The man wrote the character for "seal" on her right hand,
"I'm not afraid to tell you that the jade box contains an extremely important herb. Its potency is so great that it will attract the covetousness of countless evil spirits and ghosts. If you encounter a ghost that you cannot deal with on your own, just show the word in your palm..."
After some thought, the man seemed not quite at ease and flipped his palm over, giving Gu Shi Yi three talismans,
"These are three low-grade Ghost-Exorcising Talismans. They don't require Spiritual Power to activate; you just need to light them..."
Having said that, he asked Gu Shi Yi,
"You come from a Taoist Sect. You don't need me to teach you the technique for summoning talismans out of thin air, do you?"
Gu Shi Yi's body couldn't move, nor could her mouth. She only blinked her eyes, which seemed to satisfy the middle-aged man. He nodded, lifted the prohibition on Gu Shi Yi, and as soon as she was free, she hastily stepped back twice, stared at the steaming hot sweet potato in her hand, and with a forced smile, stuffed the jade box into her bosom,
"Sir, I will follow your instructions closely. Even if it costs me my life, I will deliver the item!"
The middle-aged man let out a cold laugh,
"I have placed a prohibition on you. By my calculations, you're bound to arrive at Blue Moon City within ten days. Hand over the item to the person I designate, and he will lift the prohibition for you. If you fail to deliver, your life... indeed becomes useless!"
Hearing these words, Gu Shi Yi felt a chilling sensation creeping up from the soles of her feet to her forehead, where it converged, causing a layer of cold sweat to immediately form on her brow,
"Sir, this..."
But the middle-aged man didn't listen to her at all and simply waved his hand,
"Go!"
Gu Shi Yi's vision blurred momentarily and she found herself standing in front of the cabin door. She stood there dazed for a while before calming her mind and finally pushed open the door,
"Shiyi?"
Li Yaner, who was gazing out of the window, looked surprised to see her return,
"Didn't you go to drink with Liu Er and the others? You're back so soon!"
She had even said that the place had a mixture of smells and didn't want her to accompany them!
Gu Shi Yi tugged at the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile more tortured than tears onto her rigid face,
"Well... I suddenly didn't feel like it, so I came back!"
"Really?"
Li Yaner's eyes narrowed, full of suspicion. She had been sisters with Gu Shi Yi for so many years, how could she not notice something was off?
Gu Shi Yi knew she couldn't hide anything from her, so she looked around cautiously and shook her head at Li Yaner, looking solemn,
"Let's talk about this matter later!"
Seeing her expression, Li Yaner knew something significant had happened and nodded,
"Alright!"
After speaking, she suddenly stared at Gu Shi Yi's chest,
"Shiyi, what did you bring back?"
Gu Shi Yi remembered the middle-aged man's words and gestured to Li Yaner,
"I... can't say that either!"
Li Yaner stared at her chest for a long while, as if she noticed something. She pursed her lips and remained silent.
That night, the two best friends were very quiet. Gu Shi Yi, unable to sleep, sat in meditation on the bed. Li Yaner kept her eyes fixed on the jade box beside her. The box was covered with several talismans that exuded a spiritual majesty, causing her considerable fear. However, the box also faintly emitted a strange scent. Shiyi couldn't smell it, but she could. Although she didn't know what it was, that scent tantalized her spirit, vaguely suggesting it was something even better than the Abdominal Limb of a Fish Kui Beast. If she consumed it, there would be great benefits!
However, Li Yaner also knew that it was this object that disturbed Shiyi's peace of mind all night. The jade box, along with its contents, was clearly not ordinary and beyond what Shiyi should possess. It must have been given to her earlier when she went out.
Such an important item, who would entrust it to Shiyi?
Everyone knows that an innocent man is guilty when he possesses a treasure!
Given Shiyi's disposition, she would never court such trouble. Therefore... she was forced!
And... after returning to her room, she dared not reveal anything about it, constantly looking around as if fearing the walls have ears. So... the person who handed the item to Shiyi is on this boat?
The people on this boat, the people on this boat...
As the boat moved, the moon tilted, diverting its direction. Li Yaner shifted herself to bathe entirely in the moonlight, enjoying the comfort it brought to her body. Her mind was spinning,
"It can't be someone from the Escort Team. All those in the Escort Team are ordinary people..."
Though this time, the Escort Team was carrying a highly valuable cargo over several provinces, Sixth Master Huang and the others were ordinary people too. The shipment they safeguarded might at most contain gold, silver, jewels, antiques, or paintings, certainly not something that would attract her kind of ghosts. Otherwise... how could they have not encountered even one ghost or phantom on their journey?