Chapter 44: Talismanic Instruments
"When you were having a contest of magic with Brother Ding just now, you both managed to fight using your own weapons. The power of the Bronze Money Sword and the Peach Wood Sword could easily break wood and destroy forests, are these supposed to be the rumored magical instruments?” Shen Luo asked as they walked along.
"What you’re referring to? It’s not a magical instrument,” Bai Xiaotian shook his head. While speaking, he pulled out the Bronze Money Sword from his sleeve and handed it over to Shen Luo.
Shen Luo did not stand on ceremony and took it, giving it a careful once-over.
This Bronze Money Sword was not more than two feet long and rather delicately made. It was made of ninety-nine slightly rusted ancient coins woven together with a red string.
These ancient coins all had the same design, with images of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals encircling a square hole on one side and the four characters for ‘long life and prosperity’ inscribed in regular script on the other. They were eighty-one rare pieces of ancient coins.
These coins were also minted by the government but were generally not used in commerce. They were often used for certain rituals such as the opening of a furnace, securing a treasury, and prayers for blessings. Their number was nowhere near as great as that of common coins. So, there is something mysterious about this red string?
Could it be that there’s something unusual about this red string holding the ancient coins together?
Curious, Shen Luo rubbed the red string with his fingers and sniffed it. He detected a faint smell of cinnabar but could not tell what material it was made from.
When Bai Xiaotian saw how fascinated he was, he couldn’t help but smile.