Chapter 58: Chance Encounter with Villagers

It was called a big city, but it wasn’t that large; shops were mostly clustered together, easy to walk through.

Many vendors had vanished and stores were closed, yet those with permanent storefronts and owners living in the city still had plenty open.

Most sold oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, rice, flour, wine, and tea.

Lin Jue first asked prices, compared a few shops, and picked out some soy sauce, vinegar, and clear oil; he also bought some dried noodles. As for rice and flour, vendors from outside the city or farmers often brought some in to exchange for cash to buy other things—he could probably get them cheaper from them, so he’d wait until tomorrow morning.

Passing a pharmacy, he bought cinnamon bark, cassia leaves, star anise, Sichuan pepper, schisandra fruit, and white zhi; although his seventh senior and junior sister didn’t understand why he was buying food ingredients from a pharmacy, they followed his lead.

Unaware, night gradually fell.

“Let’s buy just these today; we’ll get the rest tomorrow morning—it’s livelier then, and there’s more to choose from.”

“We’ll follow Senior Brother Lin.”

“Senior Brother, don’t tease me.”

“Hahaha…”

“Where will we stay tonight?”

Lin Jue glanced at the sky and asked.

“It’s up to you,” said the seventh senior. “In the past, when the weather wasn’t cold, I’d come to town with Master or other seniors, or alone—unless someone invited me to help exorcise spirits or cure illness, I’d usually sleep at the She Temple. If it was cold, I’d pay for an inn. When I was with Third Senior, sometimes we’d get inspired and go to a tavern, drink until drunk, sleep there, or suddenly meet a drinking buddy, get along well, and be invited to their home for the night. You pick.”

“Hmm…”

Lin Jue and the junior sister exchanged glances.

With the junior sister present, clearly they couldn’t go to a tavern; the weather wasn’t cold, so sleeping under the sky and on the ground would do for one night—no need to spend money on an inn.

“Then let’s go to the She Temple.”

“We need to turn left!”

“Alright…”

Lin Jue said this, but slowed his steps.

Ahead walked an old man carrying a basket, each hand holding a bamboo skewer with a red, translucent sticky sugar between them; he headed toward the city’s edge, constantly twisting his hands.

Whether it tasted good or not, it certainly looked fun.

Lin Jue couldn’t help glancing at his junior sister beside him.

The sugar vendor approached from their left.

Yet the junior sister deliberately turned her head to the right.

But to the right was only a teahouse.

A girl in her teens, raised in the countryside, had never had snacks—how could she not be drawn to sugar? She’d been fascinated by everything in the city all day—how could she possibly be uninterested in sugar?

They’d walked side by side all this time—how could Lin Jue not have noticed her odd behavior?

Lin Jue fully understood her thoughts.

Such thoughts belonged to children from poor families, to those unloved—called both self-loathing and self-awareness, yet the world loved to call it “well-behaved.”

“Seventh Senior!”

Lin Jue stopped naturally.

“What is it, younger brother?”

“We’ve walked all day, my feet are weak—Senior Brother, buy us some twisted sugar to eat,” Lin Jue said as if it were perfectly natural.

The junior sister froze, stealing a glance at the seventh senior.

But the seventh senior showed no hesitation.

“Of course!”

He asked the price, pulled copper coins from his robe, bought two twisted sugars, and handed one each to Lin Jue and the junior sister.

“Senior Brother, if we spend money like this, won’t Master scold us?” the junior sister whispered, twirling her bamboo skewer, as if afraid Master, a hundred li away, might hear.

“What’s wrong with that? We’ve worked hard—this is deserved,” Lin Jue smiled. “Besides, it’s Seventh Senior who paid for it himself.”

“Hey! That’s not true—it’s still using the temple’s money!” Seventh Senior laughed, then told the junior sister, “Don’t worry about it. It’s rare to come to town—if you see anything you want to buy, food, tools, or toys, just say so. We only need to buy what’s necessary; everything else is up to us.”

“But what if we don’t have enough money left for the essentials?”

“Junior Sister, that’s nonsense! What to buy and how much—doesn’t that depend on Senior Brother Lin?” Seventh Senior lectured. “Life is short. If you carry money, finally reach town, and won’t even buy yourself a snack—what’s the point of cultivating? Isn’t that no different from the mundane world below the mountain?”

The junior sister stared wide-eyed.

Lin Jue wholeheartedly agreed, nodding repeatedly, walking while twirling his sugar, as if regaining a touch of childhood joy.

He split his sugar in half, bent down, and offered it to the fox at his feet.

“Eat…”

This little creature had probably never eaten anything like it.

Funny enough, Lin Jue had once thought it was truly unselective, eating anything—until yesterday he learned: it was just young, had never tasted anything else, so had no basis for comparison; it likely believed all food had always tasted like what Sixth and Seventh Seniors had cooked over the past two months.

Only yesterday had that belief changed.

“Mmm…”

This little thing seemed to like it.

Lin Jue had just straightened up when a group of people approached ahead—all dressed as merchants, each either dejected or weeping, leading donkeys along the street.

Lin Jue froze—

They were villagers from Shu Village.

“Uncle Shu?”

The group numbered about a dozen, all dressed similarly; Lin Jue recognized only the middle-aged man at the front at first glance, but upon closer look, he recognized nearly every face.

At the same time, the middle-aged man heard his voice and turned instinctively.

In his grief, he didn’t recognize him at first, only looked puzzled; after studying Lin Jue carefully, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Lin boy?”

Hearing him call out, the others recognized Lin Jue too—but they were too preoccupied to react; though surprised, they remained silent.

“It’s me.”

Lin Jue stared at them in shock.

Seventh Senior and the junior sister stopped with him, watching them curiously.

“Aren’t you heading south of the river? I thought you wouldn’t pass through here—how did you end up here? And why are you all like this?” Lin Jue frowned.

“Alas! Don’t you know? This summer our village flooded—many places were submerged; the roads we planned to take became seas—we had to detour. We don’t even know how our village is now—whether the mountain floods destroyed it—and we dare not delay, so we’re rushing home to check.”

The middle-aged man sighed again, avoiding the last question, but turned to Lin Jue; despite his sorrow, he still showed concern—this was the weight of hometown ties:

“Aren’t you the boy who used to study in the village, preparing for the imperial exams? Last time I went home, I heard you were haunted by a demon, your heavenly soul unstable, and thought the village lacked scholarly energy, so you left to travel and seek famous masters. We were even discussing your situation—how come now you’re dressed in Daoist robes, walking with a Daoist priest?”

“It’s a long story…”

Lin Jue gathered his thoughts and said simply: “For me, passing the imperial exams is hopeless. My unstable heavenly soul can only be fixed through diligent cultivation. Luckily, I’ve become a disciple of Master Zhen Dao from Yishan—I’ve now established myself outside.”

“Oh! Your uncle and aunt are good people—you studied in the village, we helped you, you weren’t a burden.”

“It’s not because of that…”

“Wait!”

The middle-aged man suddenly remembered, looked at Lin Jue, then at the young Daoist beside him, eyes brightening, and asked: “You said you became a disciple of Master Zhen Dao from Yishan? Is that true?”

The others, hearing this, suddenly realized too—like grasping a lifeline—they stared at Lin Jue.

“Of course it’s true.”

“If he’s Master Zhen Dao, can he perform magic?”

“Of course he can.”

“Can he catch demons?”

“He knows some demon-capturing methods.”

“Where is your master?”

“At the temple—a one-day journey,” Lin Jue looked at them, sensing their intent. “Uncle Shu, what happened?”

“Alas…”

Uncle Shu’s face twisted with bitter sorrow.

“It’s because we had to detour and came here. Who knew that since this month, strange things have happened in this city—silver keeps vanishing from households, no matter what they do. Some have seen demons stealing at night; others have been killed.”

“Our trip carried not only this journey’s earnings but also payments from the first half of the year. Hearing this, we knew we couldn’t stay at the inn—but if it’s a demon, staying at a temple should be safe. There’s a She Temple here, so we rented a night’s lodging.”

“Who knew? Even after locking the doors, securing the money, and assigning someone to guard the night—silently, the silver vanished.”

“We spent two full months on this trip—every copper earned from buying and selling, every payment from the first half of the year—all here! We were counting on it to help our families—if our village was flooded, we’d need this silver to rebuild. Now it’s gone—how can I face the clan elders? How can I explain to these young men’s families?”

Uncle Shu was frantic.

Lin Jue looked at the group—Uncle Shu was the oldest; the rest were mostly young men in their twenties, clearly led by him.

“Did you report this to the authorities?”

“Reporting to the government won’t help—the county treasury’s silver was stolen too. Now every household locks silver in iron chests, or stores cloth and cash instead. Cloth and cash can’t be stolen.”

“I see…”

Lin Jue felt troubled.

These were fellow villagers.

The Shu clan had let the Lin family live among them—there must have been some bond back then, though that was too distant; Lin Jue cared only about the present.

The Shu family hadn’t done the Lin family any great favors, but after Lin Jue’s uncle fell seriously ill, many in the village offered help. When Lin Jue’s father needed money to fund his studies, the Shu merchant caravan—built among kin—made an exception and let him join. That was a debt of kindness.

But now Lin Jue was no longer alone—he was part of the temple’s descent, led by his senior, who stood right beside him.

Lin Jue could only look to his senior.

Naturally, if his senior refused, he himself would still help.