Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: Back

“Huh—”

Opening his eyes and seeing again the familiar balcony beside him, Gu Zhao let out a long breath, instinctively glancing at the opposite building—but the girl who did yoga by the open window was nowhere to be seen.

His second reaction was to “look” at the Five Thunder Talisman in his mind.

Not only did the Five Thunder Talisman, the surrounding lightning, and the thunderseed circling the talisman still exist, but even the primordial qi he had activated and all his internal magic power had been brought back.

He formed a thunder seal with his left hand, and a vast righteous energy surged forth.

“Awesome!”

Gu Zhao’s eyes gleamed; the world before him seemed three shades brighter, and at least thirty-six scenarios of showing off his divine power flashed through his mind.

Cultivating the Dao and refining the heart? Only showing off can keep my Dao heart smooth!

He turned to look at the wall clock—it was already past six in the afternoon, roughly matching the time he’d spent in the other world, and it seemed dinner time was approaching there too.

“This isn’t a time-stopping rule-based transit,” Gu Zhao thought, staring at the clock, “so I need to manage my time carefully, or I’ll get caught out—especially since people here might show up at any moment.”

Though the other world was clearly dangerous, luckily he now had a cheat.

He was now a Daoist who could cultivate and wield magic power—not only did he have the Five Thunder Talisman as a built-in external aid, but he also carried the foundation of industrial civilization; once he understood the conditions there, he’d be like a fish in water, a tiger with wings, like glue…

Gu Zhao cut off his wandering thoughts and tried to cultivate—then he had to admit the two worlds were indeed different.

In that world, whenever he practiced, he continuously absorbed some substance similar to cosmic qi from the surrounding heavens and earth, filling his magic power.

But in this world, no matter how hard he tried to circulate his internal breath, the energy drawn from outside was negligible—barely a drop or two, like a leaky pipe.

Not nonexistent, but barely better than nothing.

Gu Zhao shook his head. “No wonder cultivation doesn’t work in this world.”

That meant, in the modern world, he couldn’t replenish his magic power through cultivation and absorption of cosmic qi—he’d either have to spend vast amounts of time grinding, or rely solely on eating and digesting to restore it.

But it didn’t matter—he could Suishi cross over to the other world to recharge.

Then he noticed his leather boots, and the silver, copper coins, and wooden carving in his pockets—all had been brought back with him.

Gu Zhao returned to the living room, placed the copper coins and silver ingots in a drawer, and idly set the wooden carving on the entryway shelf.

In the modern world, there were no magicians; the carving was just a well-made wooden artifact, and Gu Zhao didn’t care.

Then Gu Zhao began his experiment.

“Transit!”

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!”

After several transits, and seeing the living room’s table and sofa stained with dirt and grass clippings, Gu Zhao figured out that the Five Thunder Talisman didn’t just carry him and his personal belongings—it could also carry anything within the range of his spiritual sense.

That meant, as he cultivated further, his spiritual sense would expand, and he’d be able to bring more things along.

Gu Zhao’s eyes gleamed. “Hmm… True power lies within oneself. Soon, with a single thought, I’ll bring the entire Yangcheng straight into the other world, ascend to the pinnacle with industrial technology, and suppress all ill omens…”

“Can’t think anymore—if I do, I won’t sleep tonight. I’ve got things to do tomorrow.”

“Eat! Sleep!”

…

The next morning.

The first thing Gu Zhao did upon waking was to sense the Five Thunder Talisman in his mind, confirming yesterday’s experience wasn’t a dream.

He muttered “Awesome” again, then got dressed and washed up before stepping out.

“Today’s schedule is packed,” Gu Zhao picked up his phone and opened his notes app, where he’d listed yesterday’s items in order of importance and urgency.

[Buy several sets of ancient-style clothing, so I won’t stand out during my next transit]

[Buy brush, inkstone, Zhu Sha, yellow paper]

[Test in the other world which spells and talismans from the Daoist scriptures I’ve learned actually work]

[Go to the nearest Xiuyue County to begin exploring the world]

[Find a way to communicate normally with a female ghost without having my qi drained]

All of these were related to the other world; as for the modern world… Zhang Hang’s advice wasn’t entirely without merit.

Just graduated, it’s understandable to lean on your parents a bit.

Gu Zhao: (•̀⌄•́)

As Gu Zhao greeted his mother, dozens of kilometers away, he bit into a char siu bun and boarded the subway heading toward the City God Temple.

The City God Temple in Yangcheng was once vast; legend says it was even upgraded to a metropolitan City God Temple—but now it was tiny, at least compared to other cities’ metropolitan temples.

Still, the City God Temple had been the cultural and historical heart of the city for centuries, so within a half-street radius around it, most shops specialized in traditional culture and history.

Like stationery stores, calligraphy and painting shops, antique shops, jade stores.

Gu Zhao came here precisely to get his brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and ancient-style clothing all in one go.

…

“What? Yellow paper?”

In Guyi Xuan, the shopkeeper stared at Gu Zhao, utterly baffled. “I have raw xuan, cooked xuan, single-layer xuan, double-layer xuan, white xuan, yellow xuan—you want yellow paper? Did you come to the wrong place?”

Gu Zhao asked, “Then where should I go?”

The shopkeeper snorted. “The funeral supplies street.”

Gu Zhao was speechless. “I don’t mean the kind of yellow paper used for burning.”

“Then what’s it for?” the shopkeeper asked.

“For drawing talismans,” Gu Zhao replied.

Now it was the shopkeeper’s turn to be speechless. “Then you shouldn’t be in a stationery store—you should go to a Daoist temple.”

Gu Zhao asked, “Isn’t the City God Temple a Daoist temple?”

“The City God Temple was torn down over a hundred years ago—now it’s just one main hall. What kind of Daoist temple is that?” The shopkeeper pointed north, then west. “If you want talisman paper, why not go to Yuanfa Palace or Huangxian Shrine?”

Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up. “Do they sell Zhu Sha and yellow paper there?”

“At least they sell funeral supplies,” the shopkeeper answered.

Gu Zhao: …

Shopkeeper: …

Gu Zhao said, “Why didn’t you mention Liuke Temple and Guangxiao Temple?”

The shopkeeper replied, “They don’t sell funeral supplies.”

Gu Zhao was left speechless—Daoist temples selling things for the afterlife, Buddhist temples asking about this life. The world made no sense anymore.

Gu Zhao: ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Helpless, Gu Zhao bought a set of wolf-hair brushes, a Huizhou inkstone, and—thinking he was now a cultural inheritor of ancient traditions—picked up various types of xuan paper, along with pine-soot ink and oil-soot ink.

Then he stepped out, called a delivery rider, and had the guy bring the items to his door—immediately turning left into the next shop to keep buying clothes!