Selling Talismans
“Eeek!”
The city roared with life. People of every stripe strutted their individuality through streets where ancient architecture tangled with future technology. Amid that strange blend, Nain kept her head bowed low.
…There are way too many people.
She couldn’t look straight ahead. Even the slightest attempt to lift her gaze set her heart hammering and her cheeks burning. All she could do was force her eyes to the ground.
Still, it was far better than the outside of reality, so she steeled herself and pressed on. Her destination was the Appraisal Department under the government—a place where private individuals like her could sell goods directly.
She fidgeted with her hood for no reason and lost count of how many cracks she had tallied in the pavement. Whenever someone passed, she dropped her eyes and did everything she could to avoid brushing against them. After a few minutes of that, she felt her spirit wearing thin.
…I want to go home.
She wanted to fling herself into a soft blanket. To draw the blackout curtains and lose herself in community boards, nestled in cozy, warm darkness. How long had she been replaying that pleasant fantasy when—
Tap.
—she found herself standing in front of the Appraisal Department building.
Shhhk—
The automatic doors slid open on their own. Nain swallowed hard and stepped inside, taut with nerves.
Nothing to be nervous about. Just hand over the goods, and they’ll appraise them and deposit the money on their own…
It had been a long time since she’d come here. For the past year she hadn’t been able to produce any proper talismans, so there had been no reason to visit. Even before that, she had only ever gone to the real-world Appraisal Department; she almost never sought out the branch in the Two-Sided Cultivation World.
Quietly, she rolled her eyes and scanned her surroundings.
The building was nearly empty. It made sense—there was rarely any need to come to the Appraisal Department inside the Two-Sided Cultivation World. Most people found it easier and faster to drop things off in reality.
Tap-tap-tap.
Nain sat and bounced her leg, jiggling her toes against the floor. A number ticket was clenched in her hand. She had been gripping it so hard that it was already crumpled and warm with her body heat.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do……
She swallowed a dry gulp. When she had decided to sell the talismans, she had been pure excitement. But now that the reality of facing a stranger was closing in, fear and jitters crashed over her all at once.
Her number was 1304.
At the chime, the same number flashed across the waiting screen. Nain’s shoulders jerked. Trembling like a small animal, she shuffled toward the counter on stiff, hesitant steps.
“Hello. How may I help you today?”
Nain perched awkwardly on the chair in front of the window. She needed to say she had come to sell the talismans she had brought.
Uh, what do I do…. My mouth won’t open…!
With a stranger right in front of her, her lips sealed shut like a clam against her will. The clerk watched her with a puzzled look as she sat there, head bowed, saying nothing.
Awkward silence. On top of it, the clerk’s uncomfortable stare. All of it was driving Nain out of her mind.
I have to… do something…!
In the end, instead of opening her mouth, she wriggled her hand into the pocket of her hoodie. Then, as her fingers groped around inside, her eyes flew wide.
Something completely unexpected had settled into her palm.
Why is this in here?
A cultivator at the late seventh star of the Qi Refinement Stage. An elite who had graduated from a top-tier university at twenty-nine and gone straight into a government post. If she simply kept cultivating without incident, she could attempt Foundation Establishment before sixty—a life that was, by any measure, a success…
And yet its protagonist, Ryu Yeonhwa, was bored.
Landing a government position had certainly not been a bad thing. Cultivation support funds hit her account every month without fail, and half of every month was fully guaranteed as training time. Compared to sect cultivators shoved into dangerous missions—or independent cultivators who couldn’t even manage that—it was practically heaven.
It’s all fine, except there’s no stimulation.
A hamster-wheel of days. Half spent at the counter, half spent repeating the same cultivation drills—a dry, flavorless stretch of routine.
Ryu Yeonhwa let out a quiet, private sigh. If she had to name the one bright spot in this listless life, it would be serving as a dedicated agent for high-value clients and managing their spirit stones.
Landing good clients was good for her performance numbers, too. And every so often, appraising something left by an independent cultivator of extraordinary talent sharpened her eye. Watching vast amounts of spirit stones move in the process even gave her a strange kind of vicarious satisfaction.
“But lately… there just hasn’t been anyone worth noticing.”
Haaah.
She sighed again, long and slow, then lightly stirred her will to press the call button at her window.
After a short wait, she looked down at the tiny figure who had perched on the chair in front of her counter with hesitant, fidgety movements.
What’s with this kid?
The oversized hoodie was pulled low and the head was bowed, so she couldn’t see a single facial feature. But the snow-white hair slipping out through the gaps and the thin, delicate frame made it easy enough to guess this was a child.
Then again… maybe not.
The overwhelming curves visible beneath the hoodie made Ryu Yeonhwa abandon the child theory at once. A presence far more massive than her own adult female figure sat there in plain sight.
Swallowing her bewilderment, Ryu Yeonhwa put on her business smile and delivered the same greeting she always did.
“Hello. How may I help you today?”
Stillness settled. Voices from the neighboring window drifted over. Several seconds passed while she waited for an answer.
Ryu Yeonhwa looked down at Nain, puzzled.
Is something wrong? Why isn’t she saying anything?
The girl was wriggling a hand into her pocket, but Ryu Yeonhwa had no idea what she was trying to do. Her brow was just starting to crease at the frustrating behavior when a senior’s old warning surfaced in her mind.
Kids as sharp as you probably don’t need this, but I’ll say it out of an old woman’s caution.
Yes, senior.
Never—never—judge someone by appearance alone. You’re quick enough to know what I mean, right?
The brief recollection ended.
Ryu Yeonhwa smiled naturally and looked at the object in Nain’s hand.
A scroll?
It was no ordinary thing—a white scroll that held a soft, auspicious light.
Shhhrrrk!
With a bright rustle of friction, the scroll rose into the air and unfurled at length. Then, across its blank surface, clear characters began to etch themselves as if ink were seeping into the paper.
“I’ve… come to sell some talismans.”
Ryu Yeonhwa tensed. An owner with an unusual appearance and a magical tool like this—what kind of talismans would someone like that bring out?
Mid-grade? High-grade? Or maybe… supreme-grade talismans?
High-level cultivators were all special. They carried an uncommon air and presence. On that count, this person fit the definition of special to a tee.
“I see. A sale request, then.”
Ryu Yeonhwa softened the smile at her lips another degree.
“In that case, we’ll need to verify your identity first to proceed. Could you present your ID? And if you would take out the talismans you brought so I can see the items, I’ll begin the appraisal myself.”
Nain tapped the terminal on her wrist, and identity information bloomed across the desk screen. Ryu Yeonhwa scanned it with practiced ease—then her eyes snagged on a particular field.
……Male? And that photo is clearly an adult man by any measure.
The person in front of her and the information on the terminal were blatantly different. Impersonating someone else’s identity was a crime—all the more so when it happened inside the Two-Sided Cultivation World.
Just as Ryu Yeonhwa was about to open her mouth with suspicion in her eyes, a strange pulse rippled from the scroll floating at the edge of her vision.
“Miss, this ID—”
She couldn’t resist even for an instant. As if her brain had been forcibly kneaded, her head went blank and no thought could form.
Zzzt……
The electronic record of Eun Nain displayed on the desk screen warped in real time. The ID data, the sex and physical records, the entire trajectory of a lived history—everything was rewritten from the root. As though Nain had been a woman from the beginning, the information stored in the government database was altered without a flaw.
Focus slid back into Ryu Yeonhwa’s vacant eyes. She felt not the slightest sense of wrongness.
“Yes, Miss Eun Nain. Identity verification complete.”
“Ah… yes….”
“Please submit the items you wish to sell. Processing time may vary depending on the quality of the goods.”
She said it with a bright smile. Nain held out a bundle of talismans with trembling hands. Ryu Yeonhwa carefully accepted them and lifted her eyes a fraction.
Twenty low-grade talismans, faintly luminous with a fresh green light.
Considering she’s only twenty, these are on the better side… but still.
At best, a little above her peers. They fell short of the “special” Ryu Yeonhwa had been imagining.
Was I getting ahead of myself? But that scroll…
Ryu Yeonhwa tilted her head inwardly. She had always prided herself on sharp instincts. Was this the first time that certainty had cracked?
“Ah, yes. Confirmed. Twenty low-grade Might Talismans. Correct?”
“Yes….”
“According to the government purchase rate, low-grade Might Talismans trade at 3,100 credits per ten.”
A dud. I got my hopes up for nothing.
Ryu Yeonhwa coolly set her expectations aside. Thinking, uncommonly, that her instincts had been wrong, she entered the talisman payment into the account linked to Nain’s identity.
A total of 6,200 credits.
Well, anyone can be wrong once in a while. Besides, this is the Two-Sided Cultivation World—senses go dull here…
She tilted her head. And just before she settled on that conclusion, Ryu Yeonhwa suddenly looked down at the talismans in her hand.
