Chapter 115

Wang Feiyin raised an eyebrow. "So confident? How old are you?"

Pan Yun lifted her chin. "I was born knowing."

Wang Feiyin snorted. "You've said that often enough. Even if you were born knowing, there must be limits—can you know everything?"

Pan Yun fell silent.

Wang Feiyin finally felt satisfied.

He taught her how to calculate the Eight Characters: "The Li Sizhu of Birth, also called the Eight Characters, consist of the Year Pillar, Month Pillar, Day Pillar, and Hour Pillar. Each pillar combines a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch. There are ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. Four such combinations form one's birth Eight Characters."

Pan Yun nodded. Combinatorics—she understood.

Wang Feiyin then explained the meanings of different Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch combinations.

Pan Yun was good at math, but the flood of half-familiar knowledge pouring into her mind still slowed her thoughts momentarily.

Wang Feiyin had given her enough knowledge—he told her to memorize it and rose to leave.

As Pan Yun sat lowering her head to absorb the knowledge, footsteps approached—but stopped at the door. She lazily lifted her eyes toward the entrance.

A young scholar stood outside, scanning the Mountain God Temple.

His gaze settled on Pan Yun, gave a slight nod, then stepped inside. "Are you the temple keeper?"

Pan Yun remained seated and nodded. "Indeed, this humble Daoist."

Seeing she offered no further words—neither invited him to sit nor asked if he wished to pray—he frowned. "Is this how you normally receive visitors?"

Pan Yun drawled, "Visitors? We have no visitors here—only devotees."

"So only devotees may enter?"

Pan Yun: "Is not a virtuous person standing right here in the temple?"

The young man opened his mouth, then truly studied her. After a moment, he bowed. "I am Mo Jidi. A few days ago, my elder brother asked the temple keeper to cast a divination for me. Do you remember?"

"Of course," Pan Yun couldn't help laughing. "Even if I'd forgotten, hearing your name would've reminded me."

Mo Jidi froze. After a long pause, his lips trembled. "D-does that mean I keep failing the exams because of my name?"

Pan Yun: "If I say it affects your fate, will you believe me?"

Mo Jidi fell silent for a long while, then said firmly, "I believe you."

Pan Yun burst into laughter and invited him to sit.

Mo Jidi hurriedly pulled up his robe and sat across from her, eyes full of hope.

Pan Yun said seriously, "Yes, your repeated failures are due to your name."

Mo Jidi swallowed. "Then what name should I change to?"

Pan Yun recalled the birth Eight Characters she'd seen that day—she'd only glanced, but remembered them.

Combining today's rudimentary knowledge, she lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, then said: "Your Five Elements lack Wood, yet your heart yearns to be a pillar of the state. No character is better than 'Zhen.' If you change your name to Zhen, after one more failure, you will surely pass."

Mo Jidi murmured, "One more failure? Why must it be one more?"

"Your name has carried you for twenty-one years—how could changing it overnight instantly reverse your fate? It requires time to harmonize. Three years is not too long, and just enough to dispel past misfortune," Pan Yun said. "Take one more exam to burn off the misfortune. Afterward, your luck will surge—you'll pass the Autumn Examination, and even the Spring Examination on your first try."

Mo Jidi pursed his lips. "If it's misfortune, shouldn't your power as temple keeper allow you to perform rites to remove it?"

Three years—he could do so much. He simply couldn't afford to wait.

Pan Yun studied his features carefully, then raised an eyebrow. "I could try. But no elaborate rites are needed—I'll draw you a few talismans. They'll dissolve your misfortune."

"What kind of talismans?"

"Talisman of Purifying Misfortune, Talisman of Calming the Mind, and Talisman of Good Fortune."

Mo Jidi lowered his gaze, thought, then nodded. "How much incense money for these three talismans?"

Pan Yun: "Sixty taels."

Mo Jidi understood. He rose and bowed deeply. "Please draw them for me, Master Temple Keeper. I am endlessly grateful."

Pan Yun agreed.

Mo Jidi placed ten taels of silver on the altar. "Master Temple Keeper, this is my thanks for naming me."

Pan Yun nodded but remained seated.

Mo Jidi bowed again, then withdrew respectfully.

Once Mo Jidi had vanished far down the path, Pan Yun snorted, rose, lit an incense stick for her master, and muttered: "Master, when he comes back for the talismans, you should wander by his house. Push him to study harder. Once he lets go of his mental block and applies himself, he still has a good chance of passing in three years, right, Master?"

Her master ignored her.

Pan Yun didn't mind. After burning the incense, she sat back down and memorized what Wang Feiyin had taught her. By the time he wandered back from the village, she had recited everything perfectly.

Seeing the ten taels of silver on the altar, Wang Feiyin was stunned. "Where did such a large offering come from? When did Leiping Village get someone this rich?"

Pan Yun: "The Mo family."

"Oh, then it's fine," Wang Feiyin calmed.

Pan Yun was curious. "Is the Mo family very rich?"

"Average, average. Second richest in the whole village."

Pan Yun: "Who's first?"

"Naturally, my Wang family."

"You don't believe me?" Wang Feiyin said. "You can go out and ask around—see if my Wang family isn't the number one in Leping Township. Of course, that doesn't include my branch. Sigh, as you know, my branch has fallen on hard times now."

"You don't believe me?" Wang Feiyin said. "Ask around— isn't my Wang family the richest in Leiping Village? Of course, not counting my branch—alas, you know, my branch has fallen on hard times."

Pan Yun: "Master, is this after you took me as your disciple?"

"Little sister, maybe we should discuss this somewhere else—right in front of Master?"

Pan Yun: "Big Brother, Master is the Mountain God of Sanqing—he's everywhere. Doesn't climbing to the mountaintop mean we're still before Him?"

Wang Feiyin looked up at the statue, then gave her a thumbs-up. "You're the boldest, I'll give you that."

"True enough," Wang Feiyin didn't hide it. "After becoming your master, I started wasting money—building the Sanqing Temple on the mountaintop cost a fortune, then road repairs, then the alchemy pavilion's expenses were even worse. At first I didn't notice anything wrong. Only after finishing all that, when I tried to settle down and cultivate, did I realize how cursed I was."

【61】!. Read

"The family fortune slowly dwindled, but since our Wang Shi split into branches, even if I waste it, it's only my own branch's money—Wang Shi still leads in Leping Village."

Pan Yun's heart stirred, "The village school..."

Wang Feiyin smiled faintly, "I sought help from Wang Shi—they contributed half the funds, and I earned the other half myself."

Pan Yun said, "Opening a school isn't enough—it needs constant investment to sustain."

"I still have that much confidence."

Pan Yun: "Senior Brother doesn't have to work so hard. How about this—the Mountain Shrine will contribute part of the school's upkeep."

She handed Wang Feiyin ten taels of silver.

Wang Feiyin accepted with a smile, glancing up at the statue seated on the altar, "Good. When you do good deeds and accumulate merit, your fortune improves—and so might mine and Master's. The Mountain Shrine's investment counts as the Mountain God's merit; every bit of decline on Master's body eases, and our good fortune increases by the same measure."

Pan Yun nodded, "Exactly. That's what I thought too."

Pan Yun never planned to put all her eggs in one basket. Since their misfortune came from the Mountain God, she decided to tackle the problem at its root.

Even if what they could do now was a drop in the bucket, hadn't they taken the first step?

Move a little today, move a little tomorrow—someday, they'll reach a thousand li away.

When Pan Yun returned, she drew talismans. She decided: every talisman sold at the Mountain Shrine would be recorded as the Shrine's income, and later entirely reinvested into the Shrine—good-deed investment!

Pan Yun told Pan Xiaohei, "Come, open a separate ledger just for my master."

Pan Xiaohei, long accustomed to being used as accountant and scribe, obeyed calmly, opening a separate ledger in the Spirit Realm and recording today's income.

Pan Yun washed her hands, dried them, closed her eyes, and calmed her breath. Once her breathing stabilized, she began dissolving cinnabar to draw talismans.

Three talismans, each drawn in a single stroke.

Spiritual energy rippled, then sealed within the talisman script. Pan Yun set it aside, unfolded another yellow talisman paper, and began her daily drawing.

Pan Yun decided: she wouldn't send money to her father anymore. She'd send talismans—and stockpile some odd ones too. Wasn't the Mount Sanqing Gathering coming? There'd be high demand then.

Moreover, besides her own talismans, she'd taken on the observatory's assignment.

To prepare for the Mount Sanqing Gathering, Pan Yun was assigned twenty Peace Talismans and twenty Wealth Talismans. Wang Feiyin and Master Xuanmiao had even more to draw; even Tao Ji, who wasn't skilled in talismans, was assigned fifty—and had been secluding himself to draw them these past days.

Seeing Miao Zhen was also assigned ten talismans, but her success rate was low, so she practiced first, waiting until her spiritual energy peaked before drawing—successfully completing one a day was a win.

Miao He and Tao Yanbai prepared various pills, potions, and ointments—all meant for sale at the Gathering.

Mount Sanqing was putting in so much effort that Pan Yun grew nervous: "What if none of it sells?"

Wang Feiyin said, "If it doesn't sell, use it yourself. These things are all usable. Stick talismans on your body—healthy and safe. Use the medicines too—you've taken plenty of falls while training and gathering herbs."

"Who in their right mind sticks a hundred talismans on themselves?" Pan Yun said. "How long would it take to use them all? And there's so much medicine too."

Wang Feiyin: "Don't worry—your Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister will handle it. If it still doesn't sell, send them out on a six-month pilgrimage."

Pan Yun froze. "Last time Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister went on pilgrimage...?"

"To bring you back."

Pan Yun: "And the time before that?"

"Oh, naturally—to sell off last year's surplus."

Pan Yun:... She'd thought so. Fourth Senior Sister was so homebound, drowning in cultivation—how could she ever have wandered out to meet the former Minister of Justice?

Pan Yun looked at calm Wang Cong. "Nephew, why don't you stop them?"

Wang Cong: "It's fine. My caravan still operates—we still make money. The observatory's expenses aren't a problem. Let the elders do what they enjoy."

Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji:... No one but Senior Brother enjoys it.

Yet every year, Mount Sanqing sold plenty of talismans and medicines—only they made so much that they always had leftovers.

Maybe this year they should make less?

The two glanced at Wang Feiyin.

Wang Feiyin declared loudly, "This year we have a new Junior Sister, and the Mountain Shrine has been established—our Mount Sanqing's reputation has grown again. So we must prepare even more talismans and pills, lest our devotees come and leave disappointed."

Fine. Reducing was impossible. Just not expanding was already a win.

Tail number 7

(End of Chapter)