Xie Xun's voice was very soft, he didn't intend for others in the teahouse to hear him.
Only Jiang Xiaoxiao heard him clearly.
Jiang Xiaoxiao asked, "Do you know Bai Xiao, the son-in-law who married into the Nie family?"
"Just happened to see him once or twice."
Due to the baleful influence over his head, Xie Xun often had accidents whenever he went out, so he didn't come to the county town frequently.
The few rare times he did, it was because of some urgent matters.
And it was during those infrequent visits that he had seen Bai Xiao, the son-in-law of the Nie family.
At that time, Bai Xiao was with a beautiful woman, and they were holding the hand of Nie Xiaoyan, the Nie family's grandson.
Actually, back then, Xie Xun didn't know that Bai Xiao was the Nie family's son-in-law. It was only later, when he saw Bai Xiao entering a restaurant and the waiters respectfully addressed him as "Master Nie," that he realized who Bai Xiao was.
Xie Xun had an incredible memory, and he had just retained the impression.
Xie Xun didn't know much about the Nie family's affairs. He had thought that the woman accompanying Bai Xiao was the Nie family's daughter.
But after hearing what the Storytelling Master said earlier, he realized the truth.
The Nie family's daughter had died from complications during childbirth long ago.
That woman was an outsider.
Or rather, she was a woman that Bai Xiao kept outside of his marriage.
While swearing to his in-laws that he would never remarry for the rest of his life, he secretly kept a mistress outside.
This Master Nie was truly not as simple as he seemed.
After listening to Xie Xun's explanation, Jiang Xiaoxiao fell silent without saying a word.
Xie Xun thought she was trying to figure out if the things in the Nie family's mansion had anything to do with this son-in-law.
In fact, Jiang Xiaoxiao was just wondering why people down the mountain had such complicated thoughts? Why couldn't they just eat and sleep properly?
The two of them were leisurely drinking tea and listening to the storytelling when the weather outside suddenly changed.
It had been clear and sunny when they went out, but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and a violent thunderstorm broke out, pouring down torrential rain.
Xie Xun didn't bring an umbrella when he went out, so he definitely couldn't leave now and could only temporarily take shelter in the teahouse from the rain.
The rain was so heavy, pounding on the windowsills and blowing in cold wind.
Xie Xun noticed that Jiang Xiaoxiao's clothes were thin, so he got up to close the window.
As his gaze lowered, he inadvertently caught sight of someone in a rain cloak hurrying upstairs.
Not long after, the person in the rain cloak stood panting in front of them.
It was Chen Sixi.
"I knew you two would be here," Chen Sixi said as he poured himself a cup of tea.
After quenching his thirst, he continued, "Xie Xun, you missed quite a brilliant show earlier!"
Seeing Xie Xun's indifferent expression, Chen Sixi pretended to be mysterious, "Don't you want to know what brilliant show it was?"
Xie Xun said, "If you want to tell me, you don't need to ask. You'll tell me either way."
"So boring!"
Chen Sixi pouted, pulled up a chair to sit down, and quickly circled back to the topic, excitedly saying, "Earlier, I was running an errand for my dad when I happened to pass by the Nie family's main gate. Guess what happened?"
"A tree in the Nie family's courtyard was struck by lightning, and it hit a Taoist priest in yellow robes who was holding a ritual right under the tree. The priest was charred black, his clothes disheveled, and he ran out with his disciples, rolling on the ground and screaming about ghosts."
At this point, Chen Sixi could no longer hold it in, "Everyone on Huayang Street saw that old fraud running around with his bare buttocks exposed! Hahaha, it was hilarious!"
After speaking, he noticed that neither Xie Xun nor Jiang Xiaoxiao had much of a reaction, so he began to doubt himself, "How... wasn't that funny?"
Xie Xun said, "Your family runs a coffin shop, and you're still afraid of ghosts. What's so strange about a Taoist priest being afraid of ghosts?"
Chen Sixi: "...Brother, can't we have a proper conversation?"
Xie Xun ignored him.
Chen Sixi then turned to Jiang Xiaoxiao, "Master, you really don't want to take action?"
He really wanted to see Jiang Xiaoxiao, a true master, teach those self-proclaimed "masters" a lesson.
Jiang Xiaoxiao said, "This isn't my business. You should ask Xie Xun."
Chen Sixi looked disappointed, "You're such a renowned transcendent at such a young age, yet you listen to your husband so strictly? Master, you can't just listen to Xie Xun about everything, or he'll lead you astray!"
Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't understand what Chen Sixi meant by "lead astray," but she earnestly and sincerely said, "If I don't listen, I won't get dinner tonight."
Chen Sixi: "You can't just think about eating!"
Jiang Xiaoxiao: "If I don't eat, I'll get hungry."
Chen Sixi gave up.
Is she the reincarnation of a ravenous beast, only opening her mouth to talk about eating?!
As they were talking, someone was seen coming up the stairs. It was none other than Bai Xiao, the Nie family's son-in-law, followed by two young servants.
Bai Xiao's expression was extremely gloomy at the moment, not at all like someone who had come to drink tea.
As if he had already determined his target, as soon as he came up, he went straight toward the Storytelling Master.
The Storytelling Master had just finished praising Master Nie for being a loyal, filial, and virtuous son-in-law when he found himself cornered by Master Nie and his men. He was a little perplexed, "Master Nie, what's the matter?"
Upon hearing this address, Bai Xiao's brow furrowed, and his already unsightly expression darkened further.
He stared at the Storytelling Master, "That Taoist master from Yishui Mountain, was he introduced by you?"
The Storytelling Master roughly understood why Master Nie had come, so he nervously replied, "Yes, I introduced him."
Bai Xiao sat down on an empty seat nearby, "Now that man has been scared away. You owe me an explanation!"
"Scared... away?" The Storytelling Master widened his eyes in disbelief, "My old friend is a renowned Taoist master. How could he possibly have been scared away? Master Nie, there must be some misunderstanding here."
"Misunderstanding?" One of the young servants behind Bai Xiao sneered, "Half the people on Huayang Street saw that Taoist master get so scared that he wet himself and ran away while screaming about ghosts. Are you saying that our Master Nie is deliberately slandering him?"
"No, no, I don't dare," the Storytelling Master replied. He clearly hadn't expected his good intentions to backfire so badly, and he was quite worried.
Bai Xiao had always had a pretty good reputation outside, and although he was angered today, he didn't intend to make a scene at the teahouse and become a laughingstock.
He calmed down, "Since you're the one who messed things up, then you'll have to take full responsibility. Within three days, bring me a real master. Otherwise..."
He didn't finish his words, but the Storytelling Master understood.
If he couldn't find a real master within three days, he would no longer be able to make a living in Kaihe County.
After Bai Xiao and his men left, the Storytelling Master hurriedly wiped his sweat and looked around.
Due to the rain, almost no customers had left, so everyone had witnessed the scene that just unfolded.
Among them were many regular customers of this teahouse, who not only knew that the Nie family's mansion had recently become unclean, but also that the Storytelling Master had volunteered to recommend a supposedly highly skilled Taoist master to Master Nie.
The Nie family was already in a hurry to solve the problem, and now the matter had been botched. It was only natural for Master Nie to be angry.
Everyone looked at the Storytelling Master with sympathy.
The Storytelling Master's heart was heavy with bitterness.
He had truly meant well initially, never expecting things to turn out like this.
Finding a truly capable master to exorcise evil spirits within three days would be no easy task.
With a sigh, the Storytelling Master prepared himself to leave Kaihe County.
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