How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Duan'an and Mei Wu's first choice was a village near Huaicheng.

The villages here are different from others because they are basically built along the water. Huaicheng is also a mountainous area, so the villages are far apart, but they are connected by rivers, and boatmen often cross the river to ferry people across.

The first village that Duan'an and his companion visited was a village called Zhangjiao Village, which was about thirty miles away from Huaifu City.

The village is not very big, and it is mainly inhabited by people with the surname Zhang. The villagers are quite simple and honest.

However, if Liu Yin were here, she would definitely be very familiar with this place, after all, this is the place where she once borrowed the identity of a little girl named Zhang Qiao'er.

"Where does this young master come from?" Duan An and his companion were spotted as soon as they entered the village.

In this day and age, bandits are rampant, and villagers are extremely wary of strangers approaching.

Fortunately, Duan'an was slightly shorter than his peers, so he could be considered a handsome young man when dressed as a boy. He was also a child who looked no more than six or seven years old, and he only had one maidservant to serve him, so he relaxed.

"Greetings, sir. My family is from the Qin family. I was just passing through when my father went to visit some relatives and friends nearby, so I came out for a stroll." Duan An calmly went through the survival skills Liu Yin had taught her in her mind and came up with an excuse.

"Oh, I see. Feel free to look around." Although the old man still had some doubts, he was confident that Huaicheng had been stable for nearly a hundred years, so he didn't take it too seriously.

"Thank you, sir." Duan An smiled and cupped his hands in thanks before leading Mei Wu inside.

A passing villager looked over curiously and then approached the old man to ask him questions.

"Uncle, is this your relative?"

“My family doesn’t have such wealthy relatives. He’s just a young master who’s here for a visit,” the old man said, giving him a disdainful look.

"Oh, I knew it! This outfit and this air of sophistication are clearly not something a family like ours could afford," the man beside him clicked his tongue in amazement.

This wasn't just empty praise; in this day and age, if an ordinary family can afford to buy a new piece of clothing every year, they are already considered to be very well-off farmers.

Every household has patches upon patches, especially some poor families. The whole family only has one pair of pants, which is worn by whoever goes out to work. They have never seen such beautiful clothes before.

Duan An hadn't expected this, while Mei Wu deliberately didn't tell her at Liu Yin's suggestion.

After all, Liu Yin hoped that the other party could become a monarch who cared about the people, rather than being no different from the current monarchs, who only served the powerful and wealthy families.

Duan An walked slower and slower, her eyes shifting from curiosity and surprise to blankness, with a hint of sadness in them.

"Mei Wu, are all villages like this?" Duan An looked at Mei Wu, his eyes flashing with anticipation.

Mei Wu didn't know what kind of answer she expected, but she replied, "There are some differences in each place, but most villages have them, earthen houses, earthen courtyards."

“No, I mean, when I was in the palace… I often heard people say that in the countryside, there are plenty of crops to eat, and every household has stored up grain and lives a prosperous life. But why is it that at lunchtime, there is no smoke rising from any of the houses?” Duan’an shook his head and continued to ask.

“Because most people only eat two meals a day, or even one meal a day…” Mei Wu continued, “and in the countryside, it is a very, very difficult thing to fill one’s stomach.”

“I see…” Duan’an’s eyes flashed with understanding. “This is the reason why my sister asked me to come out, isn’t it? Knowledge gained from books is never enough.”

Mei Wu didn't reply, and Duan An didn't care. The disappointment in her heart had gradually faded away, replaced by an endless determination to change things.

The two continued walking forward when they heard angry shouts coming from somewhere.

Curious, Duan'an followed the footsteps of the villagers who had gone out to inquire about gossip, and walked together toward the place where the sound came from.

"You little bitch! How dare you steal from my house! I'll beat you to death!" Before I could even squeeze into the crowd, a barrage of curses was already ringing in my ears.

"I did nothing wrong! That was left to me by my parents!" A girl's voice rang out as she squeezed into the crowd.

When Duan'an and his companion squeezed to the front, they discovered that it was a thin old woman holding a stick, about to beat a girl.

The girl looked to be eleven or twelve years old, but she was extremely thin and frail, making one feel inexplicably sorry for her.

At this moment, under the old woman's beating, most of what the girl was holding in her arms was exposed.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't anything special; it was just a piece of cotton cloth that was still considered somewhat festive.

"Give me the things! You little whore! You slut just like your mother!" The old woman, perhaps due to her advanced age, had run out of strength after pounding the girl for a while, and now stood there panting, glaring at her.

“My mother isn’t!” the girl roared, a hint of hatred flashing in her eyes. “My mother was sold by you! She didn’t run away with someone.”

These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among those around them.

The person said, "Yes, I heard crying when I was peeing in the middle of the night."

The person said, "I heard that he was beaten to death and buried on the mountain."

Another person said, "I heard that she was sold because she was caught stealing people."

These rumors reached Duan'an's ears one by one, and she found them extremely grating, but she didn't say anything. She just watched the grandmother and granddaughter in front of her with a look of anticipation, especially the girl.

When she saw the hatred and murderous intent in the other person's eyes, she understood why Liu Yin had told her to find as many women as possible, especially those with deep-seated hatred yet extremely resolute.

She thought this might be the first one, but she didn't act rashly; she just wanted to see the person first.

By this time, the old woman had caught her breath. Perhaps the girl's words had truly touched her heart. She stopped hitting the girl and instead looked at her, saying, "I don't care what you say, I've already arranged a marriage for you. You'll marry him today, and you can't take this cloth with you."

"I won't marry him!" The girl tightened her grip on his arm and continued, "I won't return the cloth to you either. My parents saved up money to buy it for me."

Seeing that everyone around her was a familiar neighbor, the old woman glared at the girl and then at the cloth before saying, "Fine, you can take it. From now on, you and I are connected. As for marriage, you have no choice but to marry. If you don't marry, how will your brother get a wife and pay his betrothal?"

“Then let his own sister marry him,” the girl replied immediately. “Besides, what right do you have to interfere in my life? We’ve already said we have no connection, so you naturally can’t decide my marriage.”

The old woman was so choked she almost choked, before she snapped, "You ill-mannered bastard, I'm your own grandmother!"

Just as the girl was about to retort, a voice rang out from afar: "Hey? Isn't the eldest sister of the Liu family here?"