Rebirth of a Portable Space: Transforming My Hometown

Chapter 45 Dragon Shadow Paper

Just as Xu Jun was engaged in a battle of wits with his mother, Yufei was summoned into the space by Qiuju.

It turns out that the sandalwood bark, which had been soaking in the space for a year, was now ready.

The final few steps are also the most crucial.

Qiuju and Yufei selected and shredded the dried, whitish sandalwood bark and the straw obtained through the same process.

Next, crush the prepared star fruit vines and filter out the star fruit juice.

Mix them together, pour them into water, stir well, and finally use papermaking molds to form paper.

The four of them worked all day just making paper, and it wasn't until late at night that they started compacting and draining the water.

The final step was drying the paper. They laid the paper, which had been pressed overnight, on upright wooden boards and left it to dry in the open space for a day.

The paper was finally formed. I don't know if it was made with water from the space, or with materials like sandalwood bark and straw from the space.

At Aunt Qiuju's prompting, Yufei held the finished Xuan paper up to the light and discovered that there was a faint dragon shadow flowing within the paper.

Aunt Qiuju said that this was the Dragon Shadow Paper that the owner of the space sold in their time.

In the Yan Dynasty, such paper was worth a fortune and extremely rare. At that time, many scholars and literati were proud to own a single sheet of such paper.

As she spoke, Qiuju exuded pride, then added, "It's a pity that the other side of the mountain hasn't been upgraded yet, otherwise we could have found a better stone there to make an inkstone."

Qiu Ju paused for a moment as if she had thought of something else, and then said...

"Fine, even if it's upgraded, we still can't make it. Your skills aren't good enough, the pen lacks raw materials, and we can't make it either. The ink... we'll have to wait for the upgrade. Oh well, Xiaoyufei."

"Let's use what the previous owner left behind for now and practice. We'll make brushes, inkstones, and ink after the space is upgraded."

Yufei nodded, somewhat confused, and did whatever her master told her to do.

"From today onwards, we will learn the Plum Blossom Seal script, which is like plum blossoms of different shapes blooming on paper. I believe you will like it."

As she spoke, Aunt Qiuju took out Dragon Shadow Paper, Phoenix Breath Inkstone, Spirit Turtle Ink, and Wukong Brush.

Aunt Qiuju also introduced the Four Treasures of the Study.

Dragon Shadow Paper needs little introduction; Yufei has already experienced it for herself.

The Phoenix Breath Inkstone resembles a phoenix perched by a pond. Then, Aunt Qiuju brought over a cup of hot water and poured it into the inkstone.

Then I saw the inkstone slowly transform into a shimmering red, which quickly spread throughout the entire inkstone. The inkstone itself seemed to awaken like a phoenix, which had been resting and was now flapping its wings, ready to take flight.

"So beautiful~" Yufei stared at Feng Xiyan, completely mesmerized.

She also understood the fascination that ancient literati had for the finest writing implements.

Anyone would be confused by this, Qiuju seemed to have gotten used to Yufei's infatuation with Fengxiyan.

He calmly poured the water out of the Phoenix Breath Inkstone.

"Little Yufei, please note that not all inkstones can be washed with hot water. Only a few of our Phoenix Breath inkstones can withstand such high temperatures. Other inkstones are best washed with warm or cold water," Aunt Qiuju added, worried that Yufei might wash other inkstones with hot water.

Then Qiuju took out the Spirit Turtle Ink, breathed on the inkstone of the Xifeng Inkstone, and then gracefully ground the ink. The Spirit Turtle Ink was entirely bluish-white, like fine marble.

The resulting paste was fine and viscous, the black ink even containing silvery-white specks.

As Qiu Ju continued grinding the inkstone, a faint white mist rose from it.

A unique fragrance of cold plum blossoms wafted out, fresh, elegant, and with a touch of aloofness.

Yufei said it smelled wonderful, but Qiuju showed no sign of stopping and continued grinding.

The white mist grew thicker and thicker, enveloping the entire Phoenix Breath Inkstone. In this mist, the Phoenix Breath Inkstone resembled a giant tortoise swallowing clouds and spitting out fog.

Yufei thought this must be the origin of the Spirit Turtle Ink.

Qiuju gestured for Yufei to look into the ink, and Yufei was surprised to see a silver phoenix playing in the ink.

"Wow~" Yufei exclaimed in surprise.

Qiuju picked up one of the brushes from the brush rack and told Yufei that this was the Wukong Brush.

Yufei asked Aunt Qiuju why the pen was called the Wukong Pen. Qiuju didn't answer her immediately, but instead asked Yufei a question in return.

"Little Yufei, do you know about Wukong's hairs?"

"I know! Especially the three hairs Guanyin gave it, which can summon many of its little Wukongs," Yufei replied, recalling the animated version of Journey to the West she had seen in her previous life.

"The origin of the Wukong Brush is based on this, but it's not as magical as Wukong's hair; its only advantage is its ingenious design."

Qiuju dipped the brush in ink and then wrote many different characters on the dragon shadow paper.

Aunt Qiuju told her that the characters here would normally require several different pens to complete, but because of the craftsmanship and materials of the Wukong Pen...

It can complete all fonts and drawings with a single pen.

Qiuju told Yufei, and then took out another piece of dragon shadow paper.

"Yufei! Look at your Aunt Qiuju's plum blossom seal script!" (After saying this...)

Yufei saw that Aunt Qiuju's brushstrokes were beautiful, flowing and powerful, completed in one go.

A plum blossom seal script was completed. Yufei observed that from afar it resembled a flower, but up close it revealed characters. The characters were within the flower, and the flower was hidden within the characters; the flower and the characters were integrated into one.

Yufei was surprised that Aunt Qiuju, who was so frail, could write such powerful and vigorous characters.

Of course, the calligraphy is not only vigorous and profound but also simple and elegant. The blooming plum blossoms and the aloof fragrance emanating from the Linggui ink complement each other perfectly, creating a harmonious whole.

"Auntie~ Can I learn this?" Yufei was thrilled when she saw the beautiful handwriting, like a painting. She wanted to be able to write such beautiful characters someday.

“That’s right~ and the fragrance of this calligraphy won’t dissipate for twenty or thirty years. Just looking at it makes you feel like plum blossoms are blooming.” Qiuju gave Yufei a definite answer, and then explained the fragrance.

Seeing Aunt Qiuju's plum blossom seal script demonstration filled Yufei with enthusiasm for her calligraphy studies over the next few days.

What excited her even more was that, in addition to learning calligraphy, Aunt Qiuju was also teaching her painting.

But this painting… Qiuju stared at Yufei’s yellowish-brown mountain painting and fell silent.

It’s really a long way to go!

Qiu Ju has suffered an unprecedented blow these past few days, and she's even starting to doubt her own teaching abilities.

Looking at Yufei, who was staring at her with innocent, big eyes, she told herself...

Don't be angry, don't be angry, she's only 5 years old!

But every time Yufei handed in her homework, she couldn't help but wonder, what is this drawing?

Yufei told her it was a chicken, and yes, this chicken looked really unique.

And this unidentified plant that's hard to tell if it's sugarcane or bamboo.

Qiuju felt a deep sense of powerlessness. She waved to Yufei, indicating that she shouldn't contact her for the next few days, as she would be quite busy.

Then he went back to his room and became withdrawn.

However, Yufei hasn't had time to bother Qiuju lately.