Chapter 12: Jealous

After Huo Zhi had hand-in-hand guided Linlang through drawing ten complete Fire Bullet Talismans, she let Linlang start drawing on her own.

Before, Huo Zhi had helped Linlang control the thickness and speed. Now, Linlang was drawing by herself, with Huo Zhi watching from the side.

Having been guided by Huo Zhi for ten talismans, Linlang had already memorized the details of the movements and the force control. Huo Zhi had also made an embossed mold. Before drawing, Linlang would press it onto the talisman paper, and the pattern’s outline would appear. All she had to do was control her Spiritual Qi output, maintain the right brushstroke thickness, not let it break in the middle, complete it in one continuous stroke, and increase her speed slightly, and she would succeed.

Even so, Linlang still failed seven or eight times before finally succeeding.

“You did well. These one thousand sheets are for you,” Huo Zhi said, continuing her method of encouraging teaching from the side. Seeing that Linlang could now draw independently, she gave her a thousand sheets of talisman paper.

Linlang looked at the thick stack of talisman paper beside her. Judging by the previously tested power of the Fire Bullet Talisman, a single low-grade basic Fire Bullet Talisman could blast a fist-sized hole in the wall. Now that she could draw them, out of these thousand sheets, she would at least be able to produce a hundred. That meant Huo Zhi had handed a weapon to Linlang. A hundred of these would be enough to stop Huo Zhi, even injure her.

Yet this person, just as she had sworn, was purely acting as a master, completely unconcerned about handing over such things to her.

Huo Zhi was unaware of the complex look Linlang gave her from behind. She first stepped outside to let her stifled tail and erect ears out for some air, and to vent her own emotions along the way.

“My daughter looked so cute just now when she was focused on drawing talismans! Are her eyelashes even real, being that long and thick? Her eyes are so beautiful, like rubies. Ugh, I really want to pinch my daughter’s cheeks and poke her eyelashes…” Huo Zhi thought inwardly, clenching her fists at her chest with starry eyes.

“…Host, wake up. Her current level cannot be called a genius. It’s only slightly better than average. You are the genius!” 006 said.

“Mine is a cheat, it’s different. The author definitely saw my drawings and adapted my designs into this world. Besides, I’ve studied drawing for over a decade to reach this level. If I were a native of this world, I definitely wouldn’t be as good as my daughter. Didn’t you say before that some people don’t even reach seven or eight percent? My daughter just succeeded on her eighth try! That’s amazing, and she’ll get even better!” Huo Zhi disagreed.

“…” 006 fell silent. Huo Zhi had now become a complete solo fan.

Huo Zhi steadied her emotions, circulated her cultivation technique, and returned to the room where Linlang was, once again the aloof and cold Shizun.

While Huo Zhi was drawing talismans, Zhu Cui came by, delivering some of the food Huo Zhi had previously requested.

At the moment, Huo Zhi was fully dressed and had circulated her technique to retract her tail and ears, so she went out to meet Zhu Cui.

“Now that Master has sealed the mountain, how did you manage to acquire these things? Are you able to go out?” Huo Zhi asked after receiving the storage bag Zhu Cui handed over.

“Immortal, the talisman array Master used to seal the mountain only allows entry, not exit. I bought these things on my return trip and now I cannot leave. If the Immortal needs anything else, I can exchange items with other disciples,” Zhu Cui answered respectfully.

“…My mind has been muddled from cultivation. By the way, I also require some talisman materials. The previous ones were all basic-grade, and I couldn’t draw a single successful talisman with them. If there are slightly higher-grade materials, I’d like to try. My cultivation has hit a bottleneck recently, and I want to test my talisman-drawing talent again. Could Senior Sister help me find some?” Huo Zhi said, covering up a moment of awkwardness, and asked Zhu Cui to help her find some other talisman materials.

Zhu Cui listened to Huo Zhi’s voice. It was still a clear, cold voice, yet it felt a touch softer than usual. And she even called her Senior Sister!

Her expression seemed to reveal a hint of bashfulness, and her face, originally appearing plain and detached, suddenly became much more lively.

Zhu Cui’s face immediately flushed red.

In the past, the original Huo Zhi had relied on her good talent and Qin Ceyi’s favor as his formal personal disciple, so her attitude towards people like them had not been good.

“Senior Sister Zhu?” Huo Zhi, seeing Zhu Cui seemed absent-minded, waved her hand in front of her eyes and asked.

“I was remiss. I will certainly handle the Immortal’s request properly!” Zhu Cui said hurriedly.

“Then many thanks, Senior Sister Zhu,” Huo Zhi said, giving Zhu Cui ten spirit stones to exchange for talisman materials.

“The Vermilion Flame Secret Realm has opened again recently. With the Immortal’s cultivation, you would surely gain something. It’s a pity Master sealed the mountain, and we cannot go out,” Zhu Cui said as she took the spirit stones and was about to leave, remembering something to tell Huo Zhi.

“Where did the Vermilion Flame Secret Realm open?” Huo Zhi asked a few more questions based on what Zhu Cui said. This Secret Realm had been mentioned in the original story, but she couldn’t remember the details clearly, only that there seemed to be some kind of treasure.

Zhu Cui answered all of Huo Zhi’s questions, and Huo Zhi thanked her once more.

After speaking a little more with Huo Zhi, Zhu Cui left to carry out her task. Huo Zhi returned to her Cave Abode in a rather good mood. If she could get higher-grade talisman materials, she could draw even better talismans.

“Ding, Linlang’s Happiness Value -7900. Host, it dropped!” Before Huo Zhi even reached the room where Linlang was, she heard 006’s broadcast.

Why did it drop again? Could it be that she didn’t draw well and is frustrated, putting her in a bad mood?

Guessing this, Huo Zhi entered the room, took some ready-to-eat food from her storage bag, and approached Linlang.

“Linlang, I had someone send some food over. Eat a little something and rest first,” Huo Zhi said, looking at Linlang. Somehow, Huo Zhi felt that Linlang’s current expression seemed even more cold and detached.

The feeling of a strikingly beautiful flower covered by a layer of frost seemed stronger.

“My daughter is so cool, she looks this good even when she’s upset!” Huo Zhi thought to herself secretly.

“No need. I’ll continue drawing talismans,” Linlang said curtly.

She was indeed in a bad mood. She didn’t even quite know why. It was just because Huo Zhi had gone out to meet that Zhu Cui, spoken to her with such an amiable tone, affectionately called her Senior Sister, and talked for quite a while!

As for the food Zhu Cui had sent, Linlang didn’t want to eat a single bite.

“You need to balance work and rest. This pastry looks pretty good—good color, smell, and taste. Try some,” Huo Zhi continued to persuade.

“Ding, Linlang’s Happiness Value -7990. Host, it dropped again!” As soon as Huo Zhi finished speaking, she heard 006’s broadcast.

Hearing Huo Zhi praise the pastries sent by Zhu Cui, Linlang’s mood worsened further. As she lowered her head to draw, the talisman paper immediately caught fire. She simply took another sheet and continued drawing.

“…This, how do I teach a competitive daughter? I wish I had taken an extra course in educational psychology back in university!” Huo Zhi watched as Linlang put her entire focus into drawing talismans, refusing to eat or rest, and felt a bit at a loss.

“Host, just let her keep drawing. She’s already reached Inedia. When her Mental Power is exhausted and her head hurts, she’ll stop,” 006 offered Huo Zhi some reluctant consolation.

Huo Zhi could only let it be for the time being.

She placed the food beside Linlang and stopped interfering for now. The two of them drew their own talismans separately.

A day passed like this, and Huo Zhi used over a hundred basic Healing Talismans on Linlang’s injuries, restoring her to full health.

When Huo Zhi was starting to draw Ice Barrier Talismans and Ice Escape Talismans, Zhu Cui sent over some talisman materials she had gathered at Lotus Mist Peak.

Since there were no Talisman Masters at Lotus Mist Peak, aside from basic talisman materials, there was only the next higher grade, Yellow-Grade Talisman Materials, and there were only a little over twenty sheets.

Huo Zhi discussed it with 006 and decided to use these few Yellow-Grade materials only on critical talismans; not a single sheet could be wasted.

Huo Zhi had no idea when Qin Ceyi would come out of seclusion. Every day felt like the end of the world, and she frantically drew life-saving talismans.

About twenty days passed. Huo Zhi had prepared a considerable number of talismans, and at the same time, her mastery of the Dao of Ruthlessness Technique had grown increasingly skilled.

As she became more familiar with the technique, its operation stabilized significantly. Even if her emotions flared slightly, as long as she kept the technique running, she wouldn’t slip up.

By the time Huo Zhi estimated she had made nearly enough talismans, Qin Ceyi still hadn’t come out of seclusion. Huo Zhi quickly made some simple preparations, and that very night, she and Linlang set out.

Linlang transformed into a Cinnabar Bird, a storage bag with clothes and their drawn talismans hanging from her neck. As soon as they left the Cave Abode, she grabbed Huo Zhi’s shoulder and flew towards the edge of the barrier.

At the same moment, within Qin Ceyi’s secluded cultivation chamber, a compass disc with a pointer in front of him suddenly jumped, emitting a tinkling, clanking sound. Qin Ceyi, who had been meditating cross-legged, abruptly opened his eyes.