A night passed without words, and come the morning, the Old Taoist Priest, with a stern expression, called Gu Shi Yi and Li Yaner before him,
"My disciple! I have something important to discuss with you today..."
Gu Shi Yi sensed that something was coming, so he quickly sat up straight, puffed out his chest, and responded,
"Master, if your disciple has caused any trouble, punish me however you like!"
The Old Taoist Priest shook his head,
"This is my destiny. Your uncle master warned me long ago, but it's only due to my greed that I've failed to see through it all these years..."
He paused, a trace of sorrow flashing in his eyes, before he rallied his spirits and said,
"You... go under the altar and bring out what's in the clay jar..."
Gu Shi Yi was taken aback,
"Master, are we leaving the mountain?"
The Old Taoist Priest urged him,
"Hurry!"
Gu Shi Yi did as he was told and crawled under the altar, retrieving a large bundle. It was all the possessions of the master and disciple. The Old Taoist Priest took it, untied the knot on top, and revealed the contents: his Taoist robe, the Peach Wood Sword for ghost catching, and a small box. Inside the box were several silver notes, some loose silver, and Gu Shi Yi was a bit surprised to see it,
"Master, how come there's so little left?"
The Old Taoist Priest was good at saving money; he often said the silver in this box was his coffin fund and strictly forbade her from touching it, so what happened now?
More than half of the silver was gone!
The Old Taoist Priest explained,
"I gave some to Widow Zhang yesterday. She's been with me for several years after all. Her family has many grandchildren and a whole household that needs to be fed. Her daughters-in-law are not without their schemes, so having a bit of silver at hand will save her from being neglected in her old age!"
Wealth is but an external possession, Gu Shi Yi had a free-spirited nature. Though they wandered from place to place, he never put much emphasis on money. At these words, he nodded,
"That's true, she has been with you for so long and has been truly devoted. If I were the master, I would have come down from the mountain and married her long ago, so no one could follow us up the mountain to fight!"
By then, the Old Taoist Priest would have become the stepfather of those strong sons, and they would dare not lift a finger to strike anyone!
The Old Taoist Priest gave him a sharp look,
"If it weren't for the Treasure Mirror..."
He stopped mid-sentence as if touching upon a sore spot, his chest suddenly aching. He held his chest and coughed a few times before changing the topic,
"Keep these things safe. You can use these magic artifacts if they are useful; if not, keep them as mementos. Hide the silver well; you'll need it to get by in the secular world, or else you'll be left to the mercy of the Northwest wind!"
Fortunately, Shiyi was better at ghost catching than himself; he wouldn't go hungry in the future.
Gu Shi Yi, unaware of the peculiarity, laughed and said,
"Isn't there still you, master? We could catch a few little ghosts and that would be plenty!"
The Old Taoist Priest replied,
"You don't need to flatter me. Your Taoist magic is now purer than mine. Most of the silver in this box was earned by you anyway; you should take it!"
Li Yaner, sitting aside, sensed something amiss and looked at Gu Shi Yi, but her good sister, being so carefree and grinning foolishly, didn't realize anything. The Old Taoist Priest, however, with a squint, seemed to understand and inwardly sighed before continuing to address his disciple,
"Do you remember where your hometown is?"
Gu Shi Yi was precocious. Though she left home at the age of five, she could still remember her family's affairs. After pondering a bit, she said,
"I remember it's in Chenzhou, north of the Great West State..."
"Hmm!"
The Old Taoist Priest nodded,
"You've been away from home for so many years. Take the opportunity to visit when you have the chance!"
Gu Shi Yi pouted, suddenly feeling that something was wrong,
"Old Taoist Priest, what do you mean by this? Why should I go back?"
The Old Taoist Priest said,
"Now that we no longer need to hide and run, you are originally the legitimate daughter of a noble house. You have suffered much wandering with me all these years; you should go back and have a look!"
Gu Shi Yi bit her lip. To say she didn't want to go back would be a lie, but she knew that if she returned to live as the young mistress, she likely wouldn't be able to go back to her current life!
After thinking it over, she said,
"Alright, we will visit. If they still recognize me, I will return. I'll have them build a courtyard for my master, and we won't wander anymore. Instead, I will look after my master in his old age!"
Though she said this, she knew that when she was home, some family elders doubted her pure bloodline due to her mother's elopement and had proposed to evict her from the family. Now that she had been away for over twenty years and was returning, she feared no one would acknowledge her!
She knew that as the legitimate eldest daughter of a noble family, she had inheritance rights, could marry into wealth, and her children would be the legitimate heirs capable of inheriting the family fortune. Her return would inevitably lead to a power struggle.