After successfully incorporating Vajra Palm into his Martial Skill repertoire, Xu Qian had added another sturdy piece to his grand plan for steady development. He didn't slack off because of it. Instead, he focused even more on honing and combining his various skills, especially his seemingly inconspicuous yet immensely promising side profession—talisman-making.
After countless nights of trial and error and enough failed "ghost scrawls" to fill half a dorm room, Xu Qian's success rate at drawing Cleanliness Talismans finally stabilized at an acceptable level—about thirty percent. He still needed the Sword Intent Seed to assist him, and it took a considerable toll on his mind, but at least the results no longer depended entirely on luck.
Once he could produce them reliably, Xu Qian began considering how to "cash in" on the skill—not by making money, of course, but by trading for something far more important: peace and convenience.
Personal hygiene went without saying. One Cleanliness Talisman left him refreshed, with fragrant sleeves—by Heavenly Prison standards, at least. But he soon discovered an even more ingenious use for the talisman: managing prisoners.
Block E had a notorious hard case, inmate Eighty-Three, known as "Stinky Loach." He wasn't very skilled in martial arts, but he was incredibly difficult to deal with. His greatest "weapon" was his filth. He deliberately neglected his hygiene, making his cell reek and covering himself in grime. Anyone who came near him could be knocked flat by the stench. The guards avoided him whenever they could. Even when delivering food, they held their noses and kicked the bowl in from a distance, let alone trying to manage him effectively. Stinky Loach knew it, too, and acted arrogantly in his cell, cursing and taunting the guards at every opportunity.
That day, it was Xu Qian's turn to deliver