Richard couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
At that perfect moment, Old Big’s stomach let out a loud GROWL.
"See? Even my stomach agrees with me."
He reached out, drank half of the tea on the table, and cleared his throat.
"Alright, let’s not get sidetracked. Your progress with Wax Words this week has been excellent.
You’ve pretty much gotten the hang of the Wax Reading Technique, so it’s time I added something new for you."
After having Richard take out the bag of Talisman Stones he had brought home last time, Old Big took the pouch and emptied it onto the table.
Twenty-some small, flat, round stones scattered across the surface. Each was polished smooth, with a different symbol painted on it in red lacquer.
A hammer, a stalk of wheat, a crescent moon, a sword, a water drop, a flame, a cross...
"I mentioned this last week, right? This is the Stone Reading Technique."
Old Big picked up a stone painted with a hammer. "It’s the advanced form of the Wax Reading Technique."
"The Wax Reading Technique is for reading yourself, right?"
"Mhm."
"The Stone Reading Technique is also for reading yourself," Old Big said, tossing the stone onto the table. "But it reads you in greater detail."
"Wax is a paste-like substance. The shape it solidifies into depends entirely on the strongest emotion in your heart at that moment.
So, Wax Words only give you a general direction. It’s like seeing smoke from a distance—you know something is burning, but you don’t know what it is specifically."
He lined up the stones one by one.
"The Stone Reading Technique is different. The stones are pre-inscribed, and each has a specific meaning.
You grab a handful and cast them onto the disc. The combination of stones and their landing positions will give you a composite image, much more detailed than what you get from wax."
"What are the specific rules?" Richard knew it couldn’t be as simple as just grabbing a handful of stones and tossing them.
"You grab a handful from the pouch—usually three to nine stones, depending on the complexity of the question. Then, you cast the stones you’ve grabbed onto the Copper Disc.
After the stones land, first you look at which one is closest to the center of the disc. That’s the core of the issue.
Next, you look at the relative positions of the stones to each other. They represent conflicts or irrelevant factors."
"Then, see if any have rolled off the disc. Any stone that rolls off represents a part of your problem that ’is no longer important’ and can be ignored."
Old Big casually picked up a stone from the table.
"You need to memorize the meaning of each stone. Wheat is harvest, the hammer is action, the crescent moon is change or growth, the water drop is unfinished business, the double circle is relationships, the spiral is repetition..."
He counted off the symbols on his fingers.
Richard quickly took out his notebook and started writing.
"These meanings aren’t just made up," Old Big added.
"Every symbol is the result of a consensus built over dozens of generations. You don’t need to invent new meanings; just stick to the old rules."
"Got it."
"But I need to make one thing clear," Old Big said, gathering the stones back into the pouch.
"The Stone Reading Technique is as far as I can take you in the methods of Divination."
"Only this far?"
"That’s right, only this far. After all, I’m just an amateur myself."
Old Big grinned, surprisingly nonchalant about it.
"Back in the day, my master taught a total of five Divination methods: Wax Reading, Stone Reading, Star Disc, Crystal Ball, and Tarot Cards.
There are even more obscure methods beyond those, like Divination using bones, blood, or wind-whispering. The older generation has more faith in those primitive techniques."
He spread his hands.
"But as for me, after I finished learning Stone Reading, my master just shook his head, sighed, and sent me on my way.
I couldn’t even make sense of the coordinate system for the Star Disc. I held the Crystal Ball for ages and figured out nothing. And I tried memorizing the meanings of the seventy-eight Tarot Cards over and over, but I could never get them all down."
Old Big scratched his head.
"See? I’ve pretty much reached the limit of what I can teach you. For anything more advanced, you’ll have to find another path on your own."
"What about your senior sister...?"
"My senior sister is still running around a few cities up north. She’s busy as a bee all year round."
Old Big waved his hand. "I did mention you to her, though. She said she could meet you when she has time."
"If it’s not convenient, then forget it. You can’t force these things."
Richard was a little surprised.
’This isn’t how I imagined it would go.’ He had thought the introduction would be a much more formal affair.
"Anyway," Old Big said, getting the conversation back on track.
"We’ll talk about it next year. You mentioned before that your Guide will arrange an internship for you over winter break, right? That’s your main gig.
For the rest of this semester, focus on mastering the Stone Reading Technique. This week, go home and pick out the five most commonly used stones.
Wheat, hammer, crescent moon, water drop, double circle. You can practice with those five."
"Every day before bed, after you’ve done your Fixed Gaze and Wax Reading, grab these five stones and cast them onto the disc.
Focus your mind on the question you most want to figure out that day, and then look at where the stones land.
Once you’re familiar with these five stones, you can start adding more to the mix."
"Remember to take notes every time. The positions, the combination, your interpretation—write it all down.
After a while, if you look back, you’ll start to notice some patterns."
"What kind of patterns?"
"Your own habitual preferences when grabbing the stones, the general distribution of where the stones land, and the direction your interpretations tend to lean."
Old Big pushed the cloth pouch over.
"The more you record, the better you’ll understand yourself, and the more accurate your Stone Readings will become."
"Just like with Wax Reading."

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