How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Xu Zhengchu looked at his two friends speechlessly: "What are you two talking about?"

Yan Yuansi raised an eyebrow, casually picked up the wine jug, took a big gulp, and ignored him.

Instead, Yu Kangbo said helplessly, "The Yu family has decided to send its members to study under the hermit."

"What!" Xu Zhengchu sat up in surprise. "Your Yu family is actually sending someone over there?"

"Isn't your Xu family sending anyone over?" Yu Kangbo raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise.

Xu Zhengchu's face stiffened: "I don't know."

This answer made Yan Yuansi and Yu Kangbo exchange glances, and then, unsurprisingly, they both pursed their lips. It was no surprise that Xu Zhengchu had not received any news.

After all, apart from Yu Kangbo, the three people here were all unfavored illegitimate sons, so it was perfectly normal that they hadn't received any arrangements regarding the future development of their families. However, they never expected that Xu Zhengchu would be so marginalized that even the news they could get was not available to him.

Xu Zhengchu's face turned pale. He never expected that his father would keep this matter from him.

Yu Kangbo sighed softly and patted his friend on the shoulder: "Alright, since we are not the eldest sons and do not have to bear the responsibilities of the family, isn't that good?"

Seeing his friend say this, Xu Zhengchu's expression improved considerably. He nodded, remained silent for a moment, and then looked up to ask, "Who did your family send?"

Yan Yuansi, slurring his words with a hint of drunkenness, sarcastically remarked, "Who else could my family send? Naturally, it would be the most useless me."

Yu Kangbo looked at him with some concern before saying to Xu Zhengchu, "My family also plans to send me."

Xu Zhengchu's face showed a hint of sarcasm: "Then it seems that I am the most useless one in my family."

The three men raised their hands in unison, toasted each other, and each took a few big gulps of wine from their jugs.

Liu Yin paid no attention to what was happening outside. She was leading her students through one village, town, and county after another, and finally arrived at a sizable prefectural city—Ancheng.

The people following her have increased from nine students and one Ming to three men and two women. They are basically people who have been abandoned by their families, either because their families favored sons over daughters or because their families were unable to support them.

After meeting Liu Yin, they either won the light of life like Ming Ge, or like Mei Wu and others back then, were about to be sold when Liu Yin bought and redeemed them.

"Miss, are we finally arriving?" A young girl tugged at Liu Yin's sleeve and asked repeatedly.

They now have three horse-drawn carriages carrying fifteen people, and after a long and bumpy journey, everyone looks exhausted.

Seeing this city where we can finally rest, we feel completely relaxed and full of surprise.

Liu Yin had also changed into women's clothing, without applying any rouge or making any attempt to conceal herself. Holding Liu Yin's travel permit, she wanted to test just how tolerant the court was of her now.

Even so, she was still uneasy. After thinking for a moment, she instructed her students: "You go into the city first and find the first inn after you enter the city to wait for me. I will be there soon."

Tao Boyi and the others naturally already knew the reason, so they didn't raise any questions. A few of the younger ones were a little confused, but they didn't dare to say anything and just nodded repeatedly.

After watching them enter the city, Liu Yin straightened her clothes, took a cane, carried a simple bag, and pretended to be a traveler traveling alone, looking weary from her journey, as she slowly walked towards the city gate.

She glanced at the notice board outside the city gate and saw that there was no longer any wanted poster for her. She finally felt relieved.

Before long, it was her turn in the queue. She took a deep breath before handing over her wayfinder.

The city gate guard took the pass and paused for a moment before looking at Liu Yin. He hesitated between the pass and her several times, and even his companions noticed his strange behavior before he finally handed the pass to Liu Yin.

Liu Yin smiled and accepted the travel permit. Seeing that he did not do anything strange, she felt relieved and followed the other people entering the city.

The guards behind her looked at her with shock, admiration, and amazement in their eyes, until their companion patted them on the shoulder: "What's wrong?"

The guard, seemingly unconcerned about still being on duty, grabbed his classmate's hand and stammered, "That...that person, do you know who it is?"

His companion was taken aback for a moment before saying in surprise, "It's a woman, and a woman with a scar on her face. What's wrong with that? At most, she's just much prettier."

The guard slapped his hand away, his voice filled with surprise: "What are you talking about? That's Liu Yin! The Lady Liu! The Hermit!"

His voice was a little loud at the end, and the people in line heard it too.

Many people couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "What? That's Master Liu, the recluse?"

"Really? Really? I didn't see it!" Some excited people had already started pushing and shoving.

"Don't push, don't push, they've already gone inside." Some calm people quickly grabbed the agitated ones and tried to persuade them.

Seeing the crowd making a commotion, the guards quickly shouted, "What are you doing? Back down!"

Seeing that the guards had already taken out their spears, the people in line didn't dare to cause trouble. They quickly pulled each other along and obediently lined up in the original queue.

But their excitement was impossible to contain; some of the bolder ones had already grabbed the guards and pressed them for answers: "Is it really the Hermit?"

The guard nodded in agreement and waved to urge the people inside, not letting them linger.

Upon hearing the guard's affirmative answer, whispers rippled through the crowd: "Wow~ It really is the Hermit!"

The guards couldn't hide their excitement: "Alright, alright, don't linger any longer, the hermit has already entered the city."

Hearing the guards urging them on, the group slowly suppressed their excitement and began to walk into the city.

Once inside the city, no one really knew where to find the hermit, but some well-informed people had already gone to various inns to inquire.

However, even if they inquired, it would be useless. After entering the city, Liu Yin went to a secluded place to repair the scars on her face and disguised herself briefly before heading to the inn she had arranged to meet.

The students had been waiting there for a long time, their faces full of worry and anxiety. Only when they saw Liu Yin did their expressions turn from gloomy to cheerful.

"Alright, don't worry, everyone. Get some rest, and we'll all have a good time together tomorrow." Liu Yin patted each of the students on the shoulder, gave them some detailed instructions, and then watched them go back to their rooms one by one.

She went into her room and asked the waiter to bring her hot water. After washing herself quickly, she dried her dripping hair and thought about how, when she came over, she had heard the news that she had gone to the city, which had basically spread throughout the streets.

Based on what she had heard, Ancheng was at least a friendly city to her, and at least the people there welcomed her.