Chapter 167: Leaving Prison, Descending the Mountain

Wang Feiyin didn't stop his son from doing business, but he kept muttering: "Don't always think about making money. Use your spare time to cultivate. Look at you—how old are you now? You can only fast for half a day. Why not fast for ten days straight, or even a month?"

Wang Cong: "Father, that would be too hard on the body. You'd starve to death."

"I can do it. Why can't you? It's because your cultivation isn't solid—you're lazy."

The thought of returning to Mount Sanqing and hearing the villagers tell him that Wang Cong and his junior brother had been eating at roadside stalls for half a month straight made his heart ache.

The villagers even rubbed salt into his wound: "You're too cruel to the children. You only feed them one meal a day. I heard Cong'er say they can't eat after noon because they're fasting. You—you, Er Ya—when you were young, your parents never let you go hungry. We haven't had a family in this village that ate only one meal a day in decades."

"Exactly. You're too cruel to the children."

Wang Feiyin didn't believe Wang Cong and Tao Yan were fasting just to eat one meal a day. True grain Grain Bigu required at least a full day of hunger.

They ate precisely around noon—was that fasting?

That was plain laziness!

There was plenty of grain and vegetables on the mountain. They even kept chickens. How could they possibly be short of food?

But he couldn't say it to the enthusiastic villagers.

The moment he called the two boys lazy, they'd unload a whole basket of retorts—because compared to the boys' outward behavior, he, as their elder, was even lazier.

So he took it out on them: they weren't even lazy properly.

"If you ate only once every ten days or a month, the villagers would truly believe you were fasting. They'd praise your high cultivation and diligence. But eating once a day and starving for half of it? Anyone would call you lazy."

Wang Cong corrected him: "The villagers didn't say we were lazy."

Wang Feiyin sighed: "No, they said I was mistreating you."

Wang Cong lowered his head guiltily and quickly changed the subject: "Father, go see the Mountain God Temple. My junior brother and I have taken excellent care of it."

Tao Yan nodded vigorously: "Lately, many pilgrims have come. They all say our Mountain God Temple is incredibly efficacious. Oh, and many people come asking for medical help—we've treated them all."

Wang Feiyin: "Did you charge them?"

Tao Yan shook his head: "Master said: if they come to the temple seeking help, we don't charge. For those who looked poor, I even gave them free medicine."

Wang Feiyin nodded approvingly: "When people come to your door seeking aid, what we receive is their incense and faith. So no one who comes to the Mountain God Temple or Daoist shrine for healing should be charged."

Tao Yan replied: "They all bring us eggs. So we've collected a lot of eggs."

Wang Feiyin sighed: "You've got eggs, yet you'd rather starve than boil two and eat them? How lazy can you get?"

Tao Yan lowered his head, glancing guiltily at Wang Cong—he should never have mentioned the eggs. Now his senior brother was getting scolded too.

Actually, they weren't lazy about boiling eggs—they were lazy about washing the pot afterward. Two eggs just weren't worth the trouble.

Sigh. If Sister Miaohé were here, she'd be so diligent.

Wang Feiyin watched Wang Cong organize the caravan and sighed: "If you put half as much effort into cultivation as you do into making money, you'd be doing well."

Wang Cong pretended not to hear. He cultivated hard too—just making money was more fun.

"Father, I'm leaving."

Wang Feiyin waved him off: "Go, go! Study hard. If you fail this time, you'll get beaten with sticks if you retake it in three years. If you still fail, I'll leave the shrine to your junior brother and sisters."

Wang Cong didn't care. He bowed to his father and hurried onto the cart, taking Tao Yan with him.

Good. This trip to Guangxin Prefecture, Tao Yan was coming too. First, to look after Wang Cong during his exam; second, to gain experience.

Their master stayed at Long Hushan to earn money for the junior sisters. Wang Cong had nothing to do on Mount Sanqing—he'd learned everything he needed. Now he just needed practical experience.

Wang Feiyin watched them leave, shaking his head. This boy of his acted so old and weary—just like whom?

He crossed the bridge, passed by the Wang family's stall, paused, then went in and ordered a bowl of noodles. Fine. The kids weren't home—he'd fast too.

While Wang Feiyin fasted, Pan Yun was sorting through the inventory in her Spirit Realm, discovering three chickens left uneaten.

Though these ingredients wouldn't spoil in the Spirit Realm, they didn't feel fresh anymore—they just weren't as tasty as freshly slaughtered meat.

Pan Yun thought for a moment, then asked Cheng Lingzi for half a bucket of mud. She mixed in salt, scallions, ginger, and garlic, washed the lotus leaves wrapping the chickens clean, rewrapped them in the leaves, coated them in mud, and placed them in the charcoal pile to roast.

Cheng Lingzi had turned to leave, but seeing this, he squatted down to watch.

They chatted idly. An hour passed. The sunset painted the cave in crimson. The beggar's chicken was done. Pan Yun pushed one toward him.

This time, Cheng Lingzi didn't refuse—because soon, Pan Yun would leave. The decree said she was confined until Xushih. If it said Xushih, it meant Xushih—not a moment earlier, not a moment later.

Cheng Lingzi picked up the still-hot beggar's chicken and asked: "Who are the other two for?"

Pan Yun: "I'm eating one too."

"You're eating two?"

Pan Yun: "One's for an apology."

"Oh~~" Cheng Lingzi said. "You've admitted your mistake?"

Pan Yun stared at him blankly, then nodded: "I admit my mistake."

She shouldn't have thrown things from high up. She shouldn't have tossed stones randomly.

Cheng Lingzi smiled, took his beggar's chicken, and left: "You have less than an hour. Pack up and get ready to leave."

Pan Yun shook her head, wrapped the still-hot beggar's chicken, and tucked it away. The largest one was for her, Miaozhen, and Miaohé—they'd eat it together.

The academy's cafeteria was mediocre. Beggar's chicken was a luxury. They'd love it.

Pan Yun felt delighted, grabbed the second beggar's chicken with a stick, hurried to the inner chamber, and shouted down: "Hey! Sorry I threw rocks at you earlier. Here's my apology!"

No one answered.

Pan Yun didn't care. She touched the hot chicken, hissed softly, judged the distance, weighed it in her hand, and hurled it instantly.

The beggar's chicken arced beautifully through the air and landed. After ten breaths, a loud thud echoed.

The thing lying below looked up angrily, roared upward—then realized this time, the object falling was different.

A familiar fragrance filled the small space.

He sniffed, found the fallen item in the dark, touched it—it was hot.

He fell silent for a moment, then carefully peeled it open with his nails. The rich aroma rushed into his nose. Without hesitation, he smashed the mud, shoved the meat into his mouth.

Moments later, he devoured every scrap of meat and began gnawing the bones, muttering: "I hope she gets punished on Si Guo Cliff every day."

Pan Yun didn't know someone below the cliff was cursing her. After tossing the food, she felt their grudge was settled. She clapped her hands and went to collect her things.

She put everything she'd brought into her Spirit Realm and waited for someone to come get her.

At Xushih, a bamboo basket lowered from the mountaintop.

Pan Yun stared at the basket for a long while, then pulled it in and climbed in shakily, muttering: "What's wrong with him using his flying sword to carry me down?" Pan Xiaohei mewed at her.

Pan Yun opened her arms. Pan Xiaohei leapt straight into them.

Pan Yun tugged the rope. The people above began hauling the basket up.

The four senior sisters came to fetch her down again.

Leaving the mountain required paperwork.

Cheng Lingzi signed her release. Pan Yun could descend.

She placed the black cat on her shoulder, bowed to Cheng Lingzi: "Senior Brother Cheng Lingzi, I'll visit you often when I have time."

Cheng Lingzi smiled faintly: "Don't bother. Si Guo Cliff isn't a pleasant place."

"I'm not here to be confined. I'm just visiting you."

"I think you'll end up confined here often."

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Pan Yun didn't believe it: "I'm very well-behaved."

Cheng Lingzi snorted. Every year, students got punished to Si Guo Cliff—but he'd never met anyone more trouble-prone than Pan Yun.

He waved: "Go, go. Until next time. I hope it's longer."

The four senior sisters took Pan Yun down the mountain. They treated her with noticeably more courtesy.

Pan Yun sensed their attitude had changed because of Cheng Lingzi.

When they pulled her up, they hadn't changed at all. Only after Cheng Lingzi spoke to her did their demeanor slowly shift.

Clearly, Cheng Lingzi was a powerful figure in the academy.

Pan Yun felt she'd gained another escape route—and happily descended the mountain.

Miaozhen and Miaohé had been waiting below for a long time. They sprinted forward the moment they saw her: "Little Master Shu—"

"Miaozhen, Miaohé—"

The three embraced. For once, Pan Yun felt deeply moved. So this was the emotion of friends reuniting after a long separation?

Seeing how excited they were, Pan Yun decided to join in. She hugged their shoulders, and the three spun and jumped in place, then happily returned to Fengqi Courtyard.

The four senior sisters behind them: …

Not even a farewell.

Pan Yun walked far before remembering: "I forgot to say goodbye to the four senior sisters."

Miaohé: "It's not a good thing. Not saying goodbye is better."

Miaozhen looked at her shoulder: "By the way, where's Xiaohei?"

"Huh? Where's Xiaohei?" Pan Yun only then noticed the black cat was gone from her shoulder.

"Miao—" Pan Xiaohei turned around, face dark with exasperation: "Can you be any more blind?"

Pan Yun pretended not to hear. Miaozhen had already rushed forward, scooped up the cat, and stroked it: "Xiaohei, you've suffered so much these forty-five days."

Pan Yun: "He didn't suffer. He ate, slept, woke up, ate again. I'm the one who suffered."

"Did someone bully Little Master Shu on the mountain?"

"No…." Pan Yun explained the situation on Si Guo Cliff: "If you ever get sent there by accident, I'll prepare better supplies than Senior Brother did for me."

Pan Yun paused. "Huh. Senior Brother really prepared everything for me. Like he'd lived on Si Guo Cliff for a long time."

"You heard it from Fourth Master? She once got sent to Si Guo Cliff."

"Does Fourth Sister look like someone who'd carry water in a bucket?"

Miao Zhen frowned and said, "Little Uncle, could Fourth Uncle have given you the rope so you could use it to escape when you want to leave, not to draw water?"

Pan Yun froze, then forced a smile. "It's only a month and a half—I'm not about to run away, am I?"

The three exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, "Could Fourth Uncle (Fourth Sister) have done something like this before?"

Pan Yun changed the subject. "When did Senior Brother and the others return to the mountain?"

Miao Zhen immediately explained: Pan Yun learned that Tao Ji and Xuan Miao had not returned to the mountain, but stayed at Long Hushan to earn money for their bath soaks.

Pan Yun stared in shock. "Then where are Third Brother and Fourth Sister now?"

"Five days ago, after the last barrel of medicinal decoction was delivered up the mountain, Fourth Uncle went down to find Third Uncle," Miao Zhen said, glancing at Miao He. "Third Uncle was forcibly taken to Changzhou Prefecture to treat a patient while treating someone below the mountain."

Pan Yun: "Who could forcibly take away Third Brother? Has Third Brother's martial skill been learned in vain?"

Miao He: "I don't think it was exactly force—it was more like coercion with generous payment. I heard they offered five hundred taels just for the consultation fee, plus all meals, lodging, and travel expenses."

Pan Yun gasped. "That's way too much!"

"Yes, it's far too much. Fourth Uncle worried that Master might fail to cure the patient, or say something offensive and cause a big trouble, so as soon as the body-strengthening medicine was finished, Fourth Uncle immediately went down to find Master," Miao He said. "Fourth Uncle told us to take good care of Little Uncle."

"I'm your elder—I should be taking care of you," Pan Yun waved her hand. "Come on, I brought some tasty treats down from the mountain for you."

Miao Zhen and Miao He were curious. "Are there tasty things on Si Guo Cliff? Isn't it supposed to be austere up there?"

"They are austere, but I'm not."

Back at Fengqi Courtyard, Pan Yun took out the beggar's chicken—the mud was still hot, let alone the chicken inside.

As soon as the clay was peeled away, the aroma burst forth, rushing straight into their noses. Miao Zhen and Miao He couldn't help swallowing hard, their eyes sparkling. "So fragrant~~"

After breaking open the clay, Pan Yun said, "Eat quickly."

All three reached out at once, grabbing the drumsticks and wings, tearing the chicken apart in seconds.

Occasional exclamations of delight echoed from the room, mingling with the rich aroma—anyone could guess what they were doing.

Zhang Wei, carrying a large food box, stopped in his tracks, unsure whether to enter or retreat.

Xue Hua glanced at him and said, "You've prepared it—just bring it in."

Deng Ziyu added, "They're several years younger than us. Though we're senior and junior siblings, they're still young—probably can't talk much with us. Treat them like younger sisters: give them the food and let them eat it themselves."

Zhang Wei thought for a moment, then nodded and stepped forward to knock on the door.

(End of Chapter)