Lin Yi: Whoa, a Rich Lady!

Something for me? Lin Yi froze, his head turning toward the table almost by instinct. And then— he saw it, lying pressed beneath Shen Danruo's slender fingers... a talisman. The talisman was about as long as an adult's palm and two or three centimeters wide, a deep ghostly blue all over. At first glance, it looked just like one of those tie-in bookmarks that came with Earth's gacha games or anime. But look closer, and two icy streams of golden light could be seen flowing back and forth across its surface, as if at the first word of disagreement they would turn into blades and mince Lin Yi nice and fine into a mound of chopped meat—and the all-lean kind, without a scrap of fat. After a moment. "Heavens above..." Without even realizing it, Lin Yi had blurted out a line of his hometown dialect. He jerked his head up and fixed his eyes on Shen Danruo. "Tower Master Shen, this is... a Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman?" Shen Danruo lifted her hand away and nodded lightly. "Mm, that's right." "No—no, I can't!" The words had barely left her mouth before Lin Yi was shaking his head, refusing over and over. "Tower Master Shen, this is far too precious. I couldn't accept it with a clear conscience. Please take it back." He truly was not just being polite. In the Tianling Realm, talismans, Dharma artifacts, and medicinal pills were graded just like cultivation techniques, in ten ranks from lowest to highest. The ranks corresponded to a cultivator's realm of cultivation, and each rank was further divided into upper, middle, and lower sub-grades. The Pure Nine-Lotus Treasure Lamp he had transmitted back to the home world early on, for example, was a first-rank, lower-grade Dharma artifact. The Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman now lying before Lin Yi, on the other hand, was solidly a third-rank, mid-grade talisman. More unusual still, no fewer than two separate streams of golden light flowed across its surface—which meant it could still be used twice more in a row! No exaggeration: with this talisman in hand, even a dying man like Lin Yi, his vital essence all but drained dry, could cut down those two Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beasts in the space of a finger-snap. To put it more precisely, no cultivator or demon beast at Golden Core mid-stage or below could stand against him—though if the other fellow happened to carry a Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman, or a talisman of even higher grade, then he would take that claim back. Strictly speaking, of course. In short, only a cultivator at Golden Core late-stage or above could possibly refine a Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman of this quality. Cultivators of that caliber were rare indeed within Jiuwu City, and combined with Shen Danruo's background, one answer practically announced itself. This Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman had been refined either by one of the Shen Family's Grand Elders, or else straight from the hand of Shen Danruo's father. Even the two Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beasts put together were not worth a fraction of it. Lin Yi was no rigid pedant about taking no reward without merit, but in matters like this he still had his own principles. Yet faced with Lin Yi's refusal, Shen Danruo simply poured him a cup of tea, her tone as calm as ever. "Fellow Daoist Lin, this Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman was a gift my father slipped to me in secret when I left home, all those years ago." "I live inside the city now, with the tower's protectors standing watch day and night, and I have neither son nor daughter. In life or after death, I would never use this thing." "But outside the city is not so peaceful these days. If one day you pass on, Fellow Daoist Lin, and your disciples have not yet broken through in time, I'm afraid they might meet with some misfortune." "Besides, you and I have known each other for decades. If you had not come to my aid back then, I would have perished, body and Dao alike, inside that restriction." "Now that your lifespan and mine are nearly spent, let this Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman... be your gift for the journey." "..." This time, Lin Yi opened his mouth as if to say something. But in the end he only shook his head and let out a long, wistful sigh. His friendship with Shen Danruo was complicated, but honestly, it was never the melodramatic kind. More than sixty years ago, a small secret realm had been discovered outside Jiuwu City. It just so happened that Lin Yi had only just succeeded in his Awakening, and he tagged along with the pioneering party to join the excitement. It was outside a certain restriction in that secret realm that he met Shen Danruo, who had strayed into an array. Back then, Lin Yi had not yet fully appreciated how cruel the hearts of the immortal cultivation world could be, and he helped her unravel the array. There was no accidental collision of bodies, no piece of clothing slipping loose by chance, and certainly no lust crawling into his brain either. Indeed, with the restriction blocking the way, at first Lin Yi never even saw what the girl looked like. Once she was free, Shen Danruo gave Lin Yi a spirit plant as thanks, and told him that this plant was the very reason she had braved her way deep into the restriction. It was called... the Appearance-Fixing Herb. That's right. The Appearance-Fixing Herb Lin Yi consumed back then had come from exactly there. As for everything after that, it was the story told before: the two helped each other for decades, and each of them built up something of a career. Now that contact had been made with the home world, Lin Yi's state of mind had opened up and eased considerably. But no amount of optimism could change the fact that neither of them had much longer to live. With Shen Danruo raising things to that level, both sentiment and reason made it very hard for Lin Yi to refuse. After all, in a sense, this already counted as last words... At the thought, Lin Yi's lips worked a couple of times, and he hesitantly laid his hand over the talisman. "Tower Master Shen, since you put it that way... then I'll have the gall to accept. And also..." With that, he pondered a moment, his expression gradually turning solemn, and cupped his hands to her in salute. "Let me make you a promise in return. As long as the Guihua Sect and the Drunken Moon Tower both stand, then from this day forward, whenever there is anything the tower needs of the Guihua Sect, you need only speak." "Oh?" At these words, a flicker of surprise finally surfaced on Shen Danruo's face. "Fellow Daoist Lin, hearing a promise like that from a stingy— from a frugal man like you is no small thing. In that case, I'll take it as the truth." Lin Yi's expression stayed grave. "Rest assured, Tower Master Shen. You know that my word is as good as gold." Shen Danruo shot him a sideways glance. "Except the manuscripts?" Lin Yi blinked, then came back to himself and shook his head with an awkward laugh. "It's being written, it's being written. Next time, for sure." Though Shen Danruo had gotten her jab in, the promise itself was entirely sincere. After all, unlike the matter of the home world's existence, this Profound Frost Golden Palace Talisman could absolutely be shown openly to the disciples of the sect—and even to rival sects in competition with them. Whether to rally hearts or to deter opponents, the effect would be nothing short of astonishing. To say nothing of the talisman's value for research. A third-rank talisman—even if Lin Yi had debased himself with the crudest of carnival stunts, there was no way he could have bought one. And if the home world someday cracked the construction formula and storage method of those two streams of flowing light... why, that picture would be too beautiful to look at, okay?! ... Most likely because both of them understood in their hearts that even if this parting was not their final meeting, it could hardly be far from one, Lin Yi and Shen Danruo talked for a long while yet. A bit over a shichen later, a Flying Bird Talisman glided quietly in through the window, a Storage Pouch dangling from its tail. Shen Danruo took the pouch down and handed it to Lin Yi. "Fellow Daoist Lin, everything is ready. Please count it." Lin Yi didn't even glance at it. He stowed the pouch at his waist and cupped his hands to her. "Tower Master She— Miss Danruo. My thanks." With that, without waiting for any response from Shen Danruo, he became a streak of light and shot out of the room. Everything that needed saying had been said; dragging it out any longer would be sentimental posturing. Better to part here. Lin Yi sighed, quietly picked up speed, his eyes as steely as those of Ronaldo standing before Spain's goal in 2018. And then— before Shen Danruo's stunned gaze, he smacked headfirst into the array that had sealed the quiet room earlier. "No—hold on—how the hell is this damn thing electrified?! AHHHHHH——"