Chapter 104: Injured

“If it weren’t for Master Qian’s kindness and good nature, I wouldn’t even want to sell my talismans to him,” Pan Yun said. “This is mutual benefit, understand?”

In her past life, when transactions were so easy and competitors so numerous, her talismans were still in high demand, selling for slightly higher prices than others’.

Countless shops had tried and failed to establish a supply relationship with her; in this era, cultivation methods were held by only a tiny fraction of people, resources were even scarcer, and by delivering her talismans to Master Qian, she was essentially giving him a free resource.

How could Master Qian not be delighted?

Isn’t exclusivity better?

Pan Yun went to the Qian household with absolute confidence, utterly fearless and brimming with self-assurance, her skin as thick as armor.

And the Qian household indeed welcomed her warmly.

Especially Qian Dahong—he ran out to greet her the moment a servant reported her arrival, bumping into Qian the steward, who was just leading them inside.

The moment she saw him, Pan Yun asked: “Where’s Master Qian?”

Qian Dahong smiled warmly. “Little Immortal, my father didn’t know you were coming today—he went to Guangxin Prefecture to visit friends yesterday and won’t return for two days. You can tell me whatever you need.”

Pan Yun smiled and asked: “Master Qian, have you distributed the talismans I gave you before?”

“Already distributed, already distributed—friends and relatives are all extremely satisfied,” Qian Dahong said. “That’s why I’m here to request more talismans from you. You know, our Qian family has many relatives and old acquaintances…”

“I know, I know,” Pan Yun sat down in the main hall, took a sip of tea, then asked: “How many talismans does Master Qian want? Which kinds?”

Qian Dahong paused thoughtfully. “Thirty would be perfect—I’d like fifteen Peace Talismans and fifteen Wealth Talismans.”

Pan Yun glanced at the money pouch at her waist and realized it couldn’t possibly hold such a large stack of talismans, so she reached into her sleeve.

Pretending to rummage inside her sleeve, she actually pulled out a large handful of talismans from her spiritual realm space.

She knew that, under normal circumstances, Peace Talismans and Wealth Talismans were the most popular, so she’d painted the most of these two types.

Only when she grew tired of them did she paint other talismans to refresh her mood.

The ones she pulled out were all Peace and Wealth Talismans.

She counted them—thirty-two in total.

Pan Yun was rigidly precise—she never gave an extra one—so she pulled out two, carefully separated fifteen of each, and handed them over.

Qian Dahong glanced at the two talismans in her hand, thought of the silver in his home, and ultimately didn’t ask for all of them.

He accepted the talismans, but his expression was hesitant.

Pan Yun said: “Rest assured, Master—this is my signature. Every talisman has identical power—no watered-down ones.”

Qian Dahong relaxed, immediately bowed, then asked softly: “Little Immortal, do you have any talismans that can see spirits? Or must you personally come to the scene each time to perform rites and paint the talisman?”

Finally, someone asked about this talisman—Pan Yun grew excited. “Of course not! The reason I painted it on-site before was simply because I hadn’t prepared a Heaven’s Eye Talisman in advance. You don’t need a Daoist present—just stick the Heaven’s Eye Talisman on the wall, close your eyes, then open them again.”

Qian Dahong immediately requested one: “I have a friend whose concubine died—he wants to see whether she’s been reborn or still lingers beside him.”

“Ah~” Pan Yun said meaningfully. “No problem at all. But the Heaven’s Eye Talisman is different from others, so its price is slightly higher.”

“How much for one?”

Pan Yun held up five fingers. “Fifty taels per talisman.”

Qian Dahong: … This wasn’t slightly higher—it was more than double the price, enough to buy two and a half Peace Talismans.

But thinking of those who needed talismans, Qian Dahong gritted his teeth. “Little Immortal, I’ll take two Heaven’s Eye Talismans.”

Pan Yun had stock on hand—painted after the incident with Master Sun, especially when she grew tired of Peace and Wealth Talismans, she’d occasionally paint a few as backup.

After all, painting talismans with spiritual power still drained considerable energy; it was wiser to be cautious when traveling.

Pan Yun pulled out two Heaven’s Eye Talismans and handed them to him.

Qian Dahong took all the talismans and went to prepare the money.

Wang Cong stared blankly at Pan Yun’s sleeve. “Little Master, your sleeve is ridiculously capacious.”

Pan Yun shook her sleeve. “Of course—it’s got two sleeves.”

Wang Xiaojing only half-listened for a moment—he had zero interest in this, so he quickly shifted his attention to examining the Qian household’s main hall, especially the porcelain.

He thought the two large floor vases beside him looked magnificent—their colors, glaze, and patterns were all exquisite.

He really wanted to get closer to look, but remembered they were guests, and accompanying Pan Yun, so he dared not act disrespectfully and stayed put.

But who was Pan Yun? She saw through his thoughts at a glance and asked: “Like that big vase?”

Wang Xiaojing blushed and nodded. “When I helped my master at home, I rarely saw such large, beautiful vases.”

“If you want to see, go closer.”

Pan Yun led him over.

Wang Xiaojing noticed she stood beside him, not moving, and the Qian steward, who was attending them, didn’t stop him—he even smiled at him—so Wang Xiaojing relaxed and examined the vase closely.

After a long while, Qian Dahong returned with three trays of silver.

Wang Xiaojing saw so much silver for the first time in his life—he was utterly stunned.

Pan Yun was also startled, but she knew exactly how much she’d earned this trip, so she was mentally prepared.

Still, she hadn’t expected Qian Dahong to give her so much cash.

Qian Dahong pulled eight silver notes from his sleeve. “Little Immortal, here are four hundred taels in silver notes, plus these three trays of silver—seven hundred taels total. Please count them.”

Pan Yun took the notes, counted them, and nodded. “Perfect.”

Wang Cong, being a businessman, kept his composure—his surprise flashed and vanished.

He silently took the cloth bag from the Qian steward and carefully packed each silver ingot from the three trays, then handed it to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun pushed it back to him. “Hold it for me.”

Pan Xiaohei grew tense, meowing frantically: “You sold too much! You shouldn’t have sold so much!”

【Shut up. Don’t you understand? This is a rare opportunity. The statue’s already back. Next time I come to the county might be a month from now—I don’t have that much time.】

Pan Yun felt a faint premonition, so she didn’t linger longer at the Qian household—she bowed and took her leave immediately.

Qian Dahong warmly urged her to stay. “Stay for dinner—it’s not urgent.”

“If we eat dinner, we’ll have to climb the mountain in the dark,” Pan Yun insisted on leaving. Qian Dahong could only see her out.

Pan Yun let go of Wang Xiaojing’s hand, then lifted his chin to close his gaping mouth. “Let’s go—head home now.”

Wang Cong snapped out of it. “Little Master, let’s buy some meat to take back—the younger disciples must be starving.”

Pan Yun thought of Miaohé and nodded. The three of them led the donkey cart to the vegetable market.

The meat stall had lamb and pork—Wang Cong chose pork.

Most pork in Yushan County had been castrated—it tasted better and fattened faster. Compared to lamb, everyone on Mount Sanqing preferred pork.

Pan Yun had made a fortune today and was especially generous—she waved her small hand. “I’ll pay.”

She walked toward the meat stall. The butcher was chopping bones—he’d swung twice, and as he raised his knife for the third strike, the blade flew off, leaving only the handle in his hand. The blade whistled through the air. He screamed, pointing the handle at Pan Yun. “Get out of the way—”

“Meow—” Pan Xiaohei saw the flying knife, kicked off her shoulder with both hind legs, and bolted away instantly.

That cat was worse than a married couple—when disaster struck, it fled without a second’s hesitation.

Pan Yun didn’t move a step—behind her stood powerless Wang Xiaojing. How could she dodge?

She widened her eyes, fixed on the blade. An invisible protective aura enveloped her entire body, and she raised her hand to strike the blade down.

She knew she probably couldn’t stop it—and she was right. Though she used considerable force and aimed precisely, the blade veered slightly midair; she only grazed its edge, her force insufficient to knock it down.

Pan Yun subtly shifted her stance and reached back to grab Wang Xiaojing.

!. Read

Wang Cong reacted quickly—he’d seen Pan Yun’s martial skill before, having watched her spar daily with his father and Fourth Master, so he wasn’t worried about her.

But he’d also seen his father’s past misfortunes, so he swiftly reached for Wang Xiaojing.

As long as no bystanders were hurt, even if they themselves got injured, it wouldn’t be serious.

Wang Xiaojing was yanked behind Wang Cong in a flash. Meanwhile, the sharp cleaver, after being struck by Pan Yun, fell—but still pierced her protective aura, sliced through her sleeve, cut her arm, then clattered to the ground.

The butcher rushed over, wanting to grab Pan Yun but dared not, only flailing helplessly. “Child, are you hurt? Where? Are you scared?”

The blade was sharp, the cut small—Pan Yun could feel it wasn’t deep.

Her skin went still for an instant, then quickly bled—blood surged from the wound.

The butcher, seeing the blood, nearly cried—he was a man who slaughtered pigs, his face usually fierce, now as pitiful as a three-year-old.

He shouted toward the house behind the stall: “Wife! Wife! Come out quick—I’ve cut someone!”

Pan Yun pressed her hand to her arm to slow the bleeding.

Wang Cong rushed forward, tore open her sleeve, pulled out a vial of medicine from inside, and sprinkled it on the wound. “Do you have clean cotton or linen?”

The butcher’s wife burst out wielding a knife, shouting: “Who’s causing trouble at our stall?”

The butcher stamped his foot. “No trouble—it was my fault! The knife flew off while I was chopping bones and cut someone. Hurry and get clean linen and cotton! Send the kids for the physician—now!”

The butcher’s wife finally saw the victim was a child—her eyes widened. “You idiot! Pick up the child and take him to the clinic immediately—why are you looking for linen now?”

The butcher agreed—suddenly hoisted Pan Yun onto his shoulder and sprinted toward the clinic.

He moved so fast Wang Cong couldn’t react.

He chased after him, shouting back to Wang Xiaojing: “Xiaojing, watch the donkey cart!”

Wang Xiaojing hurriedly grabbed the donkey’s reins and ran after them.

Shoppers, meat buyers, passersby—all surged after them to watch the spectacle.

This was too bizarre—after all these years, they’d never seen such a coincidence.

They had to see this spectacle.

The butcher carried Pan Yun sprinting to the clinic—he hadn’t even entered before shouting: “Physician! Physician, save me! Physician—”

The clinic’s physician panicked, thinking something terrible had happened—he rushed out, only to be knocked flying by the butcher.

Physician: …

The butcher yelled: “Where’s the physician? Where’s the physician—”

“Here! Here!” The physician scrambled up, stars dancing before his eyes. “What’s wrong with this child?”

“She was hit by my cleaver,”

The shopkeeper behind the counter could no longer hold back and rushed out, “Where did she get hit? Quickly take her inside, hurry, hurry!”

The physician’s floating spots vanished instantly, and he hurried after them, clutching his waist.

Wang Cong chased after them, saying, “The wound is on the arm, not deep, but the blade was dirty—clean it thoroughly. Do you have atractylodes water? Strong liquor will do too.”

This sounded like the words of an expert.

The shopkeeper turned and recognized him, “Wang Cong, this is...”

Only then did he notice the child was wearing a Daoist robe—he understood at once.

Whether the physician, the shopkeeper, or Wang Cong, all had decent medical skills; treating this minor arm wound was no problem.

They had no atractylodes water, but they did have strong liquor.

The physician washed the powder and dirt from her wound with strong liquor, reapplied the hemostatic medicine, and wrapped the arm in breathable linen cloth.

Pan Yun carefully examined it, confirmed the bleeding had stopped and no abnormal bleeding occurred, and finally relaxed.

It seemed the rule only brought her bad luck intermittently—not constantly.

Pan Yun exhaled in relief, not regretting keeping the money on herself; since she was going to test it, she might as well test it fully.

The clinic shopkeeper turned to Wang Cong, “Should we prescribe medicine?”

Wang Cong shook his head, “No need.”

“No way!” The meat vendor’s wife ran up, panting, clutching tightly the money bag she had fetched from home, shouting, “How can you not prescribe medicine? It was my husband who injured her—we’ll pay for the medicine!”

“Yes, yes, we’ll pay,” the meat vendor nodded vigorously.

Wang Cong said, “No need—we have medicine at home.”

“You having medicine at home is your business, but since we injured someone, we absolutely must pay for the medicine,” the meat vendor’s wife frowned at him. “Who are you to this child? I’m telling you, don’t think you can neglect treatment just because she’s a girl—even if you’re paying compensation, the money must go to this child.”

Wang Cong: “...I’m her senior disciple’s nephew. Both of you, we truly have medicine at home—better than what’s sold outside. Ask the shopkeeper: wasn’t the medicine powder just applied mine?”

The shopkeeper said, “Yes.”

He added calmly, “Sanqing Temple’s golden wound powder is famous far and wide. Wang Cong, I’ve bought plenty of your temple’s medicine powder before—why do you always buy your herbs from that other pharmacy and never come to my clinic? Is my price too high? Or are my herbs inferior to theirs?”

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

(End of Chapter)