How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

The two women, mistress and servant, hid for a day and a night, witnessing the prefect's pursuers pass by on the official road outside the forest. Only when night fell again did they slowly emerge from the woods with their luggage on their backs.

"Girl, what's our next step?" Mei Wu looked around blankly.

"Back to Qinhuai!" Liu Yin looked at the main road that ran north to south, thought for a moment, and said.

"Qin Huai?" Mei Wu was a little puzzled, but still followed in her footsteps.

“Well, when the emperor sent people to hunt me down before, they ambushed me in Yancheng. Although several years have passed, I think they will probably still try to ambush me there. Let’s just do the opposite,” Liu Yin explained.

"But... will this work?" Mei Wu asked with some concern.

"It's alright. You'll have to endure some hardship on the journey. Both of my travel permits are now useless, so I'm not fit to enter the city," Liu Yin said.

"No problem, leave it to me." Mei nodded in nonchalantly.

The two women, mistress and servant, traveled south along the official road. They did not enter any cities or stay in any villages they encountered, and mostly slept in the wilderness or in dilapidated ancient temples.

After traveling for about half a month, the two arrived outside a small town. Liu Yin carefully washed herself in the river and changed her clothes.

“Girl, I just inquired. The small town on the other side of the river is called Nanshan County, which belongs to Pingcheng. After passing Nanshan County, it will be Pingcheng in another day.” Mei Wu took the dry food she bought in the town and slowly warmed it over the fire.

“Pingcheng…” Liu Yin thought for a moment and said, “How about this, we’ll cross the river tonight, find a place to stay on the other side, and try to get to Pingcheng before evening tomorrow.”

"Does the young lady want to go into the city?" Mei Wu asked, noticing her unusual attitude.

“Yes, we’ll deliver the new book into the city.” Liu Yin nodded. “And it would be best if we took a waterway south from Pingcheng.”

"But... those people being hunted down by the powerful families?" Mei Wu asked with some worry.

"If I remember correctly, the prefect of Pingcheng is surnamed Sun." Liu Yin didn't intend to hide it from him.

"It seems that the surname is indeed Sun, but so what if it is?" Mei Wu was even more puzzled.

“If I remember correctly, this prefect is the former prefect of Huaicheng,” Liu Yin replied with a smile.

"The Prefect of Huaicheng?" Mei Wu frowned. "Would he keep the young lady's news from him?"

“Yes, back in the capital, I saved the women of Chen Shilong’s family. Chen Shilong and Sun Leyuan, the prefect of Huaicheng, were half-brothers. After I saved the women of the Chen family, he sent me a letter promising to do something for me,” Liu Yin explained.

However, there was one more thing Liu Yin didn't tell Mei Wu: she suspected that Sun Leyuan had also been one of her father's men, but because Sun Leyuan hadn't really let go of her when he imprisoned her, she had never dared to confirm it.

Later, the other party was transferred, and she didn't pursue the matter any further. At this moment, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. She should have asked more questions. If she had, she wouldn't have had to test the waters like she did now.

Mei Wu didn't notice these thoughts, but when he learned that the other party knew Liu Yin and that Liu Yin had been kind to him, he felt relieved.

The master and servant walked along the riverbank for about an afternoon, and only came to a ferry crossing at dusk. Seeing that the boatman was about to pack up the boat, Mei Wu hurried a few steps.

"Boatman, wait a moment, we want to cross the river," Mei Wu called out.

The boatman stopped what he was doing, looked up and saw that they were indeed two passersby, then replied, "Alright, sirs."

Liu Yin also quickened her pace, and soon the two of them, mistress and servant, arrived in front of the boatman.

"Boatman, thank you for your help. Please take us across the river," Mei said politely, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.

"You're too kind, please board the boat, sir." The boatman, who looked to be in his fifties, had a hearty laugh. The wrinkles on his face were even darker in the setting sun. He stood at the bow of the boat, holding the oar, and looked quite ordinary.

Mei Wu didn't think much of it. After helping Liu Yin onto the boat and settling her down, he said to the boatman, "Thank you so much for your help, boatman."

The boatman steered the boat back into the river and said to the two men with a smile, "Sirs, you're too kind. Why are you ferrying us so late?"

Mei Wu didn't think much of it and replied directly, "We're going to Nanshan County. Aren't we afraid they'll close the city gates?"

The boatman looked up at the sunset and said, "Oh dear, we'd better hurry, or it'll be closed soon."

"Yes, so I'll trouble the boatman to hurry." Mei Wu didn't say much more, just replied politely, and then fell silent.

The boatman, seemingly oblivious to the situation, asked curiously, "Are you traveling with your sister or your wife?"

Mei Wu paused for a moment before smiling and replying, "I am traveling with my younger sister to visit relatives in Nanshan County."

"Oh, I see..." the boatman replied casually, and rowed to the middle of the river.

Seeing the boat stop, Mei Wu frowned, his body stiffened, and he looked at the boatman warily: "Boatman, what are you doing?"

The boatman looked her up and down before sneering, "Nothing much, just borrowing some money."

Mei Wu slowly moved in front of Liu Yin and angrily rebuked the boatman: "We are just ordinary people, where would we get the money to give you?"

Seeing that the boatman remained unmoved, Liu Yin spoke up and gently persuaded him, "Boatman, we really don't have much money on us. Why don't you take us to the shore and notify our relatives in the county to come and send us money?"

The boatman sneered, "Don't try to fool me. I've been rowing here for over twenty years and I've never seen you two before, let alone relatives. You'd probably report me to the authorities as soon as you get ashore."

“Boatman, we two have indeed never been here before, but my great-aunt lives in Nanshan County. We sent word to her long ago. If she doesn’t see us, she might suspect you,” Liu Yin continued to persuade.

"Is that so? So what? They're just two women. Even if the authorities are notified, they'll just assume they were kidnapped. They'll never suspect me." With that, he looked the two women up and down, his eyes filled with greed. "Hurry up and give me the money. I might spare your lives for the sake of the silver."

Mei Wu pushed Liu Yin back, stepped forward, and kicked her in the face.

The boatman was surprised that Mei Wu would actually make a move, and hurriedly dodged to the side.

Putting everything else aside, the boat rocked a few times as soon as it dodged.

Mei Wu was a little unsteady on her feet, and the other party took the opportunity to swing the oar directly at her.

Mei Wu raised his hand to block the oar and swung it sharply, making the boatman even more unsteady and causing the boat to rock more violently.

As Mei Wu and his companion made their several trips back and forth, the boat became increasingly unstable, and river water was splashed into the cabin.

"Ah!" With the boatman's exclamation, the boat capsized.

Mei Wu and Liu Yin then fell into the river together.

The boatman seemed to be blinded by rage, pulling out a knife from his pocket and stabbing at Liu Yin, who had just dodged the capsizing boat.

"Miss!" Mei Wu exclaimed in surprise, immediately waving her hand to block it.

The knife pierced her arm, and the boatman seemed to be driven even more mad by the blood.

Mei Wu grabbed the oar that rushed to his side and slapped him hard several times until he was dizzy.

Upon seeing this, Liu Yin swam directly behind him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and used all her strength to push him into the water.

Seeing this, Mei Wu also stepped forward to help, and the two of them supported each other and swam upstream to the riverbank until the boatman completely lost consciousness.