A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 73: Invisibility Talismans

On the official road north of Anchan County, an old man and a young man rode leisurely on tall horses.

“Master, I think the officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty are utterly rotten.”

The young man had rosy lips and white teeth, his face smooth as jade, and a slight upward curve at the corner of his mouth, giving him a somewhat defiant air.

But when talking about these matters, his eyes still burned red with anger.

“The court allocated one million shi of disaster relief grain, but in the end, not a single grain reached the starving people.”

“All of it was divided among them!”

“Even if you eat meat, you could at least leave some broth!”

The old man seemed much more composed, stroking his beard slowly and deliberately, as if long accustomed to such things.

“As far as I know, Qingzhou Prefecture actually only received 500,000 shi of grain.”

The old man sighed at this point, unwilling to say more, fearing that too many words would cause trouble.

But the young man had no such restraint and continued to express his indignation:

“The Great Zhou Dynasty has lasted over ten thousand years, but it has long lost the sharpness it had when it was founded. Now everyone only wants to grab more benefits for themselves.”

“If this keeps going on, the Great Zhou Dynasty will collapse.”

“You must never speak such words lightly.”

The old man hurried to stop the young man from speaking further, lest they bring disaster upon themselves.

“Our Great Zhou’s emperors throughout history have loved the people like their own children and are revered by all the people under heaven.”

“Especially the current wise and sagacious Longxing Holy Emperor, whose civil and military achievements and virtue benefit all living beings, may he live forever. Since his ascension 128 years ago, he has trusted loyal ministers, kept away treacherous officials, worked diligently to govern, and the court and country are flourishing.”

“He will surely continue to carry forward the prosperous era of Great Zhou for thousands of years to come!”

The old man spoke with solemn respect when mentioning the current emperor, bowing toward the capital in the distance.

The young man was indifferent but refrained from speaking further.

The two rode silently onward.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”

Suddenly, countless arrows flew from the distant sky, densely covering the entire sky.

Each arrow carried a powerful force, no weaker than a strike from a foundation establishment cultivator.

So many arrows shot at once, equivalent to hundreds or thousands of foundation establishment practitioners attacking simultaneously, aimed at the two of them.

“Trifling tricks!”

The old man remained as calm as a mountain, completely unfazed.

He casually waved his hand, casting only a basic spell: the Golden Light Shield.

A golden light barrier enveloped the two men and their horses.

The countless powerful arrows hit the Golden Light Shield with “bang bang bang” sounds.

Then the arrows shattered into countless fragments, turning into pure spiritual energy and dispersing into the sky.

Even the horses they rode were not startled by this grand display.

When one’s strength is sufficient, even the most basic spell can unleash terrifying power.

“Revealing your intentions yet hiding your tail!”

“Scoundrels!”

“Come out!”

The old man shouted loudly, his voice carrying over a dozen miles.

Yet, the surroundings remained silent, with no movement.

After a long time, another volley of dense arrows shot out.

Once again, the old man dispelled them with the basic Golden Light Shield.

But this time, his expression grew serious.

In the distance, beams of golden light shot into the sky, converging above.

“Not good!”

“This is the Dragon Trap Formation!”

“Before the formation closes, I’ll use all my strength to send you away!”

The old man shouted and wrapped the young man in a powerful magical force, hurling him toward the horizon.

“Master…”

The young man only had time to call out before turning into a shooting star, flying dozens of miles away.

After landing, the young man glanced back once before quickly choosing a direction and departing swiftly…

………………

……

On Shekou Mountain, the three-foot-tall Yushan was using all his strength to pull a thousand-pound millstone, grinding some medicinal herbs into powder.

Ergouzi was relatively considerate of him; noticing Yushan was too small to reach the stone mill conveniently, he specially made a frame that hung on Yushan’s shoulders, making it easier for him to pull the millstone.

However, Yushan was ungrateful and did not even say thank you.

After grinding the herbs, Yushan collected and mixed the powders together, added refined honey, and rolled them into Peiyuan Gutben Pills one by one.

Currently, the consumption of Peiyuan Gutben Pills was quite high, so Yushan had to make a batch every morning.

Ergouzi squatted beside the drying pills to inspect the finished products, picking out the defective ones.

“Yushan, these pills aren’t round enough, and these are uneven in size; roll them again.”

“All right, master.”

Yushan had just sat down but immediately stood up again to collect the defective pills in his hands.

After rolling the Peiyuan Gutben Pills, Yushan washed and dried the clothes Ergouzi had changed out of.

Then he fed the geese and cooked meals…

Since reclaiming Yushan, Ergouzi’s daily life had become much easier.

It was proven that Yushan hadn’t lied.

After having his two wings cut off, although his cultivation remained, all his divine abilities were lost.

He obediently stayed on the mountain every day, helping Ergouzi with chores.

Several times when Ergouzi fell asleep at night, Yushan tried to escape but was caught by the giant geese and severely beaten again.

Truly someone who did not appreciate his blessings—living in such a good place yet ungrateful and even wanting to run away.

Fortunately, after each beating, he behaved well for a long time.

The last time Yushan was struck by the county magistrate’s sword, he had more than ten broken bones on Shekou Mountain and lost his wings.

After some time of good food and rest, his wounds were gradually healing.

Now that Yushan had lost his wings, he was left only with his cultivation; except for being stronger physically, he couldn’t even cast an ordinary spell.

To keep Yushan busy and prevent him from feeling homesick, Ergouzi cleared five acres of wasteland on the mountain in his spare time.

One acre was planted with Chaotian Tribute Peppers, two acres with Moon Crescent Spirit Rice, and two acres with ordinary rice.

Though Ergouzi didn’t like spicy food himself, the peppers were a specialty of Anchan County and the favorite tribute of the Longxing Holy Emperor, so they could be sold or exchanged for other spiritual goods.

As for the two acres of ordinary rice, they could be harvested every ten days or so, yielding eight or nine shi of rice a month. In these famine years, that was very useful.

Mainly, Yushan was not working hard enough; otherwise, he could plant more rice.

Currently, the total planting area of Moon Crescent Spirit Rice had reached three acres, harvested once a year.

They had harvested once recently but were too busy sweeping locusts outside to eat it.

Only recently did they have time to taste it, discovering that the Moon Crescent Spirit Rice, enhanced by the gourd, tasted better and had much higher spiritual energy concentration.

Eating just one liter of the gourd-enhanced Moon Crescent Spirit Rice daily was more effective than ten Peiyuan Gutben Pills.

Planting three acres of Moon Crescent Spirit Rice yielded about twelve shi of spiritual grain annually; after dehusking, one shi of rice produced about seven dou of rice grains.

This three-acre field was enough for Ergouzi’s own consumption.

Since he started eating Moon Crescent Spirit Rice daily, his cultivation speed had increased several times over.

Thus, Peiyuan Gutben Pills had become dispensable to him, providing little help.

Yushan was idle every day, so Ergouzi bought some medicinal herbs and had him make Peiyuan Gutben Pills.

He could feed them to the giant geese, reward his subordinates, or sell them for money.

“Yushan, I’m going out for a bit. Watch the house carefully and don’t think about running away.”

Ergouzi ordered Yushan and then rode the Giant Goose King, flying down Shekou Mountain.

This goose, which had been in jail with him before, was much larger than the others and radiated a stronger aura.

Its strength was roughly equal to a mid-stage Qi Cultivator among human cultivators.

Ergouzi rode the goose down the mountain. At the foot of Shekou Mountain, a village had already formed.

Not counting the temporary refugees, the over one thousand people Ergouzi had bought were the real residents at the mountain’s foot.

According to Great Zhou Dynasty law, they had all been purchased; everything about them—their bodies, their wealth—belonged to Ergouzi.

Ergouzi was their master.

However, Ergouzi never intended to monopolize hundreds of young women as his wives.

Nor did he make them call him master; they all called him “Dongjia” (Eastern Master).

At this moment, Qiuyue was practicing some basic spear thrusts, holding a long spear in both hands.

Seeing Ergouzi, she hurriedly put away the spear, adjusted her worn clothes, and walked over.

“Dongjia.”

“I have nothing to report. You continue your practice.”

Watching Qiuyue’s retreating figure, Ergouzi noticed her only thin garment had been worn to tatters after more than half a year of hard use.

He remembered that when he bought Qiuyue, she still had a cotton-padded jacket but had taken it off herself.

All the over one thousand people he bought had only a few thin clothes; many children, much like Ergouzi before, wore pants that barely covered their butts.

It was still warm now, but in winter, they might freeze to death.

Ergouzi glanced around, then rode the goose toward the county seat.

Winter was approaching, and there might be more unrest. He needed to stockpile supplies.

For example: salt, oil, cloth, iron, and some medicinal herbs—especially ingredients for Peiyuan Gutben Pills, which had become harder to buy due to the drought.

Ergouzi planned to first visit the county black market to see if he could buy some grain supplies.

From information provided by Sima Yi, he was certain there was grain in the official granary, and quite a lot.

However, the officials at the county office now treated grain as precious goods. To sell it at higher prices, they strictly controlled it, only releasing small amounts each time to stir competition.

Riding the goose, Ergouzi saw no greenery along the way.

The once forested areas were now barren and desolate, without a blade of grass.

First, the locusts had eaten everything edible on the ground.

Then the refugees dug three feet into the earth, uprooting trees and grass roots and eating them again.

Nothing edible remained on the mountain but dirt.

Along the way, there was a mountain rich in Guanyin soil, attracting many refugees to collect and eat it.

Several naive refugees saw the giant goose flying overhead and threw stones at the sky.

The goose could fly a hundred zhang high—no stone thrown by hand could reach it.

After entering the city, Ergouzi went straight to Huichun Hall.

Today, Sima Yi surprisingly did not serve porridge, and there were no beggars at the door, which seemed strange to Ergouzi.

“Where are all the beggars at your door?”

“Haha! I’m having a rare easy day.”

Sima Yi laughed heartily, seeming in good spirits.

“Today is the county magistrate’s birthday. He’s hosting a banquet at the Hongyan Restaurant. You’ll come eat with me.”

“Eat by freeloading?”

Ergouzi was puzzled. Sima Yi was not someone who couldn’t afford food.

Even if everyone in Anchan County starved, the Sima family wouldn’t.

“Today is the county magistrate’s birthday. There’s a banquet at Hongyan Restaurant. Just come eat with me.”

“All the beggars and refugees in the city are waiting at the restaurant’s back door, hoping for leftover scraps tonight.”

So it was the county magistrate’s birthday—an opportunity not to be missed.

And one should eat their fill to recover some losses.

Since it was still early, Ergouzi first went to the black market.

Unexpectedly, the black market was particularly lively today, with far more people than usual.

After asking around, Ergouzi learned that many had come to find suitable gifts for the county magistrate’s birthday.

Giving a gift to win the magistrate’s favor would bring countless benefits, naturally.

Ergouzi had no such intention. He first went to the grain store.

Ordinary grain was still for sale in the grain store, but each person could only buy one shi at a time, costing fifty taels of silver per shi.

The price was not cheap; one shi of grain wouldn’t help him much, but since he was here, he bought one shi anyway. Even giving it to Sima Yi for serving porridge was not bad.

After paying, he could take a receipt to the county office granary to collect the grain.

If one tried to handle official matters at the county office, they would face many obstacles. But taking a receipt issued by the black market to the official granary was smooth and efficient, with full weight and no shortchange.

Ergouzi left the grain store and didn’t go far before seeing a crowd up ahead. Curious, he squeezed into the crowd.

It turned out a street vendor was selling three yellow talisman papers.

Talisman papers were something Ergouzi had seen used by Dao Xuan Sect and cultists before, but it was the first time he had seen them at the black market.

“What kind of talisman is this?” someone asked curiously.

“These two are invisibility talismans; this one is a breathing concealment talisman,” the vendor said, pointing at the papers.

“Generally, an invisibility talisman can hide your figure. Practitioners below the fourth level of Qi Cultivation without spiritual consciousness cannot detect you.”

“But if you encounter a cultivator with spiritual consciousness, their spiritual sight will reveal your aura, so you need to pair it with a breathing concealment talisman.”

Everyone wanted such magical talisman papers with these incredible effects.

Stick them on your body to steal a chicken, pet a dog, sneak a peek, or kill a few people—it all worked well.

Hearing the vendor’s introduction, the onlookers immediately imagined countless clever uses.

They wished they could try them out right away.

“How much for each one?”

“Not for money. Only Peiyuan Gutben Pills.”

“One thousand Peiyuan Gutben Pills for one talisman.”

Everyone was interested initially, but the vendor’s price poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

If they had a thousand Peiyuan Gutben Pills, they could have greatly increased their cultivation instead of using them here.

A few offered thirty to fifty pills or a hundred, trying to bargain, but the vendor was stubborn and refused to accept less than one thousand.

In the end, most onlookers shook their heads and left with a sigh.

After most people left, Ergouzi stepped forward. Fortunately, Yushan had recently made many pills, and Ergouzi had some in hand.

“I’ll buy all three of these.”