Short of Silver

"May I ask where those dark clouds have drifted to, and where they have settled?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin quickly pressed for an answer.

What happened three days ago should still be easy to pursue now.

The dark cloud flew westward without ever settling down.

The Night Wandering God was deeply impressed by this matter and immediately replied upon hearing it.

Fang Zelin nodded upon hearing this, having obtained the information he wanted, and decided not to linger any longer.

After bowing and expressing his gratitude, Fang Zelin left the City God and arrived at the restaurant he had arranged to meet Zhenke.

After smelling the aroma of the wine in the restaurant, Fang Zelin shook his head and made no move to go up.

After taking a sip from the gourd-shaped wine container at his waist, he quietly waited for Zhenke to return.

Before long, Zhenke strode towards the market in the distance.

It seems they used a smokescreen, as no one around Zhenke reacted to her at all.

Otherwise, given Zhenke's appearance, she would inevitably attract some attention.

"Senior, I've heard the news. Three days ago, at nightfall, a dark cloud drifted in from afar, obscuring the moon for a few moments, before flying westward!"

Zhenke approached, her face beaming with joy.

She was worried that the clue would run out of steam once it reached them.

Now that the clues have been connected, I'm naturally overjoyed.

Fang Zelin nodded upon hearing this. It seemed that the night had indeed been quite unusual, which was why many people had noticed it.

"Since they're heading west, let's keep chasing them; we should be able to catch up."

As he spoke, Fang Zelin glanced at the sky; it was getting late. "Let's stay here for the night and set off again tomorrow!"

"I'll listen to my senior."

Zhenke immediately responded upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Fang Zelin led Zhenke to the inn next door. However, after asking around at the inn, Fang Zelin was immediately taken aback.

"What? Eight qian of silver for one night?"

Fang Zelin couldn't help but twitch his lips as he listened to what Xiao Er said.

After reaching into his sleeve and feeling the one or two taels of silver inside, he felt ashamed of his empty pockets.

However, I've stayed in many superior rooms at inns before, so when did it start costing so much for a night at this inn?

"Sir, this place is different from other places; there are many merchants coming and going. We still have rooms available right now, but if you hesitate any longer, there may not be any rooms left."

The waiter, however, seemed unsurprised by such remarks.

Since the Northern Liang and the Great Qian agreed to exchange goods thirty years ago, this place has gradually become more prosperous.

More and more inns were built around the area, but they still couldn't keep up with the crowds, so prices kept rising.

Anyway, the traveling merchants had plenty of money in their pockets, so they didn't care about such a small amount of money at all.

Fang Zelin's lips twitched slightly. He turned to look at Zhenke, who was standing beside him, and asked, "Do you have any money?"

The waiter was taken aback by Fang Zelin's question. Who was this gentleman talking to?

Although the sun hadn't completely set, Xiao Er felt a sudden chill creep into his heart, and his whole body felt a bit cold.

After seeing Zhenke shake her head, Fang Zelin sighed, turned around, and left the inn.

His one or two taels of silver isn't enough to book two rooms.

For now, I have no choice but to leave. I'll find somewhere to rest for the night before making any further moves.

"Is Senior also short of money, like Senior Lü?"

Seeing Zhenke Fang Zelin's embarrassment just now, Zhenke's eyes curved into crescent moons.

It's not that I'm mocking this senior, but it's quite amusing that someone like him would get involved in something as trivial as money.

After all, Zhenke was cultivating in the mountains, undergoing Heart-Questioning Trial, something she had never experienced in the mortal world.

At this moment, it seems to carry a certain innocence.

"Yes, I originally had some silver in my pocket, but I spent a lot of money while traveling and seeing many poor people, so I gave away some of my own. Now my pockets are truly empty."

Fang Zelin spoke, he took out an ounce of silver from his sleeve, tossed it around, and said with some emotion.

No wonder Daoist Lü that way.

Having wandered through the mortal world for so many years, how could I possibly have any money left in my pocket?

For those who cultivate the Tao, money is not something they care about.

During his previous search for immortality, Fang Zelin encountered many lonely elderly people along the way, who had no children and were simply lying on bamboo mats waiting to die.

On several occasions, I even saw elderly people with faltering steps buy some incense and candles and come to their parents' graves to offer incense.

With his last bit of money, he bought some offerings and placed them in front of the tombstone, like a child telling his parents that he was unfilial.

Unable to marry and have children to continue the family line.

Even now, when offering incense, they can't burn much paper money or anything like that.

After kowtowing and praying, the old man slowly walked back, changed his clothes, and lay down to await his death.

Fang Zelin felt a pang of pity watching such a scene.

I could only feel a little better after helping to buy some food.

It seems that Daoist Lü was not much different; if he had even a little money, he wouldn't be able to afford to spend it like that.

Therefore, the Daoist Lü that we met was in the form of a beggar.

Fang Zelin recounted some of the things he had encountered while searching for immortality to Zhenke.

Upon hearing these things, Zhenke's smile faded considerably, and she asked with some confusion.

"Senior, don't we still have the Turning Stone into Gold touch? With such a method, helping those people should be a piece of cake."

The art of Turning Stone into Gold —once you learn it, you can have as much money as you want?

Do you think those who cultivate the Tao could be stumped by something like this?

Fang Zelin shook his head. "This is absolutely unacceptable. Not only is the amount of money in the mortal world predetermined, but what we are doing cannot be considered a good deed."

"The art of Turning Stone into Gold, if not mastered properly, will cause the gold to turn back into stone when the Law Technique dissipates. Even if a hundred years have passed, wouldn't the family that the gold ended up with suffer an undeserved disaster?"

"What was once perfectly good gold, my family's wealth, has inexplicably turned into stone. What am I going to do?"

"Secondly, if too much gold is scattered, a little here and a little there, everyone has to take some. Otherwise, there will be other poor people. If everyone has gold, who will cultivate the fields?"

Upon hearing Fang Zelin's words, Zhenke was taken aback.

She hadn't thought that far ahead; she just felt a pang of pity upon hearing her senior's words.

I just feel that we should help those families more, and ideally, all the people in the world could live a prosperous life.

But after hearing what Senior Fang said, I realized that I had indeed been too presumptuous in my thinking.

No wonder, none of the predecessors had ever used this method to give gold to the people.