Deep in the mountain forest stood a dilapidated Taoist Temple, surrounded by a scattering of about a dozen households.
Song Shiyue kicked open the loosely closed temple gate. “Master! Save a life!”
As she rushed inside, she shouted with Inner Force infused in her voice, making it painfully loud to the ears.
A disheveled old man in wrinkled Taoist robes, looking like a priest with messy hair and sleepy eyes, walked out while scratching his ear and muttering to himself.
“Brat, disturbing my sweet dreams in broad daylight.”
“It’s you who sneaks out like a night owl instead of sleeping at night.”
Did he think she didn’t know? Her master had been acting suspiciously these past few days.
“Ahem, why don’t you save him yourself?”
“He’s a man, and the wound is in an inappropriate place.”
Song Shiyue glanced at the knife wound near the man’s thigh, then at his unconscious form. She could certainly treat him herself—as long as neither she nor her master mentioned it, the man would never know she had been the one to administer treatment.
Song Shiyue picked up a pair of scissors, about to cut open the man’s pants.
“So you know to avoid impropriety today?”
The Crazy Old Taoist, who had wandered over, saw the location of the man’s injury and urgently interjected, “Wait, wait! Let your master handle this!”
The Crazy Old Taoist quickly took over, with Song Shiyue assisting by his side.
As soon as the wound was treated, the Crazy Old Taoist couldn’t wait to ask, “Have you thought about what I asked you yesterday?”
“No!”
“Brat, you need to think it through carefully. This old Taoist can’t accompany you forever—a woman must marry eventually.”
The Crazy Old Taoist tossed down the cloth and walked out, leaving Song Shiyue to clean up alone.
Pursing her lips, she thought she had no desire to marry. Living leisurely like this suited her just fine.
Gu Yuchen gradually woke up. He reached down to feel his waist and abdomen—the item was still there, and he relaxed.
Suddenly, he felt an unusual coolness below and suspiciously touched the area, immediately flushing crimson with embarrassment.
Song Shiyue happened to see his movement and realized she hadn’t covered him with a blanket.
“Master is getting more and more improper.”
She pulled a blanket over him, her expression calm and composed as if such things were commonplace.
“Your injuries are severe. You’ll need daily dressing changes, so just make do like this.”
Gu Yuchen clenched his jaw, shut his eyes tightly, and wished he could cover his face too. But his injuries were too severe—he tugged at the blanket but couldn’t move it.
Seeing his utterly mortified expression, Song Shiyue scoffed lightly, “It’s not even good-looking. What’s there to be upset about?”
“You!” Was this even a woman? Did she know she was a woman?
Gu Yuchen was too weak to retort and passed out once more.
Noticing his hand resting protectively over his waist, Song Shiyue thought to herself: Whatever he’s hiding in his embrace must be important—he’s guarding it even while unconscious.
She had no interest in anything besides money and knew better than to pry too deeply into certain matters.
Feeling hunger pangs in her stomach, Song Shiyue went to the kitchen in search of food. The Crazy Old Taoist was there, staring blankly at a bowl of rice.
Her master had been spacing out frequently lately. Coupled with his mention yesterday of finding her a husband, Song Shiyue understood that the recent mysterious occurrences must be related to him.
Serving herself a bowl of rice, Song Shiyue sat beside the Crazy Old Taoist and probed, “Master, what are you thinking about?”
The Crazy Old Taoist snapped out of his reverie, collected his thoughts, and said casually:
“Yue girl, your man is seriously injured. The Inner Force in his body can’t coalesce—he probably won’t be able to use it for a year.”
“Master, stop talking nonsense and ruining your disciple’s reputation. When did he become my man?”
“From the moment you carried him back and helped clean his wounds.”
“You were the one who cleaned the wounds, you were the one who saved him.”
“You still saw that boy completely naked, so you must take responsibility for him.”
“Which eye of yours saw that?”
“Both of your master’s eyes saw it. If you’ve seen someone’s body, you must marry them.”
“Tch, then you should be the one marrying him. You took even more advantage.”
“You wretched girl, your master is doing this for your own good. Didn’t you see how handsome that boy is? His figure is beyond description too. Strike while the iron is hot.”
Song Shiyue truly hadn’t paid attention to the man’s appearance. She curled her lip and said, “All I can see are gold ingots and silver pieces.”
Crazy Old Taoist scolded angrily, “How did I end up raising such a money-obsessed disciple?”
“Because I have a money-obsessed master. Besides, how do you know that man isn’t already married or engaged?”
The old and young simultaneously rolled their eyes in disdain, then turned their backs to each other at the same time.
After just a moment, Crazy Old Taoist couldn’t contain himself anymore. He said mysteriously, “Your master checked his pulse – he’s still a virgin. As for whether he’s engaged or not, that’s not important.”
Crazy Old Taoist looked both anxious and helpless, while Song Shiyue showed confusion. The old rascal was acting strange today.
Song Shiyue narrowed her eyes. “Old man, you’re hiding something from me.”
“What nonsense? Your master just thinks you’ve grown up and should consider marriage.”
She had just saved this man whose identity was unknown and whose character was unclear, yet her master was already rushing to tie her to him. Why?
When things go against reason, there must be something fishy going on.
“Wash your face later so he can see your true appearance. He’ll definitely be willing to marry you then.”
“Do you think everyone judges by appearances?”
Of course not – this wretched girl before him was exactly someone who didn’t care about looks.
Crazy Old Taoist wanted to persuade her further, but Song Shiyue slammed her chopsticks, embedding them into the wooden table.
“Why are you so eager to push me out? Do you want to abandon me and run off by yourself?”
Crazy Old Taoist immediately shut his mouth. He shouldn’t have taught this girl martial arts in the first place, giving her the chance to bully her master.
The atmosphere froze again. Crazy Old Taoist knew the girl was sharp-witted and that some things couldn’t be hidden from her, but he didn’t want to involve her in his troubles.
The master and disciple who had nothing more to say to each other quietly finished their lunch.
Song Shiyue left first. As she stepped across the threshold, Crazy Old Taoist called out, “Make braised pork tonight.”
“Aren’t you afraid it’ll kill you with how greasy it is?”
Crazy Old Taoist didn’t mind Song Shiyue’s disrespectful words at all, instead chuckling happily.
He knew the girl was soft-hearted beneath her tough talk – there would definitely be delicious braised pork tonight.
Song Shiyue couldn’t stand seeing him so sure of himself. “There are no reserves in the well cellar. If you want to eat it, go buy it yourself.”
Before Crazy Old Taoist could react, Song Shiyue tapped her toes and flew away.
“Fine, I’ll buy it myself. Why run off so fast?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the girl hadn’t given him money for the meat.
“Wretched girl, even trying to squeeze money from this old taoist.”
Crazy Old Taoist grumbled as he vaulted over the wall and left the Taoist Temple.
On a rooftop not far away, Song Shiyue thought about Crazy Old Taoist’s words, feeling restless.
When her master had found her back then, he had intended to find a family to adopt her. But most people in the nearby mountains made their living by hunting, their lives already difficult, and no one was willing to take her in.
It happened that there was a dilapidated Taoist Temple here, so he brought her to live here. From time to time, he would treat people’s illnesses, curing many of their chronic ailments, and only then were the local women willing to help look after her.
She had never forgotten the night she was abandoned. Striving to survive, she followed her master to learn skills, determined to uncover who had harmed her given the chance.
Driven by that conviction, she eventually grew up safely. Yet the peaceful years had dulled much of her resentment.
She had originally thought she would spend her life quietly guarding her master, the empty Taoist Temple, and the neighboring villagers.
But today, her master’s repeated questioning reminded her that he was eager for her to marry because he intended to leave her.
She had always known her master wasn’t a true Taoist priest—he merely used that guise to conceal his identity.
Now it occurred to her: her master’s identity was far from simple! Could they continue living here?