Back when they first arrived in Yanjiang Commandery, Man Gu had suggested informing the local authorities about the Yanjiang Branch so they could search for Qin Yuanhao together, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had vetoed the idea on the grounds that the authorities could not be trusted.
Now, it seemed their concerns had been entirely justified.
The Yanjiang Branch had planted an undercover agent in the government—and a high-ranking one at that!
Branch Master Chu said in a slow, measured tone, "Lu Yang, among the senior members of the Yanjiang Branch, you are the one I regard most highly. After the Spring-Plucking Festival, headquarters will send people to inspect our branch. This inspection will be different from previous ones. With you, Meng Jingzhou, and Man Gu—three demon path seeds—headquarters will think much more highly of me."
"I stand a very high chance of being promoted, which will leave the position of Branch Master vacant."
"By convention, a new branch master is selected from among our senior leadership. Though your seniority is still shallow, considering the Cult Master's appraisal of you, it's not impossible for headquarters to appoint you as the new branch master."
"Your competitors are still locked away in the county jail and won't be out for another three days. After such foolish behavior, headquarters won't rate them very favorably."
"The Spring-Plucking Festival is a major holiday for several nearby commanderies, with considerable influence. If you stir up some trouble during a festival like that, headquarters will look upon you with even greater favor," Branch Master Chu subtly hinted to Lu Yang.
***
When Lu Yang relayed Branch Master Chu's words to Meng Jingzhou and the others, both Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu felt immensely grateful that they had chosen to spread rumors and frame Qin Yuanhao rather than seeking help from the authorities.
Otherwise, how could they have such a flourishing barbecue shop right now?
Lu Yang wondered if there was something wrong with where their priorities lay.
"The problem is, we don't know who Branch Master Chu's mole actually is." All four were troubled. They had no idea who in the yamen had the clearance to learn about the yellow talisman.
"No need to worry! Once you become branch master, you'll find out who the mole is. Branch Master Chu values you so much, he'll definitely tell you before he leaves!" Meng Jingzhou roared with laughter, astonished that Lu Yang was getting promoted so quickly.
If Lu Yang rose to power, wouldn't he and Man Gu be free to raise whatever hell they wanted in Yanjiang Commandery?
It was always good to have someone looking out for them.
While the four were deep in lively discussion, a knock came from the door outside—it was Constable Wei.
"Shopkeeper Lu, I've brought you another silk banner!"
Lu Yang opened the door and warmly welcomed Constable Wei inside.
"Oh, everyone's here. Quite lively," Constable Wei remarked casually.
"We were just discussing yesterday's case."
Hearing Lu Yang say this, Constable Wei warned with a grave expression, "Shopkeeper Lu, you must keep last night's case strictly confidential. Don't speak of it to anyone else."
"I know none of you are ordinary mortals. You're cultivators here to experience ordinary life, and sometimes you act out of righteousness."
"But this time is different. This involves ruthless, cruel demonic cultivators. A single slip could cost you your life. Under no circumstances should you try looking for whoever created that talisman paper."
Lu Yang couldn't help laughing. The demonic path warned him not to get involved, and the righteous path warned him not to get involved either.
"Don't laugh, this is an extremely serious matter!" Constable Wei thought Lu Yang wasn't taking it to heart.
Lu Yang straightened his face and promised that he wouldn't interfere any further. Only then did Constable Wei leave with peace of mind.
"Have some tea before you go!"
Constable Wei waved his hand. "No time. The superiors are pressing hard. I still have to lead my men to search for the remaining talismans."
After seeing Constable Wei off, Lu Yang and the other three grew worried that the yamen lacked enough hands and might not be able to catch the mastermind.
If anything went awry, who knew how many people would have their lifespans covertly stolen away?
Lu Yang lowered his head in thought. "We've already learned how to conceal our aura, but relying solely on aura-concealing techniques might not be safe enough."
He looked up at Lan Ting, who was currently learning how to thread barbecue skewers with the chang ghosts, and had an idea.
"Fellow Daoist Lan Ting, I have a favor to ask."
Lan Ting smiled. "We are all fellow disciples of immortal sects, working together to slay demons and eliminate evils. Besides, I'm currently working under you. There's no need to be so distant—just call me Lan Ting."
Lu Yang readily went along with it. "Lan Ting, can you teach us the Invisibility Talisman?"
Lan Ting understood his intention at once. "You mean you want to use invisibility talismans to hide yourselves and secretly lend Constable Wei a hand?"
Lu Yang nodded.
"Of course. The Invisibility Talisman isn't an overly difficult rune. As long as your aptitude isn't completely hopeless, you can learn it in half a day."
Hearing that they were getting to learn something new—and that it wasn't Lu Yang teaching them—Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu were thrilled.
"Have any of you three studied talismans before?"
All three shook their heads in unison.
Lan Ting wasn't surprised. "Then I'll teach you from the very beginning."
Lan Ting was quite excited herself. This was her first time teaching anyone anything. Back at the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, her senior martial sisters had always been the ones teaching her. Now, it was finally her turn to be the teacher.
"The essence of talismans is to materialize spells into graphic forms onto paper. The three of you come from the Dao Seeking Sect, so your aptitude in spells is certainly not lacking. It should be very easy for you to pick up."
"...The talisman core is the soul of a talisman. Whether a talisman can unleash its full effect largely depends on whether there is a core guarding within..."
"...The most commonly used patterns in talismans are cloud runes. Cloud runes are motifs created by imitating the shifting shapes of clouds in the sky, drawn directly from nature..."
"When it comes to the Invisibility Talisman, it uses the character 'Gang' as the talisman core and ethereal, established cloud runes as the pattern."
Lan Ting dipped her fingertip into a bit of clear water. Moving like a dancing dragon and slithering snake, she drew an Invisibility Talisman on the tabletop in just a few strokes. With a pull of suction from her palm, the water talisman lifted from the table and adhered to her hand.
Lan Ting slapped it onto herself, and before their watchful eyes, she vanished into thin air.
A few breaths later, Lan Ting reappeared with a faint smile. "This is merely the most rudimentary Invisibility Talisman. It only conceals your physical form from sight. You should still be able to discern my location through details like my breathing and heartbeat."
The three nodded. Even so, it was already remarkably impressive.
"Give it a try."
After half a day of study, the trio gained a basic understanding of talisman craft. They fetched the Four Treasures of the Study and began attempting to draw the Invisibility Talisman; they were not yet capable of drawing talismans with mere water.
Meng Jingzhou had practiced calligraphy for years and wrote with a fine hand, holding the brush with an exceptionally steady wrist.
Channeling spiritual energy into the tip of his brush, he soon completed an Invisibility Talisman that looked eighty percent similar to Lan Ting's.
After practicing a few more times, his work became practically indistinguishable from hers.
Meng Jingzhou slapped it onto his body with a grin, and sure enough, he vanished.
Man Gu's talent in this area was somewhat poorer. His control over spiritual energy was not precise enough, taking dozens of attempts before succeeding once. But as he tried more times, his success rate steadily climbed.
Lan Ting inwardly marveled. As expected of disciples from the Dao Seeking Sect, they possessed a natural talent for talisman craft.
How was Lu Yang doing?
Lan Ting looked toward him.
Lu Yang had also finished drawing an Invisibility Talisman quickly—and had succeeded on his very first attempt. His aptitude was terrifyingly high.
Lu Yang slapped the Invisibility Talisman onto his body, and his entire person disappeared.
However, only the person vanished; his clothes remained behind.
It looked like a straight-up haunting.
"What the hell!" A miraculous phenomenon occurred: the clothes began to speak.
Thinking that he was currently invisible anyway, Lu Yang simply stripped off his clothes.
Then he realized in utter despair that the paper talisman was still clearly visible.
What kind of bullshit invisibility was this?!
He nearly ripped the talisman right off his chest.
Fortunately, what little reason remained within him kept him from doing so.
Chapter 87