Chapter 685 Bai Caiwei

Is this woman Yunqiu's cousin?

Song Chunxue looked at the kind-faced woman in front of her, who seemed serene and fearless of life's storms—the complete opposite of Yun Qiu—and wondered what she would do.

"Cousin, let's go back first." Yunqiu was disappointed and wanted to take someone with her.

"Cousin, I'd like to try the soft tofu here, and the mushroom soup is also quite good. You should go back first," the woman in white said with a smile. "Shall I have someone take you home?"

Yun Qiu was furious.

“I told you, this woman isn’t as simple as she seems. Don’t be fooled by her appearance. It’s like she’s learned some kind of seductive art; everyone fawns over her. I don’t know how she became Lord Zhao’s junior apprentice…”

"clang!"

Wuyou darted out and rushed towards Yunqiu's forehead.

If it weren't for someone blocking her way, she would have been knocked to the ground by Wuyou right now.

"Clang clang clang!"

Wuyou rushed towards Yunqiu's side again.

"Bang bang bang!"

But how could an ordinary sword be a match for a spirit sword?

The next moment, Yun Qiu was hit on the forehead three times in a row, and he fell backward in a daze.

“You…” Yun Qiu was so angry in front of everyone that her face turned ashen, and she was unable to stop herself from speaking.

The next moment, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Song Chunxue knew that she could only faint.

Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing, and you would have to slink away in disgrace.

But Wuyou didn't give up. He jumped on Yunqiu's nose again to make sure she didn't move, before flying back to Song Chunxue's side.

Everyone was surprised.

Many of them came specifically for Song Chunxue.

Recently, they heard that a Taoist priest from out of town had come to Baiyun Temple. He had a precious sword that no one knew where it came from, and even He Xiu was envious and wanted to possess it. It was said that the sword had developed a spirit and was very intelligent.

They've just witnessed it for themselves.

He Xiu laughed and said, "Your precious baby is quite protective of its owner."

The person stroking Yunqiu said angrily, "You have no martial ethics and bully the weak."

"Shut up! It's your master who's bullying people. Get out of here! Aren't you ashamed enough?" He Xiu lectured, adopting the air of an elder. "An old cultivator of your age, and you still haven't cultivated your character. Stay home more often in the future."

"..." Yun Qiu, who was pretending to be unconscious, almost sat up, her eyelids twitching.

"Quickly send my cousin back. You all go and help her." The woman in white instructed her attendants. "My cousin has indeed had some bad luck with men these past few years, and her temperament has become somewhat irritable. I'm sorry for making her a laughingstock."

As she spoke, she bowed to Song Chunxue in apology.

"Your cousin isn't a bad person. She doesn't like you because she thinks you're lucky. Please don't take it personally."

Song Chunxue smiled faintly, thinking to herself that her life had been quite good, but all of this was earned through her hard work.

If it were just a matter of fate, she would still be at the Li family estate right now.

If she hadn't practiced swordsmanship, she might have been killed by bandits on the way from Zhuanglang County to Jincheng.

Praising her for being lucky made Song Chunxue unhappy.

"Perhaps. You guys go down the mountain first. I'll come find my senior brother for tea once I've tied him up."

Lord Zhao looked at her and said, "I've learned it too, let's learn together."

As he spoke, he bent down and skillfully gathered the wheat together, quickly and neatly tied a knot, and bundled the wheat into a bundle, then subconsciously stepped on the root of the bundle.

That's what farmers in dry land do after bundling wheat, because the roots of the pulled wheat are covered in soil.

The harvested wheat had no roots.

Could it be that the eldest brother used to pull wheat?

With the help of several young disciples, the wheat was bundled up in no time. Song Chunxue then stacked ten bundles of wheat into a small pile.

"This way, the wheat ears won't get moldy when it rains."

He Xiu nodded, "That's a good idea. I really want to visit your hometown sometime and see how you grow crops."

“Great! Welcome, Master He, to visit my home. Actually, apart from the lack of rain, it’s quite beautiful there.”

No one would genuinely dislike their hometown, Song Chunxue said earnestly. "The four seasons are distinct. In winter, it's not too cold to light a fire, and in summer, it's not too hot, so you don't sweat easily. The poplar forests in autumn are especially beautiful. The potatoes are tastier, with more starch, and the fruits are sweeter."

She used to think that land was too arid, but when she was away from home, although she would marvel at the beautiful scenery, she felt more nostalgic.

I miss the food there, the refreshing and bright atmosphere, and how the uniquely flavored apricots still grow on the barren and weathered hillsides.

The apricots in Beijing are very large and look amazing, but they are not sweet or sour enough, and the taste of each apricot is not much different.

The apricots on the mountain taste very different from one another; some are sour, some are sweet, some are slightly bitter, some are easy to break apart, and some stick to the pit.

As she thought about it, she couldn't stop craving it.

Lord Zhao nodded, "I've been there once. Every scene there is unexpected. Walking from south to north feels like traveling the whole world. I'll go again sometime and visit my junior brother's house while I'm there."

"Okay, I'll definitely let you try our local coarse grains then." Although it was just a casual remark, Song Chunxue was very happy that her senior brother would say that.

Afterwards, the group brushed the dust off their clothes and slowly made their way down the mountain.

Upon arriving at the spacious and beautiful pavilion, a sumptuous meal was already laid out on the table.

Without exception, they were all vegetarian.

Song Chunxue listened to their conversation and quietly ate until she was about nine-tenths full.

Although we used to only eat meat during the Lunar New Year, we haven't abstained from meat for the past few years. Will we have to switch to a vegetarian diet in five years?

She thought this, and she asked Lord Zhao the same question.

"You don't necessarily have to avoid certain foods. I didn't avoid certain foods a few years ago, but then I suddenly stopped eating them. Whenever I saw meat, I would think of it as a living, breathing animal, and I would feel nauseous and unable to eat it. When you reach a certain level of spiritual cultivation, you will naturally be able to avoid certain foods."

At this point, Lord Zhao said in a low voice, "But this cannot be said to newly initiated disciples. After all, our Quanzhen Sect has rules that must be followed after entering the sect. You were recruited halfway through your journey, so you can take your time."

Song Chunxue asked curiously, "When did Senior Brother become a disciple?"

Lord Zhao put down the exquisite Biyun porcelain teacup. "It's been so many years, I can hardly remember. Back then, I wasn't my mother's son yet."

"..." These words stunned Song Chunxue. Then, seeing Master Han sitting in the sun opposite her, who was squinting his eyes and pretending to doze off by the railing after eating his fill, she thought that it was not impossible for her senior brother to have been alive for many years and that his current identity was just a mortal identity.

She glanced again at the white-clad woman sitting to the right of the senior brother, chatting with He Xiu, and couldn't help but lower her voice to ask curiously, "What's this Daoist's name? She looks otherworldly, yet she's Yun Qiu's cousin. Could it be...?"

The refined and scholarly Lord Zhao leaned closer to her, raised his hand to cover his mouth, and whispered, "She is now Bai Caiwei, the eldest daughter of Minister Bai of the Ministry of Rites. She has been practicing Taoism at home for many years. Her father built a Taoist temple for her in the house. She practices the Zhengyi sect and could have gotten married, but the one she has chosen is a Buddhist monk..."

"Lord Zhao, what are you whispering about me?" Bai Caiwei leaned closer and said with a smile. "Let me tell her. What's the point of letting the men spread a young lady's private words?"