Chapter 48: Immortal Talisman

He had come in a hurry, and he left in a hurry.

Nothing unexpected happened on the road. Li Si hurried along, and the large bundle of several tons did not affect his speed. Before noon, he smoothly returned to the Deserted Village.

As expected, from afar he spotted Xu Shen patrolling outside the village, and Jiang Ying watching from inside.

Everyone was worried, but no one said anything.

But at first, Xu Shen thought Li Si was a monster. Only when he got close did Xu Shen get a fright!

“Junior brother, why are there two children behind you?”

Xu Shen’s voice trembled. He was scared, after all, this world was very strange now, and any bizarre thing could happen.

“Senior brother, don’t be afraid. I picked them up.”

Li Si carefully put down the large bundle of Alien Tree, then used the Artifact-Control Incantation to gently and lightly bring the little girl to the ground. This matter, explaining it should be quite simple.

“When I went to fetch water, I found an abandoned village across the river. Only these two children were left in the village. I thought they were pitiful and didn’t seem like monsters, so I brought them back. Oh, that abandoned village had lots and lots of supplies, all kinds of Aberrant Wood Husks. I only brought back a part.”

“So I need to go back again, quickly carry all the supplies from over there back.”

Li Si pretended he knew nothing, acting like he was just lucky, and you can be envious but it’s useless, speaking casually. Meanwhile, Xu Shen’s face turned pale. He made a shushing gesture to Li Si, staring intently at the little girl, and swiftly cast two Heart Cleansing Curses. No reaction.

“Senior Brother Xu, no need to doubt, they are human. I’ve already confirmed it.” Li Si held back a laugh and spoke again. He himself possessed the highest level Mind-cleansing Aura and Disaster Warding Aura; just getting close to these two children made it clear. But he couldn’t say that, so he could only watch Xu Shen perform all sorts of odd actions.

However, after confirming these were indeed two humans, Xu Shen looked as if he had encountered a major problem, his expression serious to the point of seeming about to explode.

“Impossible! Where are the protective talismans on you?”

“Without protective talismans, ordinary people can’t survive even two hours in the wild.”

“And if there were protective talismans, then it must have been a village or town ruled by an Evil God Cult, and there must have been an Evil God Idol. A village with such an idol, even a Golden Core Cultivator approaching would die without a burial place. So, junior brother, either they are problematic, or you are lying!”

Xu Shen suddenly turned his head fiercely, staring at Li Si, full of menace!

“What the heck!”

Li Si was stunned. This Xu Shen’s brain worked really well. But he absolutely couldn’t tell the truth, no matter what.

Just then, the little girl he brought back spoke, surprisingly clear and articulate, very logical.

“Our protective talismans were torn off by Mother. Something happened in the village, and everyone died today, turned into Gray Ashes.”

“Gray Ashes?”

Xu Shen was startled. He stepped forward, snatched the small cloth pouch from the little girl’s hand, opened it, and his expression changed again. But his previously menacing demeanor softened. He even crouched down, showing a bright smile, and asked gently,

“Sorry, little sister, what’s your name? Can you tell brother in detail?”

But the little girl shook her head and glanced at Li Si again. “Mother told me not to casually tell others my name, because evil spirits might hear it. We came from a faraway place, walked for many days, and were just about to build a house by the river. Then, I don’t know what happened, everyone died, even the Divine Officer died.”

Hearing this, Xu Shen didn’t ask further, just sighed. “Your mother was very powerful and very brave. And I guess her ancestors might have been Cultivators. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have torn off your protective talismans at the last moment. Rest assured, we don’t eat people. I am Xu Shen, he is Li Si. See, we’ve told you our names, so we won’t harm you.”

Strangely, when Xu Shen told her his and Li Si’s names, the little girl, though she didn’t speak, clearly relaxed.

Then, Ji Chang and Jiang Ying hurried over. After briefly asking about the situation, they too very solemnly stated their own names, as if it were some mysterious ritual of mutual trust.

So the little girl relaxed even more, allowing Jiang Ying to lead her into the Deserted Village.

“Junior brother, remember, this is the rule in the wilderness. When you tell a stranger your name, it means you completely trust them. But similarly, you must also remember this taboo: never casually tell others your name, and never casually call out others’ names. You should remember how Zhuwazi died.”

Xu Shen whispered an explanation to Li Si, then, while Li Si was nodding, suddenly and without warning stuck a special Talisman Paper on Li Si’s forehead!

Darn it, is he really my senior brother?

Trying to trick me?

Li Si’s head, with a talisman stuck on it, was a mess in the wind. The key was he didn’t dare move, because on his left, Xu Shen had his hand forming the Palm Thunder spell, and on his right, Ji Chang had already summoned that hammer weighing at least fifty jin, hovering overhead. Oh dear, if that hammer came down…

Fortunately, this clearly special talisman showed no movement.

One second,

Two seconds,

Three seconds,

“Whew!” Xu Shen breathed a sigh of relief. Ji Chang put away his hammer, picked his nose as if nothing happened, and looked into the distance with a melancholy gaze. What just happened? Where am I? Who am I?

Never mind, goodbye!

After Xu Shen took the talisman off Li Si’s forehead, he chuckled, “Sorry, junior brother, we had to be careful. It’s just that what you experienced today was quite unusual.”

What could Li Si do? He could only roll his eyes and casually ask:

“What talisman is this?”

“The Heart Guarding Nine Precepts Spirit Response Talisman.”

“What?” Li Si was a bit confused. He had felt this talisman was somewhat different just now.

“It’s the legendary Immortal Talisman. Our Master only has one left. It can detect whether we have been possessed by evil spirits, taken over. But now it seems, you really are our junior brother, genuine.” Xu Shen said very seriously.

Li Si blinked, still not quite understanding. Immortal Talisman, why not call it Immortal Jump?

Also, Old Madam, you really are a treasure trove, Old Madam. The last one? Hah, if I believe you, I’m an idiot.

Wait,

Li Si’s heart suddenly stirred. His Disaster Warding Aura had just silently burst. This scared him, his hair standing on end.

What’s going on?

“Junior brother, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just hungry. Try carrying this huge pile of Aberrant Wood Husks and running over ten li yourselves?” Li Si said while suspiciously looking around. It didn’t make sense.

Now that Xu Shen and Ji Chang had confirmed Li Si was fine, they started helping him sort things out—well, opening that large bundle and searching it carefully, afraid something bad might be mixed in.

This was different from before.

Thinking of this, Li Si quickly took everything out of his Storage Pouch. It had to be checked. Darn it, the Disaster Warding Aura gave a warning!

What if some kind of Bizarre Evil Spirit was hidden inside?

Just as Li Si and the other two were searching, inside the Stone House, the Old Madam had woken up at some point, holding an identical Immortal Talisman.

Suddenly, three lines of small text appeared on it!

“Why not call it Immortal Jump?”

“Old Madam, you really are a treasure trove, Old Madam…”

“And the last one? If I believe you, I’m an idiot…”