Chapter 287: Always Missing One Skill

The soulless black cat could not answer her; its breathing was steady and prolonged, its abdomen rising and falling with each breath, appearing no different from an ordinary cat.

But Pan Yun knew it was not ordinary.

She carefully lifted it into her arms and examined it closely.

This black cat had died from the start—even both its legs had been broken by someone—and only after Pan Xiaohei entered its body did Tao Ji heal it, restoring its life.

But Pan Xiaohei's presence merely prolonged the cat's life; if it remained outside the body for too long, the cat could die again.

Until now, whether due to Pan Xiaohei's cultivation or because the cat's nine lives had finally been activated, despite having been outside the body so long, its breathing remained calm, its eyes closed, its abdomen slowly rising and falling with each breath.

Pan Yun placed it in the cat nest on top of the cabinet and asked, "When will you come out?"

Pan Xiaohei, focused on cultivating its physical body, replied between breaths, "When I've refined the lightning and perfected my spiritual realm, I'll come out—no later than one day."

Pan Yun settled her mind, lay down, raised her hand to extinguish the oil lamp, yawned, and pulled the quilt over herself to sleep.

She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, and dawn appeared on the horizon.

Today, Mount Sanqing was unusually quiet; apart from Wang Cong rising, everyone else's rooms remained silent.

He practiced boxing alone, cooked porridge, ate breakfast, then sat staring at the mountain gate, "Sigh, when will Third Brother return?"

"If you can't even endure half a day of solitude, how will you cultivate the Great Dao?"

Wang Cong immediately stood up. "Father, you're awake?"

He made excuses for himself: "If I were the only one on the mountain, I could endure solitude just fine—but now there are so many people here, yet it feels as if I'm alone. This kind of noisy solitude, I still can't cultivate."

Wang Feiyin looked up at the sun and waved his hand. "Go, wake them all up—it's nearly noon, sleeping this long is more than enough!"

Wang Cong immediately went to wake them.

Pan Yun had just broken through, so she was in the best condition of all; she got up cheerfully, changed into her new Dao robe, opened the door, and stepped out with confident expression.

The moment she opened the door, a cold wind blew in and froze her smile—Pan Yun slammed the door shut with a snap.

When she opened it again, her head was wrapped in a cloth.

Wang Cong: "... Pfft, Little Auntie, maybe you should go back to bed and sleep some more."

Pan Yun glared at him and asked, "How is Third Brother's injury?"

He had suffered the heaviest blow last night.

Wang Cong: "My father went to see him."

Pan Yun also went to see him; Wang Feiyin was guiding the medicine's potency through him, muttering as he did so: "Though our Alchemy Path cultivates life and nature, you can't focus solely on life-nature studies—you must still practice more techniques and martial arts forms."

Tao Ji was listless, his internal injuries severe, too pained to sleep; seeing his Senior Brother keep scolding him, he said, "There are only twelve hours in a day—I must study medicine, refine pills, meditate, and develop new formulas—where's the time left to practice forms?"

He added: "I must prioritize—I know Second Brother focuses on astronomy and fate, barely learning Alchemy at all—why don't you scold him?"

Wang Feiyin: "He never makes me worry he'll be killed. You're the best physician in the monastery, the greatest alchemist—yet you're the one most likely to die early. Would that look good if word got out?"

"Do you know how heavy a blow this would be to Mount Sanqing's Alchemy lineage?" Wang Feiyin accused. "If this spreads, who will come here to become our disciple? We're already so few..."

Tao Ji felt even more wronged. "People come to become disciples, but you never accept them—now you blame me?"

Pan Yun shrank her neck and quietly turned to leave.

She went to see Master Xuanmiao, whose face showed no trace of last night's injuries—he was meditating. Seeing her restless, wandering about, he simply ordered her: "Go clean the main hall."

Pan Yun silently went.

The main hall was still fairly clean; Pan Yun took a cloth and wiped from left to right clockwise. When she reached the right side, she spotted a talisman pinned under a stone.

She picked it up, glanced at it, and asked Wang Cong, who was lighting incense and refilling oil, "Who was on night watch at the Mountain God Temple last night?"

Wang Cong looked at the talisman in her hand and shook his head. "No one was on watch—we were just about to sleep when Father suddenly said the Mountain God Temple stirred, so he took me down."

"The moment we opened the temple, we saw a message on the yellow talisman beneath the Mountain God's feet—so we knew you were in trouble."

Pan Yun: "The time on this... we returned in less than two ke, so why did Senior Brother take so long to arrive?"

Wang Cong understood what she was asking and sighed helplessly. "Your talisman didn't say the location—not even the direction. Father had to calculate it himself—he... his divination is mediocre. He got it wrong three times before finding you."

Pan Yun: "..."

Wang Cong: "Little Auntie, next time you use a talisman to call for help, remember to specify the exact location—even just the direction would help." Pan Yun nodded solemnly. "I'll remember."

Among my brothers, one always has an unreliable trait—still, Sister is the most reliable.

The younger ones swept and cleaned the entire monastery, even the alchemy pavilion by the Alchemy Well, scrubbing diligently, and also tidied up the guest room where Sister Hong Yan stayed, preparing it for her to move in.

Sister Hong Yan hadn't expected them to actually prepare a room for her; she was touched.

Xiao Hong also noticed: neither she nor the fox spirit were discriminated against at Mount Sanqing—everyone treated them as people.

Well, except for how much they all loved Sister Hong Yan's tail—but otherwise, they treated them exactly the same.

So she personally cooked them dinner.

Everyone ate happily.

Wang Feiyin put down his chopsticks and sighed, "After months, we've finally eaten a proper evening meal."

Pan Yun sipped her soup slowly and asked lazily, "What did Senior Brother eat for dinner these past months?"

Wang Feiyin: "We don't eat dinner—we fast at night."

!. Read

Pan Yun paused, "Then what did you eat for lunch?"

Wang Cong: "Sometimes noodles, sometimes rice."

Pan Yun: "Cook more rice at lunchtime—then eat it at night."

Wang Cong: "It's not cooked by us—it's cooked by Old Wang from down the mountain."

Tao Ji sighed: "You actually go down the mountain just to eat?"

Wang Feiyin: "Not specifically—the Mountain God Temple gets visitors daily, to answer questions, offer blessings, and we must go down to sit in audience for half a day."

So what's wrong with eating a meal there by chance?

Pan Yun widened her eyes. "Then who went down to open the Mountain God Temple today?"

Wang Feiyin glanced at her and said, "You're the temple keeper — who else would you ask?"

Pan Yun set down her bowl and chopsticks at once. "I'll go down the mountain and check!"

"No need," said Wang Feiyin. "By the time you got down the mountain, the dish would be stone cold. I sent Cong'er down at first light to hang up the sign — the temple's closed today, we'll reopen tomorrow."

Wang Feiyin reminded her, "Remember to go down the mountain tomorrow to open the temple. You are the temple keeper."

Pan Yun reached up to touch her headscarf and said hesitantly, "Senior Brother, how about letting Senior Nephew take over the Mountain God Temple for me for a while longer?"

Wang Feiyin's gaze fell on her head and he said, "You've even put on an ugly headscarf like that — what are you still worried about?"

Pan Yun: "Everyone up the mountain is one of our own, so it doesn't matter. But down the mountain there are still people I care about."

Wang Feiyin was not pleased to hear this and asked, "Who do you care about down the mountain?"

Pan Yun said with a solemn face, "Everyone! Everyone who could become my follower — oh, no, I mean, become Master's follower."

She still had an idol's baggage — how could she show up in front of people looking this shabby?

Wang Feiyin just stared at her for a while, and seeing she was adamant, he sighed and said, "Junior Sister, make her a hat."

Master Xuanmiao said coolly, "I'd rather she wear the headscarf than something I make."

Tao Ji also said quietly, "Fourth Junior Sister can manage stitching shoe soles, but a hat might be beyond her."

Wang Feiyin turned to look at him. "Then you do it."

Tao Ji: "Then let's stick with the headscarf. I think Little Junior Sister's headscarf looks fine."

Wang Cong and the others immediately nodded. "Looks fine."

Pan Yun: "I'm going to the county town!"

In the end Pan Yun still didn't make it to the county town, because Wang Feiyin cut a piece of plain-colored cloth himself and sewed her a hat.

Wang Feiyin sewed very carefully, even embroidering three stalks of bamboo on the hat. Pan Yun stared in astonishment and murmured, "Senior Brother, your handiwork is really good."

Wang Feiyin: "You'll have to learn to do it yourself. From now on, mending clothes and such — you'll have to handle it on your own."

One more chapter

(End of chapter)