Chapter 11: The Maid’s Demise and a Visit to the Yang Estate

“They say a maid died.”

The hawkers selling vegetables had arrived exceptionally early, gathering in small groups even as the morning sun began its ascent.

With no customers yet, they settled into idle chatter.

“They say she succumbed to a cold, and the authorities sent someone to investigate.”

An old woman clutched a handful of melon seeds, cracking one open every now and then.

“Who knows, really.”

‘So she still died?’

Upon hearing the villagers’ conversation, Qíngyǔ frowned.

Though she had suspected as much when the old daoist whisked away the demonic entity and the green-robed cultivator, hearing it confirmed now still filled her with a sense of regret.

The Little Girl, who had been engrossed in hopping across flagstones, suddenly noticed her Little Mom’s unhappiness.

She subtly reached out, lightly poking her Little Mom’s waist.

“Little Girl!”

Startled by the poke, Qíngyǔ, who had been lost in thought, called out to the girl with feigned annoyance.

“What are you thinking about, Little Mom?”

“Why are you so curious, Little One?”

Qíngyǔ rubbed her tingling waist, then gently squeezed the Little Girl’s small hand.

“Tell me, Little Mom~”

The girl giggled, leaning in to nuzzle Qíngyǔ, her voice sweet with a hint of a plea.

“It’s nothing important, just thinking about what I’ll do next.”

“What do you want to do, Little Mom?”

Qíngyǔ casually brushed off the Little Girl’s question, her thoughts drifting back to her plan of building a daoist temple and living in seclusion.

“Probably find a place to live in seclusion.”

Truth be told, she felt no sense of belonging in this world.

Whether before or after recalling her memories, everything felt both familiar and yet entirely different.

“Then I want to go with Little Mom!”

“You?”

Qíngyǔ looked at the girl, lovingly reaching out to ruffle her hair.

“What would you do with me? When you start your own family later, it’ll be enough if you remember your Little Mom during holidays.”

“What does ‘start your own family’ mean?”

“It means finding someone you love and spending the rest of your life together.”

“Hmm…”

The Little Girl still had more questions, but the two vermillion-lacquered gates of the Yang Estate were already before them, a grand, gold-plated plaque bearing the characters “阳府” (Yang Estate) hanging prominently above.

Jí Yào leaned against a pillar, his hand resting on his blade, dressed in simple attire.

Spotting the two from afar, his face lit up with joy.

He immediately clasped his hands in greeting and stepped forward.

“Miss Cangxuan, Little Girl.”

“Hello, Brother Jí—”

“Brother Jí.”

This time, the Little Girl was well-behaved, greeting him without Qíngyǔ needing to prompt her.

“Miss Cangxuan, there’s no need for such formality. The Master and Young Lady are waiting in the main hall. Please, this way.”

The Servant gestured with a bow, leading the two across the threshold and into the Yang Estate.

“How are your injuries, Brother Jí?”

“Thanks to the pure qi you bestowed, Miss, I am mostly recovered.”

Qíngyǔ, holding the Little Girl’s hand, took in the various furnishings and plants within the Yang Estate, finding it rather serene.

“That’s good to hear. And how is your Young Lady?”

“She’s doing better than I am.”

Jí Yào smiled.

Passing through a shaded area, they soon arrived before the main hall.

“Is that Miss Cangxuan?

My legs are not what they used to be, so I apologize for not greeting you further out!”

Seated in the hall were Yang Qingqing and her father.

Upon seeing Qíngyǔ and the Little Girl led in by the Servant, Master Yang immediately rose to greet them from afar, seemingly unconcerned by their patched clothing.

“Not at all, my cultivation is shallow; I can’t compare to the Immortal from last night.”

Seeing that the Little Girl merely looked curious and showed no shyness, Qíngyǔ stepped forward to greet the Old Gentleman, then sat down with him in the hall.

Yang Qingqing, by this point, maintained a placid expression.

She merely offered a slight nod when she saw Qíngyǔ, showing little other reaction.

“Nonsense,” the Old Gentleman shook his head, gesturing for them to help themselves to tea.

“If it weren’t for your flower, Miss, my wife and I would have both fallen victim to that demonic entity.”

“Oh, right, my name is Yang Qi.

If you don’t mind, Miss, just call me Uncle Yang.”

“Uncle Yang~”

Before Qíngyǔ could speak, the Little Girl, who was sitting on a chair swinging her legs, chirped out first.

Master Yang looked at the little girl, then at Qíngyǔ’s helpless expression, and a smile unexpectedly spread across his face.

“Haha, this little girl is indeed clever and quick-witted.

No wonder she caught the Immortal’s eye.”

“My Little Girl is impish; please forgive her antics.”

Giving the Little Girl’s hand a firm tug, Qíngyǔ could only offer a wry smile as she responded to Yang Qi.

However, her little outburst unexpectedly lightened the atmosphere in the hall, and the Old Gentleman began to chat casually with Qíngyǔ.

It turned out that this vast Yang Estate, just a week prior, had been home only to a cook, a maid, a Servant who also acted as a guard, and Master Yang and his wife.

Yang Qingqing had only returned a few days ago from her travels and studies.

The estate had originally prepared for her return for quite some time, but who would have thought that as soon as she arrived, she would drag the Servant to the edge of the town to seek immortals and inquire about the Dao?

“I often warned her that the outskirts of this town were plagued by spirits, but my daughter, grown as she is, wouldn’t listen,” Master Yang said, taking a sip from his teacup before shaking his head and continuing.

“Sure enough, she stirred up a demonic entity at that small temple outside town and nearly lost her life.”

“Such is fate, Uncle Yang; you shouldn’t be too hard on her.”

“Alas,” he shook his head.

“Her mother and I are fine, but I fear for her at this age…”

Qíngyǔ glanced at the Little Girl, who was playing by bending her fingers, and nodded in profound agreement.

“Father!”

Yang Qingqing, who had been maintaining a stiff expression beside them, finally couldn’t help but exclaim.

“You, girl, you’ve done wrong, and you won’t even let your father say a few words?”

Master Yang, having opened his floodgates of words, glared at his daughter, then resumed his conversation with Qíngyǔ.

“I am rather curious, what are the differences between that mountain temple and the temple outside this town?”

Qíngyǔ asked, pointing towards the distant temple spire visible from their location.

“Oh, that one?

That’s a temple the government only rebuilt in the last decade,” he said, squinting as he gazed at the temple’s spire in the distance.

“It’s dedicated to the City God and Mountain Gods.”

“And the old temple?”

“The old temple was dedicated to the Mountain Lord, but after the new temple was built, few people went to offer incense there.”

Qíngyǔ suddenly recalled that before she awakened her memories, she seemed to have also gone to that mountain and contracted a cold.

“Are there many mountain delicacies and wild game on that mountain?”

“I used to go there often when I was a child,” Master Yang said without reservation.

“After I passed the imperial examination and left my hometown for office, I never went back.

I’ve heard from mountain folk that strange things often happen up there, though there aren’t many rumors of people being harmed.”

Having said that, as if remembering something, he retrieved two silver ingots from beneath the table and firmly pushed them towards Qíngyǔ.

“Miss Qíng, you’re from the Qin family, aren’t you?”

“That’s right, though I have no connection with them anymore.”

Hearing her reply, Master Yang let out a long sigh.

“I heard long ago that the Qin family produced a ‘lone star of calamity’ (TL Note: A person believed to bring misfortune to their family), who cursed their eldest son to death, harmed their youngest, and then, after being sold to a master’s household, brought misfortune upon that family too.”

Before Qíngyǔ could speak, he simply continued, talking to himself.

“I had long ago petitioned that Qin Lu was a fool, but His Majesty wouldn’t listen, hastily sending him to the front lines…

Later, I heard the Qin family blamed all this on their own daughter.

At the time, I thought there must be a reason for everything, but who knew it was such a sordid affair involving gods and ghosts?”

“Uncle Yang, you exaggerate.”

“Just take it as this old man trying to flatter you,” Master Yang said, gazing towards the capital city in the south.

“Take these two silver ingots.

You have a child to care for, and you were once a young lady of a prominent family; you can’t get by without some money.”

With the conversation having reached this point, Qíngyǔ had no choice but to accept the two silver ingots.

“Then the Qin…”

Having accepted the silver, Qíngyǔ was about to inquire further about the Qin family when she heard a loud voice from outside the courtyard.

Looking up, a figure in white robes, with white hair and a white beard, gracefully descended from mid-air, clasping his hands in greeting.

The old daoist landed softly, then bowed his head in apology.

“I apologize for the long wait, everyone.

This humble daoist was delayed en route; please forgive me.”