rising in my face. "That was my first one! I wanted it!"
"You didn't invite your spirit! There's no supernatural air in this amulet! If you skip the first step then everything you craft will be useless!" He let the pieces of my work flutter to the ground.
"I said the incantation!" I told him.
"You must've done something wrong! Where is your spirit? Where is the god that flows through you?" His voice rolled through me, opening channels of anger.
"Maybe it's your stupid incantation! It's not the same as the one Master Liu taught me! Maybe yours is dumb and broken!" I yelled.
Master Ge opened his mouth and raised a finger, then closed it and put the finger over his lips in a shushing gesture. "Try the one Liu Chunan taught you." He said quietly.
I started to speak, but he cut in, "If it works, be sure to tell the spirit what you're using it for. And remember, you're using it. Don't let it use you."
I nodded, still angry at the man before me, but eager to tap into this new skill. I closed my eyes and recalled Master Liu's invitation incantation. I thought of the red spirit and readied myself.