Chapter 188: Inspiration

Miao Zhen: "My junior uncle wasn't angry from the start."

Xuan Li was just beginning to relax when Miao Zhen added, "If she were angry, wouldn't that be punishing herself for someone else's mistake?"

Xuan Li: …

Miao Zhen lowered her head and continued washing clothes.

Xuan Li, still troubled, asked, "Are all of you angry with me?"

Miao Zhen looked bewildered. "We already said we're not angry—why do you keep asking this?"

Xuan Li: "The way you say it doesn't sound like you're not angry."

Miao Zhen's expression turned serious. "But that's the truth."

Miao He beside her said, "My junior uncle and sister merely realized you can't become our close friend—they're not angry with you."

Xuan Li was heartbroken, her eyes red. "Because of this one thing, you're cutting ties with me?"

Even Miao He was confused now. "We never meant to cut ties with you."

Pan Yun, returning with laundry, heard their conversation and realized they were talking past each other—there had been a persistent misunderstanding. She stepped forward and said, "Xuan Li, we don't want to cut ties with you, and we're not angry with you."

"You know, feelings build over time, friendships deepen with contact, and bonds grow stronger."

Xuan Li nodded. That was true.

"We've known each other barely four months—we're not yet at the point of true intimacy. We're just ordinary friends," Pan Yun said. "I won't deny I've enjoyed spending time with you and learned much—but we're not suited to be close friends."

Xuan Li, eyes red, asked, "Is it because of this incident?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Because of this incident."

Xuan Li sniffled. "I apologize—I'm the one who got you caught..."

"You still don't understand," Pan Yun interrupted. "The issue isn't that we were 'discovered' by the instructors—it's your character." She paused, then decided to speak plainly. "I can accept a friend who stands by their convictions—but I cannot accept a friend who knows they're wrong, yet stubbornly refuses advice."

Pan Yun said, "Your actions dragged all three of us into danger—and hurt you too. Before this, I warned you repeatedly. You knew you weren't suited for it, yet you still recklessly joined in, just to boost your strength. That's why we don't want to grow closer to you."

Xuan Li opened her mouth in shock.

Pan Yun extended her hand. "Though we can't be close friends, a gentleman's friendship is as pure as water—we're still friends, and we can still exchange help in the future."

Xuan Li stared at her hand. She understood the gesture—it was an offer of reconciliation—but she couldn't accept it. With red eyes, she turned and ran off.

Pan Yun called after her retreating back, "Xuan Li, this is one reason I didn't want this—what if, right now, we were still tied together, and you just ran away like this, leaving all the dirty laundry for us to handle?"

Xuan Li stopped. Finally, face flushed, she returned, dumped the half-washed clothes into the wooden tub—clean and dirty mixed together—and ran off crying.

Miao Zhen: "Junior uncle, she's furious. You shouldn't have said it so plainly."

Pan Yun: "And let you two talk past each other for half a day without ever making sense?"

Miao He: "Will she really cut ties with us?"

She frowned. "Friendship comes in many forms—why must she be our close friend? Honestly, I like being friends with her—just as a regular friend, or a slightly closer one." Pan Yun: "Because she takes you out to play?"

Miao He lowered her head, embarrassed.

Pan Yun said, "Don't worry. After a couple of days, she'll come back and be friends with us again."

Pan Yun was right. After her anger cooled, Xuan Li thought it over and realized Pan Yun and Miao Zhen truly cared for her and wanted her to improve.

So two days later, she returned to find Pan Yun and the others, and volunteered, "Can I wash your clothes?"

Pan Yun refused. "If Zhang the supervisor finds out, he'll punish us severely."

In the past, Xuan Li wouldn't have cared—she'd have insisted it was for their good and snatched the clothes away to wash them herself.

But after her recent mistake, she dared not reach out this time.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly. At least she was willing to listen now.

Pan Yun offered, "Help us secure good seats and take notes on after-class assignments. Sometimes we return late and miss good spots, or have to rush off before we can write down the homework."

!. Read

Xuan Li immediately agreed, as if afraid Pan Yun would change her mind.

With Xuan Li gone, the laundry team now consisted only of the three junior nuns by the stream each noon—how boring.

Pan Yun wrung out a set of clothes and tossed them into the tub with a sigh. "One and a half months left—another month and ten days. My hands are already wrinkled and peeling. When will this end?"

Miao He: "We only do this five days a week and it's already unbearable—imagine the laborers who do it daily. If only we had a spell to help them."

Miao He's words sparked an idea in Pan Yun. Her eyes lit up. "Right—spells? Even if we had them, wasting spiritual power on laundry isn't worth it. But talismans are different."

Miao Zhen: "There are talismans that clean clothes?"

Pan Yun: "Of course—but direct laundry talismans are rare and weak. Better to save spiritual power for other uses. Indirect talismans, though—I've thought of several. One I think is best."

Miao Zhen and Miao He stared at her intently. "What talisman?"

"Power talisman," Pan Yun said. "We scrub clothes by hand, right? But if you attach a power talisman and make the tub shake violently, the water rushes through—it achieves the same effect."

Pan Yun grew more excited. "I can draw power talismans—but we also need a formation on the tub so it spins rapidly and washes the clothes clean."

Miao Zhen and Miao He stared blankly. "Junior uncle, are you feeling dizzy again? Why are you daydreaming in broad daylight?"

Pan Yun glared at them. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't doubt me—I'll make it tomorrow and show you."

Miao Zhen immediately said, "I believe you, junior uncle—but let's get through today first."

Pan Yun looked down at the mountain of dirty clothes still piled before her, her vision darkening. She gritted her teeth. "I will build a semi-automatic washing machine!"

Just so I won't go blind again when I enter the laundry bureau.

This chapter is only two thousand characters—I'll be home tomorrow, and resume extra chapters the day after.

(End of chapter)