Chapter Three: The Supreme Threefold Divine Talismans

As the early morning sun rose higher and higher, its rays finally pierced through the small window in the southern wall of the bedroom, shining onto Li Changqing's face, body, and hands.

Blinding.

Stifling.

Scorching.

Li Changqing frowned, feeling an itch in two teeth on either side of his mouth, and his body’s reaction to the sunlight grew more pronounced—a stabbing pain, as if someone were randomly jabbing his stomach and intestines with sharp spikes.

He craved something to drink. Something like… blood?

The vivid, terrifying thought startled him. "Damn it, is the condition now so severe that it’s exerting such strong control over my consciousness? What on earth bit this body before I transmigrated?"

Li Changqing had tried countless times to recall the past of this body. Among the fragmented, hazy memories, the final image was the most striking…

It had happened the night he awoke in this world, inside an abandoned textile factory. The unlucky detective had just entered, flashlight in hand, barely steady on his feet, when something dark and indistinct—its size and shape unclear—bit his neck!

Then… he himself had awakened. After spending the time it takes for incense to burn to assess the situation, he had clutched his neck and stumbled out in terror!

After that… he had wandered from clinic to clinic through the night, seeking treatment. When a door finally opened, he discovered that aside from the persistent burning pain, there were no other wounds on his neck.

Then… he summoned his courage, relying on memory, and returned to the detective agency. The moment he opened the door, a pure and charming woman in white—her face clouded with worry—rushed up to him. "Li Changqing, we need to pay the rent!"

…

Afterward…

His experience living two lives, especially given the ease with which knowledge could be acquired in the internet age, and the bits of wisdom he’d picked up as a child from his grandfather—he was not the type to have seen a pig climb a tree, but he’d certainly seen pigs run—helped him adapt swiftly. With the aid of memory fragments, a notebook, and Tang Xiaoyu’s assistance, he soon took over the daily affairs of the detective agency.

Everything went smoothly, except for the lingering physical issues from that mysterious bite.

Heat intolerance.

Fear of light.

Itchy teeth.

Stabbing pain.

Thirst for blood.

Sometimes, during an attack, fine white hairs would sprout from his skin.

All signs pointed to the “rigor” phenomenon his grandfather had once mentioned, though there were subtle differences.

Curious, Li Changqing bought five pounds of raw glutinous rice from the market and tried eating some. To his delight, though the rice felt like scalding iron pellets as it passed from mouth to throat, once swallowed, it was effective.

His symptoms of rigor were noticeably suppressed.

Through two weeks of experimentation, Li Changqing gleaned some experience: he needed to eat half an ounce of raw glutinous rice every twenty-four hours.

Doubling the dose at once didn’t extend the period of suppression.

When exposed to sunlight, the suppression time was halved—meaning he had to eat the rice twice every twenty-four hours, but again, increasing the amount made no difference.

Cooked glutinous rice tasted delicious but had no effect.

Was he to spend his life relying on raw glutinous rice?

Of course not.

Li Changqing wasn’t particularly anxious about his illness. During his experiments with various treatments for rigor, he tried the meditation technique his grandfather had taught him.

The first time he entered a meditative state, he was astonished to discover that the culprit behind his transmigration was hiding in his mind…

How to describe it?

Each time Li Changqing introspected, the scene was incredible. The three white dice that brought about his fate hovered in the center of his mind, in a dormant, dark gray state. Around them, like six planets orbiting a sun, six books revolved slowly.

Five of the books, like the dice, remained dark gray and inactive. Only one book—the deep violet "Divine Talismans of the Three Celestial Caverns"—glowed brightly.

Li Changqing could clearly see and open it in his mind.

He knew why only this book displayed properly. When he first meditated, all six books were inactive, but the dice in the center shone. When his consciousness touched the dice, they began to spin, as if nudged by his mental hand.

They rolled and finally settled on a score of 222.

Instantly, the second closest book—"Divine Talismans of the Three Celestial Caverns"—lit up, while the dice dimmed.

Li Changqing’s lack of anxiety about his suspected rigor stemmed from the fact that the second page of this book contained a method to suppress corpse energy…

For now, only the first two pages could be opened. The first page described a summoning talisman, with illustrations.

Its introduction: a basic yellow talisman of the Fire Virtue Star Lord, capable of increasing heat and scorching.

Preparation: cinnabar for color, wine for ink, straw paper as the medium, spiritual energy as the guide; the talisman must be drawn with unified mind and spirit within three breaths.

More crucially, the second page described the "Arrival of the Great General" talisman.

Its introduction: a basic yellow talisman of the Wood Virtue True Lord, capable of suppressing corpse energy and restraining curses of rigor and witchcraft.

Preparation: sunflower seeds for color, rice water for ink, bamboo paper as the medium, spiritual energy as the guide; the talisman must be drawn with unified mind and spirit within seven breaths.

Seeing this talisman brought Li Changqing great comfort. Imagine, if he could always have the Great General's talisman on him, its effect would surely surpass that of raw glutinous rice.

And surely, even better solutions awaited him!

So, after transmigrating, whenever he had leisure—especially before sleep—Li Changqing would meditate, studying the talisman illustrations and learning their techniques.

After two weeks of practice, he could successfully draw the first summoning talisman one in five attempts, at an average cost of three lang coins.

The second talisman, though, was much more complex. He had spent over two hundred lang coins but had yet to succeed.

Yet, through repeated practice, Li Changqing had gradually accumulated a trace of magical power within. Now, he could release a wisp of spiritual energy from his fingertip, instantly igniting a summoning talisman—making it rather convenient for heating milk and such!

…

After a moment of daydreaming and feeling the sun’s heat and his body’s reaction, Li Changqing finally took out some raw glutinous rice, swallowed a mouthful with a cup of water.

The rice slid down his throat like burning iron pellets, raising throbbing veins on his forehead.

Once he recovered, he rose and drew the new dark curtains closed. As the room dimmed, coolness returned at last…

***

Toward evening, Li Changqing, dressed in pajamas, wandered lazily into the living room, which also served as the detective agency’s office. Tang Xiaoyu, wearing a cartoonish plush pajama set, sat on the sofa, holding a handkerchief, watching TV while dabbing at the corners of her eyes.

Li Changqing sat beside her, curious, and watched along.

Some romance drama was playing. Amid tearful music, the male lead was shot in the chest, then spent over five minutes in the heroine’s arms murmuring heartfelt words.

"Isn’t this a bit much? Like a zombie coming back to life," Li Changqing couldn’t help but quip.

"Shut up!" Tang Xiaoyu glared at him fiercely, then turned back to wiping her perfectly dry eyes with the handkerchief.

So this worked too…

Li Changqing chuckled inwardly, then picked up the newspapers on the coffee table and began reading.

"Federation Highlights":

Prime Minister Silva of the Lamela Empire will visit the Vermilion Bird Federation on the ninth to discuss new border trade regulations…

The Elders’ Council passed the Citizen Marriage Freedom Act on the seventh with 63% support, legalizing same-sex, opposite-sex, and interspecies marriages…

"South Lin Evening News":

Golden Diamond Award-winning actress spends the night at the secret villa of a married man…

18-17: In overtime, Scarlet Lotus narrowly defeats Mighty King Kong in the semifinals of the Intercontinental Cup flying ball tournament…

Li Changqing was reading without much interest when he noticed one paper marked in red by Tang Xiaoyu. Focusing, he saw the headline: "South Lin Weekly Mysteries".

It listed several bizarre incidents from the past week in South Lin City:

1. Nightmare of life! A taxi driver took a passenger to Rainbow Bridge at midnight; the passenger jumped off the bridge, and the driver failed to stop him…

2. A beautiful researcher went missing during her nightly run, along with her pet dog—both vanished without a trace…

3. Is it generosity or something else? Overnight, ten lang coins were stuffed into the door cracks of ninety households in one building…

4. Corpses found in the well of Count Summon's former residence; Count Summon is currently under police investigation…

The habit of subscribing to newspapers was one Li Changqing’s predecessor had formed in life; marking work-related items in red was a routine Li Changqing had instructed last week—and promptly forgotten. Tang Xiaoyu had actually done it.

When Li Changqing finished scanning the news, he noticed the drama on TV had ended. He set the paper aside, sipped his tea, and asked, "Any clients today?"

"No, but someone left their contact info on the message board outside—a Ms. Fang, phone number 1736264*5*8. You said before that those on the message board usually aren’t urgent, so I didn’t wake you…"

After her report, Tang Xiaoyu suddenly complained, "Li Changqing, the incense is stale and tastes bad."

Li Changqing, texting the client, replied irritably, "I told you to buy the good stuff, but you insisted on cheap ones—wasting money!"

Tang Xiaoyu protested, "I know, but it’s unexpected new income. We’ve made quite a bit lately, but still need to be careful with expenses!"

Li Changqing was speechless…

Three days ago, he remembered his grandfather mentioning that ghosts liked to feed on grave incense, so he bought three sticks to test; Tang Xiaoyu loved them, so incense became a new item in their daily budget.

"Beep—"

Li Changqing received a reply. Glancing at his phone, he stood up with a smile. "Let’s go buy incense, then meet Ms. Fang at Anran Restaurant at eight—perfect way to save on dinner."