Chapter 238 Destiny

Whether or not Li Erxiong's words during the night truly dispelled Li Ersao's resentment and fear remains to be seen.

But at least when she got up in the morning, Li Ersao was still carefully selecting clothes.

"What? Aren't you afraid anymore?"

"I think you're right, Erlang. It's all the fault of those bad people. Whether it's the Xing family or San Niang, they didn't do it on purpose."

Mother said I must bring separate amulets for Xiao Si and Xiao Wu, so I need to change my clothes properly; I can't embarrass my son.

When Li San Niang got up in the morning, she first carefully tied two small pigtails for Lu Zhu'er, and then changed her into a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) made of slightly thicker fabric.

Although there is no frost yet this morning, there is still dew, and it is still a bit chilly outside in order to get up early.

Since the Li family received a lot of money from Li San Niang, Li's mother has become much more lenient with her diet.

So, we bought food on the street for breakfast. There were more than ten of us, and it cost quite a bit.

Li San Niang thought it was a good deal. Otherwise, if she and Li Da Sao had to get up at dawn to cook, she couldn't stand it and would rather pay for food.

However, to Li San Niang's surprise, Song Da Lang actually brought Song Xiao Niang along.

It turned out that ever since Song Dalang left the Li family, he would come to visit every now and then and help with any chores he could find.

However, Li San Niang always worked in Yongping Ward and made sure to return home before the ward gates closed.

Therefore, they never ran into Song Dalang and Song Xiaoniang from the Li family.

I heard that the Li family was going to Xuandu Temple to pray, so they specially drove over today.

Seeing that the bandages had been removed, Li San Niang looked at Song Da Lang, who was much better, and asked, "Is there still any pain?"

"Thank you for your concern, Third Sister. It's all better now."

"I'm working at a newly opened supermarket in the West Market now. I used the money my third sister lent me to buy a horse-drawn cart to haul goods for the shop, and I'm making quite a bit of money."

Wasn't this the time when Song Dalang was driving Li Sanniang's carriage and Li Sanniang was ambushed by the Temple Gate, resulting in him being injured on the head?

Later, after Song Dalang had been cared for for a while at the Li family's home, Li San Niang took it upon herself to give him a sum of money as compensation for his losses.

Of course, Song Dalang insisted on refusing to accept the money, but Li Sanniang insisted on giving it to him, so in the end Song Dalang accepted the money.

"Consider it a loan from Third Sister out of kindness. I will definitely repay it once I have saved enough money."

After that, Li San Niang never saw Song Da Lang and Song Xiao Niang again, but she never expected to see them today.

Dewdrop was overjoyed to see Song Xiaoniang, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Li Sanniang then told Song Dalang that Song Xiaoniang should get on her donkey cart.

On the side where Li San Niang was sitting, apart from Xiao Wu Lang sleeping in the basket and the driver Shi Jiu, who were men, the whole cart was full of women.

The carriage driven by Song Dalang was led by Li's father and second brother.

On the way, Li San Niang asked Song Xiao Niang a few questions and naturally learned how Song Da Lang had found a living person by chance in Xing Yu's supermarket shop in the West Market.

Listen, it's all a coincidence, but Li San Niang felt that perhaps Xing Yu, this fellow time traveler, wanted to investigate her?

When they arrived at the street where Xuandu Temple was located, before they even turned in, Li Sanniang could see through the carriage window that there were many people outside making a lot of noise.

"Luckily we arrived relatively early. If we had left later, we wouldn't have even been able to get across the street."

Sister-in-law Li made this remark because she felt there were just too many people on the street.

There were also several patrol officers on the street, walking back and forth to maintain order.

After Li San Niang and her companions got out of the carriage, someone came over and said that large animal-drawn carriages are no longer allowed to approach the street; they all have to park at the carriage and horse stables.

Li San Niang held Lu Zhu'er and watched as Li Er Sao tightly wrapped Xiao Wu Lang around her chest with a cloth. Li Da Sao took the initiative to lead Song Xiao Niang, Qiu Xiang protected her from the side, and Li's mother held the basket that was originally meant to hold Xiao Wu Lang.

Nineteen and Song Dalang went to the carriage shop one after the other to park their carriages.

Li's father, his two older brothers, and their four children escorted Li San Niang and the others to Xuandu Temple.

When they got to the front, they still had to queue. They waited in line for a long time until Nineteen and Song Dalang returned. Xiao Wulang had already been transferred from Li Ersao's arms to Li Erxiong's arms. They still had to wait for another quarter of an hour before it was Li's turn to go in.

As soon as they entered, a young Taoist priest offered them three sticks of incense.

Once inside the Taoist temple, it wasn't so crowded.

Li San Niang thought that this was probably because the Taoist temple admitted people according to their numbers.

If they all come in at once, something bad might happen.

After offering incense, listening to Li's mother's words, and paying respects to the Heavenly Master, they followed Li's mother to find a Taoist priest to request a peace talisman for the family's youngest child.

Li San Niang naturally felt that this was something like a placebo, but since Li's mother believed in it and it wasn't expensive, what was wrong with getting one?

Song Xiaoniang stayed by Li Sanniang's side, so Li Sanniang also got Song Xiaoniang a peace talisman. It was a talisman that a Taoist priest drew on yellow paper with cinnabar, folded into a triangular shape, and then tied with a red string through a hole and a slipknot.

Moreover, it's quite particular.

Didn't Li's mother and the others get a peace charm for Lu Zhu'er last time?

It's still on Dewdrop's neck. The master took the talisman from Dewdrop, pulled it off the rope, held it in his palm, muttered something, and then threw it into the fire bowl in front of him to burn.

Then, the new talisman was hung on the red string, and Li's mother put it back on Luzhu'er's head.

Li San Niang thought it was really strange. After Xiao Si Lang, Xiao Wu Lang, and Song Xiao Niang had all hung up their amulets, Li San Niang suggested, "I want to ask about the tortoise shell. Qiu Xiang can come with me."

Mother, eldest sister-in-law, and second sister-in-law can go wherever they want.

I'm almost there, I'll be waiting for you at the temple gate, and we'll have lunch together.

Li's mother still wanted to go listen to the abbot's lecture, and Li's eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law also wanted to go, so they parted ways with Li's third sister-in-law.

After asking two young Taoist boys, Li San Niang walked quite a distance along a less crowded road, winding her way through the streets, until she found the wooden plaque that read "Magic Instrument Gate" hanging at the entrance of the courtyard.

Standing at the gate, Li San Niang knocked on the courtyard gate, which was not closed at all. After knocking three times, a voice came from inside: "Come in."

Li San Niang is holding Lu Zhu'er, with Song Xiao Niang on her left and Qiu Xiang on her right.

Li San Niang thought that this secluded place, being a Taoist temple, should be free of bad people, right?

Inside, an old Taoist priest was sitting cross-legged in front of a table, his eyes closed.

Before Li San Niang could even ask anything, a young Taoist boy appeared out of nowhere and said to Li San Niang and the others, "Ladies, please take off your shoes and come in."

After Li San Niang and the other three sat down, the old Taoist priest, who had been keeping his eyes closed, opened them.

"What brings you here, my esteemed one?"

Li San Niang didn't want to get involved in this superstitious talk about destined people; she just wanted to finish asking about the tortoise shell and then leave.

So he bluntly asked the old Taoist priest if he had any tortoise shells for sale.

The old Taoist priest glanced at the young Taoist boy kneeling beside him. The young boy got up and went to the back to bring over a tray. Li San Niang then saw three objects on the tray, each with a different shape and material, but all shaped like tortoise shells.

The old Taoist priest probably realized that Li San Niang was not a believer, so he gave a brief introduction to the three tortoise shells in front of him, which were carved from real tortoise shells, metal copper, and animal teeth and bones, and quoted prices.

Thinking about the silver that Li San Niang had asked Qiu Xiang to keep in her bosom that morning, and looking at the three objects in front of her, she chose the tortoise shell made of copper, which looked incredibly sturdy.

After taking the small bundle from Qiu Xiang, placing it on the table, bowing respectfully, Li San Niang led Lu Zhu'er and the others out.

Once she left the secluded courtyard and went outside to a noisy place with many people, Li San Niang felt her heart begin to stir.

After Li San Niang left, the young Taoist said to the old Taoist, "This is fate."