The Wang family's crisis was temporarily resolved, leaving behind a mess.
Old Master Wang ordered his subordinates to entertain Ling Tian well.
Uncle Yi led Ling Tian to an elegantly decorated room. The furniture in this room was all made of precious rosewood, and precious incense was burning within.
Ling Tian was very satisfied with the accommodation environment here. He took off his tattered Taoist robe, went into the bathroom, and bathed and changed.
When he was on the mountain, Ling Tian always drew water from the well behind the Taoist temple to wash himself. Regardless of the season, he would always wipe his body with cold water, which was also part of his cultivation.
Facing the large bathtub in front of him, and the bathtub filled with hot water, Ling Tian felt unprecedented comfort.
After soaking for a full hour, Ling Tian felt that he had scrubbed off nearly a pound of dirt and grime from his body, and felt as refreshed as if he had undergone a complete transformation.
He stood up and, facing the mirror, carefully trimmed his hair with a razor.
Looking at the handsome young man in the mirror, Ling Tian nodded with satisfaction. He then wrapped a bath towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door.
Almost at the same moment, Wang Bingxia also pushed open the door to this room from the outside, holding a stack of brand-new clothes in her hands.
A man and a woman, who were already engaged, met unexpectedly at this moment.
After bathing and tidying himself up, Ling Tian's entire demeanor had undergone a drastic change.
Looking at the handsome man before her, with his handsome features and a well-proportioned yet powerful physique revealed on his upper body, he was a walking embodiment of charisma.
Wang Bingxia was instantly captivated, her face blushing like an apple.
Ling Tian was also stunned, his mind momentarily frozen. He had spent over a decade on Dragon Plate Mountain, and apart from his sixth master, Yan Yu, he had barely seen any other women, let alone been alone with one.
The awkward atmosphere persisted for several seconds before Wang Bingxia suddenly realized that the situation was a bit unusual.
"Oh dear, Brother Ling Tian, I came to bring you clothes..."
After speaking, Wang Bingxia threw the clothes in her hands onto a chair and turned to run, disappearing from Ling Tian's sight in an instant.
"Oh, I'm so embarrassed..."
Wang Bingxia covered her flushed face, her heart pounding wildly. Since she was born, no man had ever made her feel such a flutter of excitement.
As soon as she was old enough to understand, Old Master Wang had told her that he had arranged a marriage for her.
Wang Bingxia had some reservations about this matter. Just a few hours ago, when she heard that this little Taoist boy who looked like a beggar was her fiancé, she was completely bewildered.
Yet, it was this man who had once again saved her grandfather and the precarious Wang family.
Wang Bingxia decided to accept her fate. Even if she didn't like this man, she would marry him to repay his kindness and fulfill her grandfather's wish.
As a result, when she came to deliver clothes, an awkward chance encounter made Wang Bingxia experience the heart-fluttering feeling described in romance movies and novels.
After having a sumptuous dinner with Old Master Wang, Ling Tian requested some materials. Old Master Wang quickly made arrangements, and soon, the items Ling Tian needed were delivered to his room.
Yellow paper, wolf-hair brushes, cinnabar, gold powder, and powders of various medicinal and mineral substances were laid out on the large desk in front of Ling Tian.
Ling Tian inspected the materials before him and nodded with satisfaction. These materials were all extraordinary.
He placed different materials into a mortar, ground and mixed them, and diluted them with strong liquor, preparing several pigments of different colors.
Next, he spread out the yellow paper, dipped the wolf-hair brush into the pigment, and began to paint with grand strokes.
What he was drawing was a talisman, the carrier of a spell.
This was not merely drawing; during the process of drawing the talisman, the true essence within his body flowed, and his innate power continuously converged onto the paper through the brush.
The patterns drawn by the brush on the yellow paper were actually special formations. These formations could store the input innate power and then release it in different ways; this was the essence of a talisman.
During this process, Ling Tian had to maintain extreme concentration. The strokes of the brush had to be uniformly thick and thin, the ink evenly applied, and the entire process completed in one go. Even the slightest mistake or deviation would render the entire talisman useless.
As the first talisman was about to be completed, Ling Tian felt a surge of excitement and finished the stroke slightly too quickly. As a result, the energy on the talisman became chaotic.
"Pfft!"
The yellow paper inexplicably burst into flames and then turned to ash! This talisman was ruined, and the crafting had failed.
Ling Tian smiled wryly and shook his head. He sat cross-legged, calmed his mind, and continued drawing.
Finally, after spending over an hour and failing three times, Ling Tian managed to draw the first talisman. By this time, more than half of the true essence within his body had been consumed.
Ling Tian meditated for a while longer, and after his true essence had recovered somewhat, he began drawing talismans again.
...
The next morning, Ling Tian met Old Master Wang again. Old Master Wang's spirits had recovered considerably.
"Old sir, how are you feeling?"
"Little Ling, if you call me that, you're being too formal."
Old Master Wang looked at Ling Tian kindly, his face full of smiles.
"Uh... Grandpa, how are you feeling?"
"Haha, I'm very well. Without the蛊虫 (gǔchóng), my body feels much more comfortable. After drinking the medicine you prescribed, I feel stronger."
"That's good. Old sir, these are the talismans I made. Please carry them with you and keep them close."
Ling Tian handed a talisman folded to the size of a palm to Old Master Wang, and then handed another to Wang Bingxia.
"Bingxia, this is for you!"
Wang Bingxia's face turned slightly red as she quickly took the talisman and put it away.
Old Master Wang laughed heartily at his granddaughter's girlish demeanor.
"Little Ling, what are the specifics of these talismans?"
"Old sir, this is a Vajra Talisman. It is inscribed with the Vajra formation!
This talisman can resist the invasion of all evil entities, such as蛊虫 (gǔchóng), sorcery, and curses.
If attacked by such things, the talisman will explode, releasing extremely yang and potent energy to annihilate these foul things!"
Old Master Wang nodded. "When your master saved me back then, he used this talisman. I still remember it vividly.
It seems you have truly inherited your master's teachings."
Just as Ling Tian was about to offer a polite response, Uncle Yi rushed in.
"Old sir, the head of the Bai family, Bai Guanghai, has brought a group of people to our doorstep. They seem to be here to demand an explanation!"
Old Master Wang slammed the table.
"Outrageous! I haven't even settled accounts with the Bai family yet, and they have the audacity to come here!
Take them to the reception room. This old man will meet them personally!"