Chapter 36: No One Wants Her? Part 2

“She has great talent. Not even thirty, her cultivation is already at the Nascent Soul Stage. At twelve, she took the Grand Examination and won first place. Her father is the head of the Wenren family, her great-grandmother is one of the Immortal Talisman Sect’s Elders. She should have been deeply favored, but because of her temper, she’s not close to the Wenren family. She likes to experiment with special rune repairs, innovative research, and the like. Those unknown talismans, when experiments fail, are extremely dangerous. It’s said that no attendant has lasted more than a month with her; they either die or are crippled. It’s truly tragic.” Beimen Duoduo sent a vivid sound transmission to Huo Zhi.

“So that’s how it is.” Huo Zhi finally understood. They had thrown her into a fire pit. It was basically killing with a borrowed knife.

“Master, why are you still so calm! Come with me. I’ll risk my life to beg the Dean of the Array Talisman Court to take you in.” Beimen Duoduo said.

“Duoduo, you’re really loyal. I’m fine. Aren’t you calling me Master? This place is actually safer. Going to your place would cause trouble for you all.” Huo Zhi pinched Beimen Duoduo’s cheek and said.

Seeing Beimen Duoduo like this, Huo Zhi’s maternal instincts overflowed again. Cute, loyal, with a little fiery temper, Beimen Duoduo was such a good kid.

Her own status within her family wasn’t high; she was even bullied by direct line siblings. She had secretly come to take this Grand Examination. Her family hadn’t helped her, and she had little say. Huo Zhi didn’t want her to kowtow and take risks for her sake.

“Master, it’s really dangerous here. Don’t joke with your life.” Beimen Duoduo worried.

“I’m fine. I know my limits. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll go find you, okay? This Identity Token, I heard they can connect and be used as sound transmission devices. As long as we input each other’s spiritual sense into them, let’s try.” Huo Zhi smiled.

“Alright, you must tell me if there’s danger.” Beimen Duoduo said, and “exchanging contacts” with Huo Zhi.

Just as Beimen Duoduo wanted to say more to Huo Zhi, another person ran over: the little loli Ji Shuling. Her face was pale with fright, having also heard about Wenren Sumian. She came to warn Huo Zhi and wanted to drag Huo Zhi to her place to take refuge.

Huo Zhi found it somewhat amusing. These two kids, truly not bad. She hadn’t helped them for nothing during the Grand Examination.

As for the little ingrate Linlang, who knew what she was up to now? The sensed talisman brush hadn’t changed, so she was probably obediently cultivating at the Xiao Residence.

She hadn’t seen her for a few days since the exam and kind of missed her.

That sulky face, if only it could smile as brightly as these two cuties.

Huo Zhi repeated what she had told Beimen Duoduo to Ji Shuling. Then she hugged them, one on the left and one on the right, pinched their cheeks, and soothed them before sending the two worried little cuties away.

The Embroidery Institute was right before her. Huo Zhi took a deep breath and walked inside.

Though called an institute, the Embroidery Institute covered an extremely vast area, crisscrossed with numerous Cave Abodes and courtyards of various functions. Huo Zhi had to ask for directions to find Wenren Sumian’s location.

She had just arrived at the entrance to Wenren Sumian’s courtyard, not yet inside, when she heard a series of coughs. It was Wenren Sumian coughing.

What kind of illness was it, to remain untreated in a place like the cultivation world?

“Greetings, Head Seat Wenren. I am the newly assigned attendant to Head Seat Wenren. May I enter?” Huo Zhi raised her voice at the doorway.

“If you want to come in, open the door yourself!” A voice came from inside, carrying a weak, breathless quality, yet cold and utterly devoid of emotion.

Huo Zhi paused, then understood Wenren Sumian’s meaning. She wanted Huo Zhi to open the door herself. The test had begun.

Huo Zhi looked. The door had a Talisman Lock, far more difficult than the locks during the exam. It was an interlocking lock, one ring within another, three rings in total.

To a newcomer, such a Talisman Lock was probably a sign of rejection.

Perhaps she didn’t want an attendant at all.

Huo Zhi found it somewhat fascinating. Because some of the previous runes exactly matched ones she had designed. This interlocking lock incorporated some creativity, linking three types of talisman locks she had designed into a mutually dependent relationship.

No wonder she was called a genius. Being able to innovate was extraordinary.

The Identity Token contained some basic talisman materials. Huo Zhi took them out and began drawing talismans to unlock the Talisman Lock.

After more than half an hour, Huo Zhi finally unlocked all the talisman locks, and the door opened automatically.

The coughing inside paused briefly for a moment, then resumed.

Huo Zhi walked inside and saw a woman in white sitting at a table holding a talisman brush. Her face was pale, her brows like a distant mist, her eyes like a haze. She looked extremely thin, extremely frail, ethereal and blurred, as if she might scatter and disappear at any moment.

This was probably Wenren Sumian.

Poor thing, sick to this extent!

A sense of pity rose in Huo Zhi’s heart, and her gaze involuntarily softened.

“You have some skill. Since you’re here, do your duties properly. The things in this courtyard are protected by runes. If you have the ability to take them, feel free. If you lack skill and get hurt, don’t blame others.” Wenren Sumian said, covering her lips with a handkerchief, not lifting her head to look at Huo Zhi, continuing to draw her talisman with her head down.

Listening to her words, Huo Zhi somewhat understood. She had set many restrictive talismans in her own courtyard, likely including many dangers.

She wasn’t unreasonable, at least.

“Go fetch some ink.” Wenren Sumian ordered after speaking.

Huo Zhi looked left and right, saw on a shelf some ink identical to what was on Wenren Sumian’s table, and walked over to get it.

When she reached it, Huo Zhi’s outstretched hand paused. There were Spiritual Energy Threads here.

Huo Zhi remembered. This was an infrared-technology-like alarm she had designed, using Spiritual Energy Threads. She couldn’t touch these threads, or she would set it off.

Huo Zhi shook her head and carefully avoided the Spiritual Energy Threads, took the jade bottle containing the ink, and went to Wenren Sumian’s side, pouring three drops into the container in front of her.

This ink was time-sensitive; pouring too much would cause it to lose effectiveness if left too long.

After pouring, Huo Zhi glanced at the rune in front of Wenren Sumian. It was half-drawn and appeared to be a Supreme Clarity Meridian Sculpting Talisman.

This type of talisman was a Superior Earth-Grade one. Once used, it could reshape a cultivator’s meridians, making them more stable and improving their cultivation talent.

This talisman was extremely difficult and challenging to draw. Wenren Sumian drew very slowly, appearing exceptionally cautious.

For such a high-grade talisman, Huo Zhi could feel the surging spiritual energy of the materials. She couldn’t control it with her own mental power.

“No, it’s wrong, all wrong!” Watching Wenren Sumian draw, the originally correct route had deviated. Huo Zhi hurriedly called out, but it was already too late. Wenren Sumian’s brush had already made the stroke.

Huo Zhi hastily activated the Protective Barrier on her protective talisman artifact and rolled away. At that moment, the rune Wenren Sumian was drawing collapsed, and with a loud boom, a white light erupted. The surrounding talisman paper, talisman brush, and table were all blasted to pieces.

Wenren Sumian’s expression remained unchanged; she merely coughed several times in succession. Her body had no major injuries. Only then did she turn her gaze towards Huo Zhi, who was hiding off to the side, looking at her directly.

The Protective Barrier Huo Zhi had activated had already shattered, the impact sending her body reeling back several meters.

“How did you know it was wrong?” Wenren Sumian asked Huo Zhi.

“It was drawn incorrectly, and the talisman materials were used wrong too. Isn’t this in the Hundred Talisman Chart?” Huo Zhi approached Wenren Sumian, seeing no further explosion likely.

“You’ve seen it? Draw it for me to see.” Wenren Sumian didn’t answer Huo Zhi’s question, instead handing her a brush and telling Huo Zhi to go to the other table to draw a draft.

“It might not be perfectly precise, but the general shape is like this.” Huo Zhi took the brush and went to draw. Wenren Sumian stood up to watch.

The Supreme Clarity Meridian Sculpting Talisman was extremely complex, almost requiring the drawing of the human body’s meridians. Wenren Sumian had drawn everything well just now; the error was in Huo Zhi’s private logo.

It was the anti-theft logo Huo Zhi had left in the diagram, somehow integrated into the runes as part of them.

Huo Zhi quickly finished the draft. Wenren Sumian took the paper and looked at it for a long time, then looked at Huo Zhi again. She seemed about to say something, but her gaze stopped on Huo Zhi’s wrist. Her originally cold and calm expression flickered, and her brow furrowed. Without any perceptible spiritual energy fluctuation from her body, Huo Zhi was pulled right before her, her wrist grabbed.

“Where did this come from?” Wenren Sumian asked, her voice as cold as ice and frost, her brows still indifferent, yet revealing a fierce menace that made one shudder.

“This? Don’t be upset. Is there something special about it? I bought it at a shop. The shop has many bracelets like this. Do you like it? I can go back to that shop and see if there are any more.” Following Wenren Sumian’s gaze, Huo Zhi realized she was asking about the bracelet on her wrist.

Moyi Guihua had given it to her.

Ordinary Talisman Artifacts only have one function.

The Talisman Artifact Moyi Guihua gave her could not only mask her aura but also activate a Protective Barrier.

Only one Talisman Artifact could be taken into the Grand Examination space, so Moyi Guihua had given her this one.

Looking at Wenren Sumian’s expression, Huo Zhi felt something was wrong. Could she have recognized it?

She had run into all of Moyi Guihua’s enemies!

“…I don’t like it!” Wenren Sumian threw Huo Zhi’s wrist aside, her face darkening.

“It’s nothing rare. But here at Head Seat Wenren’s place, there are many good things, truly. Head Seat Wenren, do you think my drawing is correct?” Huo Zhi changed the subject.

“I don’t know. It needs testing to be sure. What I obtained is an incomplete talisman. I repaired the rest.” Wenren Sumian said.

“…You repaired it?” Huo Zhi was shocked. This person was truly talented; she had managed to repair it just by guesswork to something nearly identical to the original design.

“Of course. Why does a mere attendant talk so much! Prepare the corresponding talisman materials. I’ll test it.” Wenren Sumian said coldly.

“Alright, I’ll go prepare.” Huo Zhi said. A boss was a boss; her temper was indeed not great.

While Huo Zhi was accompanying Wenren Sumian in drawing talismans, Linlang returned from the deep mountains and arrived at the Exquisite Pavilion to accept missions.

“I bet Huo Zhi will be expelled within a month. One thousand Spirit Stones!”

“I bet Huo Zhi’s cultivation will be crippled within half a month! Two thousand Spirit Stones!”

As Linlang was about to accept a mission, she heard several people shouting. The Exquisite Pavilion had apparently set up a betting pool.

Hearing Huo Zhi’s name, Linlang’s heart involuntarily tightened. What was going on?!