Chapter 32: Meeting the Two Young Ladies Again

"So, talismans drawn with cinnabar on yellow paper are single-use, while engraving the runes onto wood or jade creates a magic tool?" Gu Zhao extended his thinking.

He could sense that the spiritual power preserved in the bracelet was strong; besides providing a long-lasting effect of spiritual energy nourishment, it could at least activate the Great Star Talisman's Qi three or four times, and then...

And then, if he input his magic power following the brush strokes of the runes, could he reactivate this Great Star Bracelet again?

"Pity it cannot automatically absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; otherwise, it would be a proper magic tool." Gu Zhao felt a bit regretful, then immediately shook his head to cast aside the thought. "May the blessings be boundless, the human heart must not be too greedy!"

"Not bad, quite beautiful." Gu Qi looked at the bracelet in his hand.

The three bracelets were of different sizes.

The one he made for Li Man used 8mm small beads, exquisite and elegant; the one for his son used 12mm medium beads, highlighting personality; and the one he made for himself used 15mm large beads, grand and atmospheric.

Little Leaf Red Sandalwood truly deserved its reputation as the top-tier wood; the grain was clear and distinct, purple with a hint of red, and upon a careful sniff, it carried a faint, delicate fragrance.

On a string of purple-red beads, one was slightly larger, its surface engraved with vermilion Taoist runes; under the light shining from different angles, it shimmered with flowing luster, looking mysterious and noble.

"Take it and play!" Gu Qi tossed one of the bracelets to Gu Zhao, then took a exquisite gift box from a nearby cabinet, carefully placed the bracelet intended for Li Man inside, and even arranged it in a pose.

"Is that necessary?"

"Sense of ritual!"

Ignoring Gu Zhao, Gu Qi held the gift box in his hand. "Let's go! Home!"

"Thank you, husband! Mua!" Li Man kissed Gu Qi, then put on the bracelet, happily checking it from left to right. "It looks so good; you can't buy this on the market. It looks truly high-class."

Gu Qi smiled proudly. "Of course; this is an artwork hand-carved by the Gu Family Grandmaster, far superior to those machine-carved ones!"

Li Man shifted her gaze and asked Gu Zhao, "What talisman is this? I want to show off to my besties!"

Gu Zhao snapped his fingers. "The Great Star Talisman from the Taoist sect's 'Tianxin Orthodox Method of Shangqing'. It cures illness, removes calamity, brings the dead back to life, destroys the wicked, and erases traces and forms. Therefore, this bracelet is called the Great Star Bracelet."

"Got it. It's for health preservation, longevity, and preventing petty people from causing trouble," Li Man said.

Gu Zhao nodded wordlessly. "More or less."

"Great Star Talisman, so why not carve a Great Evil Talisman together?" Li Man asked. "Great Star and Great Evil aren't a pair?"

Gu Zhao didn't need to answer this question; although Gu Qi hadn't cultivated with Gu Zhao's grandfather, he had read those Taoist scriptures. "The scriptures only have the Great Star Talisman, not the Great Evil Talisman. There is a Black Evil Talisman of the Black Warrior, used for subduing demons and exorcising evil, but you don't need that anyway!"

"Alright." Li Man had just asked casually; after all, information was so developed now, and the paired terms Great Star and Great Evil were often linked together. She thought, who knows if the ancient person who wrote this Taoist scripture only knew of the Great Star and not the Great Evil back then?

Thinking of this, she looked at the Great Star Talisman in her hand and silently said, "May the blessings be boundless." Little woman is just thinking randomly, no disrespect intended to the Ancestors!

"Enough, go to sleep quickly; we have to catch a plane tomorrow morning!" Li Man dismissed Gu Zhao to sleep, then pulled Gu Qi towards the second floor.

Gu Zhao, "..."

Gu Zhao and Li Man flew back to Rongcheng on Friday, first visiting Gu Zhao's maternal grandfather and grandmother.

Gu Zhao's paternal grandparents were already quite old when they gave birth to Gu Qi and had since passed away, but his maternal grandfather and grandmother were not yet old and were quite healthy.

After Gu Zhao secretly drew a Great Star rune on the bedboards of the two, their health would surely become even stronger.

No accidents occurred at the wedding the next day; Li Man and her plastic besties enjoyed the host and guest roles, and Gu Zhao did not actually snatch the bride home.

"I'm going shopping with my besties; you're free to do whatever you want!"

Rarely returning to Rongcheng, Li Man naturally wanted to meet up with her old besties; at this time, everyone's children were either already adults or nearly adults, so it was a leisurely time, and with her own age not yet advanced, it was perfect for shopping and gathering.

And with no missions, Gu Zhao wouldn't be bored; his first stop was Qingyang Palace, known as the foremost Taoist temple in Western Shu.

Summer vacation hadn't started yet, so there weren't many tourists; Gu Zhao showed his student ID, paid five yuan, and the first thing he saw upon entering the mountain gate was, as usual, Wang Lingguan.

Compared to the pure gold statue in Yuanfa Palace, the Wang Lingguan in Qingyang Palace was a colored sculpture, with golden armor and red hair, divine might and angry eyes. The upper couplet read: "By the Command, Lei Ting arises; the Profound Dao is vast, Qingyang is solemn." The lower couplet read: "The Divine Lord drives away filth and evil; the All-Heaven Inspector enforces the Dharma Realm with strictness."

Gu Zhao looked up and saw the four large characters on the plaque: "General of Thunder and Fire."

"Not bad; although the title 'General of Thunder and Fire' isn't from the original text, it fits his identity. At least it doesn't use a title from 'Journey to the West', so it doesn't break the immersion at first glance." Gu Zhao smiled.

Qingyang Palace had a bit more style than Yuanfa Palace, but not much.

Because Gu Zhao wasn't visiting Qingyang Palace for the first time; he remembered that the Hall of the Three Pure Ones in the back enshrined the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect!

"By the way, will 'Fengshen Yanyi' and 'Journey to the West' become orthodox Taoist scriptures in the future?" Gu Zhao thought to himself while bowing three times to Wang Lingguan, then walked around the altar and took three sticks of free incense from the side.

Not listening to the introduction by the public welfare tour guide, Gu Zhao held the incense and walked out of the mountain gate, passing a rather long road, and arrived at the Hunyuan Hall.

Gu Zhao didn't rush to offer incense; after all, Hunyuan Hall only enshrined Taishang Laojun, and offering incense at the Hall of the Three Pure Ones in the back, directly honoring the three Ancestors, was more cost-effective.

Gu Zhao: (•̀ω•́)✧

First, he worshipped the Hunyuan Ancestor in the front hall, then worshipped the True Person Cihang in the back hall; when passing the Bagua Pavilion, he didn't disturb Laojun again but went directly to offer incense before the Hall of the Three Pure Ones.

Gu Zhao lit the incense, first worshipped the Three Pure Ones, then honored the four directions; after sticking the three sticks of incense into the censer, he felt someone approach his side. "Handsome young man, what a coincidence, it really is you. How did you get to Sichuan Province?"

Gu Zhao turned around, and what met his eyes was a pair of large fruits, filling his vision.

Stepping back to see more clearly, then Gu Zhao looked up again, finally seeing the face; it was the young lady with the large fruits who had spoken up for him at Yuanfa Palace.

The other long-legged young lady, somewhat shy, still followed beside her.

"What a coincidence," Gu Zhao replied. "My maternal grandfather and grandmother are from Sichuan Province; I happened to return for some matters. You are..."

"We came to Rongcheng for a performance and stopped by Qingyang Palace to pray for blessings," the young lady with the large fruits smiled. "It was the same in Yangcheng back then; I didn't expect to meet you again. You aren't here to buy cinnabar and yellow paper again, are you?"

"Of course not." Gu Zhao shook his head and smiled. "I've been to Qingyang Palace many times; this time is just revisiting an old place."

The young lady with the large fruits' eyes lit up. "You've been here many times?"

"Yes." Gu Zhao nodded.

"Then let's tour together; you can be our guide, and we'll treat you to vegetarian food," the young lady with the large fruits smiled.

Gu Zhao looked at the two, finding them pleasing to the eye, so he readily agreed. "Great!"