Chapter 101

Pan Yun clutched her stomach and stumbled back to her room—this was already her third trip to the latrine tonight. She had walked this path countless times, but now, her left foot tripped over her right, and she crashed down with a thump.

"Meow—"

"Shut up!" Pan Yun pushed herself up on her arms, gritting her teeth. "If I hear you laugh again, I'll sew your mouth shut."

Pan Xiaohei stopped laughing, but deliberately walked ahead of her, tilting his head to look back, his large glassy eyes brimming with mockery.

Pan Yun: …

Pan Yun took a deep breath and decided to let the little cat's antics slide. She said coldly, "Record it: borrowed five hundred taels, misfortune begins on the third day."

Though he mocked her, Pan Xiaohei still did the job.

Pan Yun got up and slowly felt her way back inside, lifted her pant leg to examine her swollen knee, then glanced at her palm. After a moment's thought, she pulled out the money and went straight to knock on Miao Zhen and Xuanmiao's doors.

Xuanmiao and Miao Zhen regarded her with cold expressions.

Pan Yun offered them a flattering smile and extended two fifty-tael silver notes. "Sister, I'm lending you a hundred taels."

"Miao Zhen, I'm lending you a hundred taels. Pay me back in a couple of days."

Xuanmiao and Miao Zhen looked down at the silver notes thrust before them and, after a moment's hesitation, reluctantly accepted them to participate in the experiment.

Pan Yun exhaled in relief and vowed, "This is the last time. I'll never knock on your doors again in the middle of the night."

Xuanmiao replied coldly, "Knock if it's urgent. If it's not, hold it in."

With that, she shut the door.

Pan Yun sat there clutching her stomach, wondering: was her diarrhea an urgent matter—or not?

Pan Yun turned and knocked on Miao He's door.

After a long while, Miao He came to open the door with her eyes still closed. She struggled to lift her eyelids, but could only crack them open a sliver, her head drooping as she asked, "What is it?"

Pan Yun shoved a hundred taels into her hands. "Miao He, I'm lending you a hundred taels. Keep it safe. Pay me back in a couple of days."

Miao He nodded dully, took the money, shut the door, and shuffled back to bed like a ghost.

The next morning, she woke up and, while dressing, two silver notes fell out of her inner robe pocket.

She let out a "Whoa!" and snatched up the notes, holding them to the morning light, checking them again and again until she confirmed they were real—then she dashed out, still half-dressed.

She sprinted all the way to the front courtyard gate and shouted to the group practicing: "Master—Sanqing Ancestor just gifted me a hundred taels!"

Tao Ji nearly toppled off his stone while meditating. Wang Feiyin, still slowly practicing his fist forms, paused and asked lazily, "What good deed did you do for Sanqing Ancestor to reward you?"

Miao He thought for a moment and said, "I clean the altar for Sanqing Ancestor every day."

Wang Feiyin said, "Your little auntie and Miao Zhen clean it just as often. Why didn't they get rewarded?"

Miao Zhen pulled out a hundred taels. "I got one too."

Wang Feiyin stopped his movements and turned to look.

Pan Yun slowly produced two hundred taels. "I've got silver notes too. Miao He—could it be that the hundred taels were the ones I lent you?"

Miao He looked utterly bewildered. "Lent to me? Why would you lend me money? I didn't ask you for any. Sure, I don't have money—but I don't need it either."

Miao Zhen reminded her, "Last night, Little Auntie started having bad luck, then came knocking and lent us money."

"Oh!" Miao He leaned back, eyes wide. "So someone really did knock last night? I really did get up and open the door? I thought I was dreaming."

Miao He tucked the hundred taels away and patted her sleeve pocket. "Little Auntie, don't worry—this hundred taels is safe with me. How long do you want me to keep it?"

Pan Yun: "Just hold onto it for now. If there's no effect after ten days, return it to Big Nephew."

Pan Yun was patient. She was determined to figure out this rule, and she didn't mind suffering diarrhea or falling down to do it.

After morning practice, she felt excited thinking about today's lesson on subduing demons and eliminating evil.

This lesson clearly involved practical training—teaching offensive Daoist arts and Wu Gong.

Sure enough, after breakfast, Xuanmiao led them to an open field and said, "Demons exist in this world, hiding among humans. The more people and the more bustling the place, the more demons and evil spirits lurk there."

"As members of the Daoist sect, beyond pursuing the Dao, our most important duty in the mortal world is to subdue demons and eliminate evil."

Xuanmiao said, "Demons mostly lack compassion and stand opposed to humans. Thus, we speak of exterminating demons and killing evil. But all living beings are equal—not all demons harm people. For those demons, do we kill them or not?"

Miao He shot up her hand immediately. "I know! Last time we covered it—don't kill!"

Xuanmiao nodded. "So you must learn to discern whether demons harm people, whether they carry karmic sins, and how heavy those sins are."

"Demons, like humans, lie. So don't listen to what they say—learn to observe qi."

Miao Zhen murmured, "Observe qi?"

Xuanmiao nodded and looked at Pan Yun. "This won't be difficult for Little Sister. I've seen you observe qi. In my judgment, your ability surpasses even Big Brother's—and even the entire Long Hushan sect."

Miao Zhen and Miao He turned to stare at her, gasping in awe.

Pan Yun didn't deny it. She simply nodded.

But what she possessed wasn't the Art of Observing Qi—it was innate, a natural talent of her heart orifice.

"So to learn subduing demons and eliminating evil, you must first learn to observe qi," Xuanmiao said. "The Art of Observing Qi applies not only to demons, but to humans, feng shui…"

Pan Yun had never seriously studied the Art of Observing Qi. In her past life, she had specialized in arrays and talismans; she'd only learned rudimentary knowledge of it in high school and university.

Because of her innate heart orifice, even without studying the Art of Observing Qi, she could instantly perceive the true nature of people and things—so the Art held little use for her.

But listening to Xuanmiao's lesson, she realized the Art of Observing Qi was more than just observing qi—it was, in a fundamental sense, teaching how to discern the true nature of people and things.

In simple terms, distinguishing loyalty from treachery might be a lifelong lesson.

Xuanmiao gave many examples and taught them the basics of the Art of Observing Qi—but they had no way to practice it.

The next day, not only Miao He and Miao Zhen, but even Tao Yan Bai, whose Daoist skills were weak, had mastered the basics. Xuanmiao scanned the group, then singled out Pan Yun. "Think: right now, she is your guest, come to you for a fortune reading. What do you see in her qi?"

Miao Zhen clumsily formed the hand seal, traced her fingers over her eyes, then opened them to look at Pan Yun. After a moment, she said, "Noble qi—this person is of high status."

She frowned. "Is Little Auntie really of high status?"

Xuanmiao's face remained cold. "The noble qi you saw was merit qi. She is a person of merit. You haven't yet distinguished noble qi from merit qi."

Master Xuanmiao said with a cold face, "The noble aura you saw is the aura of merit. She is a person of merit. You still haven't distinguished between noble aura and the aura of merit."

"Oh—" Seeing Miao Zhen slumped her shoulders in disappointment.

Miao He also stared, and after holding back for a long time, said: "Little Master, you're glowing with red light—you clearly have excellent health."

Pan Yun pointed at her own nose and said: "I have excellent health?" She turned to look at Master Xuanmiao.

Master Xuanmiao sized her up, then nodded: "Miao He didn't misread it. Your health is far better than when you first arrived. It seems Mount Sanqing truly nurtures people."

"But Miao He, what you used isn't my Observing Qi technique—it's the medical method of Observing Qi."

Miao He said nervously: "Can't they be used interchangeably?"

Pan Yun also said: "Yeah, can't they? After all, they're both Observing Qi."

Master Xuanmiao: "Though both are Observing Qi, there are differences between them. Though you'll walk the Golden Core path, you must still learn arcane arts."

"Medicine and Dao are inseparable. Do you know medicine is divided into Upper Physician, Middle Physician, and Lower Physician?"

Miao He shook his head.

Pan Yun, Seeing Miao Zhen, and Tao Yanbai also shook their heads along with him.

Master Xuanmiao said: "You're old enough—you should be studying the Records of the Grand Historian. There's an essay in it, 'Bian Que Meets Duke Huan of Cai,' which clearly distinguishes Upper, Middle, and Lower Physicians."

!. Read

"Bian Que said he was a Lower Physician—he treated illness only after it had entered the blood and marrow. Today, the vast majority of physicians are Lower Physicians, even quacks who treat headaches with headache remedies and foot pain with foot remedies."

Tao Yanbai: "Third Master also told me this, and told me not to learn from them."

Master Xuanmiao: "His elder brother treated illness when it first appeared in the hair follicles—that's the Middle Physician. His oldest brother eliminated illness before it even formed, when it was still visible only in the spirit—that's the Upper Physician."

She said: "The true Upper Physician understands the mysteries of the cosmos. The human body is like the cosmos—each person is a universe. When a physician understands the human body deeply, he understands the cosmos deeply."

"Qi cultivation and Golden Core are the methods closest to the Dao's natural laws. Therefore, those who study Dao must understand medicine; the Upper Physician must be an elite arcane practitioner, and the Middle Physician also understands Daoist principles." Master Xuanmiao spoke slowly, word by word: "So if you wish to advance further on the Golden Core path, you cannot learn only medicine and pill refining—you must learn all other arcane arts."

"Only those who master both methods can approach the Dao infinitely."

Pan Yun listened seriously, deciding she too would study Qi cultivation and Golden Core thoroughly, and not remain fixated only on the arrays and talismans she had excelled at in her past life.

Seeing everyone was now attentive, Master Xuanmiao told them to resume observing Pan Yun's qi.

When it was Tao Yanbai's turn, he blushed fiercely before saying: "I—I see your qi is very strong, Little Master."

Master Xuanmiao asked expressionlessly: "And then?"

"And then?" Tao Yanbai rubbed his forehead, whispering: "Then I felt uneasy. I wanted to stay far away from Little Master."

Master Xuanmiao looked at him in surprise: "You have a touch of talent. But you're a few years older than Miao Zhen and Miao He, so don't be proud."

"I dare not, I dare not—I won't be proud."

Pan Yun turned to ask him: "Am I not approachable?"

Tao Yanbai looked troubled: "Little Master, you're very approachable—but when I observed your qi just now, I truly wanted to stay far away. I'm a little afraid of you."

"Good that you're afraid," Master Xuanmiao said. "Those with keen senses will instinctively keep their distance from you. Even those like me, with strong Observing Qi, will keep their distance."

Pan Yun frowned: "Why?"

"You carry a kind of qi—it signifies authority, it signifies trouble," Master Xuanmiao said. "We Dao cultivators, when encountering trouble, must learn to avoid it, never invite it."

Pan Yun: "But you and Third Master chased after me back then."

"First, I promised your father I'd help you once. Second, you truly have exceptional Dao talent. I value talent—I knew that after you left, your fate would be fraught with hardship, even death. I couldn't bear to let you be wasted."

"Besides, Mount Sanqing already has so much trouble—adding one more won't hurt. I think Grand Master will handle it well."

Pan Yun: "Thank you."

Master Xuanmiao: "No need to thank me. Now that you've all seen something else in her, switch to observing my qi."

Saying this, she stood before them.

Pan Yun immediately formed a hand seal and swept it over her eyes, studying her—but after a long while, she saw nothing.

She refused to believe it, so she activated her cultivation method and used her innate talent to look—and what she saw was shocking: three qi streams twisted together on Master Xuanmiao.

White, gold, red. White was the qi color of most people; gold was merit; the red was… karmic bloodshed.

Pan Yun stared blankly. Was this the kind of qi you saw on demons who needed to be exterminated?

She turned to look at Miao Zhen and Miao He—they were frantically forming hand seals, blinking frequently—and asked: "Can't you see it?"

Both shook their heads in disappointment: "We see nothing."

All three turned to look at Tao Yanbai.

Tao Yanbai hesitated, then whispered: "I see nothing either—but I still want to stay far away from Fourth Master."

Miao He was speechless: "Then just say who you don't want to stay far from."

Tao Yanbai glanced at her, then at Miao Zhen, whispering: "I don't want to stay far from you two—I want to be closer to you."

Just then, Tao Ji arrived carrying a teapot and five bowls for them to drink. Tao Yanbai said: "I don't want to stay far from Third Master either—I want to be near Third Master."

"What are you talking about?"

Master Xuanmiao studied Tao Yanbai from head to toe: "You have little Dao talent, but you do have talent in Observing Qi. You should study it more—it will benefit your Golden Core and medical skills."

Tao Ji poured tea for them and said: "You've all had an hour of class—drink some tea."

Master Xuanmiao nodded to them, then took a bowl herself and drained it in one gulp.

Seeing they had all drunk, she continued: "You can't see my qi because I've concealed my qi signature."

Pan Yun: "Conceal?"

Master Xuanmiao paused, then said: "That's acceptable too—concealing and shielding mean the same thing."

She said: "Beyond heaven lies greater heaven; beyond people lie greater people. As Dao cultivators, when you don't wish your condition exposed, you may conceal your qi signature."

"After concealing your qi signature, even those with higher cultivation will struggle to perceive your full qi, understand your condition," she glanced at Pan Yun, "except for those with extraordinary talent—these people don't use Observing Qi techniques; they use their innate talent to observe qi."

"But such people are rare—one in ten thousand, perhaps. You may never meet one, and even if you do, they may not be your enemy, so don't be overly anxious."

Master Xuanmiao said: "Our goal is merely to conceal our identities before fellow cultivators, so no one sees through us at a glance."

"Therefore, besides Observing Qi, you must also learn to conceal your destiny."

Pan Yun raised her hand high and shouted loudly: "I want to learn it!"

This is perfect for her—she knows everything, while her opponent knows nothing, hahaha…

The lucky number is one ending in 1, screenshot as proof

(End of Chapter)