Chapter 10

Jiang Luo asked, puzzled: "You want to buy my talisman?"

What he really wanted to ask was, "My talisman can actually be sold?"

Ge Zhu couldn't look away. "I-I want to buy it, but I don't have money..."

Jiang Luo: "..."

Ge Zhu's words sounded like he was playing Jiang Luo, but his expression said otherwise. Jiang Luo didn't miss any flicker on his face. He set down his brush gently and picked up the talisman.

Ge Zhu's gaze tracked the talisman's every movement. Once Jiang Luo confirmed his expression was genuine, he handed the talisman over without ceremony. "It's yours."

Ge Zhu was overwhelmed. "Give it to me?!"

Jiang Luo shrugged. "Yeah, it's yours."

The materials for this talisman were all things on the desk. Jiang Luo hadn't even exerted much effort. Something this easy to make—giving it away for a favor was well worth it.

Ge Zhu was at a loss, holding the talisman with emotion. "Jiang Luo, I can run errands for you. I don't have money, but I can wash your clothes and scrub your dishes. I'm very experienced at that."

Jiang Luo looked at him, radiating immortal-sage dignity, then glanced at Lu You not far away, who exuded the unmistakable aura of wealth. He couldn't help but marvel at the world's splendid variety. "No need. Just teach me more about my studies. That's enough."

Ge Zhu's eyes were nearly brimming with tears: "Boundless blessings, Heavenly Honored One. There really are still good people in this world. Jiang Luo, come ask me anything in the future. I'll tell you everything I know."

After saying this, Ge Zhu couldn't help but examine the talisman closely again. "The Runes are lively, the qi flows like clouds and water, and the force contained in every spot is perfectly even. This is definitely a rare, superior Spirit Paper."

Jiang Luo silently filed his words away.

The original host hadn't experienced anything like this when drawing talismans. Combined with the black qi he'd seen at Hotel 129, Jiang Luo sensed these changes were deeply tied to his own soul.

He might really be a small genius.

Ge Zhu looked at Jiang Luo with bright delight. "Jiang Luo, how did you suddenly become able to draw a talisman like this?"

Jiang Luo's face betrayed nothing. Just as he was about to bluff, Ge Zhu's expression shifted to sudden realization. "You must have pushed yourself to excel because you wanted to avenge Chi You, right?"

As he spoke, he confirmed his own guess and couldn't help but sigh: "So love really can unleash a person's potential."

Jiang Luo's eyes curved into crescents, his happiness visible to anyone watching. "Yes. He made me undergo a complete transformation."

Shed eighteen skins. Regrew eighteen sets of bones.

Heh.

Their commotion drew the old teacher's attention. He walked over with a frown, sternly saying: "You're not drawing talismans. What are you doing here?"

Ge Zhu: "Teacher, we..."

The old teacher suddenly cut him off, staring in delighted surprise at the Spirit Paper in his hands, unable to contain his joy: "Ge Zhu, your talisman-drawing skills have improved again!"

Ge Zhu said, embarrassed: "Teacher, this talisman wasn't drawn by me. It was Jiang Luo."

The old teacher froze, slowly turning to look at Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo clearly read the heavy doubt in his eyes.

Jiang Luo hadn't even broken a sweat. Others had barely begun, struggling with every step, and he was already finished?

This was like someone telling the old teacher "sows can climb trees"—wasn't this a joke?!

"Really?" The old teacher didn't say anything, but his demeanor already showed disbelief. He said lightly, "Not bad, not bad. Jiang Luo, could you draw another one for me to see?"

Ge Zhu hesitated: "Drawing one talisman takes a lot of energy. Teacher, maybe don't make Jiang Luo draw another."

Jiang Luo chimed in with a smile: "Another one exactly like this?"

The old teacher stared straight at him, his gaze pressing down: "Yes."

Jiang Luo smiled. "Something this simple? Of course I can."

Hearing this brazen claim, disappointment once again spread across the old teacher's eyes. "Then draw it."

Jiang Luo actually pulled out a Yellow Talisman and began drawing with casual ease.

This talisman was drawn from start to finish right under the old teacher's nose. His eyes slowly widened—glancing at the talisman, then back at Jiang Luo in shock.

Jiang Luo hadn't even half a drop of sweat. He even felt drawing talismans was much easier than drawing blueprints—blueprints required precise measurements with no room for error, but talismans were freer. "Is this acceptable?"

Ge Zhu was stunned. "Boundless blessings, Heavenly Honored One..."

The old teacher was startled awake by this exclamation. His eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed the talisman Jiang Luo had just drawn, held it close to his face, examined it intensely for a moment, then laughed loudly and turned to run outside. His speed left the entire class dumbfounded.

A crowd gathered around Jiang Luo, so he had no choice but to draw another one in front of them.

Lu You looked at the talisman he'd drawn, his eyes nearly welling up. He choked out: "You've been secretly working hard behind my back. This time you're no longer last place—last place is going to be me."

Jiang Luo: "..."

Lu You was too heartbroken. He took off his watch from his wrist and handed it to Jiang Luo. "Quick, trade your talisman for it. Heal my wounded heart."

Jiang Luo glanced at the six-figure-price watch and immediately turned to look at Ge Zhu.

Ge Zhu warily tucked the talisman into his clothes and gave him an embarrassed smile.

Big mistake.

So one talisman was worth six figures.

Jiang Luo immediately stuffed the talisman into Lu You's hands and pocketed the watch. "Anyone else want one? Cheap sale, cheap sale! Only chance!"

Zhuo Zhongqiu asked: "How many more can you draw?"

Jiang Luo said: "I don't know."

He propped his chin on his hand, looked at the stack of yellow paper, and murmured: "I draw one, you take one?"

"That's fine," Zhuo Zhongqiu reminded him, "but let's agree first—when you hit your limit, stop in time."

Jiang Luo: "Okay."

He drew while listening to Zhuo Zhongqiu and Ge Zhu explain the difficulty of Spirit Papers.

The Xuanxue World was in decline. Not only were artifact-refiners few and far between, Spirit Paper masters were also exceedingly rare. The current Spirit Paper masters had all entered old age, making it hard to muster the energy when crafting. The younger generation had no one to step up as a pillar—it was a time when the old and new couldn't bridge the gap.

Right now, buying a good talisman required not just money but connections. The market couldn't meet demand, so most people used talismans they drew themselves—mediocre quality, barely passable. Those truly helpless at Spirit Papers would buy even worse quality ones from classmates for daily use.

Jiang Luo listened while drawing. Once he understood that scarcity drove value, he drew seven talismans and set down his brush. "No more. I can't draw anymore."

But drawing seven Spirit Papers in a row was already a miracle—their Spirit Paper teacher might not even be able to do this.

Zhuo Zhongqiu murmured: "How much of your own talent did you waste before..."

Of the seven talismans, besides Ge Zhu and Lu You who already had theirs, the remaining five were taken one by one by the others. Zhuo Zhongqiu was the most direct—she transferred the money to Jiang Luo via WeChat. The others did their best to trade one thing for another.

Ye Xun: "I'll tutor you."

That worked. Jiang Luo nodded in agreement and looked at the next person.

Kuang Zheng said stiffly: "I can refine artifacts for you."

That was very acceptable. He'd been eyeing Ye Xun's resentful spirit doll for a long time.

Wenren Lian said with a smile: "I can take you to places that sell artifact-refining materials. Spend very little money, get the best stuff."

Jiang Luo: "Deal."

Sailor said enthusiastically: "I can teach you—dancing, drumming, singing."

Jiang Luo: "..." What?

"Sailor is from the Shaman clan. He can perform Spirit Invocation," Wenren Lian explained. "When he invokes spirits, he needs to dance, drum, and sing as an invitation to the deities, to achieve the goal of soul projection."

Sailor nodded rapidly. "Right, I can teach you. I'm very good at it."

Lu You scooted next to Jiang Luo and whispered: "Sailor is tone-deaf when he sings. Probably because it's so terrible, he's never successfully invoked a spirit. Don't you dare learn singing from him. You know our School's music room? That was built specifically for Sailor—the soundproofing is excellent, just in case he opens his mouth and scares us."

Jiang Luo was silent for a moment, then asked Sailor, "You're third-to-last in the class?"

Sailor gave a sweet, innocent smile. "Right, right! Jiang, I'm third, Lu is second, you're first! You're the best!"

Jiang Luo's expression twisted for a moment. He stuffed the talisman into this silly child's hands. "Take it."

Considering he was about to become second-to-last, Jiang Luo wouldn't bother arguing with him.

Jiang Luo kept the remaining two talismans for himself. He wanted to test whether they could deal with Chi You.

The Spirit Paper teacher didn't return all morning. Jiang Luo thought the matter was over. After eating a terrible cafeteria lunch with his classmates at noon, during the afternoon feng shui class, the School suddenly sent a message.

The points for Jiang Luo, Lu You, and Ye Xun's completed commission came through. Because the difficulty exceeded expectations and they brought back a headless ghost kept in a flower pot, the points doubled—from the original four to eight. Ye Xun and Lu You's credits were now fully sufficient to participate in The Yunnan Competition.

In the entire class, the only one whose credits were insufficient was Jiang Luo. Even adding these eight points, his credits were still a pitiful eleven. However, because he'd drawn a superior Spirit Paper, as an initial reward for the student, the School gave Jiang Luo an additional ten credits.

Students with twenty or more credits would have the School register them for The Yunnan Competition. In other words, Jiang Luo had to participate in the National Science Competition one month from now.

That night, Jiang Luo moved back to his own dorm. He checked the doors and windows, placed a small knife under his pillow, along with the two Suppressive Talismans he'd drawn during the day.

Whether thanks to the two talismans, Jiang Luo slept through until dawn.

Early the next morning, Jiang Luo opened his eyes, stretched lazily, and languidly drew open the curtains.

Halfway through his stretch, Jiang Luo slowly stopped.

On the balcony, over twenty small bird corpses lay scattered on the ground. The glass window was covered in bloodstains from birds crashing into it. At first glance, it looked like a horror movie set.

Jiang Luo crouched down, looking coldly at the bird corpses.

What kind of situation would drive these birds to crash into his room without caring about their lives?

Jiang Luo reached out to brush the slightly cracked glass window, then took out the two Suppressive Talismans from under his pillow.

One had already turned to ash; the other was slightly warm.

He hadn't expected his talismans could resist birds controlled by the Puppetry Art.

Jiang Luo curved his lips. Standing once again by the window, looking down at the bird corpses, he suddenly said with a half-smile: "Chi You, so you love me this much."

His tone was mockingly sweet. "Just one night without seeing me, and you're already this anxious?"

The glass dimly reflected Jiang Luo's own face.

Long hair draped over his shoulders, his eyes and brows full of mockery, still in his pajamas.

He said slowly: "Liking me this much will bring me trouble. A secret admirer should have a secret admirer's rules, you know?"

Jiang Luo turned around in good spirits. He'd barely taken two steps when a loud crash of something hitting the glass came from behind him.

He spun around instantly.

The dead birds on the ground had somehow stood up again. Dragging broken wings and battered, flesh-torn heads, they slammed against the cracks in the glass again and again as if they couldn't feel pain.

The scene was like zombie birds from movies and novels—terrifying and bizarre.

Jiang Luo's expression darkened. The Suppressive Talisman in his hand suddenly grew hot, turning to ash and slipping through his fingers. At the same time, the dead birds on the balcony seemed to have the thread controlling them severed—they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Chi You had grown stronger.

Why?

Jiang Luo suddenly remembered something.

Tonight seemed to be Chi You's Head Seventh Day.