Chapter 2: Mistakes (Part 1)

Guo Shierou poked his head out of the barrel and shouted, “Grandpa Qinan, save me…” Qi Nanshan’s face instantly changed. He roared, “Who is it? Damn it, who did this… Why are you laughing? Hurry and carry Shierou into the room! If anything happens to him, I won’t stop!” His fierce anger surged.
The butler in charge of the courtyard, terrified, scrambled around to call for help. Guo Shierou said, “Carry the barrel too—it’s too cold outside; I can’t get out!” The water temperature in the barrel dropped rapidly.
Eagle Demon said, “I’ll do it!” He lifted the barrel and asked, “Which room?”
Guo Shierou’s hair was already freezing. He cried, “Uncle, just any room—doesn’t matter which!”
Eagle Demon suppressed a laugh and rushed into a room with the heavy barrel. Suddenly, a scream was heard, followed by Eagle Demon coming out with the barrel and rushing into another room. The room he had entered was Chen Hong’s.
Even Qi Nanshan couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into laughter.
Chen Hong stood at the door, her face red. She had been lying in bed dazed for a while, unaware of what was happening outside. Eagle Demon suddenly kicked open the door and rushed in with a large barrel. At first glance, she saw Guo Shierou, clean and dry, squatting in the barrel, his hair covered in icicles that jingled as they moved. She was shocked and couldn’t help screaming.
Eagle Demon set down the barrel and ran out. Guo Shierou cursed and shouted, “Add hot water!”
A few maids brought in hot water, ignoring the naked little boy completely.
After a frustrated bath, Guo Shierou put on a thick fur coat, his thoughts returning to his Life Sigil Ball. It seemed he could use it without taking it out, which was advantageous in battle. He thought it might be a temporary phenomenon, but as long as he could use the Life Sigil Ball, the rest didn’t matter.
After sleeping for a while, Guo Shierou was called to eat.
At the mention of food, he couldn’t fall asleep anymore. He was in a stage of rapid growth and couldn’t skip a meal. Putting on a thick fur robe, heavy fur boots, and a large fur hat, he stepped out of the room. Outside, there was a vast expanse of snow, and his boots made creaking sounds as he stepped on it.
Two maids walked ahead. Guo Shierou felt ashamed—those two ordinary girls weren’t wearing very thick clothes yet weren’t cold at all, while he, wrapped in a thick fur robe, was shivering with cold.

Guo Shier entered the dining hall with his hands clasped together and his head lowered. A row of tables was already set, waiting just for him. When everyone saw Guo Shier come in, they couldn’t help but show a slight smile. Guo Shier said, “Laugh, laugh! Be careful you don’t strain yourself!”
At that, everyone felt embarrassed and stopped smiling. Eagle Demon asked, “Shier, do you know why the house collapsed?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I’m sorry. I accidentally cut it with a sword talisman…”
Eagle Demon was stunned. After a long while, he burst into laughter, pounding the table and saying, “A sword talisman? Haha! You have no use for a sword talisman to cut down a house! Hahaha! Don’t you know you were taking a bath?”
Guo Shier cut a piece of meat with his knife and said, “It was an accident! An accident! Understand?”
Eagle Demon said, “I don’t understand!” He couldn’t comprehend it—after all, the life talisman ball was directly controlled by the talisman master. Taking a bath had nothing to do with the life talisman ball, let alone using it in a bathtub.
Guo Shier said helplessly, “Alright, let’s eat!”
For some reason, whenever Guo Shier became serious, Eagle Demon felt a bit uneasy. He cleared his throat several times and said, “Let’s eat, let’s eat!”
Luo Zhan couldn’t help but snicker. Anyone who had seen Guo Shier fight against the great talisman martial artist in the Secret Realm knew this kid was no ordinary person. The longer one spent time with him, the more one could sense his authority, even though he was still just a child.
Everyone sweated profusely during this meal. Guo Shier didn’t say a word, ate silently, and left silently, leaving everyone at a loss as to what to do. Back in his room, Guo Shier couldn’t help but smirk, thinking to himself, “Let you laugh at me… Hmph, I’ll make you suffer too, hehe.”
After Guo Shier left, Eagle Demon scratched his head and asked, “Is Shier angry?”
Luo Zhan nodded and said, “Yeah, Shier is angry!”
Huo Bao said, “It’s because everyone laughed at him!”
Chen Bing analyzed calmly, “No, it must be because it was the first time he appeared naked, so he… he got angry!”
Hong Shi said, “Nonsense! We all get naked every ten days, even Xiao Hong does. It’s only his first time… what’s there to get angry about?”
Chen Hong stood up in anger and walked away, saying, “Hong Shi! You jerk!”
Hong Shi was confused by the insult.
Eagle Demon sighed, “It’s normal for kids to lose their temper. Heh, it’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
…
The next day, Guo Shier brought his followers to Luo Jie’s residence.

As soon as Luo Jie saw Guo Shier, he burst into laughter. Guo Shier was very frustrated; if his followers laughed at him, he could still find a way to stop it, but if his master did, he could only endure it. Yet he wasn’t willing to give up either. Smiling, he said, “Master, why are you laughing? Did you find some ancient talisman?”
Luo Jie raised his hand and slapped him, scolding, “You little brat, playing with your life talisman while taking a bath!”
Guo Shier forced a smile and said, “I was careless. I didn’t do it on purpose… By the way, master, are we going to visit the West Talisman Sect today?” He quickly changed the subject, as he didn’t want to continue this talk at all.
Hearing this, Luo Jie also became serious and said, “Mm, someone will come to pick us up in a while. Everyone needs to be careful.”
Guo Shier asked, “Be careful of what? What danger could there be inside the West Talisman Sect?”
Qi Nanshan replied, “Be careful of others challenging you… It can be deadly.”
Guo Shier said, “Oh, I’m just a kid. I don’t need to fight. Fighting is for adults.” He started acting innocent again, looking like a pure-hearted boy, which made everyone feel uneasy.
Qi Nanshan said calmly, “You’re the old man’s disciple. There are some things you can’t avoid.”
Guo Shier said, “Pity me, a nine-year-old kid, still having to…” Before he could finish, he was drowned out by everyone’s laughter. If they hadn’t seen his performance in the secret realm, they might have felt sympathy for him or spoken up in his defense. But in the secret realm, he wasn’t only calm but also efficient in giving orders—something a child simply couldn’t do. In fact, among Luo Jie’s group, he was already recognized as the third most important member, right after Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan.
Luo Jie scolded, “Stop pretending, kid… Who doesn’t know you’re a little monster?”
Guo Shier said dejectedly, “It’s so boring. No one even cooperates… Fine, fine. Anyway, I’m not afraid of fighting.”
Qi Nanshan said, “A real man must take responsibility!”
Guo Shier muttered under his breath, “I’m not a man! I’m a little boy!” He thought to himself, “I haven’t even started developing yet. Why force myself to act like a man?”
A servant came in to announce that the guide from the West Talisman Sect had arrived, along with two carriages. Guo Shier quickly said, “I’ll take the carriage. I’m cold.”
Luo Jie said, “Shier, take the carriage. The rest of us will ride horses.”

Everyone followed Luo Jie out and mounted their horses. Guo Shieru sat into the carriage and immediately felt much more comfortable. He wished he could stay locked in his room every day; the outside was unbearable. The dry, cold wind hitting his face felt like tiny knives cutting into his skin, so harsh it made it hard to breathe.

Only after sitting in the carriage did Guo Shieru sigh in relief. He was truly afraid of the cold. For some reason, he hadn’t been this afraid of cold in his previous life, but in this one, it seemed unbearable. So long as he could avoid the wind, snow, and cold, he would do everything possible to do so.

After traveling for over an hour, the carriage stopped. Ying Mo said beside it, “Shieru, we’ve arrived.”

It was the reception hall of the Xi Fu Gate.

Guo Shieru followed his master inside, with the others following one after another. There were many people in the reception hall, including members of the Bei Fu Gate who had arrived earlier.

A total of five masters came to the Xi Fu Gate this time, including Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan. The other three masters were Qian Ziwang, a great talisman master, Lin Dong, a great talisman martial artist who was Qian Ziwang’s follower, and another great talisman martial artist named Chang Hao, a skilled expert sent by the inner sect to ensure the safety of the entire group. He was not present at the moment. Qian Ziwang and the others had come along with a merchant caravan.

Qian Ziwang was also an elder, but he looked much younger than Luo Jie back then. Now, however, there was no comparison—Luo Jie looked like a middle-aged man, so much so that Qian Ziwang was stunned for a while before recognizing him. Qian Ziwang asked, “Old Master Luo, what’s going on with you…?”

Luo Jie smiled and said, “Brother Ziwang, it’s nothing. I just accidentally became younger.” He couldn’t admit that he had advanced again. In this world, being a master was already the highest rank; no one had ever heard of someone advancing further after reaching that level.

Guo Shieru almost burst out laughing. What did “accidentally became younger” mean? That was such a ridiculous excuse.

Then Qian Ziwang saw Qi Nanshan. He had known Qi Nanshan since he was young. Back then, Qi Nanshan had two choices: follow Qian Ziwang or follow Luo Jie. Qi Nanshan had been an exceptionally talented person, and because he loved fighting, he chose to follow Luo Jie.

All the talisman patterns on Qi Nanshan’s body had disappeared, leaving his skin smooth and delicate, though his complexion remained dark. Qian Ziwang exclaimed in surprise, “Nanshan, why have all the talisman patterns on you disappeared?”

“Hehe, it’s fine, Old Qian. If they’ve disappeared, so be it. My strength is still there.”

Qian Ziwang was a great talisman master with profound knowledge of talisman patterns. The disappearance of those patterns while his strength remained meant there had been new changes. Qian Ziwang was eager to investigate, but now was not the time for research, nor was it the place to discuss such matters. He nodded, his gaze sweeping over Guo Shier, and was instantly shocked. He straightened his back and asked, “Is it Shier?”
He had seen Guo Shier before, when he was still a talisman caster. But now, at a glance, he could tell something was wrong—it was definitely not at the level of a talisman caster; rather, it felt similar to his own level. How was that possible?
Guo Shier politely stepped forward and said, “Hello, Grandpa Qian.”
Luo Jie laughed and said, “Brother Ziwang, my young disciple has advanced. He is now a talisman master, hehe.”
Qian Ziwang shook his head bitterly, smiling grimly. A nine-year-old talisman master was simply astonishing. He said, “It’s unbelievable.” It was certain that something drastic must have happened to these three, otherwise such a huge change wouldn’t have occurred. But this really wasn’t the place to talk. He said, “Let me introduce the friends from the Western Talisman Sect.”
Five master-level figures from the Western Talisman Sect had come, all high-ranking members of the inner sect.