Chapter 22: Mark Them

A little less than half an hour earlier, a little girl with her hair tied into two childish buns was carrying a basket of talisman papers when she grabbed a passerby. “Kind sir, buy some evil-expelling talismans! They can save your life out in the wilderness!”

The passerby spat and shoved her away. “Gone mad for money, have you? Dragging out any rotten junk and daring to scam people!”

The little girl was short and thin. Her frail body staggered from the shove, and the bamboo-slat basket in her arms rolled onto the ground, spilling all the talisman papers inside.

She hurriedly crouched down to pick them up.

In Silver City, only the bustling Qingyun Street was paved with bricks. Everywhere else was packed dirt. Once the talisman papers fell to the ground, they were covered in sand and dust. Luckily, it had not rained today! The little girl picked up the talisman papers, blew on them, and put them back into the bamboo basket. Some talisman papers had been blown into the middle of the road by the wind. She crouched on the ground and did not even care when someone stepped on her hand, finally gathering every last talisman paper back into the basket.

Then she raised her smiling face again and stood by the roadside, trying hard to call in customers. Yet she still could not sell a single one. Her stomach had already been growling with hunger for a long time.

The little girl sniffed and caught the aroma of wontons. She looked toward a place not far away and saw a roadside wonton stall. The shopkeeper lifted the wooden lid and stirred a few times. Dense white steam drifted over with the fragrance on the wind, making her drool.

The little girl stared straight at that stall.

She saw someone order two big bowls of wontons. As soon as the wontons were served, he could not even wait for them to cool before scooping one up and eating it. He clearly was not eating quickly, but one after another, he did not stop for a very long time.

The little girl hoped he could leave half a small bowl behind. Surely he could! Such big bowls of wontons, he definitely could not finish them, right? But she waited and waited, hoped and hoped, and that person never stopped. Before long, he had actually eaten both big bowls of wontons clean! He had not even left a mouthful of soup!

The little girl was terribly disappointed. She sniffed again, breathing in the lingering aroma of wontons. She saw that person drinking a beverage while praising the shopkeeper’s wontons.

The wonton seller was an elderly woman, and the praise made her eyes curve with smiles.

The little girl heard that person say, “...go open a shop in Zhaoge! Your wontons are this delicious. If you open a shop in Zhaoge, business will definitely be better than here. I’ll bring a thousand people every day to support you.”

The woman giggled and asked him what kind of place Zhaoge was.

That person said, “It’s in the Nameless Desert.”

The woman shook her head. “Customer, now don’t joke around. In that godforsaken place where birds don’t even bother to crap, how could anyone open a shop?”

So that person fell silent. He sat there staring blankly, perhaps upset because he had been refused. Even the wonton-selling woman grew embarrassed and awkwardly shut her mouth.

The little girl was still staring at him. This time, she was not waiting to pick up his leftover wontons, but staring at the bulging money pouch hanging below his belt.

She thought, This person is really rich! He paid a corner of silver just to eat two bowls of wontons.

If... if she could have a corner of silver too, she would not have to spend this entire year starving and freezing.

…

“Talk! What did you steal from me?”

Chi Yixuan’s reaction speed was extremely fast now. Although he had not been on guard, the instant someone bumped into him, he still keenly sensed that something on his body had been touched.

His body moved almost by conditioned reflex. With one hand, he clamped down on the person who had come over, and in the same motion pressed them against the edge of the table, his foot hooking the bench to keep them from breaking free.

Only the next moment did he see clearly who he had restrained.

The little girl’s thin back had struck the table edge, and her wrist was pinned by two of his fingers. But that force was so great that tears sprang from the pain, and she could not struggle free. Right then she was panicked and afraid, yet her mouth was still arguing, “I didn’t steal! I sold you talisman papers!”

“Sold? I’ve seen forced buying and selling, but you’re a novelty. You invented stealing to buy and stealing to sell.”

Hearing that mocking voice, the little girl’s face flushed bright red, and for a moment she could not find words to argue back.

Chi Yixuan did not need to check to know his money pouch had grown lighter, and there was a little something extra on him. The fingers restraining the little girl loosened a bit, but still did not let go. He merely took back the silver in her hand with his other hand, then opened his money pouch to check.

From the moment she bumped into him to the moment she tried to escape, no more than two seconds had passed. Yet in that time she had completed the three movements of untying the money pouch, swapping the items, and tying the money pouch again. Her speed could be called quite fast. If this were back in his old home, she would have been prime material for becoming a magician. Unfortunately, this was the Longevity Realm. Under a cultivator’s divine sense, all of this was no different from slow motion.

Of course, Chi Yixuan kept all his good things in his backpack slots. The money pouch hanging from his waist only held some handy bits of broken silver. Now, he untied the money pouch and took out a stack of talisman papers from inside. There were more than a dozen of them, rolled into a small bundle. He opened them with one hand and looked them over, then fell silent for a moment.

He was extremely puzzled. “I thought what she stuffed into my pouch was weeds. Isn’t this stuff pretty good? If she wanted to sell it, she could have just said so. It’s not like I don’t know quality.”

Life-bound artifact: [Perhaps because she has been rejected too many times, she no longer has any confidence. She is very hungry and only wanted to exchange them for money to buy food.]

Chi Yixuan was somewhat surprised. “Are you sympathizing with her? When did you become so kind?” After all, the suggestions his life-bound artifact had given him before had either been to force others to join Zhaoge, or to kill everyone from Strange Treasure Hall and plunder their wealth.

The life-bound artifact seemed a little helpless. [Your Majesty, she is only a little girl.]

Chi Yixuan made a huge fuss. “Little girls can’t be scary? You’re disrespecting children’s intelligence!” Children were crafty little things. For example, when he was very young, he already knew how to calculate when his parents would get home so he could secretly watch cartoons, then switch to the science and education channel at lightning speed before his parents opened the door and lie that it was an assignment from the teacher.

That was what he said, but Chi Yixuan was still satisfied with the life-bound artifact’s attitude. If his life-bound artifact had moved the tactics it used against Strange Treasure Hall onto a little girl, then he would have to consider whether to wipe out this artifact spirit’s intelligence in the future.

Chi Yixuan released his hold on the little girl, and his attitude became much gentler. “These talisman papers of yours are very good. When you find someone who knows quality, you don’t have to worry about not selling them. Do you have more? I’ll take them all.” As he spoke, he pushed over several pieces of silver.

The little girl stared blankly at him, but her eyes gradually lit up.

Not long after, a bamboo basket full of talisman papers was placed on the little table at the wonton stall. The little girl sat on the bench, bent her head, and gulped down the wonton soup. Only then did she treasure each wonton and eat them one by one.

Chi Yixuan saw that her hair was somewhat messy, her clothes old and worn, and there was a shoe print from being stepped on across the back of her hand. He ordered another bowl of wontons for her.

The wonton-selling woman glanced at the two of them, then packed it in a cheap bamboo tube so the little girl could take it home if she could not finish it.

The little girl was named Xingchun. Once she had filled her stomach, she raised her smiling face and introduced her talisman papers to the generous customer before her.

She said these talisman papers were all made by her, and the craft of making talismans had been passed down by her ancestors. If the customer still needed them, she could do nothing else and make talismans especially for him every day.

The little girl’s face was flushed rosy by the heat from the wonton stall, and when she raised her smiling face, she looked extremely sweet. A long string of flattering words poured out without stopping. “Customer, your eye is truly excellent. I’ve sold talisman papers on this street for so long, and not one of those practitioners knows quality better than you do. You must be an immortal from the heavens reincarnated. In the future, not only will you become a cultivator, you’ll even become an immortal lord! Wherever you go, the merit all over you will shine wherever you are. Now that I’ve been shone upon by you today, maybe I’ll become rich and noble in the future. When I go back, I’ll definitely set up a longevity tablet for you, and every day I’ll hope for you to ascend and become an immortal. No, become the king of all immortals! A celestial emperor!”

Hearing these words, the life-bound artifact seemed to have found a kindred spirit. Even its voice grew somewhat excited. [Your Majesty, I suspect this child can predict the future. Hurry and bring her back to Zhaoge!]

Chi Yixuan: ...

Come on. She was just blowing rainbow farts. You actually took it seriously?

Huh? Usually, whenever he said the life-bound artifact was blowing rainbow farts, the life-bound artifact always fell strangely silent. Could it be that it was not sucking up? It genuinely believed that?

At this moment, Chi Yixuan was inexplicably shaken.

He waved a hand to stop the little girl from currying favor, then selected one talisman from the bamboo basket, unfolded it, and showed it to her.

Xingchun quickly said, “Great benefactor, this is a cooling talisman. Take it into the wilderness and the summer heat won’t invade you. It can even scare off some little yao creatures!”

Chi Yixuan shook his head and said bluntly, “The talisman script on this is completely useless. What I want to ask is, where did the silk thread woven into the talisman come from?”

Generally speaking, a talisman was divided into a talisman head, talisman aperture, and talisman foot, while the tool used for inscribing the talisman could be silk, bamboo slips, cloth strips, and so on. For the latter, the material only needed to be convenient and practical. It did not necessarily have to be yellow paper. It was said that those skilled at drawing talismans could visualize in their heart and draw formless talismans.

However, in the so-called cooling talismans the little girl was peddling, what was useful was not the talisman script at all, but the cloth strip used for drawing the talisman. This white cloth strip was mixed with a portion of strange silk thread. In Chi Yixuan’s eyes, the spiritual light emitted by these threads had nowhere to hide.

When she heard him say this, the smile on the little girl’s face could not hold. Yet she still forced herself to say words of praise. “Customer, you’re really amazing. No one else could tell!”

That was because all the people the little girl had encountered before were practitioners. If she had met a cultivator, she would have been seen through long ago.

It was very clear that what Chi Yixuan wanted was not the talismans, but the silk thread mixed into the cloth strips.

Xingchun hesitated visibly for a moment before saying, “Kind sir, that silk thread is the secret of my family’s talisman making. I’m counting on it to feed me for the rest of my life. If you take it all, then...”

The way she hesitated, looking wronged and not daring to directly refuse, appeared very pitiful.

To show that he was an extremely sincere customer, Chi Yixuan signaled for her to name her price.

The little girl hesitated, then held up one finger.

Chi Yixuan said, “One hundred taels? Fine.”

The little girl immediately shook her head. “No, no, that won’t do. I want one thousand taels.”

She looked very uneasy, but Chi Yixuan did not hesitate in the slightest. “Fine.” Luckily, when he had looted the spoils from Song Dianlai, he had also taken a fair bit of gold and silver. Otherwise, he would have had to return to Zhaoge for money.

“Really? Customer, you’re truly generous. Even bodhisattvas don’t have a heart like yours!” The little girl looked overjoyed and immediately got up to lead the way.

Chi Yixuan followed her. However, after they entered a busy marketplace, the little girl’s body flashed. Her whole person was like a drop of water sinking into a river, vanishing instantly without a trace.

The lights of the marketplace shone on his lonely figure, somehow giving it a touch of desolation.

[Your Majesty, she does not trust you.]

Chi Yixuan sighed. “Alas, at least I have that much self-awareness.”

The life-bound artifact could not help saying, [You accepted the price too readily. She took you for a villain plotting to seize treasure and kill her. If you had bargained with her, you would have looked more credible.]

Chi Yixuan said, “But I think that silk thread is worth it! If I can buy it for one thousand taels, I’m the one getting a bargain. How could I have the nerve to haggle?”

The life-bound artifact: ...

“All right. If she wanted to sell the silk thread, she wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of mixing it into talisman papers.” Chi Yixuan recalled the little girl’s clothing. “Someone must have taught her. That silk thread isn’t simple. If it were exposed, it would be hard to avoid someone killing her to seize the treasure. If she sold it off, she wouldn’t be able to protect the money she received either. In contrast, mixing the silk thread into talisman papers makes the effect less outstanding, but it still has some usefulness. If she meets people who know quality but can’t see through the details, then selling a few a day could provide a long-term livelihood.”

[Your Majesty, you truly are wise and...]

Chi Yixuan said quickly, “Hurry and see whether she’s gotten home!”

Before the life-bound artifact could even start blowing rainbow farts, it was forced to stop. Without complaint, it opened the map and found Xingchun’s location.

All of Silver City was within the life-bound artifact’s scouting range. The little girl thought she had shaken off Chi Yixuan, but she did not know that her every move was under the life-bound artifact’s eyes.

In the image, the little girl twisted and turned through several places. Only after confirming no one was following her did she return home.

She lived in a narrow alley in the south of the city. Her home was a broken house that let in the wind, filled with shabby, tattered furniture. The walls were covered in cracks.

Judging by the signs of life, she was the only one in this home. She looked around for a while. Only after confirming there was no one nearby did she slip into the house, lift the ragged cloth beside the bed, and reveal a bamboo chest underneath.

Inside the bamboo chest lay a plump, glowing white worm as long as an arm. It was a silkworm that was currently spinning silk.

Life-bound artifact: [Appraisal complete: ice silkworm, mystic-grade yao creature, already domesticated. The ice silkworm silk it spins is an excellent material for making Dao robes.]

Chi Yixuan had originally thought this little girl had merely gotten some gold by chance. He had not expected her to own a chicken that laid golden eggs!

“No wonder she is so cautious. If someone with ill intentions learned she had this treasure, I’m afraid she wouldn’t even be able to keep her life.”

The life-bound artifact was eager to try. [Your Majesty, should we force her to join Zhaoge?]

Chi Yixuan shook his head. “Mark her first.”

A Foundation Establishment cultivator could already leave a mark on someone else. No matter where the marked person went, the caster would know it. This was a very ordinary method of applying spiritual power, and one would naturally comprehend it after reaching Foundation Establishment. It was like how an infant knew how to drink milk as soon as it was born.

After marking Xingchun, Chi Yixuan wandered around the city, comparing the differences between cities in the two worlds. At the same time, he refined his future plans for Zhaoge in his heart. Before long, he had returned to the wonton stall.

“Shopkeeper, another forty-six bowls of wontons. Pack them to go.”

The shopkeeper looked at him in astonishment.

Chi Yixuan frowned. “One bowl of wontons from you costs ten wen. I gave you half a tael of silver earlier and only asked for four bowls. You should give me forty-six more bowls!” Half a tael of silver could be exchanged for five hundred wen. His request was very reasonable.

The shopkeeper: ...

As she cooked the wontons, she muttered, “I thought it was a tip. Got all happy for nothing. He looks like a cultivator, so why is he so stingy...”

Chi Yixuan added, “No cilantro, extra scallions.”

[Are you bringing them back for the laborers?]

Chi Yixuan sighed. “That’s right. Although they caused me to lose a pair of shoes, what can I do to my precious points?”

In the end, he could only forgive them like a parent.

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