Removing Memories

Oliver stood on his sword watching the town he had lived in for over a decade.  Memories filled his mind; of those cold days as he journeyed towards the dead forest, always looking back, never trusting anyone.

They soon gave way to his arrival in this little town, his meeting Peter, Simon, Bill, Ben, Old Lin and little Mengmeng. Slowly, his dark days had brightened as joy and laughter return. He had almost forgotten all those dark days.

He truly did not mind spending his days here. However in the end all pieces would return to their proper place.

He felt a presence and stilled, "Fellow Daoist, no need to hide. Please show yourself.

A white-bearded man soon stood in front of him. His hair was tied loosely into a bun and was wearing a pair of light shoes. There was no spiritual treasure or weapon on his feet as he stood floating in the air holding a dark sabre.

"Simon."

As usual, his eyes was filled with astonishment when he checked him out with his spiritual sense, he was unable to tell how strong he was. It was as if his spiritual sense has sunk into a deep ocean, giving him an unfathomable feeling. As expected of Old Simon. How amazing!

He smiled faintly, "Are you here to see me off to Spring field?...He glanced at the dark sabre in Simon's hands, "or send me off to reincarnate."

Simon spoke. His words like slow like he was usual his words, "If I decide to kill you, I am afraid reincarnation is not possible."

He sighed and slowly pulled his Dark Reflection sabre into its scabbard.

Oliver's dejected expression cleared, he was not sure he could fight and win against Simon, even less sure if he wanted to. Simon had done so much for him. He owed him. No man wanted to fight a battle against someone he owed. 

"You know too much. I can't let you go like this."

Oliver's steady heartbeat spiked again.

Simon moved his hands a powerful force swept like a vacuum, pulling Oliver over. Oliver was a Dao Flowering Realm cultivator but he could not extricate himself from Simon's suction.

Before Oliver could even respond, a powerful energy covered his entire body. He could not even resist before everything grew dark before his eyes.

His frozen body stood before Simon, his eyes were wide open and unfocused, his gaze staring straight ahead unseeing.

He was extremely careful when he used the Crystal Star Soul technique on Oliver. Apart from the spiritual sea, the soul was the most important aspect of a cultivator and it was far more delicate. One wrong move would turn Oliver into an idiot.

Rather than erase Oliver's memories and leave Blank spaces, Simon fiddled with his memories. He created illusions of another town similar to Tempest town but in a different place.

The story was not so different from his life but the people and the scene had changed. 

"Drop him close to Springfield."

"Yes, Master."

___

Raizel slowly regained his consciousness and found himself lying on a big bed with azure blue bed sheets. He slowly sat up and looked at his surroundings. It was not a large room by any circumstances and it was oddly bare but Raizel could recognize the room. It was his room.

He groaned and looked at the clock by the side, 8.20 a.m. How? When? Hazy memories of yesterday soon flooded his mind. He had gotten drunk. 

How did he get home?

Why doesn't he remember what he had done last night?"

Thinking of how he woke up so late and wasted the precious hours of yesterday, he felt that his master was right. Drinking was a harmful and non-beneficial activity.

He felt a little muddled  Should he have breakfast first or Cultivate first?

'Wait! Didn't Oliver say that he was leaving the merchandise to them?

Raizel quickly put on his clothes, washed his face, and left his room.

He opened the door and saw two people waiting outside. Raizel almost backpedalled He looked to the left and sure, Colin's talismans shop was on the signpost.

Upon confirming that this was really his shop, Raizel felt a rush of exhilaration shooting up into his head. 'Customers'

But then he paused. Oliver's remaining merchandise or his new customers. He was at a crossroad.

"Are you the owner of this shop?" The man that looked in his thirties with purple hair took a few steps forward and stood before Raizel. His eyes were squinted and he was emitting a dangerous air.

Raizel nodded, "Yes, I am."

A middle-aged man with sideburns pulled him back, "lets in and see first. Don't cause trouble."

Raizel opened the door wider and let the two men enter the shop. He then proceeded to walk to the counter. 

"Welcome. Which talisman would you like to buy?" He asked calmly

Gabe, the middle-aged man with sideburns looked around, admiring the rows and rows of talisman that hung in the man's shop. He knew little about talisman but he knew this was expertly crafted.

"The talisman you sold that young student, Wren. My young master wants 20 of it."

"The Contact Stone Armour talisman. Alright, you can come in the next six hours to pick it up."

"Six hours?" Was that not too fast for twenty talismans..... Unless? Gabe's eyes narrowed. "Can you craft a Blood Body talisman for me?"

Raizel's brown eyes met Gabe. His gaze was penetrating and extremely uncomfortable. He then calmly replied, "Of course. You can come tomorrow to collect it. Price..."

"Young Sir, We are from the Salvatore family. Price is not a problem. Rest assured." 

With a smile, he continued, "Can you craft a Spirit gathering talisman for me?"

Raizel remained quiet. In the already quiet shop, his additional silence was nerve-racking.

The man with the purple hair could it take it anymore, he shouted angrily, "If you cannot draw it, just say so... Do you.."

Gabe dragged him back and gave him a very pinch. "Please, don't take him to...."

A calm voice interrupted him, "You craft it."

"Eh"

"You don't draw a talisman. You craft it." Raizel emphasized. To make such a mistake in front of a talisman craftsman was intolerance.

Gabe was stunned but he still laughed politely, "You are right. You are right. We will leave now."

As they left the store, Gabe hurriedly down the alley.

Perhaps because he had a fire Dao Seed, Mark was more hot-tempered than many, "Why were you so polite to him? If you leave me, I would..."

"Shh! Let leave this alley first."

____

Raizel was a bit bothered. He wanted to live a normal life devoid of troubles and responsibilities. What was the best level to tell people his talisman crafting was at?

Talismans had nine tiers but they were four ranks of talisman craftsman. The first rank was a basic craftsman that crafted tier 1 and tier 2 talismans. The second rank was an Intermediate craftsman that crafted tier 3 and tier 4 talisman. 

The major spin came in the third rank, the Earth craftsman that crafted the tier 5 and tier 6 talisman. There is a movement from the Dao of Inscription to the Dao of Formations.

A popular saying is that an Earth rank Talisman craftsman is Basic Formation Master.

Razel was a Heaven rank Talisman Craftsman but that was not the main point here. Should he pretend to be an Earth rank talisman craftsman or should he stop at an Intermediate Craftsman?

With this world-shattering crisis on his mind and the joy that he had earned so much money on his mind, Raizel proceeded to close his shop and head to Oliver's shop.

Oliver shop was farther up the alley. Although Raizel wanted to speed things up, In the spirit of maintaining a normal life, he allowed himself to move at the speed of an ordinary Dao Flowering Cultivator.

Seeing the ravaged shop, Raizel arrived in a single step.

'Why had he gotten drunk last night?'

He had missed collecting Oliver's valuable pills and furnaces. Even his experiments might have given him inspiration for a new talisman.

"You woke up late. I have been waiting for you." A cold voice intoned not so far away from him.

Raizel looked at him with sullen eyes. He must have reaped a lot of benefit from the store.

"Oliver has gone. Would you like to switch shops?" Simon asked.

Raizel looked around the shop. Rather than a shop, it was a store. It was one storey building with a backyard garden in which Oliver had planted a lot of herbs. 

He investigated with his Spiritual sense, they were all gone. All the herbs! This must be the handiwork of Peter. Oliver had been kind enough to leave this behind...Speaking of Oliver, he must have left.

Raizel used his spiritual sense to scan Simon. The thick hue of blood around him had not increased. Oh!

"I did not kill him, only erased his memories," Simon said.

Caught a little unaware, he just nodded.

But Simon seemed a little talkative today, "What if I had killed him? What would you have done?"

"Nothing." Raizel replied at once. He would not have done a single thing.

Simon did not look surprised and he chuckled lowly, "Oh! Here, I kept your share for you."

 He collected the little box and asked, "The rent? Would it remain the same?"

"Yes."

"Okay." It looks like it was time to move.