How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Liu Yin stayed in the county until early June before she heard from people about the exoneration of Prince Anning.

"Have you heard? The big news coming from the capital right now." The diners were spreading the astonishing news among themselves.

"What? What?" But some people who weren't well-informed looked at these people with puzzled expressions.

"You didn't know?" The well-informed person looked at the person who asked the question with a surprised tone.

Only after the man's repeated urging and pleading did he smack the wine in his glass and boast in a rather smug tone: "My aunt's daughter's aunt's aunt works for a noble family in the capital. She wrote to me a few days ago about this matter, and now the whole capital knows about it."

"What exactly is it?" the man continued to press.

"I heard that the palace has exonerated Prince Anning," the man said mysteriously.

"Really!?" The person who heard it couldn't help but exclaim.

"Of course." The speaker still had that smug look on his face, pecking at the last bit of wine left in his glass.

"The prince has actually overturned the verdict!"

"Yes, that's great! I knew the prince was innocent back then."

"Exactly, how could such a good person rebel?"

"Didn't you say back then that he deserved to die?"

"That's...that's..."

The murmurs reached Liu Yin's ears and spread from the small restaurant to other parts of the county.

Liu Yin knew that if news reached even a remote county, it must have spread to all the major cities. Therefore, it was time for her and Duan An to begin their plan.

Thinking of this, Liu Yin returned to her rented courtyard, took out a manuscript, and used money to buy a neighbor's child to help deliver it to the bookstore.

The child readily agreed and ran off with the manuscript.

About an hour later, the child returned with a piece of paper: "Young master, the bookstore asked me to give this to you."

Liu Yin took the paper with a pattern printed on it, looked at it, and after realizing that the child had indeed delivered the manuscript to the bookstore, she took out five coins from her pocket and handed them to the child: "Okay, thank you, Da Bao."

"You're welcome. If you need to run errands like this again, please come to me." Da Bao took the money, his face beaming.

Liu Yin nodded, saw the child off as he skipped away, and then went back to pack her things.

The manuscript, clothes, banknotes, travel permits—not many things, but they were all scattered around, yet they still filled a large package.

"Miss, let me take it." Mei Wu took her package and stuffed it into another box before asking, "Miss, when are we leaving?"

Liu Yin thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave tomorrow."

Watching Mei Wu nod and bustle about, Liu Yin let out a soft sigh.

She originally wanted to send Mei Wu away and stay with Duan An and his group, but He Ruilin disagreed when he learned that she planned to travel alone. In addition, his family was also leaving with Duan An, so he tried his best to persuade Liu Yin.

After being persuaded by her family members, Liu Yin finally agreed to let Mei Wu accompany her.

"Sir, sir, are we leaving now?"

Of course, besides Mei Wu, there was another group of people who unexpectedly stayed behind.

“Yes.” Liu Yin went out and looked at the five scholars outside. “You should also get ready.”

The leader was none other than Tao Boyi and his group, who had met Duan'an by chance.

They followed Duan An all the way to Yancheng. While resting there, they unexpectedly learned that the person they were chatting with was the hermit they had been searching for.

They were initially resentful that Duan An had kept it from them, but it wasn't until Liu Yin apologized and explained the reason that their grudges were resolved.

After that, the group discussed the matter and decided that the women from aristocratic families would stay behind, while only Tao Boyi and four other men would remain. They decided to travel with Liu Yin to leave the capital, explore the geology, and learn about the lives of ordinary people.

Of the five who remained, besides Tao Boyi, there were Dou Yuanliang, Mu Jiaxu, Yu Weizhi, and Zhuo Yongnian.

Tao Boyi was the tallest among them, slightly plump, with fair skin. He was an ordinary-looking man, but extremely approachable.

Mu Jiaxu and Zhuo Yongnian are about the same age, both around seventeen or eighteen, in the prime of their youth. They are as tall and resolute as poplar trees, with only a hint of immaturity on their faces. However, Zhuo Yongnian is much more innocent and less worldly than Mu Jiaxu, and it is clear that he comes from a better background.

Dou Yuanliang and Yu Weizhi were one silent and the other taciturn, and they didn't usually have much to say to each other.

The four women were none other than Wang Yongxin, Zhang Yong'an, Xu Jinggeng, and Cheng Le'an, who had run away from home.

Wang Yongxin and Zhang Yong'an are the same age, both sixteen this year.

Xu Jinggeng and Cheng Le'an are a year older than them, and are seventeen this year.

Wang Yongxin is a charming and lovely girl, while Zhang Yong'an is even more gentle and quiet. As for Xu Jinggeng and Cheng Le'an, one is as resolute as a green bamboo, and the other is as noble as an autumn chrysanthemum.

After a busy afternoon, the group of eleven people was finally ready.

Liu Yin then arranged for Mei Wu to prepare four carriages: two for the girls and two for the boys.

Mei Wu was already quite adept at these arrangements, after all, she had followed Duan An and the others along the way and had made many such arrangements to take care of the children.

With everything arranged, the four carriages slowly and leisurely left the county town the next day.

After that, Liu Yin's new book, "The Demise of Land and Dynasty," began to be printed and sold.

Liu Yin continued walking until nightfall when she arrived at a village. The group asked the village chief for rooms to stay in.

In the middle of the night, just as the group had fallen asleep, they heard sobbing and wailing.

Liu Yin was organizing her manuscript and hadn't taken a break yet, so she simply pushed open the door to take a look.

"Sir?" The girls in the next room also came out to see what was happening, and when they saw Liu Yin come out, they quickly gathered around her.

"What's wrong, sir?" The boys came out when they heard the commotion.

"I don't know, you guys wait here, I'll go check." Liu Yin saw that the people's clothes were a bit disheveled, and knew that they had just fallen asleep and had been woken up, so she quickly said.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Wang Yongxin quickly said, "Sir, let's go with her."

Hearing her say that, Liu Yin hesitated, but Tao Boyi spoke on behalf of the boys: "Yes, sir, let's go together, so we can look out for each other."

The others nodded in agreement, and Liu Yin had no choice but to nod in response.

The group, looking after each other, surrounded Liu Yin and Mei Wu, and headed towards the direction from which the crying was coming.

It wasn't until we reached the gate that we realized the sound was coming from the village entrance.

Meanwhile, a large crowd had gathered at the village entrance, surrounding the source of the crying, and they were discussing something.

Liu Yin hesitated for a moment before leading her students step by step toward the group of people.

The constant chatter reached their ears...