PCJ – Chapter 261 Chen Shunchang Seeks a Talisman

The Big Formation Didn’t Last Long, Zhang Jiaohua Felt an Intense Fatigue. Despite the daily long hours of standing exercises, which had significantly enhanced Zhang Jiaohua’s physical abilities, his progress in mastering spells seemed minimal. Zhang Jiaohua sensed that there must be some method to improve his spellcasting abilities, but his Taoist master in the dreams didn’t provide him with this knowledge. The master often mentioned that spells were merely minor arts and seemed to disapprove of spending too much time cultivating them. Moreover, the Taoist master never pointed out a clear path for Zhang Jiaohua to follow in his cultivation.

Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t quite grasp the difference between minor arts and the great path. After all, he was still young and not too concerned with how well he was progressing in spell craft. For him, building up the horticultural farm and earning more money was the real priority. Only by doing this could he prevent his parents from moving to Guangdong, ensuring that the family could stay together. To Zhang Jiaohua, this was the most meaningful thing. His preparations were all for protecting what he valued.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua,” someone called out loudly from the gate of the horticultural farm.

Zhang Jiaohua felt tired and didn’t feel like getting up.

Just then, Zhang Jiagen, who had just returned from gathering pigweed, ran over. “Coming, coming.”

The visitor was Chen Shunchang from Duimen Mountain. As soon as he approached the horticultural farm, he hurried over to Zhang Jiaohua. “Jiaohua, I knew you’d still be at the farm around this time.”

In fact, Chen Shunchang had first gone to Meizi’ao Primary School to look for him but didn’t find him there. Zhang Jiaohua was a frequent truant, and today, due to the exhaustion from practicing the big formation, he simply decided not to go to school.

“Ke Gong (since Zhang Jiaohua was a generation younger than Chen Shunchang’s daughter Chen Fenglian in the Zhang family, he naturally called Chen Shunchang ‘Ke Gong,’ as Fenglian’s future children would). What an unexpected guest! To what do I owe the honor?” Zhang Jiaohua forced a smile.

“I wouldn’t come unless I had to. Something strange is happening on Duimen Mountain, and I’m afraid it’s going to lead to big trouble. You’re the rightful Meishan water master, how can you not intervene in such matters?” Chen Shunchang began by flattering Zhang Jiaohua.

“Hey, even though you’re my guest, you can’t say things like that. I’m just a kid, not a Meishan water master. The real master is your village’s Chen Dianzhi. But if he couldn’t handle that thing, what could a kid like me do? Going there would be a death sentence. Are you adults really going to stand by and watch me die? Besides, your village might not even appreciate my help. If I were to go over and say that Liu Fengying is possessed by a demon, the people in your village would probably throw me out.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t going to be easily fooled.

Chen Shunchang smiled awkwardly; he knew exactly how things stood.

“But at least I wouldn’t throw you out,” Chen Shunchang persisted.

“That’s not much help. Since you’re here, you might as well stay for a meal at the farm. As for other matters, we’ll talk later.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t interested in listening to Chen Shunchang’s flattery any further.

“I understand that asking you to solve this problem in our village right now is a bit too much. But to be honest with you, yesterday, I already offended Chen Maozhong and his son. Knowing their temperament, they won’t let me off easily. I’m sure that thing is no ordinary problem; otherwise, Shunsheng wouldn’t be struggling with it. Although my brother might seem a bit crazy, I know he’s quite skilled in Meishan magic. But I heard he’s been to Chen Maozhong’s house twice and still couldn’t deal with that thing, which shows it’s indeed formidable.” Chen Shunchang’s face was increasingly filled with worry.

“While I understand your situation, I really can’t help you. So, Ke Gong, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t about to get involved in someone else’s troubles so easily.

“I’m not asking you to come to Duimen Mountain to handle that thing. But can you at least think of a way to help me? Shunsheng is nowhere to be found, and I’m worried that Chen Maozhong and his son might use that thing against me. They won’t let me off, I know that much. Even if they know that thing will harm Ma Xiuying, they won’t allow anyone else to deal with it, because all they care about is money. They’ve been making a killing these past few days. I passed by their house and overheard them laughing as they counted money.” Chen Shunchang explained.

“So what do you want me to do?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“I heard from Fenglian that you have protective talismans here. I’d like to have a few. As long as I have the talismans, I won’t be afraid of that thing, and those two won’t stand a chance against me.” Chen Shunchang said.

“That’s no problem; I’ll go get some for you.” Zhang Jiaohua fetched a stack of protective talismans and handed them to Chen Shunchang.

Chen Shunchang, being a man of reason, had already prepared a red envelope, which he discreetly handed to Zhang Jiaohua.

Zhang Jiaohua accepted the envelope without hesitation. With a light squeeze of his pinky fingers, he had a rough idea of its contents.

After receiving the protective talismans, Chen Shunchang expressed his gratitude profusely before heading back to Duimen Mountain.

At Chen Maozhong’s house on Duimen Mountain, the incense offerings were still abundant, but today there wasn’t a single person from Zhang’s family in Meizitang. Even the people from nearby villages in Meizi’ao, including those from Duimen Mountain’s Chen family, were noticeably fewer.

“Dad, have you noticed that there are a lot fewer people from our village? Even the onlookers have decreased significantly,” Chen Hongming, who was quick to notice such things, remarked.

“That’s only natural. Most people who wanted to consult the immortal have already come in the past few days. Now there’s a lot of work to be done in the fields, who has time to come and watch every day? Our village is dirt poor, and even when they do come, they’re stingy with red envelopes. It’s better if they don’t come at all. If we can cater to these out-of-towners, we’ll make a fortune. Especially the wealthy folks from Gezhuping Town, they’re all loaded,” Chen Maozhong said, standing at the entrance, watching as people tossed red envelopes into the donation box, almost unable to contain his glee. He had thought it over the previous night and had come to terms with it. So what if his wife’s lifespan was shortened? With money, he could stand tall. He even had some other ideas brewing in his mind.

Chen Hongming agreed with his father’s reasoning. The red envelopes from the villagers were usually just five or ten yuan, hardly worth getting excited about. But a wealthy person from Gezhuping Town might throw in a hundred yuan or more at a time, worth dozens of villagers. Whether the villagers came or not was no longer important.

“Dad, tonight we should ask the immortal to teach Chen Shunchang a lesson. Every household in our village has come to worship the god, except for his family. And they’ve been nothing but disrespectful to us. We have to make an example out of them!” Chen Hongming, still fuming from the events of the previous night, suggested.