Chapter 4 — Nether Demon Metamorphosis, Deer Hide Veils the Change

Drawing Art to such a degree; this surpassed every common understanding of the art. "Shen Mu, today you will learn dressmaking with Granny. No fist practice." Granny Zhu called him over. This hunchbacked old lady carried a small basket filled with needles and bit of thread, and she pattered out on her tiny bound feet. Shen Mu hurried after her, taking the basket from her hands, and asked doubtfully, "Granny, shouldn't dressmaking be done in the village? Why are we going outside?" "Today we are going outside the village to learn dressmaking—real dressmaking." Granny Zhu chuckled. "These days, Lame Weng and the others have taught you many true skills. Granny must not be stingy either. Today I will teach you what a tailor is truly best at." What was a tailor truly best at? Was it not still just making clothes? Bemused, Shen Mu followed Granny Zhu out of the village and walked along the river downstream. Though Granny Zhu was hunchbacked, her steps were very quick. Shen Mu had to use all the legwork Lame Weng had taught him, running at full speed, just to keep up. After more than ten li, they reached the mountain foothills. Ahead, in the woods, a herd of elk grazed and played about two hundred paces away. Granny Zhu pulled an embroidery needle from the tangle of thread in her basket, flicked it with a finger, and the silver needle flashed and vanished. In the next instant Shen Mu saw an elk more than two hundred paces off topple with a thud. The other elk, frightened, scattered in all directions. Granny Zhu pattered forward on her tiny feet, and Shen Mu followed. The elk lay on the ground but was still alive; a silver needle through the middle of its brow had pinned it fast. "Shen'er, watch carefully. This needle fixes its Heavenly Soul." Granny Zhu made Shen Mu memorize the position of the needle in the brow, then took another embroidery needle and pierced the elk's tailbone: "This needle fixes its Earthly Soul." She took yet another embroidery needle and pierced the elk's navel: "This needle fixes its Living Soul. With the Three Souls fixed, there remain the Seven Po. The first po is named Corpse Dog, and Corpse Dog is at the crown, on the top of the skull." She took another silver needle and pierced the elk's brow, saying, "The second po is named Hidden Arrow, and Hidden Arrow is at the brow wheel. Mind you, Hidden Arrow is easily confused with the Heavenly Soul. These two needles go to the same place, one deep and one shallow—do not mix them up." "The third po, Sparrow Yin, is at the Adam's apple. Feel your own Adam's apple—there is a triangular notch. That is where Sparrow Yin hides, and this needle fixes it." "The fourth po, Swallowing Thief, is at the heart pit, where the heart's apertures gather—right here." "The fifth po, No Poison, is at the navel. Mind you, do not confuse the Living Soul with No Poison." "The sixth po, Filth Expelling, is at the perineum, the place where impurities are discharged." "The seventh po, Stinking Lung, is in the lung chamber, the place of expelling the stale and drawing in the fresh." Having fixed the elk's Three Souls and Seven Po, Granny Zhu said, "This is the most crucial step before dressmaking: locking the souls, fixing the Three Souls and Seven Po. Shen'er, have you seen it all? If you have, let us begin making the garment." Shen Mu did not understand what this had to do with dressmaking, but he earnestly memorized every location and said, "I have noted them." Granny Zhu took a pair of shears from the basket, cut into the elk's mouth, and before long had peeled off the entire hide. Strange to say, though the hide had been stripped away, not a single drop of blood flowed. "The soul locking just now sealed all its blood, essence, qi, spirit, and souls into this deer hide. The deer is dead, but the hide is still alive. However, to truly refine it into a garment requires a few more techniques. Watch closely, Shen'er, and memorize where my fingers point!" Granny Zhu tossed the hide up, and as it fell from the air, the hunchbacked old lady's tiny feet moved in a blur, using her fingers as needles and tapping at the hide without cease. Shen Mu concentrated on memorizing. He watched Granny Zhu deliver three hundred and sixteen taps before the hide touched the ground—each in a different place, each sending primordial qi into the hide. By the time the hide landed, it stood there like a living elk, shaking its head and wagging its tail, with no trace at all that it was only a hide! Shen Mu was stunned. Granny Zhu suddenly chuckled, spread out the hide, and swept it over him, wrapping him inside. She laughed, "This is the kind of garment a tailor like us should make." Shen Mu felt the hide grow tighter and tighter, as if it had grown onto his body. It pressed him until he could not help dropping both hands to the ground. He actually felt that he had become an elk, and even felt that he had grown a short, tiny deer tail! Granny Zhu took a bright mirror from the basket and set it before him. Seeing himself in the mirror, Shen Mu found that he had truly become an elk! He wanted to speak, but from his mouth came only the bleating cry of a deer. "The Nether Demon Metamorphosis Art! A fine art! Who would have thought that in a savage, desolate place like the Ruins, remnants of the Heaven Demon and demon whelps would be here teaching such harmful tricks!"