Incense Making

"Uncle Xu, I'd like to learn incense making from you."

?

Half-Immortal Xu said nothing and slammed the door shut.

Lao Xu witnessed the whole thing from behind, and struggled to keep his expression composed.

Fourth Young Master, you were eating your fill and taking the leftovers too!

The gust from the closing door stirred the long strands at Zhou Muzhi's temples. He knew his request had indeed gone too far.

He spoke again. "You've misunderstood. I only want to learn how to make this stick of incense in my hand, not lay greedy hands on your incense-making legacy."

Creak!

The door opened again.

Half-Immortal Xu stared at Zhou Muzhi with wary old eyes and asked doubtfully, "Really?"

"Really!"

"Only this one stick, truly?"

Zhou Muzhi gave him an innocent look, appearing utterly honest, but said nothing.

Half-Immortal Xu's gaze remained unchanged, though he had formed a new judgment of the slippery fellow before him. Then he clasped his hands behind his back and said, "It's not out of the question."

Before Zhou Muzhi could thank him, Half-Immortal Xu continued, "You have good aptitude for martial arts. Agree to one request, and I'll teach you how to make Evil-Repelling Incense."

With his own interests involved, Zhou Muzhi had no choice but to be cautious. He probed, "Tell me the request first. If it's too outrageous, I won't be able to fulfill it."

This was bargaining. He could not let the other party see his bottom line. If he truly let himself be caught in the other's grip, he would be in a miserable position.

"Kill someone."

Half-Immortal Xu spoke very calmly, but Zhou Muzhi was stunned to hear it.

To think it was such a plain, unadorned request. It fit perfectly with the martial world of the Song Kingdom in the original owner's memories.

"This person is in the commandery and belonged to the same sect as me. Years ago, he learned martial arts and betrayed our sect, slaughtering our school until this old Daoist alone was left, forced to flee. I only survived back then thanks to your grandfather."

Only after hearing Half-Immortal Xu finish did understanding dawn on Zhou Muzhi's face.

So that was it. That more or less untangled the cause and effect.

But...

"This enemy of yours probably won't be easy to kill."

Half-Immortal Xu snorted. "If he were easy to kill, I'd have done it myself. All these years have passed, and that fine senior brother of mine has been living in comfort. His cultivation realm is probably even higher now."

Zhou Muzhi simply looked at him, then turned his gaze to the Deduction Points on the panel and checked the countdown. There was still quite a bit of time left.

He decided to play it safe for now and see whether he could get something more suitable for deduction. If not, he would keep adding more time.

So he said, "As you know, I'm an extraordinary talent. But this request of yours, as payment for the method of making a single type of incense, probably isn't enough."

He had turned the other's earlier question back on him.

Half-Immortal Xu clearly understood this reasoning too. He asked in return, "What do you want to do?"

"I'm not asking for much. I'd like to see what lies at the very heart of your incense making."

He had expected the old Daoist to refuse again without hesitation, but to his surprise, Half-Immortal Xu stepped aside to let him through.

"I agree. Though this old Daoist has no way to completely resolve that unclean thing on you, suppressing it is no problem. Once you step through this door, you must take on this karmic burden."

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Muzhi crossed the threshold and entered the tiled-roof house.

The room was somewhat dim, its furnishings simple enough to be called austere: a single bed, a table and chair, and a wooden carving enshrined in a sunny spot.

The carving depicted a deity. It stood thirty inches tall, was pale red in color, and had extraordinarily beautiful features.

Seeing Zhou Muzhi staring at the statue, Half-Immortal Xu explained at an opportune moment, "The Nine Heavens Supreme Goddess is the deity our sect worships. For many kinds of incense and candles, we have to come here to request incense before they can take effect."

Then this was the core of the old Daoist's incense-making craft.

Zhou Muzhi had not expected to see the most essential thing as soon as he entered the house.

"May I touch it?"

Half-Immortal Xu found this request strange, but then thought of the other's martial aptitude and the hope of obtaining revenge in the future.

He nodded.

"You may touch it, but don't move it."

Zhou Muzhi nodded to show he understood and walked up to the statue step by step. This time, he saw it more clearly. He extended one hand and touched it with his palm.

The panel popped up again, and his Deduction Points began to increase.

0.1, 0.2, 0.1, 0.1...

He had been touching it for roughly ten breaths, yet the Deduction Points still had not run out. This made Zhou Muzhi feel that he had truly been right to come here.

Although it was not an item he could directly perform deduction on, gaining points made the trip worthwhile.

The absorption was just very slow. Even now, he had only absorbed a little over one point.

Breaking contact with his palm, Zhou Muzhi decided to make this a regular stop over the long term.

From the look of things, the points in this statue could not be drained in a short time.

As for whether he could take it away, judging by Half-Immortal Xu's expression, the man would fight him to the death if he tried.

In any case, the thing was right here, and he would come back to learn incense making later. There was no need to forge a new enmity like that.

Seeing Zhou Muzhi's increasingly peculiar actions, Half-Immortal Xu knitted his brows tightly.

Had that unclean thing addled this boy's brains and made him a little dim-witted?

Zhou Muzhi stepped back to his side and spoke quietly. "I've decided. I'll learn the craft from you after all."

Half-Immortal Xu did not refuse. He took a booklet from inside his robes. Its cover was pure white, without a title. He sighed as he spoke.

"These are the incense-making methods this old Daoist has worked out over half his lifetime. Take it and read it. This is also the most important part of the first stage, directly determining the quality of the incense."

Once he said this, Zhou Muzhi had clearly become half a successor to him.

Zhou Muzhi was quick with his hands. He accepted the booklet with his free hand, his expression solemn as he said, "Rest assured. I'll definitely let you see your great vengeance fulfilled before you close your eyes for good."

As for promises, he would agree first and worry about the rest later. If he died now, there would be no later.

Half-Immortal Xu was not moved by Zhou Muzhi's grand words. Instead, he sneered.

"Learn what's written in that book properly before you talk to this old Daoist about anything else!"

"Of course, of course."

A new notification appeared when he accepted the booklet, but Zhou Muzhi did not look at it for the moment. He finished speaking with Half-Immortal Xu first, then left the house and walked outside.

Outside the house.

Lao Xu came forward without speaking, waiting for the Fourth Young Master's instructions.

Zhou Muzhi now had time to check the panel. He swept his eyes over it, and a look of confirmation appeared in their depths.

[The painstaking creation of a minor incense maker]

[Current deduction paths]

[1. Enhanced understanding of incense making (effect: increased success rate for finished incense). Deduction Points required: 1]

[2. Enhanced incense effects (effect: the incense produced has higher-quality effects than the original version). Deduction Points required: 1]

Just like the Body Condensation manual Li Jingfei had given him earlier, the booklet from Half-Immortal Xu could also be deduced using Deduction Points.

Compared with the martial arts manual, however, the options here lacked the enlightenment effect.

Zhou Muzhi was not disappointed. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied.

Enhancing the effects of incense, then using Deduction Points to deduce even more powerful incense and candles, was also a path he could take.

He shifted his gaze to the white candle. What he needed to do now was extend his life first.

With the aid of Deduction Points, the evil-repelling candle in his hand once again displayed the same choices as before.

This time, he still chose Nine Heavens Profound Intent.

The time on the panel changed again.

[Name: Zhou Muzhi]

[Status: Curse (temporarily sealed)]

[Skills: Nine Heavens Profound Intent (time limit: twenty-five two-hour periods), Wisdom of the Ancients · Enlightenment (2/3)]

[Deduction Points: 2.1]

Having finished all this, he tossed the useless white candle into Lao Xu's arms and said, "Let's head back."

Lao Xu nodded and guarded him at his side.

The two left the place.