"It’s done. That kid won’t be able to get out of bed for at least two months. By then, when you go to learn, there won’t be anyone to bother you," said Fox Fairy Nannan, her voice filled with pride. This sort of thing was her favorite, and she was extremely skilled at it.
Zhang Chen nodded in satisfaction, signaling Fox Fairy Nannan to use the Illusion Technique to conceal him, and then transformed into a bat and left the place.
As for Chen Sanliang, Zhang Chen, respecting his master’s face, really couldn’t do anything about him. He could break Chen Sanliang’s leg, but then wouldn’t his master have to take care of him? Wouldn’t it be a bother to his master?
Zhang Chen returned to the Daoist Temple. By now, the sky had darkened, and as he made his way to the loft, he saw Xiaodouding practicing his martial arts earnestly.
Seeing Zhang Chen return, Xiaodouding said irritably, "Zhang Chen, where did you go this afternoon? Why haven’t you been around all day?"
Zhang Chen didn’t answer Xiaodouding’s question. Instead, he took out two paper packages from his sleeve and handed them to Xiaodouding, containing roast meat and candied fruit.
Xiaodouding’s eyes lit up immediately. He ignored Zhang Chen and sat in front of a nearby stool to feast.
At this moment, Zhang Chen took out a wooden basin filled with fine sand, then moved it into the room and used a stick to draw Ghost Runes in the sand.
He wanted to delve into the uses of those talismans, as they seemed quite mystical; otherwise, they wouldn’t have drawn the attention of the Ancient Divine People.
As Xiaodouding ate the roast meat, he watched Zhang Chen move the stick around in the wooden basin and curiously asked, "What are you drawing?"
"I think you can learn to read," Zhang Chen said, halting his talisman drawing. The two talismans were exceedingly complex, so complex it was to an extreme. Their lines crisscrossed, requiring one to identify their pattern to draw them in one go. He needed to calm down and quietly find the pattern alone, but with Xiaodouding nearby, it hindered his research efficiency. It might be better to find an excuse to give Xiaodouding something to do!
Ever since Zhang Chen entered the right path of cultivation and gained a deep understanding of the Dao of the Qi Cultivator, he didn’t think the Observatory Master’s idea of not letting Xiaodouding learn to read was correct.
He didn’t believe literacy would affect Nourishing the Spirit, thinking the Observatory Master’s previous words were nonsense, merely fooling those who didn’t understand.
"But the Observatory Master won’t let me learn to read," Xiaodouding looked at Zhang Chen, her meat-eating paused.
Chengyu heard this and seemed torn, "But master said reading would hinder cultivation."
"Who do you believe, me or him? If you believe me, I’ll secretly teach you to read. If you believe the Observatory Master, then just pretend I didn’t say anything," Zhang Chen said.
He suspected the Observatory Master might not be literate either, as the Observatory Master hardly looked like nobility.
Being illiterate and ignorant made it easier to deceive people.
"I think what the Observatory Master says isn’t necessarily right! Anyway, I am literate. If you want to learn words, come ask me," Zhang Chen said to Xiaodouding. He couldn’t force Xiaodouding to learn to read; he could only offer to teach her all he knew without reservation when she wished to learn.
Xiaodouding, gnawing on meat jerky, found herself in a dilemma, her eyes fixed eagerly on Zhang Chen. Finally, she placed the jerky on the table and looked earnestly at Zhang Chen, "Senior brother, I want to learn to read!"
Zhang Chen found Xiaodouding’s change in attitude strange. Wasn’t she hesitant before, refusing to learn to read because the master forbade it?
"Since you’re letting me learn to read, I’ll trust your words. You’re the best person to me in the world. If I don’t trust you, who else can I trust?" Xiaodouding said, blinking her eyes.
Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding and joked, "I’m the best to you? What about the Observatory Master?"
Xiaodouding scratched her head, "I don’t know, just feels a bit off."
Zhang Chen laughed upon hearing this, put down the stick, and said to Xiaodouding, "I have a simple way to teach literacy. If you can grasp it, reading and writing will be much easier."
Zhang Chen picked up Xiaodouding and began teaching her to read pinyin.
However, Xiaodouding’s talent indeed astonished Zhang Chen; he finally understood how his master felt seven days after he learned to read.
Xiaodouding was even more remarkable; he only taught her twice, and she had already memorized everything.
Then Zhang Chen taught Xiaodouding the technique of combining pinyin, and she directly hugged the pinyin book annotated by Han Suzhen and ran to practice alone under the lamplight.
"Is this photographic memory? For Xiaodouding to master Huajin at such a young age, I really underestimated her talent. Indeed, someone who can directly witness the supernatural, this little girl isn’t normal," Zhang Chen scratched his head. He knew himself well; his so-called genius was fake, but Xiaodouding’s genius was real.
As Xiaodouding read under the lamplight, Zhang Chen continued pondering the talisman drawing in the sand basin. He somewhat understood certain key aspects of talisman drawing, such as the need for the talisman to be drawn in one stroke with no interruptions.
There’s a saying in talisman drawing, "Drawing a talisman without understanding the technique makes the spirits laugh. Drawing a talisman with knowledge of the technique astounds the spirits."
The key to talisman drawing is the order of strokes, which determines the talisman’s effectiveness and whether it can be successfully drawn; it’s the key to success.
Zhang Chen, without a teacher, must rely on the trial and error of drawing stroke by stroke to explore and experiment. Fortunately, his mind is now exceptionally sharp, clear as the bright moon in the sky, and contemplating the stroke order of the talismans isn’t without leads.