Chapter 302: Return to the Mountain

Tao Yanbai smiled and said, "I have my own way to repay my uncle's debt; take these for your protection."

"Besides food and clothing, there are many things in this world that require money—you'll understand when you're older," Tao Yanbai said. "You're a brave and independent girl; if you ever need help in the future, send someone to find me at the Three Pure Ones Temple. As soon as I hear the news, I'll come back."

Tao Hua's eyes turned slightly red. "Big brother~~"

She sniffled and asked, "Big brother, don't you blame me for being Mother's daughter?"

Tao Yanbai patted her head and chuckled, "I'm my father's son too—that's our business, not yours."

Tao Fu and Tao Mu treated Tao Hua poorly, even worse than they treated Tao Yanbai.

Because Tao Yanbai was the eldest son, Tao Fu and Tao Mu, no matter how much they disliked him, still paid him some attention.

But as for Tao Hua… despite having her own room in this household, aside from her younger brother Tao Yanxin, her parents ignored her completely.

She worked for the family every single day.

Fortunately, she was a resilient girl, so Tao Yanbai wasn't overly worried about her.

Tao Yanxin, though Tao Mu's biological son, was also treated indifferently by her; Tao Fu and Tao Mu appeared to dote on him, but in truth, they left everything unattended.

They never seemed to consider how to be proper parents—only living according to convention.

Thus, Tao Yanbai felt no envy or jealousy toward his younger brother, who was seven years his junior.

He even felt grateful that he had been taken to the Three Pure Ones Temple at age seven.

What he possessed was far greater than what his brother and sister had.

The meager care from his parents paled beside the attention he received from the people of the Three Pure Ones Temple.

His feelings toward his less familiar brother and sister were stronger than his feelings toward Tao Fu and Tao Mu.

Tao Yanbai shoved the money into Tao Hua's hand, pressed it firmly, and said, "Take it. The books I gave you—you can flip through them. You like sewing, don't you? Go quietly to Aunt Wu and give her some money; ask her to teach you. I've already spoken to her, and she's willing."

Tao Hua's eyes filled with tears. "Big brother…"

Tao Yanbai ruffled her hair, then turned and left.

In the main hall, Wang Cong had also finished speaking with Tao Fu and Tao Mu. He came out and said to Tao Yanbai, "Let's go—say farewell to your parents."

Pan Yun and the other three had heard plenty of gossip from the neighbors and were satisfied. Seeing Tao Yanbai bid farewell to his parents, she bowed to Tao Fu and Tao Mu and said, "Both of you, I'll come back to chat when I have time."

Tao Fu and Tao Mu: … Please don't come back again—we can't handle your visits.

Tao Yanbai slung his basket on his back and followed them out of the village. Many villagers stood along the road to see him off, calling out, "Yanbai, come home often!"

"Yes, you should return two or three times a year—the whole village will miss you."

Tao Yanbai smiled and agreed.

"Too bad—he leaves, and the village has no Physician again."

"Sigh, Yanbai is so clever, and he can read. If he comes back and studies a few more years, maybe he'll pass the Licentiate exam?"

"Now that he's gone, who knows when he'll return? The Clan Chief will be heartbroken again."

Pan Yun: "I didn't expect Yanbai to be so popular in the village."

Tao Yanbai said, "The Clan Chief wants me to study and take the imperial exams. My father wants me to return for corvée labor. The villagers want a Physician in the village. Because I'm useful to everyone, they all seem to like me."

Miao He looked bewildered. "Then why does your family make you sleep in the cowshed and constantly scold you? Why doesn't the Clan Chief help you? Why don't the villagers speak up when they come to gawk?"

Tao Yanbai: "Because I seem useful to them—but they haven't actually received any benefit yet, have they?"

Pan Yun said, "Because he isn't strong enough yet."

She added, "If he were strong enough, everyone would worship him like a god. So, strength must come from within."

Wang Cong and the other three nodded thoughtfully.

After leaving the village, Tao Yanbai looked around, stunned, and asked, "Big brother, you… you walked here? Where's the ox cart?"

Pan Yun spoke with an air of mystery. "Why ride an ox cart? So slow—how long would it take to get home?"

Tao Yanbai: "Then… then we'll fly back using lightness skill?"

He could use lightness skill, yes—but his internal energy and stamina weren't that strong, and he had a huge basket on his back.

Pan Yun waved her hand, and a massive medicinal cauldron appeared before them. A grin tugged at her lips as she shouted, "No—we'll fly back!"

Tao Yanbai stared, dumbfounded.

Miao He immediately scampered over and tugged at Tao Yanbai's basket. "Third Senior Brother, let me carry it for you."

Then, right before Tao Yanbai's eyes, he made the basket vanish.

Tao Yanbai's eyes widened further. "You you you…"

Miao He beamed proudly. "Little Auntie made me this jade tablet space—it's incredibly useful."

Tao Yanbai immediately turned to look at Pan Yun, involuntarily whining, "Little Auntie~~"

Pan Yun waved her hand generously. "Yes, you and Cong'er both get one—I'll make them for you when we get back."

Tao Yanbai immediately scrambled into the cauldron. "Let's go home fast."

But the cauldron's opening was still too small—its belly could hold many people, but not five at the mouth. After much adjustment, Tao Yanbai and the other two ended up squeezed into the cauldron's interior.

Each in a corner, to maintain balance. With one extra person, Pan Yun immediately felt the sluggishness. "So this is what an extra person does to the weight…"

More importantly, after the cauldron grew heavier, she needed more Yuan energy to control it—and noticed it was tilting slightly, off-kilter.

So the three had to huddle in three separate corners of the cauldron, using their weight to balance it.

Then the cauldron wobbled upward, swayed for a moment, then shot off with a *shoo*.

Wang Cong, standing upright, was slapped in the face by the cold wind and wanted to crouch down—but quickly summoned a spell barrier to shield them from the wind.

With the wind blocked, Wang Cong sighed in relief. "I never expected one extra person would make such a difference."

Pan Yun gritted her teeth. "Haven't you heard the saying: 'A hair's breadth off, and a thousand miles away'?"

"But don't worry—I have plenty of Yuan energy. It's just a bit shaky. Speed won't be affected."

With that, the cauldron accelerated further.

Watching the trees and fields blur past, Wang Cong actually wished they'd go slower.

Two quarter-hours later, they saw Mount Sanqing, and another quarter-hour later, they flew into the Mount Sanqing range; the medicine cauldron headed straight for the peak of Sanqing Monastery.

!. Read

By this time, the sun had already risen to mid-sky — it must have been before noon. Wang Feiyin was pacing in circles around the plaza, while Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji sat cross-legged on a nearby rock, sunbathing.

Pan Yun brazenly flew the medicine cauldron onto the plaza and set it down gently.

Wang Feiyin stopped his steps, and Master Xuanmiao opened his eyes as well.

The moment she landed, Pan Yun burst into laughter and cheerfully called out to Wang Feiyin, "Senior Brother, I've brought Yanbai back."

Wang Cong obediently climbed out of the medicine cauldron and obediently called out, "Dad."

Wang Feiyin glanced at him and waved him off.

Wang Cong let out a sigh of relief, then lifted Miao Zhen and Miao He — who had just stood up — down out of the cauldron.

Tao Yanbai climbed out on his own, while Pan Yun simply hopped up, took off on the spot, and landed again.

Wang Feiyin asked her, "Was the medicine cauldron easy to fly?"

Pan Yun thought about it seriously, then shook her head. "Not easy to fly."

Wang Feiyin: "Not easy to fly — that's right. This thing is for alchemy. When I fly it normally, I stand on the rim of the cauldron. But you — last time I stuffed you all inside the cauldron to bring you back because there were so many people, and you went straight to standing inside the cauldron to fly?"

Pan Yun: "…The inside of the cauldron is such a great spot, why would anyone go stand on the rim?"

Wang Feiyin: "I'm punishing you by washing the medicine cauldron three times. If you don't get it clean, none of you are eating today."

Wang Feiyin paused mid-sentence and asked, "Have you eaten breakfast?"

Only then did the five of them remember — they had arrived at the Tao household early that morning and immediately started arguing; they'd been so caught up in the quarrel that they forgot to eat, and hadn't felt hungry until now.

But the moment Wang Feiyin brought it up, all five of their stomachs growled in unison — they were truly hungry now.

Wang Feiyin beamed at them, then instantly dropped the smile and bellowed, "What are you standing around for? Get in there and cook! What, you're waiting for me to cook for you?"

Wang Cong and Tao Yanbai instinctively headed for the back courtyard, while Pan Yun, Miao Zhen, and Miao He carried the medicine cauldron back to the alchemy well to wash it.

The water in the alchemy well was clear, cold, and sweet. Once winter set in, the water level dropped, and the bucket had to be lowered quite deep before water could be drawn up.

Pan Yun poured bucket after bucket of water into the medicine cauldron; once there was enough inside, she used her Yuan power to lift the cauldron and carry it back to the alchemy room to heat.

Once the water boiled, she waved her hand and the medicine cauldron flew out of the alchemy room. She put the lid on, and the cauldron rocked up, down, left, and right in the air. When she felt it was washed enough, she lifted the lid and poured the water out.

Miao Zhen and Miao He immediately poured clean water back in, sighing admiringly, "Thick Yuan power is so convenient. When will we be able to lift a medicine cauldron that big with just Yuan power, like Little Xiao Shishu?"

Miao Zhen, meanwhile, was very interested in Pan Yun's Object-Control Art. "Little Xiao Shishu, your Object-Control Art seems even better than Senior Xiao Shishu's."

Pan Yun gave her an approving look. "Took you long enough to notice. Not only is my Object-Control Art better than Senior Brother's, my Flight Art is also better than his. Haven't you noticed? I carried five people, and the experience was about the same as when Senior Brother carried five people. Keep in mind, Senior Brother isn't a First Marquis — his cultivation is higher than mine."

Miao Zhen added, "Senior Xiao Shishu was carrying five people and a fox, and he and Third Xiao Shishu weigh more than Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother."

Pan Yun waved a hand and said, "Anyway, the head count is about the same — just tell me, am I impressive or not?"

Miao Zhen and Miao He thought for a moment, then nodded together.

Pan Yun lifted her chin and said, "Once you break through to First Marquis and can learn Flight Art, I'll teach you. Oh, and once your Yuan power gets a bit thicker, you can start learning Object-Control Art — learn my spell!"

Wang Feiyin's voice drifted over from somewhere: "So wonderful — want to teach me too?"

Pan Yun got a fright, turned around, and saw Wang Feiyin standing right behind her.

She couldn't help but pat her chest and say, "Senior Brother, do you make no sound at all when you walk? You almost scared me."

Wang Feiyin: "Almost scared you~ so that means you weren't actually scared?"

Pan Yun gave a small cough and changed the subject. "I've already started washing it — it'll be clean soon. Are you going to do some alchemy?"

"No alchemy. Wash it quickly. Once it's done, I'll take you to pick out materials for crafting a flight-type dharma artifact."

This interested not only Pan Yun but Miao Zhen and Miao He as well — all three immediately sped up.

But after they finished washing, they were led back to the rear courtyard to eat lunch first.

Good night

(End of chapter)