Chapter 5: Jinjiang's First Publication Shows Its Initial Promise (Part Two)...

Yao Sisi ran towards the gate and was spotted by a sharp-eyed servant. Almost as soon as she reached the gate, she bumped into the butler and Qi Mu and others who were not far away.

She had run quite fast, and the strenuous exercise had flushed her face. She was also panting heavily. Seeing the large group of people gathered in the courtyard, she hurriedly asked, "What happened inside the manor? Can I help?"

The housekeeper had been anxious all afternoon. When she returned, he was about to question her about where she had gone, causing a large group of people to search for her. Before he could finish speaking, Qi Mu stopped him from behind.

Yao Sisi paused for a moment, but instead of getting a reply, Qi Mu looked at the paper bag she was carrying and the wood-chopping knife tied with willow branches behind her.

He cleverly found an opening to ask, "Why is the young lady carrying such a dangerous machete?"

Seeing how naturally he asked the question, Yao Sisi wondered if he had discovered that the knife belonged to their family. But she was penniless, so where else could the knife be from but his family? She just... wondered if there was any other meaning behind his words.

Although ordinary ironware is worthless, and he had already saved people, he was already quite embarrassed that she had taken it without asking.

"Since I had no weapon, I took the machete from the woodshed. This is a blue-eyed antelope that I hunted today. I specially reserved the best pieces of meat to offer to you, young master. It's a small gift, and I hope you won't find it offensive."

The blue-eyed antelope is a mythical beast, and its meat is both valuable and delicious, and eating it can strengthen the body.

Seeing that she had taken the knife not to seek revenge or to run away, Qi Mu glanced at the startled butler, then turned to Yao Sisi with gentle eyes, "The blue-eyed antelope is extremely fast and difficult to catch. This gift is not light at all. It's just that the young lady has just recovered from a serious illness and is doing this. It makes one feel bad."

He took out a dagger from his body, the scabbard inlaid with a blue mystic stone. "Take this dagger for self-defense!"

When Liu Yuan saw him take out the dagger, he seemed to be surprised. How could the young master give such a good thing to an outsider? This is a divine weapon!

Yao Sisi noticed energy fluctuations on the weapon. If she had had a similar weapon before, she could have easily pierced the skin of the mythical beast.

"This is too valuable, I can't accept it!" She touched her nose and said against her will, "A machete... is actually quite nice too..."

Qi Mu chuckled upon hearing this, his voice somewhere between that of a boy and a young man, clear and pleasant like shards of azure ice colliding with a white wall.

"Take it. Mystic artifacts are inanimate objects; people are the most important."

When Yao Sisi heard him say that, she felt a warmth in her heart. This young master was spoiled but had no arrogant attitude at all. His personality was too good.

Qi Mu took a few steps with the dagger in his hand and placed it in Yao Sisi's hand. "It's too distant to always call you 'lady.' How about I call you Miss Sisi from now on?"

Yao Sisi looked down at the dagger in her hand. It would be too embarrassing to refuse in this situation. After all, men and women are different, and it was not appropriate to pull or tug at each other in front of many servants.

As for the phrase "Miss Sisi," it's common local language, while terms like "lady" and "lady" are honorifics.

She handed him the antelope meat, saying, "It's freshly hunted; you can try it tomorrow, young master."

Qi Mu took it himself without asking anyone else to do it.

"It was my oversight that I failed to consider things properly. At that time, the young lady was penniless, and I failed to fulfill my duty as a host. It was a disrespectful act to a cultivator like myself. I would have felt guilty if something had happened to you while you were hunting empty-handed."

He flipped his hand, revealing several translucent black stones.

Yao Sisi had just taken a dagger from someone, so she absolutely couldn't accept the money. She declined, saying, "Young master, there's no need for you to spend any more money. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease."

Qi Mu glanced at her and knew she was determined not to want it. He put the Xuan Stone away, and Yao Sisi breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that he didn't do anything, the Xuan Stone disappeared from his hand, so he must have something to store it.

"It's getting late, young lady, you should go and rest!"

Yao Sisi wanted to ask them why they were making such a fuss tonight, but considering that they didn't seem inclined to answer, she decided it was better to mind her own business, since they didn't appear to be in any danger anyway.

Yao Sisi left, but Qi Mu did not leave the private residence directly. Instead, he had a conversation with the butler, but no one knows what they talked about.

When he returned by carriage that evening, he was still carrying the bag of antelope meat. Liu Yuan sidled up to him and said, "Young Master, you seem to be in a good mood. You didn't even feel bad about giving away such a valuable gift!"

Qi Mu blushed slightly, only revealing a hint of youthful shyness when no one was around. "You talk too much!"

Liu Yuan pouted and said aggrievedly, "Young Master is starting to show favoritism..."

After they left, Yao Sisi laid out her day's haul on the table: a resilient antelope wool, a pair of sheep horns, several pieces of mutton, a bowl of sheep's blood, and the three hundred Xuanzhu pearls she had obtained from the shop.

Actually, she could have sold her lamb for a higher price, but she kept a lot of it for herself, which prevented the price from going up. She had originally thought about keeping some lamb chops and such, but then she changed her mind. She didn't have much money on hand right now, so it wasn't appropriate to keep too much food. As for the few pounds of meat she gave away, she had lived there for so long, so giving away a few pounds was just a matter of courtesy.

She never expected to receive a dagger.

A smile flashed across Yao Sisi's face. Indeed, providing help in times of need is the most heartwarming thing!

She stroked the fine wool. "I'll take it out tomorrow to find someone to customize a talisman pen. I don't know which one is good. As for the sheep's blood, it can be used directly to draw talismans. This big bowl will last quite a while!"

She put away the two ram horns. These could be used to make medicine or to forge weapons, and they were materials she wanted to try using in the future. She couldn't bear to sell them, after all, those blue-eyed antelopes were not easy to come by.

"Three hundred spirit pearls are still a long way from buying that greatsword..."

The next day, she left the manor early. This time, she went through the main gate, and no one stopped her. She hadn't expected anyone to stop her. If Qi Mu hadn't given the steward some extra instructions the day before, she certainly wouldn't have been able to leave the manor. These undercurrents had been extinguished before they even began, and she had no way of knowing other people's intentions.

This time, he didn't take anyone's machete.

Yao Sisi browsed through several shops on the street. This time, she felt more confident in looking at things because she had Xuanzhu in her pocket. Unfortunately, Xuanzhu was not as valuable as Xuanshi. One hundred Xuanzhu were equivalent to one Xuanshi. Xuanzhu were small beads made from scraps of Xuanshi, each only the size of a marble.

She found a shop that specialized in making pens, took out the goat hair she had obtained, and although the shop looked old, the interior was very clean, and the counter was polished to a shine. She got straight to the point and asked, "Can you make talisman pens?"

A young man behind the counter nodded when she asked that question.

“This… Immortal Master, the materials you brought are of very good quality. Based on the quantity, they can probably make two pens. What material would you like for the pen handles?”

What materials do you have to choose from?

The young man opened a small cabinet door and took out two items. "This is Emerald Bamboo. It's very light and suitable for beginners when making talisman brushes. The other is a tooth of a Spirit Rhinoceros Beast. It's a bit more expensive and requires some skill to use. It can generate a little energy. If you don't control the energy well, it won't increase the chances of making a talisman and it's easy to make a mistake."

Yao Sisi: "How much do you think these two materials, plus the labor cost for making the talisman pen, will cost in total?"

The young man, who had been dealing with these things for years, could quote prices almost off the cuff: "A section of Emerald Green Bamboo costs 30 Xuanzhu, a tooth from a Spirit Rhinoceros Beast costs 50 Xuanzhu, plus the production cost, totaling 100 Xuanzhu. The Spirit Rhinoceros Beast's tooth needs to be polished for a longer time, so the production cost is a bit higher than that of the Emerald Green Bamboo."

Yao Sisi nodded. She browsed several shops and found that the price was about the same, so she readily paid.

When can I pick it up?

The young man said, "If you only need the talisman pen made from the green bamboo, it can be done tomorrow. The other one will take three days."

Yao Sisi: "Then I'll come and pick one up tomorrow night!"

Having settled the matter of the talisman pen, she stepped out of the shop, licking her lips with her nimble tongue. Come to think of it, her new weapon hadn't been stained with blood yet!

Across from the talisman shop is the spirit medicine shop. Unlike the talisman shop, the spirit medicine shop looks quite luxurious. It's a three-story building supported by tall red pillars. The building itself is exquisite, with a bold and bright color scheme that rivals ancient architecture.

And coincidentally, the shop was owned by Qi Mu's family. She noticed a cloud pattern on the right side of the signboard, which was their family's logo. Even the carriage he rode in every day had the same logo.

Yao Sisi entered the store and bought only one packet of hemostatic powder. This stuff is in powder form and can be stored in a large-bellied white porcelain bottle. Its medicinal effect is naturally not as good as any elixir, but it is practical and cheap. Two Xuanzhu can buy a pound of it. Other spiritual medicines are sold by the piece, but this is sold by the pound. It is simply a good medicine that everyone can afford.

After buying the medicine, she actually wanted to buy a storage item. The size didn't matter; the main thing was to conceal the space. She went to a shop to ask, but the storage items only accepted Xuan Stones; they didn't sell Xuan Pearls at all!

She glanced at the price; it was shaped like a small purse, barely a foot in size. Small mystical beasts would be fine, but if she encountered a large one, it wouldn't fit.

Even so, it still sells for 20 Xuan Stones, which can be combined to create 2000 Xuan Pearls, making it no cheaper than that knife.

"Sigh, besides the big sword, I have another target. I need to buy storage items as soon as possible."

She didn't want to flaunt her prey after the hunt, especially since carrying too much wouldn't be convenient.

The road out of the city was quite crowded at first, with many martial artists coming and going. They were dressed smartly and traveled in twos and threes. There weren't many people like her traveling alone.

Taking advantage of the space, Yao Sisi went even deeper this time, hunting several mystical beasts in a single day. Of course, the reason she was able to encounter so many mystical beasts was largely due to the help of the artifact spirit, which gave her the opportunity to ambush them. As long as they weren't fast, she wouldn't take them into her space to avoid them escaping, and would fight them directly in the wild.

After dealing with several mystical beasts in a row, she was extremely exhausted, both physically and mentally. She simply sat down in her spatial dimension to meditate and recover, and also roasted and ate the leftover antelope meat from yesterday.

While eating, she complained, "You brought me here so suddenly, without giving me any time to prepare. Otherwise, if I had brought more valuable things, I wouldn't be in this passive situation now."

The spirit remained silent, like a rejected child, fidgeting and afraid to speak.

After she had rested, she took stock of her day's catch: two red-horned beasts, a dark blue python, and a plump wild boar. She had only recently arrived in this world and didn't know all the local mythical beasts, so she could only judge them by their appearance and spiritual power. Although she didn't know the wild boar's name, she knew that it was delicious.

Since she started roasting the lamb, she discovered that the taste was different from anything she had eaten before. She could feel a warm current flowing through her meridians, and all her fatigue vanished.

Inside the city, Qi Mu also ate the meat of the blue-eyed antelope today. It was prepared by someone who cultivated spiritual cooking, so there was almost no waste of ingredients. The taste was delicious and it was paired with other spiritual treasures. It was very nourishing to eat and could also utilize the profound energy brought by the food. Eating these things regularly would not only strengthen the body but also benefit cultivation.

He's almost nineteen and his cultivation level is at the Body Tempering stage. If he were to adopt Yao Sisi's cultivation system, he would only be at the Qi Refining stage.

Leaving aside the Foundation Establishment stage above Qi Refining, he has already reached the tenth level of Qi Refining. He started cultivating at the age of six, and more than ten years have passed. He hasn't even reached half of that level yet, so his aptitude is quite average.

"Ugh! I really hate this kind of life that seems to have no future!"