3: Green beans open their eyes, reporters crash into the stall

The morning light, barely breaking, painted the peak of Mount Longhu in hues of golden red.

Zhang Xuanyi, with two enormous dark circles under his eyes, squatted listlessly on the stone steps in front of the mountain gate, looking like a lost soul.

On the bluestone slab in front of him, a tattered piece of cloth, presumably picked up from somewhere, lay wrinkled, with a dozen ordinary-looking mung beans scattered sparsely on it.

Last night, he was almost sleepless, researching the system in his mind called "Myriad Laws Street Stall."

The description of these "heavenly eye mung beans" sounded mystical, but a line of small text in the notes troubled him—"Requires activation by Qi energy; ineffective for mortals."

Qi energy?

He was a fake Daoist who hadn't even grasped the basics of an introductory cultivation method. Where was he supposed to get Qi energy?

Wasn't this like giving him a warehouse full of weapons but no key?

If he couldn't sell them, he couldn't get spirit coins; if he couldn't get spirit coins, he couldn't unlock new items. He would never be able to gather the astronomical sum of "secularization gold" in his lifetime.

Just as he was frowning at the mung beans, contemplating whether he should catch a wild chicken from the mountain for a live experiment, a crisp, rhythmic sound of high heels tapping on the stone path approached from afar, breaking the tranquility of the mountain road.

Zhang Xuanyi lifted his drooping eyelids and saw a spirited figure walking against the light.

The woman wore a well-tailored beige trench coat, her long hair tied into a neat ponytail that swayed gently with her steps.

The hem of her trench coat flapped in the mountain wind, making her appear like a drawn sword, sharp and formidable.

She held a black voice recorder, her gaze sharper than a morning eagle on the mountain peak, fixed directly on Zhang Xuanyi.

"Excuse me, are you a Mount Longhu guardian disciple?" Su Qingzhu stopped in front of Zhang Xuanyi's tattered stall, looking down at the disheveled, listless young Daoist. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Without waiting for Zhang Xuanyi's reply, she went straight to the point: "My name is Su Qingzhu, a reporter from 'Huaxia Metropolitan Daily.' Last night, a strong surge of Yin energy was detected ten miles away. According to the energy field's flow, it ultimately points to Mount Longhu. Is this related to your sect? I'd like to conduct an interview about this matter."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuanyi's muddled mind instantly cleared.

Reporter?

Yin energy surge?

He immediately understood that she was here because of the commotion Li Wujiu caused last night.

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and casually pointed to the tattered stall at his feet: "An interview? Easy, easy. But, beautiful reporter, my stall is already set up, so how about... we make the first sale?"

He picked up a mung bean, blew on it with an air of seriousness: "Mount Longhu specialty, heavenly eye mung beans, consecrated. They ward off evil and ensure safety. Only one hundred yuan per bean, no tricks!"

Su Qingzhu's gaze grew colder. She walked around the stall to Zhang Xuanyi's side, her eyes like torches: "The one who caused the huge commotion near the woodshed last night, almost making the energy detectors down the mountain explode, that was you, wasn't it?"

Zhang Xuanyi's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged.

Su Qingzhu didn't wait for him to argue, continuing on her own: "Last night, I tracked the abnormal energy fluctuations. My drone, at the edge of the no-fly zone, captured a blurry white figure streaking across the sky. But strangely, all the video footage seemed to be covered by an invisible mosaic. My technical department colleagues called it a 'high-intensity information interference field,' which is unheard of in modern technology."

She paused, a complex emotion she herself hadn't noticed creeping into her tone: "I didn't believe in these supernatural things originally. But..."

Her gaze drifted into the distance, the professional sharpness quietly fading, replaced by a deep weariness and worry. "My daughter, for the past half-month, has been having nightmares every night, crying incessantly. We've seen the best pediatric specialists and psychologists in the country, but they can't find any cause."

Zhang Xuanyi looked at her, no longer joking.

He could see that this strong woman was, deep down, tormented by a mother's helplessness.

She came here, ostensibly for an interview, but in truth, it was to seek verification, or rather, a glimmer of hope.

After a moment's hesitation, Su Qingzhu seemed to make up her mind.

She pulled out her wallet from her trench coat pocket, took out a crisp hundred-yuan bill, and handed it to Zhang Xuanyi, her eyes regaining their sharpness: "Alright, I'll buy one. If it really works, I can help you write a positive report. But if I find out you're just a charlatan, I promise you, tomorrow's front page of 'Huaxia Metropolitan Daily' will be an in-depth report. I've even thought of the title—'Mount Longhu Daoist's Daylight Scam.'"

Zhang Xuanyi chuckled, unceremoniously taking the banknote and tucking it into the pocket of his patched Daoist robe. Then, as if picking up an ordinary snack, he handed over the mung bean: "Don't worry, it's guaranteed to work. A friendly reminder: within three hours of eating it, everyone you see will look like they're moving in slow motion."

Su Qingzhu took the mung bean. It was crystal clear and looked no different from an ordinary mung bean.

She was half-skeptical, but thinking of her daughter's terrified little face during her nightly nightmares, she gritted her teeth, tilted her head back, and swallowed the mung bean.

Initially, she felt nothing.

She frowned, about to lash out and mock Zhang Xuanyi's clumsy trickery.

But when she looked up at Zhang Xuanyi again, the world before her dramatically changed!

Zhang Xuanyi was raising his hand to scratch the back of his head, a movement too fast for ordinary eyes to catch, but in her vision, it was forcibly broken down into more than a dozen frozen slow-motion frames!

She could clearly see the curve of each of his fingers, the tiny tremors as his fingertips brushed his hair, and even the subtle muscle lines on his face twitching from fatigue were all vividly apparent!

The entire world seemed to have been put on slow-motion, with only her thoughts operating normally.

"This... this is impossible!" A tidal wave surged in Su Qingzhu's heart, her mind blank. The dam of science and rationality was at this moment shaken by supernatural power.

Just as she was about to grab Zhang Xuanyi and demand an explanation, a bone-chilling coldness suddenly spread from deep within the mountain forest!

A cold wind howled, sweeping up fallen leaves, and the light in the sky seemed to be swallowed, instantly dimming.

A chilling and venomous voice, like a maggot in the bone, rang in both their ears: "Little Daoist, you narrowly escaped last night, and you actually dare to set up a stall? Today, I've specially brought you the 'Three Forbidden Breaking Talismans.' Let's see how you'll resist now!"

Li Wujiu's figure emerged like a ghost from the shadows of the forest.

His face was pale, his eyes malevolent, and black energy swirled around him.

Unlike last night, three talismans burning with eerie blue flames floated before him!

The runes on the three talismans intertwined strangely, connecting with each other, emitting a terrifying pressure that made one's heart palpitate. They instantly formed a huge field, enveloping Zhang Xuanyi and Su Qingzhu.

"Meridian Severing Qi Locking Array!" Li Wujiu sneered. "Once this array is cast, it severs meridians and locks Qi energy. Even immortals can't escape! Die for me!"

Zhang Xuanyi's expression changed drastically. He yanked Su Qingzhu, who was still in shock and daze, behind him, and sharply ordered: "Crouch down! Don't look up!"

He instinctively reached into his robe for the yellow paper, his only reliance at the moment.

However, as his fingertips touched the stack of yellow paper, the system's cold prompt sounded in his mind: "Warning: 'One-Click Imprint' function remaining uses: 1."

Only one use left!

Three talismans, but only one chance to copy. He couldn't deal with them all simultaneously!

Crisis instantly descended, the shadow of death looming!

Li Wujiu activated the array. The three talismans glowed intensely, transforming into three eerie blue chains that shot towards Zhang Xuanyi's vital points from three different directions, with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!

In a flash, Zhang Xuanyi's mind raced.

Dodge?

The array was formed; there was nowhere to hide!

Take it head-on?

With his small frame, he would be torn to shreds instantly!

A crazy thought flashed through his mind!

Qi energy activation!

He suddenly grabbed a handful of "heavenly eye mung beans" from the tattered stall, shoved them all into his mouth without looking, chewed them vigorously, and swallowed them whole!

Countless streams of cool and pure energy instantly exploded within his body, surging wildly along meridian pathways he didn't even understand!

His eyes stung intensely, as if pierced by thousands of steel needles, but the next second, the world before him underwent another drastic change!

In the eyes of the "medicated" Su Qingzhu, the world was in slow motion.

But in the eyes of Zhang Xuanyi, who had swallowed a handful of mung beans, Li Wujiu's attack was even slower than a crawling turtle!

Those three deadly eerie blue chains were incredibly slow in his vision.

He could even clearly see the flow trajectory of every strand of talisman Qi that made up the chains, and a minuscule, approximately 0.3-second synchronous gap in the array's connection due to energy circulation!

Now!

Zhang Xuanyi's eyes blazed with light. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he slammed the last imprinting yellow paper in his robe onto the ground!

"Copy! Reverse Diversion Talisman!"

A golden rune, with an aura completely opposite to Li Wujiu's talismans, flashed across the ground.

It neither attacked nor defended, but instead generated an incredibly strong, twisting gravitational pull!

The three eerie blue chains, originally aimed at Zhang Xuanyi, seemed to be violently tugged by an invisible hand, instantly deviating from their original trajectory and uncontrollably drawn towards each other!

"What?!" Li Wujiu's sneer froze, replaced by endless horror.

Boom—!

With a deafening roar, the three talisman chains, imbued with terrifying power, violently collided at the center of the array, triggering a fierce energy detonation!

Turbulent air currents, mixed with eerie blue electric light, swept in all directions, plowing deep furrows into the ground.

Li Wujiu was sent stumbling backward by the backlash, grunted, and a trace of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He looked at the unharmed Zhang Xuanyi in disbelief, his eyes filled with suspicion: "You... you actually know how to use external objects to assist talisman techniques? Mung beans? That's... quite quick-witted."

He didn't press the attack, seemingly realizing something. He cast a deep, cold gaze at the tattered stall at Zhang Xuanyi's feet: "If the stall opens, all laws will fall into chaos. Remember, I'm not the only one coveting it."

Before his words finished, his figure transformed into a wisp of black smoke, re-merging into the shadows of the mountain forest, disappearing without a trace.

The terrifying pressure dissipated, and Su Qingzhu's body went limp, collapsing to the ground.

Her voice recorder clattered to the ground, its lens pointed directly at the tattered cloth.

In one corner of the cloth, a few wild and uninhibited characters written in cinnabar caught her eye—"Myriad Laws Street Stall · spirit coin Only."

She gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently. The fear of surviving a disaster and the shock of her worldview collapsing intertwined, almost crashing her brain.

She slowly looked up at the young Daoist who was dusting off his robe as if he had merely shooed away a fly, her voice trembling slightly from fear and excitement:

"What... what exactly... are you selling?"

Zhang Xuanyi grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. The sunlight once again fell upon him, dispelling all gloom.

"Sister, calm down. In this day and age, with the economy in decline, even Daoists need to have a side hustle to make ends meet."

And beneath his feet, under the seemingly ordinary tattered cloth, a system prompt that only he could see quietly appeared:

【Ding! Detecting potential demand from a special customer!】

【Customer: Su Qingzhu (Demand: Exorcise nightmares)】

【Task generated: Resolve Su Qingzhu's daughter's nightmare problem.】

【Task Reward: spirit coins × 50, unlock new item 'fist soul candy' trial pack × 1.】

Zhang Xuanyi's eyes instantly lit up.

Fifty spirit coins! That was a huge sum! And a new item!

He packed up his stall, humming a tune in high spirits, completely disregarding Li Wujiu's final threat.

However, when night once again enveloped Mount Longhu and all was silent, Zhang Xuanyi quietly climbed out of bed, the daytime laziness gone from his eyes, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

He looked towards the woodshed outside the window, a long-suppressed thought resurfacing in his mind.

Some things, after all, had to be confirmed.

At 3 AM, by the back wall of the woodshed, he had to go.