Chapter 503 I'll Toast You

My senior brother's childhood sweetheart has never been mentioned by him.

Song Chunxue was very curious, but she didn't ask.

As soon as they stepped into the inn, they saw a still-attractive woman descending the stairs. Her purplish-red vest and white rabbit fur collar accentuated her red lips and white teeth.

Although it's obvious at a glance that she's not young, her straight and slender neck and quiet and elegant temperament make her hard not to like.

A woman who grew up with her senior brother is naturally not bad.

Song Chunxue wanted to tease her senior brother, but then she thought about herself and decided against it. Only she knew the truth about these things, and other people's opinions didn't matter.

"Zhang Chengxuan, after more than ten years, you've finally deigned to come back." The woman's gaze fell on Song Chunxue. "Who is she?"

The Taoist priest said gently, "He is a junior brother I recognized three years ago."

“I am Wu Mai. I grew up in the Zhang family when I was a child. We were considered servants of the Zhang family. I grew up with your senior brother.” The woman looked at Song Chunxue and gestured, “Please come upstairs. Let’s sit down and talk.”

"I've met Sister Wu, so I'll trouble you then." Song Chunxue didn't refuse and went upstairs first.

She chose the second-to-last room at the end of the corridor and tossed her bag onto the table.

Her senior brother chose a room right next to hers; it was a large and spacious room, fully furnished.

Before long, the four of them sat around a table laden with food and wine.

"Don't be shy, start eating, let's chat while we eat." Wu Mai looked at the Taoist priest with a smile, his eyes filled with the emotions of an old acquaintance. "You haven't changed at all, even your beard is still so long."

Wu Bai raised his hand and patted the Taoist priest's shoulder. "That's right. Can cultivators really live forever? Your face is still the same as before, while my face is so weathered from the sun and wind that it's almost like a rag. If you shaved your beard, you would definitely look more than ten years younger than me."

The Taoist priest smiled slightly, "It's not too late to start cultivating now; you'll be younger than me."

Wu Bai shook his head repeatedly, "I'm so busy every day that I fall asleep as soon as I get home. I don't have time to meditate."

"There are two paths to spiritual cultivation: cultivating the mind and cultivating the body. Cultivating the mind alone can change one's demeanor. I didn't ask you to meditate," the Taoist priest explained earnestly.

Wu Bai was somewhat resistant. "I not only have to kill animals to make a living, but I also like to eat beef. Cultivation makes me unhappy. Oh well, this is how my life will be. But my sister is also cultivating. She meditates every day, often gives alms, and reads before going to bed at night."

The Taoist priest was somewhat surprised and nodded, "This is a good thing."

Wu Mai laughed and said, "I'm all alone, unlike Wu Bai. I don't need to raise children, so I'm just idling around anyway."

Song Chunxue was taken aback. She had thought that the woman was a widow like herself, but she hadn't expected that the woman would remain chaste for her senior brother.

She couldn't help but look at her senior brother. Was this devoted person waiting for him?

However, afraid of saying the wrong thing, she lowered her head and focused on eating.

Listening to their conversation, Song Chunxue roughly pieced together some of the clues.

It turns out that Wu Mai and Wu Bai were kicked out of the Zhang family the year after the Taoist priest left home.

When the Taoist priest was in the Zhang family, he lived a comfortable life with the Wu family, who were about the same age as Wu Bai and Wu Mai.

After being kicked out of the Zhang family, Wu Bai and Wu Mai's parents, who were used to a life of leisure, became lazy and didn't like to farm the land. They had just opened a noodle shop, but because they couldn't get up in the morning and didn't wash the dishes properly, they had almost no customers and had to close down in a hurry.

The Wu family's life was getting worse day by day. Seeing that Wu Mai was about to come of age, they began to plot against her, planning to marry her off to a rich man's foolish son.

At that time, the Taoist priest was still on Mount Xuliang, dozens of miles away. Wu Mai once secretly went to see the Taoist priest, wanting to elope with him and find a secluded place to live.

The Taoist priest refused, saying he wanted to cultivate himself in seclusion and was not attached to worldly desires.

Heartbroken, Wu Mai returned home, was bound, and put on a bridal sedan chair to marry the foolish young master.

Fortunately, that silly young master was relatively easy to get along with; he was just a bit silly and clumsy.

But Wu Mai never expected that the foolish young master would die soon. After three years of marriage, he passed away.

That was when Wu Mai was pregnant. She didn't tell anyone and secretly brewed herbal medicine to abort the child.

Wu Mai was discovered by some old woman and was kicked out of her husband's house. At that time, her younger brother Wu Bai could no longer endure the beatings and scoldings from their parents, so the two brothers ran away to Yuzhou to make a living.

At first, the siblings had a very difficult time. They slept on the streets, begged for food, and even rummaged through the leftover food bins of wealthy families.

Their senior brother suddenly appeared in front of them and gave them three taels of silver.

Not only that, the Taoist priest also found them a job, and they worked diligently for him for five years, saving up some money to open a noodle shop.

Having been married before, Wu Mai's feelings for the Taoist priest were even stronger. She never agreed to a marriage proposal from matchmakers who came to her door.

Song Chunxue couldn't help but sigh as she listened, realizing that someone as determined as her senior brother would ultimately disappoint Wu Mai.

“Back then, I was very persistent and went to find you several times. Later, I heard that you left the mountain and never came back. Only then did I realize how firm your Daoist heart was. Your master also said that you are a rare cultivation prodigy, and that his own cultivation was not enough to hold you back.”

Wu Mai's voice carries a sense of calm and acceptance, as if it has weathered many storms.

“Every time your master asks someone passing through this area on their way down the mountain to have someone here who has received their kindness take care of us, so no one makes things difficult for us when we open an inn.”

With that, Wu Mai raised his glass, "Zhang Chengxuan, I'd like to toast you."

The Taoist priest stood up. "It's good that you don't blame me. It's my honor that I was able to help you see your own path clearly. It's worth it for us to have known each other."

Wu Bai sighed and gave Song Chunxue a very resentful look.

Song Chunxue understood that they had something to say, so she got up and went to the outhouse, and stayed downstairs for a while.

Upstairs, Wu Bai couldn't help but lower his voice and ask, "Are you really not interested in that junior brother? Why is she willing to travel all over the country with you? You've only known her for three or four years and you trust her so much? My sister and you have known each other since childhood, why can't you let her travel with you?"

He grumbled discontentedly, "I think you just look down on my sister. It would be better to make things clear so she doesn't foolishly wait for you all these years."

Wu Mai slapped Wu Bai and smiled helplessly at the Taoist priest, "Don't take it to heart. He's married with a wife and children, but he insists that I'm the one who delayed things until today because of you."

"Isn't that right?" Wu Bai said irritably. "You're my sister, how could I not know what you're thinking?"

The Taoist priest lowered his eyes.

“Because my junior brother has no other thoughts, she has five children of her own. Now that her family is better off, she only wants to cultivate. It’s no problem for me to guide her in cultivation.” He looked at Wu Mai, his voice flat, “But your sister used to have an obsession with me. If that obsession is not resolved, it will be detrimental to her cultivation.”

Wu Mai forced a smile and took a sip of wine to hide his disappointment.

"So, even if I wanted to travel around with you to cultivate, you wouldn't agree?" Wu Mai asked jokingly. "Then how do you know that your junior brother has no feelings for you?"