Chapter 196: Perseverance

Pan Yun let out a breath of relief, then hung the remaining few garments that were still intact on the rope to dry.

Then, with a flourish of her brush, she wrote a large notice and clipped it to the rope, explaining that the clothes that should have been hanging there to dry had been ruined by her washing; she had already entrusted someone to remake them, and at the latest they would be returned the day after tomorrow.

Satisfied that she had handled the follow-up properly, she headed back to Fengqi Court in high spirits.

She had no idea at all that down the mountain, the sale of her talismans had caused an uproar, and that this was precisely why Zhang Guanshi had been so busy.

Every year, September was the grand gathering of Long Hushan.

Not only because the Talisman Conferment Ceremony was held that month, but also because the Chongyang Dharma Assembly took place during it.

On days like these, it was a fine opportunity for fellow Daoists to exchange spells and share cultivation insights.

Besides that, everyone would also trade magical instruments and talismans.

And the Immortal's Tower had always done high-end business.

Fine instruments, fine talismans—the Immortal's Tower never lacked them. The goods were good and the prices fair, so nearly half of their annual sales were made in September.

But this year was very strange: after the grand ceremony ended, the number of people coming to buy superior talismans had dropped by about sixty percent compared with previous years.

The large stock of superior talismans they had prepared could not be sold off, and it was even worse for mid-grade talismans—customers would ask the price and then leave. Only the sales of lower-grade talismans showed little change.

The Shopkeeper of the Immortal's Tower found it very odd, so he went out to inquire personally, and only then learned that the day before yesterday Pan Yun had held a massive clearance sale in front of the Celestial Tian Zhang Tian Shi Fu.

"I know she was selling talismans, but were they superior-grade?"

"They were superior-grade. She said they were drawn by Master Xuanmiao."

The Shopkeeper: "That's impossible. So many talismans—how could Zhang Li possibly have drawn them?"

It wasn't that she lacked the ability; she simply wasn't that sort of person.

"But we looked carefully, and they really are superior-grade talismans. She also guaranteed they were superior. After all, she is a direct disciple of Mount Sanqing, and she vouched with her sect's reputation, so everyone still believed her."

The Shopkeeper asked for a few talismans to examine, and found they were indeed superior-grade, and the brushwork was very familiar—identical to the talismans Pan Yun had sold them.

The Shopkeeper frowned and murmured, "Zhang Li… is she really so obedient to Mount Sanqing? Back in the day, the Immortal's Tower could barely get her to agree to draw talismans for us. Now she sells so many in one go… Where is her pride? Where is her reserve?"

"Perhaps she's simply out of money," the Daoist said. "A single copper can stump a hero. No matter how proud and self-assured she is, times have changed. Healing her own injuries costs money, cultivation costs money, and the few little ones Pan Yun has also need money for their cultivation."

"Hasn't Mount Sanqing always been the older ones looking after the younger, and the younger looking after the even younger? Xuanmiao owes Mount Sanqing a great debt of gratitude, and now is precisely the time to repay it."

The Shopkeeper listened with growing disgust and said coldly, "Don't forget, before she was sixteen she was cultivating right here on Long Hushan. The Zhang family looked after her plenty—why has she never repaid even a fraction of that?"

The Daoist smiled and did not answer. That was a matter between them; he had no intention of getting involved.

He took back his own talismans and put them away properly, deciding he would simply mind his own affairs.

The Shopkeeper's gaze swept over the talismans the Daoist had pocketed, and after a moment's thought he asked, "Have you bought enough superior talismans? If not, I can set aside a few good ones for you."

The Daoist: "Twenty taels each?"

The Shopkeeper's face darkened, and he said helplessly, "The Immortal's Tower's superior talismans have always been between thirty and fifty taels. You know that anything from the Immortal's Tower has no quality issues whatsoever."

"Pan Yun's were also superior-grade, and we trust Mount Sanqing's quality as well."

After a moment's silence, the Shopkeeper still sold him a few talismans Pan Yun didn't have at a loss-making price of twenty taels each, treating it as a reward for the Daoist's honesty this time.

Because the superior-talisman market had been largely snatched away by Pan Yun, the Immortal's Tower could only try to make up the sales shortfall elsewhere.

So the Shopkeeper called in quite a few managers to help brainstorm ideas and promote the goods in the Immortal's Tower.

Otherwise, when the accounts were tallied next month, the figures would look far too ugly.

Zhang Guanshi was the Shopkeeper's daughter, so she had naturally gone down the mountain early to help her father think of a way.

By the time she dragged her exhausted self back up the mountain, night had already fallen, and she hadn't had time to go check on the laundry bureau.

So early the next morning, when her door was pounded on, she hurried to the laundry bureau's courtyard, and only then discovered that of the clothes Pan Yun was supposed to have washed, only a scattered few remained.

Someone held a slip of paper out to her and said, "Since Junior Sister Pan said she would compensate, naturally we trust her. But why was this matter handled by her? She just wrote a note and hung it on the rope. If we hadn't looked carefully, who would have known about this?"

"How does your laundry bureau do things? No matter what happens to the clothes, the ones who owe us an explanation should be your laundry bureau, right?"

Zhang Guanshi nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes, it was our oversight. I'll call Pan Yun over right now to get to the bottom of this."

"Hmph, as if you need to ask? We already asked around. From when the incident happened yesterday until this morning, where was your laundry bureau? Not a single one of you came to inform us?"

"If we hadn't noticed the clothes hadn't been returned and come to the laundry bureau to look, and hadn't seen this note, would your laundry bureau still not know what happened even now?"

"As the manager of the laundry bureau, you don't even know what went wrong in your own bureau—how do you manage anything?"

Zhang Guanshi's face flushed red, and she hurriedly admitted fault. Only after she had seen all the people off did she fiercely grit her teeth and say, "Pan Yun!"

As soon as Pan Yun finished class, she arrived at the laundry bureau right on time to receive the day's assignment.

The moment she stepped through the door, she met Zhang Guanshi's fiery gaze, and she knew right away that the matter from yesterday must have reached her. So she smiled at her.

Zhang Guanshi asked expressionlessly, "What are you smiling at? Is ruining the clothes funny?"

Pan Yun: "No, no, no, Guanshi, you've got me wrong. This is a flattering smile."

"Hmph, you—Pan Yun—actually know how to flatter people?" Zhang Guanshi glared and asked, "You ruined the clothes, why didn't you report it yesterday?"

"I was going to report it, but you weren't here yesterday," Pan Yun said. "I even came by to take a look before dark in the evening, and you weren't here then either. Zhang Guanshi, when did you get back?"

Zhang Guanshi glared at her sharply, skipped over the matter, and asked, "How exactly did you wash the clothes that you managed to ruin so many of them? You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

Pan Yun shook her head repeatedly. "How could I possibly do it on purpose? Zhang Guanshi, you know how much I love money. Ruining the clothes means I have to compensate for them. You have no idea how heartbroken I am that my coin purse has bled so much this time."

Zhang Guanshi lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and realized it was true. She knew how stingy Pan Yun was. If it were any other student being punished for a month and a half, they would have secretly hired someone to do their laundry long ago—but not her.

She didn't believe for a second that Pan Yun was sincerely accepting the punishment. Judging by her words and deeds, she simply couldn't bear to spend the money.

But still…

"Our academy's Daoist robes are that sturdy. I'm curious—how did you manage to ruin them?"

"I just rubbed and rubbed, and gave them a few extra slaps, and they fell apart."

"You're fooling a ghost. Ruining one or two could be forgiven, but after the first ones were ruined, didn't you realize you should have eased up a bit when washing the rest? It's obvious you tossed them all in together and washed them at once, and they all got ruined. Tell me—did you use magic to wash the clothes again?"

Pan Yun lowered her head and said nothing.

Zhang Guanshi ground her teeth and said, "Truly, you've got so much primordial energy you don't know where to spend it. Starting today, you're punished to wash three buckets of clothes every day. If you ruin any more clothes, the punishment doubles!"

Pan Yun immediately protested, "There has to be a limit, right? It's not possible that not a single garment will ever be ruined. What if their clothes were just old and rotten, and crumbled the moment you rubbed them?"

"That's impossible, the dao robes of our Academy are made very sturdy!"

"No matter how sturdy, they can't withstand being worn for long. There are so many single senior brothers, one robe worn for eight or ten years—no matter how sturdy, the stitching will loosen and rot. A twist and a pat and it falls apart, doesn't it?" Truly sturdy, but it also can't be ruined by her washing machine. It must still be because they aren't sturdy enough.

Zhang Guanshi was silent for a moment, then conceded a step: "Each time, the damaged clothes cannot exceed two pieces. Otherwise, the punishment is doubled!"

Only then did Pan Yun agree.

She shouldered two wooden buckets and carried another in her hand. Pan Xiao Hei nimbly leapt up onto her shoulder.

Pan Yun glanced at it and said: "I'm already this tired, and you still climb onto me. Do you have even a shred of a cat's freedom and pride?"

Pan Xiaohei: "You're just taking out your frustrations on me. It's not like I've only been standing on you for a day or two."

Pan Yun snorted, carried all the dirty clothes to the waterside. Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He immediately came forward: "Little Martial Aunt, were you scolded?"

"Is this one bucket a punishment?"

Before Pan Yun could answer, the two nodded and commented: "Not bad, just one extra bucket of dirty clothes as punishment."

Pan Yun: "It's an extra bucket every single day!"

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He looked at her with eyes full of pity: "Little Martial Aunt, how about we just behave and use magic to wash them? The three of us together—it's only three buckets. Two quarter-hours and we'll be done."

! 。Read

Pan Yun: "Let's do the experiment. Occasional failure is normal. Now is a perfect chance to try—if we wait until my punishment period ends, there won't be this many dirty clothes to experiment with."

Miao He stared: "We're trying again today?"

Pan Yun said: "Not today. I have a new idea. Let me modify the wooden bucket again tonight, and we'll try tomorrow."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He let out a breath, both heartache and admiration for her perseverance.

If it were them, they would have given up long ago. After all, they couldn't see the convenience of this washing machine at all.

They had magic—they could wash clothes faster and more effectively.

This time Pan Yun's modifications were even bigger. She dragged the double-layered wooden bucket back to Fengqi Court, then disassembled the four washing paddles, took out the inner wooden bucket, and reworked the inner walls of both wooden buckets.

She felt one wooden bucket was enough; it shouldn't need to be double-layered.

And this time, she chose to carve the array on the inner wall of the wooden bucket, and a different set of arrays at that.

It was her mistake—she shouldn't have followed the principle of a modern washing machine, making the barrel move to drive the water to move.

She could just as easily keep the barrel still and have the things inside the barrel move.

This way, she needed a different set of arrays.

And a gravity array—she had never thought of it before, but after yesterday's incident, she felt that drainage alone wasn't enough; she also needed to use gravity to compress the water inside the clothes.

Moreover, the difference in gravity could also increase the spin-washing force on the clothes, thereby removing dirt.

When they wash clothes with washing paddles, isn't that just using gravity to beat the clothes?

It's just that the gravity array turns force from tangible into intangible.

Pan Yun squatted inside the wooden bucket, pen in hand, planning out on the bucket how the two arrays should coordinate when drawn, and how to combine them with the power talismans.

Once the planning was done, after confirming there were no problems, she climbed out of the wooden bucket and went to prepare the materials for drawing the array.

Since the array was being drawn inside the bucket, she couldn't use ordinary array-drawing materials.

Pan Yun began constantly pulling things out of her Spirit Realm space, frowning involuntarily: "I don't have lapis lazuli?"

Miao He leaned in and said: "It's gone. Last time I wanted to refine pills, you gave me the lapis lazuli to use."

Pan Yun and Miao He both looked at Miao Zhen.

Miao Zhen said: "I don't have any either."

"Let's go, ask around in the Academy who has some."

The answer was that no one had any, and even if they did, they wouldn't give any.

Because next month was the year-end exam—rich or poor, everyone had to prepare pills and make a push. Otherwise, if they failed and had to repeat a year, not only would they lose face, there was also the risk of being asked to withdraw.

And lapis lazuli was one of the main ingredients for the Body Protection Pill. The lapis lazuli Miao He had taken—all of it had been used to refine Body Protection Pills.

If it couldn't be bought in the Academy, they could only go down the mountain to buy it the next day.

But lapis lazuli had been very popular lately, and the apothecaries had raised the price quite a bit. The Immortal Tower and some sundries shops that sold materials had also raised their prices.

Holding to the idea of keeping the rich water from flowing into outsiders' fields, Pan Yun turned around to ask the Dao Sundries Shop.

Shopkeeper Chen, hearing she wanted lapis lazuli, quoted without hesitation: "Three hundred wen per qian."

Pan Yun: "……Shopkeeper Chen, the Immortal Tower also only sells it for three hundred wen. Your shop is so small—can you sell any if your price isn't cheaper?"

Shopkeeper Chen smiled: "I'd have you know, little immortal lord, lapis lazuli in the ninth and tenth months isn't hard to sell. Our price is the same as the Immortal Tower's, but the quality is much better than theirs. If you don't believe it, take a look."

He took out a case and opened it for Pan Yun to see.

Pan Yun leaned in for a look, pinched it, and said: "Indeed, the quality is a bit better."

After thinking for a moment, she said: "Weigh me out two liang."

Shopkeeper Chen asked with a smile: "Would you like more? This is the main ingredient for refining the Body Protection Pill."

"Two liang is enough. Any more, and it could kill us—believe it or not?"

Pan Yun decided to give one liang to Miao He for pill refining, and keep one liang for herself to refine the array.

"This lapis lazuli has quite a few wonderful uses. I remember it's also an auxiliary ingredient for several other medicines. Wouldn't anyone who has this mineral strike it rich?"

Shopkeeper Chen smiled and pointed in the direction of the Celestial Tian Zhang Tian Shi Fu: "That's exactly why they've struck it rich."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "The Zhang family has a lapis lazuli mine?"

Shopkeeper Chen lowered his voice: "Not just lapis lazuli—they have red gold and yellow gold mines too."

Pan Yun: "Isn't yellow gold state-run? Can civilians mine it too?"

Shopkeeper Chen said vaguely: "Yellow gold and white silver are both said to be mined by the imperial court, but in reality, plenty of people mine privately. As long as you pay the tax silver, the imperial court doesn't bother."

"There's a silver mine in Jiangnan. I heard it only paid up forty-eight liang a year, and the imperial court never punished them either."

Pan Yun lost her voice: "How much did you say?"

Shopkeeper Chen gave her a sly grin and lowered his voice. "Little Immortal Master finds it pretty unbelievable too, right? A whole year's worth of mining silver only refined into forty-eight taels of silver."

(End of chapter)