Chapter 174: Adamantine Unbreakable
Back then, Zhou Daoshi had offered Yang Haoran a protective talisman, and as a result, the entire village was gone.
Now, Wang Yiming also wanted to lend him a protective talisman. Did he also want to send him to his doom?
Wang Yiming noticed the peculiar expression on Yang Haoran’s face and couldn't help but look puzzled.
"Brother Yang, what's wrong?"
Yang Haoran snapped back to reality, letting out an awkward laugh as he chased the strange thoughts from his mind.
"Nothing, just suddenly recalled something else. There’s no need for the protective talisman; you should keep it for your own defense. " Yang Haoran tactfully declined Wang Yiming's kind offer.
"Don't be so polite! This protective talisman was bestowed upon me by my master for self-defense. It can absolutely save your life in a critical moment, so don't underestimate it!"
As his voice fell, Wang Yiming didn't wait for Yang Haoran to refuse again. He closed his eyes and swiftly formed hand seals and incantations.
This sight, instead, made Yang Haoran curious.
He saw the power fluctuations emanating from Wang Yiming's body gradually intensify, especially around his chest, where the power fluctuations were far stronger than in other areas.
Under Yang Haoran's gaze, a ball of black light suddenly emerged from Wang Yiming's chest. The black light flickered erratically, and then Wang Yiming's hand seals abruptly stopped. He opened his eyes and let out a low shout.
"Come out!"
The black light flashed, and the black light on his chest vanished, but in front of Wang Yiming, a black talisman had appeared.
Looking at this black talisman, a hint of surprise appeared on Yang Haoran's face.
The protective talisman Wang Yiming spoke of was actually a Black Talisman, and it had even been stored within his body.
"This protective talisman is called Adamantine Unbreakable. It doesn't have much offensive power, but its defensive capabilities are quite astonishing. After Master bestowed this talisman upon me, I not only never used it, but I also stored it within my body to nourish it with Talisman Spirit Power. So, now, the power of this talisman has not only not diminished but is far stronger than when Master first gave it to me!"
Wang Yiming's gaze fell on the Black Talisman floating in mid-air before him, a smile gracing his lips as he explained to Yang Haoran.
In truth, Yang Haoran didn't need Wang Yiming to explain; he already recognized this talisman. After all, he had been studying talismans for a long time now, so it was not surprising that he recognized the Adamantine Unbreakable Talisman. It was just that Wang Yiming didn't know this.
"You don't have Talisman Spirit Power within your body, so you can't store this talisman inside like I can. But that's alright. Just keep it on you. If you ever encounter a life-threatening situation, it can still passively activate, even without the activation of Talisman Spirit Power."
Yang Haoran hadn't switched the spiritual power within him to Talisman Spirit Power, so at this moment, he could only sense strong Yin Qi and the Spirit Power circulating within his body.
As for Talisman Spirit Power, it typically couldn't be perceived by others, even true Talisman Masters like Wang Yiming were no exception.
"This Black Talisman, is it the same as the one Chen Ying used back then? " Yang Haoran asked Wang Yiming with uncertainty.
Back in Yangjiawan, Yang Haoran certainly didn't recognize what the Adamantine Unbreakable Talisman looked like. But now, he was no longer the man he used to be. Recalling the characteristics of that Black Talisman after it erupted with power, he was certain that Chen Ying's Black Talisman was indeed an Adamantine Unbreakable Talisman.
Although he knew this in his heart, to keep his secret safe, he couldn't reveal it to Wang Yiming, which was why he deliberately asked.
Wang Yiming didn't overthink it, nodding readily. He said, "Chen Ying often goes out on calls, and sometimes she deals with strange cases. I was worried she'd get into trouble, so I asked Master for another Adamantine Unbreakable Talisman and hid it in a pendant for her to use for self-defense."
"Actually, I can also draw the Adamantine Unbreakable Talisman, but my strength is limited. I can only draw Yellow Talisman-level Adamantine Unbreakable Talismans. Compared to Master's Black Talismans, the difference is quite significant. It's like. . . like the difference between beer and hard liquor; both are alcohol, but their potency is completely different."
Yang Haoran naturally understood the point Wang Yiming was making. Not to mention a Talisman Master, even someone who wasn't a Talisman Master but had some understanding of them would know how vast the gap was between a Yellow Talisman and a Black Talisman.
"Just take this talisman for now. You can return it to me when you're done with it. I'm busy heading back to make breakfast for Chen Ying, so I won't chat much longer."
With that, Wang Yiming, without waiting for Yang Haoran’s response, got out of the car with the books Yang Haoran had returned.
Yang Haoran glanced at the Black Talisman floating in the air before him, then at Wang Yiming, who was already jogging into the residential complex. Yang Haoran smiled and said "thank you," though Wang Yiming couldn't hear him now.
The talisman Wang Yiming lent to Yang Haoran was indeed a genuine Adamantine Unbreakable Talisman; there was no faking that. Although Yang Haoran wasn't a true Talisman Master yet, he could at least be considered half of one. While he couldn't draw it himself, he recognized many talismans and could distinguish genuine from fake at a glance.
Although the scene of Wang Yiming lending the talisman was remarkably similar to when Zhou Daoshi had lent him one, the two situations were fundamentally different. Zhou Daoshi had intended to harm him, while Wang Yiming was trying to help him.
His gaze returned to the Black Talisman floating in mid-air. Watching the talisman emit faint black light, Yang Haoran smiled and also closed his eyes, forming hand seals. His movements were a bit clumsy, not as practiced as Wang Yiming's, but he eventually completed the incantation.
The moment the hand seals were complete, the Black Talisman floating before him seemed to answer a summons, transforming into a streak of black light and merging into Yang Haoran's body.
The Black Talisman vanished, and only then did Yang Haoran open his eyes. However, at that moment, he suddenly thought of another important matter.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Wang Yiming’s number.
After a few rings, the call connected, and Wang Yiming's puzzled voice came from the other end.
"Brother Yang, what's up?"
"I just forgot to ask you something: Do you know about the Soul Dispersing Needle?"
Yang Haoran had come to find Wang Yiming early this morning for two reasons: one was to return the books, and the other was to ask if Wang Yiming knew anything about the Soul Dispersing Needle. But he had been so surprised by the Black Talisman Wang Yiming took out that he'd forgotten all about it.
"Soul Dispersing Needle?"
Wang Yiming’s voice conveyed confusion. Yang Haoran heard this and pretty much had his answer: Wang Yiming wasn't familiar with the Soul Dispersing Needle.
Sure enough, Wang Yiming's subsequent reply confirmed his suspicions.
"I haven't heard of such a thing, but I can ask my master for you. He's very knowledgeable; maybe he'll know," Wang Yiming replied.
Wang Yiming's master could draw Black Talismans, which meant he was at least a Black Talisman Master. This level of Talisman Master was quite formidable, naturally well-informed, and indeed might have some understanding of the Black Talisman.
"Alright then, when you have time, help me ask. Oh, and thank you for the Black Talisman. I'll return it to you at the end of the month."
Though he said this, Yang Haoran sighed inwardly: "If I'm still alive by the end of the month."
"No trouble at all. Just take it and use it. Don't worry about the end of the month or anything. Whenever things settle down on your end, it won won't be too late to return it."
Wang Yiming was quite generous. Yang Haoran thanked him with another smile, then finally hung up the phone.
Without immediately driving away, Yang Haoran lit a cigarette and leaned back in his seat, a look of hesitation on his face, as if something was troubling him greatly, making it difficult to decide.
Only when the cigarette burned down did the hesitation on his face disappear. He picked up his phone, found Xu Meijing's number in his contacts, and sent her a message.
"Hey, how have you been lately?"
The message successfully sent, Yang Haoran felt a bit uneasy, a sense of guilt, like a thief. So, he quickly lit another cigarette to calm his nerves.
Halfway through the cigarette, a message notification sound rang out. Yang Haoran quickly opened his phone, but the message he saw was not a reply from the person he hoped for, but a reminder that his phone bill was due.
A look of disappointment crossed Yang Haoran's face. He then shook his head, let out a helpless laugh, and continued smoking, waiting.
After smoking several cigarettes in a row, he felt like his throat was practically smoking, but Xu Meijing still hadn't replied. This made Yang Haoran restless.
After much hesitation, he finally gave up on calling her. Since she hadn't replied to his message, it either meant she was very busy and hadn't noticed, or she had noticed but had no time to reply. In such a situation, calling her would indeed be somewhat inappropriate.
Of course, there was another possibility: she simply couldn't be bothered to reply to his message. However, this was the possibility Yang Haoran least wanted to see and found hardest to accept.
"I'll call her later."
Thinking this, Yang Haoran drove away, but his next destination was not the convenience store, but the Wu Family Villa.
Comments