People kept coming into the restaurant in a steady stream, while others were just about finishing up their meals and leaving, so there was a constant ebb and flow of customers.
Jian Xi glanced at the few people, then looked back at Su Yinghe, feeling a little confused. Hadn't her master said that dispelling evil spirits was one of the basics?
Su Yinghe shrugged. She didn't really understand either. She had chosen to cultivate ancient martial arts precisely because her master had told her that she lacked talent for metaphysics, so she had opted for the martial path instead.
In fact, you couldn't really blame Jian Xi. She had never interacted with other metaphysical masters from the secular world before. Even when she went down the mountain, her master would only bring her to capture ghosts, then they'd go back as soon as the ghosts were caught. She had never met any other practitioners at the same level, so she truly did not know what kind of level other people's cultivation bases were at.
Besides, Xuantian Temple was hidden from the mundane world to begin with. Her master's daoist name was not something that just anyone could know about, including the incense-offering pilgrims who visited Xuantian Temple. They definitely all had a karmic connection.
She did not think any further about it and simply said, "I'll do it," then immediately started pinching seals to dispel the evil spirits.
In the blink of an eye, the talisman paper had burned up.
Ordinary people did not feel much, only that the cold from before seemed to have disappeared. But these metaphysical masters were shocked!
One talisman had taken care of it?
If it were their boss here, it'd probably take three or four talismans to deal with!
Lin Xi Wen pushed up his glasses and thought to himself, was her cultivation level really high? Or was it that the power of her talismans was strong?
These two points were essentially very different. If her talismans were powerful, there would be nothing too shocking about it—good talismans were rare but could still be found on the market, though the prices were extremely high. Whether for daily-use talismans or those "combat" ones, the base price started from 50,000 yuan at least.
Additionally, based on the different effects produced by the talismans, the metaphysical community categorized them into low, medium and high grades. And then there were also those top-grade talismans from ancient times that had been lost for ages. Naturally, the prices differed based on grade.
Nowadays, many people in the metaphysical community specialized in drawing talismans. They were known as Talisman Masters.
Ye Ze, the new chairman of the Metaphysics Association, was a Talisman Master by his second identity. Mid-grade talismans came easily to him, and high-grade ones still emerged every now and then—don't let his age of 27 fool you, he was a pillar of the metaphysical world, like a celebrity.
In summary, expensive stuff was expensive. But if you had money, it could still get the job done. However, if her cultivation level was high, that would be a huge deal.
High cultivation level referred to having a high level of attainment in one's metaphysical abilities, or simply put, having a high "combat power" value in metaphysics. With such capabilities, even pinching low-grade talismans could produce high-grade effects by channeling one's own cultivation level to enhance the talisman's power.
Likewise, in recent years, the metaphysical community has also tiered the cultivation levels of metaphysical masters:
Levels 1-3 were Low Grade. Levels 4-6 were Mid Grade. Levels 7-9 were High Grade.
As for Lin Xi Wen himself, he was a level 4 metaphysical master. The few people behind him were level 3. Their team leader Nie Xiujin was level 5.
Currently, Ye Ze still had the highest cultivation in the metaphysical world. Otherwise, he would not have become chairman. He was close to level 8.
The tier system seemed simple enough when laid out, but crossing each level was an extremely difficult chasm for these metaphysical masters. Metaphysics was declining nowadays, and there was an extreme shortage of gifted disciples, let alone prodigies!
However, the moment this question surfaced in his mind, Lin Xi Wen scolded himself for being an idiot. If he couldn't even make out Jian Xi's cultivation level, then she was clearly above him—at least a mid-grade metaphysical master!
He focused once more to carefully sense the talisman that Jian Xi had used to seal the vicious ghost.
A high-grade Spirit-Sealing Talisman!
What was going on here? Did this girl have both the finances and strength?
After Jian Xi finished dealing with the ominous energy in the restaurant, she wanted to leave with Su Yinghe. Though the two did not eat much, they had lost their appetite now.
Seeing that the two wanted to leave, Lin Xi Wen quickly asked, "Miss Jian, may I have your contact details? When I get back, I will report this matter to my superiors and apply for a reward on your behalf, to express our thanks. What do you think, will that be okay?"
As soon as he said this, Su Yinghe's internal alarms instantly went off, and she gave Lin Xi Wen a probing look.
Lin Xi Wen naturally noticed her gaze and knew she had misunderstood. He explained, "My apologies, I do not have any other intentions. Miss Jian can be considered our life-saving benefactor, and we are from an official organization—we can apply for rewards for Good Samaritans. So I was thinking to put in an application for Miss Jian, nothing more."
Of course Su Yinghe believed the government's credibility. Seeing his sincerity as well, she took back her judgmental look.
Jian Xi declined the reward and said, "I don't need the reward money. My destiny chart indicates poor luck in finance." Since they were all metaphysical masters, issues like karmic hindrances and deficiencies were common knowledge. Anyone in this line of work usually had such problems!
Hearing her reason, Lin Xi Wen and the others instantly understood as well, so they did not push further. They thanked her once more.
Jian Xi bid them farewell, then left with Su Yinghe.
After leaving the restaurant, Su Yinghe continued shopping with Jian Xi until almost 500,000 yuan of the allotted budget was used up. Only then did they stop—of course, Su Yinghe had kept 30,000 yuan, because He Qingchen had repeatedly reminded her before leaving to keep some leeway for Jian Xi to use as needed when necessary!
Originally, Su Yinghe wanted to send Jian Xi back, but it turned out that He Qingchen said he had gotten out of his meeting and was on the way to pick Jian Xi up.
When Jian Xi told her that He Qingchen would come to fetch her soon, Su Yinghe rolled her eyes dramatically. She thought inwardly, this He Qingchen was really going overboard! From young till now, he protected Jian Xi even more closely than a real elder brother, simply treating her as the apple of his eye. Although He Qingchen had picked up young Jian Xi and raised her until she grew up, wasn't his possessiveness still a little too strong?
Suddenly, a thought sprang into Su Yinghe's mind—could He Qingchen be...?
Once she entertained this line of thinking, the gaze she turned on Jian Xi grew a little complicated. No, she must closely observe He Qingchen. If he really harbored such intentions... If that happened, what could she do? He Qingchen, that big bad wolf, she might really be incapable of anything!
She was done for!
Would their little Jian Xi get carried off by the wolf?!
There's a saying that outsiders see clearer than those directly involved. Su Yinghe abandoned her own car at the shopping mall and sat in He Qingchen's vehicle, all for the sake of observing him.
Unfortunately, the interaction between these two people was the same as when they were back at the temple—other than He Qingchen's eyes reflecting even more doting than before, nothing else seemed out of place.
Su Yinghe began to suspect she was overthinking things.
Yet she had overlooked something. He Qingchen might have grown up with her and Jian Xi since young, but his attitude towards Jian Xi was completely different from how he treated Su Yinghe and the rest!
Moreover, in the years since he left the temple, countless beauties had appeared by his side, but he did not so much as glance at them. Because all of his favoritism and affection were reserved solely for Jian Xi.
