Gu Zhao hadn't originally planned on using Magical Power.
'Are you kidding me?' He'd only ever used Palm Thunder once. It was still up in the air whether this Five Thunders Talisman would even work.
What if the Five Thunders Talisman did work, and infusing it with Magical Power caused some kind of strange phenomenon?
And what if the Five Thunders Talisman didn't work? If he rashly infused it with Magical Power, would it just explode halfway through?
Either way, infusing Magical Power while Drawing Talismans for the first time in front of a crowd was not a good idea. He had originally planned to take the Cinnabar and Yellow Paper to the Otherworld to experiment.
But the process of drawing it felt so good!
He didn't lift his brush from start to finish, his strokes flowing like mountains and rivers, completing the talisman in a single, breathless motion. A feeling of utter comfort spread through his entire body. This also stirred the Magical Power within him, which began to circulate uncontrollably. Rising from his Dantian, one stream flowed down the Foot Three Yang Meridians, infusing his feet with power. Another stream ascended the Chong Meridian before transferring into the Hand Three Yang Meridians and surging out through his fingertips.
SWISH!
The Magical Power flowed through the brush, into the Cinnabar, and soaked into the Yellow Paper. And then...
Most of the Magical Power rapidly dissipated into the air. Only a tiny fraction merged with the Cinnabar and Yellow Paper, and even that was still slowly leaking away.
Sensing the Magical Power dissipating into the air, Gu Zhao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had expected to fail at Drawing the Talisman, but at least there were no strange phenomena. The Talisman didn't burst into flames or explode.
And so, he had successfully drawn a completely useless Five Thunders Talisman.
Only Taoist Hui Bin, standing beside him, felt a sudden twitch in his lower abdomen and a flutter in his heart. Confused, he just thought, 'Did I eat something bad this morning?'
No one else felt the dissipating Magical Power, but they were all very interested in the rather handsome Five Thunders Talisman Gu Zhao had drawn. Many of them took out their phones to take pictures and record videos.
Gu Zhao picked up the Five Thunders Talisman, gave it a little shake, and after examining it for a moment, handed it to Hui Bin.
Hui Bin glanced at the Five Thunders Talisman, noting it was slightly different from those of the Celestial Master Dao, but he didn't mind. "Thank you, Junior Brother."
The young man nearby suddenly spoke up. "Can you cast the Five Thunders Technique with that Five Thunders Talisman? Why don't you give us a demonstration!"
"Will you ever shut up?"
Gu Zhao and Hui Bin looked at the young man, but it was Miss Shuo Guo who had spoken. "This is between him and Yuanfa Palace. The Daoists from the palace haven't said a thing, so what makes you so special?"
The young man's voice rose a notch. "I'll say what I want. What's it got to do with you? Why are you butting in? Who do you think you are?"
"I think he's handsome, and he even knows how to draw a Five Thunders Talisman!" Miss Shuo Guo was just as blunt. "And I can't stand your passive-aggressive attitude."
The young man said angrily, "He's the one who said he ran into a Female Ghost and that he could use a Five Thunders Talisman!"
Miss Shuo Guo shot back immediately, "He tells a joke and you take it seriously? If someone told you to eat shit, would you do it?"
"You fucking..."
"This is a sacred place of the Taoist Sect! Silence!" Hui Bin took a step forward, his sharp voice cutting through the noise.
Holding the Five Thunders Talisman, he said to the young man, "A Five Thunders Talisman is for dispelling calamity, warding off evil from one's home, and ensuring peace and fortune. It is not a tool for showing off or competing."
His girlfriend was frantically tugging on his sleeve, so the young man fell silent. He just snorted, shot another glare at Gu Zhao, and turned to leave, not even taking the Talisman he'd picked out earlier.
Seeing the young man storm off, Gu Zhao finally turned to Miss Shuo Guo. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. He's the one being obnoxious." Miss Shuo Guo waved her hand, causing a gentle ripple.
"Still, thank you for speaking up for me," Gu Zhao said with a smile. "Otherwise, if he'd really annoyed me, I might have had to hit him with a Palm Thunder just to show him that Thunder Techniques are no joke."
"Then you'd have been carted away by the police." Miss Shuo Guo laughed so hard she swayed like a flower in the wind, then said with a straight face, "With the Five Thunders Talisman, you'll have a weapon next time you meet a Female Ghost. I wish you success in Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits."
Gu Zhao also put his hands together in a formal salute and replied with a straight face, "Thank you for your kind words, miss. I've only ever seen a ghost. I don't know if there are any Demon Fiends out there yet. Let's hope the Five Thunders Talisman works."
Hearing this, both women laughed, thinking Gu Zhao was a very interesting person.
Of course, they were just strangers who had met by chance, not familiar enough to exchange contact information. After a brief exchange, Miss Shuo Guo waved at Gu Zhao and pulled her long-legged friend toward Lü Zu Hall to get their fortunes told.
Watching the two women leave, Gu Zhao lost the desire to continue touring Yuanfa Palace. He thanked Hui Bin once more, said his goodbyes, and headed for the main gate.
Watching Gu Zhao's upright back as he walked away, a hint of confusion appeared in Hui Bin's eyes. He felt like something wasn't quite right.
A moment later, as Gu Zhao disappeared from sight, Hui Bin's eyes lit up. He clapped his hands and muttered to himself, "Right! It had a tiger's head but a snake's tail!"
The whole affair felt like it had a strong start but a weak finish. He'd piqued everyone's interest at the beginning with talk of Female Ghosts and Thunder Techniques, but in the end, he just drew one Five Thunders Talisman and coolly walked away.
'If he were some chuunibyou kid who'd learned a few tricks and wanted to show off, he would have been much more flamboyant. He would have tried to discuss Daoist Techniques with me or show off his skills more.'
'But this young man, aside from the unreliable things he said, had a very calm and steady demeanor. He acted very naturally, almost with the air of a member of the Taoist Family.'
Hui Bin thought back and suddenly realized that although the whole incident started with this young man wanting to buy Cinnabar and Yellow Paper, he hadn't been the one driving the events. Hui Bin himself had been the one to ask about the Five Thunders Talisman and the Female Ghost, and the later argument was started by that other young man looking for trouble.
'In other words, if I had just refused him without asking why, or simply given him the Cinnabar and Yellow Paper, none of this would have happened.'
'In that case...'
"Why did he say all those misleading things?" Hui Bin frowned deeply, completely baffled.
Hui Bin thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out. He could only shake his head. Seeing that the Five Thunders Talisman in his hand was dry, he deftly folded it into a triangle in a few quick movements, tucked it into his robe, and turned to leave.
...
Meanwhile, Gu Zhao walked out of the main gate and felt the stack of Yellow Paper. There were more than twenty sheets, which he figured would be enough for his needs for the next couple of days.
'Time to hurry home, cross over to the Otherworld, and test out my Daoist Techniques!' Gu Zhao's excitement surged again as he prepared to take the subway home.
Then he saw the young man not far away.
The young man and his girlfriend were walking toward a BMW 3 Series parked on the side of the road. He reached into his pocket, and the car chirped as it unlocked.
"Fucking psycho, coming to a Taoist Temple to act all high and mighty. What a moron. He doesn't even..."
BOOM!
A clap of thunder suddenly rang out in front of him, making the young man shudder so violently he almost threw his girlfriend aside.
The roar also drew the attention of nearby pedestrians, who all turned to look.
"What happened?"
"Was that thunder?"
"But the sky hasn't changed?"
"A bolt from the blue?"
Then everyone, including the young man, saw thick smoke pouring from the parked BMW 3 Series. The car's body was clearly damaged and scorched black. The engine in the front was making a CRACKLING sound, and sparks were sputtering from the rear.
"Did the engine spontaneously combust?"
"No, it looks like it was struck by lightning. What rotten luck..."
"Watch out, the car might explode!"
The surrounding pedestrians scattered, leaving only the young man standing there, dumbfounded. He let out a heart-wrenching scream, "My car!"