Volume One: The Dragon Rises from the Wild Chapter Forty-Eight: Fool

Proprietor Kuang, accompanied by his family and attendants, took up residence in the Lotus Garden of the Maoyuan Inn.

According to his own account, they were now halfway to Magpie Spirit Mountain, and for the next several hundred miles, there would be few villages or towns worth mentioning. Thus, they paused for a few days in Herbal Town—first, to tend to Pan Yuan’s injured leg, and second, because he had business to conduct. So it was that each found their purpose, and the company coexisted amicably enough.

Yet, what passes for harmony depends on whom you ask. Whenever Yu Ye appeared in the courtyard, either Pan Yuan’s curses would ring out, or Cai’er’s laughter would chase after him. For the sake of peace and the quiet of the small garden, Yu Ye simply retreated indoors and kept to himself.

He was content with this arrangement, for he was busy painting talismans.

The guest room’s table, floor, and bed were scattered with small slips of paper, each covered in red cinnabar.

Yu Ye sat before the table, brush in hand, his work unceasing.

Before he knew it, four days had passed in the Lotus Garden. Each night, he absorbed spiritual energy from spirit stones; each day, he practiced drawing talismans. Even at meal times, he would hastily eat a few bites before slipping back to his room. Yet persistence yields results—in time, he could skillfully complete a whole talisman.

He painted another Armor-Breaking Talisman, holding it up for careful inspection. No flaw marred its surface; left and right, it seemed perfect. Even a Daoist master could do no better, he thought.

But how would it function in practice?

Recalling the method from the “Supreme Spirit Talisman,” Yu Ye held the slip between two fingers, traced the air, silently recited the incantation, and slapped the talisman to his forehead.

Nothing happened.

Had he become invisible? He looked at himself sitting there at the table—no change whatsoever.

Ah, perhaps invisibility was only relative; maybe, when casting the spell, others could not see him.

Just then, the closed door cracked open, and a delicate face peeked in—big, dark eyes sweeping the room.

It was Cai’er.

She seemed not to notice the person sitting at the table by the door and instead stared at the slips of paper scattered everywhere, muttering suspiciously, “Always holed up in here, sneaking about...”

Yu Ye couldn’t resist waving his hand.

If Cai’er didn’t see him, it would mean the Armor-Breaking Talisman truly rendered him invisible!

But suddenly, Cai’er glared and scolded him in her girlish voice, “You freeloader—have you gone silly?”

Miss Kuang, though young and mischievous, delighted in teasing Yu Ye. He either ignored her or avoided her altogether. Bored today, she had come looking for him, only to find a room littered with slips of paper and someone sitting at the table, talisman pressed to his forehead, waving foolishly.

Yu Ye started, hurriedly gathering up the talismans.

As the door closed, he heard Cai’er sigh in the corridor—

“Well, eating for free is one thing, but who’d have guessed he’s a fool?”

Yu Ye sat in silence, frowning, then shook his head helplessly.

Being a fool was one thing; what mattered was that the Armor-Breaking Talisman was useless.

Had he drawn it incorrectly?

He followed the diagram precisely, so it shouldn’t be wrong.

Could it be that Yan Chi’s family secret manual was a forgery—that the “Supreme Spirit Talisman” was a fake? But how could the art of talismans hidden in the jade slip be false?

Yu Ye rose and gathered up all the talismans in the room, then lay on his bed, pondering in vain.

At dusk, Ji Yan called him to dinner. The meal was served in the main hall—the floor covered with straw mats, wooden trays, lamps, and dishes of wine and food. Proprietor Kuang sat at the center, surrounded by his wife, daughter, Pan Yuan, Yuan Jiu, Mo Can, and Ji Yan. Yu Ye quietly fetched a flatbread and a bowl of soup, squatted alone beneath the corridor to eat, then returned to his room to puzzle further over his Armor-Breaking Talisman.

As night deepened, Ji Yan began to snore. Yu Ye slipped from his bed, sat cross-legged, and held a spirit stone in his palm, circulating his breath and cultivating the “Heavenly Gang Sutra” and his Seven Killings Sword Qi.

At dawn, Ji Yan rose early and, seeing Yu Ye apparently dozing upright again, paid him no heed. The moment Ji Yan left, Yu Ye opened his eyes from meditation.

He opened his hand—a pile of stone dust.

His last spirit stone was spent at last. As for how much his cultivation had risen, he still couldn’t say; only that his true energy was fuller, enough now to unleash his sword qi with ease.

With no spirit stones left, his future cultivation could only proceed naturally.

But how would he fare against the masters of Qizhou? What if he encountered Bu Yi...

He dared not pursue the thought.

Yu Ye jumped down from the bed, wrapped the stone dust and ruined talismans together, tucked them under his arm, and left the courtyard, heading for the inn’s kitchen. There, he tossed the bundle into the fire beneath the stove and wandered out into the street.

It was still early, and few people were about.

Most of the shops lining the road had already opened, their clerks and owners busy sprinkling water and sweeping, preparing for another day’s trade.

Yu Ye glanced about, then strolled down the street.

After only a few steps, the Hundred Herbs Apothecary came into view. The shop was just opening; a middle-aged man was removing the doorboards and called out with a smile, “If you’re after cinnabar, young man, why not try the pharmacy?”

Yu Ye quickly shook his head, embarrassed. “Brother, since you recognize me, you must remember the gentleman I spoke with here a few days ago. Do you know where he’s staying, or how I might find him?”

“Oh...” The man, who was a clerk at the apothecary, mulled it over as he worked. “You mean the out-of-towner who came to buy herbs? He left Herbal Town that very day. Where did he go... The proprietor might know—I can ask for you if you like.”

“No need, but thank you!” Yu Ye turned away, a little disappointed and a little relieved.

The reason he’d ventured out again was to seek the young man he’d met three days prior at the apothecary. That man seemed versed in the art of talismans—perhaps he could have offered some guidance. But if he turned out to be a hidden master from Qizhou, Yu Ye’s inquiry would have been courting disaster.

He was relieved that the man seemed not to be connected to the Qizhou cultivators; disappointed, because he was left without a guide through his confusion.

Now, whether in cultivation or in painting talismans, he was like a blinded traveler in the night, fumbling alone, beset by hardship and uncertainty. Yet he was stubborn by nature—the path he set his mind on, he did not easily abandon.

Just then, several men on horseback rode out from the Maoyuan Inn.

Yu Ye quickly ducked into a shop by the street, glancing back surreptitiously.

There were four horsemen, looking like men of the martial world—perhaps Old Hu’s people, perhaps not, but likely staying at the Maoyuan Inn and setting out early.

“Freshly baked flatbreads, young man—care for one?” The shop he had entered by chance was a food stall, and a kindly woman called out to him.

Yu Ye tossed a piece of broken silver onto the counter, took two flatbreads and a piece of spiced meat, and ate as he walked back to the inn.

The bread was crisp, the meat fragrant—delicious!

The shop was next to the inn; stepping out, he was at the inn’s gate.

But he slowed, his expression tightening.

A familiar figure left the gatehouse. At the same time, another familiar shadow, empty sleeve swinging, vanished into the stables in the inn’s right-hand courtyard.

Yu Ye kept his head down, finished his bread in silence, and soon arrived at the Lotus Garden.

He pushed open the gate. Pan Yuan lounged on a bench outside, eyes closed, while Yuan Jiu stood guard beside him, arms folded, his narrow eyes coldly watching Yu Ye. Beneath the main hall’s eaves, Madam Kuang and Cai’er sat together, embroidering.

Yu Ye made his way straight to the guest room.

“Hey, freeloader—have you had breakfast yet?” It was Cai’er again, never one to stay quiet.

Yu Ye pretended not to hear, entered the room, slammed the door, and sat at the table, lost in thought. After a moment, he laid out his clay bowl, cinnabar, wine jug, and the few remaining slips of talisman paper.

The young man at the apothecary had mentioned that the immortal sects across the sea fashioned their talismans with the hides and blood of spiritual beasts. Cinnabar talismans, he said, were not worth a true master’s notice. By that logic, the fire talismans wielded by Dust Raiser and the Qizhou masters must have been made from spiritual beast hide and blood, though Yu Ye had not known enough to notice at the time. If he could refine his Armor-Breaking Talisman in this manner, perhaps he would make a breakthrough.

But he had no spiritual beast hide or blood.

Wolf hide, being from a beast attuned to the spirits, was used for wolf-hair brushes to capture such essence. But wolf hide was nowhere to be found at a moment’s notice, and as for the so-called spiritual beast blood—or even just wolf blood—there was no hope of obtaining it now. Yet after days of fruitless pondering, how could he give up halfway?

Yu Ye poured a little cinnabar into the bowl, mixed in some wine, then bit his finger and let a few drops of blood fall in.

The classics say that man is the chief of all living creatures. Human blood ought to surpass that of spiritual beasts.

And if it were the blood of a cultivator—would it not be even more potent?

Mixing his own blood with the cinnabar, Yu Ye felt his method was unorthodox, perhaps even ingeniously so, though in truth it was born of desperation. Anyone truly adept at talisman-making would never torment themselves so. Biting your own finger—who wouldn’t find that painful?

He spread out the last few pieces of talisman paper, took up his wolf-hair brush, only to find that the wound on his finger had already healed. He felt no joy—only dismay.

If a few drops of blood weren’t enough, would he have to bite another finger?

Shaking off such thoughts, Yu Ye steadied himself, dipped the brush in cinnabar, infused it with his true energy, and focused his mind on the design of the Armor-Breaking Talisman. The brush danced in his hand, swift and sure.

He set down the brush and examined the talisman closely.

The blood-red cinnabar was striking, the sigil flawless. How could such a perfect Armor-Breaking Talisman be of no use?

He studied the talisman, silently reciting the incantation, pondering its mysteries, when suddenly—whoosh—a burst of flame leapt from his hand. He flung it away in fright; the fire vanished instantly, leaving only a pile of ash where the talisman had been.

He stared in stunned silence for a long moment, then broke into a broad grin.

“Heh...”

The Armor-Breaking Talisman was genuine. The sigil was correct.

To draw it with human blood was extremely effective. The only reason for failure was that the talisman paper could not bear the magic’s power. If he could find beast hide to replace the paper, his Armor-Breaking Talisman would surely succeed!

At that moment, Ji Yan entered the room.

“Oh, so that’s why Miss said you’d gone silly—you’re in here giggling to yourself?”

“I—”

“I don’t care whether you’re a fool or not. Just remember, we set out at dawn tomorrow. If you’re late, you’ll be left behind!”

“We’re leaving tomorrow?”

“If you have other plans, suit yourself!”

“Another order from the proprietor?”

“Of course!”