Chapter 109: The Temple Elder (Part One)

Outside the carriage, Tao Ming had already persuaded Su An so thoroughly that he was eager to start learning Mandarin immediately, hoping to master it quickly and then rush to the other world to experience the modern life that Tao Ming described.

Crouching behind the carriage door, Qin Yunjue, Qin Yunqi, and Su Pei listened to Tao Ming persuading Su An while exchanging silent gestures among themselves.

Qin Yunjue asked, "Are you two going to learn it?"

Su Pei replied, "We definitely have to."

Qin Yunqi added, "I want to learn too."

Su Pei said, "My father has already assigned us to Tao Ming; from now on, we have to listen to her."

Qin Yunjue nodded, "Should I tell Tao Ming that we want to learn too?"

Qin Yunqi said, "That’s up to you."

Su Pei offered, "I’ll treat you to a meal."

The two little ones, one on each side, had already fallen asleep leaning on Tao Ming’s shoulders. Tao Ming lowered her voice, animatedly describing modern life. Suddenly, a voice came from behind: "Ming Ming, you can’t be biased."

Turning around, it was the second cousin, Qin Yunjue. "Biased about what?" Tao Ming asked.

Qin Yunjue motioned Tao Ming to enter the carriage. Tao Ming handed the two little ones inside first, then prepared to get in herself.

Su An tugged on Tao Ming’s skirt, saying, "Sister-in-law, I was the first to sign up."

Su Pei whispered, "If Seventeen sees you pulling on sister-in-law’s skirt, he’ll surely chop off your hand."

Su An quickly let go and focused on steering the carriage up the mountain.

He glanced around and softly uttered, "Huh?"

Tao Ming couldn’t help but ask, "Huh? What’s wrong?"

Su An stopped the carriage and looked back. Not far behind was the entrance to the mountain path. He shouted angrily, "We’ve been traveling so long and we’re still at the foot of the mountain. Someone’s tricking us."

Hearing this, everyone stepped down one by one and stared at the nearby mountain path entrance with unpleasant expressions.

Tao Ming smiled brightly and said, "Well, this is perfect. I wasn’t planning to go up anyway. Let’s just go back to the imperial city."

Su Nanxing naturally agreed, carrying Tao Ming into the carriage. The others exchanged glances, leaving Su An to control the carriage, and they followed inside.

When Wen Youfang saw Su Nanxing carrying Tao Ming, his face turned pale as if he’d seen a ghost, muttering, "What kind of propriety is this…"

Tao Ming smiled at Wen Youfang, then turned to kiss Su Nanxing on the cheek. "Mr. Wen, you’ll just have to get used to it."

Wen Youfang’s face turned even whiter. "This… this…"

At that moment, a raspy old female voice came from nearby, "Holy Maiden, please wait."

Tao Ming called out loudly, "Su An, hurry and go."

Su An had already turned the carriage around and was heading downhill. Hearing Tao Ming’s voice, he sped up, but suddenly the mountain path in front of them flickered and vanished. The carriage was now trapped in the woods.

Su An cast a spell with both hands and said with a hint of disdain, "I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.