Chapter 824

The chief examiner spoke calmly: "Eight people tied with you for first place, but this year Guangxin Prefecture only takes seven."

Pan Yun's body stiffened; she silently dropped her hand from her waist and asked humbly: "Then may I ask, how do you choose seven out of eight?"

"Draw lots," the chief examiner said. "All examiners draw names from a pile of papers until seven names are drawn."

"Then I'm done." Pan Yun turned and walked away.

Behind her, the chief examiner called out loudly: "After we drew seven names, we kept going—and only your name remained when there was one slip left in the urn! Pan Dao-you, luck is also a form of cultivation…"

Pan Yun quickened her pace and left.

But the chief examiner's voice still clung to her, voice nearly cracking: "There were sixty-four blank slips in there!"

As she stepped out of the alley, Xue Hua and the others looked at her with pity.

Pan Yun paused slightly, turned to leave, and they hurried forward to block her: "Junior sister, we've finished our exams too—shall we return to the Academy together?"

Pan Yun first bowed and congratulated them on passing, then said flatly: "Smooth out that expression on your faces—I don't need your pity, temple attendant as I am."

Xue Hua only looked more pitying: "Junior sister, if you keep failing to get your ordination certificate, that temple attendant position… might…"

Zhang Weiyi: "You can still be temple attendant, but the Mountain God Temple might be removed from the official roster—not recognized by the Master's Office anymore, and then the incense offerings…"

Pan Yun gasped, eyes wide: "Wait, didn't the Master's Office already register the Mount Sanqing Mountain God Temple? Can they just remove it now?"

Zhang Weiyi: "But you don't have an ordination certificate, Junior Sister—how many years have you been temple attendant? When Long Hushan let your whole sect of three enroll, you didn't even take up one of Mount Sanqing's slots—wasn't that so you could pass the ordination exam as soon as possible?"

Pan Yun immediately turned to find Seeing Miao Zhen and said seriously: "Miao Zhen, from today on, you will study until you drop. If you don't understand any talismans or spells, ask me—don't waste time figuring things out alone. Tell me everything you don't get, and I'll ask others for you. You must pass the Jingcheng exam next year and get your ordination certificate!"

Seeing Miao Zhen looked confused: "Junior Auntie, why aren't you studying yourself—you're pushing me instead?"

Pan Yun mourned: "Dear niece, for the sake of your Grandmaster and your Junior Auntie, you must pass the ordination exam next year—I'll pass the temple attendant position to you then!"

Mei He raised her hand high: "Junior Auntie! Big Brother and Second Brother both have ordination certificates!"

Pan Yun: "Big Brother is obsessed with trade—does he have time to be my temple attendant? As for Second Brother—he already holds an official post. Do you think it's worth his while to come back and serve as temple attendant of some tiny mountain shrine?"

Pan Yun took Seeing Miao Zhen's hand: "Only you—you've just started, and this position suits you perfectly."

Seeing Miao Zhen calculated the time in her head, her face filled with pity: this year, Junior Auntie failed; if she fails again next year, she won't be eligible for the June Jingcheng ordination exam—she'd have to wait three more years.

Seeing Miao Zhen agreed.

Half of Pan Yun's worries lifted; the other half? Fine—she'd just register the Mountain God Temple under Wang Cong's name. She would never allow the temple to become private property.

Her life with her Mountain God Master had only just begun to improve.

Hmph, they think they can block her? Not a chance—she had many backup plans, and worst case, she still had Big Brother.

Pan Yun grumbled, but upon returning to the Academy, she immediately took her gifts to the Master's Office to inquire—and to lay early groundwork.

She rarely entered the Master's Office, since it and the Academy were separate departments.

The Academy was a school under the Master's Office's jurisdiction, and students rarely came to the Master's Office.

The Master's Office had two courtyards: the rear housed the Zhang family; the front housed Daoist Priests holding official positions, managing the Daoist lineage across the land. Any newly built temple or shrine—private ones aside—must obtain official documentation from the Master's Office to become a public temple.

All gods under heaven must be formally recognized by the Master's Office to be considered legitimate; otherwise, they are wild spirits.

Private folk worship of deities also violated Great Ming law—this was dangerous.

In short, the Master's Office was the intermediary between gods and mortals, and gods depended on mortal offerings.

The imperial court appointed the Master's Office to manage the Daoist lineage; for gods to openly receive offerings and enjoy incense, they must submit to the Master's Office's authority.

As soon as she entered, Pan Yun smiled faintly at the Daoist Priest sitting cross-legged in meditation.

He had his eyes closed, his snoring faint—so faint she only heard it when she stood before him.

She dropped her smile, stood before him a moment, and seeing no reaction, murmured: "Senior Brother, you're drooling."

His snoring stopped; his fingers, resting on his knees, wiped his mouth—apparently finding no saliva—then slowly opened his eyes.

He first noticed her Academy Daoist robe, then looked up at her face, slowly: "Ah… it's you~~"

Pan Yun's eyes lit up: "Senior Brother knows me?"

He drawled: "I doubt there's anyone on Long Hushan who doesn't know you."

He paused, then added: "Well, there are some—like this year's new students."

Pan Yun cleared her throat, lifted the gift she held and placed it on the table: "Didn't know I was so famous, hehehe—what's your name, Senior Brother?"

He stared at her for a moment, then looked away, glanced at the gift, and instead asked: "What is this?"

"Specialty of Mount Sanqing," Pan Yun said. "Tea, adenophora, and hook vine."

"…Isn't your Mount Sanqing's best specialty lingzhi and huangjing? What, too stingy to give me?"

Pan Yun immediately said: "Oh! So Senior Brother likes those two? Alas, though they're precious, if you want them, I'll go all out to get them—wait, I'll contact my Big Brother."

He reached out and stopped her from taking the gift away: "I'm Deng Jin."

"Huh?" Pan Yun looked puzzled.

Deng Jin said flatly: "Just say what you want."

Pan Yun sensed no malice from him; his aura was faint, giving a sense of calm.

Her gaze shifted, a flash of gold in her eyes—she was now certain: she rarely felt such an utterly plain aura in anyone.

Zhang True Person was one, her Big Brother was another, and the one in the imperial palace—his aura felt like void.

No way—even the gatekeeper Daoist Priest here is this powerful?

Pan Yun swallowed hard, respectfully said: "Senior Brother, I was unlucky again—didn't qualify for the ordination exam. The Mount Sanqing Mountain God Temple…"

"Oh, you're the temple attendant of the Mountain God Temple?" He didn't wait for her to finish—he knew what she wanted—and reached into the desk drawer, pulled out a ledger, flipped to a page, and wrote: "Master's Office policy: for legitimate deities, temples built with local government approval may become public temples; temple attendants must be approved by the Master's Office and hold an ordination certificate. If one lacks it temporarily, they may be granted three years to obtain it. I'll extend yours to six years?"