Upon entering the temple, Qin Liusi headed straight for the main hall. Before the ancestral deity, she performed several bows beside a large incense burner, then began digging. Suddenly, a flash of white light struck, and with a swift turn of her agile body, she evaded it.
"Hah! You can't hit me, no matter how hard you try!" She smirked triumphantly, clutching a piece of jade in her hand.
Another burst of white light came forth, accompanied by a curse, "Hey, you little thief! Stealing things right in front of the ancestral deity, aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"I did inform the old gentleman beforehand. Since he remained silent, it's considered tacit consent to my excavation. Moreover, these items I buried myself hardly qualify as stolen goods!" Qin Liusi argued cunningly.
The Three Clear Ancestral Deity: She'll regret this sooner or later!
"Though you're not long on other fronts, your mouth sure is sharp as a whetstone!" Standing before Qin Liusi was an elderly Taoist dressed in robes with a topknot. Correction: a senior Taoist. He pointed at her with a white dusting brush.
Qin Liusi chuckled, "Do I look like someone who handles a whetstone? My tongue is smoother than oil!"
The senior Taoist narrowed his eyes at her, then glanced at her hand. "You came here just to dig up jade?"
Qin Liusi brushed off the ash from the incense burner, flattened it, then released her hand to reveal two small jade toggles. Walking over to the senior Taoist, she explained, "We've welcomed two little brothers into our family, but they are frail. Without some talismans, I fear they won't thrive."
"Oh, so suddenly generous! Could it be a newfound conscience?" The senior Taoist chuckled sarcastically.
Qin Liusi gave him a sidelong glance. "Not a newfound conscience, but a fear that someone might expel me from the sect."
"Even you have something to fear?" Qin Liusi snorted.
The two exited the main hall and headed towards the rear hall, conversing along the way.
"Has everyone from your family arrived?" The senior Taoist wore a solemn expression akin to an old child.
"Yes," Qin Liusi replied. "Except for my grandfather and a few others, all are elderly, weak, women, and children."
"Fate has brought upon this disaster, unavoidable. We can only face it, not evade it. Compared to execution or exile, retaining our home and possessions is a great fortune." The senior Taoist held his dusting brush and sighed, "If it weren't for you these years, I'm afraid we'd all be reunited in the underworld."
The calamity facing the Qin family was a karmic debt passed down from their ancestors, a deathly ordeal far more tragic than the current predicament. It was Qin Liusi's accumulated merits over the years that saved the family from annihilation.
Qin Liusi remained silent.
The senior Taoist was unconcerned, as long as Qin Liusi was willing, this difficulty could be resolved.
"Have you encountered that group of people?" Qin Liusi glanced at him. "The aristocratic young master?"
"Born into nobility, unspeakably noble, but..." The senior Taoist's words trailed off, his expression somewhat inscrutable.
Qin Liusi didn't press further, nor could she, because the old man's hand reached out in front of her, causing her lips to twitch.
"It's not a large sum, shall we overlook it this time?" Qin Liusi gritted her teeth and said, "My whole family relies on me. We're very poor, so this time..."
"Five sins, three deficiencies. If you don't give, I can only sigh for your sake." The senior Taoist wore an expression of not forcing her, then added, "You were just digging the incense burner. I wonder what the ancestral deity will think..."
Qin Liusi: ...
She gave, couldn't she? Gritting her teeth, she reluctantly handed fifty taels to the senior Taoist.
With a smile, the senior Taoist flicked his dusting brush and exclaimed, "May you have boundless blessings, Heavenly Lord!"
Qin Liusi let out a heavy grunt.
This was one of the reasons she was poor. No matter how much she earned, half of it always went to the temple to perform charitable deeds.