Zheng Zheng waved his hand and said somewhat sadly, “There’s no point in dwelling on the past. I just hope that in the days to come, you can live better than before. That way, I’ll be at ease.”

“Let’s go back; it’s late and foggy. Be careful not to catch a cold,” Zheng Zheng added. After saying this, he steeled his heart and turned to leave quickly.

Hong Qianxiu bit her cherry lips tightly, and tears finally spilled down like pearls on a broken string, as cold and desolate as her emotions. Watching Zheng Zheng’s familiar yet somewhat emaciated figure gradually disappear into the darkness, her heart felt empty. After a brief moment of blankness in her mind, she could no longer control her emotions and began to sob uncontrollably.

“Ah Zheng, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go to Taiyuan with you; it was that my dad had a heart attack around that time and was at risk of a stroke and paralysis. I could only stay at home to take care of him.”

“Ah Zheng…”

Hong Qianxiu cried like a broken person, huddling on the ground, her delicate body trembling softly, utterly heartbroken.

It was hard to tell how much time passed before Hong Qianxiu stopped crying, stood up, and wiped the tears from her face. Under the night sky, her swollen eyes could still be faintly seen, filled with a pitiful expression. After a brief pause, she slowly began to walk towards the house, guided by the starlight.

A pair of sympathetic eyes watched Hong Qianxiu as she stumbled back to her residence, only revealing themselves from behind a tree afterward. It was Zheng Zheng.

Zheng Zheng did not leave but was worried about what might happen to Hong Qianxiu, a single woman, in the deep mountains and old forests.

He wore a look of melancholy, filled with helplessness.

Why didn’t she explain everything clearly to him back then? If she had, there wouldn’t be today’s misunderstanding. After a fierce internal struggle, Zheng Zheng finally sighed. Forget it; let her calm down about tonight’s events. If Hong Qianxiu’s feelings for him could withstand the test of time, then there was nothing to worry about.

Early the next morning, everyone headed down the mountain to go home together.

All the way down, Hong Qianxiu remained silent, hardly speaking at all. The others noticed her poor mood and cautiously offered some comfort. They then turned their attention to Zheng Zheng, berating him severely and leaving him in a pitiful state. Zheng Zheng could only respond with bitter laughter, feeling utterly speechless toward his friends who lacked empathy for women.

After returning to Tengjiao Town, the group of brothers went home to pack up and prepare to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Zheng Zheng was also busy. Before leaving, Ah Liang specifically asked him for the key to the old mountain house, intending to find a quiet place to practice without disturbance. He shamelessly borrowed tens of thousands of yuan from his brothers and then took a trip to the Wenzhou market, spending several days purchasing supplies.

Upon returning to Longwei Village, he immediately began to implement his money-making plan.

What project could have minimal risk, low investment, high output, and earn a large sum of money in a short time?

The answer was talismans.

Talismans are a type of spell in Taoism, also known as “symbol characters,” “ink talismans,” or “dan scripts.”

Talismans are profound and have a rich history that can be traced back to ancient times. Among them, the Tiandi Liangyi Microscopic Array, which is as famous as the Zhou Tian Star Array and the Twelve Capital Divine Killing Array, used the Taiji Divine Symbol to suppress the formation eye. This shows that the ancient immortals had already conducted in-depth research on talisman techniques. In modern history, the so-called “Three Mountains Talismans” refer to the famous Maoshan Qing Dynasty, Gezao Mountain Lingbao Sect, and Longhu Mountain Tianshi Dao, all of which specialize in talisman techniques.

In the long process of practicing talisman techniques, Taoists created a variety of talismanic methods, which can be summarized into four main categories: Restoration Symbols, Cloud Talismans, Treasure Talismans, and Talisman Diagrams. Among these four categories, there are also distinctions between “Pre-Heaven Talismans” and “Post-Heaven Talismans.” “Pre-Heaven Talismans” are created with a single stroke, often referred to as “a spark of inspiration equals a talisman,” while Post-Heaven Talismans involve complex rituals and regulations.

Zheng Zheng prepared to practice the first type, Restoration Symbols.

Restoration Symbols are mostly composed of two or more small characters, with a few formed by intertwining horizontal and vertical strokes. This is the simplest and easiest to learn in talisman techniques.

He meticulously prepared the necessary materials for drawing talismans, laying out the wolf hair brush, red ink, yellow paper, inkstone, and other items in a row.

These supplies used up about seventy to eighty percent of the thirty thousand yuan Zheng Zheng borrowed. The wolf hair brush was the most expensive item, costing over twenty thousand yuan. The hair was from the genuine silver wolf. The brush handle was made from Hetian jade, and although it was the most common type of jade and could not perfectly store spiritual energy, it was still much better than ordinary mixed jade.

The red ink consisted of cinnabar and soot. These were the two main materials for writing talismans. Zheng Zheng didn’t think long before choosing cinnabar, as this material could repel ghosts and ward off evil.

As for the carrier, Zheng Zheng chose yellow paper instead of silk, satin, or cloth, which also had its reasons. Yellow belongs to the earth in the five elements and is central, signifying the dominion over the four directions. Moreover, yellow is the imperial color, and talismans represent the heavenly emperor’s orders, using the imperial color to signify nobility and efficacy.

This time, Zheng Zheng planned to draw a “Restoration Symbol.”

The Restoration Symbol mainly serves to eliminate ailments, nourish the tendons and veins, and strengthen the body. Once this talisman is made, as long as the spiritual energy does not dissipate, wearing it close to the body can continuously nourish the body, achieving therapeutic and maintenance effects. However, given Zheng Zheng’s current level of Qi Refinement, even if he manages to create a talisman, its effectiveness won’t be very strong; at most, its spiritual energy would dissipate completely within a year and a half. This was a temporary measure before he could master the alchemy technique.

After all, his parents’ health was deteriorating.

Zheng Zheng cleared his mind and focused on recalling the patterns, brush techniques, and important points for the “Restoration Symbol.” Taking a deep breath, his eyes sparkled, and his expression became extraordinarily serious. He held the wolf hair brush quickly and steadily, channeling his spiritual energy.

“Fast!” he whispered, as the brush tip soaked in cinnabar began to emit a faint silver glow. Then, the ink splattered, and his hand moved swiftly, quickly creating blood-red patterns and symbols on the yellow paper.

Each line and each symbol seemed to contain celestial power, filled with a mysterious beauty.

Zheng Zheng’s forehead began to bead with sweat, and his breathing became slightly rapid. His strong and steady hand gradually started to tremble, losing the smoothness and grace it had at the beginning. In just a short while, the consumption of spiritual energy was tremendous, and he felt a bit of fatigue setting in.

The amount of spiritual energy required to draw talismans was somewhat beyond Zheng Zheng’s expectations.

A slight deviation in control caused his wrist to shake lightly, and a line crossed over a nearby symbol.

His first attempt at drawing a talisman had failed.

Zheng Zheng exhaled a breath of frustration, feeling a bit disappointed. However, he quickly cheered himself up; after all, nothing in this world is that easy. As long as he practiced diligently, he would eventually succeed.

After resting for a while to recover some spirit and energy, he began to draw the talisman again.

On the second attempt, the connection of the talisman segments failed due to his unsteady control of spiritual energy.

On the third attempt, he ran out of energy and failed.

On the fourth attempt…

On the fifth attempt…