Chapter 63: The Great Nephew

Master Qian fell silent for just an instant, then burst into intense enthusiasm, pushing past Qian the steward to seize Pan Yun's hand. "Immortal Young Master, I owe my life to your two Peace Talismans!"

Pan Yun released the stool, clasping Master Qian's hand in return. "I see the blood-omen's doom has lifted from you—my heart is at ease. You are a man of great merit, and to save a man of great merit is my own virtue and good fortune; we achieve each other, we achieve each other."

Upon hearing this, Master Qian felt utterly at peace, gripping Pan Yun's hand tighter. "Such insight from one so young—no wonder you have immortal affinity, no wonder you have immortal affinity!"

At this moment, Master Qian felt only Pan Yun truly understood him—no doubt his soulmate. Yes, he was a good man, a virtuous man, which was why he had met Pan Yun, this good and virtuous soul.

And she asked for nothing in return, only seeking to save his merit and forge a good connection—what else could this be but a soulmate?

Master Qian had completely forgotten why he had come here. He pulled Pan Yun onto the stool, eager for a long, intimate talk. "Young friend, you said I am a man of great merit—how can you tell?"

Pan Yun carefully studied Master Qian's face. "Your forehead is full and high, your brows square and upright—you are clearly a man of righteous spirit and good heart. Previously obscured by blood-omen's miasma, now that you've passed through death's trial, your true countenance has emerged—this is the face of great fortune."

Master Qian's eyes gleamed faintly.

Pan Yun continued: "Having survived this death-omen, you now bear the countenance of longevity. As long as you don't deliberately seek death and pay attention to health practices, living to eighty or ninety is no challenge—living to a hundred is achievable with effort."

Master Qian's eyes brightened further. "So human lifespan isn't fixed?"

"Naturally not. Mortals know of the Book of Life and Death, but they don't know it is alive. A person's lifespan and fortune shift constantly—like silver exchanged for copper coins, copper coins for treasure notes—prices change every three or five days."

Master Qian's eyes widened. "C-can it really be so?"

"If not, how could there be sudden deaths—and those who die and come back to life?" Pan Yun said. "Master Qian, I heard from your steward you were in danger yesterday. What did you do between the hour of Si and noon today?"

Master Qian's eyes grew hazy. "I—I was on my way to the funeral. Oh, and I passed by the place where the rocks fell yesterday."

Pan Yun leaned forward. "Did you say anything? Do anything?"

"I didn't do much…" Master Qian said. "Oh—I had my men clear away the fallen rocks. That mountain path always sheds rocks. This time I was lucky—I met Immortal Young Master and escaped. But others may not be so fortunate."

"So I sent men back to remove loose stones where possible, secure those that can't be moved, hang nets, and plant more trees—hoping to reduce rockfalls."

Pan Yun gazed at him with sparkling eyes. "Good man~~"

No wonder he's worth 99 merit points—but why didn't he gain merit when he escaped death himself?

Could it be… because she took money?

Master Qian finally remembered why he had come. He sighed. "What good man am I? My brother-in-law was the good man—he passed before me. We never even saw each other one last time…"

As he spoke, tears fell.

Sun Lao, who had been watching them, suddenly shouted, pointing at Master Qian: "I remember! You're Xiao Shu! You're Xiao Shu! Oh no, Xiao Shu, how did you grow so old, so ugly?"

Only Pan Yun and Pan Xiaohei could hear Sun Lao's cry—so the girl and the cat both jumped in shock.

Master Qian, still holding Pan Yun's hand, was the first to react. He eyed her suspiciously. "Young friend, what's this?"

Pan Yun turned wordlessly to the agitated Sun Lao. "Could you speak more quietly? This is your brother-in-law. You didn't recognize him until now?"

Master Qian sucked in a sharp breath. His hand gripping Pan Yun trembled as he stiffly turned to where her gaze had settled.

Hss—

Beside him, empty space. Clearly, nothing was there.

Master Qian's hand shook. His legs shook too.

Tao Ji, who had been about to greet Master Qian, quietly sat back down beside the old steward's bed—and moved even farther away.

Qian the steward also jumped, freezing at the doorway.

Pan Yun quickly soothed Master Qian. "Master Qian, don't fear. Sun Lao is a spirit, but not a malevolent one—he won't harm you."

She grinned. "Would you like to see Sun Lao?"

Master Qian swallowed hard—both wanting and fearing.

Sun Lao, meanwhile, cried out: "See him! See him! Let him see me! I have so much to say! Last time I saw him, he was a middle-aged handsome man—why now is he all wrinkles?"

Pan Yun said nothing, waiting for Master Qian's decision.

Master Qian whispered: "Does my brother-in-law want to see me?"

Pan Yun nodded.

"Then… could Immortal Young Master stay here… to witness?"

Pan Yun smiled and nodded. "Master Qian, rest assured."

Master Qian exhaled deeply, nodding repeatedly. "I'm reassured. I'm reassured."

Pan Yun had no ready Heaven-Opening Talisman, but she could draw one with spiritual power and imprint it on Master Qian's forehead. She traced the talisman in the air—Master Qian saw nothing on her fingertip, yet spiritual light formed lines, weaving into a white-gold talisman before his eyes.

Pan Yun pushed forward—the talisman shot with a whisper into Master Qian's forehead. He felt his mind instantly clear. When he opened his eyes, the world had changed.

Everything was dim and hazy. A familiar round face suddenly loomed before him—he recoiled backward. Pan Yun's hand shot out, steadying his back just in time to keep him from toppling off the stool.

Sun Lao instantly knew Master Qian could see him. He burst into tears and lunged forward. "Xiao Shu~~!"

He passed straight through Master Qian's body.

Master Qian saw it too—his whole body turned cold. When he realized what had happened, his face filled with disbelief. "Brother-in-law…"

Sun Lao realized it too. He turned back, but didn't lunge again—instead, he rested his hand lightly on Master Qian's. "Xiao Shu, I was wondering where to find you—and here you are! But how did you get so old? All these wrinkles—you look older than I do!"

Pan Yun rose, yielding her stool to the two, and walked to Tao Ji's side. "Third Master, want to watch the show?"

Tao Ji said nothing.

Pan Yun lowered her voice. "Once you've seen a ghost, you're no longer afraid. It's the unknown that terrifies."

!. Read

Tao Ji gave a slight nod.

Pan Yun immediately drew a talisman for him—he saw it at once.

Watching his master weep and speak to empty air, Qian the steward grew pale. He shuffled shakily to Pan Yun's side, gazing at her with pleading eyes. "P-Pan Little Immortal…"

Pan Yun never refused. No matter their status, all could become potential clients. She smiled warmly. "You want to see too?"

Qian the steward nodded vigorously.

Pan Yun drew a talisman for him. His world changed—he turned and saw his late master's brother-in-law sitting across from his master.

Still as he had been in life—clothes even more splendid, radiating more vitality. Oh no—more vitality as a ghost.

He let out a breath of relief.

Master Qian was explaining to Master Sun, "Brother-in-law, I only came to see you three months ago, but back then you weren't remembering things well. I see you're quite sharp now—how come you still can't remember?"

Master Sun muttered, "Last time I saw you, you were clearly not even forty yet…"

But these things didn't matter. Master Sun only remembered what Master Qian looked like over a decade ago, yet he could remember the recent doings of his unfilial sons. He grabbed Master Qian and began weeping his grievances: "Your nephews are all rotten through and through, especially your eldest nephew—rotten to the core, that unfilial wretch!"

Master Qian: "What did Da Chang do?"

Master Sun wept: "He made me so angry I could die!"

Not a figure of speech—he truly meant it literally.

Master Sun: "I've been in good spirits these past two days, and I wanted to set my affairs in order for after I'm gone. Most of it was already arranged; I just needed to let the children know."

Master Qian nodded, indicating he understood.

Master Sun: "When a tree grows big, its branches spread; when a family grows big, it splits. The children all have children of their own now—Da Chang even has a grandson. We can't keep one great big household all jumbled together. Whoever does more or less, whoever takes more or less—it just won't do. Better to split up, each household living its own life."

"Xiaoshu, it's not that I'm picking on your eldest nephew. The reason I'm in such a rush to divide the family is precisely because he's been stingy toward his younger brothers and sisters," Master Sun said, fuming. "Huiniang took a bolt of silk from your sister's place, and he got upset. At dinner he started scolding while pointing at the mulberry tree but cursing the locust. This year at the Dragon Boat Festival, he deliberately didn't send anyone to bring Huiniang home. It was only because your sister feared something might happen to Huiniang at her in-laws' house and sent someone to ask that we found out."

"Tell me, should I be angry or not? The money I earned myself—giving my own daughter a single bolt of silk, what's wrong with that?"

Master Qian nodded again and again, chiming in: "Da Chang is really out of line."

"Out of line? That's putting it mildly. I want to split the family, and he refuses to split! I'm still here, and he already wants to lord it over the household, stepping over me. If we don't split, should I let his younger brothers and sisters toil like oxen and horses for him at home?"

Then he cursed the remaining children: "I've been scheming for their sake with all my heart, and how do they repay me? All kinds of dissatisfaction—complaining I gave too much to others and too little to themselves. A pack of ungrateful wolves, every one of them unfilial."

Master Qian pulled the topic back and asked, "Brother-in-law, how did you divide the family property?"

"Your eldest nephew is stingy and petty, and your sister has to live her days with him. So I thought to give him an extra four-tenths, and split the remaining six-tenths evenly among the other four sons. That covers the fields, houses, shops, and ready silver. As for the rest—my collected jewelry, jade, calligraphy, paintings, and such—apart from setting aside a few boxes for the two daughters, the remainder is also to be split evenly among them."

Master Qian sighed and asked, "How does Da Chang want to divide it?"

Master Sun's face went black as pitch. "He refuses to split the family. If we absolutely must split, he wants a full seven-tenths for himself! The remaining three-tenths to be divided among his four younger brothers. As for his two sisters, he won't even give them a single painting from my study. He says they already received dowries when they married and shouldn't come back to claim a share of the family money."

"Xiaoshu, tell me—isn't your eldest nephew the very peak of unfilial?"

Master Qian finally couldn't hold back: "Brother-in-law, he may be my eldest nephew, but he's your own son."

Today's lucky number is one ending in 7—screenshot to prove it.

(End of chapter)