Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: The Sarira

Liu Dong naturally knew who Shuyuan was, especially after he started learning micro-carving from Uncle Long. He was very familiar with this great micro-carver from the Ming Dynasty, who became widely known due to the essay "The Carved Boat" by the prose writer Wei Xueyi. Moreover, looking at the outstanding micro-carving skills on this sarira pagoda, it was indeed possible that it was crafted by Shuyuan.

Thinking about this, Liu Dong couldn't help but use his consciousness to look at the yellow gem floating in the middle of his mind space, and a wave of excitement rose in his heart. He thought, "Could this thing actually be able to authenticate antiques?"

However, at this moment, although Liu Dong was happy, the mysterious nature of the event made him, who had grown up under the materialistic education of the new era, feel somewhat uneasy.

However, when he soon shifted his gaze to the piece of yinshen wood he had placed on the table, ready to carve, the dense white light that emerged from it and the golden words "Golden-threaded Nanmu yinshen wood" that appeared on the gem in his mind space clearly confirmed his guess.

"This time, I really found a treasure!" Looking at the floating golden gem in the space, Liu Dong felt quite excited.

At this point, after experiencing initial surprise and panic, followed by hesitation and probing, and finally excitement and anticipation, Liu Dong had basically figured out the basic situation of the supernatural ability he had suddenly obtained.

First, it was the ability to see through objects. As long as it was within two meters of his line of sight, no matter what was in between, he could see clearly if he wanted to. Second, there was the hidden space in his mind, which he had named the "Jiezi Space," symbolizing the Buddhist concept of "a mustard seed containing a mountain." Although it was only one cubic meter in size, it could truly store any object no larger than one cubic meter without worrying about the weight affecting his head. Although it seemed to have limited use, it meant he didn't have to worry about thieves.

Third, the gem in the mind space had an authentication function. Although it had only been tested with the octagonal sarira pagoda and the yinshen wood, Liu Dong had basically confirmed its existence and reliability.

"However, where did this supernatural ability come from?" After calming down from the initial excitement of obtaining the ability, Liu Dong sat on the bed, rubbing his forehead, and wondered.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out how something that only happened in fantasy novels could happen to him. Of course, Liu Dong wasn't entirely without gains. From the gem in the Jiezi Space and the indentation on the golden lotus platform in the hidden space of the octagonal sarira pagoda, as well as the micro-carved Buddha patterns around the pagoda, he guessed that the yellow gem was likely the sacred relic "sarira" in Buddhism!

However, although "sarira" is left behind after the cremation of a truly great monk, there are many in modern times that are venerated, but no one has ever heard of anyone obtaining supernatural abilities from them.

"Ha, forget it, no point thinking about it. If it's a blessing, it's not a curse; if it's a curse, it can't be avoided. Besides, this is clearly a good thing!" Liu Dong, who had a headache from thinking too much and couldn't deduce the entire story, finally shook his head and put the matter aside for the moment.

"Knock, knock! Xiao Dong, it's late at night, why are you making such a fuss in there?" With a loud knock on the door, a woman's voice, full of anger and allure, suddenly came from outside.

Hearing this, Liu Dong jumped up from the bed as if he had been electrocuted, took a few big steps to the door, and opened it. He saw a beautiful woman in a red sheer nightgown, her figure curvaceous and alluring, and said with a guilty look, "Sorry, Sister Wang! I was just thinking and didn't notice. It won't happen again!"

Hearing his words, Wang Qiang reluctantly nodded, then frowned and looked behind Liu Dong, asking, "What were you doing in there? Why didn't you even turn on the light?"

"Turn on the light? I thought it was on...!" Before he could finish, Liu Dong suddenly stopped. He then realized he hadn't turned on the light, as he hadn't yet adapted to his new supernatural ability.

However, Liu Dong's face quickly turned red, and he swallowed hard. The impulse in his heart was stronger than ever, and his male features began to stir. This was because, when he subconsciously used his ability to look at Wang Qiang, he saw a woman with a perfect figure, completely naked, which naturally caused a rapid secretion of male hormones in Liu Dong, who had never experienced such a situation before.

"What are you looking at? Do you look at people like that?" Wang Qiang, who had been watching Liu Dong's expression, felt goosebumps all over her body as he stared at her. It was as if the clothes she was wearing had suddenly disappeared. Although she didn't know why she felt this way, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed and angry, and she loudly questioned him.

Hearing this, although Liu Dong was reluctant, he knew that if he continued to look, he might really lose control. After all, he was in the prime of his life, the time when men are most susceptible to the attraction of the opposite sex.

With a mental effort, he retracted his ability and couldn't help but glance at Wang Qiang's prominent chest, thinking, "So white and big, probably F-cup!" However, seeing the angry look on the woman in front of him, he quickly averted his gaze.

"Sister Wang, sorry! I haven't had dinner yet! I'll go back now! You should get some rest!" Without waiting for Wang Qiang to react, he quickly stepped back and slammed the door shut.

If there was anything that Liu Dong found most troublesome, it was women. In his twenty years of life, apart from his mother and sister, he had no experience dealing with other women, especially a beautiful woman like Wang Qiang, who made him feel both excited and troubled.

Regardless of what Liu Dong was thinking, Wang Qiang, standing outside the door, was still in a daze, looking at the closed door. It was the first time she had been treated like this by a man, and the situation was extremely rare for her.

"Damn, do I really disgust you that much?" Wang Qiang, touching her smooth, white face and confirming that she hadn't suddenly become ugly, gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Damn brat, just wait, I won't let you off so easily!" After giving the closed door a fierce look and mentally beating up Liu Dong, Wang Qiang turned and sat on the sofa, picked up the opened bag of chips, and started eating while watching "The Story of a Concubine II" on TV. From the way she was eating, it was clear she was treating the chips as the detestable Liu Dong.

However, Liu Dong, who was now fiddling with the yinshen wood, didn't know that his almost instinctive action of closing the door had successfully attracted Wang Qiang's resentment.

However, even if he knew, he wouldn't have cared at the moment, as his eyes were fixed on the piece of yinshen wood on the desk. He had also discovered that his supernatural ability could greatly enhance his wood-carving skills.

Because, whether it was wood carving, stone carving, or jade carving, the first step for the carver was to thoroughly understand the material, including its grain, texture, hardness, and color. Only by fully understanding the inside and outside could one "adapt to the material," and the design could be outstanding. This aspect often required a lot of carving experience, as only through extensive practice could one fully understand the characteristics of various materials.

In the past, this was Liu Dong's biggest weakness in carving, but now it was different. The透视 ability in his eyes allowed him to easily see all the fine details inside the piece of golden-threaded Nanmu yinshen wood, including the changes in the grain, as clearly as if he were examining the lines on his palm.