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Celestial and Demonic Chaos
墨書 Inktalez
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Clear Skies, the blazing sun radiates heat waves.
In the tranquil campus, clusters of Lilac stand by the wall, their purple flowers being the only refreshing sight.
"Ding ding ding..." A series of urgent bell rings broke the oppressive silence. Then, the doors of the teaching building opened, and groups of children cheered, like steam that had been building up for a long time, rushing eagerly outside.
Among these children, a calm-faced boy walked slowly. His clothes were worn out, but it did not diminish his mischievous yet handsome face.
The boy slung a backpack over his shoulder and freely shifted his gaze back and forth, looking here and there.
His name is Lingfeng, and he has just turned ten this year. He has no parents; more accurately, he does not know who his parents are. All his memories before the age of five are from the orphanage. At five years old, a middle-aged man adopted him.
The man who adopted him is named Azure Vine, a fortune teller with no legitimate profession; in common terms, he is a diviner. Although his income is meager, he has managed to support Lingfeng and his sister Ling Xueer’s tuition fees.
Today is Lingfeng's tenth birthday. There is no party, no friends' congratulations, no gifts—none of what a birthday should have. Whether today is truly Lingfeng's birthday or not, he does not know. He was abandoned at the door of the orphanage when his umbilical cord was still dripping with blood, so the director determined that day to be Lingfeng's birthday.
Lingfeng has never expected much for his birthday. To him, even a piece of cake feels like an indulgence. However, clever Lingfeng always finds ways to make himself happy—like playing pranks.
"Beggar Boy!" A deep voice called out from behind Lingfeng. Judging by the voice, its owner was not an adult; rather, its depth undoubtedly came from a plump figure.
Lingfeng smirked slightly in the shadows, casually turning around to look at the overweight man in front of him, who was significantly taller.
The man was the child of a wealthy merchant, his weight and height far exceeding what was typical for his age. His large belly was practically a replica of his father's. At that moment, he was covering his backside with his own coat, as if hiding something embarrassing. Behind him stood a few lackeys, grinning like thugs, their eyes filled with the sycophantic glint of followers.
"What do you want? I don't have time to waste on you guys," Lingfeng said lazily, shifting his gaze to the onlooking girls.
"You were the one who put glue on the chair, right? Admit it, and I'll let you stand out. If you deny it, I'll make sure you leave lying down!" The man issued a warning, his double chin making him resemble a pig destined for slaughter.
"Beggars Boy" was how the man referred to Lingfeng, seemingly his name. Lingfeng strongly opposed this label; although he looked like a beggar, he had never asked anyone for a dime. After enduring this for quite some time, Lingfeng decided to prepare a gift for himself on his birthday.
"I'm a beggar; how could I afford glue?" Lingfeng retorted nonchalantly.
The man pondered for a moment, seemingly conceding that Lingfeng had a point.
"Is that all? I’m leaving now!" Lingfeng said as he turned to head home.
"You know it's an unfounded accusation," the man insisted. "You're the only one in the whole class who could pull off something like this. I don't care where your Strong Adhesive came from; I just know you did it!" The man persisted, and in truth, his suspicion was correct.
Lingfeng sighed impatiently and mocked, "So you're saying it's my glue on the chair? Haha, I get it now! That Strong Adhesive kept you stuck to your seat, right? That's why the teacher cut a hole in your pants. But did you wear underwear? So your dirty backside ended up showing!"
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the crowd around them.
"What are you shouting about!" The man yelled angrily at the crowd, which instantly fell silent.
"So you're admitting it then? In that case, I won't hold back!" A fierce glint appeared in the man's eyes as the crowd instinctively took a step back.
"I won't hold back either!" A youthful voice called out from behind the man. Suddenly, a chill ran down his backside as his coat fluttered to the ground, revealing his exposed rear. Laughter and screams erupted from the crowd.
"Run!" Ling Xueer dashed out from the crowd, dropping her wooden stick and grabbing Lingfeng's hand as they fled together.
Ling Xueer, an eight-year-old girl with yellow hair, grew up in an orphanage alongside Lingfeng. She did not know her own name; the director gave her the name Ling Xueer because she was always inseparable from Lingfeng, resembling a pair of siblings. When Lingfeng was five years old, Azure Vine adopted her.
Ling Xueer had big eyes that made her face appear somewhat strange. In terms of personality, she and Lingfeng indeed had the potential to be siblings, as both enjoyed playing pranks. However, in terms of appearance, people would never consider them half-siblings because their looks were vastly different.
Lingfeng was handsome, exuding an undeniable charm and swagger. In contrast, Ling Xueer had rosy cheeks and was extremely thin, giving off an impression of malnutrition. Yet, her sharp eyes often made others instinctively wary of her.
"Brother, you were the one who made the glue, right?" After escaping from the chase of some bullies, Ling Xueer asked breathlessly.
Lingfeng casually kicked a stone at his feet into the air, which arced gracefully before landing far away. "Of course! You could guess that with your toes!" he replied nonchalantly, as if the once clear sky had suddenly become overcast.
Ling Xueer giggled a couple of times, walked up to Lingfeng, turned his head towards her, and tiptoed to give him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, brother!"
Lingfeng was taken aback for a moment but then nodded in satisfaction with a smile on his face. He had been waiting for that "happy birthday," but the added kiss was unexpected.
The two returned to their "home" in the alley and slammed the door shut.
"Brother, we're back!" they shouted in unison as they entered.
The person referred to as Brother was sitting at the table with a book titled "I Ching" in hand. His feet dangled off the table leg; one foot wore a black sock while the other was bare but equally dark—indeed, going without socks suited him better than wearing them. His hair was tousled; it was Azure Vine. Logically speaking, Lingfeng and Ling Xueer should at least call Azure Vine "uncle" or "foster father." However, Azure Vine only allowed them to call him Brother. This way, he appeared younger, and his age was difficult to guess.
From his appearance, Azure Vine looked to be in his twenties. His skin was smooth, with thick black eyebrows above his eyes and not a wrinkle in sight. Yet his deep and weathered gaze made him seem like a centenarian.
Upon hearing the siblings greet him, Azure Vine shifted his gaze from the book and glanced at them with an "oh."
Ling Xueer made a face at Lingfeng and ran to the kitchen to bring out a basin.
"Brother, come quickly!" she called as she placed the basin on the table.
Lingfeng had already caught a whiff of the aroma wafting from the basin. He set down his backpack and eagerly walked over to the table.
In the bowl were several chicken legs, glistening with oil and emitting a mouthwatering aroma.
"Brother, how come we're having chicken legs today?" Usually, Lingfeng could only dream of chicken legs.
"The business is pretty good today, and it's your birthday, so I bought a few chicken legs to satisfy the cravings of you two," Brother said, referring to his fortune-telling.
Lingfeng understood; it was rare for Brother to remember his birthday. He picked up a chicken leg and handed it to Azure Vine, grinning as he asked, "Brother, can you do a fortune-telling for me? Guess what I did today?"
Azure Vine put down his book and took the chicken leg from Lingfeng's hand. Hearing Lingfeng's question, he couldn't help but chuckle. "You really are mischievous to the core. Why did you have to mess with Strong Adhesive on someone else's chair? If you were going to do it, why take my Strong Adhesive? Do you know how expensive my Strong Adhesive is?" He wasn't scolding Lingfeng for playing pranks on others but was annoyed that Lingfeng had taken his Strong Adhesive.
Lingfeng was already used to it; Azure Vine always guessed his thoughts correctly. He teased back, "Brother, teach me fortune-telling! I want to learn too!"
In no time, Azure Vine's chicken leg was reduced to bones. Wiping his greasy mouth with his sleeve casually, he curiously asked, "Why do you want to learn fortune-telling?"
"So that I can know what the fat guy is up to and come up with new tricks to play on him!" Lingfeng replied without hesitation, pouting.
Azure Vine sighed and shook his head helplessly. "You still don't understand the true purpose of fortune-telling, so I can't teach you!" Azure Vine practiced fortune-telling on the street not only to earn a living but also to help people avert disasters.
"I don't get it!" Lingfeng quickly retorted. "I can protect my sister now!" Usually, Azure Vine taught Lingfeng some martial arts techniques, and now most kids his age were no match for him.
Azure Vine snorted disdainfully without even looking at Lingfeng. "Really? I remember it was Ling Xueer who saved you today!"
Lingfeng glanced at the shorter Ling Xueer and felt an inexplicable fondness. He replied, "Today Ling Xueer actually made things harder for me. If she hadn't shown up, I could have easily beaten those guys!"
Ling Xueer nodded in agreement and playfully winked at Lingfeng.
Azure Vine waved his sleeve and said helplessly, "Teaching you martial arts isn't meant for fighting; it's for strengthening your body. If you're only thinking about fighting in the future, then don't bother learning martial arts; just go out and be a thug instead!"
Lingfeng felt helpless and wanted to retreat back into the house.
"Wait a minute," Azure Vine hurriedly called out to Lingfeng, "there's something under the bed, take it out!"
"Oh," Lingfeng replied dully, crawling under the bed. As soon as he lifted the bedspread, a foul odor rushed at him, making him gag.
There wasn't much under the bed, just a laundry basin. Lingfeng endured the stench and pulled the basin out. Once outside, he finally saw that it was filled with Azure Vine's stinky socks.
"Brother, I have to wash your stinky socks again!" Lingfeng complained unhappily.
"What do you know? These socks have accumulated years of my essence; they are very beneficial for your health!"
Lingfeng didn't dare to retort, fearing that Azure Vine might use some strange method to punish him. So he looked pitifully at Ling Xueer.
Ling Xueer quickly grabbed a chicken leg from the basin and hurried away.
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