Chapter 354: A Shower of Enlightenment

The people of Mount Sanqing couldn't sleep either, so they all sat together on the rooftop to watch the stars. Mainly Master Xuanmiao and Seeing Miao Zhen observed, and explained the celestial phenomena they saw.

Wang Feiyin led the rest to play the atmosphere crew, responsible for gasping in awe and clapping along the way.

Pan Yun liked this role the most. She grabbed Pan Xiaohei's two paws and clapped them loudly, which so angered Pan Xiaohei that he screeched and kicked her belly, launching himself straight into Wang Feiyin's embrace.

Wang Feiyin reached out and pinched his neck, hugged him into his arms and petted him, then found a moment to glare at Pan Yun. "Stop bullying the black cat all the time."

Pan Yun snorted. "Senior Brother treats a cat better than me now."

The two were still bickering when their hearts suddenly tightened, and they both looked up at the sky at the same time.

Wang Feiyin: "A flying star!"

Pan Yun: "A meteor!"

Seeing Miao Zhen sprang to her feet, her gaze fixed intently on the flying star streaking toward the horizon.

Miao He had already screamed out, pinching Tao Yanbai as she shrieked, "It's a flying star, it's a flying star! I actually saw a flying star—is this fortune or misfortune?"

Only after the meteor vanished at the horizon did Wang Feiyin and Tao Ji turn to look at the silent Master Xuanmiao.

Master Xuanmiao's face was dark as still water. He said in a low voice, "It's war. This means for the next few years, the Great Ming won't be at peace."

Seeing Miao Zhen also nodded and said, "The star fell in the southwest. It seems the Luchuan campaign will still have to be fought, and the tail end will sweep into Jiangnan. Does this mean our Jiangnan will also have to go to war?"

Miao He: "Impossible. Jiangnan isn't a border pass—how could there be fighting? Could those Japanese pirates really be that fierce, wanting to land from Zhejiang and Fujian to attack us?"

Tao Ji's face darkened. "If they dare come up, we'll make sure they never return!"

Master Xuanmiao glanced at him and said, "You believe everything Miao He says?"

Tao Ji immediately reined in his expression and said ingratiatingly, "Then where does Junior Sister think this points?"

After a moment of silence, Master Xuanmiao said, "It should be a civil uprising."

"A civil uprising?" Tao Ji frowned. "The common folk aren't living all that well, but unless they have absolutely no choice, they won't rebel. Could it be that next year everyone's lives will be very difficult?"

Who could know that?

The stars won't tell you everything, and you may not be able to fully read what the stars are trying to express.

With the information halved and then halved again by more than half, what they got from the stars was nothing more than scraps, mere warnings.

And besides…

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard and warned them, "You may observe the celestial phenomena, but you must not place complete faith in them."

Seeing Miao Zhen was unconvinced and asked, "Why not?"

Wang Feiyin then patted her head and said, "Because what the stars foretell can be changed."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Can be changed?"

Master Xuanmiao said, "Silly child. If it couldn't be changed, why would the stars give a warning?"

"It issues a warning so that people can amend things, or prepare a response in advance."

Not only Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He, but even Pan Yun, who had never thought deeply about this point, let out a sound of wonder. "So that's how it is."

"Alright," Wang Feiyin was getting sleepy now. He rose and said, "We've watched the stars, we've enjoyed the excitement, and we've learned quite a bit. Let's go back to bed."

Wang Feiyin flew down from the rooftop first, and Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao left as well.

The five juniors lagged behind.

Seeing Miao Zhen asked Pan Yun, "Little Xiao Shishu, you just called the flying star a meteor?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Yes, but I think the 'flying star' you all use sounds nicer."

Miao He: "Then it's settled. From now on, when we see it, we'll still call it a flying star."

"Fine, have it your way." Pan Yun was getting drowsy too now. After dinner today she had scrubbed herself all over twice and washed her hair, so right now her whole body felt refreshed. She said, "I'm going to sleep till the sun is high tomorrow. None of you are to wake me—Pan Xiaohei, you aren't allowed to wake me either."

"Meow—"

Miao He's heart was moved. "I want to sleep till the sun is high too."

Tao Yanbai: "Miao He, it's your turn to do the laundry tomorrow."

Miao He only just remembered, and couldn't help letting out a soft "eep." She looked straight at Wang Cong.

Wang Cong was just about to open his mouth and agree when he saw her turn her head to look at Pan Yun. "Little Xiao Shishu, help me."

Pan Yun thought of the big wooden tub in her space that had been reused over and over, and thumped her chest in agreement. "No problem."

After a pause she asked, "Everyone's clothes are sturdy, right?"

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Our Mount Sanqing clothes may have no other merits, but sturdiness is guaranteed."

Pan Yun was reassured. "Alright, tomorrow once I wake up naturally I'll come help you wash."

Wang Cong: "…Miao He, why didn't you ask me? The water is this cold now. If you ask Little Xiao Shishu to help, Little Xiao Shishu will be cold too."

Every year after a heavy snowfall, the water in Mount Sanqing's Hanxing Pool gets as cold as ice, so they would go fetch water from the Elixir Well to do laundry, but it wasn't very warm either.

So either Wang Cong and Tao Yanbai would boil water for them to wash with hot water, or the two of them would help with the washing.

Tao Yanbai had already washed clothes for three days in a row, and he also wanted to sleep in tomorrow, which was why he reminded Miao He—this chore had to start rotating.

Miao He said, "Little Xiao Shishu doesn't use her hands to wash clothes."

"If not hands, then what?" Wang Cong's eyes lit up. "Is there a spell for washing clothes?"

Pan Yun nodded. "There is. I'll teach you tomorrow."

The next day, the five of them stood together by the Hanxing Pool. Pan Yun first demonstrated with a spell how to wash clothes—actually it was just using a spell to churn the clothes, then using the Object-Control Art to send a wooden mallet flying to beat and thump them…

Wang Cong: "…This is a spell for washing clothes?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Wang Cong twitched the corner of his mouth, gave a thumbs-up and said, "Little Xiao Shishu is amazing. Your elemental power is really abundant."

If all his internal energy were converted into elemental power, he could just barely use the Object-Control Art to send a mallet circling the Hanxing Pool once. Want to wash clothes?

One Upper Dantian per garment?

Wang Cong turned to leave, only to be grabbed by Pan Yun. "What's the rush? That one doesn't apply here—there's another one."

She slammed a large wooden barrel out of her space, proudly declaring, "Come, let's properly meet it—this is my years-long research project: the laundry barrel!"

Wang Cong: "Isn't this the barrel you kept in the cave for storing water and snow?"

Pan Yun: "That was just repurposing it. Its true purpose is washing clothes."

!. Read

Thus, Wang Cong and Tao Yan Bai witnessed how the wooden barrel washed clothes.

The three dumped all their dirty clothes into the barrel; Pan Yun cast a Water-Channeling Spell to draw water from Hanxing Pond into it, then Meizhen and Dui poured in a bit of soap solution. Pan Yun slapped a talisman onto the barrel—the engraved talisman activated, and the wooden barrel immediately began clanging and shaking violently.

It looked as if a great demon were trapped inside, desperate to escape.

Wang Cong and Tao Yan Bai, unprepared, were startled back three steps.

Tao Yan Bai muttered, "This is too much of a spectacle."

Wang Cong's eyes gleamed as he stepped forward, tiptoeing to peer into the barrel. "Little Aunt, can this barrel really clean clothes?"

"Of course," Pan Yun boasted, "Super clean."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "It won't be unclean—it'll be destroyed."

Dui nodded.

Wang Cong's smile froze. "Destroyed?"

Two qing later, the plug at the barrel's bottom opened automatically, squeezing out the water; then the barrel shot up again, clanging, and stopped half a qing later.

Pan Yun walked to the barrel, waved her hand, and a stone from beside Hanxing Pond zipped over and landed before her.

She stepped onto it, bent down, pulled out the clothes, and showed them to Wang Cong. "See? Not only clean, but half-dry—hang them up briefly and they're ready to wear."

Wang Cong spread out the garment and, through a massive hole in the back, saw Pan Yun bending to reach for more clothes.

Tao Yan Bai's mouth hung open; he stretched out his hand to measure the hole and muttered, "This is Master's robe…"

Pan Yun spun around quickly, still reaching for clothes—her head plunged straight into the barrel.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Dui yanked her out, then stared at the garment in Wang Cong's hands.

Both their bodies stiffened; slowly, they turned to look at the other clothes inside the barrel.

Pan Yun cried out, "This can't be! It's impossible! I've already improved it—the force is much lighter. Back at the Academy, I washed clothes without breaking them. Why did it break again?"

"Maybe because my father's robe has been worn too long?" Wang Cong carefully felt the fabric. "Look—it even has patches. Looks like it was made five years ago."

Pan Yun's eyes welled with tears. "Big Brother has suffered so much. We get new clothes every year, yet he's still wearing a robe from five years ago."

Wang Cong turned directly to Tao Yan Bai. "What did my father do yesterday?"

Tao Yan Bai thought a moment, then said, "Master said this year's cold snap was severe, so someone secretly slept overnight at the Mountain God Temple. He went into the mountains to chop firewood and gather dry wood—just yesterday, he added over a thousand jin of firewood to the temple."

Dui: "Master must have used magic. How could one person chop that much dry wood in a single day?"

Wang Cong spread out the robe and waved his hand. "No problem—I'll patch it with cloth later. It'll still be wearable next year. Little Aunt, check the other clothes."

The other clothes were fine—oh, two had loose threads.

One was Pan Yun's, one was Dui's—both sewn by themselves.

This shows the importance of needlework.

Wang Cong inspected every garment, confirmed they were clean, and cheerfully told Pan Yun, "Little Aunt, this barrel is amazing. We could replace the talisman with foot pedals or hand cranks, then make larger barrels and sell them to cloth shops and laundry bureaus."

"We could even sell them to private laundry workers. Just in Yushan County alone, I could sell twenty barrels. Guangxin Prefecture has seven counties, Jiangxi has seventy-eight counties, and all of Jiangnan has…"

Seeing Wang Cong grow more excited, his eyes brighter, Pan Yun cut him off. "I'll teach you!"

Pan Yun shuddered. "I'll teach you the array engraved on the barrel. I'll even show you how to make two myself. But after that, you handle selling twenty barrels per county yourself."

One barrel already tortures me—I don't want to keep making barrels, forever making barrels.

Originally, I made this laundry barrel to make money; then, because I refused to lose.

I was about to give up promoting it entirely—the cost, even with talismans, was truly high. But if we used foot pedals or hand cranks…

Pan Yun rubbed her chin. "I think I know how to do it."

"Not just a laundry barrel," Wang Cong said solemnly. "Little Aunt, think bigger—could we turn it into an automatic agitator? I just saw—the talisman only provides power; the barrel's own array churns the clothes. If we modify the array, couldn't we make it an agitator for mixing things… and even stripping them?"

"Isn't washing clothes just separating dirt, stripping away dirt?" Wang Cong said. "So we could strip rice, strip peanuts, strip wheat, strip rapeseed…"

Pan Yun, Seeing Miao Zhen, Dui, and Tao Yan Bai all gaped at Wang Cong, their faces filled with awe and disbelief.

Stayed up late again. Aaaah, tomorrow I'll readjust my schedule.

(End of Chapter)