Chapter 576: Return to the Mountain

Li Wenying controlled her Three Treasures Cauldron as it flew back.

Since it wasn't a spirit artifact bound to them, and it was heavy, they didn't return to Long Hushan until the Yin hour.

The two of them stopped the Three Treasures Cauldron far off and climbed the mountain on foot.

From halfway up the mountain to the summit, though the slope wasn't steep, they were exhausted.

Pan Xiaohei crouched on Pan Yun's shoulder, watching her waist nearly bend to the ground, and sneered: "Weakling!"

After a pause, Li Wenying turned his head: "Sister Pan, I must be hearing things from exhaustion—your cat just spoke."

Pan Yun hung her head, still bent forward as she climbed, expressionless: "You're easily startled. Brother, don't you know that animals who cultivate to a certain level can attain spiritual awareness and speak human speech?"

Li Wenying now confirmed: the cat truly spoke.

He scrutinized the black cat on her shoulder and asked: "How old is it? It can already talk?"

"Probably because its master is so brilliant—it's often listened to its master reciting scriptures, and thus awakened."

Li Wenying grunted twice: "You're just making things up. Don't say I didn't warn you—cats are fine, black cats gaining spiritual awareness is acceptable, but foxes, weasels, and the like—avoid them. Don't let anyone know if you've had contact. Those spirits carry malice; associate with them too long, and people will think you're tainted by malice too."

Pan Yun: "Prejudice. Prejudice in human hearts is a towering mountain."

The two panted their way up to the Great Shangqing Palace. Pan Yun leaned against the wall, catching her breath, then stepped back and reached to climb over it—Li Wenying grabbed her arm and whispered: "Wait a moment."

Pan Yun silently stopped, crouching beside him in the corner, waiting.

After squatting for half a quarter-hour, he still didn't move, so Pan Yun simply sat down on the ground, stretching her limbs against the wall, lifelessly muttering: "I haven't slept in nearly two nights—two full nights! I gained twelve hours of work time, but lost at least twelve days of life."

Li Wenying: "You calculate precisely."

Pan Yun: "After this, I'll need at least twelve consecutive days of proper sleep to undo the damage from these two all-nighters."

Li Wenying: "You're already First Marquis. Skipping one or two nights won't kill you."

Pan Yun: "Impossible. If staying up didn't harm the body, why would I be this exhausted?"

"Because you've depleted your Yuan energy."

"So it's still the staying-up problem," Pan Yun said. "If I didn't stay up, even if my Yuan energy ran out, a good sleep would restore me—why am I like this?"

Li Wenying refused to argue with her.

After waiting another quarter-hour, Pan Yun asked: "What are we waiting for here?"

"For the patrol officers checking the formation to leave," Li Wenying said. "The Yin hour is when the spiritual energy of Long Hushan is densest. The academy's students and teachers either enter meditation then or fall into deep sleep again. To prevent intruders from exploiting this time, Long Hushan strictly orders the Criminal Law Hall to begin patrolling the formation fifteen minutes before the Yin hour."

"According to past patterns, they patrol this half until the Yin hour and twenty minutes, then move to the other half after the Yin hour and thirty minutes."

Pan Yun suddenly understood, eyes brightening: "Brother Li, you know this so well—looks like when you were a student, you sneaked out of the mountain plenty of times at night."

Li Wenying: "Sigh—who else would I have but a sister who loves stirring up trouble?"

Pan Yun: "You're not hinting at me, are you? Are you hinting at my Fourth Senior Sister?"

Li Wenying ignored her. He looked up at the sky, calculated with his fingers, then stood: "Time's up. Let's go." The two flipped over the wall and quietly slipped back into the academy from the Great Shangqing Palace.

With Li Wenying leading, they perfectly avoided the Criminal Law Hall patrol disciples.

At the fork, they parted—one returned to Chongqing Academy, the other to Fengqi Courtyard.

Pushing open the door, Pan Yun, expressionless, placed Pan Xiaohei into its cat nest, expressionless, retrieved her bedding from her space, expressionless, threw back the covers, and crawled in, expressionless, closed her eyes—and instantly fell asleep.

Pan Xiaohei: …

It poked its head down, saw her facial expression slowly soften, her breathing beneath the quilt grow slow and even, her whole body becoming gentle—and knew she was asleep.

She must be truly exhausted—otherwise, she wouldn't fall asleep so efficiently.

By the way, she came back from the graveyard without bathing, without soaking her feet, without changing clothes…

Pan Xiaohei hesitated between waking her and letting her sleep dirty, then finally lowered its paws, covered its eyes, and curled up to sleep.

Pan Yun was woken by a loud banging on the door.

!

She opened her eyes, staring at the mosquito net above her, and after a long moment, noticed sunlight streaming through the window.

Class is about to start~~

The information slammed into her mind. Pan Yun shot upright, threw off the covers, and barefoot rushed to open the door: "Did I skip class?"

Seeing Miao Zhen's hand froze mid-air. Her gaze swept over her junior aunt's messy hair: "Morning class is over. We told Zhang Yuanzhu you were in seclusion and had gained insight, so you were self-studying in your courtyard. Zhang Yuanzhu didn't deduct your credits—but if you miss the main class, credits will be deducted."

Pan Yun looked up at the bright morning sun and asked: "How long until the main class?"

Seeing Miao Zhen: "When I knocked, there was still a quarter-hour left. Now, minus travel time, about half a quarter-hour."

Pan Yun snapped the door shut, opened her wardrobe, pulled out another Daoist robe, quickly changed, tied her hair into a single swift knot, and in a flash, opened the door and dashed out.

Seeing Miao Zhen handed her a warm, damp towel.

She took it, swiftly wiped her face and hands, tossed it carelessly—and it landed perfectly in the basin. The two hurried toward Daguang Courtyard.

Tao Yanbai and Miao He stood outside Daguang Courtyard. Seeing her arrive, one handed her a steamed bun, the other uncorked a water flask.

The three waited until all students had entered the courtyard, then, as Zhang Ziwang walked over from the other side, they darted inside like arrows.

Zhang Ziwang stepped to the front of the classroom, looking down at the packed students. His gaze swept each face, then settled on Pan Yun.

He frowned slightly: How could three days of seclusion leave her not only unimproved, but with severely depleted Yuan energy?

Zhang Ziwang glared at her.

Pan Yun stared back, bewildered: Why glare at me? I wasn't late. I'm just chewing my steamed bun—haven't swallowed yet.

But she didn't open her mouth—no odor could escape.

Zhang Ziwang said gravely: "June is approaching. Heavenly Fire will descend upon the sea—a rare opportunity once in a hundred years. This year, fourth- and fifth-year students must leave the palace for field training, mostly near the sea."

"You're only second-year—this normally doesn't concern you. But since the opportunity is so rare, any student with exceptional ability may accompany senior students to the coast—even if you can't fight on the front lines, you'll gain valuable experience."

(End of Chapter)