Zhan Yan's Taobao interface has been cluttered with all sorts of random items like cinnabar, lightning-tempered wood, and peach wood swords.
Zhan Nairu looked at him and said, "Don't buy so many things. I don't have any other people's gifts like the Eight Treasures Cinnabar. Here's a jar for you."
"Sister, how could you do this!" Zhan Yan was shocked.
Her brother works in the art scene and has a wide network, often pulling out all sorts of quirky items. The other day, he brought out a bottle of medicinal oil that worked like magic—supposedly a secret recipe from a client's family.
But the Eight Treasures Vermilion is way too much—would any Taoist even bother collecting his sister's eye-irritating artworks?
"Go! That's postmodern art!" Zhan Suiyu snatched the last two buns from his plate and went upstairs to fetch something for him.
Zhan Yan didn't voice his frustrations, but he didn't hide them from his family either. Zhan Sui Ru immediately saw what he was thinking.
It's kind of sad, because you can always tell he's venting about himself.
Back in the room, Zhan Sui Ru retrieved a stone mortar, extracting cinnabar, gemstones, and medicinal herbs to prepare for Zhan Yan Xian. Her fingertips glowed faintly as she methodically processed and blended each ingredient, completing the task with extraordinary efficiency.
The current environment is unstable. While the trendy 'Pen Immortal' games—those chaotic ones—are unlikely to attract ghosts, what if they do? Zhan Yan had said he wouldn't play, but as a college student, who knows? Maybe a few friends would pull him in and start playing. Even if he stayed out, his dormmates might still end up disturbing him.
By the way, the trigger-type protective barrier she installed for Zhan Yan should also be serviced.
While pondering endlessly, Zhan Suiyu kept his hands busy. He swiftly found a small ceramic box and filled it with the eight-treasure cinnabar, completing the task in under ten minutes.
As she carried the box downstairs, she saw Zhan Yan loading frozen buns and braised pork into the insulated container, his face tilted sideways with hair cascading down, half his eyes hidden.
Your hair's getting a bit long. I'll trim it for you in a couple of days, "said Zhan Sui Ru." Come sit here. Let me tie it up for you today.
Zhan Yan was born with curly hair that grew out fast, so he had to visit the barber shop every few days if he wanted a short haircut. For one thing, it was a hassle, and secondly, he didn't like having his hair cut by others. Since childhood, his family had always done it for him—Zhan Sui Ru would cut his hair when his parents were busy.
That's why Zhan Yan keeps her hair a bit longer these days, so she doesn't need to cut it as often. When it grows out, she ties it up with a small rubber band first.
Zhan Yan fastened the thermal box, then obediently walked over to sit down, his left hand resting near his ear. A small rubber band around his left wrist held a sky-blue stone that resembled crystal. It was a gift from Zhan Sui Ru. When his hair was short, he wore it as a hair tie; when it grew longer, he used it to tie his hair up.
Zhan Sairu yanked the elastic band off his wrist and examined it. The hidden protective barrier inside was intact.
She slipped the elastic band onto her wrist, then gently combed Zhan Yan's curly hair with a comb.
The fine curly hair looked elegant, but he accidentally tugged at it while combing. Zhan Sui Ru, with her nimble and steady hands, quickly smoothed it out and tied a small braid at the back of his head.
Zhan Sairu admired his craftsmanship with satisfaction and rearranged the blue crystal stones.
Her little brother is good-looking—his hair looks downcast when it's loose, but turns stylish when tied up. And of course, it's all thanks to her skilled hands.
"Alright," she handed the small porcelain box to Zhan Yan. "When you leave, place it on your palms and forehead."
Zhan Yan said, "Is the usage really that simple? Is your client trustworthy?"
Zhan Nairu glared at him and said, "Don't you dare ask me for it back!"
Yan Yan swiftly stuffed the porcelain box into his pocket, grabbed the insulated box, and said, "I'm off to the office."
The gossip system slowly popped up with a message:
You've obtained a box of premium Eight Treasures Cinnabar, yet you seem to be unaware of its value.
"Come on, I locked you up!"
Jian Jinli stood silently by, observing intently. The Eight Treasures Cinnabar provided by Jian Suiyu was genuine, and he could sense the intense yang energy seeping through the box's cracks. This specially processed cinnabar worked wonders without the need for ritual incantations. Yet achieving such effects through cinnabar refinement required substantial material and time investments, likely involving some secret techniques.
He pulled out his phone and typed to Zhan Suiyu: "How did you know the one who delivered cinnabar?"
Zhan Nairu glanced at him and typed, "My client."
Jian Jinli: "Don't lie to me."
He was no connoisseur of art, but those cultivators 'aesthetic sensibilities were far from resembling Zhan Sui Ru's so-called 'artworks.' Even if there were a couple of blind ones, they'd never trade such a rare treasure as the Eight Treasures Cinnabar for them.
He wondered if his sister, whose taste in beauty was questionable, had run into trouble, since she was protected by the Eight Treasures Cinnabar.
But that doesn't quite make sense either. Since protective talismans usually come with gifts, why would they use cinnabar?
Zhan Nairu chuckled and started typing: "How did you know I was lying to you?"
Jian Jin said with a blank expression, "Someone who shares my taste wouldn't give something as traditional as cinnabar."
Zhan Sui-ru called out to him, "This is what I call aesthetic foresight. I helped that client, and we're on good terms. What do you think?"
Jian Jinli: "Tell me if you have any problems."
He really wanted to stamp the Ghost King's mark on every family member, but since no one else obeyed, Zhan Suiyu never wore the phone pendant he'd given him!
"Got it." Zhan Sui Ru said perfunctorily.
The elder brother is a true big brother. But when trouble strikes, he's less reliable than Yan Yan. With the recent chaos, she's trying to get others in the family to wear trigger protection. She couldn't even convince her parents to avoid jewelry, and now Zhan Jinli claims his hands get jewelry in his way when baking cakes!
Seriously, I still need to figure out how to equip them. Yanyan is the most cooperative one.
Yan Yan took the thermal box to Ji Yueming's company to find Luo Luoluo.
Luo Luoluo has a sweet name, but she's actually very capable.
"Xiao Yan, come here." After she took the thermos and set it down, she pulled Zhan Yan over to help. "We've got a new international partner at the company who wants to visit us. Do you have time? If you're free, could you take him for a walk?"
Since Yan Zhan had nothing to do on the weekend and the school ghost assigned for English homework wasn't in a hurry to check, he took it upon himself:' How's his Chinese?'
Luo Luoluo said, "The foreigner is a Spaniard named Matthias. He speaks English, but his accent is so heavy that I can barely understand him. He knows a few phrases in Chinese."
This is what Zhan Yan realized. As a child, he watched a Spanish play and, swept up in a wave of childish enthusiasm, abandoned English to learn Spanish instead. Fortunately, his family's financial means allowed his parents to find him a teacher. He took exams for less commonly taught languages during his college entrance exams, so his English skills aren't great now, but he speaks Spanish quite fluently.
Matthias didn't bring a translator when he arrived, so he wasn't here for business talks. Since Luo Luo Jie was willing to host him, it meant the cooperation talks were almost over. He must have come just to hang out.
In the living room, Matthias sat with an elegant posture, headphones in hand and eyes glued to his tablet. His thick eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his gray-green eyes were intensely focused.
Seeing him like this, Yan Zhan realized he had misjudged the situation. After all, he was a company owner who still had time to focus on his main business.
Luo Luoluo introduced the two to each other. As Matthias stood up, he accidentally unplugged his headphones. The sound from the tablet suddenly blared out:
Young Master! The young mistress has been hanging on the city wall for three days now!
Clear Chinese.
Zhan Yan:...
Luo Luoluo:...
To everyone's surprise, Matthias was the most composed and composed person at that moment. He turned off the sound on his tablet and apologized to the two of them in imperfect Chinese, his smile beaming with cheerfulness.
Unable to rely on Luo Luoluo's language barrier, Zhan Yan stepped forward and said, "Want to see the city wall? There's an ancient section near Yunjin City."
Matthias's gray-green eyes showed a hint of confusion, but he still replied, "I'm also really interested in the ancient city walls."
Zhan Yan blinked and scanned the tablet. A melodramatic historical romance drama was playing, and Ling Yuteng's vacant face strained to display a mix of calm, anger, and strikingly handsome features. Through this bizarre, twisted, and stiff expression, he asked, "Did she realize she was wrong?"
The lip reading is "one two three four five".
"Are you watching a play? Can you understand it?" he asked.
"I don't understand," Matthias said, shaking his head. "I only know a little Chinese."
That's still watching a melodrama so seriously.
Matthias paused, pointed at the male lead, and said, "I want this kind of outfit."
Oh, I see. You're interested in historical costumes, right?
He started the conversation this way and quickly bonded with the person.
Luoluo silently gave a thumbs-up to the young boss in her heart. This warmth was no exaggeration! She tossed Matthias to Zhan Yan and carried the insulated box to deliver meals to the 'Celestial Master'.
As they chatted, Zhan Yan noticed Matthias had a peculiar interest in period costumes. He wasn't interested in posing in them for photos, collecting artifacts, or watching historical reenactments. His goal was clear: he wanted to find a specific style of period attire.
He can identify which parts of the male protagonist's clothing match his target, which ones differ, and suggest what replacements should be made.
But the male lead's costume was a' mixed-style 'ancient Chinese outfit, which was hard to find. So Zhan Yan simply turned to a Hanfu blogger's guide, showing him each dynasty's styles one by one.
After much deliberation, Matthias chose a Ming Dynasty costume style, saying it was the most similar.
Zhan Yan asked curiously, "Why are you looking for such clothes? Have you seen them anywhere before?"
Matthias nodded and shook his head. "I saw it in a dream."
Matthias mentioned that he had recently had several similar dreams, each with slightly different developments, but always featuring the same man. The man appeared to be an Asian with dark hair and eyes, dressed in the kind of clothing he was looking for.
"When did you start having this dream?" Zhan Yan asked him.
"Recently," Matthias mused, "since I arrived here. I've been having dreams about him—sometimes every day, sometimes every few days."
"What did he say?" asked Zhan Yan again.
"I don't understand," Matthias said, visibly distressed. "He gets anxious every time he sees me. But I can't understand your language."
"Is there anything you can understand?"
Matthias still knows a few words of Chinese.
Matthias looked dazed. "I think I understood a bit the other day."
He said, 'Hello.Can you speak Chinese?'
Speak English?
A wondrous thought struck Yan Zhan. He activated the 'chigua system' (a metaphorical term for casual observation).
Tian Youcheng, the ghost, finally found his debtor and ran to him in a dream, overjoyed.
Ghost Tian Youcheng discovered his debtor had been reborn as a foreigner, who couldn't understand his words.
[The Ghost Tian Youcheng decides to learn English.]