Chapter 178 - 142: Talisman Manual
"Talisman Manual"
The other items were worth a good deal of money, but Fang Yue paid them no mind.
It was these two booklets that captured Fang Yue’s attention.
He hadn’t had time to examine them while traveling, but now that he was settled, he could finally take a look at the two booklets.
One of them was a Martial Arts Technique called Mountain Shaking Fist, which could be cultivated to the stage of Great Success in Marrow Transformation.
The good thing was that this Cultivation Technique included the Secret Medicines for each stage, making it a complete legacy. Its value alone was over ten thousand taels of silver.
The quality of the Cultivation Technique was excellent. Judging by its description, its power should even surpass that of the White Tiger Fist. It could serve as the Fang Family’s ancestral Martial Dao in the future.
As for the other booklet, its title alone gave Fang Yue a peculiar feeling.
Talismans?
’Are these the same talismans I’m thinking of?’
Puzzled, Fang Yue opened the booklet, which looked ancient and appeared to have been read many times.
The book looked thick, but it didn’t actually contain much information.
There were a total of seven talismans recorded inside.
Each talisman had a detailed description, covering everything from material selection to the drawing process.
Even a complete beginner could follow the descriptions in the book to draw the talismans.
’But what kind of talismans are these?’
Gold-Seeking, Fire-Passing, Water-Gathering...
Detect metal within a ten-foot radius; pass through flames with reduced damage; gather water vapor, enough to fill a bowl...
Looking at the names and their effects, they were pathetically weak.
Setting aside whether the talismans in the book were even real, their described effects alone were very weak. Fang Yue could hardly think of any use for them.
If he took them to the countryside, they would probably be very effective for swindling ignorant villagers.
"It’s just a shame. According to this Talisman Manual, one needs a corresponding type of Primordial Qi to draw these talismans, but it doesn’t say what kind of Primordial Qi is required."
Fang Yue closed the booklet and said with a sigh.
This Talisman Manual was written convincingly, and it had been kept close by the person in charge of that mysterious organization in Xiahe County. It probably wasn’t a fake.
It was just that while the talisman drawing process was described in full detail, there was no explanation of what level of cultivation was needed to actually create them.
After some thought, Fang Yue suppressed the urge to try them out.
He hadn’t even heard of some of the required materials, and it would be impossible to gather them all in a short amount of time.
The most pressing matter was still the Prefecture Examination.
’After the Prefecture Examination, once I’ve secured an official position and can protect my current assets, then I can think about other things.’
After tidying up and putting everything away, Fang Yue changed his clothes and went out.
Naturally, he was going to find a place to practice.
Besides, it was still early, with more than half a day left until nightfall. He simply couldn’t sit still.
It had become second nature to him; if he had free time and wasn’t training, he would feel uncomfortable all over.
Perhaps because this was the Lihai district, some long-forgotten Mansion Master of Shanyang Prefecture had decided to plant a large number of trees along both banks of this river tributary.
This had created a unique landscape.
One had to understand that every inch of land in Shanyang Prefecture City was worth its weight in gold.
To purchase a residence here—never mind a mansion—even an ordinary single-courtyard house would cost several thousand silver coins.
Furthermore, one had to pay a residential usage fee of ten to one hundred taels to the Government Office each year.
So, while Shanyang Prefecture City was large, living here was not easy.
Soon, Fang Yue found a quiet spot near the inn.
It faced the river on one side and a seemingly ordinary three-courtyard residence on the other, with a large green space in between.
It was very secluded, making it seem like an excellent place to practice his techniques.
Having found a spot, Fang Yue wasted no time and began his training.
He was practicing, of course, the Qi Nourishing and Health Cultivation Skill. His movements were leisurely, truly resembling a form of health-preserving qigong.
~~~~~~
Just then, across the river in an exquisite two-story building, a plainly dressed young woman opened her window after getting up. Her gaze fell involuntarily on the small grove on the opposite bank.
Immediately, she grew excited, pointing down with a finger as fair as mutton-fat jade. "Sister, look! Isn’t that... isn’t that Fang Yue, that blockhead!"
It took Lian’Er a moment to recall Fang Yue’s name.
However, as she looked at his increasingly mature face, the young woman felt her own face flush for some unknown reason, and she quickly shut the window.
"Why did you close it? Let me see."
Beside her, Miss Xiangjun, who was stretching languidly as if having just woken from an afternoon nap, looking charmingly drowsy, hurried to the window and opened it.
However, by this time, there was no one left in the grove across the river.
"Dear sister, stop teasing me. You must be overthinking things and seeing phantoms. What Young Master Fang? There’s no one there!"
Miss Xiangjun sighed softly and said in an admonishing tone, "A man like that is not someone we should be thinking about. So many years have passed. He has probably already married and had children. Besides, Xiahe County and Shanyang Prefecture are thousands of miles apart. Why would he possibly come to Shanyang Prefecture?"
"He’s really gone? But Sister, I think I really saw him just now." The girl, Lian’Er, peered outside again, refusing to believe it. Sure enough, the familiar figure was gone.
It seemed she really had been mistaken after all.
"It’s started to rain. Why would anyone be out there?"
"Ah, that’s enough. Don’t think about it anymore," the woman named Xiangjun sighed softly. "For people like us, finding a young master from a wealthy family to become his concubine is already a good outcome."