Chapter 6: Jinjiang's First Publication Shows Its Initial Promise (Part 3)
Yao Sisi had a very fulfilling few days. She retrieved both of her talisman pens and bought some talisman paper. Since it was inconvenient to hunt at night, she would stay in her room and draw talismans.
She had some talent in this area, and after spending a few sheets of paper, she successfully drew a spirit-gathering talisman. According to the book, those with a little talent can only succeed once in a hundred attempts. In other words, if one out of a hundred talismans is successful, it means that one can continue to study.
She must be quite talented.
The talisman brush, stained with blood, fell vividly onto the paper. Her brushstrokes flowed smoothly and effortlessly, each drop of blood-stained ink forming mysterious characters. Combined with the darkness of the night and her beautiful face, the scene looked eerie, like an evil sorceress cursing the world.
Her brushstrokes were steady, spiritual energy slowly gathering at the tip of the brush from her body, gradually merging into the talisman paper with each stroke. Before her spiritual energy was completely drained, a spirit-gathering talisman was successfully carved. A flash of light appeared on the surface of the talisman paper, and she picked it up to slowly compare it with the failed talisman...
The next day, a light drizzle began to fall outside. Knowing that the forest outside the city must be muddy and difficult to navigate, she abandoned her hunting plans and went into her spatial dimension to organize the spoils of the previous days.
Because she hunts so fast, she hasn't sold anything from the past few days. Today, she plans to sort through the python in her space and sell it.
The python was enormous. She used a dagger to cut it in two and stuffed it into a bamboo basket. Anything that ordinary people could use was very cheap. A basket like this could be bought for just a few copper coins.
She walked along the corridor toward the main gate, as her residence was in a remote area and she had to take a detour to reach the main courtyard.
She calculated the time and knew she could be back before noon. However, she was no longer satisfied with the meals provided by the manor; they were just ordinary grains that could only fill her stomach and served no other purpose. As for cooking for herself…
Not only does it not taste good, it also wastes ingredients.
She stepped lightly out of the house, passing by the rooms in the main courtyard. As always, it was quiet. This was the young master's residence, which was very large and spacious. He was usually not there. As she turned, she noticed something strange above her head and heard the sound of tiles rubbing against the soles of her shoes.
Her hair stood on end, she instantly became alert, and several thoughts flashed through her mind.
Until my gaze moved upwards and I saw a pale yellow hem of clothing, with a few green bamboo leaves embroidered on the fabric.
She paused, her tense nerves relaxing.
Why is it that young master?
Qi Mu was discovered and subconsciously stepped back, seemingly not wanting to be seen. He was sitting pitifully on the rooftop with a small white beast beside him. The two of them, one human and one beast, were keeping each other company in the misty rain, looking quite pitiful.
A question mark flashed above Yao Sisi's head. What kind of drama is this? What happened?
The two humans and the beast looked at each other. She noticed that the other's eyes were a little red, and the little beast even licked his hand comfortingly...
The young master was not as aloof as usual; his hair was wet, and a few strands clung to his face, making him look as if he had been badly bullied. She felt somewhat embarrassed to see him in such a disheveled state.
"It's a bit chilly on this rainy day, young master, please take care of yourself."
Qi Mu's eyes flickered. He saw the woman under the eaves bow to him, and he didn't know how to respond.
Since meeting her, he seems to have made a fool of himself more often, and these days have been full of ups and downs.
Seeing him hug the little animal tightly in the rain, Yao Sisi's low, husky voice was not as clear as before: "Thank you, I will be careful."
Seeing that he had no intention of coming down, and that he had agreed verbally but hadn't moved an inch, she had no choice but to climb up the pillar to the roof and take off her cloak to cover him.
"My clothes are rough, but they can barely shield you from the rain."
Qi Mu was stunned, unexpectedly connecting the outer cloak to her former clothes. She froze, her face flushing red and pale. She gasped for breath, then said helplessly:
"You...you..."
Yao Sisi didn't plan to stay any longer, so she rolled off the edge of the roof. "What about me?"
Qi Mu: "You gave me the cloak, so what are you going to wear?"
Yao Sisi thought to herself that she still had a few sets of clothes in her space, which she was worried would easily get damaged during the hunt, so she bought some as a backup. They were all ordinary clothes and not worth much, but she naturally couldn't reveal the matter of her space, and she wouldn't tell him the truth.
"I'll go back to my room and get another one."
Qi Mu thought for a moment, then took out an umbrella from her spatial storage. "Your clothes can't keep out the rain, so take this. Consider it... a way of returning the favor of the clothes you gave me."
Yao Sisi smiled, a sly glint in her eyes. "Which dress are you referring to, young master? My original one?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Mu trembled, a blush spreading across his face. Just as he was about to ask something, the tiles beneath his feet became even more slippery after being soaked by the rain. He felt a sudden loss of weight and, in his panic, pushed the little beast in his arms upwards, causing himself to fall directly off!
The bluestone under the eaves is hard; if someone were to fall from there, it would hurt quite a bit...
Yao Sisi reached out and stopped him, and the boy used her arm to cushion the fall, preventing a tragedy. She looked up at him and saw that he looked flustered. His usual quick wit seemed to have been shut down, and he looked rather silly and cute.
Qi Mu's heart pounded wildly. He hurriedly got up from her, but in his panic, he slipped and fell back down.
His lips were cool as they brushed against Yao Sisi's cheek, causing her to feel a sting and momentarily dazed.
Qi Mu's upper body was nestled in her arms, his hands caressing the smooth, damp pillar. The chill on his body was dispelled by her warmth, and the entire space was filled with an unknown charm.
Yao Sisi hissed, "Young Master, you should lose weight. You've almost deformed me from all that hitting."
The ambiguous atmosphere vanished completely after her words. He awkwardly stood up, the wet rain enveloping him, as if the previous warmth had been fake. He looked at the sky, the ground, and the little beast, but dared not look at her.
"Has something come to mind, Miss Sisi?"
Yao Sisi lowered her head and chuckled: "No, it's just that the clothes I wore after waking up were a bit rough on my body, not like the material I usually wear."
Qi Muxin realized, "Ahem, I didn't think that through."
Yao Sisi seemed oblivious to his embarrassment, "The rain is damp and chilly, young master, you shouldn't climb to a high place to enjoy the view in such weather."
Qi Mu knew that her second half of her sentence had a hidden meaning, so he nodded and handed her the umbrella that had fallen down with her.
"The rain is icy cold, Miss Sisi, you should take your umbrella with you!"
Yao Sisi had just started to lecture him when he retorted. She hadn't expected the little guy to hold a grudge. She took the umbrella, carefully avoiding touching him with her fingers, and chuckled, "Young master learns so quickly. Then I shall accept your offer."
She straightened her collar, opened her umbrella, and was about to leave. Qi Mu stepped forward as if she had something to say, but saw that she walked away decisively, her steps were like the wind, and she didn't seem to be lingering at all. Qi Mu pursed her lips and stared blankly at her back.
Yao Sisi, holding an umbrella, arrived at a shop, took off her bamboo basket, and placed it on the ground. "Shopkeeper, how should I store this?"
The shopkeeper looked to be in his forties or fifties. He stood up and counted the goods she had brought. "The snake gall is intact, the venom sac is still half full, the snake skin is well preserved, and the meat is fresh, so it must have been hunted recently. It costs 550 Xuanzhu in total."
Yao Sisi took out several talismans she had drawn. "Here are three talismans that can enrich the surrounding spiritual energy in a short time. I have already tried them. One can be used for half a day. They are very suitable for emergency use in the wild."
The effects of talismans are much slower than those of potions. She had previously seen that potions for restoring Xuan power were quite expensive, but the effects of talismans are different from those of potions. If she found a treasure land in the wild and used such a talisman, wouldn't it be twice as effective with half the effort?
"Let me see it!"
The shopkeeper took the talisman and examined it carefully. Although talismans were sold locally, the variety was limited, and he had never seen one like this before. Seeing the glittering light on it, he tentatively offered a price: "50 Xuanzhu each."
Yao Sisi calculated that it takes about an incense stick's time to complete one spirit-gathering talisman. She currently depletes her spiritual power after drawing two talismans and needs to meditate for about an hour to fully recover.
However, drawing talismans is not just a matter of spiritual power, but also consumes a lot of energy. In short, she can only produce two talismans every two hours, and about ten a day. The rest of the time is needed for cultivation and so on.
One bill costs 50, ten bills cost 500, but that's not as much as you can earn from a single hunting trip. She doesn't know how much others earn on a single trip. As far as she knows, their team has to spend the night in the wild, which is extremely unsafe. They're risking their lives, and they have to camp out for a while, racking their brains to collect the game they bring back, and then distribute the resources among the team members.
If you divide it like this, won't each person get less resources?
She sold the talismans and bought a stack of talisman paper. A stack of talisman paper contained fifty sheets and cost only 10 Xuanzhu (mystic pearls), a very cheap price. She glanced at the small storage bag inside the counter; she still needed many more Xuanzhu to buy more...
The shopkeeper had a keen eye and noticed her needs, so he asked tactfully, "Do you draw all the talismans you sell yourself?"
Yao Sisi: "Yes, but only a few were released."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Of course, they're not easy to make. I see you want to buy a storage bag?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Sisi wondered if there was a chance.
"Yes, carrying things on my back is too heavy, and the prey stays fresh in the storage bag. You don't know, the animal blood I use to draw talismans spoils easily if left outside, and it would be a waste if it lost its effectiveness."
If she didn't have the spatial ability, the blood would have gone stinking.
Shopkeeper: "Miss, you can pay half the price and take it away. You can pay back the rest slowly. You just need to sell me the talismans you recently made, and you'll have enough money soon."
Yao Sisi understood. It seemed that they wanted the talismans she made. She calculated that if she sold all the other mystical beasts in her space, she could barely raise enough money for a storage bag. But she couldn't take out so many things at once, otherwise she couldn't explain how she suddenly brought back so many things by herself.
Most importantly, what she really wanted to buy was the knife, but unfortunately, it wasn't in the store.
"I'm a bit short on cash, so thank you for your generosity, shopkeeper. However, I didn't bring all my Xuanzhu with me, so please allow me to go back and get them."
Yao Sisi returned after leaving, actually releasing all the Xuan Pearls from her space and taking out the antelope horns she hadn't been willing to sell before, otherwise even with the Xuan Pearls, she wouldn't have enough.
With the ram's horn, she still needed a few more Xuanzhu to complete the set, but the shopkeeper had ulterior motives and waived the cost of those few. He also changed his address from "lady" to "little friend" and took the storage bag out of the counter and handed it to her.
"Young friend, you are so talented, we should cooperate more in the future!"
Yao Sisi smiled and nodded. Although she had obtained the storage bag, she still owed the person a sum of money. After returning to her residence, she squeezed a drop of blood from her fingertip to claim the storage bag as her own and then transferred the prey in the space into it.
Now she could take things out of the storage bag without restraint, while the space was used to store items that were not currently in use.
Seeing that the weather had not improved and was not suitable for hunting, she simply picked up her brush and drew talismans again. She successfully produced a spirit-gathering talisman, placed it aside, and continued drawing.
When her spiritual energy was exhausted, she used the Spirit Gathering Talisman to condense the surrounding profound energy, and continued cultivating through spatial transformation. In this way, the spiritual energy vortex that originally took an hour to fully recover was completed in less than a quarter of an hour, greatly increasing her talisman-making speed.
She continued drawing several talismans until she felt mentally exhausted. Then she put down the talismans she was making and began to meditate and cultivate.
After a while, she still felt that the recovery was too slow, so she simply took off her clothes, lay down on the bed, and slept for less than two hours. When she woke up, she was full of energy.
As dusk approached, she entered the space and searched through the dilapidated thatched hut. Inside were many cultivation manuals; she refused to believe there were no manuals for cultivating spiritual power.
After searching around, she actually found a book and learned that cultivators call this "divine sense." Her divine sense was still relatively weak and easily fatigued. If she cultivated a method to strengthen her divine sense, not only would her concentration be more enduring, but it would also benefit her cultivation. Furthermore, her divine sense could even be used for attacks.
She opened the ancient book and began reading it with great enthusiasm until she got hungry, at which point she emerged from the space.
"Oh no, I've missed lunch again."
Seeing that the rain outside was getting heavier, she picked up the umbrella by the door. The umbrella was very exquisite and seemed to be something special, but she couldn't sense any energy fluctuations from it. Perhaps it was made of better material!
She went out with her umbrella. The food in the mansion was not very useful. The meat of the Xuan Beast was much more delicious. She thought that now that she didn't have even half a Xuan Pearl, she would have to go through some trouble to go to the Spirit Food Hall.
"It's been a whole afternoon already. If I go to another store that sells mystical beasts, no one should notice!"
Yao Sisi went out under the cover of night, found a shop and sold another head, instantly having several hundred Xuanzhu in her hands. She randomly found a shop, ordered a lot of spiritual food, and packed up the rest, except for what she ate for this meal, and put them into her storage bag, enough for her to eat for several days.
The food made by the spirit chef was so much more delicious than what ordinary people made. Yao Sisi squinted her eyes happily. If only someone could cook for her...
She suddenly thought of that young master. Judging from his pampered appearance, he probably couldn't cook as well as her.
Well, maybe it's better than hers, because what she makes is really awful.
After finishing her meal, she went to the counter to pay. With so much spiritual food, she had spent over a hundred Xuanzhu. She calculated that she still had over three hundred left.
"Shopkeeper, do you have any prepared sauces? Sometimes I can't come back in time when I'm out, and my cooking skills aren't great. If I put this sauce on, even a simple grilled meat will taste much better."
The shopkeeper seemed to have encountered this situation before. "Please wait a moment, sir." He took out a spice packet and a small jar from under the counter. "Sir, this spice packet contains pre-mixed soup stock. If you're cooking something, you can grab a handful and put it in. The jar contains sauce, which is suitable for grilling meat. It comes with a small brush; brush a layer on before grilling, and you'll be guaranteed to have a wonderfully fragrant flavor."
Yao Sisi asked the crucial question: "Shopkeeper, can this sauce be used for grilling fish?"
The shopkeeper paused, seemingly reluctant to discourage her idea: "Cooking fish requires some experience. I suggest you don't try it. You might not be able to handle just the task of processing the fish."
Yao Sisi: "..."
If the shop owner hadn't told her, she probably would have just skewered the fish and grilled it. But grilling fish is different from boiling fish. Does she really remove all the scales like she does when cooking fish normally?
Won't it burn when you bake it?
Scales can offer some protection, right?
No one knew what she was thinking, otherwise the shopkeeper would have been astonished by her bold statement...
Yao Sisi was too embarrassed to ask any further questions, and knowing that she didn't have any talent in this area, she didn't want to waste time struggling with it. She bought the mixed seasoning and put it into her storage bag.
That jar contained seven or eight pounds; it will last a long time.
She had just stepped out of the shop and raised her umbrella when she was spotted by a young man from the building across the street. He didn't recognize her, but he recognized the umbrella.
"Isn't that Qi Mu's thing? How did it end up in this girl's hands?"
When Yao Sisi returned, the rain had lessened a bit. She asked the artifact spirit, "By the way, do you know exactly where that spirit spring is? Let's go scout it out!"
The spirit perked up. Her master hadn't forgotten her purpose in coming. These past few days she'd been busy doing this and that, but hadn't gone to pursue her target. It was truly worrying!
"I know where it is, shall we go now?"
Yao Sisi said, "Wait a moment, I'll go buy a cloak to conceal my whereabouts."
Meanwhile, the person who planned to follow her saw her enter a store with an umbrella and never come out again.
Yao Sisi changed into a cloak, closed her umbrella, and left through the back door of the shop. Once she was ready, following the guidance of the spirit, the dog stealthily arrived at a manor. The manor was brightly lit even at night. From a distance, it was heavily guarded, with people patrolling and watching at all times. She couldn't see the exact number of people from a distance, but there were definitely people hiding in the shadows. If she counted them all, she estimated that there were no fewer than those on the surface.
"It's not your fault, I can't get in anytime soon."
On such a rainy day, not a single lamp was turned off outside. They were really careful. Just as she was about to leave, she saw the gate of the manor open and a group of people waiting at the door. After a while, she saw the young master come out of a room.
"Why would he be here so late? Could there be something wrong with the spiritual spring?"
The spirit said, "No, I sensed that the spirit spring is perfectly intact."
Yao Sisi looked at it carefully again, but still couldn't figure out what it meant. Since it was useless to her here anyway, she turned around to leave when she noticed a whooshing sound behind her.
Oh no, we've been discovered!
A note from the author:
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Yao Sisi: Oh no, if that young master finds out she's here, it'll be hard to explain!
Hmm, the story is too new, not many people are reading it, and the comment data isn't enough, so I just flipped a coin to choose a title...
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