Lu Miaoge

Inside a courtyard at Green Bamboo Manor.

"Old Gui, since when did you have the leisure to take an interest in Lu Changsheng?"

Uncle Fu had thought his old friend had come to drink and chat, not to discuss serious business.

Hearing him say that Lu Changsheng had a talent for Talisman Making came as something of a surprise.

They were both old retainers of the Lu Lineage, but they were already semi-retired and only handled simple matters at Green Bamboo Manor.

"Since the boy is part of our Lu Lineage and has such talent, we naturally shouldn't let it go to waste."

"It's not as though you don't know the state our Lu Lineage is in."

"The ancestor's condition is getting worse, and the Chen Lineage has been stirring restlessly all this time. If this continues..."

"The boy has exceptional talent for Talisman Making. With a little nurturing, he could add another talisman master to our Lu Lineage. That would be a good thing."

The shopkeeper of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion sighed as he spoke.

At those words, Uncle Fu's expression also grew somewhat grave.

Several years earlier, a conflict between the Lu Lineage and the Chen Lineage had not only killed or wounded many of the Lu Lineage's young adults, but also left its ancestor gravely injured.

The Lu Lineage's ancestor was already advanced in years. With that serious injury on top of his age, he likely did not have much time left.

At present, the ancestor was the Lu Lineage's only foundation establishment cultivator. If he died, with no foundation establishment realm cultivator to hold the fort, the Lu Lineage would never be able to defend its current holdings or the blessed land of Green Bamboo Mountain.

He nodded. "True. If the boy really can become a talisman master, he could strengthen our Lu Lineage's foundations."

"Let's go. I'll come with you to see the lineage head and let him decide."

The two then headed toward Green Bamboo Valley.

Green Bamboo Valley was the core territory of the Lu Lineage on Green Bamboo Mountain.

Beneath it lay a second-rank spirit vein, sufficient to support the cultivation of foundation establishment realm cultivators.

Live-in sons-in-law like Lu Changsheng, along with ordinary Lu Lineage disciples, normally had no right to enter.

As old retainers of the Lu Lineage, however, the two naturally had permission.

They arrived at a manor.

"Uncle Gui, you're saying that Lu Changsheng has considerable talent for Talisman Making?"

Lu Yuanding, the head of the Lu Lineage, was quite surprised by the words of the shopkeeper of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

"That's right, Lineage Head."

"About half a year ago, Lu Changsheng bought a set of Talisman-Making Materials at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, saying he wanted to practice Talisman Making. I didn't think much of it at the time."

"Who would have thought that a few months later, he would have made five successful talismans from the hundred sets of Talisman-Making Materials he bought?"

"And this time, he made eighteen successful talismans from a hundred sets of Talisman-Making Materials."

"Although I know nothing about Talisman Making, even I can see that the boy's talent for it is exceptional."

The shopkeeper of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion nodded, speaking with a touch of wonder.

"Before he came to our Lu Lineage, he hadn't even begun cultivating, so he couldn't possibly have had any exposure to Talisman Making. Under those circumstances, his talent certainly deserves to be called exceptional."

Lu Yuanding nodded thoughtfully.

"Lu Changsheng is indeed a good lad. He's been quite diligent during his year or so with our Lu Lineage."

"The other immortal seedlings are still rather reluctant to have children, but Lu Changsheng has already gotten five women of our Lu Lineage pregnant."

Uncle Fu spoke up from the side.

"Lu Changsheng was only a farmer. Before he began cultivating, he would have been fortunate just to marry one wife."

"Now that he has such an opportunity, how could he resist feminine charms?"

Lu Yuanding chuckled, not particularly concerned.

He continued, "Still, coming from a farming background and being so willing to marry and have children suggests that he's relatively simple-hearted and easy to win over."

"Since he also has such talent for Talisman Making, we could consider taking him in as one of the Lu Lineage Disciples."

"Uncle Fu, go find Miaoge and have her assess Lu Changsheng's talent and skill in Talisman Making."

"If he truly is worth nurturing, as Uncle Gui says, then give him a little support."

"However, he's only been with our Lu Lineage for a little over a year, after all. His heart surely isn't fully with us yet. We still need to observe him more closely."

Lu Yuanding spoke after a moment's consideration.

"Yes, Lineage Head."

Uncle Fu cupped his hands in acknowledgment.

That day.

Lu Changsheng was cultivating when his wife, Lu Lanshu, told him that Uncle Fu and the eldest young lady had arrived. He immediately rose and went to the reception hall.

Two figures sat upright inside the hall.

One was Uncle Fu, the steward of Green Bamboo Manor.

The other was a young woman of eighteen or nineteen.

Her jet-black hair was loosely pinned up, and she wore a dress as pure white as snow.

Her slender, shapely figure rested elegantly and demurely in her chair.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, as clear and lovely as snow. With her snow-white dress and otherworldly bearing, she resembled a snow lotus atop the heavenly mountains, sacred and flawless.

She was the woman Lu Changsheng had met once when he arrived at Green Bamboo Mountain a year earlier, whose name he had remembered.

Lu Miaoge.

She was also the eldest young lady Lu Lanshu had mentioned.

She looked exactly as she had when Lu Changsheng first saw her a year ago, without the slightest change.

Lu Changsheng glanced at her, then withdrew his gaze.

Now that the system's effects were beginning to show and he possessed the skills of a second-rank talisman master, his mind was clear and unburdened.

He believed that with hard work, his future achievements would be nothing to scoff at.

Facing this eldest young lady, he no longer felt, as he had on their first meeting, that she stood far above him, utterly beyond his reach.

He cupped his hands and bowed. "Uncle Fu, Eldest Young Lady!"

He found it a little strange. Uncle Fu visiting was understandable.

But what business did the lineage head's daughter, the eldest young lady of the Lu Lineage, have here?

Someone like Lu Miaoge should normally live in Green Bamboo Mountain's core territory and never come to Green Bamboo Manor.

"Lu Changsheng, I heard from A-Gui that you've been learning Talisman Making lately and have already become a talisman apprentice?"

Uncle Fu spoke when he saw Lu Changsheng enter.

"A-Gui?"

Lu Changsheng was taken aback by the name.

"The shopkeeper of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion."

Uncle Fu offered a reminder.

The shopkeeper of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is actually called A-Gui?

Lu Changsheng found it rather odd, but he also began to understand what was happening.

They had probably come because of the talent he had shown in Talisman Making.

He immediately said, "I only have a ninth-grade spiritual root, so I know I have little hope of making progress in cultivation. I thought I might as well learn a craft, so I've been practicing Talisman Making lately. At present, I can already

draw three kinds of basic talismans."

"It's very good that you've had that thought."

"I've seen how you've conducted yourself during this year or so since you came to our Lu Lineage."

"That's why the eldest young lady and I have come today-to see how skilled you are at Talisman Making."

"If you truly have a talent for it, as A-Gui says, the lineage will naturally give you some support and nurture you."

Uncle Fu spoke approvingly.

Just as I thought, Lu Changsheng said inwardly.

He immediately put on a grateful expression and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Eldest Young Lady. Thank you, Uncle Fu."

"What kinds of talismans can you draw now?"

Lu Miaoge, who had been sitting to one side, turned her beautiful eyes toward Lu Changsheng and spoke. Her voice was as pleasing as the murmur of a clear spring.

"Eldest Young Lady, I can currently draw the Cleansing Talisman, the Clean-Clothes Talisman, and the Dust-Avoidance Talisman."

Lu Changsheng replied with his hands cupped.

"Draw a Clean-Clothes Talisman and a Dust-Avoidance Talisman for me."

Lu Miaoge rose, revealing the graceful figure enveloped in her snow-white dress. She took a set of Talisman Making tools and materials from her Storage Bag and placed them on the table.

"Yes."

Lu Changsheng pressed his lips together and walked over to the table. He immediately caught a faint, delicate fragrance-the eldest young lady's natural scent.

He reined in the restless monkey of his heart and the galloping horse of his thoughts, then picked up the talisman brush on the table.

This was not the kind of wolf-hair talisman brush he had bought before.

It was a talisman brush that was golden yellow from end to end.

Its shaft and tip gave off a faint yellow glow, and the words "Golden Bamboo" were engraved at the end of the shaft.

Lu Changsheng could tell at a glance that it was a top-grade talisman brush.

Without dwelling on it, he lightly dipped the tip into the ink beside him, then began drawing a Clean-Clothes Talisman.

Naturally, he would not craft it as he normally did, wielding his brush in wild, flowing strokes, scattering ink as effortlessly as drifting clouds and running water.

Instead, he appeared extremely nervous, drawing slowly with stiff movements.

A short while later, the Clean-Clothes Talisman was complete.

Lu Changsheng glanced at the gracefully poised Lu Miaoge, then continued with the Dust-Avoidance Talisman.

Just as the Dust-Avoidance Talisman was nearly complete, at the instant his brush tip finished the final line, his hand trembled slightly. The spiritual flow broke, and a wisp of blue smoke rose from the talisman paper.

"I'm sorry, Eldest Young Lady. I was a little nervous just now."

Lu Changsheng hurriedly spoke.

Naturally, this was all an act.

He had previously told the shopkeeper of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion that he only had about a thirty-percent chance of successfully crafting a Dust-Avoidance Talisman.

Under the circumstances, wasn't it perfectly normal for him to come close to succeeding, only to fail at the end because he was too nervous?