Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 6: Swift Movement Talisman

A few people had been in the shop for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before they left.

"Senior Sister, did you see the magical artifact they placed on the rack to the right earlier? The engraving technique for the patterns is terrible," Xiyu said in confusion. "They actually sold it for one thousand mid-grade spirit stones, and it's supposed to be the shop's treasure?"

"That's Wind Patterns," Ye Su explained. "When engraved on the blade, it can indeed help with the burst of spiritual qi when making a move."

"Wind Patterns?" Xiyu was baffled. The blade had all sorts of flashy patterns, but she couldn't see the significance.

Ye Su explained, "There are two rare deformed Wind Patterns patterns on the blade. In theory, the effect should be doubled. But the weapon crafter isn’t very familiar with Wind Patterns, and one stroke unintentionally disrupted the flow they’d built up, so if it's actually used, it will block the user's spiritual qi. The faster the blade is swung, the more it will feel stiff and broken."

"Senior Sister, what kind of deformed Wind Patterns is it?" Xia'er asked.

"What... kind?" Ming Liu Sha jumped in, curious.

"The book on the fourth shelf in the far corner of the Library of Scripture talks about rare engravings on magical artifacts," Ye Su glanced at her eager junior brothers and sisters, "…But I suppose you haven't read it."

Ming Liu Sha was skilled in crafting small magical artifacts, especially hidden weapons, Xiyu preferred blades, and Xia'er, the fourth junior brother, was interested in swords. They didn’t share Ye Su’s broad interests and usually only read books related to their specialties.

Ye Su crouched down and drew two deformed Wind Patterns patterns on the ground with her finger. "These two wind patterns were originally used on alchemy furnaces to intensify the alchemical fire. After being deformed, they can be applied to other magical artifacts. But they are quite old, and some lines are missing, so they need to be restored."

The three of them squatted there, absorbed in the explanation. Xiyu had already unconsciously started to trace the deformed wind patterns on the ground, repeating what Ye Su had just demonstrated.

"Wait here for a moment," Ye Su stood up and left. She returned shortly with three jade slips.

"Senior Sister, how much did these cost?" Xia'er asked.

"Four hundred and fifty lower-grade spirit stones," Ye Su distributed the jade slips to her junior brothers and sisters. "From now on, I’ll write some things inside, and you can check them directly."

The jade slips were the cheapest she could buy. Although they couldn’t store much, they were still useful.

"Senior Sister, we don’t have much money left," Xiyu calculated.

"These are things we need," Ye Su looked into the distance. "Earlier, when we landed, I think I saw an abandoned temple outside the city. We can rest there tonight."

Since they couldn’t even afford a few bottles of Pill of Qi Suppression, staying in an inn was out of the question. Luckily, the four of them didn’t mind the environment. After leaving the city, they found the dilapidated temple and rested there.

As Ye Su was pondering what kind of magical artifact she could make with the scattered materials her master had given her to sell, a message suddenly came from the gatekeeper.

【The Swift Movement Talisman can be used to accelerate my movement speed. Is this talisman really one that you drew?】

Ye Su, holding the communication jade disc, stood up in surprise. This Swift Movement Talisman could be used by those at the Unity Realm? No wonder it had been improved by a senior expert.

She took out the stack of talisman papers she had drawn from her Qiankun bag and said to her junior brothers and sisters, "The Swift Movement Talisman is useful for the gatekeeper. The senior's statement about it being suitable for all stages seems true. Tomorrow, we’ll sell these talisman papers, save up some money for materials, and in three months, the Poyuan Sect will begin its preliminary selection. Before that, we need to prepare the magical artifacts."

……

The next day, a new stall appeared on a commercial street in Dinghai City. A wooden board stood on the ground with a line of words written on it: Selling Swift Movement Talismans.

The street was bustling with people, but no one seemed willing to stop and take a closer look at the so-called Swift Movement Talismans. The four of them sat on the ground, all propping their faces with their hands.

Every now and then, they’d glance at the stall to the left, then at the stall to the right. All the other vendors were doing brisk business, with people stopping to look, but no one even glanced at their stall.

Xia'er looked at the Swift Movement Talismans they had laid on the ground, weighed down by stones. "Is it because we don’t have a table?"

Xiyu was adjusting her hair with a small mirror, fixing her pink hairpin. "I think it's because we’re not calling out. The vendors next to us are all shouting."

The vendors at the neighboring stalls were calling out quickly and fluently, which made it easy for them to attract the attention of passersby.

The four of them exchanged glances for a moment, and suddenly all eyes turned to Ming Liu Sha in the center.

"Wh-what?" Ming Liu Sha asked slowly.

"Junior Brother, you’re in charge of calling out," Ye Su said, patting Ming Liu Sha on the shoulder. "I’ll draw, you sell. Fair enough?"

Ming Liu Sha pointed at the second stack of Swift Movement Talismans on the ground. "But... you... already... gave... them... to... me."

Ye Su knew exactly what her second junior brother was thinking. "Once we have some money, I’ll draw twenty more for you."

Only then did Ming Liu Sha clear his throat in satisfaction, stand up, and suddenly shout, "Come one, come all, take a look! Swift Movement Talismans for all cultivation stages, effective for a quarter of an hour, cheap in bulk, fair and honest for all ages!"

His voice was fast, clear, and rhythmic, without losing breath. His tone was a stark contrast to his usual slow, drawn-out speech. It was as if he had transformed into a different person. The voices of the other vendors were completely overshadowed.

Ming Liu Sha's young and clear voice drew considerable attention on the street. After a while, someone finally walked over, but instead of coming to buy a Swift Movement Talisman, they came to mock: "Swift Movement Talismans? Usable for all cultivation stages? I've lived this long and never seen such powerful talismans being sold in bulk."

The man’s voice was loud, and soon, curious onlookers began to gather, murmuring.

"Although this isn't Sishi City, Dinghai City is quite large. There are many talisman masters here. The young ones should be careful when boasting," one person remarked.

Sishi City is the territory of the Wuxing Sect, where talisman masters are everywhere.

"Even if someone from the Wuxing Sect came, they wouldn't dare say something like 'usable in all stages.' People nowadays really dare to exaggerate," another person added.

Ye Su looked up. "Whether it’s true or not, you can buy one and try it for yourself."

"Still not admitting it," someone scoffed.

"Make way, we have a talisman master here." Someone squeezed in, "Let him take a look."

A middle-aged, thin-faced man pushed through, squatted down, and picked up a Swift Movement Talisman, inspecting it carefully. "This talisman may look impressive with its single stroke, but it’s just a regular Swift Movement Talisman—fake."

Ming Liu Sha snatched the Swift Movement Talisman from the middle-aged man’s hand. "This talisman master doesn’t even recognize the modified design of the Swift Movement Talisman. He’s probably not a great talisman master after all. Don’t bother looking."

The people around the middle-aged man burst into laughter. "Kid, aren't you afraid your tongue will trip you up? By the way, this is actually a talisman master from the Wuxing Sect."

"Someone actually says the Wuxing Sect talisman master isn’t good. Hahaha, now I’ve really learned something today!"

It was clear that the crowd knew the middle-aged, thin-faced man well. They kept agreeing and pointing at Ye Su and her companions.

The middle-aged man, though modestly stroking his beard, couldn’t hide the smugness in his eyes. "Young friend, you seem young. Go back and cultivate well, don’t be led astray."

Ming Liu Sha snorted. "The talisman paper is fine. If you don't believe me, you can buy one and try it."

The middle-aged man furrowed his brows. "I can tell there’s something wrong with this talisman paper just by looking at it. Why should I buy one?"

People around nodded. "Sounds like he’s heard that the talisman master is from the Wuxing Sect and is trying to scam us."

"You haven’t tried the talisman, how do you know there’s something wrong with the paper?" Ming Liu Sha countered.

The middle-aged man shook his head at Ming Liu Sha. "Young man, stop making excuses."

Suddenly, Ye Su, who had been sitting on the ground, extended a finger toward the middle-aged man and said, "This talisman paper is only ten mid-grade spirit stones, not expensive. If it’s fake, we’ll pay you ten times back. If it doesn’t work, we’ll compensate you with a hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Everyone here can witness it."

The onlookers, always eager for drama, immediately shifted their stance and urged the middle-aged talisman master to buy the talisman paper.

"Talisman master, give it a try. You can’t lose!"

"Let them pay up with a hundred mid-grade spirit stones if it’s fake!"

"Exactly."

The middle-aged man, caring about his reputation and hoping for the hundred spirit stones, finally gritted his teeth and agreed, pulling out ten mid-grade spirit stones. "Don’t regret this. Give me one talisman."

Ming Liu Sha and Ye Su exchanged a glance, accepted the spirit stones, and handed him the talisman. "For fairness, why don’t you invite someone to test it right here?"

The crowd cheered. "Yes, let’s test it."

The middle-aged man, holding the talisman paper, was just an outer disciple of the Wuxing Sect. Ten mid-grade spirit stones wasn’t a small amount for him. However, the Swift Movement Talisman was the most basic talisman technique that talisman masters learned, and he’d been drawing them for over ten years.

He was extremely familiar with it, and he immediately recognized that the talisman technique on this paper was clearly wrong. But knowing that these people would compensate him with a hundred mid-grade spirit stones if it didn’t work, he felt reassured. "Fine."

The middle-aged man pointed to someone he clearly knew and nodded. Ming Liu Sha, acting as though he didn’t notice, pointed to the starting and ending points. "You two can give it a try. First, run using your own speed, then come back and try our talisman."

The crowd parted, and the starting and ending points weren’t far apart—just a half street away, so everyone could see clearly.

The middle-aged man nodded to his companion, who instantly moved from the starting point to the end with remarkable speed.

After the person returned, Ming Liu Sha said, "Talisman master, now you can try our talisman."

Among the crowd, two young men standing at a stall overheard. One of them shook his head. "Forget whether the talisman paper works or not. The talisman master and the tester clearly know each other, and they exchanged glances. All the tester has to do is slow down a little, and those hundred mid-grade spirit stones will be his."

"Every year, there are these kinds of foolish people. Let’s go," the other, slightly older youth said.

The two turned and started walking, but before they’d gotten far, there was a commotion on the street. Clearly, something had happened. They looked back, and the tester who had been standing there was now gone.

It turned out that the middle-aged man had placed the talisman paper on the tester’s body. As soon as the tester raised his foot, he shot off with incredible speed, completely unable to control his body, leaving only a shadow behind. The person had disappeared at the end of the street.

Everyone quickly rushed to see, only to find that the tester’s body had crashed into the wall at the end, and if it hadn’t been for the wall, they wouldn’t have known where the person would have ended up.

At this point, everyone could tell: this talisman was the real Swift Movement Talisman, and it was incredibly fast.

"Is it really usable for all cultivation stages?" someone in the crowd asked, now pushing back toward Ye Su and the others.

"At least it works for those in the Unity Realm," Ye Su answered.

The Swift Movement Talisman, as a basic talisman technique, was typically used by cultivators in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, with no effect on other stages. Even though the Swift Movement Talismans they were selling were only usable in the Foundation Establishment stage, claiming that it worked for all stages was an exaggeration. However, based on the test, it was still quite impressive.

"I’ll take one, no—ten," the person immediately threw over a hundred mid-grade spirit stones and grabbed ten Swift Movement Talismans, rushing off before anyone could catch up.

At that moment, others started rummaging through their Qiankun bags. Though the talisman paper wasn’t cheap at ten mid-grade spirit stones per sheet, if it truly worked for all stages, it would be a bargain.

"Friend, I’ll take one too."

"I’ll take two."

"I’ll take one here!"

Ye Su was surrounded by eager buyers, and in no time, all thirty-nine Swift Movement Talismans were snapped up for ten mid-grade spirit stones each.