Chapter 7: Cultivating Secret Talismans (Part 2)

Guo Shieru held a large bowl of meat soup, drinking it while eating steamed buns. He asked, “Aunt Lan, how much money do we have left?”
Aunt Lan and Aunt Xin discussed it for a while, as the two were in charge of managing the finances. Aunt Lan said, “We currently have a little over four thousand talisman coins.”
Guo Shieru said, “Starting from tomorrow, all the money should be used to buy food—none should be saved. Xiao Baozi, go and exchange all the rewards from our tasks for food tomorrow; don’t get anything else.”
“Preserve all the meat we get by curing it and store it in the storage room, where it won’t spoil easily. Also, buy more flour.”
Aunt Lan was surprised. “Shieru, why buy so much food? With over four thousand talisman coins, we can buy… uh, a ton of food… Why do we need so much?”
Guo Shieru gave a bitter smile and said, “Aunt Lan, do you know that Wildman Pass has fallen?”
Aunt Lan nodded. “Wildman Pass has fallen… But we’re inside the inner gate; this place should be safe. Hmm, Shieru, what does the fall of Wildman Pass have to do with buying food?”
Guo Shieru replied, “If Wildman Pass has fallen, it means the wildmen have invaded the pass. If even Ye Guancheng couldn’t hold out, they will surely attack here as well. Of course, with the strength of the Northern Talisman Sect, I believe they will ultimately win. But… if the wildmen reach here, they’ll cut off our supply lines. If it’s short-term, it’s not a big problem, but if it lasts long… then food will definitely become the most scarce thing.”
“If we’re not prepared now, we might end up starving later.”
Aunt Lan looked at Guo Shieru in disbelief. Was this really a nine-year-old child? He thought so thoroughly. The reasoning was simple, but without considering it, who would think to stock up on food? She said, “Shieru, you’re amazing. Aunt Lan will go buy food tomorrow.”
Guo Shieru said, “Aunt Lan, be careful when buying food. Try not to draw attention. Don’t spread the news around, as that could cause panic. Don’t buy too much at once—buy in small amounts from multiple places.” He had experienced a great famine in his past life and knew what it meant to cry out for help without any response. Thinking back now still made him shudder. The pain of hunger was deeply etched in his soul. He didn’t want to go through those years of fear, panic, despair, and sorrow again.

Huo Bao’s four children didn’t understand what Guo Shier said at all, but they did grasp the idea of exchanging task rewards for food. All they needed to do was follow orders; as for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, those were things Guo Shier had to figure out.

The next day, Guo Shier rode in a carriage, escorted by Luo Zhan, to his master Luo Jie’s estate. Luo Jie had already heard about Guo Shier’s performance in Ye Guan City and was very satisfied, especially since Guo Shier had even killed two wildmen, which made him even happier. He was delighted to see Guo Shier.

Who would have thought that Guo Shier’s first words to Luo Jie would leave the old man speechless? He said, “Master, I almost didn’t make it back and wouldn’t have seen you! Sigh, I started fighting wildmen at just nine years old… Isn’t that too much?” Then he added, “Fortunately, I had the talismans you gave me, which saved me. Hehe, master, do you have any more talismans? Give me a few more, please.” This flattery pleased Luo Jie greatly.

Luo Jie laughed heartily and said, “Haha, truly my disciple! As for talismans… You’re still too young to control that many. We’ll talk about it later.”

Guo Shier knew how precious the talismans were; he was just making an excuse. He said, “Master, I’m out of money…”

Luo Jie had no shortage of money, so he said nonchalantly, “How much do you need? Go and get it from Uncle Hu. Now, tell me about Ye Guan City.”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “Master, I need a lot of money!”

Luo Jie asked, “Uh, how much? Well, just go and get it!” He didn’t care at all. As a great talisman master, his wealth ranked among the top in the North Talisman Sect. Moreover, Guo Shier was his favorite disciple. Of course, he wouldn’t be stingy if the kid wanted money.

Guo Shier had no choice but to say, “Master, why don’t you ask me why I need money?”

Luo Jie asked, “Why do you need money?”

Guo Shier replied straightforwardly, “To buy food.”

Luo Jie wasn’t Aunt Lan—he understood after a brief thought and exclaimed in surprise, “Are you saying… the North Talisman Sect is facing a food crisis?”

Guo Shier nodded firmly and said, “Without an absolutely secure supply line, I think… there won’t be enough food.”

Luo Jie asked, “So you want to stockpile food?”

Guo Shier sighed, “If it were just me, it wouldn’t matter, but I have a group of people to feed, so I have to plan ahead.”

Soon, Luo Jie realized what was going on. He wondered, “Are you using… the pretext of borrowing money to remind me?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I didn’t remind him; it was the master who thought of it on his own.” Luo Jie was secretly grateful. Without any pretense, he immediately called the butler and began to secretly stockpile food. After all, his family was large with many members, and if there was a shortage of food, even money wouldn’t be enough to buy it. Could he really expect this old man to go hunting? That wouldn’t solve anything either. “Shier, go get some money from Uncle Hu. We’ll talk again once everything is sorted out.” Guo Shier didn’t take too much—he took 10,000 Da Fu coins. Taking more would be risky, as he feared he might not be able to repay it. Besides, even if he could get 100,000 Da Fu coins, he still wouldn’t be able to buy that much food, so 10,000 was already the limit. He rushed home with the money. With money, everything became easier; everyone in the family went out to buy food. Carloads of grain and meat were brought back. Aunt Lan instructed her subordinates to cure the meat and store the flour in a storage room—a room created using storage talismans that could hold large quantities of items. The purchasing power of 10,000 Da Fu coins was astonishing; it took three days to spend that much. By then, food prices had already started rising. Before anyone could react, food became severely scarce, with prices rising three times a day, as the wildlings had reached Beifu City, the headquarters of the Beifu Sect. The panic buying intensified, and the Beifu Sect quickly took measures to control food distribution. All food vendors were brought under control, and all food was purchased centrally before being rationed according to needs. Guo Shier returned to his cultivation. Aunt Lan and Aunt Xin were deeply impressed. This kid, Shier, was truly prescient—how could he predict things so accurately? All food shops on the streets were closed, as were those selling grain. It was no longer just a matter of rising prices; there was simply no food available for sale. When the food allocated to the apprentices arrived, Aunt Lan found that there was half as much as before. Moreover, they were specifically told to use food sparingly, as the next allocation might be even smaller. Some clever people voluntarily organized groups to hunt in the mountains behind the house to make up for the lack of food. People’s hearts began to grow uneasy, but the Beifu Sect was strong enough and had stored large amounts of food. However, it wasn’t appropriate to distribute it yet, as no one knew when the supply lines would be restored. Therefore, a rationing system was necessary—it was the only option for the Beifu Sect.

Guo Shier didn’t pay any more attention to the food issue; he focused solely on his cultivation. Huo Bao and the others also went to the training hall on time to exercise and learn the skills of rune warriors. As for the task of defending Beifu City, it was not their apprentices’ concern.
…
After more than a month, the situation at Beifu Gate gradually stabilized. Although there were still many wildlings lingering in the wilderness, fewer and fewer of them attacked Beifu City directly. After all, Beifu Gate had a powerful military force, and after killing hundreds of wildlings, those wildlings had become somewhat wary.
Due to the large number of wildlings remaining in the wilderness, the supply lines were completely severed. Although efforts were made to transport supplies by force, the losses were staggering. Beifu Gate had no choice but to order numerous teams to go out of the city to hunt wildlings. Any team that went hunting could receive ample food.
The shortage of food made the rune warriors, who ate like tigers and wolves, extremely dissatisfied. They were all already dizzy from hunger. So when this task was announced, it immediately attracted a large number of rune warriors. Drawn by the food, many rune warriors left the city to join the battle against the wildlings.
That day, Guo Shier went to the Fudan Pavilion of the Rune Masters Hall to buy cultivation pills. This time, a rune warrior accompanied him. Luo Zhan had already returned to carry out his tasks; as a rune master, he was a key figure at Beifu Gate, and there were many tasks that required his involvement.
The rune warrior accompanying Guo Shier was surnamed Zhang, named Zhang Dakui. He was quite skilled and would soon be able to use bone pills for physical training, allowing him to advance to rune master status.
“Aunt Zhang, when you go back this afternoon, find Aunt Lan and get some food to take home for you.”
Zhang Dakui’s family lived in Beifu City. He had one wife and one concubine, plus four children. With his income, they lived fairly well, but with the current situation, there wasn’t enough food at home. He was grateful for Guo Shier’s advice, which had allowed him to stockpile enough food; otherwise, they would have run out long ago.
“Shier, thank you.”
The food allocated to him was only enough for his own consumption, but there were six mouths to feed at home—how could that be enough? So he had been worried about it for a long time.
The Fudan Pavilion was a branch of the Rune Masters Hall, with an internal trading area that mainly sold various cultivation pills. When Guo Shier entered, he was surprised to find an unusually large crowd there.
Soon, Guo Shier noticed a strange phenomenon: many people were carrying pouches of cultivation pills, acting suspiciously and seemingly hiding something.
At that moment, someone quietly approached him and whispered, “Come here… follow me…”

Guo Shier said in confusion, “Go with you? What’s the matter?”
The man took out a pouch of talismans and waved it in front of Guo Shier’s eyes, saying, “Let’s go over there and talk.” The man wore an identity badge indicating he was an inner sect disciple. Curious, Guo Shier followed him to the side and asked, “Go on, what’s it about?”