Ji Yuan nodded in agreement, and by the time he got home, the sky was already dark.
He was just pulling out his key to open the yard gate when the gate of the neighboring Lin Family suddenly swung open, and Wu Qin poked half her body out.
"Ji… Brother Ji." Wu Qin called out quietly.
"What's the matter?"
"Lin Hu, Lin Hu went to Zengtou City tonight with Deng Yunliang, said he won't be coming home tonight..."
Wu Qin's voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, and when she finished, she even lowered her head deeply.
Ji Yuan was taken aback too, even paused for a moment at the door, but quickly came back to his senses.
"Maybe there's something going on."
Ji Yuan smiled, then just pushed his own gate open.
"No... no, Lin Hu always keeps these things from me, I'm worried they're up to something bad."
"Then you should talk some sense into him."
After Ji Yuan finished speaking, he went inside and closed the door. Wu Qin was clearly hinting at something, he could tell, but he didn't want to care, and couldn't afford to.
What kind of bad things could happen in Zengtou City?
There were plenty.
Besides, everyone has the right to choose their own path in life; Ji Yuan wasn't about to judge other people's choices.
Looking at the locked gate next door, Wu Qin was silent for a long time, finally just sighed and quietly closed her door.
Ji Yuan returned home, first checked over the house to make sure nothing had changed, then finally pulled out that "Basics of Talisman Dao."
Even though he'd gone all last night without sleeping, Ji Yuan didn't really feel it.
Cultivating and tempering the body—just skipping sleep for two nights, that's nothing.
After reading for half the night, he finally began to understand something about talisman painting in the cultivation realm.
Paining talismans is made up of three steps: first draw the talisman head—set the spiritual core.
Next is the Talisman Horn Locking Spirit Rune.
And the final, most crucial step: Spirit Awakening.
It sounded simple... and in fact, it didn't seem all that hard. Ji Yuan immediately pulled out his own brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his storage bag, and flipped to the Calm Heart Talisman page.
He first went over it again and again, then practiced on ordinary book paper, copying it several times until he was sure, then finally picked up the Cyan Bamboo Brush.
The paper was Cyan Hemp Paper, the ink was Vermilion Black Ink.
Once everything was laid out, Ji Yuan infused a little spiritual qi into the Cyan Bamboo Brush—the pen shaft immediately gave off a faint cyan glow.
Calming his mind, he followed the book's instructions... and began to paint.
Steady and firm, then followed the style and started outlining, spiritual power flowing from the brush, lines writhing like dragons and snakes on the paper.
Ji Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit happy—looks like I'm actually a little talented at talisman making.
But just when his mind wandered, his hand faltered, and the entire sheet of Cyan Hemp Paper caught fire without any flame.
Watching as the talisman paper turned to ash and disappeared.
Ji Yuan instantly sobered up—what's burning here isn't paper, it's money!
After a while, Ji Yuan calmed down and picked up the brush again.
With that previous experience, he kept his mind calm this time.
Hand gripping the Cyan Bamboo Brush, painted in a single motion.
Looking at the half-finished Calm Heart Talisman laid on the table, Ji Yuan finally showed a slight smile.
Looks like, when it comes to painting talismans, I do have a bit of talent.
Just missing the final step... Spirit Awakening.
Spirit Awakening means injecting spiritual qi into the talisman paper, activating the stored spiritual power to "enliven" the whole talisman—then the talisman is complete.
After letting his mind settle, Ji Yuan again picked up the brush, gave a gentle tap, and sent in spiritual qi.
The talisman... burned.
"Fuck!"
Ji Yuan stared at that dazzling little fireworks on the table, couldn't help but swear out loud.
No choice but to try again.
Good thing this was just the second sheet of talisman paper, Ji Yuan wasn't too upset yet.
But then came the third, the fourth, the fifth sheet... till he'd burned through ten in a row, Ji Yuan started to feel the pain.
Something's off, something must be wrong.
Ji Yuan set down his talisman brush, mutely reflecting on what had just happened—first step, painting the talisman, definitely no problem.
The problem is only in the Spirit Awakening step.
Unsure what to do—check the book.
Ji Yuan flipped open "Basics of Talisman Dao" again, following every sentence, checking carefully... Fuck, still nothing wrong.
Soon enough, dawn was breaking. Ji Yuan tried painting a few more, but the results were the same.
Staring at the little pile of ash left on his desk, Ji Yuan finally gave up.
No wonder the cultivation realm puts so much emphasis on apprenticeship—even talisman painting, without a teacher, you can't even get started... Ji Yuan rubbed his brow.
Am I going to have to find a Talisman Dao master too?
Talismans... Suddenly, a name popped into Ji Yuan's mind.
Lu Wan!
She was Zengtou City's talisman genius, apprenticed to the famous master Wu Wenbin—this kind of small stuff should be nothing for her.
Just not sure if there's any teacher-apprentice secrets involved... Whatever, just go ask and find out.
If not, then it's time to think about taking a master.
Just as Ji Yuan finished feeding the green-yellow chickens and Spirit Pig, and packed up the Spirit Egg to leave, he heard Deng Yunliang and Lin Hu laughing outside the gate.
The two had spent the whole night in Zengtou City, now that dawn broke, they came home.
Judging from their faces, seemed like they had a good time?
But what they were actually up to, who knew?
Ji Yuan deliberately waited around the courtyard for a while, and only when he heard doors closing from both neighboring houses did he quietly slip out himself.
First, he went to Lu Wan's house, and met the old Uncle Lu—Lu Song.
Maybe it was years of living in comfort, and not getting into the water anymore, but the Lu Song from Ji Yuan's memory who was a little thin and dark, had turned into a rather well-fed middle-aged man.
When he saw Ji Yuan coming, Lu Song was naturally a bit surprised.
"Looking for Wan'er? She went to see Master Wu, won't be back till evening."
The two families had been acquainted for years, and Ji Yuan had always gotten on well with Lu Wan, so Lu Song didn't keep anything from him and told him frankly.
Ji Yuan understood, then stayed chatting with Lu Song for a while before politely refusing lunch and leaving.
Lu Song stood in the doorway, sleeves folded, watching Ji Yuan go.
After a while, a woman's voice piped up from inside, "Ji Qingyun's son? He's good-looking, but looks don't pay the bills."
The speaker was naturally Lu Wan's mother, Lu Song's wife—Li Qiuling.
Compared to Lu Song, who still kept up appearances, she couldn't be bothered to come out, so even seeing Ji Yuan, she wouldn't appear.
Lu Song, in his fine clothes, just shook his head.
"No parents, and still breaking through to Qi Cultivation mid-stage at this age… that's worth something."
Lu Song had reached Qi Cultivation level five years ago, and in these years had nearly touched the sixth level.
Besides, he was careful and perceptive by nature—an old hand who could see through just about anything. No matter how well Ji Yuan concealed his aura, he still sensed something unusual.
For someone so young to reach mid-stage Qi Cultivation, either you're truly gifted, or someone powerful is helping you out.
Either way, it meant Ji Yuan wasn't simple.
"What? He's already mid-stage?"
Li Qiuling asked in surprise.
Mid-stage Qi Cultivation was normal, but under twenty and at mid-stage? That was rare in Zengtou City.
Add in Ji Yuan's rare looks, to call him a talented youth in Zengtou City wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Ji Yuan was oblivious to all this. After asking around, he finally stopped at a high-walled mansion in Zengtou City.
Anyone who could afford a house like this in Zengtou City was certainly rich or noble.
Wu Wenbin, being a Talisman Master who could paint top grade first-tier talismans... was both rich and noble. Not to mention all his disciples, who could paint talismans and paid him tribute every month.
Rumor was with his talisman skills, he could have joined the Water Dragon Sect, but he didn't go.
Everyone lives their own way—if he joined Water Dragon Sect, he'd just be a soldier, following orders, at other people's mercy.
Unlike now, enjoying power and privilege here in Zengtou City.
Ji Yuan knocked on the Wu Mansion gate—no doorman appeared, just Wu Wenbin's disciple.
"Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Lu Wan." Ji Yuan cupped his hands.
"Here to see Junior Sister Lu?"
The white-clothed young man who opened the door immediately gave Ji Yuan a few extra glances, his gaze not too friendly.
Ji Yuan didn't want to act out any jealous scenes for a female cultivator's sake—besides, he had no special feelings for Lu Wan—so he added,
"That's right, she's my sister."
Sure enough, as soon as he said it, the young man's eyes warmed up a lot.
"Ah, I see... Fellow Daoist, come on in, Junior Sister Lu is currently trying to draw Middle Grade talismans, she's got real talent."
"Master is planning to have her join next year's Water Dragon Sect selection."