Chapter 550: Preparation

"That doesn't sound right. What's that got to do with unwavering devotion?" Pan Yun stopped walking.

Wang Feiyin pushed her forward: "Of course it does. Isn't affection for the common people a kind of feeling? You're still young, don't always twist things the wrong way."

Pan Yun: "…Senior Brother, stop slandering people. It's clearly you who's being ambiguous with your words."

"Who decided that unwavering devotion can only apply to romantic love?" Wang Feiyin said: "Master was too young back then, too impulsive, precisely because his feelings were too abundant. The Great Dao is heartless. We cultivate the Dao to draw infinitely closer to it—only by being heartless can one be impartial, only then can one be fair, so that the world may run according to its rules."

Pan Yun blinked: "But Master accepts incense offerings from Mount Sanqing—how can he not shelter the people of Mount Sanqing?"

Pan Yun thought for a moment and said: "So-called great wars, aren't they still fought over interests? You can see even immortals can't escape the common ways."

Wang Feiyin burst out laughing, stroking his beard as he said: "That's why we cultivators seeking immortality may still become immortals, but the immortals themselves pursue the Great Dao, and none can ever achieve it."

Wang Feiyin saw her off at the pharmacy: "Go on in. Tomorrow I'll have Master's dharma body brought up for you."

This was the closed-door cultivation dwelling he had prepared for Pan Yun—quiet, safe, and stocked with all kinds of tools.

Pan Yun waved at him and went inside.

The pharmacy was very large. Some medicines needed to be decocted for days and nights on end, so every pharmacy had a bed for resting.

It was called a bed, but in fact it was three benches laid crosswise by the window, with a few planks laid on top—not even a blanket, and covered in dust.

Pan Yun reached out and touched it, her face full of distaste. She tossed down a talisman, and dust leapt out from every crack in the bedboards, then spun around with its little companions, round and round, until after a while they formed into balls, one after another…

A dozen or so small balls swept up all the dust and converged toward the yellow talisman in the middle, gathering into one large mass.

The yellow talisman automatically rolled itself around the dust ball, barely clinging to one corner.

Pan Yun, her face full of distaste, picked up this great ball of dust, thought for a moment, and tossed it by the bamboo grove.

Passing by the alchemy well on her way back, her steps involuntarily paused.

She stood still for a moment, then finally sighed, resigned, and grabbed a bucket to fetch water.

Although the yellow talisman could sweep up all the dust, she couldn't rest easy without giving it a wipe.

Pan Yun wiped the bedboards twice, then gathered a thin layer of flame in her hand, roasting them bit by bit. The moisture evaporated, and before long the boards were dry and warm.

She took a blanket out of her storage space and spread it on, then took out her favorite pillow and arranged it properly.

Pan Xiaohei had been standing silently to one side. Watching her work, he noticed the aura around her growing ever calmer—calm with a faint trace of pleasure.

She had actually settled her mind!

Pan Xiaohei tilted his head, thought for a moment, gently closed his eyes, and reached out to his main body, taking his nest out from within.

The moment he moved, Pan Yun sensed it. She turned to glance at him, then unconcernedly continued smoothing out the wrinkles.

Pan Xiaohei found a good spot for his nest, nodded in satisfaction, then hopped in and lay down properly.

Pan Yun sat on the bed and looked at him: "I think we need to have a talk."

Pan Xiaohei raised his head: "Talk about what?"

"I gave you a storage space. Why do you still keep your things in the Spirit Realm space?"

Pan Xiaohei nearly bristled: "…Pan Yun, don't forget—that's my main body, my main body! Don't be so possessive!"

Pan Yun, perfectly even-tempered: "I'm not being possessive, I'm doing this for your own good. Isn't it so much more convenient to keep things in the storage space on your person? Even when we're far apart you can still use them…"

"Stop hiding behind doing-it-for-my-own-good. You're just being possessive of your food, thinking the Spirit Realm is yours so you won't let me use it," Pan Xiaohei said: "Last time we broke through one layer of seal, the Spirit Realm space became so huge you could barely see the edges. There's clearly so much empty space, yet you insist on piling my things into a corner. Last time I collected a few stones and clearly put them on the other side where there was nothing at all—why did you move them back?"

Pan Yun: "Tossing things here and there—can't you just place them outward in proper order? A little here, a little there, and no matter how big the space is, it can't stand for you to mess it up like this."

"It's my main body. I like it that way."

"I don't like it!" Pan Yun said: "The Spirit Realm is your main body, but you are mine!"

Pan Xiaohei: "…And you still say you're not possessive?"

Pan Yun clenched her fist, her gaze coldly fixed on him: "Just tell me—can you love cleanliness, follow the storage rules, and keep your things organized?"

Pan Xiaohei, cowed by her tyranny, said aggrievedly: "Fine."

Pan Yun snorted, lowering her fist: "Good, you know what's good for you!"

With the bedding laid out, the pharmacy suddenly felt cozy. Pan Yun wasn't in any hurry to begin cultivating and entering samadhi right away.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, tilting her head to look out the window.

The moon was half full, plump and round, its lowest tip perched right on the bamboo tips. When the mountain wind blew and the bamboo leaves swayed, the moon would appear and disappear in turn.

Pan Yun leaned on the windowsill watching the moon. No one knew what she was thinking.

In this rare quiet, Pan Xiaohei also lay on his own arm, eyelids growing heavy, wanting to sleep.

He thought he hadn't fallen asleep. He turned his head, his fluffy round head nuzzling against his furry paw, then opened his eyes—and saw no one on the bed.

Pan Xiaohei jerked his head up, looked around, and only then realized Pan Yun had long been sitting cross-legged on the cushion beside the medicine cauldron, meditating.

The moonlight poured down right onto her.

There was clearly no lamp lit in the room, but the moonlight was bright, and with spiritual energy enveloping her, she seemed as if her whole body was glowing.

Pan Xiaohei tilted his head back to look out the window, and belatedly realized two hours had already passed.

Pan Yun had meditated and cultivated for half the night. After coming out of samadhi she rubbed the soles of her feet, then lay back and was asleep in an instant.

The next day, as soon as she woke up, she began mulling over the matter of refining the Merit Stone.

No one knew how long she had been mulling it over—not even Pan Xiaohei.

She was only seen taking out three sheets of paper and spreading them open, then bringing over the scale, and taking out the Spirit Realm…

Wang Feiyin brought her two boiled eggs in water and a big bowl of porridge: "This is breakfast. Make do with it."

Pan Yun: "No pickled vegetables?"

Wang Feiyin's hand, which had been setting down the porridge, paused. He said: "Eating too many pickled things isn't good for you."

Pan Yun muttered: "You're just lazy."

Wang Feiyin pretended not to hear: "When you're done, wash the bowl and chopsticks. I'm going to bring Master's dharma body up now."

A mountain god temple without the mountain god's dharma body wouldn't do. So Wang Feiyin wrapped the dharma body in red cloth, carried it out of the temple, then locked the temple up, leaving a note on the door telling the villagers the mountain god temple would be closed for three days.

Wang Feiyin carried the dharma body up the mountain without letting a single villager run into him.

He set the Dharma Body down, flipped back the red cloth, stroked his beard, and asked, "Do you need my help?"

Pan Yun immediately nodded, "Yes, yes."

She promptly produced a sheet of paper and said, "I've already calculated the portions. Please, Senior Brother, help me cut the Merit Stones."

Wang Feiyin: "…Junior Sister, you're overestimating me. How could I possibly cut them down to the exact fraction?"

Pan Yun: "I don't mind if they end up in little chunks — they'll all be refined and reshaped in the end anyway."