General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

A quarter of an hour later.

The four plates were completely clean.

"Ah, that feels so good." Tang Yiqing licked the last drop of vegetable juice clean, patted her round belly, and was extremely satisfied.

He hadn't had such a delicious meal in a long time.

He leaned back in his chair, feeling quite pleased with himself, and glanced to the side. Oh dear, there were four eyes staring at him.

Tang Yiqing belatedly realized that he had been freeloading at the restaurant.

“Um,” he sat up straight abruptly, “I’m sorry, I was just too hungry and couldn’t control myself.”

Jiang Qiqi smiled, indicating that she didn't mind: "Is that enough? You can order more if you don't want more."

Tang Yiqing waved her hand: "No, no, that's enough, I'm already full."

"That's good." Jiang Qiqi took out some loose silver coins, placed them on the table, and got up to leave.

Tang Yiqing quickly stopped him: "Wait, young master, I can't accept your golden egg."

Wow, you have a good memory, young man.

As he spoke, he tried to stuff the golden egg into Jiang Qiqi's hand again.

Lin'er quickly stopped him: "Stay away..." Men and women shouldn't touch each other.

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but then I remembered they looked like men, so I swallowed them back.

After cooking for a while, he finally said, "Ninth Master is a germaphobe and doesn't like others getting close to him."

Tang Yiqing sized up the young Ninth Master a few times: "Alright."

Don’t understand, but respect.

He let go and took two steps back.

Jiang Qiqi smiled and tugged at her sleeve, silently accepting her identity as a germaphobe.

"Young man, or should I call you a miracle doctor?"

Tang Yiqing shook his head: "Ninth Master, right? My name is Tang Yiqing."

"Brother Tang, hello. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Mu Sijiu, also known in the martial arts world as Ninth Master. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, Ninth Master, but I really can't accept your golden egg."

Jiang Qiqi: "..."

"Brother Tang, you don't know this." With a quick glance, she gave herself a new identity.

"To tell you the truth, I originally lived in Los Angeles, and I also contracted the plague and am about to die."

He covered his face with his sleeve and sobbed twice, seemingly still shaken.

"At the critical moment, my great-aunt's nephew's cousin, who was also my fourth aunt's neighbor, came to me like a hero riding on a colorful cloud to bring me your medicine."

"That's how I survived – I took your medicine."

Jiang Qiqi coughed twice, trying to imagine herself as Lin Daiyu reincarnated.

“I’m a grateful person, so I had to come and visit my savior. I crossed two mountains to finally find you.” She pointed to the golden egg. “So, my benefactor, you must accept my repayment!”

Tang Yiqing scratched his head, puzzled: "That Ninth Master, are there many rich people in Longcheng?"

"?"

Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?

"how you said that?"

Tang Yiqing reached into his sleeve and pulled out two large ingots of silver.

It looks like it weighs twenty or thirty taels.

“Yesterday at noon a young man came and told the same story as you. He gave me these two ingots of silver as a way of repaying a debt of gratitude and told me to accept them.”

……

Jiang Qiqi smirked speechlessly: No? How could such a niche reason be used in a similar situation?

"That just means you've saved too many people, Brother Tang." She didn't even blink before coming up with a new reason.

"Since you have already accepted the gratitude from others, you cannot be biased towards one another; you must also accept mine."

"This……"

Tang Yiqing blinked and thought for a long time, but couldn't find a suitable rebuttal.

“Alright,” he said. “It’s perfect, because I bought too much medicine and now the pharmacies have raised the prices of the herbs. With the help of you two chivalrous and righteous people, I won’t have to worry about not being able to afford the herbs.”

Jiang Qiqi nodded and patted his shoulder: "Good people are rewarded. Don't feel pressured. This is what you deserve."

Tang Yiqing forced a smile: "Thank you, Ninth Master. My master told me the same thing before."

"Master?" Jiang Qiqi followed up on his words, "Brother Tang isn't from Liyuan County?"

"No." Tang Yiqing shook her head and answered obediently, "I have no home. I have been wandering around with my master since I was a child."

"But I didn't see your master yesterday." Jiang Qiqi swore she hadn't thought much before asking that question.

But it turns out that sometimes you really need to think things through a bit more.

Upon hearing her words, the pale-faced young Taoist priest's mood suddenly plummeted at a visible speed.

"Two months ago, I went to Liyuan with my master. Everything was fine before the first day of rest, but when I woke up on the second day, my master was gone! Waaaaaah!"

Tang Yiqing sobbed and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"Master, I miss you so much, waaaaah."

Jiang Qiqi and Zheng Lin'er: "Huh?"

No, how did it turn into a melodrama?

Also, how come this multi-talented Taoist priest (who can diagnose illnesses, tell fortunes, and exorcise ghosts) has such a style?

"Um...did your master leave nothing behind before he left? Even just a few words would be fine," Jiang Qiqi asked.

"Let me think." Tang Yiqing tilted her head and thought for a long time. "It seems that before I went to sleep that night, Master said something like 'the child has grown up,' but I didn't listen carefully. Waaah, Master."

Case solved.

Little Taoist priest, your master didn't just disappear, he abandoned you.

But looking at the bewildered look in the eyes of the girl opposite him, Jiang Qiqi couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Zheng Lin, you say it." Jiang Qiqi sighed, deciding not to be the bad guy.

"Huh? What are you saying, Ninth Master?" Lin'er turned her head.

Then, Jiang Qiqi saw another pair of bewildered, rabbit-like eyes.

"..."

How could she forget that the child wasn't intellectually gifted?

Jiang Qiqi looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh: "It's nothing. I was just saying that Brother Tang is too pitiful."

“Yes, yes, it’s so pitiful,” Lin’er agreed.

"Waaaaah, you all think so too, right? I'm a kindred spirit!"

……

Jiang Qiqi felt that the two of them were kindred spirits.

After the initial sadness subsided, Tang Yiqing continued.

"After my master disappeared, I searched every street and alley but couldn't find any trace of him. I went to report to the authorities, but the officials just laughed when they heard my description and refused to help me post a missing person notice."

Jiang Qiqi: That makes sense, which means the officials are of normal intelligence.

“I was afraid my master wouldn’t be able to find me when he came back, so I stayed in Liyuan County and didn’t leave,” he said sullenly, his head down.

"Later, everyone here contracted the plague. Luckily, I knew some medical skills, so I helped everyone to the best of my ability."

Lin'er was deeply moved: "Young man, you're a really nice person."

Jiang Qiqi nodded, "When I first saw Brother Tang, I felt that you had a kind and benevolent face, and now it seems that I was right. Come, let me offer a cup of tea to Daoist Yiqing instead of wine."

Tang Yiqing hurriedly raised his cup: "Ninth Master, you're joking. I'm not a Taoist priest, just a lay disciple. My master said that I still have unresolved worldly ties and cannot be a true Taoist disciple."

"I see," Jiang Qiqi said. "However, in my opinion, instead of staying in Liyuan County, Brother Tang would be better off going to other places. That way, you can not only find your master, but you might also accidentally encounter what you call your karmic connection."

Tang Yiqing patted his round little head: "I haven't thought about these things yet. I've always followed my master and have never acted alone."

"Oh dear!" Tang Yiqing glanced over and saw the sun already high in the sky outside. "We've been talking for too long, the sun has already risen."

He finally put the golden egg into his arms: "In that case, I will accept the golden egg. Thank you for your generous help, Ninth Master. I need to go back and prepare the medicine first."

The two watched him leave.

Unexpectedly, this young Taoist priest Tang Yiqing, who looks so fair and clean, with the appearance of a monk who is detached from worldly desires, is actually such an emotional person.

On average, I have an emotional outburst every five minutes.

Jiang Qiqi picked up her tea and took a sip, thinking that she would definitely try to get more information from her next time they met.

“Miss,” Zheng Lin’er asked softly, “is he related to what we’re investigating?”

“No,” Jiang Qiqi said firmly, putting down her teacup.

She simply couldn't help but offer some help to such a kind-hearted person.

While we're at it, let's see if we can take it over for our own use.

She put down her teacup: "Lin'er, take the things I asked you to prepare, we're going to your house now."