Family Visitors

In the blink of an eye, it was July. The dormitory had already grown somewhat stifling, but thankfully, cool sea breezes poured in whenever the windows were opened.

One Saturday morning, Yang Wenqing rose early and washed up as usual. However, he did not cultivate with White Dragon Ginseng, as he had run out of it last month. Even so, he still properly entered meditation and cultivated for an hour.

After daybreak, he got up and pulled out the talisman papers he had made. There were a hundred Immobilization Spell talismans and a hundred Golden Light Bodyguard Spell talismans. A low-grade talisman like this could be exchanged for fifteen yuan at most, while poor-quality ones could only sell for eight. The cost of making each talisman was five yuan, leaving less profit than the price of breakfast.

Yet people still persisted in cultivating and meditating for an hour every day for their sake, resulting in an enormous monthly output and preventing them from fetching a good price.

The City Defense Bureau had internal channels for purchasing them. Although their prices were slightly higher than outside buyers, they would only buy a minimum of one hundred talismans of each type at a time.

Yang Wenqing planned to sell these talismans, add a little money, and buy a White Dragon Ginseng. As for his merit points, he planned to exchange them all at once for a Dragon Ginseng Pill in two years.

The East City Public Security Station could purchase finished talismans. The collection point was the logistics room behind the inner courtyard, a separate long, single-story building with plain gray-white exterior walls. Its heavy ironwood doors stood open at all times. There were no guards at the entrance, only the faintly flickering spiritual light of a simple monitoring formation at the threshold.

Yang Wenqing stepped inside, and a stale smell rushed toward him. The interior was more spacious and taller than he had imagined. The ceiling was high, supported by thick wooden beams, while several chandeliers embedded with lighting pearls provided a steady source of light.

A heavy wooden counter stood at the very front. Behind it sat an elderly guard in a police chief's uniform, leisurely flipping through a thick ledger.

Hearing footsteps, the old guard lifted his eyes from the ledger, looked at Yang Wenqing, and asked, "Selling talismans?"

Yang Wenqing nodded and placed his neatly sorted finished talismans on the counter. "Sorry to trouble you, Director Chen."

The old guard set down the ledger, skillfully opened the paper bundle, and casually drew out an Immobilization Spell talisman. His fingers lightly brushed over its lines as he sensed the lingering spiritual energy fluctuations and checked the completeness of its inscription.

"Mm, the quality is still stable." The old guard nodded. Though his tone was polite, he still carefully inspected the quality of every talisman in the bundle.

"They're all quite good. I'll give you sixteen yuan each." The old guard named the price. "That's 3,200 yuan in total. Do you need talisman paper as well?"

The price he offered was already the highest possible, proving that the spells Yang Wenqing inscribed were of excellent quality.

"Two hundred sheets. I also want to buy a White Dragon Ginseng," Yang Wenqing replied quietly.

"Wait here."

The old guard turned and went to a shelf in the storeroom, where he picked up two paper bundles. Then he walked deeper into the warehouse, where there was a large safe. A middle-aged man in a senior guard's uniform stood in front of it.

After exchanging a few simple words, the middle-aged man opened the safe and took out a White Dragon Ginseng. The old guard accepted it and returned to the counter, where he sat down and carefully wrote out two delivery slips.

"You still need to pay me 2,800 yuan."

After writing the slips, the old guard looked at Yang Wenqing.

Yang Wenqing nodded. White Dragon Ginseng cost five thousand yuan, which was already cheap because it was now cultivated on a large scale. Yang Wenqing had 2,800 yuan. Aside from lunch, he spent almost none of his monthly salary, and together with the money from selling talismans before, he had nearly four thousand yuan in savings.

After putting away the White Dragon Ginseng, Yang Wenqing headed straight out of the Public Security Station. A deep drumbeat suddenly entered his ears. Following the sound, he saw a group of people in splendid theatrical costumes parading through the streets. They were promoting tomorrow's stage play in the central district.

For this stage play, every Public Security Office in the county had to send people on duty. Though it was the weekend, many still competed for the post because they could watch the performance for free. The East City Public Security Station seemed to have only one slot, and it had gone to Zhao Qin.

"Wenqing!"

Just as Yang Wenqing was about to return to the dormitory, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. He turned, a hint of a smile appearing on his face as he blurted out, "Second Uncle!"

The newcomer was Yang Wenqing's second uncle, Yang Jianye. He wore a gray coarse-cloth jacket faded nearly white from washing, along with loose trousers of the same color. His pant legs were rolled to his knees, exposing dark, sturdy calves tanned by the sun. He wore a pair of half-worn straw sandals and carried a bulging burlap sack over his shoulder. A simple, warm smile rested on his face.

"Second Uncle? Why are you here?" Yang Wenqing hurried over.

"I came to bring you some rice." Yang Jianye grinned, revealing teeth slightly yellowed by tobacco. He lowered the sack from his shoulder with a dull thud. "Besides the rice, there are freshly harvested taros and dried fish. Your father went into the mountains a while back and found some wild honey, so he had me bring you a small jar too."

As he spoke, he wiped the sweat from his face with his rough palm. He curiously glanced at the noisy procession in the distance and casually asked, "Did another opera troupe come to town?"

Yang Wenqing took the burlap sack and asked, "Where's my father?"

Usually, his father, Yang Jianmu, was the one who delivered these things.

Yang Jianye sighed and answered, "Big Brother accidentally hurt his leg in the mountains five days ago. The old doctor said he needs to stay in bed for half a month."

Yang Wenqing froze, then quickly said, "Why didn't you come find me? What if it leaves him with lasting trouble?"

As he spoke, he took out a bundle of talismans and pulled one from it. He said to Yang Jianye, "This is a talisman containing a Healing Spell. Take it back and have the old doctor use it on my father."

Yang Wenqing had prepared this talisman for himself. Since Healing Spells could only be made by Qi Refinement Practitioners with specific wood or water spiritual roots, one talisman cost at least three hundred yuan.

In this world, as long as one had money, illness was generally not a concern.

"Big Brother is fortunate indeed." Yang Jianye accepted the talisman and carefully put it away. Then he said to Yang Wenqing, "The things have been delivered, so I should head back."

"Stay for lunch first."

"No, I came on the village general store's horse cart. They'll return after they finish purchasing goods, and they won't wait for me."

Hearing that, Yang Wenqing did not try to persuade him further. Carrying the burlap sack, he escorted his second uncle to the South City Wholesale Market. Only after finding the general store's horse cart did he return to the dormitory. Then he carefully cut off a small piece of the newly acquired White Dragon Ginseng, dissolved it in water, and drank it, feeling the familiar medicinal power spread through his body as he guided his spiritual energy through its circulation.

Time hurried by, and several more months passed. During that time, Yang Wenqing repeated the same routine of patrolling, cultivating, and making talismans.

The summer heat gradually faded after several autumn rains, and the sea breeze brought a chill.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the end of the year.

The biting sea wind howled through the county town. One afternoon, Yang Wenqing had just finished his patrol and returned to the Public Security Station. As he was preparing to hand over his shift, Captain Xiao Liang approached with a serious expression, holding a document stamped with the branch bureau's red seal.

"Everyone, bring your full equipment and assemble at the training ground!" Xiao Liang's voice allowed no room for doubt.

Yang Wenqing did not react much, and he already knew the purpose of this assembly. Before Spring Festival arrived, they were to clear the demonic beasts and evil things from several mountains outside the city, ensuring that this Spring Festival would pass safely and peacefully.

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