Chapter 76: Hey, Surprise

Because the discovery was timely and the acupuncture and fever-reduction were prompt, little Mei Niang opened her eyes, seeing both her mother and her nurse, enveloped in profound safety; after drinking warm water, she fell into deep sleep again.

Xuan Miao glanced at her feet, frowning slightly; her senior brother was right—these feet had been badly bound and were already showing signs of pus infection; if not treated, she could die of full-body infection and fever by nightfall.

After that, Xuan Miao barely slept at all, frequently coming forward to check on the child.

At dawn, the Sun household bustled with activity; Master Sun’s funeral procession would depart around noon.

Before the coffin was carried out, they needed to perform a grand ritual to conclude the rites.

Pan Yun and Miao Zhen, Miao He remained inside to care for the child; the child had not yet awakened, and Pan Yun had set up a formation beside the bed, shielding her from the wailing and chanting outside.

The three did not leave the room but opened the window, leaning their small heads together to watch the ritual.

As Pan Yun lifted her head, she saw Master Sun standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall.

Their gazes met, both solemn; they silently regarded each other for a moment, then turned together toward the altar.

The Daoists were performing along the altar, holding various instruments and chanting scriptures.

The melodious tones vibrated through the air, forming a unique spatial magnetic field.

Master Sun, standing at the hall’s entrance, felt a certain summons.

He looked again at Pan Yun, then smiled faintly; his gaze passed over his unfilial sons and turned toward the gate.

Outside the gate, many villagers had gathered.

They all knew Master Sun’s funeral was today; those who had come before and those who had not had rushed here today to see him off.

The grandmother and grandson squeezed to the front; the old man led his grandson to kneel and bowed three times toward the ancestral hall.

Some villagers also knelt—mostly those who had received Master Sun’s kindness.

Master Sun watched them, his lips curving slightly; at last, he was at peace.

Sun Wang, supported by his son, stumbled to the hall’s entrance, knelt, and wept loudly, “Master—!”

Madam Sun, supported by her two daughters, clung to the coffin and wept, though not as heartbrokenly as before.

After all, Master Sun had returned briefly; the feeling was entirely different.

Moreover, she knew Master Sun was now inside the hall; though unseen, he spoke to her as he had before leaving home: “If you suffer injustice outside, send me a dream—I’ll ask the Daoist to help you; if you lack money or goods, remember to send me a dream—I’ll have those unfilial sons burn them for you; in the netherworld, don’t be hasty—think of us often, take care of yourself…”

Master Sun listened, his gaze growing ever softer; his attachment vanished. He glanced at the three small heads by the window, smiled involuntarily, nodded to Pan Yun, and his form grew fainter and fainter amid the Daoists’ music and the monks’ chanting…

Pan Yun propped her chin, watching him slowly fade within that peculiar magnetic field, finally dissolving into a wisp of smoke, swept away by a gentle breeze into the clouds, until he vanished entirely.

A thin white cloud drifted past; under the sunlight, it shimmered with a pale golden glow. In that instant, the golden bar in Pan Yun’s dantian vibrated and shifted slightly forward.

Pan Yun stole a glance and saw it had gained +10 merit points.

Pan Yun looked up at the pale golden streak of cloud, watching it drift farther and farther with the white clouds until it disappeared from view.

Pan Yun silently noted: resolving a departed soul’s attachment also brought merit points.

Sun Dachang and his brothers did not know their father had departed; after their mother began weeping, they joined in, genuinely heartbroken.

Whether the grief was real or feigned, they had tears now—lots of them, flowing freely.

Only when the ritual ended and Wang Feiyin stepped forward to remind them the auspicious hour had arrived did they wipe their tears and carry the coffin out.

Many from nearby villages came to see off Master Sun; all followed the Sun family, escorting the coffin to the hill, bowing after burial, then dispersing.

Sun Dachang and his brothers invited everyone home for lunch; some stayed, others bowed and left.

Only when they returned home did Sun Dachang sidle up to Hui Yuan and ask if his father’s soul still lingered.

He disliked the Daoists of Sanqing Temple, disliked Wang Feiyin and Pan Yun, so he preferred to ask Hui Yuan.

Hui Yuan had been kept by his uncle as a witness that day—surely he had similar abilities?

Hui Yuan said: “Master Sun has been reborn in the Pure Land.”

Sun Dachang exhaled in relief, fearing Hui Yuan might misunderstand, quickly wiped his eyes and cried out, “Father—!”

Hui Yuan smiled faintly.

Sun Dachang no longer wished to keep these Daoists and monks; after lunch, he immediately settled their fees and saw them off.

He didn’t even keep Wang Feiyin’s group; he directly told his brother-in-law Zhou Chao: “Since Mei Niang needs treatment, I won’t keep you.” Zhou Chao paused, then understood, his face darkening, but he still bowed and took his leave, going to fetch the Sanqing Temple Daoists back to the Zhou household.

Sun Xian Niang knew her daughter shouldn’t be moved yet; she couldn’t help but feel resentment, wiping her tears and telling Madam Sun: “Mother, I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit you often. If Brother doesn’t come to fetch me, or if I have no place to stay when I return…”

Madam Sun replied: “No rush. This household has my share too. You and your husband stay—wait until Mei Niang’s foot is healed before leaving.”

Madam Sun now held the same share of property as her sons; she wasn’t afraid of them.

Sun Xian Niang hesitated; Zhou Chao had already had the carriage prepared and urged her: “My Zhou household can afford Daoists—we’d be better off returning home; medicine and care will be easier.”

“But Mei Niang is so young; the journey is bumpy—the Daoists said she shouldn’t be moved these days…”

“You and the nurse take turns carrying her—it’s a carriage, how bumpy can it be? Hurry and pack up. I won’t stay here to endure their glares. My Zhou household has houses—we don’t need to cling to yours.”

Sun Xian Niang’s face grew bitter; she could only gather her servants and pack their belongings to leave.

Wang Feiyin sighed, turned, and ordered Xuan Miao to personally accompany Sun Xian Niang and her daughter; as for Pan Yun, he sized her up and said: “You walk ahead—on your own.”

Pan Yun: !

Wang Feiyin handed her the temple’s mule cart, telling her to drive it herself; he didn’t even load the temple’s luggage onto it, instead cramming it into the two Zhou family carriages.

Pan Yun sat on the mule cart, holding the black cat; behind her, Wang Feiyin urged: “Hurry up—we must reach Dazhou Village before dark.”

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Pan Yun slapped the mule’s rump to set it moving, then turned to ask: “Senior Brother, why am I walking alone? This makes me feel abandoned.”

Wang Feiyin: “Because you have a fortune on you, and you refuse to hand it over to the temple.”

Pan Yun: “So I’m going to have bad luck today?”

“I don’t know when your luck will turn, but better safe than sorry—there’s a sick person on the cart; we must be cautious.”

Pan Yun huffed, pulled out a handful of talismans, slapped two on each arm, then two on the cart—she refused to believe she could still have bad luck like this.

She’d fight for her fate.

The group headed toward Yushan County.

Dazhou Village lay just outside Yushan County, not far away—perfectly on the same route as Old Man Qian.

After escorting the dignitaries from the county who came to pay respects to Master Sun, Old Man Qian was about to inquire about Mei Niang’s condition when he heard the Sanqing Temple Daoists and the Zhou couple had been taken away by his eldest nephew. He immediately smacked his nephew’s head, then ignored their pleas and hurriedly boarded his carriage to chase after them.

From afar, seeing the Zhou family’s carriage, Old Man Qian leaned out and shouted: “Little Immortal! Little Immortal—!”

Pan Yun adored Old Man Qian; she immediately turned, gazing across two carriages and over the fields, locking eyes with him warmly, then stood up and waved vigorously: “Old Man Qian! Old Man Qian—!”

Wang Feiyin, half a cart behind, suddenly widened his eyes and cried: “Little sister, be careful—!”

Before he finished speaking, the steady old mule’s left hind leg twisted, nearly collapsing; Pan Yun reeled backward, steadied herself with core strength, but the next moment, the mule screamed, hopping on a lame leg—she tumbled off the cart…

Pan Yun hit the ground, and the wheel surged forward, scraping her arm; she rolled away from the cart, sat up dazed.

In that instant, Wang Feiyin leapt from the rear carriage’s shaft, lightly touched the ox’s back, landed on the mule cart, and seized the reins, steadying it.

He looked down at the ground, meeting Pan Yun’s dazed gaze.

Wang Feiyin glanced at Pan Yun, then the cart, then the mule: “Little sister, you forgot to stick a talisman on the mule.”

Pan Xiao Hei crawled out from under the cart, filthy and furious, hissed: “Me too!”

Pan Yun scrambled up, patted the agitated mule, then knelt with Wang Feiyin to examine its bent left hind leg.

A spiky yellow fruit was lodged in its hoof—just that unlucky—right in the center, its sharp tip pressed into the soft flesh.

Wang Feiyin struggled a long while to remove it: “Golden yingzi—nourishes essence, strengthens kidneys, harmonizes the five organs, promotes blood circulation, preserves youth, delays aging—excellent medicine.”

He looked up; a branch jutted inward from the cliffside—along this entire road, only this one golden yingzi had fallen, and only this one had been stepped on, piercing the soft tissue.

He knew: no one could escape the curse of the Sanqing Mountain deity.

Pan Yun rose, studied the golden yingzi in his hand, fell silent for a long while, then said: “Senior Brother, I must go to Yushan County. You’re right—wealth can be earned again; there’s no need to hold onto so much.”

Wang Feiyin: “Did I say that?”

Pan Yun: “You did.”

She tore off one talisman from her left arm, slapped it onto the mule’s rump, then climbed onto the cart: “Senior Brother, give me a body-strengthening medicine formula.”

The lucky number for this chapter is any number ending in 3—screenshot as proof.

(End of Chapter)