Chapter 4: Bright Techniques (Revised)

  Xu Ziyuan's gaze swept over the talisman, and her expression was stunned. She clearly saw that the middle-aged man's talisman in his hand was just a first-class paper talisman. Such a talisman was worth 500 taels of silver, and it wasn't even considered top-notch among first-class paper talismans, barely qualifying as upper-grade. Ever since she had inherited the tradition, Xu Ziyuan had unknowingly practiced the technique of creating first-class talismans countless times in her mind, completely grasping its essence. Although she hadn't made any talismans herself due to lacking a brush and paper, Xu Ziyuan firmly believed that with her understanding and the countless practice runs in her mind, she could definitely create a stronger talisman than the one before her eyes. So when Xu Ziyyan saw the paper talisman clearly, she couldn't help but curl her lip, revealing a hint of disdain, and said calmly:

  "Do I still need to steal such paper charms? I can make them myself."

  Xu Xi Mei, who was kneeling on the ground, heard this and became furious. She lifted her head and scolded loudly: "What a big boast! Aren't you afraid that the wind will be too strong and your tongue will get stuck? Do you know or not that in the entire city of Zhongdu, only my second uncle can create such talismans!"

  That Second Master was actually amused by Xu Ziyuan, "Hehe" laughed and said: "Girl, if you can create a first-class paper charm, don't need to be better than mine, just as long as it's first-class, even if it's lower grade, I'll admit that you're not a little thief."

  "Alright, untie me!" Xǔ Zǐyān said with a smile.

  "Loosen it!" Second Brother said calmly.

  The two people who had been standing beside Xu Ziyuan with mocking faces untied the ropes for Xu Ziyuan, and Xu Ziyuan moved her numb arms that had been tied up. Suddenly, she remembered that she didn't have the talisman paper and brush, and she stood there stupidly. Seeing Xu Ziyuan's dazed expression, Xu Ximei was even more convinced that Xu Ziyuan couldn't create talismans and was just lying, so she sneered:

  "What? Are you going to prepare talismans and ritual brushes for me?"

  Xu Ziyanyan nodded awkwardly and said weakly to Second Uncle, "I don't have the talisman paper and brush."

  That Second Uncle's expression didn't change in the slightest, he simply waved his hand towards Fourth Uncle of the Xu family and said:

  "Fourth brother, prepare talismans and a brush for her."

  The Xu family's store naturally sells talisman brushes and blank talisman paper. Fourth Uncle didn't say a word, entered the counter, took out a talisman brush and a blank talisman paper and put them on the counter, then gazed at Xu Ziyuan with a calm expression.

  Xu Ziyuan slowly walked to the front of the counter, smoothed out the talisman paper with both hands, and then picked up the brush. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slowly calmed down her mind. In her consciousness, she replayed the familiar process of creating talismans. When she opened her eyes again, they were clear and bright. She evenly distributed the spiritual energy within her body to the tip of the brush, and the strokes flowed smoothly without any hesitation. A talisman was instantly drawn by Xu Ziyuan. The paper talisman emitted a faint glow of spiritual energy, shining with a soft light. Xu Ziyuan let out a gentle sigh, checked it quietly, and found that creating one high-quality talisman had consumed about one-tenth of her spiritual energy. With her current cultivation level at the first layer of the Refining Qi stage, she could only create ten high-quality spirit talismans per day.

  Xu Ziyuan was still there, letting out a dissatisfied sigh, while Erbo, who had been calm and collected by her side, almost had his eyeballs drop out. As the master of Xu family's paper symbols, how could he not recognize that Xu Ziyuan's creation was a top-grade, first-class paper symbol?

  With trembling hands, he carefully picked up the paper symbol from the counter and held it in his hands to examine it closely. After a while, he confirmed that this was indeed a top-grade first-class paper symbol. He looked up excitedly at Xu Ziyuan standing in front of him, took a deep breath, gently placed the paper symbol back on the counter, and politely bowed to Xu Ziyuan with his hands clasped together:

  "Master, I am Xu Haobo, the young master of the Xu family's Fu Tang Hall. May I ask how to address you?"

  "Elder, I don't deserve the title of master." Xu Ziyuan waved his hand repeatedly and said: "I am called Xu Ziyuan."

  Xu Haobo's eyes lit up when he heard Xu Ziyuan's name, and he looked her up and down, asking in confusion:

  "Are you a Xǔ? But are we from the same Xǔ family? Which branch of the family are you from? I don't recall seeing you before?"

  "I am not a member of your Xu family."

  Xu Ziyuan immediately denied Xu Haobo's words, she didn't want to make selfless contributions to the Xu family when she still had no ability to protect herself. Moreover, she didn't understand the Xu family and didn't want to return to her family in a daze. She felt that sometimes, being an outsider was freer than being part of a family.

  "Then... where is the Master's immortal village?"

  "Very far!" Xǔ Zǐyān replied ambiguously.

  "Oh..." Xu Haobo, being worldly-wise and not probing further, remained very polite and said with a respectful tone: "Master, are you planning to settle down in Zhongdu City?"

  "I originally had this intention, but now it seems that settling in Zhongdu City is not safe." As she said this, Xu Ziyuan's gaze swept over Xu Ximei, who was still kneeling on the ground, and a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes.

  At this time, everyone present knew that Xu Ziyuan was a master of paper symbols for them. How could such a master who can create top-notch first-class symbols steal paper symbols? The kneeling Xu Ximei's body couldn't help but tremble, and her face turned pale in an instant. In her heart, she was very clear that she had just framed Xu Ziyuan and gave him a slap in the face. She didn't understand that this was revenge from others. Thinking again about losing fifty of the family's first-class paper symbols, she felt as if her head was hit by something and fainted.

  Xu Haobo took a glance at Xu Ximei, who had fainted and fallen to the ground, then turned his head and glared at Fourth Uncle, who was feeling guilty. With a cold hum, Fourth Uncle's body trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He hastily bowed deeply to Xu Ziyun and said:

  "Master, I was blind and ignorant just now, I have offended you, Master, please forgive me."

  "Wasn't it you who just ordered me to be tied up?" Xǔ Zǐyān said indignantly.

  "Master," Xu Haobo said with a deep bow, "Earlier, our Xu family offended you. Our Xu family is willing to make amends. Master, would you consider staying at our Xu residence as a guest?"

  Xu Ziyuan looked up at Xu Haobo, seeing a complex gaze in his eyes. Her heart was on high alert as she quickly calculated the situation, realizing that in Zhongdu City, this kind of artifact refiner was extremely rare. Looking at Xu Haobo's expression, it seemed he was willing to spend a lot of money to keep her for himself, and if she refused him, he probably wouldn't let her talent be poached by another family, and might even kill her.

  Thinking of this, Xu Ziyuan couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. A small person with no power is always filled with helplessness and sorrow. Knowing that she had to join the family, Xu Ziyuan didn't want to agree so easily. In fact, she wasn't opposed to joining the family at all; she just didn't have any impression of it. The reason she didn't want to return was simply because she didn't want to be restricted. Now that she had to join, she wanted to gain as much freedom as possible. So, pretending not to see Xu Haobo's complex gaze, she said calmly:

  "How will you Xus compensate me?"

  Xu Haobo heard a hint of relaxation in Xu Ziyuan's tone and quickly spoke up:

  "Master, I'll leave this dead girl Xu Xi to you, do with her as you please. As for my fourth brother Xu Haoming's offense against you, the Xu family is willing to offer 50,000 taels of silver in exchange for your forgiveness."

  At this time, Xu Xi Mei, who had fainted and fallen to the ground, woke up. When she heard that Second Brother was handing her over to Xu Ziyan for disposal, her heart sank to the bottom, and she was so scared that her whole body trembled. In her heart, she knew that as a small person living at the bottom of the Xu family, even if Xu Ziyan killed her on the spot, the Xu family would dispose of her like a dead dog. Struggling to get up from the ground, she slapped herself in the face with both hands while kneeling in front of Xu Ziyan and begged:

  "Spare our lives, Master! Spare our lives!"

  Looking at Xu Xi Mei's face, which had already turned purple from her own slaps, with fresh blood flowing from the corners of her mouth, Xu Ziyan wrinkled her brow in disgust and raised her index finger to gesture upwards. Xu Xi Mei stopped abruptly, got up from the ground, and looked at Xu Ziyan with pleading eyes. Xu Ziyan rounded her right hand into a fist and slapped Xu Xi Mei's face again, causing her to spin around in a circle before falling to the ground. Then she lightly shook her hand and said calmly:

  "It's still more satisfying to do it yourself!"

  Xu Haobo's gaze narrowed, as if he had gained some understanding of Xu Ziyuan's character, and his heart couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He really wanted Xu Ziyuan to join his family, because if she did, the strength of the Xu family would immediately increase by leaps and bounds. A top-level artifact refiner like Xu Ziyuan meant not only an increase in combat power for a family, but also a huge source of wealth. At the same time, if Xu Ziyuan joined another family, it would pose a great threat. And in Zhongdu City, there were not only the Xu family, but also the Xiao and Wu families. Moreover, the Xiao and Wu families had recently formed an alliance through marriage, subtly revealing their intention to join forces to suppress the Xu family's influence. Xu Haobo secretly made up his mind that if he couldn't recruit Xu Ziyuan, he would definitely kill her, and absolutely wouldn't let her join the Xiao or Wu families.

  At this time, Xu Ziyuan's gaze turned to Xu Haowen, and Xu Haowen's heart tightened, with a hint of fear in his eyes. Xu Ziyuan's gaze swept past Xu Haowen, looking at Xu Haobo and saying calmly:

  "Do you think I'll be short of money with my skills?"

  Xu Ziyuan is currently short of money, very short of money. However, she can't show it, and she needs to appear stronger in order to gain more benefits for herself. Upon hearing Xu Ziyuan say this, Xu Haoming's heart became even more tense, fearing that Xu Ziyuan would also beat him up in public, which would make him lose face big time. Xu Haobo's heart was also very embarrassed, letting his fourth brother be beaten up by Xu Ziyuan in public, even if it was just a slap on the ear, he couldn't accept it in his heart, after all, that was his own fourth brother, and the two people's feelings had always been good. The two men looked at each other, Xu Haobo thought: should I risk losing Xu Ziyuan's talent and kill her here? Xu Haoming thought: should I slap myself twice to beg for Xu Ziyuan's forgiveness? Just as the two were hesitating, they heard Xu Ziyuan's voice again...

  "It's not like I'm unwilling to join the Xu family!"