Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"Dad, everything is already resolved, why are you still sighing?"

Zhang Shuniang helped Zhang Yan into the bedroom, then went to pour a cup of tea and brought it back, handing it to him. Seeing him sighing from time to time, she couldn’t help but speak up and advise.

"Ah..."

Zhang Yan held the teacup, lowered his head, and subconsciously blew on the leaves to drink some hot tea, only to discover that what he was given was a cup of cold water, so he set it aside and sighed,

"Owing favors is like owing debts. The debt of gratitude I owe this time is too large, I don’t even know how I’ll be able to repay it in the future... Thinking it over, the only worthy skill I can offer is the Featherweight Talisman, but it depends on whether he wants to learn it or not."

After saying this, he sighed again.

This was his most prized skill.

It was what he relied on to make a living.

Zhang Shuniang looked hesitant, biting her lip in silence for a while before speaking in a low voice, "Dad, in fact, uncle has already learned how to draw the Featherweight Talisman, and recently he has been studying the Amulet. I have always been too afraid to tell you, worried it might upset you."

Zhang Yan’s expression froze, and he nearly jumped up, his face filled with disbelief, "This... this can’t be possible, how long has it been? He just started learning the Arrow-Evasion Talisman last autumn, drawing talismans is not that simple!"

It took him half a year to learn the Arrow-Evasion Talisman.

Then, he spent five years practicing it over and over, persisting day in and day out, with the numerous failed talismans he produced almost piling up like a mountain, having poured in who knows how much sweat and effort before he gradually mastered the various intricacies of the Arrow-Evasion Talisman and managed to draw it as if by divine intervention.

With a single stroke, he could roughly tell if the talisman would be successful.

His success rate was as high as fifty percent.

As for the Featherweight Talisman, it took even more time.

From learning it to now, nearly ten years in total, only in recent years had his success rate barely stabilized at thirty-five percent, where one out of three attempts would succeed. Even so, he had never considered studying the Amulet.

For one thing, his level of Qi Cultivation was only at the sixth layer, and his spiritual power was somewhat inadequate for drawing the Amulet.

Secondly, the threshold for the Amulet was too high, truly too difficult to achieve. He hadn’t even fully mastered the Featherweight Talisman, so he didn’t dare to delve into the creation of a new, more difficult talisman.

Even he was daunted by it.

And Chen Wen, a self-taught individual full of shortcomings, had even been taught the basic techniques of talisman drawing by him. What merits did he have, let alone the audacity to study the Amulet!

A person whose strength exceeded his own.

He could accept that.

As a Talisman Master, he was not one to contend.

Someone whose Qi Cultivation surpassed his own.

He would accept that too.

It was possible his talents were indeed inferior.

But when it came to drawing talismans.

This prematurely aged young fellow was still a bit too green.

"I’m going to have a look. I want to see how he draws the Featherweight Talisman... Hmph, you can’t even walk properly and you’re already thinking of running!" Zhang Yan snorted coldly, standing up ready to go find Chen Li to clarify the truth.

Zhang Shuniang quickly grabbed hold of him, saying anxiously, "Dad, why do you have to be so impulsive? It’s already so late, uncle and Ms. Zhou probably have long been asleep, and besides, there are still corpses outside!"

It was unclear whether the first reason or the latter persuaded him.

"Then we’ll wait until tomorrow!" Zhang Yan was pulled back down by Zhang Shuniang to sit, took a sip of water from the teacup, and glared at her, "I might die of frustration because of you someday; you don’t even know to brew a cup of tea."

"Then I’ll go boil some water now!" Zhang Shuniang said weakly, not understanding where she had agitated her father this time.

"Forget it, forget it, it’s already so late. Go and rest soon."

...

Morning.

Inside the talisman-crafting room.

The desk was cluttered with various items.

All sorts of failed talismans were arranged in series based on the timing of their creation, occupying most of the desk space.

Before drawing a talisman each time, Chen Li would review them all.

As someone with a modern higher education background, his logical and analytical abilities surpassed those of most natives of this era. His diligence in summarizing and note-taking,

enabled him to steadily advance on the correct path during his learning process of talisman crafting and spell studies, despite the possible bumps and less-than-satisfactory learning speed.

After examining the failed talismans, Chen Li reviewed his research notes once more.

He consumed a Qi Replenishing Pill, then closed his eyes and quietly regulated his breathing.

Soon after, he opened his eyes, picked up the brush, and dipped it into the ink to start drawing a talisman.

"Sss!"

The first attempt failed.

It burst into green smoke with a stench of charring emanating.

Chen Li took no notice of it.

He continued with the second one.

Failure!

The third!

Failure!

He was quick in his movements, his brush strokes rapid.

The more he drew, the better his chances of success, just like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat.

The fifth...

Resulted in another failure.

Feeling that only a third of his spiritual power was left, Chen Li finally stopped.

He picked up the five failed talismans, examining them closely with furrowed brows.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door, and Zhou Hong’s voice could be heard, "Zhang is here to see you."

Chen Li’s eyes brightened.

"Tell him to come in here!" said Chen Li.

Soon Zhou Hong led Zhang Yan into the talisman-crafting room, "Take your time to chat, I’ll go brew some tea for you."

"Sister-in-law, that won’t be necessary, I’ll just sit for a moment and then leave." Zhang Yan hastily said.

She gently laughed without a word, turned, and left, closing the door behind her.

Zhang Yan, harboring thoughts within, was preparing to say some courteous words to warm up the atmosphere before delving into the topic at hand.

However, before he could speak, Chen Li interrupted him.

"You came at just the right time, help me look at this, where did I go wrong?" Chen Li wasn’t shy about asking for help, immediately pulling Zhang Yan over to the talisman-crafting table.

Zhang Yan looked at the table filled with failed talismans, his expression pausing momentarily, "You’re really learning how to draw the Amulet?"

"Shuniang told you, right... Let’s not talk about that for now, my foundation is rather weak, and I’ve been pondering over this Amulet for almost ten days with little to no clue, please help me look into it." Chen Li said.

Almost ten days...

Weak foundation...

Zhang Yan silently repeated these words, his mind filled with countless points of criticism that he didn’t know where to begin unleashing.

"It’s best to proceed with drawing talismans step by step, first solidify your foundation!" Zhang Yan said earnestly – he wouldn’t bother explaining so much to anyone, if not for the life-saving grace he received. He picked up a failed talisman still emanating blue smoke as he spoke, "Once you get the Featherweight Talisman right, then you can move on to learning the... the..."