The Talisman Arises from the Heart, a Gentle Breeze is Born

Chen Shi watched the scene unfold, filled with envy. "If only I could do that, it would be so cool and stylish to lie in a coffin next time."

Grandpa activated the compass, and the wooden cart drove outward.

"Grandpa, does this Xiao Wangsun also need to be kept in a corpse-raising ground to nourish his body?" Chen Shi asked, tilting his head up.

Grandpa stared at the compass. "Once we get to the manor, don't ask about others."

Hearing this, Chen Shi stopped asking. He just looked back at the mysterious mountain manor, his heart full of curiosity.

This mountain manor was built by Grandpa and a group of people with mysterious identities. Everyone who came to this place didn't ask about origins or pasts. They all spontaneously followed a peculiar rule.

It's like the way a criminal gang operates.

Chen Shi blinked and thought to himself, Grandpa must have done a lot of bad things back then, perhaps even evil deeds. But no matter how many bad things he did, he's still my Grandpa.

The grandfather and grandson returned to Huangpo Village. Before long, a shrill scream came from Chen Shi's room: "Where are my candied hawthorns? Where are my sticky rice cakes? And my little sugar figures! Who stole them? Which son of a bitch stole my treasures?"

Grandpa was drawing talismans when he saw Chen Shi storm out of his room, radiating killing intent.

"It must be the other children in the village who stole my candied hawthorns, sticky rice cakes, and little sugar figures while I was away! I could barely bring myself to eat them, and they stole and ate them! I'll catch them all!"

Chen Shi walked out, furious, his face grim. "Bring on the torture!"

Grandpa stopped him and said, "No one stole them. I threw them away. You slept for seven days, they've long since gone bad."

Chen Shi's face immediately fell. He then perked up and pleaded, "Grandpa, those delicious snacks you bought last time, I didn't dare to eat them. I only ate a small bite a day, planning to make them last longer. Can you buy me more..."

"No money."

The old man stopped writing, looked up, and glanced at him. "Didn't you earn four taels of silver by getting rid of evil in Huangyang Village? Give the silver to Grandpa, and Grandpa will save it for you to buy a wife... um, to get married, and buy you more good food."

Chen Shi became wary. "I didn't get paid for helping Huangyang Village get rid of evil."

Grandpa lowered his head and continued drawing talismans. "When I was washing your clothes, I found four taels of silver in your sleeve pocket. If it's not yours, then it must be mine."

Thump.

Chen Shi's face turned pale, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, utterly dejected. His face was practically screaming "life is meaningless."

After a moment, Grandpa seemed to take pity. He put down the cinnabar brush and tossed him a small piece of silver. "Here's one tael. Get up quickly."

Chen Shi grabbed the lost and found silver, tears of joy streaming down his face. He quickly got up. "Thank you, Grandpa! Thank you, Grandpa!"

Black Pot, lying in the corner, rolled its eyes and thought, Little master doesn't even consider who earned that silver with their life. The original four taels were all yours, and now you're grateful for just one tael. You've been manipulated by the old man again.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Chen Shi put one hand behind his back, holding a piece of exotic beast meat in the other, and called the dog over. Black Pot lazily got up and slowly walked to his side.

Chen Shi revealed his true intentions, drawing the small knife hidden behind his back and grabbing Black Pot with a sinister grin.

Black Pot chewed the meat, looking resigned to its fate.

Chen Shi got some black dog blood and hid in the room, tinkering with something.

Black Pot wasn't curious at all until Chen Shi brought out a thick stack of talismans and tied them to its four legs with a straw rope.

Black Pot was startled and was about to bite off the talismans when it saw Chen Shi also tying two talismans to his own legs.

These talismans had wind patterns on top, like swirling winds, with the words "Ride the Clouds" written within the wind. In the middle were patterns of the Big Dipper, and below the Big Dipper were the Six Ding and Six Jia deities. At the very bottom was a combination of wind and Big Dipper patterns.

This was precisely the structure of a Jia Ma Talisman.

Chen Shi had a chance encounter with the Iron Brush Old Man and, relying on his speed, killed him. However, he was very envious of the Jia Ma Talismans used by the Iron Brush Old Man and Zhao Ming for travel. Therefore, after his body fully recovered, he decided to experiment with the usage of the Jia Ma Talisman.

Chen Shi channeled a wisp of his dissipating true qi to activate the Jia Ma Talismans on Black Pot's four legs, and simultaneously activated the Jia Ma Talismans on his own legs.

"Black Pot, good things should be shared."

Chen Shi took a step forward, laughing. "These talismans were refined with your blood, so of course, you get some!"

As he took this step, he felt a gust of clear wind rise from beneath his feet. His stride seemed to glide forward, easily covering a distance of about five to six meters!

Even more peculiar was that before his foot landed, another gust of wind rose from under his foot, lifting his body. About ten to fifteen centimeters off the ground, it propelled him forward, requiring very little effort!

Chen Shi was both surprised and delighted, and he took a second step.

This second step was even farther, nearly six meters!

His feet walked on the wind, like walking on ice, gliding forward without resistance. Even more crucially, this ice surface felt soft and yielding.

Combined with his previous stride, each step was equivalent to six or seven of his normal steps!

Black Pot, usually steady, couldn't help but feel playful seeing Chen Shi gliding around on the wind with incredible speed. Without a word, it charged forward on its four legs.

"Whoosh—"

A black streak shot forward, and a strong wind suddenly arose, rustling loudly. It actually caused the window lattices on both sides of the street in Huangpo Village to flap back and forth.

A dull thud echoed from a distance. Chen Shi watched as Black Pot, like a cannonball, crashed into the adobe wall across the street, a hundred paces away.

Chen Shi was startled and rushed over. He saw the black dog struggling to pull its head out of the wall. The dog's head had actually punched a hole the size of a dog's head through the adobe wall.

The wall belonged to Old Zhou's house.

Old Zhou saw that it was the Chen family's dog that had broken through his wall and dared not speak out in anger.

Black Pot pulled its head out and shook its head like a rattle drum.

Chen Shi was worried it might be injured. Suddenly, he saw the dog grow excited, its four paws kicking up wind as it sped away, its feet treading on a gale.

"Woof woof woof!"

Dog barks came from afar, the sound rapidly fading.

Chen Shi hurried to catch up, only to see the dog frolicking in the wind as if it were running on air, swift as lightning. After all, it had four legs, and its speed even surpassed his!

"Whoosh!"

A sharp whistling sound cut through the air beside Chen Shi. It was Black Pot dashing past. Before Chen Shi could get a clear look, with another "whoosh," Black Pot charged into the village, circling Huangpo Village round and round, startling chickens and dogs into a frenzy.

The next moment, the dog rushed out of Huangpo Village and into the forest. Soon, birds took flight in the mountains, scattering in all directions, and the trees swayed violently in the strong wind.

Chen Shi worried it might be in danger and quickly followed, but he couldn't keep up with Black Pot.

Four legs are faster than two legs!

Just as Chen Shi thought this, a fierce wind suddenly swept over him. When the wind subsided, he saw Black Pot standing before him, panting with its tongue out, looking at him excitedly and wagging its tail furiously.

Before Chen Shi could figure out what it wanted, Black Pot suddenly vanished with a "whoosh." The wind abruptly intensified, and Black Pot reappeared before Chen Shi, now holding the small knife used to draw black dog blood in its mouth. Then, with another "whoosh," it disappeared again. When it reappeared, it was holding an inkstone.

In a short time, with a few back-and-forth trips, Black Pot had brought all the items Chen Shi needed to draw talismans.

Chen Shi understood and said with difficulty, "Black Pot, you just had blood drawn, and Grandpa also drew some this morning. Drawing too much blood in one day will be too much for your body..."

"Woof woof!"

Black Pot barked excitedly, hopping around him, urging Chen Shi to draw more Jia Ma talismans. The Jia Ma talismans on its legs had already lost more than half their power and were not as effective as before.

Chen Shi had no choice but to comply. He drew black dog blood, ground cinnabar, and drew many more Jia Ma talismans.

Black Pot ran wildly and soon disappeared from his sight. After a while, he heard the sound of wind whistling from afar, approaching rapidly. A fierce wind suddenly struck, and the frolicking Black Dog sped past.

After running wildly for an unknown amount of time, Black Pot finally grew tired. Although exhausted, it was still spirited.

Chen Shi put away the remaining Jia Ma talismans and suddenly had an idea.

A short while later, he arrived at Huangyang Village to visit his only living friend, Liu Fugui.

Liu Fugui had recovered a lot, but for some reason, he was now extremely respectful, even fearful, of Chen Shi, lacking the casual demeanor he once had.

Chen Shi left, disappointed.

Fugui is afraid of me and is no longer my friend. He even intended to kneel and kowtow to me, his eyes filled with terror. He's just like the other children now.

Gangzi Village.

Granny Sha was a famous spirit medium in the area. People for miles around knew that while Godmother could protect and bless villagers, Granny Sha could summon the souls of the departed.

If one missed a loved one, they could seek out Granny Sha to summon the departed soul from the underworld.

Families whose elders had died suddenly, without time to reveal where they had hidden their money, would also come to ask Granny Sha to summon the elder's soul.

There were also those seeking revenge, who, unable to find peace even after killing their enemy, would come to Granny Sha to summon the enemy's soul, to whip, drown, or burn it, thus venting their hatred.

On this day, Granny Sha was performing a soul summoning for a woman whose husband had died. She summoned the husband's soul, and the woman inquired about remarrying, planning to sell their property, move to another village with her child, and discuss changing her child's surname with her deceased husband.

Of course, it was merely an inquiry. Even if the deceased husband objected, he could do nothing.

Suddenly, a beam of light shone through from the dark room, disturbing the deceased husband's soul, scaring the ghost into a cry.

Granny Sha looked and saw a small head peeking through the gap in the door – it was Chen Shi.

Chen Shi grinned when he saw Granny Sha, revealing a mouth full of white teeth.

Granny Sha's heart skipped a beat. She quickly dismissed the woman who wanted to remarry and said, "Little Ten, why are you here? Where is your Grandpa?"

She felt uneasy. Facing Chen Shi alone, she was actually a little scared.

Chen Shi held a basket filled with green duck eggs, with fruits and berries beneath them. He smiled and said, "My Grandpa is at home. I've come to bring you some local specialties from our village."

Granny Sha was amazed and quickly accepted the basket. "Your Grandpa grew these? That must have been hard for him."

"These weren't grown or raised by Grandpa; a kind neighbor gave them to us."

Chen Shi spoke sweetly, wiped a plum, and offered it to her. "Granny, please try it. It's a bit sweet and sour!"

Granny Sha's fear of him lessened somewhat. She smiled and said, "Chen Yindu is such a blunt fellow who never knows how to say nice things. How could he have a grandson like you who knows how to speak and act? It's truly sweet!"

She took a bite of the plum and found that it wasn't sour at all. Of course, the plum was still a bit sour, but her heart felt sweet.

However, she was still somewhat afraid of Chen Shi and urged him to go home quickly before it got dark.

Chen Shi smiled, "Granny, don't worry. I have Jia Ma talismans tied to my legs, so I can run very fast. I'll be home in no time. Granny, your water tank is empty. I'll go fetch some water for you." With that, he picked up a water bucket and headed to the village well.

In a short while, Chen Shi filled Granny Sha's water jar. He also swept the floor, scrubbed the pots and bowls, washed clothes, and hung them out to dry for Granny Sha, being very attentive.

Granny Sha quickly called out to him, "Unsolicited kindness often hides a motive. Tell me, what brings you here?"

Chen Shi wiped the water from his hands on his backside, his face beaming with a fawning smile. "Grandpa said that Granny Sha loves me the most. You even held me when I was little, and you tried your best to summon my soul when I was injured. You saved me again this time, so I should be attentive."

Granny Sha sneered, "Chen Yindu paid me, that's why I saved you. It was a fair transaction; you don't need to be so attentive. I always do business based on transactions, not favors. Now, tell me, what is it?"

Seeing this, Chen Shi had no choice but to state his purpose. "Granny, are there any desolate mountains or abandoned temples near Ganyang Mountain? The kind that suddenly appear out of nowhere, are deserted, and no one visits to offer incense? The older, the better!"

Granny Sha's heart stirred slightly. "What do you need such a place for?"

----Thanks to Butterfly Bean Flower and Peng Men Xiao Xian for their Alliance Leader rewards, bosses are wise!

Brothers, this is still the early stage of a new book. It needs more promotion and votes from all of you. Zhai Zhu thanks you all~