Chapter 29: The He Xiuniang: I Want to Be Young Master's Maid

Good news: the He Xiuniang can truly activate the talisman paper.

Bad news: the activation effect is inferior to Gu Zhao's.

Even when combined with the hand seals and incantations Gu Zhao taught her, perhaps because the essence of the magic power used for activation differs, a significant amount of spiritual energy dissipated during the process, causing the effect to reach only about seventy percent.

What surprised Gu Zhao was Bai Ke.

Logically, as a spirit creature suppressed by thunder arts, she should have been directly counterattacked by the yellow talisman upon activation, but unexpectedly, although she felt some discomfort, she actually succeeded in activating the talisman paper.

"Why is this?" Gu Zhao did not understand.

But Bai Ke seemed to understand something; the look in her eyes as she gazed at Gu Zhao carried an indescribable horror. "This talisman paper carries a power that is vast and righteous, suppressing all evil, sinister, and bizarre forces. It is only because my soul carries no evil qi that I can use it at all; otherwise, it would be impossible!"

She had never seen such power in this world!

Whether it was deities who absorbed the divine power of incense offerings or Spirit Lords who constantly tempered their own magic power, none possessed such a majestic and righteous effect when dealing with evil ghosts and bizarre spirits. As for mages who had not formed a pact, had limited lifespans, and relied solely on their own cultivation, they would only be weaker.

From which remote corner did this fellow spring forth? What lineage does he cultivate? He looks like his magic power isn't particularly high, yet the spells he casts are so formidable; he can even summon heavenly thunder!

Hearing Bai Ke's words, Gu Zhao actually understood a bit.

Since Bai Ke mentioned evil qi again, he could not help but think of the aura absorbed by the Five Thunders Token when he killed those ghostly creatures; it was precisely caused by the ghosts' evil deeds.

This perfectly matched Bai Ke's statement that she did not commit evil, so her soul carried no evil qi.

The Daoist path aligns with the Heavenly Heart above and human ethics below. Although it does not interfere with the natural cycle of change, if one commits evil out of desire, it naturally leads to an impure soul carrying evil qi. The various Daoist schools and methods for subduing demons, exorcising ghosts, and slaying evil spirits all target this evil qi!

Bai Ke is an alien being and faces obstacles, but since she has no evil qi, she will at least not be counterattacked by the magic power.

"Although I don't know if this is exactly the case, I will proceed as if it is; as long as the logic holds, that's enough." Thinking this, Gu Zhao stopped pondering and simply took out a box.

"What is this?" Bai Ke asked, casually opening the box, and the entire fox was stunned.

Inside the small box, not very large, were stacks upon stacks of yellow paper folded into triangles; through the yellow paper, one could see the talismanic runes drawn in cinnabar inside.

Bai Ke's eyes turned into spirals, the fur on her neck bristled, and she exclaimed in shock, "So many?"

In her view, talisman paper similar to disposable magical artifacts, capable even of allowing an ordinary person like the He Xiuniang to block the attacks and actions of the Golden Wind Sect's Guardian Ghost Deities, must be an extremely precious item. Even if Gu Zhao could create them, there wouldn't be many.

But what did she see now?

In this palm-sized small box, there were densely packed twenty or thirty of them!

"Since the He Xiuniang has formed a pact with you, the effect of using Thunder Talismans is the weakest, so I won't give you Thunder Talismans. These are Great Star Talismans and Black Evil Talismans of the Black Tortoise; they are perfect for offense and defense respectively, offering the best effect," Gu Zhao said.

The Great Star Talismans need no explanation; the Black Evil Talismans of the Black Tortoise are also talismans from the Supreme Clarity Tianxin Orthodox Method.

Unlike the Thunder Talismans in the Divine Firmament Jade Pivot Five Thunders Great Method, which cannot be drawn without sufficient cultivation, most talismans in the Supreme Clarity Tianxin Orthodox Method, except for a few types, do not restrict cultivation. However, the power unleashed by the talisman paper is closely related to the cultivation of the person drawing them.

For instance, with Gu Zhao's current cultivation, the Great Star Talisman could only block that Golden Wind Sect Ghost Deity for a moment; if his cultivation were higher later, perhaps the triggered power of the Great Star Talisman could directly annihilate it.

Seeing the densely packed talisman paper in the small box, Bai Ke's eyes lit up.

But the He Xiuniang immediately closed the small box, hurriedly pushing it back to Gu Zhao. "Young Master is going out to handle important matters; the He Xiuniang and Xiao Bai cannot help, so how can we still take Young Master's yellow talismans?"

Bai Ke opened her mouth but said nothing.

Gu Zhao rubbed the He Xiuniang's beautiful hair and handed the small box back to her. "Keep it. My matter is not dangerous, and I have kept some for myself as well. You wouldn't want me to worry about the village while I'm out handling business, would you?"

The He Xiuniang felt like crying and laughing at the same time and had to take the box back. After thinking for a moment, she looked seriously at Gu Zhao. "Is Young Master really in no danger this time?"

"Truly no danger," Gu Zhao nodded.

"Then is it not because Young Master does not want the He Xiuniang to be your maid that you do not want the He Xiuniang to follow?" the He Xiuniang asked pitifully.

"Of course not," Gu Zhao smiled.

"Then is Young Master willing to have the He Xiuniang be your maid?" the He Xiuniang asked expectantly, blinking her watery, bright eyes.

"How did we get to talking about being a maid?" Gu Zhao said helplessly. As a new generation youth born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze, where in his heart was there any concept of maids? "I treat you as a little sister."

The He Xiuniang interrupted, "I don't want to be a sister; I want to be Young Master's maid!"

Gu Zhao was speechless. Seeing the He Xiuniang on the verge of tears, he could only nod. "Fine, fine, fine. Be my maid, serve me tea and water, and make the bed and fold the quilts in the future."

The He Xiuniang's eyes lit up. "Great!"

Gu Zhao: (°ー°〃)

"Alright, go back to sleep..." Before he could finish speaking, a white line appeared in the eastern sky. It turned out that after the recent battle, explanation, talisman testing, and conversation, dawn had broken.

"Creak—"

The sound of a door opening came; He Laozhang pushed open the main gate and saw two humans and a fox forming a circle in the small courtyard, whispering to each other.

He Laozhang blinked, then quickly turned around.

"Bang!"

Perhaps knowing that Gu Zhao was not far away, or perhaps because she had successfully become Gu Zhao's maid, the He Xiuniang was in very good spirits for the next two days and diligently cultivated in pact with Bai Ke.

Although she was a beginner, the He Xiuniang's cultivation increased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Gu Zhao stroked his chin, pointing and gesturing at the Five Thunders Token in his mind. "You're no good. Someone else can increase their cultivation speed to this realm just by forming a pact casually, yet you still need to kill monsters to level up!"

Five Thunders Token: "..."

Bai Ke, however, solved his confusion. "Ordinary people forming a pact to cultivate don't get this fast. The He Xiuniang is faster than others because her soul matches mine, and she is a beginner. In the future..."

"In the future, forming a pact with me, a descendant of the Heavenly Fox, her cultivation speed will naturally be even faster than others'!"

Bai Ke: ୧꒰•̀ᴗ•́꒱୨

Seeing Bai Ke's proud expression, Gu Zhao reached out to pet her. Bai Ke dodged and jumped into the He Xiuniang's arms, but then the He Xiuniang handed her back to Gu Zhao.

Bai Ke let out two "Yin-yin" sounds, yet still lay on Gu Zhao's thigh. While enjoying it, she felt somewhat awkward and warned, "I am not a wild beast; don't treat me like a pet!"

Gu Zhao nodded and scratched the back of her neck.

Bai Ke opened her mouth in a comfortable grin.

Bai Ke: (▼へ▼メ)