Chapter 65: Preparation

The head steward quickly recovered from his fever under Tao Ji’s care, but remained unconscious.

Tao Ji felt the pulse, then took Pan Yun and the Qian and Sun elders aside to take his 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?

Though the brother-in-law surely meant them no harm, having an invisible ghost beside them was still unsettling.

Tao Ji walked swiftly, 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, “Wait—that’s not right. We’re leaving alone. Aren’t you bringing Sun Elder’s soul back to the mortuary? What if he wanders off…”

Pan Yun held up two fingers of her right hand, smiling.

Tao Ji saw a faint thread entwined 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 cultivation is patchy, and you’ve never learned many fundamentals—but in some areas, you’re remarkably experienced.”

“Regarding ghosts, arrays, and talismans, your knowledge rivals mine—and even approaches Fourth Sister’s. Yet you seem to have skipped the most basic teachings, especially in talismans. Fourth Sister once said you mimic the form but lack the essence.”

“Can you tell me how you learned this?”

Pan Yun lowered her eyes, thought a moment, then said, “The texts I studied before were incomplete, so I learned incorrectly.”

Tao Ji pondered deeply, “So it’s the texts’ fault. I’ll speak to Elder Brother again—we must record our Sanqing Mountain elixirs, remedies, and acupuncture in meticulous detail. When we compile them into books for future generations, 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 lingering 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 blanket 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 with her right hand, then closed her eyes to meditate.

“Wait,” Wang Feiyin whispered, “Who’s watching him?”

Pan Yun: “The cat.”

Right—the 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 beside the coffin; only one remained awake to tend the fire and guard the mortuary. The rest of the filial sons and grandsons lay sprawled on the mats, snoring loudly. Several had even ordered servants to bring blankets to keep from catching cold.

Pan Yun sensed the Qian elder’s talisman fading and received word from Pan Xiaohei. She flicked her fingers, formed the hand seal, and instantly pulled Sun Elder’s soul back into the mortuary with a sharp hiss.

Huiyuan, half-asleep across from her, suddenly opened his eyes, scanned the mortuary, then glanced at Wang Feiyin.

Wang Feiyin gave him a slight smile and nodded.

With a subtle motion hidden beneath his sleeve, a streak of spiritual light struck the soul. Sun Elder had no time to react—he was forced back into the coffin, settling into his body… three inches above it.

What a shame—he’d wanted to get closer to 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’s sons and grandsons, sprawled and snoring soundly, he said nothing.

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

Pan Yun saw Sun Elder had been returned and pinned in the coffin by Wang Feiyin, realized nothing else would happen tonight, and was about to lie down and sleep—when she noticed the boy across from her occasionally dropping paper money into the fire. 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 and lay down to sleep.

Wang Feiyin closed his eyes to rest.

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

Pan Yun slept soundly until dawn.

A new day began, and new tasks awaited. The Sun family’s filial sons and grandsons awoke, saw all was well, and proudly washed and ate, then returned to kneel and resume their roles.

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

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

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Without shifts, the Daoists would collapse from exhaustion.

Even Pan Yun, Miao Zhen, Miao He, and several junior Daoists were assigned to the rotation.

Tao Ji gave them emergency training.

It wasn’t difficult—they weren’t leading. They only needed to play their instruments correctly and follow the front row’s steps through the Nine Palaces. The scriptures were learned since childhood; even Pan Yun could recite them backward.

With so many Daoists arriving, shifts were manageable. But the monks and nuns across the way fared worse—they were fewer in number.

So the monks’ abbot and the Sun family agreed: they needed more personnel.

The Sun family’s steward looked troubled: “All the temples and Daoist halls around Yushan County have already been asked. We simply can’t find more. Venerable Masters, please endure—just five more days. After that, the Sun family will reward you handsomely.”

Pan Yun listened and wished she could split herself to become a nun.

Miao He 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 approaching with his entourage. She straightened instantly and whispered, “Soon, we’ll be paid more than they are.”

The Qian elder entered the mortuary with his group.

The Sun brothers saw their uncle and burst into wailing, “Father! How could you abandon us like this…”

The Qian elder walked in with a stern face, first paid respects and offered incense to his brother-in-law, then turned to the five kneeling nephews.

The nephews were all wiping tears. Sun Dachang led them in bowing to their uncle. The Qian elder accepted the bow with a grim expression, then asked, “Dachang, did you brothers arrange all this in the mortuary?”

Sun Dachang sobbed, “Yes.”

The Qian elder ordered everyone inside and outside the mortuary to leave, keeping only Sun Dachang and his brothers, along with the village head, elders, and township elders he had brought.

Sun Dachang immediately sensed trouble.

The Daoists and monks outside performing the rites packed up their ritual tools to withdraw—but the Qian elder 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)