"Lu Lang went out again today?"
As the sun slanted westward, the rented donkey cart clip-clopped back to Tong Yi Alley. Just as Lu Zheng stepped down, he saw Liu Qingyan leaving her home.
"Mm, I went to White Cloud Temple." Lu Zheng nodded. "Miss Liu, are you going out? It's already getting late."
"Father is still busy at the clinic. Mother asked me to bring him home for dinner."
"Uncle Liu has bought the clinic already?"
"Mm, it's a storefront on East Street. It's not actually far from home."
"Then I'll go with you. I can familiarize myself with the place, so if I get a headache or fever in the future, I'll know where to seek treatment."
The corners of Liu Qingyan's lips lifted slightly. "If Lu Lang succeeds in martial arts, how could you still suffer from such minor ailments?"
"You never know," Lu Zheng said.
The two soon turned out of the alley and walked west past another street corner. Lu Zheng saw a storefront on the south side of the street, where several carpenters were hammering away inside.
Lu Zheng looked up and saw that the signboard had already been hung.
Renxin Hall.
"Father, Mother asked you to come home for dinner. Let's call it a day."
Old Man Liu came outside and saw that it was indeed late. Going with the flow, he sent the hired carpenters home, shut the shop himself, and returned home with Liu Qingyan and Lu Zheng.
"Lu Lang went out again today?"
Lu Zheng could only answer again, "I went to Shaotong Mountain east of the city, joined White Cloud Temple, and became a Lay Practitioner recorded in the Taoist registers."
Old Man Liu halted mid-step and said in considerable surprise, "Young Master, are you planning to leave the secular world and cultivate?"
"I'm not leaving home!" Lu Zheng waved his hands repeatedly. "I'm just a nominal disciple, the kind who only learns skills."
"Oh, oh, so that's how it is!"
"Does White Cloud Temple really possess genuine abilities?" Liu Qingyan's breathing grew several degrees lighter.
Lu Zheng nodded. "They really do possess genuine abilities. Or rather, White Cloud Temple's Abbot essentially saved my life."
On the way home, Lu Zheng told the Liu father and daughter about the Corpse Ghoul.
This world had demons and ghosts; it was no secret. Lu Zheng had no particular intention of concealing it. Telling them could also make the Liu father and daughter more vigilant.
"So, something wearing human skin might not necessarily be human. It could even be a ghost!"
Old Man Liu and Liu Qingyan looked at each other.
Old Man Liu said, "I never expected Lu Lang to have gone through such an experience."
"I never expected Lu Lang to have encountered such an Evil Ghost before." Liu Qingyan's face turned pale, as though she had been badly frightened.
"So you should both be careful in the future. Oh, right, Master taught me a Five Talisman Method. When the time comes, I'll draw each of you a Peace Talisman. It can serve as a warning too."
Old Man Liu smiled broadly. "Good, then we'll wait for you to cultivate true qi and draw talismans for us."
"I've already cultivated true qi," Lu Zheng said. "From what I can see, the Five Talisman Method isn't difficult either. I should be able to draw them soon."
Old Man Liu stumbled. "You've already cultivated true qi?"
Lu Zheng nodded.
"Lu Lang, you encountered a Corpse Ghoul before, and now you've succeeded in Qi Refining. Will you go catch ghosts and subdue demons in the future?" Liu Qingyan did not look well.
Lu Zheng stroked his chin, pretending to think.
Catching ghosts and subduing demons should be the fastest way to earn Light of Luck.
It was just too dangerous...
Seeing that Lu Zheng did not answer, Liu Qingyan lowered her head and fell silent as well.
Old Man Liu licked his lips. "Lu Lang, although you encountered an Evil Ghost that wanted to eat hearts and harm people, the truth is, just as people are divided into good and evil, demons and ghosts are also divided into good and evil. They cannot all be painted with the same brush."
"I know that!" Lu Zheng said with a baffled expression.
"Er, you know?" Old Man Liu blinked.
Liu Qingyan could not help raising her head and glancing at Lu Zheng.
"Uncle Liu, you don't think that from now on, I'll strike without distinguishing black from white whenever I encounter a demon or ghost, do you?" Lu Zheng did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Old Man Liu said, "Wouldn't you?"
"Of course not." Lu Zheng smiled. "I'm an adult, after all. Of course I know that the treacherous parts of the human heart are even worse than evil ghosts."
"Besides, I often go to Qing Sheng Teahouse to listen to storytellers. There are many tales of demons who repay kindness and loyalty, as well as romances between humans and ghosts.
"To be honest, the ghost maidens in those stories are delicate and charming, and the fox girls are affectionate. I'm not some old fossil. I really would like to meet them and see whether they are as the storytellers describe."
Old Man Liu chuckled. "Lu Lang, you truly live up to the saying: to be young and not romantic is to waste one's youth!"
Liu Qingyan's cheeks flushed scarlet, and she blurted out, "Female ghosts won't do. Yin and yang are separated, and you and... it would damage your Yang Energy!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Liu Qingyan's lovely face turned crimson at a visible speed. "I-I'm only saying this from a physician's perspective..."
Lu Zheng hurriedly waved his hands in explanation. "I only meant meeting them. I was just curious!"
In a moment of excitement, he had let the words slip in front of a beautiful woman. Lu Zheng was somewhat embarrassed too.
The group made awkward conversation all the way back to Tong Yi Alley. Liu Qingyan fled into her home as though escaping, while Old Man Liu greeted Lu Zheng before returning inside as well.
After Lu Zheng got home and finished dinner, he immediately began cultivating the "White Cloud Commonly Spoken Qi Refining Scripture."
With the Midnight Stillness Breathing Technique as a foundation, Lu Zheng quickly learned the new Qi Refining method. The thread of true qi in his body transformed into true qi with a new attribute, and its quality improved.
"Upgrade!"
Seven strands of Light of Luck were consumed. The "White Cloud Commonly Spoken Qi Refining Scripture" instantly became familiar to him, all the true qi in his body was converted, and it even increased somewhat.
Next came the "Cloud Mist Moving Skill."
Mm, this Moving Skill required quite a lot of true qi as a foundation. If one's strength was too weak, it could not be used.
Thus, after another six strands of Light of Luck in the Jade Seal were consumed, Lu Zheng not only learned the "Cloud Mist Moving Skill," but the true qi in his body also grew another circle stronger.
All that remained was to accumulate true qi. The distance and weight he could move would increase accordingly.
"Done! Time to sleep!"
The next day, Lu Zheng rose early in high spirits and bought brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in Cong An Ward.
Drawing talismans!
It was another arduous day of secluded training. Lu Zheng went through untold hardships and spent a full four hours working with the diligence of hanging his hair from a beam and stabbing his thigh with an awl, even sacrificing his afternoon nap, before finally drawing five crooked talismans.
"This is way too hard!"
Lu Zheng wiped the thin sweat from his forehead.
"Upgrade!"
"Buzz!"
Five strands of Light of Luck vanished in an instant, and the Five Talisman Method immediately became clear in his heart.
Seven plus six plus five—eighteen strands of Light of Luck consumed in just two days.
Lu Zheng added another strand of Light of Luck to his physique, leaving the Light of Luck in the Jade Seal at a whole number. Only then did he finally feel at ease.
He spread out yellow paper, ground cinnabar, and lifted his wolf-hair brush. Lu Zheng's gaze was calm, his mind still and composed.
After waiting a dozen or so seconds, he lightly dipped the brush tip into cinnabar. The true qi within him gathered at the tip, and it raced across the yellow paper like dragons and snakes, completed in one breath.
The talisman took shape. Red light flashed once, then vanished from sight.
However, Lu Zheng could sense that his strand of true qi had been sealed within the yellow paper. Using the talisman as its vessel, it could now exert its effect.
The Peace Talisman was complete! Thanks to the Miaojiang gu master, my fellow cultivator, for the five hundred reward.
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