Chapter 9: The Catalog of Personal Talismans (Part 2)

Guo Shier understood the situation a bit better. He needed to figure things out clearly, as he still had a large stock of flour. If the supply route could be reopened, his flour would lose its value. Knowing that the supply route couldn’t be reopened for now, he felt relieved. As a precaution, he asked Aunt Lan to start selling some of it in small amounts.

Additionally, he sent people to deliver flour to several elderly acquaintances, including Hong Changfeng, Chen Chunzhai, and Chang Yeren. Even Aunt Chen gave him a few hundred pounds of flour. He hadn’t been inside the inner district for long, so he didn’t know many people. He gave flour to anyone he knew who was kind to him. Flour was now very rare, and for him, it was a valuable and affordable good.

That day, Guo Shier took Luo Zhan to the Talisman Market.

Upon arriving at the market, Guo Shier’s first stop was always the bookshelf. As soon as he entered, he called out, “Grandpa An, are there any good books new lately?”

An Zhengyan greeted him with a smile and said, “Ah, it’s Shier. I heard you signed up for Ye Guancheng. When did you return? I’ve been worried about you… Hehe.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “It was my master who signed me up. Well, I’ve been back for a while, but only today did I have time to come and browse. Are there any good books?”

An Zhengyan replied, “There is a set of good books, but they’re talisman books. I guess you won’t need them—they’re quite expensive… I only bought two sets here, costing 3,200 Da Talisman Coins. Hehe, you probably won’t want them.”

Guo Shier had just made some money, so he didn’t think 3,200 Da Talisman Coins was that much. He said, “So expensive? What kind of books are they? Maybe I do need them. Hehe, Grandpa An, I’ve brought money with me.”

An Zhengyan laughed and said, “Oh, has Shier become rich? Unfazed by talisman books worth over 3,000? Alright, I’ll go get them.” He hurried into the inner room. In the bookshelf, the more precious talisman books and rare books were stored in the inner room and rarely displayed. Only customers familiar with the shop owner could possibly buy them.

Guo Shier followed in. An Zhengyan didn’t stop him but said, “Why so anxious? Alright, come with me.”

An Zhengyan had a small storage room dedicated to such items.

Possessing a personal talisman is a hallmark of a talisman master. Only by creating one’s own personal talisman can one truly advance to the status of a talisman master. Guo Shier was still just a talisman apprentice—it was like a primary school student trying to buy university textbooks; it seemed rather absurd.

But Guo Shieru really wanted it. For him, any book was important. Even if he didn’t understand it now, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t understand it later, and such books might not be available in the future. This was what set Guo Shieru apart from the locals—he liked to plan ahead so as not to be caught off guard later.

Guo Shieru took out a pouch of talismans and poured out a pile of black talisman coins, smiling and saying, “I made a little money recently. Hehe, it’s enough to buy this set of books. By the way, take this as a gift for you.” He took out another pouch and handed over two bags of flour, saying, “I got this from my master—200 jin of flour.”

An Zhengyan was surprised. “For me?”

Guo Shieru smiled. “Yes. Flour has been hard to find lately, but I happened to get some from my master. Grandpa An has always taken good care of me, so I thought I’d give this to you.”

An Zhengyan wanted to refuse, but his family had already run out of flour. Here, besides meat, flour was also essential. After thinking for a while, he took out a talisman book and said, “Alright, alright. I can’t refuse this gift. Well, this is from me, for you.”

Guo Shieru didn’t expect An Zhengyan to give him a book—it was an irresistible temptation. Smiling, he said, “Alright, then thank you, Grandpa An.” Holding the talisman book, he felt curious and asked softly, “Grandpa An, what kind of book is this?”

An Zhengyan laughed at his curiosity and said, “I rarely see an apprentice who loves books as much as you do. Don’t worry; what Grandpa gives you is a good book. This is a set of talisman books I obtained long ago while on a mission. You’ll definitely use them in the future. The title of the book is… Treasured Talismans, which records insights on how to use them, along with a few ancient methods for creating talismans.”

Guo Shieru was overjoyed and kept saying, “That’s great! Thank you, Grandpa An.”

An Zhengyan said, “There are many old books outside. Go and look around; you might find some you like.”

Guo Shieru returned to the desk piled with old books and began browsing. This was his favorite hobby. In his past life, he loved browsing second-hand book stalls, and in this life, he continued to do so even more. In his previous life, he had computers, the internet, and various forms of media, but in this life, there were only books, so reading was his only form of entertainment.

He had no restrictions when it came to reading, with a very diverse taste—almost any kind of book interested him. Here, aside from books related to his profession, he preferred travelogues, notes, adventure accounts, as well as legends and strange stories—all of which he enjoyed.

Among the pile of books he found today, he discovered a good one. It was a geography book about the Arctic wastelands, filled with numerous maps. Though the maps were rough, they were detailed, showing the distribution of plants and beasts as well as the areas where wild people often roamed. Unfortunately, only the second volume was available; the first volume was missing. After paying, he put the old book into his talisman bag and left the bookshelf. He still had another task today: to buy some materials for making talismans. The Talisman Market had a dedicated area for trading materials, and he went there slowly with Luo Zhan. The material trading area of the Talisman Market was bustling. It was mainly frequented by talisman makers and spellcasters; spellcasters and martial spellcasters usually didn’t come here unless they followed their family heads. The trading area had two levels— an outer platform with mostly small vendors, and an inner layer of shops, some run by the inner sect and others by large businesses, totaling dozens of stores that sold and bought materials. Guo Shier had been here many times before and entered a shop confidently. It was a shop run by a large external business in the inner sect, owned by an ordinary middle-aged man named Wan Datou. Known as the “Divine Eye,” he could identify any material just by taking a glance—its type, origin, and quality—making him quite famous in the Talisman Market. “Old Wan! Wan Datou!” Guo Shier called as he entered. Wan Datou came out smiling and said, “Isn’t it Shier? What brings you to our little shop today?” “I missed you…” Guo Shier joked. Wan Datou’s distinctive feature was his large head, half of which was bald, with a thin body that gave the impression of a glutinous ball stuck on a chopstick—very unharmonious in appearance. He had large dark hands covered in scars and thick calluses. Though he looked ugly, he had a pleasant smile. “Well, it’s rare for Shier to remember me, this big head. What materials do you plan to buy this time?” Guo Shier took out a piece of paper and handed it to Wan Datou, saying, “It’s all on here—just basic materials.” Wan Datou glanced at it and said, “Shier, you must be rich! Such a large quantity? That’ll cost at least seven or eight thousand talisman coins.” Guo Shier smiled and said, “Stop talking nonsense. I’ve got plenty of money these days, so I can afford to be extravagant.” Wan Datou cheerfully replied, “Great, I’ll have my assistant get them for you. Is there anything else?” Guo Shier thought for a moment and said, “Well, better not trouble two masters with one order. I’ll give you this list too.”

Wan Datou took the second list, examined it carefully, and his eyes lit up as he said, “No way… You can actually craft talismans? These are all the materials needed to make them!”
Guo Shier said, “I’m just collecting the materials. As for crafting them, I don’t know when that will be possible.” In truth, he wanted to give it a try; even if it failed, it didn’t matter—gaining some experience was what truly mattered.
Wan Datou said, “The materials for crafting talismans are quite expensive. Well, I estimate it will cost about 40,000 Da Fu coins to gather all the materials on this list. Shier, are you really willing to spend that much?”
Guo Shier had brought 100,000 Da Fu coins with him, so he was generous and said, “Buy it!” He felt great—having plenty of money was truly a pleasant thing.
Wan Datou, knowing that Guo Shier was a disciple of a Da Fu sorcerer, was very envious. He thought Guo Shier’s money came from his master.
The materials were packed and brought out. Due to their large quantity, they couldn’t even fit in the talisman storage bags. Wan Datou ordered his assistant to get a carriage, planning to have the goods delivered directly to the customer’s place.
The materials on the first list could be used to craft 1,000 one-time attack talismans, while those on the second list were for making talismans, enough to craft about 10 talismans. As for how many would succeed, only heaven knew. Guo Shier didn’t care; he had money to spare right now.
A young man wearing an apprentice identifier for talisman makers entered the shop and said, “Datou, I want to buy some materials. Here’s the list.”
Wan Datou took the list and couldn’t help but sigh. Glancing at Guo Shier, he thought to himself, “Why does everyone need these materials? This is troublesome.” With a forced smile, he said, “Young Master Qian, I’m sorry, but our shop just happens to be out of stock.”
Young Master Qian looked displeased and said, “Nonsense! I sent someone here yesterday to check—there were complete sets of materials available.”
Wan Datou said with a pained expression, “They’re indeed gone. We just sold them out today.”
Young Master Qian’s face darkened as he said, “Datou, what do you mean? Are you trying to annoy me on purpose? I just need two sets of materials. How dare you say you don’t have them?”
Guo Shier, standing beside Wan Datou, saw the list at a glance and couldn’t help but laugh. This guy’s list was exactly the same as his own—except he wanted ten sets, while this guy wanted two. These were the simplest materials for crafting talismans, meant for apprentices of talisman makers and sorcerers to advance. As long as they could craft talismans, they could progress to become talisman makers or sorcerers.

Wan Dadao was sweating profusely. He said, “There were originally ten sets of materials, and they were just sold off—there really are none left now. Young Master Qian, if I had stock, I wouldn’t hide it; I’d want to sell it as soon as possible.”
Young Master Qian asked, “Who did you sell them to? Why would they buy so many?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I’m sorry, I sold them to me.”