Chapter 82: With Blood into the Talisman

Everyone exclaimed in astonishment, "Can one even change heaven and fate?"

Pan Yun: "Of course. Even the Emperor can swap out an entire family—what in this world cannot be changed?"

Everyone realized it was true.

"So Mr. Zhou brought you here to change heaven and fate?"

Pan Yun smiled mysteriously at them and said, "We came to treat the Young Lady of the Zhou household."

"Is it Mei Niang? That child has been crying and fussing for months—sometimes she wakes up crying in the middle of the night, and the whole village can hear her."

"I heard it's because her feet hurt too much."

"That child cries so pitifully, yet the Zhou family still forces her to bind her feet—how cruel they are."

"But it's for her own good. Only families with wealth can afford to bind their daughters' feet. My family has no money—if we did, I'd bind both my daughters' feet too."

"Who wouldn't want that? Sitting at home with clothes handed to you and meals served—me? I'd be delighted."

Pan Yun looked astonished; she had never imagined the outside world held such customs and public opinion. Curious, she asked, "Even if it means breaking your toes, you'd still agree?"

"Of course. This pain is only temporary, but farming? That's a lifetime of suffering."

"If it were me, I'd agree too. Break a few toes and live in comfort for life—who wouldn't?"

Pan Yun: "What if the family fortune declines? Then you have no estate and can't work the land—wouldn't you starve to death?"

"How could Mr. Zhou's family ever decline? So much land, and hired laborers to work it—how wasteful would you have to be to ruin it?"

They refused to accept such a scenario, firmly believing the Zhou family could never fall—and thus, if they lived in such a household, they too would never fall.

To them, foot-binding was a sign of wealth, the ultimate goal of their lives.

A girl of only twelve or thirteen said, "If my family had the wealth of Mr. Zhou's, I'd gladly bind not just my feet, but my hands too."

"Exactly. With clothes handed to you and meals served, your hands are useless—why not bind them too?"

"Hey, now that you mention it, if you bound your hands, they might become as pale and slender as the young Daoist Priest's."

Pan Yun watched them laughing and teasing, and realized they weren't joking—they genuinely longed to have their feet bound, just to eat and drink without working.

Pan Yun suddenly understood her senior brother.

Her senior brother was right: trying to persuade people to abandon foot-binding by using the Zhou family as an example, claiming it brought bad feng shui and harmed the household or nation, was impossible.

It would only drag the Three Pure Ones Monastery deeper into the matter, making it bear blame for nothing.

This was not a problem that could be solved from the bottom up—it had to be solved from the top down.

Perhaps because foot-binding had spread from the top down, its resolution could only come the same way.

Pan Yun curled her lips, and the surrounding spiritual energy trembled, rushing into her body in a frenzy.

Pan Yun sat among the crowd when someone murmured in confusion, "Strange—why does the air suddenly feel so fresh? I can even smell a faint fragrance."

"You're just hungry."

"Impossible. I just ate breakfast."

"Then you must be pregnant."

"Shoo, shoo—you're the one pregnant! I just gave birth to my second child—I don't want another one so soon."

Tao Ji, standing before the Zhou family's main gate, instantly spotted the spiritual energy cluster hovering above the village center.

To others, the spot was empty—only occasional flashes of color danced in the sunlight—but Tao Ji saw the spiritual energy cluster clearly, and immediately sensed the surrounding energy surging toward it.

Tao Ji hurried over.

There he saw his little sister sitting among a group of women, motionless, holding several strands of hemp thread, while the spiritual energy around her danced joyfully toward her.

Tao Ji was startled, then stepped forward, gently ushering the women away, and carefully stood guard beside her.

He was curious—what had happened here to make her attain sudden enlightenment again?

How did she manage to attain enlightenment once a day?

Pan Yun emerged from her enlightenment, raising her head to meet Tao Ji's gaze.

She smiled gently at him and asked, "Third Senior Brother, why are you here?"

Tao Ji saw tenderness in her face and eyes—he shuddered involuntarily, shook off the feeling, and asked, "Little Sister, how did you attain enlightenment?"

Pan Yun: "I just finally understood something I was resentful about yesterday."

Tao Ji stared at her, envious and jealous, "If understanding something leads to enlightenment, then why don't I attain it? I understand things every day!"

Pan Yun clapped her hands and stood up. "Third Senior Brother, what you think you've understood may only be self-deception—you haven't truly understood it."

Tao Ji fell into thought.

The peasant women and young girls nearby didn't understand any of this. Seeing Tao Ji's age and his Daoist robe, they hurried forward: "Daoist Priest, is what's written on this banner true? If your fortune-telling is wrong, you don't charge—what about healing? If you can't cure, do you not charge?"

Tao Ji snapped back to reality. "This banner belongs to my sister—ask her."

"No, no—this young Daoist Priest is too young. We dare not let her treat us. But you, Daoist Priest, you're older, much more suitable. Why don't you give us a reading?"

Tao Ji's face darkened; all he heard was "too old, too old…"—he was only twenty-two!

"Ladies, ladies, wait a moment—listen to me," Tao Ji finally silenced them. "I can treat illnesses, but I cannot divine fortunes or cast lots—that's my little sister's domain."

"Daoist Priest, how do you treat illnesses?"

Tao Ji: "One copper coin for consultation—I'll write you a prescription."

Pan Yun glanced at Tao Ji in surprise.

The peasant women were also astonished—this consultation fee was cheap. They sized him up and decided he looked far more reliable than Pan Yun, and their hearts quickened with desire.

Desire, but no one moved.

Tao Ji said, "We are Daoist Priests of the Three Pure Ones Monastery." The women instantly came alive: "Oh! You're from the Three Pure Ones Monastery!"

The scene erupted in activity; they surged forward to surround Tao Ji. "Daoist Priest, what medicine should I take for a sore throat? I'm not asking for a pulse diagnosis or prescription—I'm just curious, because I often have throat pain."

Tao Ji glanced at her face once and said, "If it's you, drink honeysuckle tea. Drink plenty of boiled water daily—remember, only boiled water. Never drink raw water."

"Daoist Priest, what about coughing? I often…"

Tao Ji answered their questions patiently; since they didn't want pulse-taking, he wouldn't take it—no pulse-taking, no prescription, no payment.

So Tao Ji chatted with them for over half an hour for free, telling them treatment methods for common illnesses and teaching them to swing their arms and perform a simple light-body exercise.

Pan Yun, being young, had long been pushed out from the center and could only stand outside, quietly watching Tao Ji surrounded by the crowd.

In an instant, she understood: teaching the Dao, teaching the Dao—it was truly done this way.

One copper coin was merely a hook, luring people in and making them dare not take his words lightly.

Isn't this better than my banner offering free services?

Indeed, nothing in this world works if it's too expensive, nor if it's free—it must be just barely cheap.

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Pan Yun felt she had learned something new; she decided to change her approach as soon as she returned.

By the time Tao Ji extricated himself from the crowd, an hour had passed; Pan Yun carried the banner with him back to the Zhou household.

Tao Ji skillfully pulled a porcelain vial from his sleeve pocket, tipped out a pill, and swallowed it.

Pan Yun smelled mint and turned to look.

Tao Ji handed her the vial. "Throat-soothing Pill."

Pan Yun refused. "Third Brother, you even prepared Throat-soothing Pills in advance?"

"When you've mastered Alchemy and go down the mountain for training, bring some yourself," Tao Ji asked. "You've been out all morning—did you make a sale?"

"I did."

Tao Ji was startled. "Really? How many?"

Pan Yun: "One."

Tao Ji didn't mock her; instead, he praised: "Little sister, your fortune is truly good—you, at your age, carrying such a banner, and still making a sale..."

This must be the fastest sale record since Mount Sanqing's disciples began their down-mountain training.

Tao Ji asked: "How much for the one sale?"

Pan Yun held up five fingers.

Tao Ji smiled. "Five copper coins? Not bad. They won't spend one copper coin on a diagnosis, yet they're willing to pay five for fortune-telling—you've got it, little sister."

Pan Yun: "Five taels."

Tao Ji's smile slowly vanished.

Pan Yun added: "It was Elder Zhou."

Tao Ji's expression turned blank—he simply couldn't understand the Zhou family: why couldn't they judge by appearances like those villagers just now?

"Aren't I more mature, more formidable than you? Why didn't they come to you for a five-tael fortune-telling?"

"Can Third Brother even calculate it?"

After a moment's silence, Tao Ji asked: "What did their family ask you to calculate?"

"The Zhou family's fortune," Pan Yun stopped walking and looked up at the Zhou household ahead. "There's a faint trace of literary fortune."

Tao Ji stopped asking.

After returning, Pan Yun changed her banner, rewriting the small text: "Immortal Child Enduring Trials, Fortune-Telling and Healing, One Copper Coin Each."

Seeing she was fixated on "Immortal Child," Tao Ji couldn't help saying: "Can't you just remove 'Immortal Child'? That's an outrageous boast."

Pan Yun: "If I don't write that, who would come to a child of eight for fortune-telling or healing?"

Tao Ji: "Then you shouldn't have gone out at all. Mount Sanqing's observatory has always required disciples to be twelve before down-mountain training. You're earning money easily now, with patrons like Elder Qian and Sun Village—why rush to earn?"

Pan Yun: "Third Brother, you're mistaken. I'm not doing this for money—I'm doing it to teach the Dao, just like you taught them medical knowledge yesterday. If I relied on one copper coin, how long would I have to wait to earn anything?"

Tao Ji was surprised. "Alright, the observatory hasn't even taught you yet, and you've already learned to teach the Dao. You really don't want to earn money?"

"I do," Pan Yun said. "But I can earn from Elder Qian, from Elder Zhou, from countless other elders—and earn far more. There's no need to scrape copper coins from these villagers."

Actually, yesterday when she carried the banner out, she'd wanted to warn them about the harm of foot-binding.

Since she couldn't tie it to Mount Sanqing or Daoist teachings, she'd turn to medicine instead.

But before she could speak, they each interrupted her with a word.

Still, she wasn't the type to give up easily. She decided today to try a different method: learn from Tao Ji, influence people subtly.

She believed she would succeed.

Pan Yun stepped out carrying her newly made banner—when she crossed the threshold, her heart seized. In some unseen way, she felt a sudden intuition, whirled her head northward, her vision went black, and she crashed heavily backward against the door with a bang.

Tao Ji had just been watching her confident, radiant back, when suddenly she fell backward against the door, pale-faced. He was startled, rushed forward, grabbed her wrist, and pressed her pulse. "Little sister, what's wrong?"

The black cat also yowled and dashed out of the house, watching her with worry and confusion.

Pan Yun sat on the threshold, face grim. Her heart churned with dread—she immediately sensed: "It's Datong. They're in trouble. My talisman is broken."

Tao Ji's face darkened instantly. "Are you mad? You added blood to the talisman! Don't you know? Too many connections to external talismans damage your spirit-soul."

Today's lucky number is any number ending in 6. Tomorrow's release will have the final lucky number screenshot for follow-up.

(End of Chapter)