Solving the Problem

"Take this. You don't need to worry about anything else. Your Martial Uncle has been wandering the jianghu for decades. Before I had this talisman, I relied on myself to get by."

After saying that, he stuffed it into my hand. I knew there was no way I could refuse it now.

I took the small wooden box. Martial Uncle told me to put it in the small space, and I did as he said.

"Don't use anything in the small space unless it's a matter of life and death. Otherwise, you'll bring about your own demise. Your current abilities aren't enough to protect all of this," Martial Uncle said sternly.

"Okay, I understand. I won't use it unless it's a matter of life and death."

Martial Uncle smiled and nodded at me. "Let's go. We'll go back and take care of him, and then we can go about our own business."

And so, I returned with Martial Uncle to where we had first come from.

Martial Uncle walked up to the man and glanced at the natal origin energy in his hand.

"Well? Have you decided? I'm getting sleepy," the man said, yawning.

Martial Uncle gave me a look, and I understood immediately.

"Alright, I agree. Give me the natal origin energy," I said.

I reached out my hand. Martial Uncle watched the man's expression, and the man unhesitatingly placed it in my hand.

Seeing this, Martial Uncle finally relaxed. Then, Martial Uncle told me to be careful and put it in the small space. He said if the man tried to harm me, I should just crush his "natal origin energy."

The man remained indifferent, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

I thought to myself, This man has some serious guts to put his life in someone else's hands.

After I put the man's natal origin energy into the small space, I said to him, "You can come in now."

The man nodded and turned into a wisp of white smoke, entering the Yin gathering token.

Suddenly, bursts of laughter came from inside the Yin gathering token: "Hahaha, what a great place! This trade is really worth it. Now I can get some good sleep." After a while, there was no more movement inside. He must have fallen asleep.

With everything settled, we left the underground space.

Before leaving, Martial Uncle scattered a handful of unknown powder, saying it was to prevent living people from coming in and causing trouble.

Nangong Yiyi also released two streams of energy towards the two corpses on the ground. The corpses suddenly got up and walked towards the place where the stone coffin had sunk. They then burrowed into the ground and buried themselves, just above Qianqian's corpse, though not very deep.

"Now I can rest easy. I guarantee they won't be able to return," Nangong Yiyi said.

Then, our group walked out of the underground space. Martial Uncle strengthened the seal again by channeling two streams of spiritual energy into it. After finishing all this, we came out.

The group stood on the back mountain. The breeze felt refreshing on our skin. Martial Uncle's hair was very messy, with many white strands intertwined with black. As the breeze blew, his hair swayed gently.

It's time to part ways, I thought.

"Little girl, this world is full of treachery. Even though you are a Ghost King, you should still avoid wandering around aimlessly. Because A Tong's cultivation is not high right now, your rash appearance will only bring him disaster. There are still many experts in this world. You must know that one can't fight against many." Martial Uncle said to Nangong Yiyi.

"Don't worry, I know all of this. I will only act if my little brother is unable to handle it," Nangong Yiyi replied.

Hearing this, Martial Uncle nodded, then looked at me and said:

"You can't act rashly. Think three steps ahead. Your priority should always be to protect yourself; never try to show off. Also, don't be the first bird to get shot. A tall tree catches the wind. You possess great treasures, so you must understand the meaning of 'hiding your strength.' Do you understand?"

I told Martial Uncle I understood and asked when we would be able to meet again. Martial Uncle said we would meet when the time was right. This world is very large, and also very small.

I knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Martial Uncle. Putting aside everything else, I could never repay his kindness as a teacher, let alone the fact that he had saved my life multiple times.

Qianqian also stepped forward and bowed. Martial Uncle looked at us and nodded slightly. Then, he strode down the mountain. I watched his receding figure for a long time, speechless.

I stood there blankly on the back mountain, recalling memories: Martial Uncle's disheveled appearance when I first arrived at the small wooden house, the scenes in the underground space on the back mountain, the powerful Bamboo Kill, his earnest teachings during my cultivation. The talisman and advice he gave me when we parted, all of it brought a rush of emotions.

"Let's go. It's getting late. We should get going," Nangong Yiyi said.

I nodded and asked Qianqian to go back into the Yin gathering token, as it was daytime. Qianqian complied. Nangong Yiyi was fine. We walked down the mountain.

When we reached the village, Nangong Yiyi stopped for a moment and said she felt like there were still a few fish that had slipped through the net.

I took a careful look around the environment. There was indeed a faint yin energy, but it was very weak.

"Sister, why don't we stay in the village for the night and deal with these things? If we leave without resolving them, we won't know what might happen later. Even though these things are weak, if they keep staying here, it might lead to someone's death." I said to Nangong Yiyi.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. But the yang energy is too strong during the day. These things probably won't come out. Let's find a place to settle down first," Nangong Yiyi replied.

Then, I navigated through the winding paths of the village and finally arrived at my home. I went inside, gathered some firewood, and lit a fire where Martial Uncle and I had rested before. I found a clean spot to sit, took out some dried rations, and handed a piece to Nangong Yiyi. We ate while waiting for nightfall.

Suddenly, Nangong Yiyi spoke leisurely, "Little brother, what is your cultivation level now?"

"Around mid-stage Seeking the Way, I guess. What's wrong?"

"Then to what extent have you mastered attributes? Show me by releasing them," Nangong Yiyi asked.

I raised my right hand, and a ball of lightning crackled around my palm. Seeing this, Nangong Yiyi said, "Have you ever thought about attacking enemies from a long distance?"

"I haven't tried. I usually channel my cultivation into my palms or limbs and engage in close-quarters combat."

"Mmm, try to see if you can gather the lightning in your hand. Compress it into a ball, or extend the arc to see how far it goes."

Following Nangong Yiyi's instructions, I tried. The result was that the lightning arc only extended less than half a meter. I sighed, then tried to gather the lightning in my palm. At first, it was the size of a peanut, then it grew to the size of a ping pong ball. I wanted to increase the spiritual energy, but no matter how much I tried, the lightning in my hand remained the size of a ping pong ball.

Giving up, I threw the gathered lightning ball towards the wall. There was no sound. After it was over, I went to look and saw a spiderweb-like crack on the wall. It wasn't very big, and the cracks weren't deep.

"Sister, this doesn't have much power. It's not even as effective as a talisman," I said dejectedly.

Nangong Yiyi pursed her lips and smiled. "It's enough to deal with those low-level things, and it saves you a talisman. Even the lowest-level talismans require a cost to make, but your lightning ball seems to only need a little spiritual energy."

I thought about it and nodded, saying nothing. I then remembered that I didn't have many talismans left. I had used too many recently and didn't have time to replenish them. At that moment, I took out my brush, cinnabar, and yellow paper and began drawing talismans.