Like Flying Petals in a Dream

"Let go of me already. You look like an idiot, holding a stick and whining like this," Liusu said. "If Li Qingjun sees you like this, she'll think you have some sort of fetish and dump you right away."

Qin Yi sat down and laid the spiked club horizontally on his lap. "I felt so uneasy when I went out without you. If something really happened to you, I wouldn't know how to go on with my life."

Liusu fell silent. It heaved a sigh and didn't speak another word.

The space inside the spiked club consisted of never-ending darkness. With its weakened power, it could only move within an area of a few square centimeters. It wouldn't dare to walk far even if it could, because it would only lead to endless solitude.

It wouldn't mind the eternal loneliness if it had stayed in Immortal Deeds. However, once it had a taste of the world outside, it couldn't go back to its old life.

The moment those intruders jumped over the wall, even though it was confident that the formation would hold, it still felt a little helpless and wished that Qin Yi was there by its side.

Qin Yi said, "I'm taking you with me even when I go to see the king next time. Or else I'm not going."

Liusu chuckled and asked, "Will you let me take your body, then?"

It said "will you", not "are you afraid I'll take your body?".

Liusu still wanted to make the body its own, and that was the biggest conflict the two of them had.

Qin Yi knew that at least when they first met, Liusu was only concerned about robbing him of his body. He wasn't paranoid, because that was a fact. Liusu had never tried to make any excuse either, for it admitted its intentions and thought it was above telling lies.

There was something very unique about Qin Yi's body, which would be very useful to Liusu.

The two of them had been on guard against each other for so long that neither knew what kind of relationship they had now.

"Are you…" Qin Yi asked quietly, "Are you really going to kill me?"

Liusu was silent for a very long moment.

It changed the subject when it spoke again a while later. "These men were all low level cultivators. They evaded the guards and jumped over the wall. I think they're probably Donghuazi's men, and they were trying to find out more about you while you were with the king. A cultivator capable enough to challenge him came out of nowhere—nothing could've alarmed Donghuazi more than that."

Qin Yi listened in silence as Liusu tried to switch the topic and didn't pursue the previous subject. After Liusu finished talking, he asked, "What kind of a cultivation school is the First Palace of Heavenly Axis Court?"

Liusu was baffled and said, "I've never heard of that name."

Qin Yi scratched his head. Of course Liusu wouldn't know. It had been in the mountains for tens of thousands of years, and numerous sects and schools must've fallen and risen during that time. How could it possibly know them all?

He probably had to find another way to learn about the cultivation world.

"Minghe is from that sect, and judging from the king's tone, it's supposed to be a very famous one—the way the Heavenly Court or the Jade Pool is in the Journey to the West."

"I knew it," Liusu said. "What? She's on Donghuazi's side?"

"At least she's not on Li Qinglin's side, and that's like a time bomb for us. All Li Qinglin's work will be futile if we can't take care of her."

"In the face of absolute power, no mortal man is wise enough," Liusu said indifferently. "My advice is: prepare to run away at any moment. I'm going to teach you how to make a 'light foot talisman' today."

Run away… The corner of Qin Yi's mouth twitched, but he didn't retort.

"What? You can't bring yourself to part with Li Qingjun?" Liusu immediately saw through him and chuckled. "What did the king say?"

Qin Yi blushed but still told the truth. "He said he was going to think about it, but I think he's already biased. He's not the type of the king who cares about state affairs. The idea of a political marriage is appealing to him mainly because he wants to stop Xihuang from invading Nanli, as that would interrupt his cultivation. In that case, my pills will probably weigh more than a quiet neighbor."

Liusu went silent again.

Qin Yi asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, but you're on the kill list of both Donghuazi and Mang Zhan now, so I think you should keep yourself off the street."

"I don't go out much, anyway."

Liusu didn't reply. Instead, it started to chant a ballad. "The heavens are clear, the earth is tranquil, the valley is abundant, and the man is immortal…"

Qin Yi felt perplexed, but Liusu continued chanting, and the ballad was more than a few hundred words long.

He seemed to realize something and started memorizing the words.

"The elixir, or 'Dan', also means 'one and only'. That was where the name came from." Liusu finished its chanting with that conclusion. "That's the most basic theory of the internal elixir. I can't promise you that I didn't put any traps in my teaching—it's up to you to learn it or not."

Qin Yi remained silent for a while before saying, "Alright."

…

No matter what his choice was going to be, an internal elixir couldn't be created overnight. Right now, a light foot talisman was the quickest solution. Even if he didn't have to run away, it could still make him feel safer.

Qin Yi had a simple lunch before beginning to make the talisman.

He laid out some yellow paper and cinnabar. This was the type of thing he never would've believed in his previous life, but he believed it now and was acting accordingly.

Talisman-making was easier for him than elixir-refining. Back when he learned how to make medicine, he had to force himself to learn. Luckily, he was clever enough to pull through. He was an art student in his previous life, and the sketches he drew back in the village were just random doodles. In fact, his expertise was in calligraphy and traditional painting, and drawing talismans was right up his alley.

Without any cultivation skills, one had to be very precise when drawing a talisman. No mistakes were allowed, because even the slightest error could drastically change the effect of the talisman. The pattern on a talisman was very complicated to begin with, and one had to integrate the most profound knowledge into it. One could only imagine how difficult that would be.

Without any previous knowledge, one might have to try for months before they could make a talisman of the lowest level.

Qin Yi, on the other hand, succeeded on the fourth trial.

"Tch, I'm supposed to use a half-dry brush here. That's nonsense. How could a half-dry brush create precise strokes?" Qin Yi threw away a failed talisman in resignation. Liusu had drawn the pattern on the ground with its tip, and a writing brush could find it rather difficult to mimic at times. Liusu had to give Qin Yi instructions and correct him as he drew. Therefore, Qin Yi still hadn't made one working light foot talisman after wasting seven or eight pieces of paper.

"You have all this cinnabar and talisman paper to waste, so be happy. This wouldn't be the case if you were still in that village. Otherwise, I would've taught you how to draw talismans first. These are some very expensive materials, especially this yellow celery paper and spiritual cinnabar. Both of them are naturally endowed with spiritual essence, and I think they're very scarce. It's not easy to find them," Liusu said teasingly, "Marry the princess, and your life will be so much easier."

"Bah. Qingjun would never accept me if I thought like that."

Liusu chuckled. "Letting things take their course is the mentality required for a cultivator. I see that it works on girls as well. Effortless flirtation is the most effective type, isn't it?"

Before it could go on, Li Qingjun's voice came from outside. "Qin Yi…"

She didn't sound as decisive as usual, and her tone was rather hesitant.

Turning around, Qin Yi saw Li Qingjun standing quietly in the doorway with glistening eyes.

"So, is the funeral over?"

"Yes…" Lowering her head a little, Li Qingjun said, "Rumor in the palace is that…"

"Yes?"

"You said that even if you could have all the beautiful women in the world, you would still want Qingjun and Qingjun only." Tugging at the lower hem of her clothes, Li Qingjun asked in a low voice, "Is that true?"

Qin Yi's writing brush left a black dot on the talisman paper, and his heart raced.

Everything suddenly became very quiet. A gentle breeze stirred the lower hem of Li Qingjun's dress, and the tossed-aside talisman paper flew up like floating petals.

The reckless teenage girl stood there with her head lowered and her cheeks flushed. Qin Yi was suddenly reminded of the day when she kicked his door open. Looking back, it almost felt like a dream.