Chapter 68

The two got out of the car and walked into the villa. Meng Feng happened to be looking in their direction and saw Qin Yu and Mo Yongxing enter together, a puzzled look appearing on his face.

"Uncle Meng, hello!" Mo Yongxing stepped forward and politely greeted Meng Feng.

"Xiao Xing, what's this? Do you know Master Qin?"

Meng Feng felt a bit overwhelmed. If Qin Yu really had a relationship with his daughter, the way he was being attentive was like a new son-in-law visiting. He also knew that the Mo family wanted Mo Yongxing to become engaged to his daughter. Logically, these two should be competitors, so how did they end up together?

"I've known Qin Yu for some time now," Mo Yongxing's words indicated that his relationship with Qin Yu was personal and had nothing to do with the Mo family.

"You two chat, I'll go to the study." Qin Yu, holding the wooden box, greeted the two and quickly headed to the study. Time was tight, and he had to hurry.

"Hey, what are you going to the study for?" Mo Yongxing wanted to follow but was held back by Meng Feng, who grabbed his hand and said, "Master Qin has important matters to attend to. Come, let's play a game of chess."

Building the high platform didn't require Meng Feng's hands, and waiting around was boring. With Mo Yongxing here, it was a good opportunity to pass the time with a game of chess.

"Uncle Meng, don't pull me. I'll play chess with you, okay?" Mo Yongxing's face showed a helpless expression. Uncle Meng and his father had a good relationship, often playing chess together. Sometimes Mo Yongxing would be dragged in to play a few rounds. However, the chess skills of these two were like those of cunning old foxes, and Mo Yongxing's aggressive style felt like punching a cotton ball, unable to exert any force.

By the end of a game, he would often be completely defeated. These two were ruthless, refusing to checkmate him until all his pieces were gone, claiming it was to "secure each step and prevent a comeback."

Have you ever seen a comeback with only two advisors or one elephant? Not even crossing the river, how could he possibly make a comeback? These two probably had a sadistic tendency. After being thoroughly defeated, Mo Yongxing would silently criticize them in his mind. Now, whenever he encountered these two, he would avoid them as much as possible, as the feeling of watching his pieces being gradually devoured was truly unpleasant.

Once, Mo Yongxing's temper flared. If they wanted to checkmate him only after killing all his pieces, he wouldn't let them. He wouldn't checkmate them; let them checkmate him. He just wanted to protect his other pieces.

Mo Yongxing's approach was straightforward, but against these two chess masters, the outcome was inevitably brutal. They would block all his paths, and he could only watch as his pieces were gradually devoured, while his general remained unharmed. This was a blatant humiliation!

Qin Yu didn't care about what kind of torture Mo Yongxing would endure. After entering the study and locking the door, he took out Zhuiying and asked, "Zhuiying, my mental energy can't keep up with the consumption of the Heaven Stealing Talisman. Do you have a solution?"

"Ya!" Zhuiying's voice echoed in Qin Yu's mind. Immediately, Qin Yu felt a massive energy flow from Zhuiying's hilt through his arm into his body, instantly replenishing the mental energy he had lost from drawing the talisman.

Qin Yu's eyes flashed with light. Zhuiying could provide him with energy, directly converting it into mental energy. This was not mentioned in the Zhuge Inner Canon. With Zhuiying's help, Qin Yu's chances of successfully drawing the Heaven Stealing Talisman increased significantly.

Placing Zhuiying on the left side of the desk, Qin Yu's left hand pressed down, and his right hand picked up the wolf-hair brush. He focused his mind and began to draw, swish! swish! swish!

In one breath, he completed the pattern of the Heaven Stealing Talisman.

Without the deficiency of mental energy, Qin Yu felt the brush move smoothly, and when he finally lifted it to examine the talisman, a yellow glow appeared on it. However, the glow disappeared almost immediately, indicating another failure.

Qin Yu wasn't disappointed by the failure. As long as the mental energy issue was resolved, drawing the Heaven Stealing Talisman was similar to drawing other talismans. With more attempts, success was inevitable.

If one sheet didn't work, he would use another. The stack of blank yellow paper on the desk gradually decreased, while the pile of failed talismans on the other side grew to an inch high. Despite the help from the mental calming talisman, sweat still dripped down Qin Yu's face.

Moreover, the energy provided by Zhuiying began to weaken. After so many attempts, it was clear that not only Qin Yu but also Zhuiying was running out of energy. The energy flowing into Qin Yu's body was not as abundant as before.

"Just hold on a bit longer, I've found the feeling." Qin Yu encouraged Zhuiying, also boosting his own confidence.

"The human spirit is clear, but the mind is disturbed; the human heart is calm, but desires pull it. If one can always dispel desires, the mind will naturally be calm; if one can calm the mind, the spirit will naturally be clear. Thus, the six desires will not arise, and the three poisons will be eliminated. If one cannot do so, it is because the mind is not calm and desires have not been dispelled. Those who can dispel desires: look inward at the mind, and the mind will have no mind; look outward at the form, and the form will have no form; look far at things, and things will have no things. When these three are gone, only emptiness remains. Seeing emptiness as emptiness, there is nothing to be empty; when there is nothing to be empty, there is nothing to be nothing; when there is nothing to be nothing, there is a clear and constant stillness. In stillness, there is no stillness, and desires cannot arise; if desires do not arise, it is true stillness."

As the last word "stillness" was spoken, the mental calming talisman on Qin Yu's back glowed brightly, and a cool sensation instantly rushed to his mind, dispelling all fatigue.

The incantation Qin Yu just recited came from the Daoist Classic of Purity and Tranquility, which had the effect of calming the mind and enhancing the mental calming talisman, releasing all its energy at once.

Qin Yu remained still, closed his eyes, and quietly sensed the pattern of the Heaven Stealing Talisman in his mind. A third-level talisman already carried a hint of divine essence; if the form was not divine, it could not be successfully drawn.

"The great way is fifty, one is hidden. The cycle of time turns, borrowing one from heaven, stealing the timing, and returning to one."

Qin Yu visualized each stroke of the Heaven Stealing Talisman in his mind, and yellow light flashed in his mind. As the last stroke was completed in his mind, the entire pattern of the Heaven Stealing Talisman overlapped with the pattern in the Zhuge Inner Canon.

"Swish!"

At the same moment, Qin Yu's eyes opened, and he raised his right hand, holding the wolf-hair brush, and drew a stroke. Yellow light followed, and a Daoist essence emerged on the yellow paper.

"Heaven Stealing Talisman, complete!"

As the last stroke was completed, Qin Yu let out a clear shout, focusing his gaze. The yellow light on the paper rose an inch into the air, forming the character "Dao," which remained for three seconds before slowly dissipating.

"Third-level talismans are also called Dao talismans, because of this character 'Dao.'"

Watching the dissipating "Dao" character, Qin Yu suddenly understood. The Zhuge Inner Canon added the character "Dao" to the names of all third-level talismans, such as the Heaven Stealing Talisman, which was also called the Heaven Stealing Dao Talisman. It seemed that the standard for determining the success of a third-level talisman was whether the "Dao" character appeared at the end.

"Ya!"

While Qin Yu was still thinking, Zhuiying's young voice echoed in his mind, filled with joy. Having followed Mr. Zhuge for many years, Zhuiying could easily tell if a third-level talisman was successful. Seeing the "Dao" character, he knew Qin Yu had succeeded.

"Thank you this time."

Qin Yu stroked Zhuiying's blade, expressing his gratitude. Without the energy provided by Zhuiying, he would not have been able to succeed. It seemed he had underestimated the difficulty, thinking that third-level talismans were similar to second-level ones. This experience confirmed that higher-level talismans were even more challenging, and without the corresponding realm, it was impossible to succeed.

"Ya, ya."

...

When Qin Yu came down from the study, he saw his cousin Zhang Hua and his future father-in-law setting up a chessboard in the living room. Mo Yongxing, looking completely exhausted, lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling as if he had suffered a major blow.

"Qin Yu, you're finally down." Mo Yongxing, lying on his back, was the first to see Qin Yu come down from the second floor, speaking with a weak voice.

"Xiao Yu, you're done?"

Hearing Mo Yongxing's words, Zhang Hua's face lit up, and he quickly stood up, walking toward Qin Yu. He didn't want to play chess anymore. Earlier, when Mo Yongxing and Secretary Meng were playing, he watched with interest, thinking that Mo Yongxing's chess skills were terrible, being completely defeated in every game. He believed he wouldn't lose so badly.

When Mo Yongxing lost another game, he noticed Zhang Hua's expression, rolled his eyes, and smiled, giving up his seat to Zhang Hua, saying, "You play a few games with Secretary Meng, I'll take a break."

Secretary Meng didn't refuse, just smiled at Zhang Hua. Zhang Hua, feeling pleased, didn't hesitate and sat in Mo Yongxing's place. Chess was a game that every Chinese person knew, and Zhang Hua had practiced with his father since childhood, believing his skills were not bad. He couldn't stand Mo Yongxing's poor chess skills and thought playing with the provincial secretary would be a great honor.

In the first game, Zhang Hua planned to hold back, just defending and pretending to miscalculate to let Secretary Meng win. However, reality was different from his expectations. In less than ten minutes, all his pieces that could cross the river were taken by Secretary Meng, and he ended up being completely defeated like Mo Yongxing.

In the second game, Zhang Hua took the initiative to attack but fell into Secretary Meng's trap. He traded two chariots and two cannons for one chariot and one horse, and the result was the same as the first game, just lasting five minutes longer.

The third game lasted twenty minutes, the fourth game twenty minutes, and by the fifth game, Zhang Hua's hand was trembling as he lifted a piece. Each time he lifted a piece and looked up to see Secretary Meng's smiling face, he felt a shiver. He finally understood why Mo Yongxing had looked relieved and smug when he saw him take the seat.

He was purely torturing himself. Every time he finished a game and wanted to say he wouldn't play anymore, Secretary Meng would smile and encourage him, "Not bad, better than the last game. Come, let's play another one." This blocked all his attempts to quit.

Now, seeing his cousin come down, Zhang Hua felt like he had seen a savior. For the first time, he felt his cousin was so close, almost hugging Qin Yu and holding his hand, saying with deep emotion:

"Finally, you're here."

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