With virtue

The ghost general Zhou Heng had already been killed that very night.

That night, only he, Chen Wanchuan, and a few children were on the mountain. Although Mei San Niang had escaped, she did not know his background. As for the people from Ding Kiln, they knew nothing about him.

Where did this young master learn the name Zhou Heng? And why did he immediately ask him if he was here to capture the Ghost General?

"You know Zhou Heng?" Zhao Yunshu frowned.

The young master waved his hand: "Of course. Zhou Heng's trip to Dingzhou this time, though secretive, couldn't possibly have escaped my notice. Not to mention Zhou Heng, many other people are also coming to Dingzhou. Look, you're here too, aren't you?"

"Normally, Dingzhou wouldn't be this lively."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunshu suddenly had a flash of inspiration!

So, the monk Yuanmeng, Jiuyan, Mei Sanniang, the Three Yin Elder, and even the Ghost General, and now this young master, were all actually attracted from other places.

Although Dingzhou is a relatively peaceful place, it is by no means a sacred place for cultivation. Normally, it is difficult to even run into a fellow cultivator. Now, they have all gathered in one place by coincidence.

He would never believe there was no reason behind this.

"Is that so? Zhou Heng and I do have some grudges. Since you're so straightforward, then it's a deal. Tomorrow at noon, at this inn, I'll be waiting for you," Zhao Yunshu said, cupping his hands in greeting.

He made up his mind. He would find out about Jiu Yan sooner or later. Rather than blindly venturing into the deserted village of Liugou, he might as well try to find out the truth from this young master first.

Since this young master knows Zhou Heng, he probably also knows Jiu Yan, and may even know Mei San Niang's background. When we meet tomorrow, we can subtly probe and find out some information.

When we go, we can catch them all at once.

"Haha, okay, it's a deal. Let's set it for noon tomorrow. I have something to do in the evening, so I can't just eat there for free," the young master suggested.

"Okay." Zhao Yunshu nodded.

The young master seemed quite satisfied with the outcome and was in a good mood. Now that the agreement was made, he turned to Master Zhao and said, "I'm in a good mood tonight. If you lower the price of that deal by two cents, I'll agree."

Master Zhao was already prepared to lose everything tonight. After all, the pipa player he had hired had played terribly, offended a powerful figure, and it seemed like the duck that was about to be eaten was about to fly away...

Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. Instead of being angry, the young man relented.

Although lowering the price by two cents would mean earning less money, we are already very grateful to have made this deal, so we dare not haggle.

He immediately beamed, repeatedly cupping his hands in thanks, his voice trembling, "Thank you so much, young master! Thank you so much, young master! I will prepare the contract and deliver it to your residence first thing tomorrow morning!"

The burly man and his two servants breathed a sigh of relief, their faces breaking into smiles. Their gazes toward Zhao Yunshu shifted from fear to gratitude. If it weren't for this Taoist priest's interference, they would have wasted their time tonight and would certainly have received a scolding upon returning home.

Liu Qimei stood aside, looking at Zhao Yunshu and then at the white-robed young man. She felt that the turmoil that had started tonight was inexplicable, and the calm it had ended was equally inexplicable. Her heart was in turmoil, and she didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

The young master left happily, and Master Zhao also took his leave with his entourage.

After everyone had left, Liu Qimei walked up to Zhao Yunshu and said, "Daoist Master..."

"Seventh Sister, I was wrong today. I didn't know you had another performance tonight. Playing for three hours straight would make even my hands tremble when I was drawing talismans, let alone your pipa. It's no wonder your fingers would ache. In truth, half of what happened tonight was my fault," Zhao Yunshu said to the pipa player.

Liu Qimei lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed: "It's nothing, I was just overestimating myself. I thought that after resting for a day, I would be fine by night, but who would have thought that my fingers would be even stiffer at night, plus that young master..."

She paused here, seemingly unsure how to describe the young man in white. She bit her lip lightly before continuing, "When he sat there looking at me, my heart raced, and my fingers wouldn't obey me. I don't know why."

"It's good that everything's alright, but... Seventh Sister, are you short of money lately? I feel like you're always working." Zhao Yunshu asked.

Liu Qimei's skill level is superb, and her stamina is also quite good. It's definitely not because she was tired from working overtime all day that she played the wrong notes. It must be because she has been taking on quite a few orders like mine recently.

Is she desperately short of money?

Hearing his question, Liu Qimei blushed even more deeply. She lowered her head and remained silent for a long while before letting out a soft sigh and saying, "Since you've asked, I won't hide it from you. I have ten younger siblings. These past few days, more refugees have come, and the wages I earn playing the pipa at the inn, plus some odd jobs, are barely enough to keep them from going hungry. With a few more mouths to feed, we've incurred a debt, with interest accumulating. I really had no choice but to take on jobs everywhere, thinking that doing as many as possible is worthwhile."

"Today I took on this job from the Taoist priest and also the job from Master Zhao. I thought I could handle it, but my fingers betrayed me and I almost ruined everything."

She said this calmly, without complaining or blaming.

Finally, the woman looked up and smiled, saying, "But Daoist Master, you don't need to worry. We've weathered many storms these past years, and things will only get better from here on out. With your reward today and the young master's deposit, we'll have more than enough to spare!"

"A few more refugees have arrived? So those aren't their own children?"

"What kind of good family can have seventeen children? In fact, even seven is already difficult. Including me, none of us are actually my parents' biological children. The so-called Liu family is just a convalescent home," Seventh Sister laughed.

"A convalescent ward...?" The young Taoist priest looked puzzled.

"That was in the previous dynasty. First, during the Shenlong era, the Beitianfang was set up to take in orphans, widows, and the sick. Later, during the An Lushan Rebellion, the number of refugees across the country increased daily. During the Zhide era, Emperor Suzong added the Pujibingfang in the two capitals. Later, Emperors Xuanzong and Yizong allocated government grain to provide relief, which was considered a favor from the court. It was renamed Yangbingfang."

"Later, during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, my parents served as officials in charge of medical care. However, the country was in chaos and the government did not provide any funds or provisions. Despite this, my parents did not abandon the orphans in the medical care facility. Although the facility closed down, they took them into their own home to raise them. There were five orphans in the facility at that time. The medical care officers and their spouses had no children of their own, so they adopted them. These were the first five brothers and sisters of the Liu family."

"A few years later, after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, we adopted some more children, and that led to the birth of my seventh daughter, who is me. But at that time, I was still an infant."

"Later, when I was a little older, my parents died, and my two older brothers were captured by the rebel soldiers. After a few years, we fled to Dingzhou. All six of my older siblings were gone, but we found some younger brothers and sisters and settled down in Dingzhou. There was no war here, so it was much better than before."

"So... how old are you, Seventh Sister?" the young Taoist priest asked.

"Oh dear, why do you ask that, Daoist? But, I'm also sixteen today," Liu Qimei said with a smile, covering her mouth.

"Twenty-eight...twenty-eight?" Zhao Yunshu asked.

Of course, 28 is sixteen, but Liu Qimei doesn't look sixteen at all, so Zhao Yunshu guessed that she was joking and was talking about the real 28.

"Hmm, twenty-eight."

Zhao Yunshu sighed.

Twenty-eight and still unmarried? In an era where women marry at fifteen or sixteen and are gossiped about if they're still single at twenty...

No wonder Liu Qimei is quite beautiful, but she has never been proposed to.