Chapter Thirteen: The Old Taoist and the Girl

  A blue sky with a golden sun shining brightly, a white cloud floating in the clear sky like a solitary sail on a green sea. A light blue sky, like a clean velvet, is embroidered with a yellow golden crow.

  In front of a dilapidated Taoist temple, a girl stood alone, her slender hands grasping an old bicycle. A strand of raven-black hair cascaded down like the Milky Way, framing a face with eyebrows as delicate as wisps of smoke and eyes as clear as autumn water. Her nose was small and pink, her cheeks flushed with a soft red glow, and her lips were as tender as cherry blossoms. Her skin was as pale and luminous as snow, and her slender figure seemed to embody the quiet elegance of an orchid. She added a touch of vibrant beauty to the crumbling temple.

  "Grandpa! Grandpa! I've come to see you!" The girl shouted, and then she put the bicycle she rode aside. If Pei Xin were here, he would definitely recognize that this girl was the one who almost collided with him.

  "Oh, my little Qing is here, have you had breakfast?" An old man wearing a Taoist robe, with a spirited and alert appearance, came out from the gate of the Taoist temple, chuckling. It's clear that the old man was delighted to see his younger relative visiting him, this solitary elderly man who was a Taoist priest living away from worldly affairs.

  "Huh, Grandpa, where did you get this Taoist robe from? You look really spirited wearing it." The girl looked at the old man wearing the Taoist robe and asked curiously.

  "Heh heh, little girl, if you had come any later, you wouldn't have seen your old grandfather. I'm wearing this Taoist robe because I was just about to head out." The old man patted Xiaoying's forehead with his hand and said kindly.

  "Grandpa, where are you going?" The girl named Xiaoying, hearing that her grandfather who hadn't left the mountain for decades was going out, stared with wide eyes and asked with sparkling eyes.

  "Your grandfather is old now, and the skills he has, your brother doesn't want to learn. As for you, although you have a talent for it, you're also very interested in the skills I possess."

  But unfortunately, you are a girl, and the ancestral rules cannot be passed on to women. Your uncle has already taught you some things, which is against the ancestral rules.

  There's no way your grandfather can take this skill to his grave, so I need to go down the mountain to find someone to pass it on to! The old man said with deep emotion.

  The girl didn't mind the old man's words about the rule of passing it down to males but not females, because she had already sighed many times when the old man was teaching her skills. On the other hand, when she heard the old man say "carrying into the coffin", she did mind, wrinkled her delicate nose and said angrily: "Grandfather, don't talk nonsense, Grandfather is a great man, Grandfather won't die!"

  The old man couldn't help but gently stroke his granddaughter's small nose and said with a calm expression: "Hehe, silly girl, death is fate, your grandfather may have some skills, but no matter how skilled one is, it's hard to escape death, at most, you can just live a bit longer."

  "I won't say it! I won't say it! Grandpa will only scold me for saying such unpleasant things." The girl said innocently.

  "By the way, Grandpa, isn't it inappropriate for you to go out wearing a Taoist robe?" The girl still remembered that chaotic scene vividly. If an old man like him went out dressed like this during such turmoil, he would definitely be caught.

  "Good granddaughter, your grandfather is a genuine Taoist who has left the secular world. What's wrong with dressing like this? Besides, humph, those political opportunists, I'm not even worthy of their attention!" As he spoke, a chill killing aura burst out from the old man's body, scaring the girl so much that her body shook slightly.

  The old Taoist saw the girl's body tremble, and suddenly felt a little ashamed. He had lost his composure in front of his granddaughter. He immediately made amends: "Xiao Ying, don't be afraid, Grandpa wasn't referring to you. Continue listening to me."

  "Your grandfather, I haven't been down the mountain for decades, but I'm not someone who doesn't know what's going on outside. I've already learned about the things that have happened outside. That riot has passed for more than two years now, so your grandfather, this true Taoist, wearing these clothes to go out, it's impossible to cause any trouble."

  The girl seemed to feel a bit wrong, thought for a moment, and said: "No, Grandpa, if you're a monk, how can I have my mother? Monks aren't allowed to get married, are they? Without getting married, how can there be little babies? Without little babies, there wouldn't be my mother, and without my mother, there wouldn't be me."

  The old Taoist was amused by the girl's naive and cute attitude, bursting into loud laughter for a few moments. Seeing that the girl looked somewhat displeased, he finally restrained his smile and said with a gentle smile: "Silly child, who says monks can't get married?"

  "When... when I heard... others say that" the old Taoist asked, the girl thought of something and became somewhat shy, stuttering as she spoke.

  "Haha, Xiaoying's face is red, Xiaoying, have you got a crush on a boy? Bring him to meet Grandpa one day."

  "Grandpa... you're teasing me again." For some reason, when the old Taoist asked this question, a man's figure suddenly flashed in the girl's mind - a man who had turned around and walked away without looking back. In an instant, the girl's face became slightly hot, she jumped up and down with embarrassment, and said with a huff.

  "Haha, it seems that my little Qing has grown up!" At this time, the old Taoist saw that his granddaughter had a hint of anger and was about to pull his beard, so he immediately stopped laughing and continued: "Little Qing, although monks can get married, your grandfather is a pure monk, so I didn't get married. As for how you and your mother came to be...". When he said this, the old man couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness in his heart.

  The girl saw her grandfather's expression change and immediately said: "Grandfather doesn't want to say it, then don't say it, Xiaoying won't ask."

  "No, Xiaoying, let me tell you now! This secret has been kept by your grandfather for several decades. To the point where your mother thought she was my adopted daughter, but actually not, your mother is my biological daughter! All of this is because of the mistakes made by your grandfather in the past."

  Forget it, you won't understand even if I explain more. When you grow up, you'll know. Just remember that you're your maternal grandfather's dear granddaughter and a part of my blood is flowing through your veins." The old man decided not to elaborate and only told the girl the outcome.

  "Oh! But Grandpa, Xiaoying has grown up already, she's 16 years old now!" The girl said cleverly, seeing that her grandfather was unwilling to talk about it and didn't force the issue.

  "Hey, Grandpa, didn't you say you were going down the mountain to collect apprentices? Can I go with you? I want to..." The girl was clever and saw that her grandfather's originally happy mood had been made somewhat melancholic by herself, so she immediately thought of changing the subject. So, the girl twirled her hair with her fingers and asked shyly.

  "Alright, Xiaoying, since you've come to see your grandfather, I won't go out for now. Grandfather has to treat his precious granddaughter well first, or that little shy guy will come and pull my beard again!" The old Taoist chuckled a few times after finishing speaking.

  "Grandpa, if you tease me again, I'll pull out your beard!" The girl said angrily, clenching her small fist.

  "Alright! Alright! Don't tease anymore, Grandpa is afraid of you, and doesn't dare to tease our little Ying again. By the way, Little Ying, did you have breakfast? If not, Grandpa will go heat up some food for you. Other things can wait until after you've eaten." The old Taoist asked with a smile.

  When asked this question, the girl couldn't help but grab her own braid with her hand and twist it a few times, stuttering to ask: "If not... forget it, no! No! Grandpa, I haven't had breakfast yet, I'll go eat first!" After saying that, the girl didn't even care about the bicycle she had left on one side and ran into the temple.

  "Haha, it seems that my precious granddaughter has encountered some unexpected events on the way here!" The old Taoist pinched his fingers and drew a few strokes in the air, muttering to himself.

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