Chapter 58: Avoiding Disaster

The carriage rumbled out of the county town, passed the roughest stretch of road, and upon reaching the official highway, the driver cracked his whip repeatedly, urging the horses to increase their speed.

Master Qian couldn’t help leaning out the window to look ahead and behind; the sunlight today was fine, the ground held only a few puddles left by the heavy rain two days prior, everything seemed normal, with not the slightest sign of danger.

Master Qian exhaled in relief, sat back upright, and called to the driver ahead: “Faster.”

The driver replied and slapped the horse’s rump, making the carriage speed up.

Crack—the sound came, and Master Qian felt something strike his face; he immediately covered his face and looked down to see a stone, the size of a thumb, fallen into his lap…

He instinctively glanced out the window; the stone had seemed to fly in from outside.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Master Qian’s eyes flew wide open; he lunged for the carriage door and shouted, “Stop—!”

At the same moment, a thunderous roar echoed as a massive boulder rolled down the mountain with unstoppable force, crashing with a bang; the world spun, and Master Qian was flung through the air, barely catching a flash of white light before he landed with a thud on the ground.

He scrambled to his feet, lips trembling, and turned to look at his carriage—only to see a giant boulder had smashed the carriage body over the cliff edge, while the driver and horse barely held at the cliff’s brink.

The carriage frame had shattered; the horse, terrified, let out a shrill neigh, kicked its leg, and broke free from the driver’s grip, bolting away in a blur.

Master Qian wanted to flee the falling-rock zone, so he pushed against the ground to rise—but his limbs went weak, useless; he reached out to the driver, “Help me up—”

Before he finished speaking, another rumbling came from the mountain; both men looked up to see several large boulders rolling down directly above Master Qian.

Master Qian’s heart turned cold; unable to stand, he crawled toward the mountain’s base, hoping to press himself against the slope to dodge this wave of falling rocks.

He thought he was moving—but he hadn’t moved at all; to the driver, it looked like his master had been paralyzed by terror, sitting frozen in place.

Tears streamed down the driver’s face as he scrambled toward Master Qian, “Master! Master!”

He stumbled, rose, took two steps, then fell—right in front of Master Qian.

The boulders arrived in an instant.

The master and servant exchanged a glance, then burst into tears, embracing each other as they waited for death.

Rolling boulders thundered past behind their right, then ahead of their left; shards of shattered stone pelted their bodies; the thunderous crash lasted long before finally ceasing.

The two men, eyes tightly shut, felt no pain; trembling, they opened their eyes—and realized boulders had rolled everywhere around them, yet not one stone had struck their exact spot; only small fragments had fallen, all landing on the driver.

Master Qian’s lips quivered; he couldn’t speak for a long moment, then remembered something and frantically felt for his waist pouch.

He pulled open the pouch—and saw two talismans inside: one glowed with radiant light, burning hot to the touch; the other had faded, its lines blurred beyond recognition.

Master Qian immediately tied the pouch shut, clutching it tightly to his chest and bowing repeatedly, “Blessings of the gods and Buddhas, blessings of the gods and Buddhas.”

“Master, we must leave quickly—what if more rocks fall?”

Master Qian was terrified too; he scrambled to his feet. Knowing the talisman had saved him, he felt renewed strength and rose instantly.

Master and servant supported each other as they walked back.

Once they cleared the stretch of mountain road where rocks had fallen, they collapsed onto the ground.

Having survived the disaster, they finally let themselves weep freely.

Master Qian had no energy left to think of his friend and brother-in-law; his mind was filled only with Pan Yun. He returned home with the driver, ignoring his disheveled state, and immediately summoned the steward: “Quick, prepare a red envelope with a hundred taels—send it at once to Master Pan Xiao at Mount Sanqing.”

“Master, the city gate is about to close—leaving now—”

Master Qian: “Close it? It’s not closed yet! Go quickly, don’t delay!”

As the steward turned to leave, Master Qian called him back: “No—I must go myself. She saved my life; I must burn incense before the Three Pure Ones. Send someone with the money first—say nothing else. I’ll go to Mount Sanqing myself tomorrow and explain.”

The steward reluctantly agreed, but as he turned to leave, another servant ran in: “Master, Master Sun, your cousin, has arrived.”

The Sun family came to deliver the news: Master Sun had passed away this afternoon at the third watch, without waiting for his younger brother-in-law.

That was precisely the time Master Qian had left for the Sun estate.

Master Qian burst into tears; it had been so close—they would have had to hold two funerals in succession.

Master Qian could no longer go to Mount Sanqing; he must go to the Sun estate for the funeral. He changed his order: “Tell the steward to go to Mount Sanqing tomorrow morning with the money. Tell Master Pan Xiao I’ll visit after I’ve settled this matter—she must wait for me, she absolutely must wait.”

The steward broke into a cold sweat and nodded repeatedly.

The city gate was closed; no one could leave now—the funeral must wait until tomorrow.

The Qian family summoned a physician to examine Master Qian; after a full checkup, the only injuries were a few scratches on his hands and bruised knees—no other wounds.

Even the spot on his face struck by the stone had only turned slightly blue—no swelling at all.

The driver fared worse: he bore numerous abrasions, a fractured pelvis, and two broken ribs—luckily, no internal organs were damaged; with proper rest, he would recover.

Master Qian deeply appreciated that the driver hadn’t fled but rushed to help him; he covered all medical costs, gave generous rewards, and named him his personal driver.

Pan Yun knew nothing of this; night had fallen, and they were still climbing. They returned to Mount Sanqing in darkness, with no time for any entertainment—they washed, then went straight to sleep.

Early the next morning, Wang Feiyin sorted through the herbs they’d brought back, mixed them with the mountain’s own herbs, and prepared three doses.

He handed the herbs to Xuanmiao: “Boil them and prepare baths for them.”

Xuanmiao agreed and summoned the three together to the alchemy chamber.

Half the herbs in the alchemy chamber had already been sold; the room now felt emptier.

Tao Ji brought out three herbal tubs, arranged side by side, while four alchemy furnaces stood nearby.

Xuanmiao placed the herb bundles into the three furnaces and told them to fetch water, gather firewood, and light the fires.

“Today I’ll teach you how to boil the body-strengthening herbs, the precautions for herbal baths, and the cultivation methods you can practice while soaking.”

Due to differing constitutions, each person’s herbal bath differs, and the meridians to open and expand vary.

“Fifth sister has achieved inner vision; she can easily locate and target the meridians needing opening and expansion, guiding the herbal energy to strike them—so for you, the hardest part is enduring pain. If you can withstand the pain in your body and meridians, the bath’s benefits will be maximized.”

Xuanmiao turned to Miaozhen and Miaohuo: “For you two, the hardest part is guiding the herbal energy into your bodies—follow my instructions to activate your cultivation methods and strike your meridians, strengthening your muscles and tendons.”

!. Read

All three swallowed hard and asked: “Will it hurt?”

Xuanmiao nodded solemnly: “It will hurt—but the results are doubled.”

Otherwise, why would they spend so much silver on these herbs?

Pan Yun boiled her own herbs: she opened the bundle, washed them thoroughly in water as Xuanmiao instructed, then soaked them.

After fifteen minutes, she fished them out to drain, then placed the soaked herbs into the large furnace.

Mount Sanqing lacked everything—but never lacked alchemy furnaces of all sizes.

They had a dedicated room for storing furnaces of every size—called the Furnace Room.

Legend said each furnace had been custom-made by her unseen senior disciple and carried up the mountain, one by one.

So even though Pan Yun was new and had firmly chosen talismans as her main path, her matching furnaces were all provided.

Three sizes—large, medium, small—she could brew any kind of pill she wished.

Wang Feiyin had even engraved her name onto her furnaces.

As Wang Feiyin said: “I hope one day, our Mount Sanqing disciples’ alchemy furnaces will hang before the Daoist Lord of Morality in every temple.”

Pan Yun nodded seriously: “Senior brother, rest assured—I will work hard.”

Wang Feiyin didn’t count on her—he counted on Tao Ji and Miaohuo.

Now, Pan Yun used her largest furnace to boil the herbs.

As Xuanmiao instructed, she boiled two buckets of water down to one and a half, poured the concentrate into the tub, then waited until it cooled to the right temperature before entering.

The three stood before their tubs, watching the rising steam, each swallowing nervously.

Xuanmiao stood behind them: “Did you memorize the cultivation method I just taught?”

All three nodded.

“Then get in.”

Pan Yun exhaled, closed her eyes, opened them again, gritted her teeth, stripped off her clothes, and stepped in—hmm? It was hot, but nothing else.

Pan Yun sat on the small bamboo stool inside, crossed her legs, and instinctively slapped the water: “Fourth sister, it’s not painful at all.”

Xuanmiao glanced at her, smiled faintly once all three were seated: “Good—if it’s not painful, begin practicing the method I just taught.”

Pan Yun adjusted her breath, activated her method—and finally felt the abundant herbal energy surrounding her body.

The energy, drawn by her cultivation, entered her skin; her flesh stung. When she directed the energy to strike her meridians, the surge of herbal power rushed in, blasting away all obstructions, widening her narrow meridians…

Pan Yun couldn’t help a sharp “Hss!”—sweat broke on her brow—but she endured and pressed on.

Xuanmiao watched, satisfied; she turned to the other two—they couldn’t see inside, but they were already practicing the method, feeling the pain.

Unlike Pan Yun, who could see her meridians changing, they saw no internal transformation; after pain struck, they slowed their practice to ease the discomfort.

But Pan Yun, seeing the changes, felt profound satisfaction from clearing her meridians—her pain tolerance soared; her pace didn’t slow—it accelerated.

Not just her meridians—she also saw how the herbal energy pounded her muscles after striking the meridians; she felt her weak, frail body’s tendons and muscles gradually soften and strengthen under the energy’s pressure and soothing…

The lucky number for this chapter is any number ending in 9, screenshot as proof.

(End of Chapter)