A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 207 Mo Dou

Chapter 207 Mo Dou
luck……

So Fenwu has bad luck?
Ning Zhe thought about this question with a half-believing and half-doubting attitude. He met Lan Shiwen by chance. Although they had cooperated several times, they did not have any substantial friendship. This guy always wanted to get something for free by working for him.

Emotionally, Ning Zhe would rather think that Lan Shiwen was fooling him. After all, he was not related to him. Why would he risk offending Fen Wu and give him such precious information for free? – Revealing the rules and characteristics of an ascender to another ascender was a very, very, very offensive act.

But rationally, Ning Zhe knew that Lan Shiwen’s statement was most likely correct. The reason why Fen Wu wanted to hunt him was to obtain “Zhao You”, and the rule of Zhao You was luck.

“Assuming that the core rules of Fenwu do have the side effect of ‘bad luck’, it is easy to understand why he would want to be summoned to help him avoid misfortune and bring good luck.”

Ning Zhe pondered for a moment, then smiled meaningfully under his mask, and said to himself in the letter, “But, Fen Wu, this person who is believed to be about to reach the end of the road to advancement, is he really that simple?”

Just as Ning Zhe was thinking about the various points in Lan Shiwen’s words, there was a knock on the door of the airship cabin. Lan Shiwen said “come in”, and then a young man in a dark blue uniform opened the door and walked in.

“The Dyke family’s diplomats protested again, demanding an immediate meeting with Van Dyke to confirm his personal safety.”

Lan Shiwen nodded: “I understand.”

Edie Dyke, the military attaché of the United European States Embassy in Yunzhou, is from the same Dyke family as Van Dyke. They have received news that their family members have lost contact and have begun to put pressure on Yunzhou.

“Your advice is very useful to me. In return, I will help you out.” Ning Zhe said, and extended his hand to Lan Shiwen: “Let’s go, I will accompany you to meet the diplomat of the Dyke family.”

“Thank you very much.” Lan Shiwen immediately gave a confirming look to the uniformed man standing at the door, then turned to Ning Zhe and said, “What do you need us to prepare? Van Dyke’s body? Clothes? Or his empowerment props?”

He didn’t know the rules and principles behind Ning Zhe’s disguise as someone else, so he just asked tentatively.

“Bring all of what you said.” Ning Zhe said calmly, “The more the better.”

“Understood. I’ll arrange it right away.”

In fact, Ning Zhe didn’t need any corpses, clothes or props to disguise himself as someone else, but he was happy to pretend that he needed them, as if he couldn’t become someone else without them.

Lan Shiwen’s men quickly sorted out Van Dyke’s body and the ordination props and brought them up.

In modern society, titles of nobility are no longer valuable. Some small countries that rely on tourism have even launched packages of nobility at different prices and levels for tourists. The titles are conferred personally by the country’s royal family. You can buy a baron for about 5,000 yuan, and the baron will also be given a certificate of nobility, which is convenient for posting on WeChat Moments.

But the situation is different for a powerful aristocrat like Van Dyke who has a family, fiefdoms, industries and connections. The value of his title of Marquis is much higher than that of the presidents of some small countries.

Van Dyke has a lot of empowerment props, and there are 4 in total, which are:
A straw man made of wheat stalks, a sterling silver pen, a wooden inkwell, and a blank paper ticket.

“The straw man pen is fine, but this ink fountain doesn’t look like something foreigners use.” Ning Zhe picked up the ink fountain on the table and looked at Lan Shiwen: “Where did you get it from?”

Ink fountain, also known as ink line, originated in China. It is a professional tool used by ancient carpenters and architects. Since most houses in ancient times were made of civil structures, these two professions can actually be regarded as one.

The purpose of the ink fountain is also very clear – two characters are used to draw a line, and three characters are used to draw a straight line. When a carpenter cuts wood, he will first use the ink fountain to draw a straight reference line on the wood. Construction workers will also use the ink fountain to draw a straight line perpendicular to the ground on the wall. Masons and bricklayers cannot do without this simple and practical tool. The ink fountain invented in ancient times is still widely used in the construction and woodworking industries.

But as an empowering item, what would its use be?
“This is something from the Lou family.” Lan Shiwen said, “After the Millennium Massacre, a few remnants of the Lou family in Qinzhou fled abroad and were privately sheltered by the United States of Europe. The ghosts and empowering props they brought abroad were used to exchange for shelter.”

“I see.” Ning Zhe weighed the inkstone in his hand and asked, “I guess these foreigners took in more than one Lou family.”

“You guessed right.” Lan Shiwen did not deny: “This time the Dyke family sent people to pick up the Liu family’s escapees for the same purpose.”

Lan Shiwen waved his hand, signaling his men to leave the room. After closing the door, he continued:
“I don’t have any information about the other items of empowerment, but I do know the specific use of the Lou family’s inkwell. It can be explained in two words – division.”

“I’d like to hear the details.” Ning Zhe said immediately.

“It’s a bit difficult to explain, so I’ll just show you.”

Lan Shiwen took the inkstone from Ning Zhe and placed it on the table.

——The ink fountain consists of four parts: the ‘ink tank’ that stores ink, the ‘line wheel’ that winds the ink line, the ‘ink stick’ used to press the line, and the ‘ink line’ that is soaked in the ink tank and absorbed with ink for drawing.

Lan Shiwen placed a piece of white paper on the table, drew an ink line from the ink fountain, drew it straight across the paper, flicked his finger, and whoosh, a straight black line appeared on the white paper.

Then he turned the line wheel to retract the ink line, pinched the white paper divided into two halves by the black straight line with two fingers, and with his other hand he took out a lighter from Van Dyke’s body.

Ding–

The flame ignited, and the tip of the flame passed over a corner of the paper. The jumping flame quickly expanded, and the white paper was burned by the high temperature of the flame, curling and turning yellow, and then burned to ashes.

Then, a strange scene happened. Although the jumping flames were fierce, all the changes that took place on the paper from the ignition to the rise and fall to the extinction of the flames did not cross the insurmountable line.

With the straight ink line as the dividing line, half of the paper was burned into fragile ashes by the fire, and the other half remained pure white. The scorching flames did not leave any traces on the other half of the paper.

This is the rule of Lou family inkstone – division.

“Once divided by the ink line, the two sides of the ink line can no longer be considered the same piece of paper.”

Lan Shiwen said quietly, “It’s the same with people.”

This is a rule that can kill.

(End of this chapter)