I spent more than half a month in my hometown, not only helping resolve the issue of the toad demon there but also spending quality time with my grandmother.
Although my grandmother was quite nagging, constantly urging me to get married, I enjoyed every moment of it.
Now, however, I must dedicate all my energy to confronting the forces of evil.
Upon returning to the shop, I put away my luggage.
A quick scan revealed no sign of Xiao Mei.
She had likely gone playing in the mountains again.
Without giving it much thought, I took the mermaid pearl I had obtained from the toad demon and headed straight to Wanshou Hall across the street.
In my absence, the shop next to Wanshou Hall was undergoing renovations.
My martial uncle had mentioned his plan to open a winery before I left.
I hadn't expected them to start construction so soon.
A large banner was hung outside.
"Zhuang Yang Winery," the name caught me off guard for a moment.
That name was truly something else.
However, my martial uncle's infused wines did indeed possess such capabilities, a boon for men suffering from kidney deficiency.
After a brief glance, I entered Wanshou Hall.
As soon as I opened the door, I heard my martial uncle berating Old Mo.
"Little Mo, what on earth are you doing? You've been with me for so long, and you still manage to mess up making a paper effigy. How will you ever establish your own practice?"
"Master, didn't you say we should innovate? My Transformer paper effigy is perfectly made!"
"..."
As we spoke, I had already entered the room.
I saw my martial uncle pointing at a Transformer paper effigy, scolding Old Mo.
Old Mo stood with his head bowed, looking quite aggrieved.
"Martial Uncle, Old Mo..."
I greeted them.
Upon seeing me enter, my martial uncle showed little expression.
Old Mo, however, brightened up and quickly said,
"Old Qin, you're back?"
"I'm back! What did you do to anger Martial Uncle again?"
"Little Qin, look at this kid, what kind of rubbish has he made."
My martial uncle pointed at the paper effigy beside them, his anger palpable.
I took a look. While it was rather crudely made,
I had to admit, it perfectly captured Old Mo's style, taking his chuunibyou tendencies to the extreme and now bringing them into the profession.
"Martial Uncle, please don't be angry. While our line of work is quite traditional, society has changed. Perhaps some young people who have died might prefer these kinds of things."
I spoke up in Old Mo's defense.
My martial uncle shot Old Mo a glare and fell silent.
I, meanwhile, quickly changed the subject.
"Martial Uncle, didn't I mention before that I got a mermaid pearl? Please take a look and verify it."
With that, I took the mermaid pearl out of my pocket.
Seeing that I was bringing up something important, my martial uncle's expression turned serious, and he took two steps toward me.
Old Mo's eyes widened as he also looked over.
I took out a piece of red cloth, on which a talisman was affixed.
Tearing off the talisman and unfolding the red cloth revealed a green pearl inside.
"This pearl is even emitting a green light!"
Old Mo, upon seeing it, reached out to grab it.
However, my martial uncle slapped his hand.
"Don't touch it, what if it's poisonous and kills you!"
Startled, Old Mo hastily retracted his hand.
"Mermaid pearl, I've only heard of such a thing, never seen one.
Little Mo, fetch a basin of clean water."
"Yes!"
Old Mo quickly went to the kitchen.
My martial uncle took the pearl and examined it in his hand.
"Though I haven't seen one, I've heard that mermaid pearls only form within the bodies of mermaid kings and are typically red.
This green one needs some thorough investigation..."
Shortly after, Old Mo returned with a basin of clean water.
My martial uncle held the pearl and placed it into the basin of water.
He then drew another talisman, burned the paper, and sprinkled the ashes into the basin of water.
Following this, a peculiar phenomenon occurred.
The surface of the pearl, which had been emitting a green light, began to lose its color.
The green hue gradually leached into the water.
After the green faded, a red color truly appeared within the pearl.
"Martial Uncle, it really turned red."
"Master, then what substance is this green residue?"
Both Old Mo and I, lacking sufficient knowledge, inquired.
My martial uncle frowned.
"If I'm not mistaken, this might be the toad's poison. Go, fetch a silver needle to test it."
A silver needle was brought over shortly.
My martial uncle stirred the water with the silver needle.
Indeed, the green substance that had leached out was a toxin.
"That confirms it. It must be the toad's poison. Good thing you didn't touch it with your bare hands."
Hearing this, I also breathed a sigh of relief.
I hadn't touched it with my bare hands all these days, always using the cloth as a barrier.
If I hadn't been cautious then,
I might have been poisoned the moment I obtained the mermaid pearl.
After my martial uncle's examination, and having repeatedly confirmed the pearl was not poisonous, he finally took it out.
Holding it in his hand, my martial uncle attempted to stimulate it with his spiritual energy.
He discovered that the red pearl would exude a small amount of red substance.
My martial uncle instructed us to stand back while he absorbed a very, very small portion himself.
He then sat down in a meditative posture.
Old Mo and I watched anxiously.
After about ten minutes, my martial uncle opened his eyes and exclaimed with joy,
"It's confirmed, the inner core of a mermaid king. Just absorbing a tiny bit of the red mist earlier has greatly improved my old ailment! I feel full of energy now, it's definitely something precious.
If this were put on the ghost market, it would cause a frenzy, no less sought after than the White Bone Soul Returning Grass."
My martial uncle praised it profusely, looking at the mermaid pearl with excitement.