Chapter 035: The Fetid Talisman Ink

"That makes sense," Old Zhao agreed.

"It's just a minor secret technique, really just a little trick. If you're interested in learning, I'll have Qingzhen teach you," Qingjin said with a smile, watching as the giant carp were carried away. She called Xiao Qinghu and the others to head back together.

"Xiao Hu'er, I estimate this batch of six-whiskered black carp weighs about five thousand jin. I heard you caught around four thousand jin of big grass carp last time. Are there other fish in this lake? Do the little fish you raise have enough to eat?" Qingjin asked.

"There are plenty of fish in this lake. The little fish say new schools swim in every day," Qinghu replied.

"From the underground river?"

"Yes."

"Are any of them trying to come ashore?" Qingjin asked.

"Not here. The little fish swim around down there all the time," Qinghu said.

"Swim around? Around the peninsula?" Qingjin was amazed.

"Yes."

Qingjin thought to herself: No wonder there are so few beast attacks here. There's a hidden protector under the water.

The big fish were hauled into the village, back to the original pond. The grass carp had already met their heroic end, and the few survivors were listless. The newly dumped carp, however, were lively and vigorous, immediately pushing the remaining grass carp into the dark corners.

The grass carp wept with relief—the new sacrificial victims had arrived, giving them a few more days to live.

Qingjin and the others stood in front of the pond, while the villagers arrived with their tools.

"Shall we start processing now? Then freeze them straight into the big boxes," Qingzhen asked.

"Alright, let's begin. We'll first prepare fish segments for Father and Mother, and the rest of the live carp will be sold," Qingjin said.

So the slaughter began anew.

Fish blood, offal, and scraps were separated. Fish scales were set aside as materials.

Barrels of fish blood were filled and placed in the spot designated by Zhou Ji, who then packed them into bundles of medicinal herbs. The original bloody smell quickly transformed into an elegant scent of ink.

"Can ink made from this fish blood actually be sold?" Qingzhen asked, curious.

"Of course, and for a high price," Zhou Ji replied.

"Brother Zhou, I never expected a physician like you to know how to make ink for talismans. That's impressive," Qingzhen praised, giving a thumbs up.

"Haha, I learned it all from my grandfather. He knew a lot, and I picked up a bit of everything, though nothing very deeply. I can make ordinary talisman ink, but anything finer is beyond me," Zhou Ji explained with a grin.

"How much does talisman ink sell for?" Qingzhen asked, curious.

"A pound goes for five hundred red gold coins. The most expensive ingredient in talisman ink is beast blood. Aside from beast blood, the other materials aren't worth much," Zhou Ji explained to Qin Zhen.

"Five hundred red gold coins?" Qingzhen exclaimed. "Last time we sold fish blood to the courier station, beast blood only fetched fifteen red gold coins a pound. That courier boy really ripped us off."

"You didn't sell for too little. Beast blood collected in East Wilderness at the ninth tier is always priced like that. Only after refining it into talisman ink does it become precious," Old Zhao said.

"Then just selling materials is a real loss," Qingzhen said angrily.

"If you can't make talisman ink, selling beast blood alone is always a losing deal. That's why most families value their traditions so highly—if you have the inheritance for making talisman ink, generations will never fear going hungry," Old Zhao said enviously.

"It's just minor crafts," Zhou Ji said, laughing, and continued adding bundles of herbs.

"Is beast blood mixed with herbs already talisman ink?" Qingzhen asked again.

"Not yet. This is still a semi-finished product—it needs to settle for at least three days, and during that time, more herb bundles must be added," Zhou Ji explained.

"Oh, that's how it works," Qingzhen said, looking confused. "This seems interesting—Brother Zhou, could you teach me how to make talisman ink?"

Zhou Ji looked embarrassed—he had been afraid Qingzhen would ask just that.

"You don't need to learn," Qinghu said.

"Why not?" Qingzhen asked, puzzled, looking at her little sister.

"The most important thing in talisman ink is spiritual energy. Later, if you mix fish blood with fish meat, offal, scraps, and black potatoes—chop and stir them together—the resulting paste works better than any talisman ink," Qinghu explained.

"Really?" Qingzhen looked at her sister skeptically.

"Try it yourself."

"Then I'll try," Qingzhen said, taking a wooden basin and dumping in a heap of fish brains, scraps, blood, and black potatoes. The stench was so foul and sticky that Qingzhen nearly retreated.

"Can this really work as talisman ink?"

"It's definitely more effective," Qinghu nodded.

"Big Brother, is this actually usable?" Qingzhen gagged a few times, then asked Qingjin.

"I don't know. I'll try," Qingjin said, taking out a stack of blank talisman papers from his storage pouch. He grabbed his spare talisman brush, dipped it into the disgusting, bizarre black-red ink, and swiftly drew a Black Water Talisman.

He activated the talisman, and a surge of corrosive, poisonous black water erupted from it. Wherever the black water touched, vegetation and creatures died instantly.

The black water gushed endlessly from the talisman, the amount three or four times greater than any ninth-tier Black Water Talisman he'd drawn before. Once the experiment proved effective, Qingjin quickly used a Fire Talisman to burn away the black water, preventing further corrosion.

"This really is excellent talisman ink! Though it's a bit disgusting to look at," Qingjin said.

Zhou Ji was dumbstruck. "That's possible? This must be stink ink!"

"It definitely works. Talisman ink is just a mixture of spiritual energy, needs to be sticky, and adding fresh blood makes it even better," Qinghu said.

"That makes sense," Qingjin agreed after a moment's thought. "If your idea holds, we'll have many more options for making talisman ink in the future."

"Exactly. A little disgust is nothing; being able to make talisman ink without a recipe is what's important. But how can we ensure these hodgepodge mixes don't spoil, just like proper talisman ink? If the materials rot, can they still be used?" Old Zhao asked curiously.

"Try it yourselves. I don't know how to keep things fresh or preserve the spiritual energy," Xiao Qinghu shrugged, unconcerned.

Qingjin laughed.

"Alright, I'll study it."

"Count me in, count me in. I'm really curious," Zhou Ji said.

"I'll join too. Let's do it together," Ning Qi said, equally interested.