Chapter 336: You Are Not Suited

The two martial nephews watched the stars for half the night, and the next morning, refreshed and full of energy, they went to collect the hundred-tael reward silver, pocketing it for safekeeping.

Hearing from the government office Runner that Chang Mingwei had woken up, and that interrogation would begin in the next day or two, he would, barring accidents, be sent to Jingcheng as a cautionary example for execution.

After collecting the reward, Pan Yun and Miao Zhen wandered around eating and drinking before heading back to the inn.

Wang Cong spent two nights and a day in the workshop, and finally carved out that raw jade.

He carved a pair of jade pendants the size of a palm, then carved two jade plaques, made a pile of jade rings and jade earrings, and ground the remainder into three jade beads.

He opened the box to show Pan Yun: "Little Martial Aunt, I want one jade pendant and one jade plaque, to wear at the waist and around the neck."

Pan Yun picked up the jade pendant and held it up to the sunlight for a look, exclaiming in admiration: "You carved this?"

Wang Cong nodded, "Yes, this is a Qilin cresting the clouds; the spatial array can be inscribed on the back."

Pan Yun flipped it over to look at the back, and nodded, saying: "Indeed it can."

Pan Yun looked at Wang Cong, never expecting that this was the kind of martial nephew her martial nephew was—truly particular about jade material and carving craft.

If that's the case, then when she inscribed the spatial array, she would have to try not to damage his carving work.

Pan Yun immediately began sketching out the flow of the spatial array in her mind, just as she was drifting deep in thought, the sound of a shop assistant enthusiastically greeting someone drifted over.

Pan Yun and the other two instinctively looked up.

They saw the inn's shop assistant bowing at the waist, enthusiastically ushering a richly dressed young man inside.

Seeing the richly dressed young man's face, the three of them fell silent in unison.

Wang Cong: "... The freeloading guest-room thief who wanted to join our Mount Sanqing?"

After sizing the man up from head to toe, Pan Yun asked: "Did you pick up money, steal money, or rob money?"

The smile on the shop assistant's face froze in place, and he mechanically turned his head to look at the guest behind him.

The guest's expression did not change; he even bowed respectfully to the three of them, then said to Pan Yun with a solemn face: "Master, I only went to the money house for a bit."

Pan Yun blinked, dug at her ear, "What did you call me?"

Qu Le: "Master!"

Pan Yun stared at him for a few breaths, then suddenly understood, "You saw us yesterday?"

Qu Le dropped to his knees with a thud, "Please, Master, take me as your disciple."

Pan Yun: "I don't take disciples."

Qu Le took out a thick roll of silver notes from his robe, holding them up with both hands, "I beg Master to take me as your disciple!"

Pan Yun swallowed, but still hardened her heart and refused, "I can't take you."

Qu Le looked up aggrieved, "Why? Previously, when I wanted to apprentice under Master Xuanmiao, you couldn't decide for her, so you refused me. But whether you take a disciple is your own choice—why are you unwilling to take me?"

Pan Yun: "This isn't your problem, it's mine."

Pan Yun said: "Just now, I had a faint feeling that if I took you as a disciple, your life would not last long."

Qu Le immediately said: "I don't mind."

Pan Yun gazed steadily at him, then shook her head after a moment, "No, you do mind."

Pan Yun gave a self-mocking smile, "I was blinded by money, my mind was skewed. Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister were right to refuse. Mount Sanqing won't take you."

Qu Le frowned.

Earlier, she had only refused him on behalf of Master Xuanmiao; he was willing to pay, and she was still willing to let him join Mount Sanqing. So why was she now refusing him outright in Mount Sanqing's name?

Pan Yun: "I said your life would not last long, and you didn't even think about it, instinctively denying it. That shows you don't believe in divination. If you don't even believe in divination, clearly you don't believe in the occult arts either."

"You don't believe in the occult arts yet want to cultivate the Dao," Pan Yun shook her head, "You only want to learn the art of piloting objects through flight, don't you?"

Qu Le: "Can't I learn it?"

Pan Yun said with a light laugh: "You don't believe in the occult arts, which means you don't believe spiritual energy or the supernatural exists in this world. So how could you possibly cultivate vital force?"

"Without vital force, how could you pilot objects through flight?"

Qu Le immediately said: "I believe. Whatever Master says, I believe."

Pan Yun looked into his eyes and shook her head, "Go. Mount Sanqing is not suited for you."

Qu Le refused to leave, holding the silver notes in his hand higher, "Master, these are five thousand taels in silver notes. I've already written home, and before long, the rest of the silver will be sent by my family. Rest assured, ten thousand taels of gold—I absolutely won't short you a bit. If you're willing to take me as your disciple, I'm willing to add another two thousand taels of gold."

Wang Cong gaped in surprise, turning his head to look at Pan Yun.

With that much money, one could buy ten Mount Sanqing temples.

But Pan Yun, who had always loved money, simply shook her head, said not a word, turned around and went back to her room, "Pack up, we're heading back to Mount Sanqing."

Wang Cong and Miao Zhen came back to their senses, immediately responded, and went back to their rooms to pack.

Qu Le also gaped, seeing that she truly wouldn't take the money and was leaving, he couldn't help but shuffle forward on his knees two steps.

But he quickly stopped, only stubbornly kneeling on the ground, his face a little green.

Miao Zhen glanced back, unsure whether he was angry or aggrieved.

They didn't have much stuff, most of it was stored in their own spatial storage, so once they gathered a few items of clothing, they settled the bill with the inn and left.

Qu Le stubbornly knelt in the courtyard. When Pan Yun and the other two passed by him, he was so aggrieved he was almost in tears.

Pan Yun walked past him without pausing, not stopping for a single moment.

In truth, she had a lot she wanted to say to him, but she felt he wouldn't listen at that moment;

She also had a sentence she wanted to use to warn him, but she felt his intellect wouldn't grasp it.

So she could only sigh, and leave without giving him a shred of hope.

Once they had left the inn, the three of them walked without stopping toward the city gates. Miao Zhen: "From my years of experience reading storybooks, he's definitely waiting for Little Martial Aunt to look back at this moment. He probably thinks Little Martial Aunt is just testing him, so he'll kneel until evening, or even tomorrow, or even longer."

Pan Yun gave an involuntary shudder, "That's exactly why I don't dare take him."

She said: "I'm not afraid of stubborn ones. Anyone stepping onto the path of cultivation, which one of them isn't stubborn? It's just that the direction of their stubbornness differs."

"But I am afraid of the stubborn ones who aren't clever, who don't know why they're being stubborn."

Wang Cong also nodded, "Although we've only met him twice, this person is overly arrogant and impatient for success—he's not a seedling for cultivation."

"A cultivator may persist, may be confident, may even have flaws in character, but cannot refuse to listen to others, cannot be closed-minded." He said, "We mortals cultivating the Dao are, after all, feeling our way across a river. If we only look at what our own eyes can see, and don't seek, don't think, then what Dao are we even cultivating?"

"Junior Xiao Shishu reminded him three times to believe in Fang Shu, and he let it go in one ear and out the other." Wang Cong shook his head. Three chances — if he had, even once, seriously considered Pan Yun's questioning, Junior Xiao Shishu could have given him a chance.

Pan Yun stayed silent. Only after leaving the city and finding a secluded spot did she climb into the medicine cauldron and fly up high. Then, heart aching, she pressed a hand to her chest, nearly in tears. "Twelve thousand taels of gold — enough to raise me to adulthood — and I just missed it like that."

Wang Cong: "…Junior Xiao Shishu, you spend that much money?"

Pan Yun: "And there's you lot too."

Wang Cong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I don't spend money, no need to count me in."

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He paused, then added, "Junior Xiao Shishu, you should also try to spend less. I feel that within ten years, let alone twelve thousand taels of gold, even twelve thousand taels of silver would be very hard for me to earn. Finding new income is difficult — let's try to economize where we can."

Seeing Miao Zhen, hearing this, also felt Qu Le had given too much money, and couldn't help saying, "How about we go back and take him in? We're just teaching him anyway — whether he can learn is up to his own fortune."

Pan Yun shook her head. "I can feel it. Because of Master — his old self — I feel that just like Senior Martial Brother, the moment I take a disciple, that disciple will be extremely unlucky. Losing money and shortening one's own life would be the least of it — I'm afraid it would even implicate their family."

Thump! Wang Cong and Seeing Miao Zhen immediately pressed shoulder to shoulder, standing on the opposite side from Pan Yun.

Pan Yun glared at them. "You're not my disciples, what are you afraid of? Relax, the bad luck won't pass to you~!"

Wang Cong let out a breath and said with an embarrassed smile, "Junior Xiao Shishu, that's not what we meant."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Just didn't react for a moment."

Wang Cong changed the subject. "That fool won't be kneeling in the inn the whole time, will he?"

Pan Yun waved her hand. "If he wants to kneel, let him kneel. If he can kneel his way to understanding, that's a blessing for him and his family."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "I bet he'll keep kneeling the whole time. Senior Martial Brother, shall we make a wager?"

Wang Cong: "I don't gamble. Junior Martial Sister, drop Master's bad habit — stop gambling at every little thing."

Seeing Miao Zhen muttered, "I don't — it's just for fun…"

Flying on a controlled object was still quite fast. In less than one shichen, the three people and one cat had returned to Mount Sanqing.

There wasn't a single person on the mountaintop — clearly, everyone was busy in the Mountain God Temple.

Pan Yun leapt out of the medicine cauldron and said in a frantic rush, "Quick, quick, quick — light a fire and boil water. We need to carefully wash the medicine cauldron, inside and out."

Wang Cong and Seeing Miao Zhen both tensed up at once, and immediately followed Pan Yun as she ran toward the pharmacy.

The pharmacy was right beside the Elixir Well. Wang Cong immediately drew water from the well, and the several medicine cauldrons in the pharmacy were all set to boil — all of them boiling water.

Their large medicine cauldron was also filled with water and set to boil.

After the water boiled and soaked, Pan Yun used her yuan force to slowly push the medicine cauldron out the door. She set it right beside the Elixir Well, mixed cold water with the hot, and first wiped the outside again and again.

There was a bloodstain stuck in one of the cauldron's feet that wouldn't come clean.

The three of them crowded in to look.

Seeing Miao Zhen: "It's in the crevice."

Pan Yun: "Looks like it was from when I smashed Hua Bulu."

Wang Cong muttered, "How could you go around hitting people with a medicine cauldron? What if you'd killed someone?"

But he still offered an idea: "Pour some vinegar on it — maybe that can get all these bloodstains out of the crevices."

Pan Yun, quick as ever, immediately said, "I'll go to the kitchen and get the vinegar."

After pouring the vinegar on and letting it sit for a long while, they only managed to remove a little. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief — as long as it can be removed, that's fine.

The three of them tied cleaning cloths to wooden sticks, and with the boiling water first wiped the inside of the cauldron once. After pouring out the boiling water, Pan Yun stepped onto a tall stool, peered inside, found the spots that were still dirty, and wiped them again and again, again and again…

Pan Xiaohei was also washed clean, paws and all, then tossed inside to sniff around for any spots they'd missed.

And then it found quite a few bloodstains they'd overlooked.

The three of them, refusing to believe it, carried a lantern and crouched inside the cauldron to look.

Pan Yun: "Why is there a formation carved here on the medicine cauldron? Shouldn't the inside be smooth?"

Wang Cong: "My father said this is a Pill-Formation Array — it can raise the success rate of forming pills."

Pan Yun pointed at a ring of wrinkles along the rim of the cauldron's ear and said, "Then what about these two spots?"

"That's a protective formation to keep heavenly thunder from ruining the pills and to safeguard them."

Pan Yun was astonished. "Senior Martial Brother actually had such lofty ambitions — he thought the pills he refined could draw down heavenly thunder?"

Wang Cong: "My father really was quite remarkable. And besides, this is a medicine cauldron he made when he was twenty-five — what's wrong with a young man of that age having grander aspirations?"

Pan Yun thought about it and figured that was fair.

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Hurry and think of a way to get it clean — it's almost afternoon, Senior Xiao Shishu and the others will be coming up the mountain soon."

The three of them exchanged a glance and kept at it.

By the time Wang Feiyin led the two children up the mountain from below, the three of them had already washed the cauldron clean and put it back in the pharmacy. But Wang Feiyin, standing at Shankou, twitched his nose and said, "Why do I smell vinegar?"

(End of chapter)