Chapter 108

Pan Yun snorted, rolled over to face away from him, and pulled the blanket up without speaking.

Wang Cong exhaled, turned, and left, closing the door behind her.

Hearing the door shut, Pan Yun rolled back onto her back and softly called, "Xiaohei."

Pan Xiaohei leapt lightly from the rafters and landed on her bed.

Pan Yun frowned and pushed it off with her hand, disdainful: "You're filthy—have you washed your paws?"

Pan Xiaohei: …

Taking it out on me—it's definitely taking it out on me! Before, when it climbed onto the bed, she never complained.

Pan Yun asked: "Make a table of all the experimental data from this period and give it to me."

Pan Xiaohei: "I'm a Spirit Realm, not an AI—can you stop treating me like one?"

"But one of the three functions of a Spirit Realm is AI functionality—why can't you do it?"

Pan Xiaohei adopted a nonviolent noncooperation posture, so Pan Yun snorted and pulled up the data herself.

She didn't pick up a pen to make a table; instead, she reviewed the data, closed her eyes, pondered for a moment, and made up her mind: "One more day—after I get tomorrow's experimental results, I'll lend out the money and run two more experiments. Then I'll have a clear sense of the scope of this Heavenly Punishment and the strength of its misfortune."

Pan Xiaohei lifted its head from its nest: "And then what are you going to do?"

Pan Yun glared at it: "What else am I going to do? Cultivate, earn money, accumulate merit, break the seal—do you think I can instantly fly to Jingcheng and slaughter everyone to clear my father's name?"

Pan Xiaohei relaxed, lowered its head back onto its paws, and lazily said: "Good. You really need to earn more money—your current merit is all bought with cash."

Pan Yun: "That's what RMB players understand, right? Now it's copper-coin players. With enough money, human gratitude is easy to gain. Alas, you woke up too late—we realized this too late. In my past life, if you'd been in the state's hands, you could've been paraded around or used in a few events, and merit would've rained down like a meteor shower. You'd have broken your seal in no time."

Pan Xiaohei sneered: "If I break my seal, you lose your golden finger."

Pan Yun snorted: "If you broke your seal, my master wouldn't have carved arrays into you to break it, wouldn't have exploded, I wouldn't have been reborn, and I wouldn't need you as a golden finger—I have my own grand future in the 26th century!"

"You call yourself a golden finger—what good are you? Just collecting things? Wait until my cultivation advances further, and I'll carve my own space—I won't even need you to collect things."

Pan Xiaohei was speechless, then stammered after a long pause: "Y-you wait till I break the seal…"

Pan Yun sighed softly: "The seal has to be broken by me—can you break it yourself?"

Pan Xiaohei: …

It spoke weakly: "The Thirteen Daoist Qi Formulas and the Basic Talisman Manual unlocked after the first seal break—they're vital knowledge."

"Hmph—if not for that, do you think I'd spend so much money to break your seal?" Pan Yun's voice softened: "So, old cat, we're in this together—success or failure, we share it. Look at you—you won't even make me a table. Is that hard? A single thought—yet you won't do it for me. Meanwhile, I've injured myself for you…"

Pan Yun's voice cracked: "Look at my legs, my hands, all these bruises and purple marks—aren't they from earning money and merit for you? If not for accumulating merit for you, would I risk my life for this money?"

"I eat at the monastery, drink at the monastery, get cultivation resources from my senior brothers, sisters, and disciples—yet I'm scraping together private savings just to earn merit for you…"

Tears streamed down Pan Yun's face.

Pan Xiaohei hunched its head, guilt-ridden, wishing it could vanish: "I—I'll make you a table."

Pan Yun closed her eyes lightly, tears sliding down, and softly murmured, "Mm."

Though she no longer needed the table, she wouldn't crush Pan Xiaohei's enthusiasm—better to keep it going.

Soon after, Pan Xiaohei finished the table and saved it in the Spirit Realm.

Pan Yun glanced at it and whispered: "Thank you, Xiaohei."

Pan Xiaohei felt even guiltier.

It felt it had been overly harsh today.

It vaguely sensed something was off, but couldn't pinpoint what—yet Pan Yun clearly looked heartbroken.

Pan Yun rolled over, facing away from the cabinet—even though Pan Xiaohei slept in its nest on top of it, it couldn't see her face.

Pan Yun lifted her index finger and gently wiped away her tears, a faint smile curling at her lips.

Think you can outwit me?

Hmph!

She didn't believe a human could lose to a spirit artifact.

She slept soundly all night, without a single mishap.

But as soon as she tried to get up, yesterday's misfortune's aftereffects struck.

Her waist ached, her back ached, her legs ached, her hands ached, even her face ached.

She winced as she sat up, rolled up her sleeves to inspect her injuries.

Overnight, the wounds had grown more gruesome—deep purple and black.

Supporting her waist, Pan Yun pulled on her clothes and limped off to find Master Xuanmiao.

Master Xuanmiao had just risen and was washing up in the courtyard.

Pan Yun gripped the doorframe, trembling as she lifted her leg over the threshold, whining: "Fourth sister, Third Brother's medicine didn't work—I'm even more painful and bruised today."

Master Xuanmiao spat out the rinsing water, set down the willow branch: "Check again tomorrow."

Seeing Miao Zhen opened her door, holding her wooden basin with cup, willow branch, and cloth. She glanced at Pan Yun and froze: "Little Master, who beat you?" Meanwhile, Miao He opened her door, one hand holding a cup, the other a willow branch, stretching upward with eyes shut.

She finished stretching, then squinted toward the door, drowsily glancing left and right—then spotted Pan Yun clinging to the doorframe. Her half-closed eyes snapped wide open. She dashed out: "Little Master, who beat you?"

Pan Yun silently glanced at the two and replied: "Heaven."

"Heaven? Who's that?"

Pan Yun strained to pull her other leg out and replied: "The Heavenly Lord, of course—who else? These are my medals from crawling back."

Miao He hurried over, supporting her and guiding her into the courtyard.

She stared, speechless, finally managing only: "Take good care."

Seeing Miao Zhen set down her basin and went inside to fetch Pan Yun's washing basin, cup, and willow branch.

Miao He scooped a ladle of water for her.

"Thank you." Pan Yun dipped her fingers in green salt and rinsed—after nine breaths, her body stiffened, her hand froze.

Miao He had just dipped her fingers in green salt and, seeing Pan Yun motionless, asked curiously: "What's wrong?"

!.

Pan Yun pulled out a willow branch and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Miao He widened her eyes, "Y-you—you're bleeding from the mouth!"

She turned and shouted toward Master Xuanmiao's room, "Fourth Master! Little Master is bleeding—!"

Master Xuanmiao burst out like a whirlwind, seeing her seated on a small stool, holding a willow branch frayed into strands, a pool of bright red on the ground, blood still clinging to her lips…

After a moment of silence, Master Xuanmiao asked, "Did you brush your teeth with this?"

Pan Yun nodded solemnly, "The willow branch poked my gums."

Master Xuanmiao gave her a sympathetic look, then turned away. "Oral wounds heal fast. Be careful these next few days. Don't use willow branches to brush your teeth—use your fingers."

Pan Yun didn't want to use her fingers. "Why can't we buy a toothbrush?"

Master Xuanmiao turned back to look at her. "A toothbrush?"

"Yes. Something softer than willow branches, more convenient."

Master Xuanmiao went back inside. "There are none for sale on the market. Make one yourself."

Pan Yun plucked a thin strand of willow fiber from between her teeth and said through tears, "Fine, I'll make it myself—it's just a toothbrush."

Pan Yun turned to Miao He and Seeing Miao Zhen. "Today, go down the mountain and collect some pig hair from the villagers—specifically the stiff, long hairs from their necks and backs. Scrape up plenty."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "I have no plans to go down the mountain today."

Miao He looked torn. "I want to go down, but our master might not allow it."

Pan Yun: "Yesterday, a butcher named Zhu Rouchang gave us about ten catties of pork belly and several jin of ribs. It was too late last night, so we left them at Wang Xiaojing's house."

Miao He immediately said, "I'll go beg our master right now—even if I have to roll on the ground, I'm going down!"

Pan Yun was satisfied.

She had no intention of going down the mountain today either—she planned to quietly endure today's ordeal.

But Wang Feiyin thought she didn't want to, so she limped forward, only to hear him excitedly announce, "The statue has returned, and the Mountain God Temple is nearly complete. Everyone from the monastery will go down today to clean the temple. I divined this morning—the auspicious hour for inviting the deity and installing the statue is noon, three days from now!"

Pan Yun: …

She weakly raised her hand. "Brother, Big Brother, I request to stay behind at the monastery."

Wang Feiyin looked over and refused outright. "No. Everyone else can skip it—you cannot."

He said, "You're Master's direct disciple and the temple's caretaker. This temple was built with your money, the statue was paid for by you. You've taken ninety-eight steps—how can you skip the last two?"

Pan Yun: "I'll take the hundredth step. I'll come down for the deity installation in three days—just skip this ninety-ninth step."

"No! Not one step less," Wang Feiyin said sternly. "One step missing ruins the perfection. You must go down."

Pan Yun gripped the doorframe to make him look. "Big Brother, tell me—what can I even do down there?"

Wang Feiyin turned to Tao Ji. "When did your medicine become so useless? She can't even walk?"

Tao Ji bristled. "She didn't apply the ointment this morning, and she didn't stretch. Have her rub on the medicine and stretch her body—then see if she can move."

He paused. "If she still can't, it's not the medicine's fault—it's her laziness."

Pan Yun: …

In the end, she couldn't resist. Wang Feiyin picked her up and carried her down the mountain.

Not having to walk, Pan Yun happily wrapped her arms around his, letting him carry her down.

The adults seemed too lazy to waste time walking—they simply lifted the children and flew down the mountain.

Today's lucky number is any number ending in 5. Screenshot as proof.

(End of Chapter)