I couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy as I listened to their boasting. Seriously, how could I not? My club only had two middle-aged guys who scratched their feet all day. Just thinking about it made me want to cry, let alone talking about it—it was all too tragic.

Once they finished bragging, they finally noticed I was there. One by one, they asked what club I joined. I forced a laugh and said, “A mysterious organization,” then fell silent.

They were pretty drunk and eventually fell asleep. I didn’t say much either. After spending so much time trying to draw that Liuding Liujia Exorcism Talisman without success, there was no way I wasn’t feeling frustrated. But frustration or not, I still had to sleep. With a stomach full of grievances, I drifted off into a blurry slumber.

The next morning, at eight o’clock, Brother Xiang, Tai Long, and Little Fatty got up and tried to drag me out to play games with them. I shook my head, saying I wanted to sleep a bit longer. They even called me lazy. Ugh, these guys, so “diligent” in getting up early to play games—it’s admirable in a twisted way.

I shook my head, coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t lazy; it was just that these guys were too far gone.

After they left, I forced myself to sit up despite the lingering sleepiness, got dressed, and climbed out of bed to continue working on the Liuding Liujia Exorcism Talisman.

They say hard work pays off, and I guess there’s some truth to that. By three in the afternoon, after nearly seven hours of drawing since the morning—and more than ten hours including yesterday—I finally managed to draw a real Liuding Liujia Exorcism Talisman amidst the hundred or so failed attempts.

I still remember the moment I stamped it with my “Batman” seal. The talisman emitted a faint yellow glow, and I nearly jumped for joy. But by then, I was so exhausted that my head was spinning.

Only then did it occur to me that I hadn’t even eaten lunch. Shaking my head, I realized it wasn’t because I was particularly diligent, but because drawing talismans puts you in a special kind of state.

It’s not some mystical “enlightenment” nonsense you’d find in novels. This is reality—like when you get so focused on something that you lose track of time. When you finally finish, you check the time and go, “Wow, it’s been that long?”

A lot of people experience this. The most common example is students who pay attention in class. If they’re really focused, the forty-minute lesson feels like it’s over in an instant.

That’s exactly what happened to me. But along with this focus came the inevitable hunger. After eating a cup of instant noodles in the dorm, I thought about drawing a few more talismans. However, maybe due to the mental strain from drawing so much, I collapsed into bed and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was three in the morning. I had slept for twelve hours straight. At first, I thought I’d just go back to sleep and wait until daylight.

But after tossing and turning, I couldn’t fall asleep. So, I grabbed some yellow paper, cinnabar, and other materials and headed to the restroom to continue drawing talismans. I thought that after successfully making one, my success rate would improve. But even after an hour and a half, it wasn’t until 5:30 a.m. that I managed to make another talisman.

Looking at the time, I realized it was already 6:30 a.m., and dawn was breaking. I decided to stop, opened the restroom door, and went to the balcony to check. The jade pendant containing Menma was still sitting there. I quickly grabbed it and cursed myself for being careless. If Tai Long or Little Fatty had accidentally seen it and untied the red string to release Menma, it could’ve scared someone to death.

After that, I returned to my bed, massaged my sore legs from squatting in the restroom, and decided to rest my eyes. Unexpectedly, I fell asleep again and didn’t wake up until nine o’clock, when Han Sifan came to wake me.

“Asshole, get up already!” Han Sifan kicked my bed a few times before I groggily opened my eyes. Tai Long, seeing Han Sifan enter, quickly covered his lower half with his blanket. It was summer, after all—fellow dudes, you get it, right? Who sleeps with clothes on? Wearing boxers is already decent; some don’t even bother with that. Luckily, our dorm was relatively civilized, and at least we wore boxers.

“Yo, it’s still early. Going at noon wouldn’t be too late.” I yawned, feeling like my body clock was completely messed up. I was only wearing boxers under the blanket, so I quickly said, “Could you step out for a bit? I need to change.”

“Tch, as if I haven’t seen a guy’s two measly pounds of flesh before. You and Xiang better hurry up; I’ll be waiting downstairs. If you’re not down in ten minutes, you’re both dead,” Han Sifan said, walking out. I hurriedly put on a pair of jeans and woke up Brother Xiang. At first, he didn’t want to get up, but when I mentioned Jin Xishan’s dad looking for us, he perked right up. I couldn’t tell if it was hearing Jin Xishan’s name or her dad’s that woke him up.

We quickly washed up and said goodbye to Tai Long and Little Fatty. Brother Xiang couldn’t help bragging, saying that Han Sifan and Jin Xishan wanted to woo the two of us and were taking us out on a date.

Tai Long and Little Fatty, already used to Brother Xiang’s boasting, just chuckled and told him to make good use of the photography skills he learned in the photography club—don’t let them go to waste, and take lots of pictures.

By the time we went downstairs, Han Sifan and Jin Xishan were already waiting. Han Sifan was wearing a super short skirt similar to yesterday’s outfit. Jin Xishan, however, was in a white tracksuit, looking fresh and eye-catching. Oh, and there was a white BMW behind her—it seemed to be her car.

“Miss Jin, up so early to pick us up for a date?” Brother Xiang’s voice got noticeably louder when he said “date.” It was morning, and a lot of people were heading out for breakfast. Seeing these two beauties waiting outside the dorm, people were already guessing which handsome guy they were waiting for.

When they saw us approach, their faces were full of glee—especially when they heard Brother Xiang mention the word “date.” Their looks were dripping with mockery.

Jin Xishan smiled and said, “That’s right.”

The moment she said that, the guys around us erupted into chatter. It was the usual stuff about how creepy Brother Xiang was, how gross he was, and how they were better than him. Han Sifan, clearly annoyed by the noise, frowned and yelled, “Never seen people going on a date? Get lost, all of you. We’re leaving.”

Han Sifan pulled Jin Xishan into the car. I shot Brother Xiang a glare—this guy really loved showing off.

As Jin Xishan drove, she turned her head and smiled at Brother Xiang. “Xiang, I just gave you some face back there. How are you going to thank me?”

“How about I reluctantly offer myself to you?” Brother Xiang asked sleazily. Han Sifan rolled her eyes and said, “With your looks, you think that’s a favor? Pfft. Oh, by the way, I gave that talisman you gave me to Chen Hui.”

“Huh?” I was stunned and turned to Han Sifan. “You got that talisman from Brother Xiang?”

“Who else?” Brother Xiang smacked me on the head and said, “If I’d handed it to you directly, would you have worked day and night practicing with it?”

“True.” I nodded. If Brother Xiang had given it to me, I probably wouldn’t have tried so hard. But getting it from Han Sifan gave me a sense of its importance—like it had to be super powerful. That’s exactly what I’d thought at the time.

“Don’t be silly. That’s the Liu He Command Talisman. It’s from our shifu, that old bastard, who told me to give it to you,” Brother Xiang laughed.