“What? Is this for real?”

Upon hearing that it was about Wu Xiaoman, my younger cousin became alarmed. “How did you find out?”

“How I found out is not important.” Of course, I couldn’t tell him about my ability to perceive the aura of people since cultivating the Dao. Seeing his anxious expression, I sighed. This guy is done for—he’s already fallen head over heels and doesn’t even realize it.

I patted his shoulder and said, “It’s best if we leave here tomorrow. Otherwise, the Yin energy will grow stronger, and we don’t know what could happen.”

“…!” My cousin thought for a moment, thanked me, and then fell silent in deep thought.

Over there, Wu Xiaoman, Zhang Yu, and our English teacher were whispering to each other, frequently casting glances in our direction. It was obvious they were talking about me and my cousin.

“Brother, what should we do now?” my cousin asked, looking up. “If we say this to the others, they definitely won’t believe us. We can’t cancel the trip just based on this reason.”

Yeah… I nodded, furrowing my brow. “Let’s hope nothing happens over the next few days. She has the amulet I gave her, so she should be fine.”

My cousin and I didn’t have any better ideas at the moment. Back when we were younger, we had seen something similar to the situation with Wu Xiaoman. In our hometown in Jiushizhang, there was a weak woman who, one night, while walking home, suddenly started shouting, no longer recognizing anyone around her, claiming to be the daughter of a noble family from the Qing Dynasty. When such things happened, people usually found a butcher with strong Qi to intimidate the person or hired shamans, monks, or even witches to perform rituals.

Both my cousin and I came from a family of Yin-Yang Cultivators, but we never learned how to expel evil spirits. We didn’t study these methods much and came to the provincial city to study, so now, when we faced such an incident, we were completely helpless. Here I am, a Cultivator of the Dao, and I couldn’t even deal with such a small issue. How embarrassing.

The scenery after the rain was beautiful, but I couldn’t care less. My mind was occupied with the fact that I had been cultivating for so long and still hadn’t learned a single spell. How frustrating! Where could I go to learn a spell, and who could I ask for guidance? I looked around, but there wasn’t a single Cultivator in sight. Forget it, I’ll go back and read some books and see if I can find something useful.

The bonfire party for the evening was canceled, and everyone started to wander around in small groups, chatting.

I noticed that Wu Xiaoman, Zhang Yu, and the English teacher were heading in my direction again. Great! It seemed my talisman had caught their attention. Why do girls have so much curiosity? If this keeps up, I’ll just give them each a “talisman for childbirth,” as a joke. Hah!

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Sure enough, the three of them surrounded me as soon as they arrived. Zhang Yu and Wu Xiaoman gave me a mix of soft and sharp gazes, while the English teacher began to interrogate me.

“Zhang Santuo, tell us where you got that talisman from! I heard from Wu Xiaoman that you’ve been drawing these things in class. Is that true?”

How is she asking this? She knows I drew it myself, yet she still asks where I got it from? How does she even manage to be a teacher?

I smirked internally. “It’s something I drew myself. What’s the problem? Are you girls thinking of a group purchase or bulk order? I can give you a 10% discount if you want—only 800 each. Act fast!”

“You know how to draw these things?” The English teacher continued to probe.

Does this woman ever stop asking questions? Can’t she see that I’m half-heartedly answering her?

Since I’ve never been good at buttering people up, especially when it comes to beautiful women, even if it’s my teacher, I just can’t do it. Now that I’m cultivating the Dao, I’ve become even more disinterested in these social games.

“The story of how I learned to draw talismans is quite long, it goes way back...” I began to fabricate an answer.

“Stop!” The English teacher, Lyu Yanling, glared at me with her bright eyes and said, “Oh, you’re not going to talk, huh? Well, when it’s time for you to write down your vocabulary, just wait for it!”

Is she threatening me? Hah, I’ve cultivated the Dao and my mind is sharp. I’m not afraid of such small tactics. I shrugged. “Fine, I’m a good student. If you want to test me more, I’m happy to oblige!”

What? As I said that, I noticed Zhang Yu’s eyes brighten, and Wu Xiaoman’s expression seemed a little distant.

“You...!” Lyu Yanling was about to say something, but suddenly her expression changed, and she smiled. “You’re so bad! Your English is so poor. I guess I’ll have to give you extra lessons from now on?”

What? I nearly passed out. I’ve been trying to avoid learning English, but now she wants to give me extra lessons? Is this some form of forced labor?

I sighed again and began to lie. “Alright, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret. Actually, every night, an old man with a white beard teaches me...”

Before I could finish, Lyu Yanling interrupted me. “Stop, stop. You little rascal!”

She rolled her eyes at me, then took out the talisman I had given her and asked, “What is this thing called?”

“The anti-motion sickness talisman,” I answered without hesitation.

“What?” The three women’s eyes widened in unison, staring at me.

“It’s something I invented. Yep, I came up with it!” I shrugged. Believe it or not.

Zhang Yu seemed about to ask something, but when she looked at Wu Xiaoman and the English teacher, she stopped. She looked so cute as she hesitated, and I couldn’t help but feel a little distracted. Wait… what am I thinking?

Suddenly, a loud voice came from across the valley.

“Ah! Everyone, come and look! I’ve found a treasure!”

We all turned toward the sound, and there, near the mountain cave across from our camp, we saw Cao Kui waving what looked like a long object, shouting in excitement, “It’s a sword! I found a sword!”

Everyone was shocked. This guy really has good luck. I remember when I was a child, I explored caves with my friends, and the scariest thing we found was a skull. But now, after the rain, Cao Kui finds a sword. I’m not surprised that the sword was washed out of the cave by the mudslide.

We all ran over to take a look. Cao Kui, thrilled with his find, eagerly displayed the sword for everyone.

I leapt over the creek and quickly ran toward him. Suddenly, I noticed a faint rumbling sound coming from the dark cave. My heart tightened. I ran over and grabbed Cao Kui’s hand, shouting, “Be careful! Get away from there!”

Before my voice could fade in the valley, I had already yanked him to safety, pulling him toward a higher spot.

“Boom! Crash…!”

A deafening roar drowned out everyone’s screams as a huge torrent of water and rocks surged out of the cave, heading straight toward us.