The Disciple of the Sword Venerable
"The disciple of the Pacheon Sword Venerable?"
An awkward silence hung heavy among the gathered cultivators. Several talisman artisans standing to the side struggled to suppress the trembling in their chests at the casual remark that had just slipped from Baek Cheong’s lips. Her tone, as if she were speaking of something utterly trivial, felt like a total negation of their entire lives' work. It would have been easier to bear if she had shouted an insult; at least then, they could have rebuked her head-on.
"Have you been acting so high and mighty all this time?"
"How dare you act so recklessly without knowing your place?"
"How can you speak so lightly of talismans that even the artisans of this sect take years to master?"
Such shouts rose to the very tips of their tongues, but they could not bring themselves to utter them. To rebuke a child in the Qi Refining stage who possessed such outstanding aptitude for talismans would only make them look pathetic. Above all, the fact that this young girl was an outsider mingling with a direct disciple of the Biun Sect weighed heavily on their minds. Furthermore, she was carrying a set of brushes, ink, and paper that looked expensive even at a glance, despite not even being a professional artisan. Her attire—a neatly tailored robe of fine silk—clearly marked her as a scion of a prestigious family.
The sight of her casually pulling medicinal pills from her storage pouch and tossing them into her mouth like candy was also not the behavior of an ordinary child. It was obvious that if they touched her carelessly, they would be the ones in big trouble. The artisans pushed their indignation aside and were forced to keep their mouths shut.
However, not every cultivator present remained silent. Several turned their attention to the small jade bottle Baek Cheong had popped into her mouth while drawing the talisman. The sight of high-purity spiritual energy flowing seamlessly from her Dantian to the tip of her brush without a single break was not something commonly seen with ordinary pills. They hadn't seen exactly what the pill was, but the aura it exuded was far from ordinary.
Unlike the artisans, a different kind of curiosity—one tinged with intrigue—began to gather around Baek Cheong.
"I don't know which family this child belongs to, but she certainly seems to carry some rare pills."
"A pill that instantly replenishes the spiritual energy deficiency of a 2nd-tier talisman... I've never seen such a thing in my life."
The cultivators exchanged cautious whispers. Soon, a cultivator standing to the side cleared his throat and approached Baek Cheong with a hesitant step.
"Little Daoist Friend. It seemed you took a pill while drawing the talisman; might I ask what kind of pill it was?"
The cultivator spoke with extreme caution. A cultivator who had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage was showing such courtesy to a mere child in the Qi Refining stage, even addressing her as a "Daoist Friend." When faced with a rare treasure they had never seen in their entire lives, curiosity inevitably took precedence over status.
Baek Cheong, on the other hand, answered without much thought.
"It's a Danmun Spirit-Gathering Pill?"
The faces of the surrounding cultivators, including the one who had asked the question, stiffened in unison. Some even let out small, involuntary groans.
"A, a Danmun Spirit-Gathering Pill, you say?"
"You mean to say a Spirit-Gathering Pill has a Danmun inscription on it?"
"In the first place, isn't a Danmun a pattern that only appears on the surface of a pill when it receives the permission of the Heavenly Dao? Is it even plausible for such a pattern to be inscribed on a 1st-tier low-grade Spirit-Gathering Pill?"
The cultivators chattered noisily among themselves. They seemed utterly unable to accept the sight of a young child casually pulling out a Danmun Spirit-Gathering Pill and tossing it into her mouth as if it were nothing.
In the midst of the commotion, one cultivator clapped his hands together as if something had just occurred to him.
"Ah, come to think of it, wasn't the pill released at the Baeksang Pavilion auction in Yeonhaseonseong a Danmun Spirit-Gathering Pill?"
The cultivator turned to those beside him and brought it up.
"They say it was personally crafted by the Alchemy Master of the Yeonha Baek Clan. I've also heard that the Master is on the verge of becoming a 5th-rank Alchemist."
"Hoo... if that's the case..."
The gazes of the cultivators crossed for a moment before converging back on Baek Cheong. If she was a young girl who could casually consume pills personally crafted by the Alchemy Master of the Yeonha Baek Clan, her identity narrowed down to one possibility.
Several cultivators kept their mouths shut and carefully scrutinized Baek Cheong’s attire. The fact that a mere Qi Refining child was mingling with a direct disciple of the Biun Sect, the fact that she carried expensive writing tools despite not being an artisan, and the refined air of her clothing—it all clicked into place at once.
"I had heard rumors that the apple of the Yeonha Baek Clan's eye would be visiting the Biun Sect around the time of the New Year banquet, but..."
One cultivator muttered to himself. Another standing beside him broke into a cold sweat as he spoke.
"...The transmission disciple of the Pacheon Sword Venerable."
Someone finally put a period to the sentence, confirming the identity of the young girl. The cultivators who had been wagging their tongues about her just moments ago instantly turned pale. They broke into a cold sweat at the realization that the child they had been mocking was someone even the Biun Sect could not touch lightly.
"I... I have somewhere else I must be."
"A, as it happens, I have an appointment, so I must excuse myself."
The cultivators who had been the first to mock her were the fastest to slip away. Even the cultivator who had approached Baek Cheong out of interest in the pill couldn't finish his sentence and quietly retreated. Not a single cultivator in the courtyard dared to approach her. Even the gazes that had been swarming toward her just moments ago scattered in all directions.
'Why is everyone acting like that?'
Baek Cheong looked around, bewildered. She couldn't understand their rapidly changing attitudes. Even when she thought back, she hadn't said anything particularly noteworthy. She had just followed the talisman patterns, and when asked how she drew them, she had simply replied that one should just draw them as they were. And regarding the pill, she had merely answered that it was a Danmun Spirit-Gathering Pill because it was, in fact, a Danmun Spirit-Gathering Pill.
'Did I do something wrong?'
Tilting her head, she shifted her gaze to her own talisman, which she had placed neatly beside the platform. A deep blue fire was still flickering over the Pahwabu she had crafted last. The color was twice as deep as the talisman she had seen in the demonstration, and the fire energy was significantly sharper. It was a satisfactory result for a first attempt.
'Well, I suppose it's not bad for a first try.'
Baek Cheong gazed at the talisman with a satisfied expression. Meanwhile, the Artisan Yeon, who had been adjusting his attire on the platform, slowly descended. Even as the other cultivators were slipping away, Artisan Yeon did not take his eyes off Baek Cheong. Soon, he approached her side and respectfully folded his hands. His demeanor was vastly different from the trembling voice he had shown on the platform just moments ago.
"Little Daoist Friend Baek Cheong."
"Yes?"
"Might I have a word with you, even if it is a bit presumptuous?"
Artisan Yeon lowered himself, boldly addressing her as "Little Daoist Friend." There was a certain resolve in his expression.
"Please speak freely, Senior Yeon."
Baek Cheong dropped her satisfied expression and returned the courtesy.
Artisan Yeon hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and continuing.
"I saw Little Daoist Friend Baek Cheong’s skill with my own two eyes today. It was extraordinary for a non-artisan to draw 1st-tier talismans in one go, but the sight of you drawing a 2nd-tier Pahwabu is something I have never seen in my entire life, even after walking the path of the talisman for a lifetime."
"...You are too kind."
"It is no kindness. I reside in the Unpildang as an artisan, but I have never seen such aptitude in a junior before."
Artisan Yeon’s expression was earnest as he continued.
"It is a presumptuous request, but I wish to ask if Little Daoist Friend Baek Cheong has any intention of seriously entering the path of the talisman."
Baek Cheong took a moment to pretend she was smoothing her hair. It looked as though countless thoughts were racing through her mind, but in reality, that wasn't the case.
'How should I refuse?'
She was merely searching for a way to decline naturally. Talismans were a skill that wasn't too difficult to learn, but there was no reason for her to go out of her way to walk the path of an artisan. She already had the path of the Formation, and since talismans were essentially an application of Character-patterns anyway, she would naturally become proficient in them the deeper she delved into formations. Besides, the most precious time of her day was her time spent on the forum.
'I don't even have enough time for the forum, and now they want me to become an artisan?'
Such inner thoughts flashed through her mind, but she couldn't say them out loud. Baek Cheong bowed her head once and answered politely.
"I apologize, but I'm afraid the path of the artisan is difficult for me."
"If you were to walk the path of the artisan, you would surely achieve greatness..."
"As I have been taken in as a disciple by the Sword Venerable, I believe it would be against my duty to let my eyes wander to other paths."
Artisan Yeon couldn't press the request and stopped speaking for a moment. Once the name "Pacheon Sword Venerable" was mentioned, he knew better than to test the extent of the Heavenly Sword Sect's protection.
"...I see. That is indeed the case."
Artisan Yeon nodded slowly and let out a small sigh. No matter how outstanding Baek Cheong’s aptitude was, it was not a place for a mere artisan to interfere. However, Artisan Yeon could not easily hide his regret. It was clear that if this junior spent even a little time on talismans, she would soon far surpass him.
"Even if Little Daoist Friend Baek Cheong does not walk the path of the artisan, please accept this small token of my sincerity."
Artisan Yeon pulled a bundle of jade slips from his storage pouch. The bundle, wrapped in silk, was neatly embroidered with a small brush pattern. Judging by the fact that his own title was engraved on one side, it seemed to be a bundle he usually carried with him.
"These are the jade slips I have recorded since I first began to learn the path of the talisman. I have organized the techniques from 1st-tier to 2nd-tier talismans in my own way; it would be my great pleasure if Little Daoist Friend Baek Cheong would accept them."
"...Dare I accept such a thing?"
"Please, I insist."
Baek Cheong held the bundle of jade slips carefully with both hands. Only after the jade slips were safely in her hands did Artisan Yeon show a look of small relief.
"If you would keep them in mind and look at them even once in a while, that alone would be enough for me. If you ever find yourself walking the path of the talisman, please remember this place."
"...I will cherish Senior Yeon’s grace."
Baek Cheong nodded and answered demurely. After tucking the bundle of jade slips into her storage pouch, she glanced at Artisan Yeon out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't accept his request to enter the path of the artisan, but a bundle of jade slips covering everything from 1st-tier to 2nd-tier talismans was an item worth accepting without a second thought.
'If only he had bundled the 3rd-tier talismans in there too...'
She merely pretended to be modest so that such inner thoughts wouldn't leak out.