Duan Xianxing finished the candied haws in a few bites and tugged at Li Nanzhu, ready to scale the wall. "Let's go, let's go! I'll take you somewhere great!"
"Wait—" Li Nanzhu suddenly pressed down on his wrist and lowered her voice. "Someone's coming."
From outside the courtyard gates came the sound of steady footsteps, and Duan Xianxing's face changed instantly.
"It's over, it's over! It's Second Senior Brother!" He hurriedly pulled out a talisman in a panic. "Sorry, Little Junior Sister!"
With a shua sound, Duan Xianxing's figure vanished instantly, leaving only half of a burning earth-escape talisman fluttering to the ground.
Li Nanzhu was stunned. Wait, wasn't Seventh Senior Brother supposed to be poor? Where did he get an earth-escape talisman?
Before she could react, the courtyard gate was gently pushed open. Zhu Yinxi stood at the entrance, still wearing his moon-white magic robes. His jade flute cast a gentle sheen under the morning light.
"Junior Sister." He nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the talisman ash on the ground. "Did Seventh Junior Brother come by?"
Li Nanzhu gave a dry laugh, deciding to cover for Duan Xianxing a little. "Second Senior Brother, how was your three days of meditation?"
Zhu Yinxi nodded. "Thanks to you, Junior Sister, I had a slight breakthrough."
"Thanks to me?" Li Nanzhu was confused. She didn't think she had done anything.
"The cleansing heart talisman you gave me that day," he paused before continuing, "the talismans drawn by Junior Sister are more than forty percent more effective than normal cleansing heart talismans. After I returned that day, the effect did not fade, and I was able to make a breakthrough by continuing my cultivation."
A thoughtful look appeared on Li Nanzhu's face. It seemed the talismans she drew were indeed more effective than normal ones. It had been the same with the last immobilization talisman. However, since the runes were fundamentally the same, was the difference in effectiveness due to the Wanxiang Brush?
What Zhu Yinxi did not mention was that during his subsequent cultivation, he had faintly sensed the presence of a Dao rhyme. This made him even more certain that the flow of the Great Dao he had seen when watching his junior sister make talismans was not an illusion. Had it not been for the cleansing heart talisman this time, he likely wouldn't have discovered this.
At the moment, he wasn't sure if that Dao rhyme originated from the talismans. If he spoke of it now and it turned out to be nothing, it would only give her false hope. It was better to wait until she had new talismans so he could experiment further and confirm the effects.
"If you make any more similar talismans, Junior Sister, could you sell them to me? I can buy them at double the market price."
Li Nanzhu was startled and quickly shook her head. "There's no need for that, Second Senior Brother. I haven't even returned the favor for the Cleansing Heart Enlightenment Incense you gave me. If you need them, I'll just give them to you."
As she spoke, she turned and went into the room to retrieve some talismans she had drawn over the past few days and handed them to Zhu Yinxi.
"These are all tier 1 talismans for now. They should still have some effect as support. Tier 2 ones will have to wait until after I break through to Foundation Establishment."
Zhu Yinxi nodded and accepted them, then took out a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to her. "Master asked me to pass this to you. He said it contains talisman dao insights suitable for your current realm."
Li Nanzhu took the jade slip. The moment her fingertips touched it, a gentle stream of spiritual energy flowed through. She was a bit surprised. "Why did Master suddenly..."
Zhu Yinxi smiled. "Though Master rarely speaks, he has always been very attentive to your cultivation."
His gaze shifted slightly, and he asked as if casually, "By the way, have you felt any discomfort during your meditation these past few days?"
Li Nanzhu shook her head. "No, it's just..." She hesitated for a moment, unable to hold back her curiosity. "How has Master been handling the matter of the forbidden area?"
She expected an answer, but Zhu Yinxi only shook his head. "The spiritual energy in the forbidden area still seems to be in disarray. Until Master notifies us, do not go near it again."
Li Nanzhu nodded and didn't ask further.
Seeing her look a bit disappointed, Zhu Yinxi thought for a moment.
"If you are truly curious, why not head to the Library Pavilion? There might be records regarding the forbidden area there."
"That's right, the Library Pavilion! Second Senior Brother, would you like to come with me?"
Looking at Li Nanzhu's expectant gaze, Zhu Yinxi nodded. He paused, then looked toward a nearby cluster of bushes with a half-smile.
"If Seventh Junior Brother is interested, he can join us too."
A dull thud came from the bushes, followed by Duan Xianxing's panicked shout: "No, no, no! Second Senior Brother, I just remembered I have things to do!"
Zhu Yinxi was in no hurry, merely stroking his jade flute unhurriedly.
"If you come with Junior Sister and me to the Library Pavilion, I'll waive the requirement for you to listen to the second half of my music."
With a shua sound, a purple blur darted in front of the two. Duan Xianxing even had a withered leaf stuck to his head.
"Let's go, let's go! Leaving right now! We're going to the Library Pavilion immediately. I'll make sure to find whatever you need!"
"...Seventh Senior Brother, didn't you use an earth-escape talisman? Why are you still here?"
"All the ones he buys are defective. He can only escape about ten meters at a time, so he gets caught every single time. I just didn't expect he still hadn't used up all those talismans from back then."
Zhu Yinxi seemed accustomed to Duan Xianxing's antics, while Duan Xianxing himself was still mumbling.
"It was only ten mid-grade spirit stones for a hundred of them... I can't say they're completely useless..."
"Yes, you are a useful easy mark. You manage to get accurately scammed every single time. You are indeed more useful than anyone else in that regard," Zhu Yinxi exposed him without mercy.
"Pfft." Li Nanzhu burst out laughing. Seeing Duan Xianxing's resentful gaze, she cleared her throat and said seriously, "Seventh Senior Brother, I've received professional and rigorous training. No matter how funny it is, I won't laugh—unless I can't help it."
However, the twitching corners of her mouth betrayed her thoughts. She had to frantically recite the Cleansing Heart Sutra in her mind to stop herself from laughing out loud.
"Ahem, right. Second Senior Brother, why do you insist on making Seventh Senior Brother listen to your flute?"
Li Nanzhu tried to change the subject, but she didn't notice Duan Xianxing's expression change instantly. Just as he was about to bolt, a hand pinned him firmly in place.
Zhu Yinxi's expressionless face curved into a slight smile, though it looked more like a cold sneer.
"Seventh Junior Brother, how exactly have you been badmouthing me to Junior Sister? Hmm? A lonely senior brother forcing an innocent junior brother to listen to music?"
Duan Xianxing felt bitter in his heart. 'Junior Sister, you've really screwed me over!' On the surface, however, he forced a smile.
"Second Senior Brother, what could I possibly say? Of course I said my wise and martial Second Senior Brother is very... very..." He racked his brain but didn't know how to spin it, only using his eyes to signal his junior sister to help him.
Li Nanzhu received his distress signal, but she had no intention of helping. Instead, she asked Zhu Yinxi.
"So, what's the actual reason?"
"He spent fifty mid-grade spirit stones to buy an 'ancient divine blade'," Zhu Yinxi sneered. "I told him it was just a wood-chopping knife encrusted with spirit stone dust. He didn't believe me and insisted on making a bet."
Li Nanzhu understood the rest without him saying it. The item was definitely a fake. Duan Xianxing had lost the bet and tried to run, only to be forcefully suppressed by Second Senior Brother.
"Second Senior Brother!" Duan Xianxing wailed. "At least give me some face!"
"When you were slandering me in front of Junior Sister, why didn't you think about giving me some face?"
Li Nanzhu watched the two bicker and sighed helplessly. But strangely, she felt that this kind of life was quite nice.
A happy smile curved her lips. "If you two don't come soon, I'm going by myself."
"Coming!"
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