Chapter 31: Merit

At the moment the deafening wailing of the mourning began, Pan Yun felt something and opened her eyes to look toward the horizon.

The black cat, lately fond of lounging on the rafters, suddenly stood up, its glass-like eyes glowing as it fixed its gaze on Pan Yun.

It mewed once, leapt down from the rafter, and dashed straight into Pan Yun's arms.

After she hugged it, it kept mewing incessantly, its excited cries filling Pan Yun's ears: "Did you feel it? Did you feel it? The seal has opened!"

Pan Yun held it tightly and gritted her teeth in her mind: 【Be quiet, or I'll throw you out!】

Indeed, because the black cat kept yowling, many people were now glancing at her while still weeping; Physician Zhang and the eunuch Qian were particularly displeased, and Zhu Youjue was already on the verge of anger.

Pan Yun hugged the black cat, lifted her eyelids to meet everyone's gazes, and said expressionlessly: "The black cat is spirit-sensitive and wards off evil—it says the Prince is here and is greatly pleased."

At these words, everyone couldn't help glancing around, watching the empty air tremble slightly; especially those who had once met the Zhou Prince in dreams, they clustered together, their weeping now tinged with fear.

The Zhou Prince standing nearby listening to the imperial edict: …

Pan Yun frowned: "What are you afraid of? The Zhou Prince was such a good man—even if he returned, he wouldn't frighten us."

Hearing this, everyone felt it made sense, so they stopped trembling and pounded the ground in loud weeping: "Prince! How could such a good man leave us—"

The wailing surged to a new height, even people outside the mansion could hear the deafening cries.

The Zhou Prince nodded in satisfaction and honored Pan Yun by floating upward toward his coffin.

As he passed over the heads of the crowd, a cold wind stirred gently, and everyone felt it.

Seeing the trees nearby remain utterly still, they began to guess.

Zhu Tongqie, the little boy kneeling nearby, felt the wind brush past him, curiously lifted his head, turned his small face, saw the Zhou Prince sitting atop the coffin, and his eyes lit up—he tugged his father's sleeve: "Grandpa, Grandpa…"

Zhu Zijin looked up, quickly pressed down Zhu Tongqie's hand, turned toward the coffin, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Father, is it truly you returning to see us?"

Everyone wept with even greater sincerity.

Physician Zhang and the eunuch Qian trembled inwardly, bowed repeatedly toward the coffin, and only exhaled deeply after leaving the funeral hall.

They exchanged glances; though the Zhou Prince was a good man, … they'd better visit Kaifeng less often from now on.

Zhu Youjue stared at the coffin with a complex expression, unsure whether he believed it or not.

Tao Ji crept quietly to Pan Yun's side and whispered: "Is the Zhou Prince still here?"

Pan Yun grunted: "Mm."

Tao Ji frowned in worry: "Today is the seventh day—he won't leave, will he? Will he stay behind as a ghost?"

The Wang Fei and Zhu Zijin also worried about this; after their weeping, they came to find the three, hoping they could perform rites to properly send off the Zhou Prince: "Ask the Prince for us—what does he still need? We'll burn it for him."

In truth, no rites were needed; the Zhou Prince was fully satisfied, his spirit-form already fading, and he would soon depart on his own to where he belonged.

But since the family requested it, they could certainly perform them.

After all, performing rites does help spirits depart more smoothly and swiftly.

Pan Yun met the Zhou Prince's gaze and nodded.

But she didn't move, because she, from the 26th century, knew only two spells to send off ghosts: one was to shatter them outright, scattering their souls—no, that wouldn't suit the Zhou Prince;

the other was a single incantation, one hand seal—extremely simple and direct—enabling the spirit to instantly find its path and depart.

In the 26th century, efficiency was paramount.

This era was different.

After Master Xuanmiao heard their request for rites, he demanded multiple talismans, a peachwood sword, incense and candles, a clean vase, mountain spring water, five sacrificial animals, the Zhou Prince's favorite foods, clothing, and more and more.

Master Xuanmiao even insisted on composing a new funeral text, which must include summoning the soul, calming the soul, and sending off the soul…

As Master Xuanmiao wrote, he explained everything to Pan Yun, whose eyes were blank with confusion.

Pan Yun frowned: "Why go through so much trouble when a single incantation and hand seal would suffice?"

After finishing the funeral text, Master Xuanmiao looked up at her and said: "People come into this world pure; though they cannot leave as pure as they came, they must at least depart with clarity. His life—was it weighed more in merit or in sin? Let it be deeply reflected upon beneath the soul-summoning banner.

The rites calm the soul, not only comforting the living but also guiding the departed, showing him in advance how to face the King of Hell."

Pan Yun: "But isn't the funeral text full of praise?"

Master Xuanmiao smiled faintly: "Who says funeral texts are all praise? The true skill lies in concealing a person's faults within the text. And above all, performing rites is about confronting the heart—questioning the soul summoned, its inner self, forcing it to reflect. If you cannot reach its inner heart, your cultivation is insufficient."

Tao Ji murmured in solemn agreement: "If your cultivation is insufficient, you won't even get your Daoist credential."

Soon, Pan Yun witnessed the true power of this world's rites. As the soul-summoning banner rose, the Zhou Prince's already faint form solidified again; the burned clothes reappeared on him, and he was utterly renewed.

As Master Xuanmiao paced the Nine Stars and chanted the incantation, Pan Yun felt a wondrous energy—she grew dazed, and when she came to, the Zhou Prince was bathed in golden light…

Pan Yun involuntarily held her breath; she felt the golden light's pull—no, its pull on her dantian's spiritual realm.

What is this?

【This is Merit Jin Guang!】 The black cat in her arms fell utterly silent, its voice in her mind lowered to a whisper.

【The seal's opening is tied to this—Pan Yun, absorb it!】

Pan Yun didn't move, only stared intently as the Zhou Prince was bathed in his own Merit Jin Guang.

An old man and a child gazed across the void; the Zhou Prince smiled faintly, his form gradually fading—and as the last trace of his spirit vanished, a strand of golden light flew from him toward Pan Yun…

It was the Zhou Prince's voluntary gift to Pan Yun; though he didn't know what this thing was for, since the black cat coveted it so, it must be something good.

These seven days had been joyful; after death, he had fulfilled his wish, unburdened by regret—he was content.

As a solitary soul, he had nothing else to give this child, so he offered her what she and the black cat so desired.

As the Zhou Prince faded, to the eyes of the Wang Fu people, it was as if: as Master Xuanmiao walked before the funeral hall and began chanting, the clouds overhead slowly parted, and sunlight poured down in full force, the entire sky brightening.

!. Read

Under the sunlight, the white clouds gained color, drifting and swirling above the Wang Fu, as if alive, curling and unfurling in place.

As Master Xuanmiao halted his steps and completed the hand seal, a single beam of sunlight fell precisely on Pan Yun's face, arresting all gaze.

Though it was merely a single beam of sunlight, Zhu Zijin somehow felt it was his father's final will—and so he not only gave Master Xuanmiao a tray of silver, but also gave Pan Yun one.

Pan Yun, face flushed with shame, reached out and accepted it with swift, decisive motion.

In just two short months, she had already received three trays of silver—she was truly too embarrassed.

Pan Yun carried the tray back to her room, closed the door, and immediately set it down, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

The black cat paced anxiously beside her, pleading: "Let me in! Once I've stabilized the unlocked seal, I'll come out—I swear I won't cheat."

Pan Yun opened her eyes and watched it silently.

The black cat knew she was suspicious; it raised its paw as if ready to tear out its own heart to prove it. "Really, we've worked together this long, and I've grown used to this cat's body—I would never lie to you. I just need to go in and stabilize the unlocked seal; otherwise, it keeps vibrating, and you're uncomfortable too, aren't you?"

Pan Yun reached out and gently stroked its small head. "Of course I trust you. Didn't you forget? We have a contract. And I'm not afraid you'll rebel—worst case, I just reseal you again."

The black cat stiffened. Right—they had a contract. And Pan Yun dared take this risk, but it didn't. Now it wasn't doubting itself—it was doubting Pan Yun. This woman was cruel and solitary. Was she trying to lure it in, waiting to seal it the moment it entered?

Pan Yun withdrew her hand, settled her breath, and said: 【Come in.】

The black cat gritted its teeth and gave in.

A streak of spiritual light shot out from the black cat's body and zipped straight into Pan Yun's forehead.

Reclaiming its spiritual form, the Realm Spirit let out a contented sigh, then plunged straight toward the section where the seal had been broken.

Pan Yun's spiritual awareness was already within the Upper Dantian, searching for the cause of the seal's unraveling.

But in her Upper Dantian, the most prominent thing besides the Realm Spirit was a floating cluster of golden clouds.

Pan Yun recognized it at once—it was the gift from the Zhou Wang. She'd felt its comfort even then; now, as her spiritual awareness touched the golden cloud, her soul strengthened slightly, and her entire body became profoundly at ease.

The Realm Spirit drifted out from the Realm, eyes hungry—but within Pan Yun's Upper Dantian, it dared not move.

"It's merit," the Realm Spirit said. "Your own share of merit unlocked the seal. Have you noticed? The fates of all those dying in the Zhou Wangfu have changed. Zhu Tongqie, the Zhou Wang's six ladies, even his servants—all have turned from death to life. Even Zhu Zijin's fate has shifted. Heaven rewards you with merit."

Pan Yun: "So merit is the key to unlocking the seal. All the things your nation poured into me in my past life were wasted—and so were my eight years of spiritual energy."

The Realm Spirit pretended not to hear the second half. "Merit is indeed more useful than spiritual energy. I've only been sealed once—I have no experience unsealing. Had I known earlier..."

In my past life, I could have awakened. I'm sure Pan Yun's nation would have been eager to place me on the bodies of virtuous people to absorb merit together.

Pan Yun pondered. "What's inside the seal you just unlocked?"

The Realm Spirit glanced and replied: "Seven of the Thirteen Daoist True Qi Formulas, and the First Volume of Talisman Cultivation."

Pan Yun's spirit lifted. What did the 26th century lack most?

Complete cultivation techniques—and talismans. In the future, most talismans were based on existing research, but the detailed methods—brushwork, energy flow, all that—were almost entirely lost. Everything had to be rediscovered, relearned, rebuilt from scratch.

Ancient methods: any complete, intact lineage discovered was a shock to the nation.

And now she had an entire volume?

And cultivation techniques too.

Today's ten lucky numbers are those ending in 5—screenshot as proof.

(End of Chapter)