The two men conferred for a long time, each smiling as they left, the previous events seemingly unresolved.
But behind those smiles, each harbored a different set of thoughts.
Zhou Shu said as they walked, "Shopkeeper Hua, we need to hurry up on the talisman ink, ideally within four months."
Hua Ruoan smiled and nodded, "Monster hunting season is almost here, so the materials shouldn't be too bad. Just don't let me down, Brother Zhou."
"Goodbye,"
Zhou Shu bowed and hurried out of Sanyuanzhai.
Hua Ruoan watched Zhou Shu's back, rubbing the wrinkles on his forehead, his eyes flickering. This kid is even more troublesome than before. Even without a master behind him, he'd be hard to deal with. From now on, it's best to be gentle.
Leaving Sanyuanzhai, Zhou Shu skillfully navigated several alleyways, used a formation talisman to pass through a maze, and entered the Yan family shop through the back door.
After greeting the servants, Zhou Shu headed straight into the heavily guarded secret room, the most important part of the Yan family shop, accessible only to him and Yan Yue.
"Junior brother, you're here!"
Yan Yue, who was packing her things, saw Zhou Shu come in and immediately came over with a look of joy.
Zhou Shu smiled. "What's up? You're so happy?"
Yan Yue nodded repeatedly. "I was looking forward to your arrival, and here you are."
"Are the spa talismans sold out?" Zhou Shu asked knowingly.
"You know it, but you're asking?" Yan Yue said with a hint of anger. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Every day when we open, the spa talismans are sold out. Customers who can't buy one give us a hard time every day. Business is tough. I'm thinking, shouldn't we try something else?
Otherwise, it would be a waste of so many customers." Zhou Shu agreed. "Senior sister, you're right. That's the way to go. If we have extra spirit stones, we can buy some other talismans, or even simple medicinal pills."
"I'll do it in a minute."
Yan Yue nodded gently, then looked at Zhou Shu with an expectant look, her lips slightly parted.
Zhou Shu smiled, pulled a thick stack of talismans from his storage bag, and placed them in front of Yan Yue. "Don't look at me, there are definitely some for you, Senior Sister. This time, there are over 250. You can raise your daily quota a bit."
"Ah, so many?"
Yan Yue exclaimed in surprise, hurriedly taking the talismans and counting them one by one.
After a while, her face suddenly became solemn. "Junior brother, this is not good. It's too hard. You don't look well."
"Now is a good time. It's normal to work hard." Zhou Shu shook his head, not quite concerned.
"I know, but drawing talismans is very complicated and boring, and it consumes a lot of energy. And wouldn't it be annoying and tiring to draw the same talismans over and over again?" Yan Yue looked at Zhou Shu, puzzled.
Zhou Shu answered casually, "It's not that long. Qi Refining cultivators like us can only practice for two hours a day, so we have a lot of free time. Doing more is always better than playing around."
"Many cultivators your age just play around,"
Yan Yue echoed Zhou Shu's answer, then suddenly asked, "Junior Brother, how long does it take you to draw a talisman?"
Zhou Shu answered without hesitation, "It doesn't take long. Drawing a hydrotherapy talisman only takes fifty breaths, but it consumes a lot of spiritual energy, so it takes some time to recover. I can draw about four in an hour. No—"
His expression changed as soon as he said that. "Senior Sister, so you've been trying to trick me since we walked in."
He and Yan Yue were now closely connected, having experienced life and death together and developed mutual trust. He wasn't as wary as he was with Hua Ruoan, and he didn't try to hide his feelings.
He hadn't expected to fall for Yan Yue's trick.
He had just gone through a secret battle with Hua Ruoan, and thought he could relax with Yan Yue, but Yan Yue was the same?
Zhou Shu's face suddenly darkened. "Why?"
Yan Yue didn't notice Zhou Shu's change of heart and said excitedly, "It turns out that these talismans were really drawn by Junior Brother! In fact, I thought so when we completed the task together. How could Junior Brother, at his age, do so many incredible things? But deep down, I couldn't believe it, and the result turned out to be true!"
Zhou Shu frowned and emphasized his tone, "Senior Sister, why, why did you do this?"
"I'm sorry..."
Looking at Zhou Shu, her expression grew more serious, and she spoke with deep regret. "Junior Brother, I'm truly sorry. This question has been bothering me for a long time... Every day I wonder which talisman master helped our Yan family, why he did this, and what he wanted us to do for him... Without this understanding, even as the Yan family recovers, I still feel uneasy. I'm afraid that one day that talisman master will demand the Yan family do something impossible, and I won't be able to object, and then the Yan family will suddenly collapse and never rise again... Every day I can't sleep... Now that I know it's Junior Brother, I feel relieved. Thank you."
She was overwhelmed, her words becoming halting, interspersed with sobs.
Having experienced devastation, she finally saw hope, but she was terrified that hope would be shattered once again. As strong as she was, she felt vulnerable for the Yan family.
Zhou Shu clearly sensed this emotion and understood it to some extent.
As he listened to her, his stern expression gradually relaxed.
He sighed, looked at Yan Yue and said solemnly, "Since Senior Sister has guessed it, I will no longer hide it from you. But this matter must not be known to anyone else, Senior Sister, do you understand?"
The fact that he drew the talisman cannot be revealed now.
If people like Hua Ruoan knew that there was no one behind Zhou Shu and that he drew the talisman himself, they would most likely use any means to detain Zhou Shu and force Zhou Shu to draw the talisman for them.
Before finding a suitable sect to join, before having enough strength, this matter must be a secret, only a secret.
"I understand."
Looking at Zhou Shu, Yan Yue said solemnly, "I, Yan Yue, swear in my heart that if this matter is leaked, the Yan family will disappear from the world of immortal cultivation."
Before she finished speaking, the silver-white flying water sword suddenly flew out and gently wrapped around her long hair like a waterfall.
She gritted her silver teeth and said with determination, "Cut off my hair first, and then cut off my head if the news leaks out from me."
A silver light flashed, and dozens of strands of black hair fell down, floating all over the ground.
Zhou Shu looked at her quietly, "That's enough, Senior Sister."
If you swear with your heart, if you break it, you will be born with inner demons, and it will be difficult for the cultivator to make progress. Moreover, the object of the oath is the Yan family, what Yan Yue cares about most.
He is relieved.
Looking at Zhou Shu's expression, Yan Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the tears from her face, "Thank you, Junior Brother. There are many formations arranged in this secret room. No one can detect it, and I will never mention it again. Just like before, I will keep this matter in my heart forever."
Zhou Shu nodded, "Senior Sister, I believe you."
He knew that he was now closely related to the Yan family. If something happened to him, the Yan family might really be finished. Even if others wanted to deal with him, Yan Yue would never do that.
"Junior brother, thank you for believing in me."
Yan Yue put away the Feishui Sword and said softly, "I do this to remind myself so as not to make mistakes carelessly. It's okay if I am in trouble, but I am afraid that I will implicate my junior brother."
She looked at the messy hair on the ground, her eyebrows drooping, her expression a little gloomy.
Zhou Shu smiled, "Senior sister looks better after cutting off her long hair."
Yan Yue raised her head and smiled helplessly, "Junior brother, don't make fun of me. When I return to the sect, I don't know how to face those fellow disciples."
She said this, but there was an inexplicable joy in her heart.
Zhou Shu just looked at her with a smile on the corner of his mouth.
This was the first time he saw a female cultivator with short hair in this world of immortal cultivation. Yan Yue in front of him had her long hair much shorter, which made her less pretty, but more heroic, and more different from other female cultivators.
Yan Yue lowered her head slightly, not daring to meet his gaze, "Junior brother, I will give you the spirit stones for last month first."