Chapter 13: 013
Chapter 13
The afternoon sun was bright, with cicadas chirping rhythmically.
A ray of light pierced through the emerald leaves, falling on the window-side seat in the talisman hall.
No one was sitting in the seat, but a Xuantian Mirror was floating in mid-air, its surface rippling with waves, producing characters one after another.
[Money Money Talisman Shop: Friend Jian Tianxia, here are the instructions for the invisibility talisman.]
[Money Money Brand Invisibility Talisman Instructions:
1. Currently allows Qi Cultivation stage cultivators to become invisible for one incense stick\'s duration. During invisibility, no spells can be used, or the effect will automatically fail;
2. Regarding whether items on the body can become invisible simultaneously: If items are on the body before using the invisibility talisman, they can be hidden together. If added afterward, they cannot be hidden;
3. The invisibility talisman only hides visual effects. If someone reaches out to touch, they can feel you. Use with caution, and avoid physical contact.]
The other party replied quickly: [Good Master, how much for one invisibility talisman?]
This invisibility talisman wasn\'t particularly good, but it was the best Jian Huan could create at her current level.
She thought for a moment: [They\'re all thirty spirit stones each.]
It seemed she needed to find a way to improve her cultivation level.
The higher the cultivation level, the more expensive the talismans could be sold for.
Currently, at thirty spirit stones per talisman, strictly speaking, it was all hard-earned money.
She\'d heard that Elder Yu Qing could sell a single talisman for thousands of spirit stones.
On the Xuantian Mirror\'s side, Jian Tianxia nodded at this price, which was close to what he had expected.
Any more expensive, and there would be no point in buying invisibility talismans: might as well save up a bit more money to buy an invisibility robe, wouldn\'t that be more cost-effective?
Jian Tianxia turned his head and asked his resting teammates, "Do you want to buy invisibility talismans? Thirty spirit stones each."
A teammate asked, "Is this from that Master Money you mentioned?"
Jian Tianxia: "Yes, that\'s right, it\'s her."
Teammate: "Her talismans work quite well. Get me five invisibility talismans, and five each of the teleportation and speed talismans."
Other teammates chimed in with agreement.
Jian Tianxia tallied up: [I need fifty teleportation talismans, fifty speed talismans, and fifty invisibility talismans.]
Jian Huan instantly replied: [Alright, four thousand five hundred spirit stones.]
Jian Tianxia: [Good, but we\'re currently in the Demon Mist Forest and won\'t be out for half a month, when we\'ll rest at Azure Dragon City. Master, could you deliver them to Azure Dragon City then?]
Azure Dragon City was quite far from the Jade Clarity Sect; even Golden Core stage cultivators would take three to five days flying on their swords, but the teleportation formation could arrive in an instant.
There was a teleportation formation to Azure Dragon City in Approaching Immortal City, but it cost money.
Jian Huan thought for a moment and asked: [How much does the teleportation formation from Approaching Immortal City to Azure Dragon City cost per trip?]
Jian Tianxia: [About three hundred.]
Jian Huan\'s heart skipped a beat, feeling she couldn\'t afford this shipping cost: [That\'s a bit expensive. Could you cover the teleportation formation fee?]
Jian Tianxia: [....]
Jian Tianxia went to discuss with his teammates for a while before responding: [Master Money, we\'re also short on money. How about we split the cost?]
Holding the handle of the Xuantian Mirror, Jian Huan thought about those four thousand five hundred spirit stones, recalled what Shen Jizhi had said a few days ago, and with calculating light in her eyes, quickly made a decision: [Alright.]
Just as Jian Huan put down the Xuantian Mirror and picked up her talisman brush, she heard someone asking outside the door.
"Fellow Daoist, may I ask where Jian Huan is?" Gong Feihong stood on tiptoes, asking Jiang Mian who was about to enter the talisman hall.
Jiang Mian, munching on a date cake, looked inside and replied indistinctly, "She was just here, not sure where she went."
...
Gong Feihong seemed somewhat anxious: "Fellow Daoist, when she returns, please tell her that Gong Feihong came looking..."
Before he could finish speaking, suddenly someone poked his arm, but he couldn\'t see anyone.
Gong Feihong jumped up like a startled cat, his hair standing on end: "Who? Who\'s touching me?!"
Jian Huan spoke up: "It\'s me, Brother Feihong, what did you need me for?"
Gong Feihong looked toward the direction of the voice but saw no one, tentatively asking: "Jian Huan??"
Jiang Mian looked amazed and reached out to touch Jian Huan: "Your invisibility talisman worked!"
After one incense stick\'s time passed, Jian Huan\'s figure appeared. Her eyebrows were filled with joy, and her tone was light: "Yes, it worked."
She looked at Gong Feihong, asking curiously: "Why are you back? Did the training end so quickly?"
Disciple training periods were never short; sometimes when encountering a secret realm, one could accidentally be trapped for a year or more.
Gong Feihong had only been gone for about half a month?
Gong Feihong thanked Jiang Mian, and while walking outside with Jian Huan, complained with a worried expression: "Don\'t even mention it. As soon as we went down the mountain, we encountered an evil demon. One senior brother was seriously injured, and the others couldn\'t handle it. If it weren\'t for your teleportation and speed talismans, I might have died there."
Jian Huan drew in a sharp breath: "That dangerous?"
Gong Feihong nodded: "Our group brought senior brother back for treatment. The senior brothers and sisters plan to gather more people and prepare thoroughly before going after that demon again."
Jian Huan asked: "So you\'re looking for me because you want more talismans?"
"Yes! How many do you have left?" Gong Feihong said generously, "I\'ll take them all, name your price."
Jian Huan took out a stack of talismans from her robes.
These were what she had been working overtime to draw over the past ten days, originally planning to save them up to sell at the Immortal Storage Tower.
She handed them over: "There are one hundred and fifty talismans here. I\'m currently selling them for thirty spirit stones each. But considering our friendship, I\'ll give you a special price: just enough to clear my debt, how about that?"
Gong Feihong naturally had no objections. He took the talismans and returned the IOU to Jian Huan.
However, when returning the IOU, Gong Feihong seemed quite reluctant: "Actually, I still want to lend you money. Why don\'t I just give you cash instead..."
Jian Huan\'s eyelid twitched, and she quickly snatched the IOU and tucked it into her robes: "What\'s wrong with you, why are you always wanting people to owe you money?"
Gong Feihong mumbled: "I just feel like you\'ll achieve great things in the future."
Hearing this, Jian Huan nodded heavily in agreement.
Gong Feihong: "Now that we\'re even, what if you become successful and ignore me?"
Jian Huan patted him, her expression unusually sincere: "Don\'t worry, as long as you pay enough, I\'ll definitely help!"
Gong Feihong: "..."
Jian Huan was drawing talismans in the talisman hall and lost track of time.
Night had fallen, and it was already the hour of Zi. She packed up her things and ran toward the wooden cabin.
The cabin was lit, warm candlelight slipping out through the half-open door, intertwining with the moonlight like glue.
Occasional zither notes drifted out, though not forming a melody: presumably Shen Jizhi was repairing the instrument.
Jian Huan suddenly stopped, her gaze falling on the half-open door. Her lively eyes rolled playfully as a mischievous idea came to mind.
She took out an invisibility talisman from her robes, thinking about playing a prank on Shen Jizhi.
But then she thought, this invisibility talisman could sell for thirty spirit stones...
Never mind, he wasn\'t worth it.
Jian Huan put the invisibility talisman away and ran into the wooden cabin. Her first words were: "I cleared all my debts today, feeling light as a feather!"
After speaking, she gave Shen Jizhi a meaningful sideways glance.
With a \'ding\', Shen Jizhi accidentally touched a zither string, producing an unpleasant sound.
He didn\'t even raise his head, maintaining an aloof appearance as he parted his thin lips: "Oh, congratulations."
Jian Huan inwardly spat in contempt, walked a few steps to sit on the bed, admired her account book for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Shen Jizhi, didn\'t you say a few days ago that you needed to go to Azure Dragon City to repay a debt on the fifteenth of next month?"
That day when she asked if he wanted to go to the Immortal Storage Tower together on the fifteenth of next month, he had mentioned this.
Shen Jizhi showed little interest, perfunctorily humming in agreement.
Jian Huan was in quite a good mood: "I also need to go to Azure Dragon City. Want to share a teleportation formation?"
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi slightly furrowed his brows and asked, "How do you plan to share? The teleportation formation has one position per person, with inspections."
Jian Huan pulled out a talisman from her robes, held it between her fingers, and smiled like a cat who had stolen cream: "I have this."
Shen Jizhi looked at the yellow talisman paper, his heart slightly stirring: "An invisibility talisman?"
Jian Huan nodded: "Yes, so do you want to share?"
Shen Jizhi pondered for a moment.
A round trip on the teleportation formation would cost six hundred spirit stones, making his heart ache just thinking about it.
If they could share, they would each only need to pay three hundred.
Aliali: 67497f35c4f3f33ac487995aShen Jizhi didn\'t hesitate: "Alright, but let me be clear: I won\'t pay for the invisibility talisman."
Jian Huan: "...Understood."
Considering that Jian Tianxia would pay for one teleportation trip and Shen Jizhi would pay for the other, she decided she would bear the cost of the two invisibility talismans herself.
Jian Huan fell backward onto the bed and sighed, "There aren\'t many people in this world as generous as I am."
Shen Jizhi: "Heh heh."
Jian Huan shot him a glance: "What, you don\'t want to split the cost? Fine, we don\'t have to. I have some money on me now, and it\'s not like I can\'t afford the teleportation array."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
"No," Shen Jizhi lifted his head and explained calmly, "That\'s not what I meant."
Jian Huan: "Then why are you laughing?"
Shen Jizhi replied with a composed face: "Oh, I\'m laughing at myself, still carrying so much debt."