3: Chapter 3 Calming Talisman

Chen Zhen could not get an answer to this question right now.

He immediately cast the question to the back of his mind and began to focus on his studies.

As he was writing, Chen Zhen felt that something was off.

Zhou Shu's breathing had become heavy.

He looked up.

The girl was slumped over the desk, her face buried in the crook of her arm, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"Xiao Shu?" Chen Zhen put down his pen.

Zhou Shu did not respond.

Chen Zhen stood up, walked over, and patted her shoulder.

The girl lifted her head.

Her face was deathly pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Zhen's heart tightened.

"My head... it hurts."

Zhou Shu's voice trembled, "I'm a little cold..."

Chen Zhen reached out to touch her forehead.

It was shockingly hot.

She was running a fever.

Chen Zhen hurriedly helped her to the guest room and laid her down.

"You lie down, I'll go get the thermometer." After saying that, he turned and rushed out of the room.

The medicine kit was in the living room cabinet.

He dug out the digital thermometer and found some fever-reducing medicine.

When he returned to the room, Zhou Shu was already shivering violently.

"Take your temperature." Chen Zhen handed her the thermometer.

Zhou Shu held it in her mouth, her eyes closed.

Dozens of seconds later, the thermometer beeped.

Chen Zhen took it to look: 39.2℃.

A high fever.

"We have to go to the hospital." He said immediately.

Zhou Shu shook her head, her voice weak.

"Mom and Dad said... not to go to the hospital casually, they didn't leave their medical insurance cards..."

"We still have to go."

She had such a high fever, how could they not go?

Chen Zhen grabbed his phone, "I'm calling my mom—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

The system panel suddenly began to flash violently before his eyes.

It wasn't the usual light blue.

Instead, it was a glaring red border that occupied his entire field of vision:

[Emergency situation detected]

[Task issued: Relieve pain]

[Objective: In the absence of sufficient medical resources, lower Zhou Shu's (Relationship: Cousin) body temperature and alleviate symptoms]

[Time limit: 1 hour]

[Reward: Basic Talisman Art: Calming Talisman (Beginner)]

[Failure penalty: Health Dimension experience reset to zero]

Chen Zhen froze in place.

Why is a task popping up at a time like this!

Relieve pain? How? He wasn't a doctor.

The system panel continued to refresh:

[Searching for optional solutions...]

[Detected solution available with host's current permissions: Basic Talisman Art: Calming Talisman (Simplified Version)]

[Learn immediately?]

Chen Zhen looked at Zhou Shu, who was curled up on the bed.

Then he looked at the "Health Dimension experience reset to zero" penalty on the system panel.

That was experience he had accumulated all morning by running three kilometers and doing stretches.

He gritted his teeth: "Learn."

This penalty was practically threatening him.

Fine, I'll learn it!

If it took too long to learn, he would immediately call a taxi and take Zhou Shu to the hospital.

[Starting transmission: Basic Talisman Art: Calming Talisman (Simplified Version)]

A wave of unfamiliar information flooded into his mind instantly.

It wasn't text, nor was it images.

It was more like a kind of "feel."

The posture for holding the pen.

The trajectory of the pen tip.

The rhythm of breathing.

The way to concentrate one's mind...

Every detail was crystal clear.

As if he had drawn it a thousand times before.

The information transmission lasted only a few seconds.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and rushed to the desk.

He grabbed a piece of scratch paper.

And then picked up a red pen.

Only after picking up the red pen did he remember that it was out of ink.

Damn... why did it have to be exactly now?

He pulled open the drawer.

Phew, thank goodness.

Luckily, there was an old red ballpoint pen in the drawer that he rarely used.

The talisman art required cinnabar, but the note said "Beginners can use red ink as a substitute."

He followed the memory in his mind.

The pen tip landed on the paper.

The first stroke.

His wrist was steady, but the pen tip was trembling.

It wasn't his hand shaking.

It was as if something was being poured onto the paper through the pen tip.

It wasn't ink.

It was some kind of more subtle, warm substance.

system panel prompt: [Spiritual Power consumption: 0.01]

Only then did Chen Zhen notice.

A new entry had appeared in the corner of the system panel:

[Spiritual Power: 1/1]

So even as a Mortal, he had Spiritual Power?

It was just pitifully little?

He held his breath and continued to draw.

The shape of the talisman was very simple.

It was just a variant of the character "An" (Calm/Peace).

Surrounded by a few curved lines.

But the thickness of each stroke, the angle of the turns, and the spacing between the strokes all had strict requirements.

He had to be fully focused.

Even the slightest distraction would cause the pen tip to deviate from the trajectory in his mind.

At the third stroke.

Fine sweat seeped from his forehead.

The fifth stroke.

His fingers holding the pen began to ache.

The seventh stroke.

His vision went slightly dark.

His Spiritual Power was almost exhausted.

When the final stroke landed, Chen Zhen was nearly exhausted.

He braced himself against the edge of the table, looking at the crooked "talisman" on the paper drawn with a red ballpoint pen.

Why didn't he notice while writing it? This talisman character was truly ugly!

This thing... it's this ugly, can it actually be useful?

It has to be useful even if it doesn't seem like it.

system panel prompt:

[Calming Talisman (Inferior) successfully drawn]

[Spiritual Power consumption: 0.9]

[Remaining Spiritual Power (0.01/1)]

[Estimated effect: Weak calming, slight temperature reduction]

[Duration: Approximately 30 minutes]

Chen Zhen picked up the piece of paper and walked to the bed.

He folded the paper talisman into a small square.

He hesitated for a moment, then gently placed it on Zhou Shu's forehead.

Then he waited.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Nothing happened.

As expected, it didn't work.

Chen Zhen smiled bitterly; he really shouldn't have wasted his time.

If the experience points dropped, so be it, what of it?

The System was something extra anyway.

What would it matter if he just pretended it didn't exist...

No, no, no, ignore that.

This is cultivation, after all.

He reached out, preparing to peel off that ridiculous paper talisman.

He then planned to call a taxi to take her to the hospital immediately.

But just then, Zhou Shu's breathing suddenly calmed down.

It wasn't a sudden change.

But slowly, bit by bit.

Changing from rapid to deep and long.

Her furrowed brows smoothed out, and her curled-up body relaxed.

There was still sweat on her forehead, but the flush on her face seemed to have faded a little.

Chen Zhen stared at her, then at the talisman folded from the scratch paper.

He reached out to touch her forehead.

It was still hot.

But compared to the scorching heat from just a moment ago, it seemed to have dropped a little.

It was actually useful.

Even if it was only a little bit.

But it was actually useful!

This was too magical...

Here in the modern world, he had actually used a drawn talisman to help reduce a fever.

This would shock the medical world.

[Task: Relieve pain — Completed]

[Target body temperature reduction: 0.5℃]

[Symptom relief level: Slight]

[Reward distributed: Basic Talisman Art: Calming Talisman (Beginner)]

[Obtained permanent ability: Can draw standard Calming Talisman (Requires cinnabar or red ink)]

After the system panel finished refreshing, Zhou Shu suddenly moved and opened her eyes.

Her eyes were still a bit dazed, but she was clearly more alert than before.

"Brother..." her voice was hoarse, "What happened to me?"

"You had a fever."

Chen Zhen took the talisman paper off her forehead and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

"How do you feel now?"

"My head is still a bit dizzy... but it doesn't seem to hurt as much."

"Good, I'll call a taxi and take you to the hospital."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Shu shook her head urgently.

"No, I don't want to go to the hospital."

"...Afraid of shots?"

Zhou Shu was silent for a moment before slowly nodding, "Yeah."

Chen Zhen noticed that Zhou Shu seemed particularly resistant to going to the hospital.

But this resistance didn't seem to be because she was afraid of injections.

Zhou Shu tried to sit up.

"Stay lying down, don't move." Chen Zhen held her down.

"I'll go get you some water to take your medicine."

When he walked out of the room, his hand was clutching the scratch paper in his pocket.

The rough edges of the paper pressed into his palm.

Very real.

After taking the fever medicine, by evening.

Zhou Shu's body temperature had dropped below 38℃.

She also drank a big bowl of porridge.

She was finally able to speak normally.

His mother came back from grocery shopping, and upon hearing that Zhou Shu had a fever, she began to pace around anxiously.

"You child! Why didn't you say anything sooner! Hurry to the hospital!"

He hadn't said anything precisely because he knew that if he called his mom, she would definitely urge them to go to the hospital.

"It's already gone down a bit."

"She took the medicine, a good sleep will make her better."

"Really?"

His mother touched Zhou Shu's forehead, worried.

"It's not as hot... you child, you didn't even make a sound when you were sick."

Zhou Shu said softly, "Auntie, I'm fine."

His mother nagged for a while longer before going to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Zhou Shu leaned against the headboard and suddenly looked at Chen Zhen.

"Brother, what was that... that you stuck on my forehead earlier?"