Chapter 132: Spreading Rumors

Zhang Weiliang gritted his teeth, "Zhang Zi Fang..."

"Shh," Zhang Weigang nervously glanced around, "don't call Fifth Uncle by name directly—what if someone hears?"

Zhang Weiliang stuck out his neck, "Am I afraid of him?"

He was dragged away, mouth covered by Zhang Weigang and Zhang Weiqin.

Pan Yun strolled boldly through the academy with Miao Zhen and Miao He.

The academy shared grounds with the Grand Supreme Palace, yet remained separate.

Before the Southern Song, only the Supreme Palace stood here; later, academies were built on either side of the palace, originally called "Dao Yuan," and only during the Yuan Dynasty did it become a full academy, expanding further in our dynasty.

Most academy courtyards lay west and north of the Supreme Palace, with Chongqing Academy being the largest to the north, where arts for third, fourth, and fifth-year students were primarily taught.

Fengqi Courtyard was closest to Chongqing Academy and had the best location, facing the Supreme Palace directly; leftward downhill led to the dining hall, rightward downhill to Doumu Hall, where students practiced morning and evening rituals.

A row of academy courtyards lined the east side of Doumu Hall.

Jingsi Courtyard, Dongguan Courtyard, and Qizhen Courtyard all sat here.

Pan Yun and the others arrived early—today was the peak day for new students, yet numbers were few; some counties had two or three slots, others only had two or three if they were prefectural capitals.

This was because the scale of Daoist development varied by region.

Yushan County, near Long Hushan and home to the sacred Mount Sanqing, had many temples and monasteries nearby, so Daoist believers were numerous—Long Hushan granted Yushan County four slots.

Other prefectures might not even have four slots for an entire state.

Daoist priests of eligible age had to compete fiercely for these four slots.

Of Wang Cong's generation at Mount Sanqing, all except Tao Yan Bai had entered the academy.

The elderly Daoist Priest Li Qingyin, who had come to escort his junior disciple, said to his younger brother, "See? Sanqing Temple has few disciples, but each is elite—how many from Fuxing Temple's next generation do you think can enter the academy?"

The younger brother also spotted Pan Yun and the two girls strolling by, "Aren't they just riding Pan Yun's coattails? If they took the written exam at twelve, they wouldn't match my Fuxing disciples."

Li Qingyin sneered, "Sanqing Mountain spends nearly a hundred taels of medicinal herbs per month on each disciple—how could you think your few disciples compare to those so meticulously nurtured?"

The younger brother said nothing.

Li Qingyin saw Pan Yun approaching, dropped the conversation, and beamed at her, "Sister Pan, didn't your senior brother come to see you off?"

Pan Yun had come to find allies—she immediately walked over, "My senior brother is worried about the wheat at home, so he sent his top disciple to escort us—did you come yourself, Brother Li?"

Li Qingyin introduced the young Daoist behind him to Pan Yun, "This is my disciple from Fuxing Temple, Cui Huai Gong—he's a few years older than you; if you need any heavy or tedious work done in the academy, have him help you, and when you're free, give him some guidance."

Pan Yun readily agreed, thumping her chest, "Brother Li, rest assured—in the academy, regardless of our external ranks, we're all senior and junior siblings—we must help each other."

Li Qingyin smiled warmly, delighted, and asked, "Have you confirmed your lodging?"

"Confirmed—Fengqi Courtyard."

Li Qingyin's smile froze. He rubbed his ear. "Where?"

Pan Yun beamed, "Fengqi Courtyard."

Li Qingyin stared at Pan Yun's smiling face, sighed inwardly, and after dealing with her, turned to Cui Huai Gong, "Stay away from Pan Yun from now on."

The younger brother:!!!

Cui Huai Gong was confused, "Why? Didn't you just tell me to get close to her?"

"I didn't realize Longhu Mountain was this stingy," he glanced around, then whispered when no one was near, "She's moved into Fengqi Courtyard on her first day—that's a target. Trouble will follow."

"She has the Mountain God's protection—she may be fine—but those near her might suffer. You're still young; stay far from these struggles."

The younger brother frowned, "Brother, how can you teach your disciple to be so self-serving and lack righteousness?"

Li Qingyin smacked his head hard, "Again with righteousness? Do you know we cultivate for immortality—immortality means first preserving your life!"

Li Qingyin told Cui Huai Gong, "Just remember—stay away from her in the academy. We don't need to harm her, that's enough."

Cui Huai Gong, like his master, disagreed but dared not speak up—he nodded under his elder brother's pressure.

Pan Yun turned and said, "We won't seek allies—let's go to the dining hall."

Miao He: "Why?"

Miao Zhen said, "Even Brother Li, who's so close to Grandmaster Li, pulled back—what about others?"

She said solemnly, "In the academy, we three must rely only on ourselves."

Pan Yun nodded, "Right—we rely only on ourselves. But we're not easy to bully. I've packed all the talismans left over from last year—don't worry, I've got plenty of fighting experience. This past half-year, Senior Brother and Fourth Sister trained me nonstop. I can't beat the big ones, but can I not beat these little ones?"

Miao Zhen: "Little Auntie, rest assured—we've trained our mobility well. We can escape easily."

Miao He: "If we get surrounded, we'll flee first—never hold Little Auntie back."

Pan Yun: "... Good nephew."

The three went to the dining hall. Without seeking allies, they became less critical of those around them. After eating, they leaned against a stone wall, sipping hot soup from a bamboo tube, watching the crowd pass by.

As they watched, they realized, "We really are the shortest."

"The youngest."

Pan Yun: "And the easiest to bully."

She mused, "I wonder if Zhang Weiliang and the others have spread rumors about our misdeeds—if not, shall we spread them ourselves?"

Miao Zhen: "Too bad we don't know anyone here, and we're too conspicuous to spread rumors."

Miao He: "Is this a rumor? We're spreading facts."

Pan Yun blew on her soup, drank it down, and capped the bamboo tube, "Who says we don't know anyone? Isn't Senior Disciple Wang there?"

She waved, "Come on—let's find Senior Disciple Wang."

Wang Cong had heard no rumors today—he'd been running errands at shops all day.

!

When Pan Yun found him and asked him to spread rumors—no, facts—he was still dazed.

It took him a while to recover. He repeated flatly, "Little Auntie is saying you beat Zhang Weiliang and his two brothers last night, seriously injuring them?"

"Not just beat—let them suffer as they made others suffer. Just spread the word that their current misery is because they offended us—let them figure out the rest themselves."

Wang Cong: "... Little Uncle, we don't want others to bully you, but we also hope you won't bully others."

"I didn't bully anyone—ask Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He, did I bully them?"

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He nodded together, then, thinking better of it, shook their heads together.

Wang Cong stared at them for a moment, then sighed: "Fine, I'll spread the word. I hope those in the Academy will be intimidated and dare not trouble you again."

He pulled a handful of money from his robe, counted out two bills to give to Pan Yun, then changed his mind and handed them to Seeing Miao Zhen: "Take these banknotes. If you run into trouble you can't handle, just throw money at it. Don't think the Academy is a place of Dao cultivation—many things here can still be settled with money."

Seeing Miao Zhen took them. "Big Brother, is our Three Pure Ones Temple this rich?"

Wang Cong: "Though our Three Pure Ones Temple is a bit poor, we still have funds set aside for your expenses. From now on, you'll manage the money for all three of you. Miao He is too simple, and your Little Uncle can't hold onto cash—so you'll bear the burden. Do well, and when you return to Huishan for vacation, Grandmaster and Father will reward you."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "When will Father return to Huishan?"

Wang Cong: "Soon. When the imperial court isn't so busy, he'll take a family leave and come back."

Imperial court officials each receive family leave annually; their father hadn't taken any for two years.

Pan Yun looked at the two banknotes in her hand, then turned her head away from them.

Alas, the Qian family's distribution channels for talismans had saturated; for two months now, there had been no demand for talismans, so she was spending without income.

Thinking of her erratic, unpredictable luck, Pan Yun decided to once again prioritize earning money.

This was Long Hushan—tens of thousands in this town worked in Dao-related trades, and its influence radiated across all of Daoism.

Many temples and monasteries sourced their talismans, ritual implements, and pills from here; the profit potential here far surpassed that of Mount Sanqing.

"Wang Cong, have you decided what your shop will sell?"

"A general store—everything," Wang Cong said. "Daily necessities, talismans, pills, ritual implements—all of it. The point is variety."

"Good. Then I'll consign my talismans to your general store."

Wang Cong smiled. "I couldn't ask for better."

He knew well: Little Uncle's talismans were no worse than Fourth Uncle's—and Fourth Uncle's talismans ranked among the best in all of Long Hushan. Using Little Uncle's talismans would be the best way to establish the store's reputation.

Wang Cong's rumors spread fast—he'd studied at the Academy and mingled there for years.

He had plenty of familiar fellow disciples at the Academy, and many acquainted merchants and friends in the Shangqing Town below the mountain.

The Grand Shangqing Palace and Shangqing Town were closely linked; countless people traveled between them daily, so news spread exceptionally fast.

So while Zhang Weiliang and the others were still hiding, everyone already knew where their bruised, greenish faces and swollen noses had come from.

Unfortunately, those involved in rumors are always the last to hear them—except the ones causing the trouble.

So Zhang Weiliang and the others were summoned to the Punishment Hall, completely unaware.

Lin Jing sat in his chair, surveying them with a solemn gaze, then fixed his eyes on Zhang Weiliang and asked sternly: "You have internal injuries. Where did they come from?"

Zhang Weiliang's heart leapt; he bowed his head and replied carefully: "Respected Master Lin, I encountered a female ghost while hunting strange things on my descent and was wounded by her."

Today's lucky number is any number ending in 6—screenshot as proof.

The lucky number game ends this month; today is the final day, so it's over after today.

(End of Chapter)