Chapter 57 The Strange Taoist Priest

Qin Ruo left Qingfeng Residence, her mood exceptionally pleasant.

Another one hundred taels of silver had come into her hands, truly a case of wealth coming in unstoppable waves.

In her previous life, as a skilled bounty hunter, no skill could be acquired without effort.

She was grateful that she had a good master in her previous life, who had been strict in his teachings.

She had dabbled in everything, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to easily obtain the one hundred taels of silver from Qingfeng Residence.

Thinking of the bits and pieces of her past life with her master, Qin Ruo felt a pang of sadness.

In the previous world, the last time she saw her master was four years ago.

After that encounter, her master disappeared without a trace.

Now, even she herself had transmigrated to the Great Sheng Dynasty. If one day he returned and found that she was gone, she didn’t know what kind of mood he would be in.

Lost in thought, Qin Ruo unknowingly arrived at a bustling market on the east side of Taihe County.

Various stalls were clustered here, selling clothes and ornaments, delicious snacks, and all sorts of juggling performances that were dazzling to the eye.

The cheerful crowd and Qin Ruo’s current loneliness formed a stark contrast.

As Qin Ruo passed by a fortune-telling stall, an old Taoist priest, dressed in a tattered Taoist robe and sporting a goatee, hurriedly stood up and stopped Qin Ruo.

“Miss, please stop. Would you allow this poor Taoist to cast a fortune for you?”

Qin Ruo turned back and glanced at the old Taoist priest with a smile on his face, then mercilessly walked away. The old Taoist priest was not discouraged, his eyes rolled, and he quickly circled around to stand in front of Qin Ruo.

“Miss, I see that your destiny is peculiar, your future is bound to be extraordinary. But the path will be winding…”

Qin Ruo stopped, her eyes narrowed as she glanced at the old Taoist priest.

If she hadn’t seen through the fake beard and mask on the old Taoist priest’s face, she would have believed him.

Thanks to her previous life, she had some knowledge of disguise and masks. If she hadn’t looked closely, she wouldn’t have noticed.

Speaking of which, this mask was really well-made.

Even her master from her previous life would have praised it.

Qin Ruo thought to herself, are fortune-tellers so competitive now? They need props and accessories to attract customers?

She coolly interrupted the old Taoist priest’s words: “Are you going to say next that I have to go through many hardships before I can achieve enlightenment…”

The old Taoist priest’s expression visibly stiffened. This was a disaster… Should he continue or not?

He forced a smile, his face unflustered, and continued to talk nonsense.

“Miss, you’re joking. My Taoist name is Qingxu. I have studied the art of divination since I was young, knowing the past and the present. I cast fortunes for those destined to meet me. Miss, why don’t you sit down and let me tell you in detail…”

Qin Ruo burst out laughing.

She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a copper coin, accurately tossing it onto the old Taoist priest’s stall.

“No need, my fate is always in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven.” Qin Ruo said, turning to leave.

“Hey, Miss, Miss…” The old Taoist priest called out loudly, his voice cracking with urgency.

It was completely different from the old and dignified voice he had used before, when he had deliberately lowered his voice.

The old Taoist priest quickly covered his mouth, swiftly packed up the things on his stall, and slipped into an inconspicuous teahouse next door.

In the teahouse with its elegant furnishings, the old Taoist priest sat across from a young man in a green robe.

At this moment, the old Taoist priest’s eyes were filled with resentment and silent accusations, while the young man in the green robe remained calm and composed.

The young man was elegant and refined, like a piece of jade. These four words were perfectly embodied in him.

The young man in the green robe had a faint smile on his lips, calmly holding his tea, his every move as beautiful as a painting.

The old Taoist priest picked up the teapot on the table and drank directly from it, without any regard for his image.

“What are you in such a hurry for? Don’t you want to get burned? Your disguise is too eye-catching, you should change it.”

The young man in the green robe pressed his brow, helplessly saying to the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest widened his eyes, glaring at the young man in the green robe in dissatisfaction.

“I’m doing this for who? By the way, your little apprentice is really a tightwad, I spent half a day talking and he only gave me a copper coin.”

The faint smile on the young man in the green robe’s lips became even more obvious.

“That’s because you’re stupid, who can you blame?”

The old Taoist priest retorted indignantly, “Fine! Fine! Fine! I’m stupid, right? I won’t stay here and bother you anymore.”

With that, the old Taoist priest left the teahouse’s private room like a gust of wind.

The young man in the green robe shook his head with a light chuckle.

A quarter of an hour later, the old Taoist priest returned. When he entered again, he had transformed into a handsome young man in snow-white robes, about twenty years old.

The young man in the green robe extended his hand towards him, smiling, “Give it here.”

“What?”

“That copper coin.”

“I just said what, your apprentice is a tightwad. I take back what I said, at least he plucked a feather. But you, Rong Mo, not only don’t give anything, you even want to take my feather, are you a sugar chicken?”

Meng Lingxiu said these words to tease Rong Mo, but his hand honestly reached into his bosom and pulled out the copper coin Qin Ruo had thrown at him, placing it in Rong Mo’s palm.

“I just don’t understand what you two are up to, why can’t you just go see her directly? Why do you have to be so roundabout?”

Rong Mo held the small copper coin, his expression unclear. After a long silence, he finally uttered, “She has her own destiny and her own path to walk. Meeting her? It’s not the right time yet.”

“Oh, alright! Alright! Anyway, you have your reasons, but next time can you arrange for me to have the identity of a handsome man? I’m the head of Yunyi Manor after all, it’s damaging to my image…”

“Okay…”

The two men’s voices gradually faded away, and the teahouse’s private room gradually returned to peace.

After the old Taoist priest’s interruption, Qin Ruo’s slight melancholy had completely vanished.

Seeing that it wasn’t too late, she headed straight for the money exchange.

When she left the Apricot Forest Hall, she had decided to go for tea first and then go to the money exchange to exchange the silver when she returned.

Qin Ruo naturally knew that silver notes were more convenient to carry, but for someone with a space, there was no big difference between silver notes and silver coins.

She just wanted to feel the weight of eight hundred taels of silver, oh! No, nine hundred taels of silver.

When she entered the money exchange, Qin Ruo learned that whether it was silver or silver notes, exchanging them for copper coins would incur a tax.

However, that small tax was nothing to Qin Ruo, who was now rich.

Qin Ruo exchanged all the silver notes in her possession for silver ingots and some copper coins at the Baotong Money Exchange.

After leaving the money exchange, she found a secluded alley and threw all the silver into her space.

When Qin Ruo returned to the Qin family in Changhe Village, it was already dusk. As soon as she entered the house, Qin Laotai heard the sound and came out from the kitchen to chase after her.

“Why are you just coming back now? I asked Old Yang at the head of the village and found out you went into town. Have you forgotten what Constable Yu said when he came to the village last time? Those few escaped criminals haven’t been caught yet.”

“I know you’re a person with a big plan, but you still have to be careful.”

“I have my own measure…”

Qin Zian, who arrived home a step behind, stood outside the courtyard listening to Qin Laotai and Qin Ruo’s conversation, his heart filled with a storm of emotions.