Chapter 65

Under Tao Ji's care, the chief steward quickly recovered from his fever, but remained unconscious and asleep.

After feeling the pulse, Tao Ji took Pan Yun and the Qian and Sun elders to take their leave, telling them to enjoy their reunion while he and his sister returned first.

The Qian and Sun elders both waved their hands in agreement.

The Qian steward watched the two depart with longing eyes; only after they were far away did he turn back to look at his master and his brother-in-law—alas, once the talisman's effect wore off and they could no longer see the brother-in-law, what would they do?

Although the brother-in-law likely wouldn't harm them, having an invisible ghost beside them was still terrifying.

Tao Ji walked swiftly the whole way, not daring to look around, for he was still in the state of opened heavenly eye.

Pan Yun ran cheerfully behind him, "Third brother, don't be afraid—I'm here. Don't worry, there aren't that many ghosts with lingering attachments in this world…"

Tao Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks, "Wait, if only we two left, aren't you supposed to bring Sun Elder's spirit back to the mortuary? What if he wanders off…"

Pan Yun held up two fingers of her right hand for him to see, smiling sweetly.

Tao Ji saw a faint thread wrapped around them, blinked in surprise, "Soul thread? When did you do this?"

"Long ago. Don't worry—I timed it. When the talisman's effect fades, I'll summon Sun Elder back."

Tao Ji looked down at her and exclaimed, "Little sister, you constantly surprise me. You're young, your understanding of the Dao is patchy, and you've never learned many fundamentals—but in some areas, you're remarkably experienced."

"For instance, regarding ghosts, arrays, and talismans, your knowledge rivals mine, even nearing Fourth Sister's. Yet you seem to have never learned the most basic things—especially talismans. Fourth Sister once said you mimic their form but lack their essence."

"Can you tell me how you learned this?"

Pan Yun lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, then said, "The texts I studied before were poorly recorded, so I learned incorrectly."

Tao Ji pondered deeply, "So it's still the texts' fault. I must speak to Elder Brother again—we must record our Sanqing Mountain formulas, remedies, and acupuncture in far greater detail. When we write them into books to pass down, we can't let this happen again."

Pan Yun gave him a thumbs-up. "Third brother, your foresight is profound."

Tao Ji brought her back to the mortuary and handed her over to Wang Feiyin, then left.

Though the mortuary held no wandering souls, Tao Ji still found it eerie—especially now, with his heavenly eye open, everything looked dimmed as if veiled in gray, yet the other world appeared crystal clear.

So he didn't want to linger outside; after handing Pan Yun over, he immediately turned back, pulled the quilt over his head, and went to sleep.

Wang Feiyin looked at Pan Yun, his eyes asking: Where is Sun Elder?

Pan Yun sat cross-legged beside him, showed him the soul thread on her right hand, then closed her eyes to meditate.

"Wait," Wang Feiyin whispered, "Who's watching him?"

Pan Yun: "Cat."

Alright—thinking of that spirit-infused black cat, Wang Feiyin stopped asking and closed his eyes to meditate with her.

The filial sons and grandsons of the Sun family had long since fallen asleep.

Mats were laid on either side of the coffin; aside from one boy still tending the fire and guarding the mortuary, the rest of the filial sons and grandsons lay sprawled on the mats, snoring loudly. Several had even had servants bring blankets to cover them, fearing they'd catch cold.

Pan Yun sensed the Qian elder's talisman fading and received news from Pan Xiaohei; instantly, she flicked her fingers, formed the hand seal, and summoned—Sun Elder's spirit shot back into the mortuary with a *shoo! *

Huiyuan, half-closed-eyed across from her, suddenly snapped his eyes open, scanned the mortuary, then looked toward Wang Feiyin.

Wang Feiyin gave him a slight smile and nodded.

With a subtle motion hidden beneath his sleeve, a flicker of spiritual light struck the spirit—Sun Elder had no time to react, forced back into the coffin, lying back into his body… three inches above.

What a cruel twist—he'd wanted to get close and look at his unfilial descendants.

He didn't want to lie inside the coffin.

Huiyuan silently chanted a Buddha's name, reopened his eyes to inspect the mortuary, found nothing amiss—but still felt something off. Still, after glancing at the Sun family descendants sprawled and snoring on the mats, he said nothing.

In the vast mortuary, besides Wang Feiyin and his sister and Huiyuan, only one boy in mourning garb remained standing, not lying down.

Seeing Sun Elder returned and pinned in the coffin by Wang Feiyin, Pan Yun knew nothing would happen tonight and was about to lie down and sleep—then noticed the boy across from her occasionally adding paper money to the firebowl. She lowered her voice and asked, "Brother, who's that?"

Wang Feiyin glanced and said, "Sun Elder's youngest son."

"Oh." Pan Yun lost interest, lay down, and slept.

Wang Feiyin also closed his eyes to rest.

Sleeping in the mortuary was especially peaceful—especially beside Elder Brother, where one felt utterly safe.

Pan Yun slept straight through until dawn.

A new day began, and new tasks awaited them. The Sun family's filial sons and grandsons woke, saw all was well, and proudly went to wash and eat, then returned to kneel and resume their roles as filial sons and grandsons.

Wang Feiyin returned to change his ritual robes and coordinated shift schedules with other temple Daoist priests.

Indeed, ritual duties required shifts—this morning, the Sun family issued a new demand: from now on, the rituals must continue nonstop for all twelve hours of the day and night.

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Without shifts, the Daoist priests would collapse from exhaustion.

Even Pan Yun, Seeing Miao Zhen, and several junior Daoists were assigned to shifts.

Tao Ji gave them emergency training.

Actually, it wasn't hard—they weren't leading, just needed to play their instruments and follow the front row's steps in the Daoist dance. The scriptures were learned since childhood; even Pan Yun could recite them backward.

With so many Daoist priests arriving, shifts were manageable—but the monks and nuns across the way fared worse, for they had fewer people.

So the monks' abbot and the Sun family agreed: they lacked manpower and needed more.

The Sun family's Zhang Guanshi looked troubled and said, "All temples and Daoist monasteries around Yushan County have already been asked. We simply can't find more. Reverend Masters, please endure—just five more days. After that, the Sun family will surely repay you handsomely."

Pan Yun listened, wishing she could split herself to become a nun.

Seeing Miao Zhen also envied them, whispering to her, "I found out—they're few, and each gets paid more than we do."

Pan Yun spotted the Qian elder leading people toward them, straightened her posture, and whispered, "Soon, we'll be paid more than they are."

The Qian elder entered the mortuary with his entourage.

The Sun brothers saw their uncle and burst into wailing, crying out loudly, "Father! How could you abandon us like this…"

The Qian elder walked into the mortuary with a stern face, first paid respects and lit incense for his sister's husband, then turned to the five kneeling nephews.

The nephews were all wiping tears; Sun Da Chang led them in bowing to their uncle. The Qian elder received the bow with a stern face, then asked, "Da Chang, did you brothers arrange this mortuary?"

Sun Da Chang answered through sobs, "Yes."

Mr. Qian ordered everyone inside and outside the ancestral hall to leave, leaving only Sun Da Chang and his brothers, along with the village head, the elder villagers, and the township elders he had brought.

Sun Da Chang immediately sensed something was wrong.

The monks and Taoists performing rites outside the ancestral hall also put away their ritual implements and prepared to withdraw, when Mr. Qian suddenly called out to Wang Feiyin, Pan Yun, and Huiyuan, asking them to stay.

Today's lucky number is any number ending in 1, screenshot as proof,

(End of Chapter)