Chapter 339 Senior Brother's Past

Having received guidance from her senior brother, Song Chunxue knew that He Chuan's encounter with the Taoist priest was an extraordinary stroke of luck.

My senior brother is very skilled; for an ordinary person to meet him is like meeting a benefactor.

He Chuan became nervous. "I haven't thought of anything yet, and I don't know how to thank the Taoist priest. Please give me some guidance, Mother."

Jiang Hongying also came over, "Yes, Mother, he doesn't understand these things. He's always been a blockhead. If it weren't for the recent changes, all he would care about is work."

He Chuan whispered in defense, "No, there's still the child with you."

"Bullshit, back then you only had your child and your parents, I was just a maid you couldn't get rid of."

He Chuan scratched the back of his head. "You've certainly suffered a lot over the years. It's my fault for being useless and not thinking things through. I was a bit blindly filial."

Jiang Hongying muttered irritably, "That's not just a little bit, it's clearly exceptional, extremely, and incredibly blindly filial."

“Only parents who are good to you deserve to be filial. Your mother…” Jiang Hongying sighed, “Forget it, we’ve all gotten through it. I was stupid back then. I’ve been living in a daze these past few years. Giving birth has made me stupid.”

Song Chunxue patted Jiang Hongying on the back of the head, "You've gotten through it all, so you'll see things more clearly from now on."

“You kept it a secret all this time. If I hadn’t known you were beaten, I might have waited several years to come.”

"Let's go inside and talk."

He Chuan laughed and said, "Mother, you go into the courtyard first. I'll go in through the side gate. This carriage must have a canopy."

“Hmm, there should be. We only stayed for two days last time, so we didn’t notice.” Song Chunxue pulled Jiang Hongying along. “Then I’ll close the front door.”

...

They carried the food they had taken from the carriage to the kitchen, made a simple noodle soup, and then went back to their room to sleep.

The carriage ride was tiring, and with the darkness falling, no one had the energy to properly look around the courtyard.

My uncle must have left a couple of days ago; there's a light dust in the kitchen.

After Song Chunxue meditated for an hour, she heard a noise in the courtyard.

A crescent moon hung on the treetops, its pale light spilling onto the ground like water or mist.

"Senior brother, what are you doing practicing boxing in the middle of the night? Having a nightmare?"

The Taoist priest practiced Tai Chi under the moonlight, each move perfectly executed.

After finishing Tai Chi, I started practicing the Eight Vajra Forms.

The Eight Vajras are meant to boost Yang energy, so it's better to perform them in the morning. Could it be that he encountered some evil spirit?

But the courtyard is very bright and airy; there's no chilly feeling at all.

Her senior brother forbade her to come into contact with things like ghosts and spirits, and she was also afraid of recalling some bad memories, so she always avoided it.

The Taoist priest raised his arms, palms together, then moved them to his chest and slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm too tired to sleep, so I came out to practice some boxing. Why aren't you sleeping either? Are you thinking of thanking Master Xie?"

Song Chunxue wanted to roll her eyes, but it was too much effort, so she just snorted and said, "I miss my senior brother."

The Taoist priest chuckled, picked up some firewood from the side, and sat down on it.

"This isn't something you can easily spot."

Song Chunxue also took a piece of firewood and sat down. "I'm very curious, in all these years, Daoist Master, haven't you ever had a romantic time with any woman that made you unable to forget her and caused your Daoist heart to waver?"

"You love playing matchmaker, right? I suddenly want to play matchmaker for my senior brother too."

The Taoist priest straightened his robes and dusted off the dirt, covering his legs with his hands.

"Who are you going to introduce?" the Taoist priest said casually. "What good-looking women can you recommend? Yao Man is a widow, but she doesn't lack men. The others are all virtuous wives and loving mothers. Don't get any funny ideas."

"Actually, there's another one, it just depends on whether you like widows. Ah Lai's mother, what do you think?" She suddenly realized that most of the women around her were not good enough for the Taoist priest.

The Taoist priest seemed to be thinking, "It is quite good. If they were to become a couple, Alai might accidentally become my son, killing two birds with one stone. It's a pity that your senior brother's heart is as still as water. He hasn't been moved by love even in this spring month. I have long since passed this test."

"That's true. Daoist Master, you travel all over the world, so your heart must be wandering around too. Men are different from women. If a man has feelings for a woman, he can go to a brothel or something, and get his money and goods settled. How straightforward is that?"

"Cough cough cough... cough cough, you son of a bitch..." The Taoist priest choked on his own saliva and pointed at her angrily, "You went out for a while, cough cough, how did you go astray, junior brother?"

Song Chunxue calmly said, "I figured this out when I was sixty in my past life. How can that be called learning bad habits?"

The Taoist priest was speechless.

After a long pause, he said, "You're overthinking it. Although I am a member of the Zhengyi sect, I have always practiced the Quanzhen sect's teachings, and I would never be involved with women."

"Then why did you ask me to be your matchmaker? I've been abstaining from sex for decades, longer than you. How many people could resist someone like Lord Xie if he offered himself up? Senior brother, aren't you overestimating me?"

The Taoist priest frowned, seemingly conflicted. "My mistake, I didn't think that far ahead. But you've reminded me that I will eventually leave, so it would be good if you had someone to rely on. In this entire Northwest, you couldn't find another Xie Zheng like him even with a lantern."

Song Chunxue was furious.

"Didn't you buy this courtyard to trick me into coming up the mountain with you to start your own sect? I was even thinking that after the children got married, I would go up the mountain with you to cultivate in seclusion. Why did you suddenly change your mind, Senior Brother?"

"Or has something happened to you, Senior Brother?"

She scoffed, "Or perhaps, senior brother, you're afraid that one day I'll take a fancy to you?"

The Taoist priest shook his head. "No, it was purely by chance that I foresaw that you might be tempted by love. I was afraid that you would run away with someone before you came up the mountain, so I decided to see how strong your willpower was as soon as possible."

"As a result, he revealed everything as soon as he was probed, which was cowardly."

Song Chunxue, thick-skinned at this moment, was not only not ashamed, but also felt somewhat relaxed and relieved.

Perhaps it was the dim light of the night that emboldened people.

"When you meet a woman who is beautiful, highly educated, and has a heart for the world and a desire to serve the country and its people, let's see if you'll be completely unmoved."

Song Chunxue smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "You know what, now that my senior brother has done this, I'm all set for myself. I don't feel like I'm not good enough for Lord Xie anymore. He gave me a bracelet, such a valuable bracelet."

The Taoist priest sighed softly, "Actually, I met a woman like that back then, but unfortunately, we were destined to be apart."

"..." Good heavens, he's finally willing to talk about his own affairs.

It had been three years since they had known each other, and only after much coaxing from her did the senior brother finally bring up his past.

My senior brother's mouth must be made of iron.

She had no secrets from her senior brother.

But in Song Chunxue's eyes, her senior brother was the most mysterious person.

"Back then, how old were you, senior brother? Didn't you ever think about settling down with her?"

Song Chunxue spoke softly, afraid of disturbing her senior brother, who was unwilling to continue the conversation.

"How beautiful is she? How far have you two gone?"

She wanted to ask for more details, but she was afraid of being beaten.

The Taoist priest stroked his beard. "Back then, I was nineteen and she was seventeen. We were not married because we were observing mourning, but she was already engaged to someone."

"..." Poor senior brother.

“She was praying for her parents on the mountain. At that time, I was focused on cultivating the Tao and knew nothing about love. But the moment I saw her, my heart was in turmoil. No matter how I silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, it was ineffective. Instead, my heart beat faster and faster.”

"It was precisely because I didn't understand that I suffered from my youth back then. I didn't dare to touch her or fight for her. I watched helplessly as she secretly had an affair with my fellow disciple and they planned to elope."

"..." She opened her mouth, unsure of how to comfort her.

I feel like he wasn't telling the truth.