"You old fart, you dare!"
With a loud shout, the person sprang up on the spot and aimed a kick at the other's behind. The gaunt figure seemed to have anticipated the move, immediately twisting his slender waist and miraculously shifting his buttocks half a foot to the side, evading the incoming kick. His hands still reached towards the desk,
"Hehe! It's still mine, the old master..."
Feeling smug inside, the Old Taoist Priest's behind stuck out as he grabbed for the desk, nearly succeeding, but before he knew it, everything before his eyes turned into a blur. The roast chicken and braised pig's head on the desk suddenly vanished into thin air. He clutched at nothing, and then felt a sharp pain followed by a powerful force that sent him crashing onto the desk. Angrily, the Old Taoist turned his head and bellowed,
"You unfilial thing, I've wasted decades raising you for nothing!"
The person behind him let out a cold snort, holding a pair of oilpaper-wrapped packages, with eyes that gleamed mischievously as they watched him,
"Curse again! Just try cursing once more, see if you'll have any alcohol to drink tonight!"
"Err..."
As soon as the Old Taoist heard there was alcohol to drink, he immediately touched his nose and withdrew his terrifying demeanor, putting on an air of disdain and waved dismissively,
"Off you go! Pay respect to the Grand Master first. I couldn't care less for that trivial stuff of yours!"
"Hmph!"
The other snorted coldly and carefully placed the roast chicken and braised pig's head back on the table, then devoutly knelt down and said,
"Grand Master, please forgive us, it's all this old fool's fault for offending you. If any punishment is to be handed down, let it fall upon him; it has nothing to do with me, and heaven forbid it severs my thread of marriage..."
The Old Taoist rolled his eyes as he listened, and casually sat down cross-legged on the ground,
"The Grand Master doesn't deal with marriage affairs. You've been praying to Grand Master for over a decade and still haven't gotten married!"
He was fine until he said that, which immediately ignited the other's fury. Having finished the ritual, they jumped up and retorted,
"Look who's talking! If not for you always hiding in deserted places and dragging me into hiding for twenty-five years, would my marriage have been delayed..."
Within these ten miles, aside from mountain spirits and wild monsters, there were only the two of them alive. Who was she to marry, the Pine Tree Spirit behind the mountain, or the Wild Boar Monster in the gully?
The Old Taoist shrank his neck and felt somewhat guilty, forcing a laugh,
"Aiyaya! Don't be mad..."
With that, he gestured towards her with a finger,
"Just one more month. As soon as the 15th of the next month arrives, we can leave the mountain. Once we're out, I will find you a handsome young master from a noble family to be your husband. Then I'll draw you a Talisman for bearing children—you'll have two children within three years, six in five years!"
"Pah!"
Infuriated, the person spat at him and turned to walk outside with the roast chicken and pig's head,
"I don't believe a word you say! You rotten old man, so bad to the core!"
This Old Taoist was not skilled in his art, his Talismans worked only one time out of ten. When they went down the mountain for Ghost Catching to earn Silver, often it was because the Old Taoist's inadequacy in Taoist magic led not to catching ghosts but to being caught by them, and who knows how many times they were thrown out by their clients.
Having been beaten up too often, she knew all too well not to rely on the Old Taoist. Since she was eight, she started Drawing Talismans and Catching Ghosts on her own. Over the years, she could well be considered as having surpassed her master, and in recent years, with the Old Taoist's magic in decline, he could no longer catch ghosts, and it all depended on her. Fortunately, she had been clever since childhood and had relied on herself early on. Otherwise, she would have starved to death long ago, let alone lived to see the day where she longed to be wed!
Though people of this world were known to live long lives, with ordinary folks often reaching a century, and those who practiced the Taoist arts could extend their lifespans to two or three hundred years quite commonly. However, for someone like her, approaching thirty and still unmarried, that was extremely rare. She truly feared she would die of old age in the mountains, forever a maiden.
While she spoke, she had already stepped out of the temple. The moonlight spilled everywhere, casting a bright glow. She dragged a table with a missing leg from under the porch to under the big tree in the courtyard, found a stone to prop it up, and then set the chicken and pig's head on top of it. As she turned around, she saw the Old Taoist walking behind her, his thieving eyes constantly glancing at the table,
"What are you doing?"
The Old Taoist, looking sheepish, tried to appease with a chuckle,
"Shiyi, now that we've paid our respects to the Grand Master, it's our turn to eat, right?"
Seeing Gu Shi Yi roll her eyes, she waved her hand,
"Go get the bowls and chopsticks!"
The Old Taoist, delighted at her concession, instantly agreed and turned to the makeshift kitchen made of wood and straw to the side. When he returned, he saw a jar of wine already placed on the table, his smile so wide his eyes nearly disappeared,
"You must have made a good amount of Silver today, even bought wine..."
Without waiting, he grabbed the jar, pulled out the stopper, and took a whiff,