Chapter 15: Drawing Talismans

Xiao Hua knew the county town better; after confirming that Pan Yun would indeed take Qie Qie away, he hid a steamed bun in the firewood pile and ate one himself.

Seeing Pan Yun watching him, he smiled shyly: “Leave one behind—if anyone hasn’t been dragged out yet and comes back, they’ll have something to eat.”

Pan Yun nodded, unusually kind: “We’ll take you to the Zhangs.”

Xiao Hua hesitated: “Now? What if the constables see us…”

If they got caught and driven off on the road, it would be too unfair—he wanted to wait until nightfall.

Pan Yun looked at his face: “Trust me—it’s safer to go now. You lead, I’ll escort you.”

With Pan Yun beside them, they slipped past patrols of officials, soldiers hunting beggars and refugees, and hangers-on, turning three alleys and two streets until they reached the alley where the Zhangs lived.

Pan Yun stopped, holding the child’s hand, and nodded to Xiao Hua: “Go on.”

Xiao Hua walked to the Zhangs’ gate, couldn’t help glancing back at them, then, eyes welling, knocked on the door.

The door opened, revealing an older woman standing there.

At the sight of her, Xiao Hua dropped to his knees with a thud, bowing his head and sobbing: “Mother—”

She gasped, then beamed, rushing to pull him up, calling joyfully inside: “Husband, come quick—we’ve got our son back!”

A middle-aged man rushed out, saw Xiao Hua’s tattered clothes and tear-streaked face, and was stunned then overjoyed—he pulled him into a tight embrace: “Good, good, come in, come in—from now on, we’re your parents, you’re our son.”

Xiao Hua nodded, called “Father,” then glanced back at the alley entrance—only to find it empty, both of them gone.

Tears spilled again from Xiao Hua’s eyes, but before they reached his cheeks, a gentle hand wiped them away.

He looked up with wet eyes at Zhang’s wife—this was the first time in his memory anyone had wiped his tears.

His fear and sorrow eased; the young boy finally felt a quiet, solid joy.

Pan Yun led the child onto the main street—this time, she made no effort to avoid constables.

Yet strangely, the more she didn’t avoid them, the fewer she encountered.

It seemed they simply had no luck with soldiers.

So Pan Yun deliberately took the child to the county government office, silently repeating in her mind several times: I am delivering this child to the county office—and then she studied his face.

The child stood there, utterly confused, not understanding why they were standing here.

Pan Xiaohei meowed loudly beside them, mocking: “Because someone’s cultivation is shoddy—still a top graduate of the National School, ha! His face-reading skills are so crude…”

【Shut up,】 Pan Yun thought. 【Keep yapping, and I’ll drop you and let you walk yourself.】

Pan Xiaohei shifted his injured leg, meowed once, then lay still.

Pan Yun took the child’s hand and walked away from the government office gate, no longer considering handing him over to the officials to find his family.

Pan Yun: “Do you know where the bookstore is?”

“I do!” the child replied happily—he could finally help his sister.

Pan Yun led him toward the bookstore.

It was no surprise the child knew her gender—children possess a peculiar intuition, untouched by external appearances.

Adults were different.

The bookstore clerk, seeing Pan Yun’s male attire, automatically assumed he was a boy; then, noticing their filthy, disheveled clothes—Qie Er’s garment even had a tear, making them look more ragged than beggars—he instantly labeled them as street vagrants.

As they drew near, the clerk waved them off impatiently: “Go away, this isn’t your place—get out.”

Pan Yun didn’t take offense at being looked down upon; she simply pulled out a small piece of silver: “I’m buying something.”

The clerk’s face flushed at the sight of the silver, yet his attitude didn’t change—he frowned: “What do you want?”

Pan Yun led the child inside and asked: “Do you have talisman paper and cinnabar?”

These items were indeed sold in bookstores.

The clerk frowned: “We have them—but they’re expensive. How much do you need?”

Pan Yun said: “Show me first.”

After a pause: “I want to see all qualities.”

The clerk snapped: “Only one kind—cinnabar’s precious, we only have a little.”

He quickly brought a stack of talisman paper, studying Pan Yun’s expression.

Pan Yun frowned—talismans came in three grades; this two-chi-nine-cun paper was Bing paper, but she wanted San-chi-six-cun Jia paper. She glanced at the clerk and swallowed her words.

After asking the price, she bought one stack of Bing paper—she didn’t absolutely need talisman paper; many things could serve as talisman substrates: bamboo slats, jade pieces, metal sheets…

But cinnabar was essential.

She didn’t have enough spiritual power to form talismans midair.

“How much for the cinnabar?”

The clerk lifted his eyelids: “One tael per tael.”

Pan Yun frowned—was this the quality?

She examined it closely, then chose: “Give me one tael.”

She already had brush and inkstone stored in her spiritual realm—only cinnabar and talisman paper were missing, for she’d had no cultivation and never imagined she could draw talismans, so she’d never bought any at home.

Pan Yun pulled out the fragment of silver and handed it to the clerk, who weighed it—exactly one tael—and raised his eyes: “Total: eighty cash for the talisman paper.”

Pan Yun rummaged in her satchel, pulled out a string of coins, counted out eighty cash, and gave them to him.

Pan Xiaohei had been holding back—when the clerk reached for the money, he swiftly swiped a paw—but Pan Yun caught his paw mid-air, gripping it firmly and glaring at him. Pan Xiaohei meowed: “You can actually hold back?”

Pan Yun: 【I’m not that easily provoked. Why let the emotions of irrelevant people affect me? I only need to achieve my goal.】

“Meow, he disrespected you, insulted you…”

Pan Yun calmly packed her purchases and led the child out: 【You’re wrong—he disrespected me, but didn’t insult me.】

Pan Xiaohei: “Disrespect is insult! It’s unfair—you’re harsh and narrow-minded with me…”

【That’s because you provoke me.】

Pan Xiaohei fell silent.

He witnessed again Pan Yun’s emotional stability—except when Pan family safety was at stake, she rarely reacted emotionally to external things.

He…felt a little pleased.

If her companion’s mind was this strong, wouldn’t her cultivation surely progress?

Perhaps the path to breaking her seal wasn’t far off.

Please…you…collect_(!)

Pan Yun disliked trouble, so unless forced, she rarely provoked it.

If she could buy what she needed quickly, she wouldn’t stir up extra complications.

Naturally, buying clothes and staying at inns was the same.

Her recent interactions with Tao Ji had taught her much.

After asking the child where the pawnshop was, she led him there to buy him secondhand clothes.

Pawnshop clothes were much cheaper than new ones from tailors; ordinary families preferred them, and the selection was wildly varied—like a secondhand market from a past life.

The pawnshop clerk was far more polite, not looking down on them for their age or ragged clothes—he courteously guided them to pick through the used garments.

All the secondhand clothes had been washed and neatly folded, only slightly worn, nothing else wrong.

Pan Yun bought two sets for the child, and two suitable male outfits for herself.

They changed on the spot in the pawnshop, tidied their hair and faces, then stepped out.

After leaving the pawnshop, she headed straight to the inn the child had mentioned—the one that always gave them leftover food.

The innkeeper frowned at their age, asked detailed questions: “Where’s your home? Where are your parents?”

Pan Yun lied effortlessly: “Our ancestral home is Kaifeng. My father managed a trading house in the capital; last year, he vanished with a caravan when bandits attacked. My mother died of illness last year. We brothers couldn’t survive in the capital, so we decided to return to Kaifeng to seek relatives.”

The innkeeper, deeply sympathetic, immediately assigned them a quiet, secure room.

As soon as they entered, Pan Yun checked the doors and windows, confirmed they were secure, then placed the black cat on the table: “You’re on watch tonight.”

Pan Xiaohei lay on the table, as if last night hadn’t been his turn.

The child stared at the black cat with bright eyes: “Sister, can a cat keep watch?”

“His name is Xiaohei. Outside, call me Brother,” Pan Yun instructed, then added: “All things have spirit—especially cats. They can not only keep watch, but fight too.”

The child’s eyes sparkled; he leaned on the table, staring at the cat, cautiously touching it. Seeing no resistance, he placed his hand gently on its back…

Pan Xiaohei glanced at him coolly, lifting his head in supreme disdain.

He was about to deign a meow—when the child suddenly snatched him into his arms.

That kid moved too fast.

Pan Yun had already packed her belongings and retrieved her brush and inkstone from her spiritual realm.

Seeing the cat held tight, she nodded in satisfaction—perfect, the table was now free.

She laid out her items on the table, then looked at the child, contented across from her: “Do you remember your surname?”

Child: “I’m Qie Er.”

Fine—didn’t know his surname.

Pan Yun wasn’t good at face-reading, but her talisman and array skills were strong.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been chosen to study the sealed Three Jade Spiritual Realm.

Talismans channel one’s own qi to gather cosmic qi onto paper, manifesting spiritual intent to subtly guide fate toward one’s desire.

No talisman suited their current situation better than the Peace Talisman.

Life holds many accidents; the Peace Talisman helps avoid misfortune—requiring immense fortune.

Thus, the Peace Talisman brings good luck.

Pan Yun knew this talisman well—after she began cultivating, her side income came entirely from talismans.

The talismans she drew most often were Peace Talismans and Wealth Talismans.

So now, seated at the table, she calmed her mind, picked up her brush, and in one continuous stroke, a Peace Talisman appeared at its tip.

The surrounding qi was drawn to the brush tip; when she finished, a flash of spiritual light passed over it, and the talisman’s inscriptions seemed to leap alive before settling still upon the paper.

Pan Yun was astonished—this talisman was too perfect.

Was she more talented than in her past life?

Pan Yun’s lips curled upward in delight.

(End of Chapter)