Most of the candles at Wuye Cottage had gone out by the time Guan Mowen returned to find Bai Chong'an playing a game of chess by himself.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Guan Mowen bowed respectfully and replied, "It seems they did not notice anything out of the ordinary."
Bai Chong'an smiled silently. "After all, they are just fledglings who haven't seen much of the world."
"Indeed," Guan Mowen said with a smile. "Fairy Yue seems to be stepping out for the first time, and while Immortal Huo has a bit more experience, it is still rather limited."
Bai Chong'an fiddled with a few chess pieces, recalling the expressions of the three when they entered the courtyard.
Huo Chong'an and Yue Yunqiao clearly did not recognize the objects in the yard and only gave them a few extra curious glances, but as for his grandniece...
"How has the second girl been doing these past few years?"
Guan Mowen thought back for a moment before answering, "If this humble servant remembers correctly, the Second Young Miss is the most talented among the younger generation. Perhaps because Second Master passed away early, she is exceptionally sensible. If anyone in the family is able to pass the entrance examination, it will surely be her."
Bai Chong'an was rather surprised. "Is that so? Put that way, our family's future prospects will have to rest on her shoulders."
Guan Mowen chuckled. "It is far too little to say that yet! Whether the Second Young Miss can reach the master's level remains to be seen. This household still relies on the master!"
Bai Chong'an gave a faint smile and turned to instruct the old servant, "Qingru, go take that spirit brush from my treasury and send it over. Also pick out some spirit ink and spirit paper, and add a few spirit stones. Without elders to look after her, she must be short on funds."
He had always ignored worldly affairs, and such a generous reward was certainly the first of its kind in the family.
A trace of strangeness flashed across Guan Mowen's face as he remarked, "You are too generous, Master."
Bai Chong'an smiled and shifted his gaze back to the courtyard.
Beneath the Yellow Springs Wood, the Yin-Yang Umbrella seemed to sense something, suddenly beginning to spin faster and faster...
Meanwhile, Bai Mengjin had returned to her quarters.
Only three people lived in this small courtyard far away from the main axis. The old woman sent by the family to take care of her was already fast asleep, letting out thunderous snores. A young maid in her early tens sat on a small stool, heavy-eyed and waiting up for her.
Seeing her return, the sleepy-eyed maid murmured a greeting to the young miss and got up to fetch washing water.
Bai Mengjin waved a hand to let her rest and washed up herself.
Just as she finished, the reward from Wuye Cottage arrived. As a Golden Core cultivator, that granduncle no longer needed sleep, and naturally he would not consider how a mortal's cultivation was low and required normal rest.
The old servant beamed. "This spirit brush was bestowed by the masters of Danxia Palace. The family head has always kept it treasured in the vault. We hope the Second Young Miss will not let down the family head's kind intentions."
Bai Mengjin put on a look of being overwhelmed by the favor and saw him out with deep gratitude.
After all that commotion, the maid's sleepiness vanished entirely, and she buzzed around excitedly. "Miss, has the family head finally noticed you? Does this mean no one will dare neglect you anymore?"
Bai Mengjin did not answer. She casually handed the maid a spirit stone and sent her off to rest.
The maid was overjoyed. A spirit stone—worth nearly half a year of her wages! The young miss was truly generous.
Closing the door, Bai Mengjin tallied her items under the lamp.
The spirit brush was indeed top-tier merchandise, the kind ordinary disciples could not get even in Danxia Palace. The quality of the spirit ink and spirit paper was also excellent, far surpassing what could be bought in shops. There were around a hundred spirit stones, which was already a huge sum for her at this time.
Bai Mengjin tossed the items casually onto the table and smiled with an enigmatic meaning.
Was this supposed to be hush money for her?
She sat in silence for a moment before finally opening the gift box and taking out the contents inside.
She smoothed out the spirit paper, prepared the spirit ink, and slowly began to draw spirit talsimans, stroke by stroke.
Her cultivation was currently insufficient, but fortunately, the power of spirit talismans was not limited by one's cultivation level, which could make up for her shortcomings somewhat.
...
Early the next morning, Bai Mengjin was woken up.
"Fairy Yue?" Taking in the person before her, she was utterly speechless. This Yue Yunqiao had far too much energy; things had dragged on late into the night yesterday, yet she was here bright and early today.
"Junior Sister Bai, why did you sleep so long? You didn't hurt your Divine Soul, did you?" Yue Yunqiao asked with concern.
Bai Mengjin rubbed her eyes and said, "No, I had homework last night, so I slept a bit late."
"You're so self-disciplined!" Yue Yunqiao said admiringly, as she hated doing homework the most.
Since she was already awake, Bai Mengjin got up to wash and dress.
She hadn't lived like a mortal for so many years, and she was truly a bit out of practice.
After tidying up, she instructed her little maid, "Go to the schoolhouse to ask for leave for me, and just say I have guests to entertain."
The maid agreed happily and skipped off. With the family head rewarding her young miss, she could go out and show it off just right, so those mindless people wouldn't dare come bully them anymore.
Huo Chong'an was already waiting outside. Seeing them approach, he apologized, "Miss Bai, I hope I'm not disturbing you? My junior sister has an impatient nature; I told her to wait a bit longer, but she refused."
Bai Mengjin shook her head. "I usually have to attend school anyway."
"Where are we going to play?" Yue Yunqiao asked with high spirits. "Are there any fun places in Qingyun City?"
Bai Mengjin thought carefully for a moment. "How about the Matchmaker Temple? I hear it's very efficacious, and a lot of people go there."
To cultivators, gods and ghosts were all far-fetched nonsense, but that didn't prevent them from respecting the wishes of mortals. People always needed something to pin their hopes on in order to live a little more happily.
The Matchmaker Temple was right beside the market, with various small stalls lining the entire street. At the far end stood a marriage tree with lush branches and leaves, completely hung with red ribbons of prayer.
Yue Yunqiao gasped in admiration. "So many! Does it really work?"
The middle-aged woman selling red ribbons nearby smiled and marketed them, "Miss, the marriage tree in our Qingyun City has stood for hundreds of years, and they say it is exceptionally efficacious. If you write your beloved's name on it, the Matchmaker will tie a marriage cord for you."
Yue Yunqiao answered honestly, "But I don't have a beloved!"
"Is that so?" The woman looked at Huo Chong'an, then back at Bai Mengjin, unable to figure out the relationship among the three for a moment, so she changed her pitch. "Then you can write other wishes instead. They're immortals after all; they're bound to manage something."
"Can you do that?"
"Why ever not?" Speaking of this, the woman grew enthusiastic. "Look at that ribbon there, tied by Third Zeng from Pagoda Alley. He's a terribly filial son; when his mother fell ill, he prayed at every single temple in the city. None of the others worked, so praying at the Matchmaker Temple was just a desperate gamble on a dead horse. And guess what? Barely two days later, his mother actually got better!"
"That's right, that's right," chimed in Granny selling herbal tea nearby. "And what about Madam Liu from Bamboo Tube Street? Her husband lost all their money gambling and tried to sell her off. She prayed at the Matchmaker Temple for two days, and hey, she won it all back!"
Such bizarre tales and rumors always fascinated the common folk. People gathered around, chiming in one after another, sharing several stories in a row.
Just as the talk grew lively, someone shouted, "Look, Madam Liu is here to fulfill her vow!"
Bai Mengjin turned her head to look and saw that the aforementioned Madam Liu had a thin face yet was dressed very decently—a sort of out-of-place oddity that quite matched the experience of suddenly striking it rich.
Beside her, however, Huo Chong'an's expression turned grave.
This Madam Liu looked radiant, yet a wisp of dark qi lingered between her brows.