Chapter 49: Earning No Money

Pan Yun drew quite a few talismans and decided to take them down the mountain to sell; besides talismans, she also dug out a number of books on physiognomy.

There weren't many physiognomy books in Sanqing Temple, only two, but the Ling Realm recorded quite a bit of physiognomy knowledge.

For the past eight years Pan Yun hadn't been troubled by making a living, so she had never seriously studied physiognomy, but from Master Xuanmiao's experience at Zhou Wangfu she had come to one realization: physiognomy earns more than alchemy or medicine.

Of course, she had also seen Tao Ji's role at Zhou Wangfu—although there was a Physician as competition, knowing a bit of alchemy and medicine, combined with physiognomy skills, would earn even more money.

Besides, what Sanqing Temple is best at is alchemy.

In the daily curriculum, physiognomy and talismans took up one class; the rest was all alchemy and medicine.

Moreover, the Daoist Priests permanently residing in the temple were Wang Feiyin, Tao Ji, and Master Xuanmiao.

Master Xuanmiao had been in long-term closed-door cultivation and had never stepped outside; their physiognomy and talismans were taught by Wang Feiyin at the most basic level, and so far she could draw every talisman he had taught.

Tao Ji took Tao Yanbai down the mountain to practice medicine every few days; when he occasionally stayed on the mountain, it was to gather herbs. Their alchemy and medicine teacher was still Wang Feiyin.

Really, open your eyes and it's Big Senior Brother, close your eyes and it's still Big Senior Brother.

No wonder Tao Ji said it made no difference who you apprenticed under, because it was all Wang Feiyin teaching.

Pan Yun stirred and stirred, mixing the rice and vegetables together so the rice seemed more flavorful, eating in big bites, and asking her daily ritual question: "Has Fourth Senior Sister come out of closed-door cultivation yet?"

Seeing Miao Zhen said: "I did a quick calculation—Fourth Senior Uncle will come out of closed-door cultivation this afternoon."

Pan Yun immediately said: "I'll go down the mountain with Fourth Senior Sister tomorrow."

Miao Zhen and Miao He turned their heads together to look at Great Senior Uncle, who sat facing the cliff not far away.

Little Senior Uncle's words, on hearing them, were clearly not addressed to them but to Great Senior Uncle.

Sure enough, Great Senior Uncle, who had been eating seriously, turned his head, glanced at them, and asked: "What are you going down the mountain for?"

"One, to collect mail; two, to earn money for Master."

One would have been fine—Tao Ji and the others going down the mountain could handle it—but two…

The reason was too legitimate; Wang Feiyin couldn't find an excuse to refuse on the spot.

But on second thought, this child was different from Miao Zhen and Miao He—mature beyond her years, and the things she herself knew were a jumble—so her training couldn't be the same as Miao Zhen and Miao He's. He thus nodded and said: "Fine, go ahead."

Hearing this, Miao He, still holding her rice bowl, squeezed over next to Wang Feiyin and said eagerly: "Senior Uncle, I want to go down the mountain too. I, I'll lead the way for Little Senior Uncle, keep her company."

Miao Zhen said nothing, but also brought her rice bowl forward and, together with Miao He, gazed at Wang Feiyin with eager eyes.

Wang Feiyin: …He knew it. Pan Yun's appearance was the greatest challenge to his teaching. One of the greatest difficulties in the human world is: not fearing scarcity, but fearing unequal distribution.

Meeting the gazes of the two children, Wang Feiyin gritted his teeth and said: "Fine, all of you go."

Miao He and Miao Zhen cheered, carried their rice bowls back to their seats, squeezed in with Pan Yun, and happily ate together.

Miao Zhen's calculation was very accurate: that very afternoon, Master Xuanmiao indeed came out of closed-door cultivation.

She ate a little something, then bathed and changed. Only after finishing the evening lesson did she learn that tomorrow she was to take three children down the mountain.

Master Xuanmiao: …

Wang Feiyin said: "Old Man Qian of Yushan County is ill and hasn't recovered after long treatment. Third Junior Brother took Yanbai to see him and won't return to the mountain these few days, so this matter can only be handed to you. It works out well—the three children are all grown now; take them out to see the world."

Master Xuanmiao: "I wasn't planning to go far, only to Dayuanwu."

Dayuanwu was the largest village nearby, the seat of the township. On the fifth and tenth of every month there was a great market; tomorrow was the tenth, just right for the great market.

There was an express courier station there; all the mail from this area was sent to that place.

Taking Pan Yun along was also good—this trip down the mountain was originally meant to collect the letter she'd had someone inquire about regarding the second branch of the Pan family.

Going down the mountain meant rising early. Before the mao hour, the three children were woken up; after a quick wash they shouldered the back baskets they'd packed the night before and went down the mountain.

Master Xuanmiao had Pan Yun walk at the very back, while she herself walked at the very front to lead the way, explaining: "We are the elders, and our kung fu is better than theirs."

"I know—loving and protecting the juniors, shielding the weak, right?" Just like when going up the mountain, when she had been protected in the middle by Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao.

The four of them went down the mountain with back baskets on their backs.

Don't think that just because Miao Zhen and Miao He were young, they hadn't long ago taken up martial arts and cultivation; their kung fu was no worse than Tao Yanbai's by much. The two also often gathered herbs in the mountains, so when walking in the mountains their stamina was in no way inferior to Pan Yun's, who had already achieved cultivation.

They followed Master Xuanmiao smoothly all the way to the foot of the mountain, moving very fast.

When they went down the mountain it was still dark, but some people in the village were already up. Master Xuanmiao led them through the village, where the sounds of crowing roosters and barking dogs never ceased.

A household by the road poked their head out to look; in the hazy dawn light they vaguely made out Master Xuanmiao and quickly called out, "Daoist Priest Xuanmiao, are you heading out?"

Master Xuanmiao replied, "Going to Dayuanwu for the market."

"Oh my, going this early?" Master Xuanmiao gave a brief reply and quickly led the three little ones through the village.

Once the dawn light appeared, the sky brightened especially fast; in just this short while they could already see the road beneath their feet clearly.

By the time they reached Dayuanwu, the sky was completely bright.

Pan Yun had never been to Dayuanwu; when she had come, she hadn't passed through here.

Quite a few people, like them, had come early for the market. By the time they entered the village, the market was already bustling, and a steady stream of people carrying loads on shoulder poles kept arriving from all directions.

There were also many food stalls.

There weren't many shops here; the roads were flat dirt and grass, and anyone could claim a spot, so the food stalls had come before dawn to grab places. Right now the steamers of the bun and mantou sellers were billowing with steam, and the fragrance of white flour kept drilling into people's noses;

At the noodle stall the soup had also come to a boil, and the stall owner was vigorously kneading dough;

There were also stalls that specialized in flatbreads. The bigger stalls would take out the pre-braised meat and chop it up right in front of customers, just waiting for people to come buy meat flatbreads.

Miao He couldn't walk past the meat-flatbread stall.

Master Xuanmiao said: "Let's eat breakfast first."

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She sat down at the noodle stall, but grabbed a handful of copper coins and handed them to Miao He: "You three go together and buy some other things to eat."

Miao He happily agreed, set down her back basket, took Miao Zhen with one hand and Pan Yun with the other, and left.

She also shared her little insight with Pan Yun: "I like going down the mountain with Master and Fourth Senior Uncle best. Master is soft-hearted—beg him a little and he'll take us to lots of places. Fourth Senior Uncle is generous—no matter what we want to eat, she'll give us money."

Pan Yun: "What about Big Senior Brother?"

Miao He: "Great Senior Uncle is also good, but Great Senior Uncle has no money."

Facing Pan Yun's puzzled gaze, Miao Zhen explained, "First Uncle-Master has no fortune. Whenever he has money in his hands, some accident will inevitably happen to make him lose it."

"Is that so?" For some reason, Pan Yun felt a vague unease.

Cultivating the Dao, cultivating the Dao, is actually about letting a person infinitely approach the Dao. So Daoist Priests especially believe in feelings, because they think these are hints given to people by the Heavenly Dao.

Pan Yun had grasped this feeling, but she could not figure out why.

Until after she had eaten and drunk her fill, she set out her folded talismans beside Miao He and Miao Zhen's little stall.

Passersby would glance at them, but only once, and then walk on.

Instead, the medicinal herbs Miao He and Miao Zhen sold as a set moved quite well, with a steady stream of income.

Pan Yun sat to one side, propping her chin on her hand, watching them.

Miao He generously split the money she earned and gave half to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun couldn't bring herself to take money from two children, so she pushed it back. "Is there really no one buying talismans here?"

Miao Zhen: "No illness, no disaster, and no ghosts or strange occurrences — why would anyone spend money on talismans?"

Pan Yun then looked at the medicinal ingredients they were selling. "Then these herbs…"

"They're all herbs for expelling toxins and clearing heat. Eating them in summer refreshes the mind and prevents heatstroke," Miao Zhen said. "We sell them like this every summer. Even the pharmacies in Yushan County come to buy medicinal ingredients from us. The villagers nearby all know this, so they buy from us."

"And the people from our Mount Sanqing often come down the mountain to practice medicine. They all know our medical skills are good and our herbs are good," Miao He said. "Little Xiao Shishu, I don't think selling talismans will work. There are no demons or ghosts near our Mount Sanqing, so there's no need for these things."

Pan Yun: "Why would there be no demons or ghosts?"

The two replied matter-of-factly: "Because we have the Mountain God's protection!"

This took Pan Yun by surprise.

In her past life, ghosts and demons ran rampant, and the best-selling items were talismans.

Pan Yun's talismans were excellent too — as long as she listed them online, they would sell out in no time. Yet here, she couldn't sell a single one!

Pan Yun looked up, channeled spiritual power into her eyes, and used her innate talent to observe the villagers. She discovered… there really wasn't the slightest trace of dark qi.

Even those in hardship were not suffering accidents; they were simply that poor to begin with. Such people needed a Body-Strengthening Talisman, which could reduce illness and bodily harm caused by their hardship. Even a Good Luck Talisman would be useless.

Because this place was poor overall — no matter how good one's luck, one couldn't just walk out and pick up silver. Besides, that kind of good luck is built on others' misfortune, and she never drew that kind of talisman.

Her Good Luck Talisman only let people avoid certain accidents tinged with misfortune; it couldn't make them stumble upon good fortune out of nowhere.

But hardship itself is not an accident.

When it comes to talismans, if people can't see immediate, tangible results, who would spend money on them?

Even if they bought one, they'd suspect it was fake, and without belief, the talisman's effect would be halved.

Pan Yun silently packed up her bundle of talismans and said, "I was wrong. I shouldn't be selling talismans here. I should go to a big city instead — like Kaifeng Prefecture, or Guangxin Prefecture."

Today's and tomorrow's lucky numbers are those ending in 1. Screenshot as proof.

(End of this chapter)