Chapter 301 I Really Want to Kick My Senior Brother

Jiang Wei raised his cup with both hands and respectfully toasted the Taoist priest.

"Please speak frankly, Daoist Master. I am all ears." He said gently, "I have heard that my grandmother rose to prominence after meeting you, Daoist Master. I trust your abilities."

"grandmother?"

The senior brother looked at Song Chunxue with surprise. His usually clear and bright eyes showed a complex expression, as if he wanted to tease her, laugh at her, and sympathize with her.

"I didn't expect you to be of such high seniority. You're only a few years older than the county magistrate, yet you're his grandmother. It's true that our ancestors had the advantage of having children slowly."

Because Jiang Wei was present, the Taoist priest did not tease her excessively.

He turned to look at Jiang Wei, his expression turning serious.

"Don't blindly trust me. Taoism has many branches in folk religion. Most of the yin-yang masters and feng shui masters are old Taoist priests who started out practicing at home. They have passed down their skills from generation to generation and have also incorporated a lot of folk practices. I have never seen such faith as yours in other places, but it has made me realize why poor families are more determined to have a son to carry on the family line."

The Taoist priest stroked his beard. "Although I haven't encountered one yet, I've often traveled around the Northwest region in recent years, and I've even heard of some people who, after they die, possess other people's bodies and accuse their descendants of not giving them anything or burning paper money. The most common example is a man who died young without children and then asked someone else to adopt a child to continue the family line."

"Besides, the underworld has no say in this matter. It's probably a family affair. If you don't want to suffer, just obediently accept the adoption. It's just a name change, and you'll be fine as long as you're safe."

"If you really don't want to, and you think about how you'll see your children being filial to others and becoming distant relatives after you die, then you should think of other ways. Write a memorial oration and chant sutras to help them pass on to the afterlife. You must find a skilled geomancer; a half-baked one will do you a lot of harm."

The Taoist priest returned the toast with a cup of wine, saying, "But this is something I, an outsider, am not good at. If you value it, then hold a ritual to pray for the ancestors. But once you ask, you must take care of it."

At this point, the Taoist priest glanced behind Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei was so startled by what he saw that he immediately turned his head to look.

Song Chunxue was also quite frightened. Could it be that Jiang Wei's grandmother and her live-in son-in-law were nearby?

"Thank you, Daoist Master. I will remember this."

Jiang Wei suppressed his unease and fear, invited them to drink and eat, and changed the subject to Heming Academy.

When Jiang Wei learned that Chang Zhen was willing to pay a higher price to buy Heming Academy, he praised him repeatedly, offering a whole host of sincere compliments.

An hour later, they came out of Zuixianlou.

Jiang Wei repeatedly invited them to stay at his residence, but his fellow disciples declined.

If Song Chunxue and the Taoist priest really went to Jiang Wei's house, and their behavior was even slightly suggestive, the news would spread to their village during the next holiday when they returned home to visit relatives.

In less than half a month, everyone in Lijiazhuang will embellish the story, making Song Chunxue and the Taoist priest's tales even more exciting than a play.

Public opinion can be a powerful force to be reckoned with; we must be wary of it.

Besides, they weren't familiar with each other to begin with.

Watching Jiang Wei walk away with his two attendants, the Taoist priest rubbed his temples. "He drank a bit too much. How much did this meal cost?"

"Eight hundred coins, much less than I expected, but this meal is enough for the two of us to eat for a month without any problem. Suddenly I feel a little pain in my wallet."

The Taoist priest comforted her, "There are gains and losses. When you're traveling, you won't have to worry about not finding money. Let's go and take a look at Heming Academy."

Song Chunxue didn't take it to heart.

Upon arriving at the solemn and imposing yet old and simple Heming Academy, Song Chunxue felt a strong scholarly atmosphere.

Only after asking the school gatekeeper did they learn that the school had been closed for three days, and even when the students' parents came and knelt down to beg for mercy, they could not get the Xu family head to relent.

He was wealthy and generous, and bought the school with twenty gold ingots.

"Twenty gold ingots, it's simply..." The Taoist priest was furious. "This is clearly forcing others to their deaths. It seems we can only use the second method to deal with them."

Song Chunxue asked curiously, "What does Senior Brother mean...?"

"Scare him. Call the feng shui master and tell him that if he dares to demolish this school, the Xu family's legacy of generations will be destroyed. Let's see if he still dares to act recklessly."

"That's a good idea, but would a feng shui master agree to this kind of self-sabotage?"

The Taoist priest smiled mysteriously and stroked his beard. "If you are willing to part with a gold ingot, this matter will be easy to handle."

Song Chunxue's eyes widened. "Bribed him with a gold ingot?"

The Taoist priest said casually, "It's better than spending twenty-odd gold ingots and emptying our savings. I can't become a teacher even if I buy the school. Everyone has their own expertise. I'm just a lowly Taoist priest, so I shouldn't mislead the students."

"..." As someone who was half a Taoist priest, Song Chunxue didn't like hearing that word at all.

But my senior brother is indeed quick-witted.

Why use more than twenty ingots of gold when one ingot of gold can solve the problem?

Before long, they arrived at the Fengshui Residence.

Is anyone home?

A man wearing a yin-yang hat put down his teacup and was startled when he saw the Taoist priest in front of him.

"Master Zhang... Master Zhang?"

The Taoist priest crossed his arms and said, "Liang Xu is doing quite well, isn't he? He even dares to transfer the academy's fortune to someone else. Who gave you the guts?"

"Thump~"

The feng shui master, Liang Xu, knelt directly in front of the Taoist priest.

"Master Zhang, you are wise. I only mentioned it casually at the time. Who knew that the head of the Xu family was so determined to buy the school and build a villa? We couldn't stop him."

"Oh!"

Master Zhang sat directly on his tea table, crossed his legs, took out a silver ingot from his pocket, and threw it in front of him.

"How much silver would it take for you to dare stop him?"

Liang Xu stood there, staring blankly at the round, bulging silver ingot in front of him.

"Get up, here's another one, see if that's enough?" Song Chunxue also took one out of her bosom and placed it on the table.

Liang Xu was on the verge of tears, "Isn't this cutting off my own escape route...?"

"Bang!"

Song Chunxue slammed a gold ingot on the table. "If that doesn't work, then my senior brother will have to act on behalf of Heaven."

Liang Xu stared at the gold ingot with shining eyes. He had just gotten up when he knelt down again and kowtowed deeply.

"Alright, alright, I'll go to the Xu family today and make sure they don't dare to mess with the school again."

Liang Xu happily held the gold in his hands and even took a bite.

"I'll go with you."

The Taoist priest turned to look at Song Chunxue, "Does your head hurt?"

Song Chunxue carefully sensed it and it seemed a bit...

Did my senior brother's words come true?

The Taoist priest tossed her a packet of herbs, saying, "Use his tea stove to brew the medicine, but we'll come back later."

"Remember to meditate and observe your inner self after taking the medicine; you will be pleasantly surprised."

Song Chunxue was skeptical, but she also wanted to go and see what was going on.

"Don't go. Those rich people are full of scoundrels. Junior brother is a woman after all. What if that lecherous man insists on taking junior brother as a concubine? Gold won't solve the problem."

"Senior brother, stop teasing me."

Liang Xu chimed in, "That Xu family patriarch is indeed a lecher. Last year he even took in a rather attractive nun. It's hard to say whether he wants a Taoist nun or not."

The Taoist priest nodded, "You have to trust Mei Yang's judgment; none of the women he chooses are ugly."

"..." Song Chunxue gritted her teeth, really wanting to kick him!