Chapter 47 Hua Xiaomei - Making Talismans
"Your mind is not at peace."
After reciting the contents of the Wild Waves Sea-Dividing Sword, Ye Jie slowly spoke.
In front of him, Xia Wei was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, beads of sweat on her forehead, and her muscles were tense. She looked like a volcano that had been suppressed to the extreme.
At Ye Jie's call, Xia Wei opened her eyes, a hint of lingering anxiety in her eyes: "Master, I can't understand the subtleties of this move. I can't learn it at all. Why is this happening? Is there... something wrong with this incomplete move?"
Ye Jie simply shook his head. "Even with my limited experience in martial arts, I can tell that this Wild Waves Dividing the Sea Sword Evil is extraordinary and righteous. Although it's just a fragmented move, it contains the mysterious charm of a heavenly martial art. The fact that you can't learn it is definitely not a problem with the martial art itself, but because your mind is filled with distracting thoughts, and you can't comprehend its mysteries."
"The approach of the bandit Hengshan has brought too much pressure to you. It will only crush you and make it impossible for you to think. With your talent as a reincarnated immortal, it is not difficult for you to learn the remaining moves of this heavenly-level martial arts. The only thing you need to do is to calm down and treat this matter as usual. How do you learn martial arts on weekdays?" Ye Jie reminded.
Xia Wei pursed her lips and rubbed the corners of her clothes with her fingers. The whole quiet room was filled with a dull and depressing atmosphere. The more anxious she was, the worse the results would be.
"No...Xiaowei can't do it."
After a while, Xia Wei sighed in frustration. She still had no idea what to do with the Mad Wolf Sea-Splitting Sword. She looked at Ye Jie with helpless eyes. "When I think of the Hengshan Bandit coming, my heart starts beating non-stop. My blood is boiling and I can't calm down at all."
Ye Jie patted her shoulder and said soothingly, "Don't be nervous, relax. You are like an unpolished jade right now. Only after going through the trials of life and death can you be polished into a fine and beautiful jade. Facing a powerful enemy with a deep hatred, it is normal to feel nervous and uneasy. Empty your mind and don't let those negative emotions affect you."
With Ye Jie's comfort, Xia Wei felt much better. She forced a smile at Ye Jie and closed her eyes to comprehend the martial arts.
Not long after, Ye Jie heard a sudden noise in his arms. He took out the bronze ghost messenger order, sensed it, and said to Xia Wei, "Someone in the underworld is looking for me. I'll be back soon."
"Master... please come back soon, Xiaowei needs you." Xia Wei was stunned and murmured to herself reluctantly.
Ye Jie took out the Qingming Branch and the Shrinking Stone. With the sound of crisp knocking, his figure disappeared.
After Ye Jie left, Xia Wei looked at the place where he had been standing, feeling empty in her heart, and her eyes suddenly lost their luster.
She shook her head repeatedly, shaking off the heaviness and loneliness in her heart. The two pigtails swayed behind her head. After a while, she calmed down and continued to comprehend the skills.
Returning to the basement of the wine country, Ye Jie also saw several familiar figures.
"Is your injury healed?" Seeing Hua Xiaomei also moved in and sat down at a long table, Ye Jie walked forward and asked.
Hua Xiaomei, dressed in white, smiled and said, "Thanks to the medicine made by my maid Chang Bailuo, as the saying goes, when radishes are sold on the street, the medicine shop will have no business. My injury has completely healed."
Ye Jie nodded, his eyes sweeping across the long table. He saw yellow paper spread out on the table, a brush and inkstone placed beside it, and a mixture of cinnabar and animal blood in the inkstone. He couldn't help but show a bit of surprise: "Is this the material for making talismans? You can make talismans?"
Hua Xiaomei said helplessly, "I'm still practicing. It's very difficult for me to make a spirit protection talisman right now. Don't expect me to make any high-level spirit talismans."
Ye Jie understood: "No wonder I never saw you use talismans against the enemy in previous battles."
Hua Xiaomei sighed deeply, "Learning to make talismans is not a cheap thing. If you want to delve deeper, you need a lot of Yin De, and the materials are also expensive... I have invested all the Yin De I have accumulated over the years as a ghost messenger into making talismans, hoping that I can make high-quality talismans in the future, so that I can exchange them for endless Yin De."
"Making talismans is indeed a good way to make money. Each of those famous talisman makers is wealthy. Even a fifth-level judge has to show respect to them when he sees them." Ye Jie sighed.
Seeing the two of them chatting, Nan Linghe leaned over and asked curiously, "Brother Jie, is making talismans that profitable?"
Ye Jie nodded. "I once obtained an explosive talisman, which was as powerful as a full-strength attack from a peak-level second-level Celestial Immortal cultivator. If it were sold at the Underworld Market, it would be worth at least tens of thousands of Yin De. The prices of more powerful talismans have skyrocketed. Even the Judge would carry a few high-quality talismans as a life-saving trump card. Do you think it's profitable?"
"Exploding talisman? Let me see it quickly!" Hua Xiaomei's eyes lit up as if she had discovered something.
"It's been used up." Ye Jie spread his hands.
"What a pity..." Hua Xiaomei lowered her head, looking dejected.
Nan Linghe opened his eyes wide as if thinking about something: "Making talismans is so profitable, I want to learn how to make talismans too."
Ye Jie was stunned at first, then looked at Nan Linghe a few more times: "With your talent, you might really shine in the art of talisman making."
Hua Xiaomei just smiled and advised Nan Linghe, "You should be a ghost messenger for a few years first to accumulate more Yin De. Once you try to make talismans, you will really spend money like water. You may spend tens of thousands of Yin De and still not see any results."
After some casual conversation, Ye Jie got to the point: "By the way, why did you come back to me at this time? Did something happen?"
"Brother Jie, don't you remember? The annual Ghost Messenger Festival is about to begin. Senior Ghost Messengers from all continents will gather in the Equal Hall to compete for the title of Ghost Messenger of the Year. The Ten Kings of Hell will all make an appearance. Although ordinary Ghost Messengers like us can't enter the Equal Hall, we are fortunate enough to observe and admire it from outside."
After a pause, Hua Xiaomei continued, "During the period before and after the Ghost Messenger Festival, ordinary Ghost Messengers who can't enter the Equal Hall will set up stalls outside the Hall, forming a fairly large Ghost Messenger Market. Various rare and precious skills that are rarely seen on ordinary days will appear in the Ghost Messenger Market."
Ye Jie understood what she meant: "So you want to..."
"I plan to take Nan Linghe out to see the world and teach her the secrets of the underworld, so she doesn't end up becoming a ghost messenger without even knowing who the Ten Kings of Hell are. We can also take a look around the ghost messenger market to see if we can find some good martial arts manuals," Hua Xiaomei suggested. "Brother Jie, do you want to come?"
Hearing this, Nan Linghe also looked over with hopeful eyes, waiting for Ye Jie's consent.
Ye Jie sighed deeply and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't come. There are some things in the human world that need my attention. I can't get away at this time."
Nan Linghe felt a little disappointed. She forced a smile and said, "Is it about Junior Sister Xia Wei? It's okay. Don't let our affairs delay Junior Sister Xia Wei..."
Hua Xiaomei also came over to smooth things over: "Brother Jie, it's better not to go. This year, you are ranked last in the Guangwang Palace's overall ranking. If you go, you will inevitably be ridiculed by other ghost officials. It's better to be in the quiet of the human world."
Ye Jie was silent for a while before he said, "Be careful. If you encounter any danger, use the Earth-Shrinking Stone to escape."
Hua Xiaomei wasn't worried. "Don't worry, nothing will happen. The Ten Yama Kings have gathered in the Equal Hall, which is the safest place. I want to see which ghost messenger dares to risk offending the Ten Yama Kings and disrupt the order outside the Equal Hall."
Ye Jie seemed to recall something. He took out several martial arts manuals with different colored covers from his arms and handed them to Hua Xiaomei, saying, "Oh, I have a few more martial arts manuals here. You can take them too. See if you can exchange them for some other martial arts manuals at the market."
After casually flipping through the few martial arts books that Ye Jie brought, Hua Xiaomei's eyes widened:
"Elephant Turtle Hand? Hundred Refinements Body? These... these are all Earth-level techniques. Where did you find them..."
After calming down, she carefully looked through the contents of the exercises and couldn't help shaking her head. "It's a pity that one of these two exercises follows the path of Earthly Immortals, and the other follows the path of Human Immortals, which reduces their value. If they were both the path of Ghost Immortals, they could probably be exchanged for hundreds of thousands of Yin De. Now it seems that the value of these two exercises is not as good as the Mysterious Shadow Step."
Ye Jie reminded her, "When you get to the market, if you see any powerful techniques other than the Ghost Immortal Way, you can exchange them for me if the price is right. I will be very useful to you."
Nan Linghe leaned over and asked curiously, "They're all techniques, so why is the Ghost Immortal technique the most expensive? Is it because the Ghost Path is the most powerful?"
Ye Jie shook his head. "If we really talk about power, the techniques of the Heavenly Immortal Path are the strongest. However, in the underworld, ghost officials are all spirits. Although they are not restricted by meridians like living beings, without a physical body, practicing techniques other than the Ghost Immortal Path is extremely difficult. They can only try after they advance to the third level and cultivate a Dharma body. However, by the third level, the ghost officials' fighting style is already formed, and it is not easy to change their style. This is why the price of ghost Path techniques remains high."
After some small talk, Ye Jie turned his attention to Lu Xi, who was learning to read. "By the way, what should we do with her?"
Nan Linghe smiled shyly: "I plan to take her with me and ask the ghost messengers in other continents for information. Maybe someone can speak her language and know her origins?"
Ye Jie nodded in praise: "It is indeed a good idea. Lu Xi has a great task of maintaining 200,000 Yin De, so we must take it seriously."
"Wait, how much did you say?" Hua Xiaomei exclaimed and looked at Lucy with white hair with an expression of disbelief.
Ye Jie revealed the truth: "Lu Xi is involved in a Grade A mission. If you can find out her identity and background within three years, you will receive 200,000 Yin De. Of course, the penalty for this mission is also severe. If you fail to complete the mission, you will be deducted 200,000 Yin De."
After a while, Hua Xiaomei finally recovered. "I never thought the origin of this wandering soul was so mysterious, and it was related to such a generous mission reward. I saw that the ghost messenger Ba, who ranked first on the performance list, only earned 300,000 Yin De this quarter. 200,000 Yin De is no small sum..."
At the end, Hua Xiaomei's eyes lit up. "Okay! I've decided. To prevent Miss He from failing her mission and being punished, I'm going to work with her to find out Lu Xi's origins. With my keen sense of smell, I'm afraid it won't be long before we can uncover her true identity."
Ye Jie said helplessly: "Are you interested in the mission reward?"
Hua Xiaomei laughed heartily. "Those rewards belong to Miss He. I don't want them. It's just that I noticed that Miss He seems to be very interested in making talismans, and I happen to know a little about it, so I can teach her. You have to know that making talismans requires a lot of good karma, especially the experience and knowledge accumulated by every talisman maker over the years. That is a secret that no one can tell. Without good karma, you can't do it..."
Seeing Hua Xiaomei talking endlessly, Ye Jie hurriedly asked her to stop: "That's enough...you should help her complete the task first. As long as the task is completed, everything will be fine. If the task is not completed, everything else is just empty talk."
After some preparation, Ye Jie escorted everyone out of the wine village. Suddenly, he felt something was missing. Turning back, he saw that the wine village lobby, which used to be decorated with lights and magnificent, was now deserted and empty. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised:
"What's going on? Where's the maid from the wine country?"
Hua Xiaomei spread her hands and said, "I don't know. Maybe they closed down to watch the Ghost Messenger Festival?"
Ye Jie nodded. "That's true. After all, that was a major event that shook the entire underworld. Any ghost messenger with a little bit of strength would have gone to the Equal Hall at this time and would have no time to come here for dinner. It's a good opportunity for Aunt Meng to give the maids a day off."
After sending them to the gate of the winery, Ye Jie waved goodbye to them.
Nan Linghe grabbed the corner of Ye Jie's clothes and said reluctantly: "Brother Jie, when you are done with your affairs in the human world, if you still have time, you can use the Earth-Shrinking Stone to come find us. We will go to the Equal Hall to wait for you first."
"I'll try my best." Ye Jie said with a smile.
Hua Xiaomei put her hands on her hips and said, "Don't worry, leave everything to me. Whether it's exchanging for the skills or finding out Lu Xi's background, I'll take care of it!"
Ye Jie helplessly held his forehead: "I don't know why, but when you say that, I'm even more worried. I hope nothing happens."
After seeing off a few people, Ye Jie returned to the human world. He was even more worried about Xia Wei. He didn't know if she could complete her transformation under such heavy pressure and fully comprehend the Wild Wave Sea-Splitting Sword before the Hengshan Bandit arrived.
When he returned to the quiet room, Xia Wei was not there. Ye Jie took out the bronze ghost order and sensed it, and then he confirmed where Xia Wei was.
In my perception, Xia Wei was moving quickly without stopping for a moment.
"Moving such a long distance so quickly is far beyond human capability. Even if Xia Wei had mastered the Mysterious Shadow Step, if she continued to perform at this rate, her spiritual power would be exhausted in no time. So, it seems she's riding a horse. Even though she's constantly taking detours through small paths, her destination is clearly that dilapidated temple. Could it be that..."
Ye Jie didn't dare to think anymore. He noticed that Xia Wei stopped at a place far away from the ruined temple. He hurriedly took out the shrinking stone from his arms and moved towards where Xia Wei was.