Chapter 153: Crying Without Stopping

Pan Yun rubbed her forehead and pouted, "Senior brother, I'm really wronged, you know?"

Wang Feiyin stripped Cui Huagong of all his belongings, examined his wound ointment, then prescribed a new formula, saying casually, "I know you're wronged, but who in this world isn't?"

"Just endure it—someday you'll live where no one can wrong you," Wang Feiyin pointed at Cui Huagong, lying on the bed with every bone shattered, "Isn't he more wronged than you?"

Pan Yun looked down, met Cui Huagong's gaze, nodded, and said with deep sympathy, "Cui Huagong is more wronged than I am."

Who understands? I just helped a classmate hold a seat, chatted with my fellow townsman, made a friend—and got nearly beaten to death walking down the street.

"Looking at him, does your heart feel a little better?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Cui Huagong's tears immediately spilled out.

Wang Feiyin gently wiped his tears, adjusted his pillow higher, and whispered, "Cry, cry—you're so wronged, how could you not cry?"

Cui Huagong's sorrow reached its peak—he burst into loud sobs, tears streaming like a small stream…

Pan Yun was startled by his sudden outburst; seeing his face contorted in terrified, heart-wrenching weeping, her own heart ached and tears fell unbidden.

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, rushed forward, snatched the cloth from Wang Feiyin's hand, and wiped his tears, sobbing, "Cui Huagong, I'm sorry this time. If you ever need anything in the future, just call out—I'll do whatever I can for you."

Cui Huagong heard nothing; his world now held only the terror of near-death and the injustice of this inexplicable attack. Through blurred tears, he couldn't see the faces before him or hear the voices around him.

He knew Wang Guanzhu cared for him; his own heart ached—he was so wronged, so miserable.

He didn't know how long he cried, but when his fear, wronging, and sorrow finally vanished, he felt something on his face.

He stopped crying, his tears slowed, yet his body still shuddered involuntarily; his reason returned, and he turned his head.

He saw Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen, their eyes red, sitting beside him; as soon as he looked over, they hurriedly wiped the last traces of tears from his corners, all three faces hopeful, "Are you still crying?"

Cui Huagong felt embarrassed and sniffled as he shook his head.

Because he'd cried so hard, he now convulsed with every breath.

Pan Yun knew this was the habitual trembling of his five viscera and six bowels—crying was a full-body exercise, engaging every organ.

Pan Yun exhaled and quickly poured him a cup of water to drink, "Brother, where on your body hurts now?"

"Get out, get out," Wang Feiyin, who had been sipping tea nearby, pushed Pan Yun aside, then felt Cui Huagong's pulse and pressed on his body.

He smiled warmly, "No major issue—crying it out helped. Good child, misfortune carries fortune within; you've suffered greatly and been deeply wronged, but now that you've understood it fully, it'll become an advantage in your cultivation."

He pointed at Pan Yun, "You even got her promise for free. This time you suffered because of our Three Pure Ones Temple—anytime you need help, come to us, and we'll never refuse."

Cui Huagong opened his mouth wide, uneasy, "I—I can?"

"Of course you can," Wang Feiyin praised him extravagantly, "You're loyal and kind-hearted; our Three Pure Ones Temple being connected to you is our fortune—why not?"

Cui Huagong's face flushed slightly, "I—I didn't think so much. I just felt our families have always been close—how could we distance ourselves from the junior sisters just because we feared being implicated?"

"Good child, you're just like your master—loyal. Study hard in the Academy, train often outside the mountain, broaden your horizons. Learn your master's loyalty, but keep your vision long-term."

Cui Huagong: "Are you saying my master has a short vision?"

Wang Feiyin smiled faintly, patted his head, "On this point, you might learn from your eldest master-uncle—he's an excellent man too. Learning from him is fine, hahaha…"

Cui Huagong, hearing praise for his eldest master-uncle, grinned foolishly along.

Tao Ji brought in a bowl of medicine, "Senior brother, the ointment's ready."

"Bring it in," Wang Feiyin ushered everyone out, then he and Tao Ji reapplied the medicine to Cui Huagong.

Cui Huagong was re-wrapped into a cocoon; when Pan Yun and the others entered and saw him, their eyes betrayed fresh sympathy. "Senior brother, when will he recover?"

"Tendons and bones take a hundred days to heal," Wang Feiyin said. "Though he won't need a hundred days to move his limbs, he'll still need about forty days. His meridians and organs are injured—especially his five viscera and six bowels. Fortunately, you gave him healing medicine immediately to protect his heart and organs, but restoring them fully will take two or three months."

Tao Ji seized the chance to teach Seeing Miao He: "A human body's energy is finite. When his leg broke, energy flowed toward the leg to mend it. When his hand broke too, energy split into two streams to mend both."

"Now his five viscera, six bowels, and entire body are severely injured—energy must split into many portions, each wound receives less energy, so recovery slows. That's why medicine is needed to supply energy."

Seeing Miao He: "Besides medicine, is there no other way to supply energy?"

"Of course there is—food. Hmm, consider food as medicine too, since food and medicine are one," Tao Ji said. "You can also stimulate stronger energy through acupuncture, unblocking meridians to maximize energy efficiency. Then there's our internal Qi, Yuan Qi—both can supply him energy too."

Wang Feiyin decided to transmit some Yuan Qi to him, to help him recover faster and better.

Pan Yun volunteered, "Cui Huagong, from now on, I'll handle your three meals a day—I'll go to the cafeteria every day and bring you whatever you want to eat."

Cui Huagong: "Thank you." He couldn't move—even if Pan Yun didn't bring him food, the clinic would assign acolytes to feed him.

Cui Huagong asked, "Master Wang, since you're here, why didn't my master come?"

Wang Feiyin sighed, "We didn't know you were injured, so we didn't tell them. They probably just received the news now."

Cui Huagong froze, then asked, "Wait—Master Wang, you got here so fast. Can letters be delivered this quickly now?"

Wang Feiyin smiled, "There's a slow way to send letters, and a fast way."

Cui Huagong grew anxious, "I wonder if my master received a fast letter or a slow one."

Pan Yun: "Are you asking whether the Academy sent a letter to your master?"

Cui Huagong smiled sheepishly.

Pan Yun said, "They definitely didn't—if they had, they'd have come knocking like the Dai family did."

Cui Huagong widened his eyes, "My master isn't that kind of person."

!. Read

Pan Yun soothed him, "I know. So the Academy didn't write—but I did."

Cui Huagong: "Huh?"

Pan Yun: "Don't worry—I wrote two letters the day after it happened: one to Three Pure Ones Temple, one to your eldest master-uncle. By now, they should arrive in one or two days."

The postal relay system is slower than walking, because letters pass from station to station, and even upon reaching the final station, delivery isn't immediate.

Oh, because there are too few couriers, the relay only delivers imperial court documents; everything else is passed by word of mouth until it reaches the recipient's home, and then the recipient must fetch it from the relay station.

This is far inferior to the Minxin Bureau.

But it's not that Pan Yun didn't want to use the Minxin Bureau—Fuqing Temple and Three Pure Ones Temple are far from the county town; using Minxin Bureau would be no faster than the relay.

So Li Qingyin didn't receive the news until two days later.

It was a villager from town who came to Fengqing Temple to burn incense and happened to deliver a message to the post station: "An urgent letter arrived from Long Hushan."

Li Qingyin blinked in surprise and asked, "Is this addressed to me, not to the temple?"

Pan Yun, with her limited experience, didn't know that if she had sent it to the temple, she could have simply written the temple's name, and the post station would have delivered it right to their door.

Personal letters are not delivered.

"It's addressed to you—the post clerk told you to come pick it up."

Li Qingyin guessed all the way to the post station, opened the letter immediately upon receiving it, and moments later let out a loud "Aaah!" He crumpled the letter in his fist and sprinted back to the temple, shouting to his fellow disciples: "Our Master Huai has been bullied at Long Hushan! Grab your weapons and let's go!"

Master Huai's teacher snatched the letter and read it, then screamed, "My disciple—how dare they hit him?"

Li Qingyin slapped him hard and roared, "It's all your fault! I told you a hundred times—after the boy entered the Imperial Academy, keep him far away from Pan Yun! You wouldn't listen, and now he's become the chicken that scares the monkeys!"

"Brother, the letter doesn't even say why—he was beaten. How do you know it's because of Pan Yun?"

"Do you think I don't know my own disciple? He's just like you—no vision, but loyal and kind, never seeks trouble. He's poor and his talent is average—who would bother bullying him?"

The junior disciple: …

"Then it must be Pan Yun. He was definitely dragged down by her."

The junior disciple's breathing quickened; he turned and walked away. "I'm going to Mount Sanqing."

Li Qingyin slapped him back into place. "Go where? Pan Yun will write to me—do you think she won't write to Wang Feiyin? They might have received the letter too."

"Since the deed is done, don't regret it," Li Qingyin said. "Huai has already chosen Pan Yun. From now on, he sticks with her."

The junior disciple stared. "Aren't you the one who told us to stay far away from her?"

"I said 'Huai,' not 'us.' Idiot—we're all from Mount Sanqing, the same faction. Why should we stay far from her? Our temple can follow Mount Sanqing because Mount Sanqing is our territory. Even Long Hushan dares not bully us on our own ground."

"But Huai went to their territory—no talent, no money—how else can he protect his life?"

"But now there's no need to worry. Since he's already been beaten, everyone at the Imperial Academy will assume he stands with Pan Yun. If so, then stand with her openly. You can't turn back now and become a fickle little man."

Li Qingyin taught the children to seek advantage and avoid harm—but never to be a fickle little man.

(End of Chapter)