Ji An took the talisman brush and infused it with spiritual power. The energy flowed smoothly all the way to the tip of the brush without the slightest obstruction. He nodded slightly. Its quality was quite good.
"I'll take it."
He had already looked into the market for talisman brushes, and at this price, it was a bargain. Clearly, Wei Songnian hadn't added a markup. For now, talisman crafting was just practice. There was no need to demand a top-grade brush; having one at all was already a blessing.
Wei Songnian grinned.
"Junior Brother, you'd best buy a talisman crafter's legacy manual, too. Don't be stingy. For beginners, it contains many practical techniques. You'll avoid plenty of detours."
The brush's former owner had been one of his long-time customers, someone who sold him dozens of talismans every month. Otherwise, Wei would never have agreed to accept a nearly worn-out brush as payment for debt. It wasn't the kind of item that was easy to resell. He had even prepared himself to take a loss. Now that he'd managed to sell it, he was quite pleased.
Ji An clasped his hands.
"Many thanks, Senior Brother. I also need another favor. A few Firecloud Ginseng seedlings in my courtyard were eaten. Do you have any powders that could poison or stupefy wild beasts?"
Wei Songnian raised his brows.
"Firecloud Ginseng contains considerable medicinal power. Whatever ate it must surely have been a demon beast. Do you know roughly what kind?"
A demon beast? That complicated matters.
Ji An gave his assessment.
"I think it's some kind of rodent."
"Rodent-type demon beasts have incredibly sharp senses of smell. They won't touch anything laced with drugs.
In fact, not just rodents, most demon beasts are highly sensitive to toxins. If they weren't, hunting them wouldn't be nearly so difficult."
He spread his hands helplessly. Normally, spirit herb gardens had protective wards in place, so one rarely encountered this sort of problem.
Ji An gave a wry smile.
"Then I can only keep watch for a few nights, see if I can catch or kill the thief myself."
If he didn't, he'd have no peace of mind.
Each Firecloud Ginseng seed costs him two contribution points. If too many were ruined, the loss of crystals was one thing, but worse was the wasted time. And what if the saplings of his spirit peach or apricot were gnawed? That was the real nightmare.
After thinking for a while, he asked:
"Senior Brother, have you sold all the talisman paper and ink I gave you?"
"Not yet. How much do you need?"
As soon as Wei heard the question, he knew what Ji An meant.
"One hundred sheets of low-grade talisman paper, ten sheets of mid-grade, and one bottle of ink. I'll repay you at our next trade."
Ji An hesitated, then added:
"Would this affect your crystal turnover? If it would, cut the amount of paper in half."
"Of course not. Business has been good these past two months. Goods don't sit in my hands long."
Wei Songnian agreed cheerfully, counted out the papers, and produced a bottle of talisman ink.
After offering his thanks, Ji An didn't linger; he hurried off.
He mounted a talisman bird, flew to the Administrative Hall, and used the spirit stones he had originally set aside for activating the Spirit-Draining Formation to exchange for an introductory talisman crafter's jade slip. It contained methods for crafting the common talismans used by Qi Refinement cultivators. His purse was now lighter by five spirit stones.
By the time Ji An returned to his bamboo house under the blazing midday sun, he inspected the spirit rice in the courtyard. Quite a bit was gone. But there were no signs of beasts passing through. Most likely, the missing grain had been pecked away by birds.
Ji An washed his hands and face, lit a stick of incense, then reclined on his chair and studied the jade slip.
After quickly scanning its contents, he began mulling over the general techniques for talisman drawing. Once he felt he had mostly committed them to memory, he went on to review the cautions for inscribing water-element talismans.
Unknowingly, the day had already waned. By the time he finished preparing to draw his first Water Curtain Talisman, he was startled to see the last rays of sunset slanting across the window lattice, the world outside awash in orange-red.
Even though his spiritual sense was stronger than that of his peers, Ji An still felt somewhat lightheaded. Learning and digesting new knowledge was truly exhausting work.
He steamed some spirit rice, then stepped out into the courtyard. After stretching his limbs a bit, he began practicing Object Manipulation while pacing around the yard.
A boulder the size of a basketball floated lightly through the air under his spell, weightless as a feather.
The valley lay tranquil, cooking smoke curled up in the distance, and the birdcalls were growing fewer.
From the little courtyard drifted a faint fragrance of rice. Ji An dropped the boulder at the gate, then linked his consciousness with the stone tortoise.
[Skill: Object Manipulation (Small Accomplishment 27%)]
It was said that many techniques for controlling magical artifacts were developed from this spell. That was why he had practiced it most diligently these past few days.
Perhaps it was due to his strong divine sense, or simply because the spell was relatively simple, but his progress was rapid. After just three days, he had already reached this level. He suspected it wouldn't be long before he cultivated it to perfection.
Heading into the kitchen, Ji An cooked himself a bowl of dried-vegetable rabbit stew and enjoyed it with steamed rice.
By the time dinner was done, night had fully fallen. A slender crescent moon hung above the ridges.
He placed a straw raincoat by the door and lit torches at the four corners of the wall. With light in the yard, any creature sneaking in would be more hesitant.
Setting down a meditation cushion, Ji An sat cross-legged in the courtyard to cultivate.
After two cycles of practice, the torches burned out. It was now the Hour of the Boar.
He donned the straw raincoat again and settled back on the cushion, clearing his mind and quietly attuning himself to the flow of the wind.
Outside the courtyard, the chorus of insects rose and fell, everything seeming peaceful and harmonious.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he suddenly heard faint rustling.
Slitting his eyes open, Ji An caught sight of a palm-sized rat by a Firecloud Ginseng sprout.
It crept into the moonlight, alertly scanning its surroundings, bean-sized eyes glimmering faintly.
Then it shrank back into the wall's shadow and went still.
After a while, it cautiously edged forward again, scurrying to its chosen plant. With quick little forepaws, it scratched at the soil, pausing after every two digs, ears twitching constantly.
Just as the rat lowered its head to dig again, Ji An suddenly raised his hand. Object Manipulation flared forth.
Hearing the motion, the rat bolted toward the shadows.
But it was too late. The spell seized it, and the creature squealed shrilly.
Ji An strode over, releasing the spiritual pressure of a Qi Refinement seventh-layer cultivator. The rat immediately stilled under the crushing weight, tilting its neck and playing dead.
"Still pretending? That's way too fake."
Ji An sneered, maintaining his hold with Object Manipulation.
It was a rat demon, about second-layer Qi Refinement, though its exact breed was unknown.
He carried the rat into the bamboo house, lit a candle, and examined it carefully.
Its head and back were golden-brown, its sides pale yellow, its belly white. The forepaws had four toes, the hindpaws five.
"Well, well… what luck. A Spirit-Seeking Rat."
These weren't rare demon beasts. Many cultivators kept them, but raising one to true spiritual intelligence was no easy feat. This particular rat clearly had some.
Ji An arched a brow and studied the sheen of its fur, then nodded lightly.
Its bloodline wasn't bad, either, worth cultivating.
At last, his inherited beast-taming secret arts had found their use. In two years, this Spirit-Seeking Rat might well prove invaluable.