Chapter 200: Reminder

Pan Yun: "Drip some blood on it!"

This Miao He, last night she and Miao Zhen couldn't sleep, so they seriously discussed this matter and also felt that blood-dripping recognition was needed.

So with a swift motion she pulled out the short needle she had long prepared, directly pricked her finger, then squeezed the blood out.

Pan Yun taught her, "See this point? This is the array heart of the spatial array. Drip your blood here, then calm your mind and steady your breath, feel the connection between you and it…"

Miao He dripped her blood on it, then held the jade tablet in both hands and closed her eyes, focusing intently to feel it, but felt nothing at all.

She grew a little anxious, and fine sweat broke out on her forehead.

Pan Yun said softly: "Don't rush, take it slow. It needs time to absorb your blood too. Right now the jade tablet is in your palm, you can feel it right there in your palm. With your eyes closed, you can look inward—since you can look inward, you must also be able to look outward without using your eyes. Do you see that red dot at the array heart? That's your blood. Feel it—it's passing through the array heart and entering another space…"

Miao He felt the blood she had just dripped out; in an instant she "saw" it. Watching it slowly seep into the array heart, her consciousness followed the blood as it seeped in, and she suddenly entered a space…

Miao He flung her eyes open with a swish, overjoyed: "I saw it!"

Pan Yun grinned broadly: "Remember this feeling. Once your consciousness can enter, you can store things inside and take things out. This space belongs to you."

Miao He, hearing this, immediately closed her eyes to feel it once more.

This time, she very smoothly found the array heart and entered. Moreover, once inside this time, she could feel a strange connection had formed between herself and this space, like a bond—she could directly sense it.

When Miao He withdrew from the space and looked, she saw that the drop of blood on the array heart had already fully seeped in, leaving not the slightest trace—only blue-green and white remained.

Miao He couldn't help stroking the jade tablet, sighing: "It's too miraculous."

She grabbed the teapot on the table in one swift motion and shouted: "Store!"

The teapot vanished.

Miao He burst into delighted laughter.

Miao Zhen: …

This person is so silly, she doesn't want to know her.

Miao Zhen rose without a flicker of expression and sat down a little farther away from her.

Pan Yun said helplessly: "You don't have to shout it out. I've noticed—people in the Academy who have spatial storage aren't many. Wealth should not be flaunted. We must be extra careful about this in daily life."

Take herself, for example—she was very careful about these things.

Pan Xiaohei sensed her thoughts and let out a snort of laughter.

Pan Yun heard its voice, turned her head and glared at it, then turned back and continued to Miao He: "Put your most important things inside. Don't put all your money in—keep some on you for pocket money. Apart from that, prepare plenty of food and drink to store inside, for when you need it unexpectedly."

Pan Yun paused here, then said: "When you put food inside, you must restrain yourself. That's meant for eating and drinking in case of emergencies—don't go and devour the whole lot in one night."

She said earnestly: "Miao He, being plump and round is nice too, but if you get any fatter, it'll become a health issue."

Miao He immediately said: "I won't sneak food."

Miao Zhen: "Just put in the driest, most tasteless rations—the kind that's hardest to eat but fills you up the most."

Although Miao He loved to eat, she was a little fatty with standards—food that didn't taste good, she'd at most use to gnaw on, never wolf down.

Pan Yun nodded. In her own spirit-realm space, she had also stockpiled the driest, most tasteless rations that filled you up the fastest.

Every half month she went down the mountain once to swap out a fresh batch, giving the old ones to beggars to eat. For this she had even earned several points of merit—not a bit wasted.

Now there was one more person preparing rations, and she felt that in the future there'd be one more share of merit-earning rations. So she patted Miao He's shoulder and said: "Don't be afraid of waste—when the time comes, I'll handle the rations for you. You too."

Pan Yun turned her head and said to Miao Zhen.

Miao Zhen's eyes sparkled as she said: "Little Martial Aunt, would you like to rest a few days before you start carving my jade tablet?"

"Alright, I'll rest two days." The elemental force in her Upper Dantian wasn't even half full yet—she definitely needed two days to recover, though she wasn't about to tell her two martial nieces that.

How could she let them know she wasn't as impressive as they imagined?

Miao Zhen found a red cord for Miao He, tied the jade tablet and hung it around her neck, then ran back to her room, took out all her money, divided it into two boxes, and put them into the space.

The small box held her own money, in both small change and whole amounts; the big box held the money Pan Yun had "lent" her.

Pan Yun, meanwhile, changed into her Daoist robe, tied up her hair properly, then led the two of them to the dining hall to find something to eat.

This was precisely the time when everyone had finished morning practice and come for breakfast, so the dining hall was very lively.

Pan Yun took an extra-large bowl today—it looked about the size of a soup basin. She said to Miao Zhen and Miao He: "Get me a bit more in a bit. I'm so hungry right now I could eat a whole cow."

Carving the array had drained her too much; right now she felt she could eat a whole cow.

Pan Yun walked up to the window, handed the bowl over, got half a bowl of rice with vegetables piled on top, then pointed at the bamboo steamer beside her: "Four steamed buns."

The old Daoist priest looked up at her, sized her up from head to toe, then gave her two: "Don't eat till you're stuffed."

Pan Yun said: "Absolutely not!"

The old Daoist priest looked at her for a moment, then gave her two more anyway, and said: "If you can finish all this without getting stuffed, then go to Fanxi Court."

Pan Yun was momentarily stunned, then carried her bowl of rice away.

She really wouldn't get stuffed. Food can replenish essence and qi to the body. For martial artists who couldn't yet absorb spiritual energy and convert it into their own energy, their cultivation was to transform the essence and qi within their bodies into internal force.

Where did that essence and qi come from?

A considerable portion came from food.

So eating well and eating appropriately, a person could live long—because even without deliberately refining it, the essence and qi from food could gently nourish the five organs, leaving qi within the body.

Pan Yun had consumed too much essence and qi; at this moment, no matter how much she ate, she didn't feel full.

Moreover, prompted by the old Daoist priest's reminder, she began to chew slowly and thoroughly. This way, the food could better transform into essence and qi stored within the body.

Miao Zhen and Miao He, having eaten their fill, propped their chins on their hands and watched her first finish the rice, then pick up the grey, dense steamed bun, tear it open, and eat it unhurriedly and methodically.

Two quarter-hours later, she had only finished two steamed buns. Half an hour later, the dining hall was empty, and only then did she slowly swallow the last bite of bun.

Seeing this, the old Daoist priest walked over, glanced at her belly, and said: "Go to Fanxi Court. You'll gain something there."

Pan Yun cupped her hands in thanks, and went to Fanxi Court with Miao Zhen and Miao He, both looking curious.

Fanxi Court still housed only Zhang Liuzhen.

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He had already begun teaching, but there were only two classes per ten-day period—one small-class lesson and one great-hall lesson.

No matter which class, many students rush to enroll, but everyone knows his health is poor, so even students who fail to get in never ask him to open more classes as they would other teachers.

What puzzled Pan Yun was that Zhang Liuzhen rarely left the mountain, and the True Person below rarely came to the Academy to visit him—the father and son seemed almost unfamiliar with each other.

Aside from seeing them standing together at the recent ordination ceremony, she had neither seen nor heard of them meeting again.

Zhang Liuzhen had always lived alone in Fuxi Courtyard with just one Daoist page.

Yet the Celestial Master's Mansion never failed to pay the full cost of the medicine for Mount Sanqing.

Hearing a knock, Sidao opened the door, his eyes brightening at the sight of Pan Yun and the other two; he flung both doors wide open, "Are the three young Daoist masters here to see our Young Master?"

Pan Yun nodded and asked, "Has Big Brother's condition improved?"

"Much better," Sidao led them upstairs, not making them wait outside at all. "The Young Master said that whenever the three young Daoist masters come, bring them straight in—even if he's not here, you may read books in Fuxi Courtyard."

One could say the freedom was very relaxed.

Pan Yun followed him upstairs, opened the door, and saw two teacups on a low table by the window behind the screen, with light smoke curling from the stove beside them—clearly tea had just been brewed.

"Does Big Brother have a guest?"

Sidao smiled and explained, "It's Mr. Li Wenying—he was just here drinking tea, but now I don't know where he's gone. Young Daoist masters, please wait a moment; I'll go find the Young Master and Mr. Li."

Pan Yun nodded, and after he left, she surveyed the room.

Seeing seven or eight books stacked on the mat, she leaned in curiously—and to her surprise, the top one was the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

A flicker of strangeness crossed her mind, but before she could ponder it further, she heard two overlapping footsteps—one light, one heavy.

She looked up and saw Zhang Liuzhen in a straight-collared, wide-sleeved Daoist robe, looking relaxed; beside him, Li Wenying wore a narrow-sleeved, light robe, dressed as a martial cultivator, a sword in hand.

Li Wenying's gaze landed directly on Pan Yun.

Pan Yun immediately lowered her eyes and bowed, "Greetings, Big Brother, Brother Li."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He also chimed in, "Big Brother, Brother Li."

Li Wenying said, "You calling me Brother Li is fine, but you two—I'm no longer employed at the Academy. According to your master's lineage, you should address me as Xiao Shishu."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He acted as if they hadn't heard.

Their rank was always the lowest, so whenever they could avoid lowering it, they refused.

Pan Yun spoke for them: "Big Brother's point stands—in the Academy, we ignore the hierarchy below the mountain. All who graduate from the Academy, regardless of age, are fellow brothers and sisters. Brother Li, if you wish to be called Xiao Shishu, wait until they've completed their studies and leave the mountain."

Li Wenying was too lazy to argue over such matters; he swept back his robe and sat on the mat, pouring himself tea from the pot. "What brings you here?"

Zhang Liuzhen smiled and told Sidao to bring three cushions, inviting the three to sit. "Sit, have some tea first—no rush."

Pan Yun indeed took her time.

Holding the cup of tea Sidao had poured, she sighed, "Big Brother's tea is truly delicious—far better than what we have on Mount Sanqing."

"It's what my father brought back from Jingcheng. If you like it, I'll have Sidao pack you a box to take home and brew yourself."

Li Wenying: "You're generous—there's only one box total."

Zhang Liuzhen laughed. "I'm taking medicine—I don't usually drink tea. If you hadn't come today, this pot would've been plain boiled water."

Li Wenying gave Pan Yun a half-smile, waiting to see how she'd refuse.

But Pan Yun simply nodded and said, "Thank you," "Then I thank you, Big Brother."

Li Wenying was astonished. "I thought you were like Zhang Li, but now I see—you're more like Master Wang."

(End of Chapter)