Chapter 278
Descendants (2)
Finally, Taoist realised that there was no way to find the truth about his master’s death because the masterminds behind it all were the people he couldn’t afford to mess with.
From the fear of being caught, the little Taoist could not continue his medical practice and so had no other source of income. Later on, he started fortune-telling with the knowledge his master had taught him. Along with fortune-telling, he also started selling herbal plasters for an extra income.
He changed his career from treating illnesses to fortune-telling to cut off all the connections with the past and his master, but unexpectedly, still got entangled with it.
Earlier when he saw Mu Mingtang take out the Jinger elixir, he knew that no matter how much he tried to deny it, that incident held great importance to him and he could never get rid of it. So at the moment, he only wanted to pretend to be unaware about the past and flee away after getting his hands on Jinger elixir concocted by his master, but before he could slip away, he was still exposed. More importantly, he also found out the identity of Xie Xuanchen after seeing his master’s elixir.
The little Taoist could tell that even though Xie Xuanchen appeared frail and delicate, he could easily defeat him single-handedly because of the strength Xie Xuanchen had just used to break the corner of the table. He could never leave this place today if Xie Xuanchen didn’t want him to.
“As I said, I can’t cure his disease. Even my master was not able to do so, so how can I? Please let me go…” the little Taoist pleaded.
While the Taoist was pleading, Mu Mingtang was thinking about how such a coincidence could happen on the very first day they had sneaked out of their mansion.
‘Mu Mingtang, today is your lucky day. Who would have thought such a thing would happen today? I have to seize this opportunity to try our luck. Although he said he cannot cure Xuanchen’s illness, in the end, he is still an apprentice of that wandering doctor. Hmm… If he refuses to come with us, we must tie him up and take him to the palace with us. Ah… what am I thinking… tie him up and take him…’
Mu Mingtang discovered that after she had spent such a long time with Xie Xuanchen she had been influenced by him and turned into a hooligan herself.
She hid her true thoughts, and smiled at the little Taoist kindly: “Taoist master, don’t be afraid. When the prince and I came out today, we didn’t bring any maids or guards with us. So only you, me and Prince An know about this matter, and outsiders would never be able to get hold of your true identity. You just need to act as a fortune teller… Forget it, just be a performer. Follow us back to the palace. Food and lodging are all included. You will be given a generous amount as your monthly income and there will be other rewards during festival times. What’s more, these are separate from your check up fees. If you can come up with a prescription, each prescription will be 100 yuan. How about that?”
The little Taoist couldn’t help but count in his mind, ‘How much would I earn in a month?’
As he was thinking about it, something clicked in his mind, halting the process of counting money and his lavish dreams. After coming back to himself, he felt a trace of anger and guilt for being greedy.
“No matter how much money I earn, it’ll never amount to my own life and I don’t want to die. I am hiding and always afraid that someone might discover my real identity. Now you’re asking me to go back with you to the palace, won’t they find out about me, eventually? It’s too risky. I don’t want to lose my life for some money.”
“Wait.” Xie Xuanchen said, “Everyone who was aware of that incident back then in the palace has been replaced now. The people involved in the incident are no longer alive. Anyway, weren’t you just a little boy back then? Now you’re a fully grown up man. How do you think they’ll be able to recognise you today? Rest assured. I am giving you my word that in today’s time and date, not even the perpetrator could find out that you’re the little kid from back then.”