Chapter 41: Integration

One sentence made Tao Ji think of his senior disciple, and he fell silent.

Miao He accepted it fastest, nodding at Pan Yun, “Sister.”

Pan Yun smiled warmly and bowed with clasped fists, “Fourth Sister.”

Then she grinned and shook her clenched fists at Tao Ji, “Third Brother.”

Tao Ji’s face turned red, but he finally called out, “Fifth Sister.”

The elders had all accepted it; the three younger disciples had no say, and they stepped forward again to greet Pan Yun.

Miao He was the most disappointed, “I thought I’d be the senior sister.”

She had been so happy last night.

Pan Yun, who was as tall as her, reached out and patted her head, “Don’t be downhearted—I’ll protect you as your junior aunt. Isn’t that better than being a senior sister?”

Miao He: “Will you be attending classes with us from now on, Junior Aunt?”

Pan Yun turned to look at Wang Feiyin as well.

Wang Feiyin hummed, then said, “You’re still young. Learn more things, see what you like, and choose one path to specialize in later. Even if you specialize in one, you mustn’t be ignorant of the others, understood?”

Pan Yun and the others all agreed.

“Alright, have breakfast. After eating, go wait in the main hall—I’ll inspect your lessons later.”

“Your Third Uncle and the others just returned last night, so today you’re given a day off. Once I’ve checked your lessons, you may go play freely. Tomorrow, those who should attend class, attend; those who should descend the mountain, descend.”

Everyone responded in unison.

Pan Yun ladled a bowl of porridge and took a steamed bun, sitting with Miao He and Miao Zhen, “Who’s going down the mountain?”

“Me,” Tao Yanbai appeared, sitting beside Miao Zhen, sighing, “I really don’t like going down the mountain.”

Miao He ate her porridge while saying, “My master is going down too, Third Brother. You don’t like going down, but I do—yet my master won’t let me.”

Pan Yun steered the topic back, “What’s Third Brother going down for?”

Miao He: “To take Third Brother to practice medicine.”

Tao Yanbai explained, “I have no talent for Dao cultivation, and I still have parents and family. The imperial court has decreed: if a soldier’s or commoner’s child or servant cuts their hair to become a monk or Daoist, their parents must serve the court by tilling the land.”

Pan Yun, a frog at the bottom of a well, knew nothing: “Then how are you here?”

“I stayed at the temple under the pretense of studying arts,” Tao Yanbai said with full vigor. “Still, I must study hard. When I turn twenty, I’ll take the ordination exam—if I pass, even with poor talent, I can remain in the temple with my brothers and sisters.”

Pan Yun: “Keep at it!”

“Keep at it? That doesn’t sound right—it implies fire burns too fiercely, the wick too fast, excess is as bad as deficiency.”

Pan Yun readily corrected herself, “You’re right—work hard!”

Tao Yanbai nodded vigorously.

Seeing this, Miao He gobbled up her bun, then stood up, “I’ll go submit my lesson now.”

She dashed toward the main hall.

The three sat watching her run off; once she vanished, Tao Yanbai asked Miao Zhen, “Did she finish her lesson?”

Miao Zhen: “She finished.”

“How well?”

Miao Zhen thought a moment, then said, “It depends on Grandmaster’s mood today.”

If he’s in a good mood, he might just let it slide.

Tao Yanbai understood at once and relaxed. He stood up, “I’ll go submit mine too.”

With Miao He as a comparison, I shouldn’t fare too badly, right?

Pan Yun silently ate, knowing Grandmaster’s mood today would be slightly off—certainly not cheerful.

Wang Feiyin indeed wasn’t cheerful, so he punished Miao He for her mediocre lesson and Tao Yanbai for his earnest but insufficient work, praising only Miao Zhen.

Pan Yun watched briefly, then wandered the temple. She explored every corner—the vegetable plots carved into the mountain slope behind, the large vats beside them…

But she saw no well.

Pan Yun thought: this morning, Wang Feiyin took her to the mountaintop and descended a bit—there was a large emerald pool there, the water looked good. Should she go fetch water there?

Pan Yun returned to the main hall. Miao He and Tao Yanbai had already been punished and were cheerful again, inviting Pan Yun to share the items.

The items Tao Ji had brought back from below the mountain.

Food, clothing, various herbs—Tao Ji had even bought two girls beautiful hair ribbons, letting them freely choose and match.

Even the composed Miao Zhen couldn’t hide her smile, calling Pan Yun to join in the joyful sharing.

Pan Yun was forcibly given two hair ribbons.

They were all young, their hair both short and sparse, so they didn’t use hairpins—only ribbons.

Dao cultivators had no such constraints; they followed their hearts. So Tao Ji had prepared ribbons in every color, letting them choose freely.

There was also cloth. Pan Yun learned then that their Dao robes were all made by themselves: “Before, our Grandmaster, Masters, and Uncles helped us make them. But now we’ve grown—we must learn to make them ourselves. Junior Aunt, can you sew?” Pan Yun had spent her first eight years either cultivating or taking medicine—if she had the energy or leisure to walk to the temple gate, her father would weep with joy. Naturally, she had learned nothing of needlework.

She had always thought herself an introverted homebody—truly, she was suited only to a life of being fed and clothed without effort, focusing solely on cultivation, deaf to the world outside.

In her past life, she had been forced into extroversion by life and studies—she had to study, conduct research, occasionally hunt demons and monsters. Compared to that, staying home painting talismans for extra income had been bliss.

In this life, had her father not been suddenly exiled, she could have lived off her father and brother, enjoying the life she had once dreamed of.

Her second brother had already promised her: if she never married, he would support her; if he failed the imperial examinations, he’d take her back to their hometown in Changzhou. At the time, she had decided she’d never marry.

Though Pan Yun never planned to be so useless, she had planned ahead: once she achieved some cultivation, she could resume her old trade—painting a few talismans to sell, earning enough to live on, relying on her father and brother to focus on cultivation. Perhaps when they grew old, she might achieve true mastery and find a way back to her other world?

Pan Yun hugged the cloth shoved into her arms, eyes welling with tears. All past dreams had turned to mist and bubbles—her life must be planned anew.

Miao He saw her on the verge of tears and hurriedly asked, “Junior Aunt Pan, what’s wrong?”

Miao Zhen nudged her, “Call her Junior Aunt.”

Pan Yun shook her head, unconcerned, saying, “I’m moved—I’ve never received cloth as a gift before in my life.”

Miao He immediately said, “Junior Aunt, you’ll get gifts often. My master brings us presents every time he returns from below. And Grandmaster—he brings the most. I miss Grandmaster so much.”

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Miao Zhen nodded too, whispering softly, “I miss Grandmaster too.”

Pan Yun suppressed her longing for her father and brother, wiped her tears, and asked curiously, “Where is Grandmaster now?”

Miao He sighed, shaking her head, “I don’t know. Grandmaster goes into trade—his destinations change daily. No one knows where he is now.”

“When does Grandmaster usually return?”

Miao He: “It varies. When business is good, he returns in September or October. When business is bad, he won’t return until the New Year.”

It sounded pitiful.

But Miao He and Miao Zhen were used to such separations—they had grown up in this environment and saw nothing wrong with it.

They soon lost themselves in the joy of sharing gifts. Tao Yanbai brought up a basin of washed apricots, eating as he shared the gifts with them.

Of the items Tao Ji brought up, besides precious herbs and cloth, the most were candies and pastries.

The three stored them in various corners. Pan Yun followed them and learned where the temple kept its food.

A little in the kitchen cabinets, a little in the rice vats, each person secretly hid a packet of their favorite snacks in their rooms, and the rest were unpacked and offered before the stone statues of the Three Pure Ones, Ge Xianweng, and Li Minister.

Incense was burned, inviting them to partake—but by noon, several pastries had vanished from each offering plate, evenly taken—one from each deity’s plate.

Miao He took one, bowed, then bit into it. Seeing Pan Yun watching, she took another, bowed again, and handed it to Pan Yun, pulling her to sit on a meditation cushion to eat.

“The Ancestors have eaten—now it’s our turn,” she said. “Grandmaster said: when the Ancestors see us enjoying our food, they’re happy too. Once offered with sincerity, offerings may be eaten.”

Pan Yun took the pastry and sat beside her, eating. “The Ancestors are truly kind.”

Miao He nodded vigorously, “The Ancestors are truly kind—I love them the most.”

The two girls, heads bent over their pastries, didn’t notice the faint shimmer passing through the eyes of the Three Pure Ones.

Pan Yun had successfully integrated into the Three Pure Temple family. Only in the afternoon did she find time to take out the half-volume manuscript and study the cultivation method.

Pan Xiaohei joined her, and as a realm spirit who had read countless methods, it could judge a method’s quality better than Pan Yun.

It glanced once and said, “Congratulations.”

Pan Yun: “Too bad it’s only half.”

Pan Xiaohei confidently said, “I definitely have the full version recorded.”

Pan Yun perked up, “Where? Find it!”

“That part hasn’t been unsealed yet. Wait while I unseal more.”

Pan Yun: …

Seeing her disbelief, Pan Xiaohei hurriedly added, “Truly—I’ve collected countless methods. Don’t you know where I came from? Why I was originally created? Once I’m fully unsealed, not even this method’s second half—any higher method you want is yours.”

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, thought a moment, then said, “Fine, I’ll believe you. Tonight, we’ll try to form the array.”

Pan Xiaohei happily flipped over, obeying its black cat nature.

Pan Yun spread out the method and began cultivating.

Human memory can be quickly corrected, but bodily memory is hard to change.

The greatest difficulty in switching to Kunyuan Method was altering bodily memory.

The two methods were too similar—or rather, they stemmed from the same method, with only minor differences. Now she had to erase the memory already deeply ingrained in her body.

It was like pedal exercise: for eight years, she had raised her hands when stepping up. Now she had to raise them when stepping down. Bodily memory was hard to change—but Pan Yun believed she could.

Today and tomorrow’s lucky numbers are those ending in 3. Screenshot as proof. Add “The Eccentric Ming” to find Moyan for her ten points of affection.

(End of Chapter)