Time flowed by like a slow-moving stream, and in the blink of an eye, another five days had passed.

“Thump!”

Qin Lu gave Cao Mo a light kick on the backside, sending him stumbling out of the house, then swiftly closed the door behind him.

“You… you big-mouthed Qin Lu! You take my meat and don’t do what I ask, and now you dare kick me out! I’ll get my dad to come beat you to death!”

“Bang! Bang!”

“Open the door right now!”

“……”

Inside the house, Qin Lu walked back to the rosewood table with an indifferent expression, completely ignoring Cao Mo’s continued pounding on the door.

He didn’t know what had gotten into this kid lately. For the past few days, he had been showing up right on time to visit.

And every time, he pestered Qin Lu to take him to all sorts of questionable places.

Brothels, bathhouses, gambling dens, pill shops…

This left Qin Lu utterly exasperated. He hadn’t been to any of those places himself!

Originally, he hadn’t wanted to let the kid in at all, but he simply couldn’t resist the spirit beast meat Cao Mo brought with him each visit.

As a loose cultivator with a conscience in the cultivation world, and in order to satisfy a minor’s curiosity, he had tacitly allowed this behavior to continue.

But today, Cao Mo had been chattering nonstop, grating on Qin Lu’s nerves to the point where he couldn’t focus on crafting talismans at all. That’s why he had finally kicked him out.

“Not having schools here is really such a hassle…”

Qin Lu shook his aching head and pulled up his attribute panel for a glance.

Over the past five days, his proficiency had been steadily increasing.

First was the [Water Qi Shield]. He could now successfully craft four talismans per day, earning eight points of proficiency.

Over five days, that added up to forty points.

As for his new skill, the [Finger Flick Technique], he had found a way to practice it.

He would secretly practice flicking his fingers while setting up his stall to sell talismans during the day, and then practice again after returning home in the evening.

These past few days, he had successfully raised the [Finger Flick Technique] to the ‘Proficient’ level and was on the verge of breaking through to ‘Mastery’.

With the skill level increased, its power had naturally improved significantly. What was once a gentle breeze had become a strong gust. Flicking it at the ground could now leave a shallow pit in the earthen surface.

And thanks to his daily, fixed output and successful sales of talismans, he had earned a total of forty spirit stones over the five days.

After repaying two debts, he still had over twenty spirit stones left in savings.

Relying on the path of talisman-making, everything was slowly getting better.

“Once I finish inscribing this talisman, it’ll be time to set up the stall for the day…”

Qin Lu took out a sheet of talisman paper and placed it squarely in the center of the table.

Lately, he had been choosing to go out around eleven in the morning. At that time, stall spaces in the market were more plentiful, and the crowds were at their peak.

Calming his mind and focusing his spirit, Qin Lu gripped the talisman brush in his right hand, lightly dipped it in ink, and began to glide it across the smooth talisman paper.

Through constant practice, crafting the [Water Qi Shield] now came to him with great ease, achieving a one hundred percent success rate.

No one would believe it if he said it out loud.

After all, for a Qi Condensation second-layer cultivator to have such a terrifying success rate in crafting [Water Qi Shield] talismans was fundamentally impossible.

Only Qin Lu himself understood that this was entirely due to the attribute panel.

Through observation, he realized the panel didn’t necessarily require a level-up to produce a qualitative change. Rather, as proficiency continuously increased, his familiarity with the skill grew as well.

That was the reason for his high success rate.

Time passed slowly.

“Hiss—”

The talisman brush glided lightly across the paper, producing a faint, whispering sound.

Seeing that he was on the verge of success, a hint of joy involuntarily appeared on Qin Lu’s face.

Suddenly…

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Violent knocking on the door erupted abruptly, startling Qin Lu and causing his brush to slip. The ink drew a stark black line across the talisman paper.

“Old Qin, open up!”

A shout came from outside the door.

Qin Lu’s expression tightened. Looking at the talisman paper, now completely devoid of spiritual energy, he knew it was ruined. Anger surged from the depths of his heart!

That was two spirit stones!

Gone, just like that!

Why did he have to knock now, of all times? Not earlier, not later!

“Damn it—!”

He could recognize the voice. It was Chen Wen, one of the original owner’s so-called friends from his wilder days.

Suppressing the urge to curse loudly, Qin Lu threw down the talisman brush, rose to his feet in a fury, and strode towards the door.

He opened it.

Standing outside was indeed Chen Wen.

His features were the same, unchanged. But what was shocking was his right hand. It was now a bloody mess. Looking closer, his entire palm was missing!

Seeing him in this state, Qin Lu couldn’t help but feel a jolt of shock. Most of his anger dissipated.

“Old Qin, old Qin! I need help, fast! Lend me ten spirit stones, it’s a matter of life and death!”

Chen Wen grabbed Qin Lu’s shoulder with his left hand, shouting anxiously.

Qin Lu asked in surprise, “What happened to you? How… how did you lose your hand?”

Fear flashed in Chen Wen’s eyes as he said with panic,

“Ah, don’t ask. I got into a fight with someone at the Yichun Court. Now he’s demanding thirty spirit stones as an apology. If I can’t find it, my life is on the line…”

Qin Lu’s face stiffened.

The Yichun Court was a brothel in the Wuji Market. From the sound of it, Chen Wen had gotten into trouble over a woman there. Not only was he beaten, but now he had to pay compensation too.

Looking at Chen Wen’s severed hand, Qin Lu suddenly felt a pang of sorrow and offered some advice,

“Sigh, you should have given up on women long ago. How can you go to brothels every day? That place is so chaotic…”

“Hey, forget about that for now, Old Qin! Just lend me ten spirit stones to get me out of this fix!”

Qin Lu’s expression fell. He spread his hands and said irritably,

“Where would I get that kind of money? You know my situation. I’m still buried in debt! I can barely keep myself afloat!”

“Ah… what am I going to do then!”

Chen Wen immediately began sighing repeatedly, his already pale face growing even more ashen.

Qin Lu couldn’t answer for a moment, only looking at him helplessly.

“Then I’ll go ask someone else!”

With that, Chen Wen clutched his bloody right hand, turned, and hurried away.

Watching Chen Wen’s retreating back, Qin Lu’s gaze was complex.

Sure enough, law and order here were a real problem. Chopping off hands at the slightest provocation was just too brutal.

It seemed he needed to be even more careful and cautious…

“Hmm?”

Qin Lu looked down and saw that the blood dripping from Chen Wen had already formed a small puddle by the doorstep.

Qin Lu thought for a moment, curled his middle finger, gathered strength, and flicked.

[Finger Flick Technique]!

A burst of forceful wind shot from his fingertip, smashing into the ground. It sent the small puddle of blood flying, leaving behind a little pit.

Seeing no more trace of blood, Qin Lu turned, closed the door, sat back down at the table, and let out a soft sigh.

“Ah, the pitiful often have their own hateful flaws. There’s nothing I can do to help. Better to look after myself first…”

The world was harsh, the environment dangerous. Preserving his own safety was the most important thing.

Qin Lu shook his head, dispelling that thread of worry. He reached out, discarded the ruined talisman paper, took out a fresh sheet, and placed it squarely before him on the table.

Just as he had dipped his brush in the talisman ink, knocking sounded at the door again.

“Bang! Bang!”

“He’s back?”

Qin Lu muttered with suspicion, immediately set down the talisman brush, stood up, and walked to the door.

He opened it.

“It’s you?!”

Qin Lu’s expression tightened.

The person standing outside now was not Chen Wen, but a fierce, burly man nearly two meters tall, with a broad waist, and a sword at his hip.

Fang Hu!

==========