Chapter 173 Quietly Leaving

"Everything is fine, haha."

The Taoist priest sat down with the noodles in his bowl, picked up a chewy buckwheat noodle with his chopsticks, blew on it, and then stuffed it into his mouth in big mouthfuls. "Mmm, delicious."

"Daoist Master, there's still rabbit meat here." Song Chunlian pushed the porcelain plate towards him. "Daoist Master, please don't be shy, there's more in the kitchen."

"The Taoist priest loves noodles, so he won't stand on ceremony." With that, he lowered his head, took a big bite of noodles, picked up a chopstickful of cold wild vegetables, and quickly finished the bowl of noodles.

The Song sisters were also hungry, and they buried themselves in their food, eating with great relish.

After the meal, the Taoist priest drew a talisman and then bid farewell to Sister-in-law Song.

"Please tell my second brother that we'll use these talismans first, and save the wine for next time. We have some things to take care of when we get back, so we won't bother you any longer."

The Song sisters followed, saying, "Second sister-in-law, please wait. We'll come to see you another day."

Second sister-in-law chased after you from the kitchen, saying, "You two are really something, leaving so suddenly. It's not far from Lao Si's house, what's the rush?"

“Sister-in-law, the livestock at home haven’t been fed yet, and besides, there’s not enough room for all of us to sleep tonight. Anyway, Fifth Brother and Third Sister aren’t in a hurry to go home, we can talk about it tomorrow.” Song Chunlian waved her hand from behind, “It’s already dark, tell Second Brother not to scold us when he comes back, okay? We’ll come back again.”

"What are you cursing about? Your second brother loves you the most." The second sister-in-law didn't try to stop you anymore. "Then take care on your way."

“If Alai stays at Second Sister’s house, then let him stay. If he wants to come back, don’t stop him. He’s not afraid to walk at night.”

"Okay, I got it."

As they spoke, the group had already walked quite a distance.

Song Chunxue couldn't help but catch up with the Taoist priest, "Senior brother, why are you running? It's like a wolf is running over you."

"The things I dug up last night are all at your fourth sister's house, how can I not be nervous?"

"Oh." Song Chunxue almost forgot about the tomb raiding last night.

As night falls, the stars twinkle in the night sky.

Fourth Sister Song Chunlian lit an oil lamp in her home.

The three sisters fed the livestock and poultry together, then closed the courtyard gate and went back into the house.

The Taoist priest was sitting in front of the oil lamp, fiddling with something in his hands.

Song Chunmei washed her hands and spoke first, "What's that thing in the Taoist priest's hands? It's all dirty. Should we wash it in the basin?"

"Alright, go ahead and wash." The Taoist priest handed over four small silver bricks.

Song Chunxue lowered her head to suppress her laughter; it seemed the Taoist priest intended to share some with her two older sisters as well.

"Wow, this thing is so shiny." Song Chunmei wiped it with a rag and looked at it closely. "It looks a bit like it's made of silver."

Song Chunlian asked curiously, "Let me see."

She wiped it on her clothes, then raised her hand and bit it.

"It really looks like silver, but even silver doesn't come this big." Song Chunlian looked at the Taoist priest. "Where did this come from?"

“I dug it in the grave last night,” Song Chunxue said quietly, looking at her.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Song Chunlian was so frightened that she dropped what she was holding and hurriedly wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Why didn't you say so earlier? What if there was corpse poison?"

“It’s already been washed, so it won’t be,” the Taoist priest replied. “Besides, it was dug from the ground, so it won’t have any corpse poison.”

"Everyone who sees this gets a share; my junior brother's two older sisters each get two yuan."

Cui Cui, standing to the side, widened her eyes in disbelief. "So much silver?"

Song Chunmei exclaimed, "Both of them are mine? That's at least twenty taels of silver, isn't it?"

Song Chunlian picked up what she had thrown on the ground, examined it from all angles, and murmured, "Yes, it really is silver."

The Taoist priest got up and walked towards the east room. "Junior brother, go get yours."

Song Chunxue jumped out of the doorway. "Okay!"

Haha, what in this world can make you happier than money?

She followed the Taoist priest like a monkey, laughing like a lackey.

An oil lamp was also lit in the east room, and it was even brighter than the one in the main room.

The Taoist priest dumped half a bag onto the kang (a heated brick bed), saying, "Go get your bundle; all of this is yours."

"Huh?" Song Chunxue was shocked. "Giving me so much isn't safe, is it?"

“Senior brother, aren’t you going to revitalize the sect? Whether you go back and give it to Master or start a new sect, you need this money more than I do.”

As she spoke, Song Chunxue took out three pieces of silver. "These are enough. I also found a piece of silver."

"If you find it too heavy, I'll exchange gold for silver."

Master Zhang raised his voice, "What?"

Then, he lowered his head and asked incredulously, "Where did you find the gold?"

It's true what they say, comparisons are odious! How could she possibly find gold? Is there no justice in this world?

The tomb he identified last night was one he had spent over half a month meticulously researching and studying.

If his junior brother hadn't gone with him, he might not have been able to dig it up.

“I found them by the river.” Song Chunxue lowered her voice. “There weren’t many, just two broad beans and soybeans. I gave the smaller one to my sister, and I originally wanted to give the larger one to Sanwa, but it’s the same whether I exchange it for silver or not.”

Master Zhang sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) as if deflated, and raised his hand to press his temples. "Let me rest for a while."

After a long pause, he sighed.

"How about I follow you from now on? Your luck with money has been amazing lately. Why should I dig graves? If I make a mistake, I'll get into trouble with karma. After all, those are things from the dead, and it's bound to bring bad luck."

Song Chunxue understood that her senior brother must be insanely jealous right now.

She said softly, "Okay, I'll go out often from now on and pick them up wherever I go."

"..." Master Zhang sat cross-legged on the kang, covered his face with his hands, and groaned sadly twice.

"Listen to this, anyone else who heard this would definitely kill you for your money."

Song Chunxue whispered, "If Senior Brother really has this idea, it's like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. It's wise not to kill it too soon."

"..." Master Zhang looked up and glared at her.

"Pfft." Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Isn't Senior Brother a Taoist priest with connections to the heavens? Why are you so upset? You must have encountered many situations like mine before, right?"

Master Zhang rubbed his cheeks. "No, very rarely. If I had encountered such a situation, I wouldn't be in this state."

Well, Song Chunxue didn't know how to comfort him.

"Didn't you get gold bars last time too? You just spent them too fast."

He sighed and leaned weakly against the wall. "It was all used to pay off debts. There's not much left."

Song Chunxue bit her lip, afraid of being scolded if she laughed.

"How about you teach me how to draw talismans, and I'll give them to you?"

He rolled his eyes again.

Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh. He looked nothing like a Taoist priest; he was more like her fourth brother, Jiang Yejun.

"Senior brother, I'm serious. It's not safe for me to take so much. Anyway, you spend it quickly, so take it all. Next time, let's not dig graves, let's do something else, okay?"

After a while, Master Zhang hummed in agreement; his profile was sharply defined in the dim candlelight.

"Well, then I won't stand on ceremony. Keep it with me for now, otherwise, you'll have a hard time dealing with the ups and downs. I'll give it to you when you want to buy a big house."

"Okay, then senior brother should go to sleep early." She smiled, got up, and closed the door.

She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Today, her senior brother was unwilling to talk about his family. Now that she heard he had been having a hard time, she felt that he was incredibly vulnerable at this moment.

But she couldn't ask.

The next morning, she was shaken awake by her fourth sister.

"Fifth Brother, why did the Taoist priest leave without saying a word?" She handed her a letter. "However, he left this for you."