Chapter 31

Cultivating the Dao of the Sword not only requires various medicinal herbs but also the refinement with fire talismans.

Before that, it would be good to practice talisman techniques first.

Qin Xianyu found a shop selling incense and candles, inquired about the prices, and was secretly shocked.

Talisman pens, talisman paper, and cinnabar were all extremely expensive items. After all, this was the most prosperous area of Fengxing Prefecture, and high prices were to be expected. Moreover, those who could use these items were mostly wealthy families, who did not mind the cost.

The young servant behind him stuck out his tongue and said with a grin, "When I sold myself to become a servant, I only got ten taels of silver. A cinnabar weighing one qian costs five taels, as expensive as gold."

Qin Xianyu was already a noble in the Liu family. When he wanted to go out for a stroll, the Liu family steward did not dare to be negligent and sent a servant to follow him, ready to obey his commands.

Qin Xianyu smiled and said, "It is indeed expensive, but cinnabar also comes in different grades. The cinnabar that costs five taels per qian is already considered high-quality. I'll buy some that cost one tael per qian, hmm, three sets should be enough. The rest... cough, cough..."

As for the talisman pen, it was said to be consecrated by a famous enlightened person, made from the hair of a white wolf cub and the bamboo from the capital city, making it a rare treasure. Even an ordinary person could imbue it with spiritual energy.

One pen cost thirty taels of silver.

Upon hearing this price, Qin Xianyu's hand trembled, almost dropping the talisman pen.

In addition, there were items like house-guarding swords, evil-repelling talismans, magical artifacts, divine statues, jade carvings, and so on. Whether they had any supernatural effects was unclear, but their prices were shockingly high.

When Qin Xianyu was asking about the prices, three or four groups of people came, all dressed in fine clothing. They did not even ask the prices, casually buying talismans, jade pendants, and magical artifacts, spending no less than a hundred taels each.

"The little Daoist thought that the two hundred taels I had were a fortune, but it seems that to truly wealthy families, it's just pocket change for buying a few items," Qin Xianyu thought with a bitter smile. "For ordinary people, a few taels are already a significant amount of money, and one or two taels are rare. The young servant sold himself for only ten taels, and the items I just saw could buy ten or more servants and maids."

He often heard that wealthy families could spend a thousand taels in a single day, and the cost of a meal could support an ordinary family for several years. Today, Qin Xianyu had a taste of it.

After buying three sets of cinnabar, Qin Xianyu grimaced and thought to himself that he might as well buy a regular writing brush to use as a talisman pen.

Writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were used by scholars and were not cheap, but there were some suitable for poor students. For example, a very rough writing brush, made from a branch with a tuft of hair at the end, cost only six or seven silver coins.

This time, Qin Xianyu was quite generous and bought a better writing brush for about twenty silver coins.

As for the talisman paper, he decided to skip it for now and draw talismans on the wall instead.

"Little Daoist, look... it's so lively over there."

The young servant was only fifteen or sixteen years old, younger than Qin Xianyu. He was at the age of being energetic and adventurous. He had sold himself four or five years ago and rarely left the estate. Only recently, after gaining the steward's favor, did he go out a few times to learn the roads and shops, but he had never truly enjoyed himself.

Every time he saw something lively, he would rush forward, and Qin Xianyu, helpless, had to follow.

The roles were almost reversed; the servant was supposed to follow Qin Xianyu, but in the end, Qin Xianyu became his follower.

"That man is really impressive."

The young servant exclaimed in surprise and clapped his hands.

Qin Xianyu tiptoed to take a look and saw a muscular man holding a thick stick, fiercely smashing it down on a man in the center.

A dull thud echoed.

The man who was hit by the stick remained calm, slightly raising his head, showing no signs of distress.

Qin Xianyu's pupils narrowed, thinking, "This man has already mastered the skill of moving and channeling his blood and qi."

The man was bare-chested, with well-defined muscles, of medium build, not particularly tall or robust. He allowed others to hit him with wooden sticks or even iron hammers.

Qin Xianyu could clearly see that before the stick hit him, the man's skin and muscles would bulge and turn red, and when the stick struck, the blood and qi had already protected him, preventing any injury.

"Come, come, come, I am Yue Lei, known as Thunder Mountain in the martial world. I have cultivated a body of iron, and you can hit me with wooden sticks or iron hammers!"

"Five silver coins for a hit with a wooden stick, ten silver coins for an iron stick, and twenty silver coins for a large iron hammer!"

"No complaints if you kill me, and no regrets if you cripple me!"

The man, around forty or fifty years old, shouted, "If you think you have some strength, come and try! As for those weaklings, you can leave."

These words made people feel both ashamed and angry. Another person stepped forward, threw down ten silver coins, and gripped the iron stick, smashing it hard into the man's chest.

The man known as Thunder Mountain had cultivated the skill of moving and channeling his blood and qi. He had already moved his blood and qi to his chest before the hit, causing the skin and muscles to bulge and turn red.

In an instant, the iron stick struck, causing a slight vibration.

The man who could move and channel his blood and qi smiled, showing no signs of injury.

The man with the iron stick was secretly angry, threw down another ten silver coins, and continued to hit.

"Before the hit, he had already moved his blood and qi to the point of impact, causing the skin and muscles to bulge and turn red, resisting the external force. This technique is not obvious to the average person, and moving and channeling blood and qi takes only half a breath. By the time the iron stick struck, no one except me saw the changes in his skin and blood."

Qin Xianyu thought, "Human skin and muscles have some elasticity, which can reduce the impact and disperse some of the force. Combined with his skill of moving and channeling blood and qi and his robust physique, it makes sense that he can withstand the strikes of iron hammers."

"But this skill can only resist blunt objects."

"If someone uses a sharp weapon like a sword, even if he can move and channel blood and qi, or even cultivate inner strength, he would still be cut and pierced."

Qin Xianyu watched for a while, and over ten people tried to hit the man, but none of them could injure him.

The crowd was curious, and a few more people tried, but they still could not hurt him.

However, each hit cost five silver coins, ten silver coins, or twenty silver coins, which was a significant amount of money for ordinary people. For example, Li Ding, who went up the mountain to cut firewood, found it difficult to earn even one silver coin.

Gradually, no one stepped forward.

Yue Lei shouted a few more times, adding more ridicule.

Qin Xianyu smiled slightly, shook his head, and turned to leave, pulling the excited young servant along.

"Are you all just a bunch of weaklings? Or are you all as soft and delicate as this little Daoist?"

Qin Xianyu was about to leave when he heard this and suddenly stopped.

Yue Lei, using his skill of moving and channeling blood and qi to resist blunt objects, had been hit by dozens of people, including many strong and tall men, but none of them succeeded. The crowd had become numb and stopped trying. In frustration, he tried to provoke the crowd. Seeing the young Daoist, who was clean and delicate, he used him to mock the others.

However, this remark made the young Daoist stop.

Yue Lei, seeing him stop, sneered and said, "Look, a clean and delicate little guy has more courage than all of you."

"Damn it, I don't believe I can't knock you down!"

Sure enough, someone was provoked. A tall and strong man in his forties shouted, picked up a thick wooden stick, and walked forward.

Suddenly, a hand blocked him.

The crowd was surprised.

The one who blocked the tall and strong man was the young Daoist.

The clean and delicate young Daoist smiled slightly and said to the tall man, "Big brother, please let me go first."

The tall man was immediately stunned.

Qin Xianyu only smiled at him and turned around, thinking to himself, "It's time to let off some steam."

For the past few days, Qin Xianyu had been practicing day and night, always feeling the urge to try out his skills.

Moreover, after the old Daoist left, he felt quite suppressed, and the path ahead was unclear.

Many things were either in front of him or in the future, and when he thought about them, he realized there were quite a few.

With this suppressed feeling, which could be described as a mental block, he needed to let it out to feel better.

Qin Xianyu picked up a wooden stick, about three fingers thick, and tested its weight, finding it quite suitable.

"Little brother, you should step back," the tall man finally realized what he was going to do and shook his head. "This guy has some kind of skill, even iron hammers can't move him. You don't look strong, so don't waste your five silver coins. Let me go and teach this foul-mouthed guy a lesson."

Qin Xianyu smiled slightly but shook his head. He could see that the tall man, despite his robust appearance, had not practiced martial arts and would not be able to move the man.

"Do you want to hit him?"

Yue Lei, who had already cultivated the skill of moving and channeling blood and qi, was stunned and suddenly burst into laughter, showing great disdain.

The crowd also shook their heads. The young Daoist was easily provoked, and after just one insult, he wanted to spend five silver coins to hit the man. However, even the strong and tall men could not move him, so how could a clean and delicate, weak-looking young Daoist have any strength?

It would only be a waste of money.

The young servant was secretly shocked and wanted to persuade him, but Qin Xianyu let go of his hand, signaling him not to speak.

"Two qian of copper drum grass, one liang of flexible vine, four qian of injury root, and three qian of red flower grass. Boil three bowls of water into one bowl, drink two bowls daily, and after seven days, internal injuries will be cured." Qin Xianyu suddenly listed several herbs and their weights, turned to the young servant, and said, "Did you remember?"

The young servant, surprised, nodded.

Qin Xianyu continued, "Write it down."

The crowd was confused, their faces full of doubt.

Yue Lei was also stunned and said, "Little Daoist, give me five silver coins, and if you want to hit, just hit. What are you doing?"

Qin Xianyu suddenly threw a small silver ingot.

One tael of silver.

Yue Lei looked shocked and very confused.

Qin Xianyu whispered, "This one tael of silver, plus the loose silver you have, should be enough for you to buy the herbs and treat your injuries."

At this moment, the crowd realized what the herbs he had listed were for, to treat the man's injuries.

Understanding this, the crowd burst into laughter, including the tall man and the young servant.

The young Daoist was clever. Regardless of whether this hit would move Yue Lei, the words alone had already embarrassed him.

Yue Lei, angry and embarrassed, shouted, "You're being arrogant, kid."

Qin Xianyu sighed and said, "Come on."

He raised his hand, holding the wooden stick in the air.

Yue Lei sneered, thinking this young, delicate-looking guy would be easily stopped, even without moving and channeling blood and qi. However, he still did not want to take the hit, so he moved his blood and channeling to his chest, ready to react.

A gust of wind.

Qin Xianyu's stick fell.

Just like when he split the incense pillar with his sword, it was done with ease.

A crisp sound.

The stick hit Yue Lei's shoulder.

The stick broke.

Yue Lei's face turned pale. In an instant, the blood and qi he had gathered in his shoulder dispersed, and the force from the broken stick transmitted to his shoulder bone.

In the eyes of the crowd, the young Daoist lightly hit the man's shoulder, and the man's shoulder immediately caved in, the skin and muscles bruised and swollen, and the bone broken.

Yue Lei's vision went black, and he fell down.

Qin Xianyu threw the stick away, sighed, and turned to leave.

The crowd parted, watching his back, feeling shocked.

Someone shivered and pulled up their shoulders.

It was late afternoon, the sun had not yet set, and a gentle breeze blew, making it feel cold and desolate.

It was already autumn.

PS: Kneeling for favorites and recommendations... I'm a bit down lately.

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