Chapter 343: Merit Points

"Not bad," Wang Feiyin nodded. "Before you do it, give it your full attention; while you're doing it, give it your full effort; once it's done, let it go. You've already done your best—keeping it in your heart after that only adds trouble, doesn't it?"

"Look at the people who came to pray today—surely a thousand, if not two thousand. All those worries on their minds—if you took every one of them to heart, would you still be able to live?"

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard. "Care when it's time to care; let go when it's time to let go. In life, you have to learn to give up and forget—only then will you not suffer, not ache."

Pan Yun listened, and the agitation in her heart faded; she was no longer so restless.

Wang Feiyin glanced over and gave a slight nod, then sent her off: "Since the people are here, arrange lodging for them. Don't let them catch cold and fall ill."

Pan Yun agreed and went at once to arrange their accommodations.

The moment she left, Huiyuan, who had stayed the night, stepped to Wang Feiyin's side. After chanting a Buddhist invocation, he said, "When it comes to guiding people, Abbot Wang is still the best."

Wang Feiyin: "She's just young. A little experience and she'll be fine—she's sharp, takes a hint at once. Not like some people, stubborn as mules—the more you talk to them, the further they go down the wrong road."

Huiyuan asked with a smile, "From the way you speak, Abbot Wang has met such a person? May I ask who?"

Wang Feiyin waved his hand. "An unimportant person—no need to bring it up again. Many people are staying in the village tonight; I must ask Master Huiyuan to help keep an eye on things."

Huiyuan agreed at once, then said softly, "This temple fair benefits the people even more than our Mount Sanqing Grand Assembly, and it's grander too. If it's held again next year, it will likely completely eclipse the Mount Sanqing Grand Assembly."

"Sigh, it's all piled up with money," Wang Feiyin sighed. "We spent so much this year—next year we won't be able to afford it. Who knows when the next one will be."

Huiyuan raised an eyebrow slightly and was about to speak when a resentful voice came from behind: "When it was the Mount Sanqing Grand Assembly, you Mount Sanqing people said you had no money no matter how it was raised. When it was your turn to host, you held it in a miserably stingy way. But hold a Mountain God temple fair and you're generous as can be—not only giving away rice, but medicine too, and free vegetarian meals…"

The two turned their heads, saw it was Daoist Jidao, and both shifted their feet to let him step between them.

Daoist Jidao silently stepped forward between the two, then turned to stare at Wang Feiyin.

Wang Feiyin: "Why are you looking at me? I'm just a hired hand. The money for this temple fair didn't come from me—it's all from Temple Keeper Pan, my little junior sister earning it with her own hands."

Not to mention Daoist Jidao—even Master Huiyuan was only half-convinced.

Huiyuan hesitated: "Could it be the gifts the little Daoist received after breaking through to the First Marquis?"

That reminded Wang Feiyin. He tugged at his beard and said, "My little junior sister breaking through to the First Marquis and formally entering the Dao—she does need to hold a banquet and invite everyone to meet her. It just so happens everyone's here this time. How about this—I'll treat everyone to a meal tomorrow, everyone…"

Jidao turned and walked off.

Huiyuan smiled at Wang Feiyin, then turned and left as well.

Wang Feiyin's side was suddenly quiet.

Wang Feiyin let out a breath, clutched his waist and sighed as he walked up the mountain: "It's a congratulatory gift you're supposed to give—giving it early or late is still giving it. Might as well strike while the iron's hot…"

Night fell, and the bustling village gradually grew quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog.

Mount Sanqing Monastery, however, was still busy. Seeing Miao Zhen had heated water ready; everyone carried off a bucket each. After bathing and changing, Wang Cong arranged for people to go down the mountain for night watch: "Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai rest first. Miao He junior sister and I will go down the mountain for night watch; in the second half of the night you can come relieve us."

No sooner had he finished arranging than Wang Feiyin pressed down on his head: "Everyone go to sleep. Tonight you've got me and your little martial uncle."

Wang Cong paused, then said, "Father, little martial uncle has also been tired all day—is she to stand watch all night?"

Wang Feiyin: "She's already a First Marquis—missing one night's sleep won't kill anyone. But if you lot don't sleep for a night, you might drop dead on the spot. Hurry up and sleep—there's plenty to do tomorrow."

Wang Feiyin had merely come up the mountain to soak in a hot bath, change into clean clothes, then found a rock in the mountains to bathe in moonlight and meditate.

Pan Yun had also finished arranging things at the temple. Once the Mountain God Temple grew quiet, she sat cross-legged on the cushion before the Mountain God statue, closed her eyes, and rested her spirit.

Pan Xiaohei, who had been missing all day, poked out from somewhere, ran along Pan Yun's thigh, leaped lightly onto the platform, lay down beside the Mountain God statue's leg, and stared with round bright eyes at Pan Yun—and at the pitch-dark plaza behind her.

"I've kept an eye out for you," Pan Xiaohei mewed. "Among those people lodging in the villagers' homes, there are a few who aren't honest—but they've all settled down and are lying low now."

Pan Yun acknowledged, then said softly, "Thank you for your trouble."

Pan Xiaohei: "How rare—you saying something soft to me."

Pan Yun: "More people will come tomorrow, and it'll be more of a mix. In this world there are many good people, but plenty of bad ones too. I need to make sure that over these three days, no one's life or property is threatened here. I can stand watch at night, but during the day I can't keep an eye on things—can you help me?"

Pan Xiaohei was silent for a moment, then said, "I can."

Pan Yun smiled slightly. "When the temple fair ends, I'll go to the market and buy two jin of small fish to fry for you."

Pan Xiaohei snorted disdainfully—it wasn't really a cat, it didn't care for small fish.

But couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Huiyuan, lodging in the side rooms, hadn't slept either. The monks he'd brought had long since sprawled out snoring thunderously. He seemed not to hear them at all—his perception stretched out along the mountain's insect songs, stretching further and further. He could not only hear the dogs in the village gradually quiet down, but also catch the voices of some villagers chatting.

Pan Yun's cultivation couldn't compare to his, but her speed was not slow. Perhaps because she sat in the Mountain God Temple, perhaps because this was Qingshan Realm, her spiritual sense spread out rapidly—she could hear the happy laughter of children dreaming, and the thunderous snores of adults…

Under the watch of different people, Fenshui Village and Mount Sanqing passed a tranquil night.

It was barely light when a rustling came from a straw pile by a paddy field not far from the village entrance of Fenshui Village. Mourning period was the first to crawl out of the straw pile; seeing it was day, he hunched his shoulders, pulled his clothes tight, and said, "Come out quick—it's light."

Only then did Xiaoliu and the others slowly crawl out of the straw pile.

Then they went to dig through another straw pile and soon dug out Yu Popo as well.

Mourning period, hunching his shoulders, said happily, "Granny, sleeping in the straw pile last night was really warm—it didn't freeze us at all."

Yu Popo said helplessly, "That's because the Mountain God's protecting us. Anywhere else, in weather like this, huddling in a straw pile would either freeze you to death or smother you. Don't ever do this again."

The children nodded repeatedly in agreement, but how much of it actually sank in was anyone's guess.

Yu Popo said, "Go wash your faces by the stream, tidy up, then go worship and get the blessing bags. Once we have the bags, we leave."

There were too many people yesterday. After they worshipped, they queued for the consultation; after so many had been seen and prescriptions written, they grabbed the medicine, then received the cold-prevention remedy—and by then it was already dark.

! 。Read

Mount Sanqing is still a bit far from the county town. On foot, by the time you walked back it would be the middle of the night—you couldn't get through the city gates, and staying outside would freeze you to death.

So Yu Popo and the others had decided to hide in the straw pile for a night, rush to worship and get the blessing bags the next day, then head back to the county town.

Mourning period and the others immediately took their medicine packets with them, went to the stream to splash cold water on their faces, tidied themselves up, then went to the temple to worship.

They thought they were early, but when they arrived they found someone already devoutly kneeling in worship.

Pan Yun was still standing at their side, ringing the bell for them.

Seeing this, Mourning period and the others refused to be outdone. There was no room left to kneel inside the temple, so with a thump they dropped to their knees outside the door and started bobbing their heads toward the Mountain God statue.

Pan Yun: …

She hurriedly struck the small bell; the chime echoed through the mountains, telling her master—someone's here, come out and have a look and a listen.

After Yu Popo led them through their worship and they devoutly made their wishes, she rose and pulled them along to greet Pan Yun.

Pan Yun smiled at them as well and asked, "Why have you come so early?"

Xiao Qi answered quickly, "We came yesterday. We even saw our benefactor."

"Is that so? Then where did you stay last night?"

Xiao Qi said proudly, "We slept in a pile of straw."

Pan Yun nodded. "That's a good way to keep warm, but once it gets any colder it won't work anymore."

She took a few yellow talismans, folded into long rectangles, from her sleeve and handed them over with a smile. "These are peace talismans. Keep them with you, and may you be safe all the way home."

Grandma Yu accepted on their behalf and told Pan Yun, "The houses are already built, and we've all moved into our new homes. Xiao Qi and the others have started school too. The great kindness of the temple priest and the Mountain God—we will remember it for all generations."

Pan Yun felt a sudden warmth spread through her whole body, but as the Qi around her drew in, she looked up in surprise at the Mountain God's statue. A ray of morning sunlight had shot in through the top of the door and landed on his forehead, bathing his entire face in a golden glow.

Pan Yun felt a spark of spirit in his eyes. Correspondingly, the Merit Golden Light she had restrained somewhat after her breakthrough now drew in even further, as if it had hidden itself completely in the deeper reaches of her Lingtai, no longer leaking out at all.

At the same time, the Spirit Realm jade slip refreshed rapidly, and she suddenly received a massive influx of merit points.

Pan Yun was slightly stunned. Sinking her mind inward to look, she found it was a large batch of merit points from the devotees who had come to worship yesterday—each one very low, only +1, +1, +1, but with so many people, it added up.

Among this flood of +1, +1, +1 were Xiao Qi's group's +5, +5, +5, but what surprised Pan Yun even more was the large number of +10s, coming from the villagers of Shuangyang Village and Huaihua Village in Quanzhou.

Pan Yun was astonished in her heart, 【What happened to Shuangyang Village and Huaihua Village? Why did so many merit points suddenly come in?】

Pan Xiaohei: "You can only ask the Old Man of Heaven, but the Old Man of Heaven may not tell you. And even if he did tell you, you probably wouldn't understand."

Pan Yun glanced at it, picked it up from the foot of the statue, and with a smile on her face stuffed it into Xiao Qi's arms. "When you kids head to the village later, take it with you. This cat is far too lazy—it needs some exercise. Just carry it across the bridge and then let it go."

Xiao Qi agreed.

Pan Yun snorted inwardly, 【I'll divine it in a little while.】

She paused, then said: 【Together with Seeing Miao Zhen!】

See you tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)