Chapter 832

To promote development, Mitani Shintaro decided to turn a blind eye to the anomalies in Daosen Village and not delve too deeply.

This also gave the people on Silver Mountain a chance to breathe, allowing them to develop more rapidly.

The Brocade Uniform Guards were the first to notice the change, as the number of scouts entering the mountains had dropped sharply.

They reported the matter to Kuang Ping and Jia Cong.

After a long silence, Jia Cong said: "Could Pan Yun's influence here really be this great?"

Kuang Ping smirked and said: "Pan Yun is unknown within the empire, but in Wa, Ryukyu, and even Korea, her prestige is immense."

Mainly because when Pan Yun made her move, she targeted a major power.

The Wa's kan'go license was controlled by the Ouchi clan, whose maritime trade spanned East Asia.

The Ouchi clan maintained a naval force that followed their business wherever it went, and the pirates they recruited drifted along with them.

Whether in Great Ming, Korea, Ryukyu, or farther afield in Siam and Malacca, the roaming pirates always had a share belonging to the Ouchi family.

Pan Yun came directly to seek vengeance against the Ouchi clan, forcing them to cede land and Haigang, and causing Dainai Jiaohong to suffer fatal injuries—how could her name not be renowned?

According to Kuang Ping's knowledge, even in coastal Korea, commoners still enshrine Pan Yun's longevity tablet.

Even though she has never met a single Korean.

"Even Great Ming can no longer ignore her presence, can it?" Kuang Ping remarked pointedly: "Doesn't Wang Zhangyin greatly value Daoist Pan? Didn't he send multiple letters asking for details after learning she had come to Wa?"

Jia Cong fell silent.

From then on, Jia Cong became even more cautious, no longer rushing to monopolize the silver mine's extraction, but instead cooperating with several mine owners to first withstand Wa's inquiries and build their strength.

They needed to establish a powerful force in Daosen Village before Wa discovered it, so they could protect the silver mine.

This time, the imperial court's ships transported back a great deal of silver—more than the amount Pan Yun had shipped back last time.

When the Emperor received this silver, he was overjoyed; the chains in his heart loosened, and for the first time he felt less constrained.

Yet Deng Maoqi's rebellion in Fujian remained unquelled.

A year had passed since Deng Maoqi's rebellion began, and the Emperor felt as if a thorn were stuck in his heart; after some thought, he dispatched Chen Mao to lead troops southward and recalled fifty thousand troops from various regions to suppress the rebellion.

Including the troops previously sent, Great Ming had now gradually committed one hundred fifty thousand soldiers.

The Emperor believed that if this campaign still failed to quell the rebellion, Chen Mao, Liu Ju, Chen Rong, and others would all be punished;

Soon after Chen Mao set out, Wang Ji—who had been implicated in the envoy case—was dispatched to inspect the southwest and happened to encounter Si Jifa plundering Meng Yang; the Emperor immediately ordered Wang Ji to oversee military affairs, Liu Ju as Regional Commander, Fang Ying and Zhang Rui as Left and Right Assistant Generals, and led thirteen thousand troops from Nanjing, Yunnan, Huguang, Sichuan, and Guizhou—both Han and native forces—to launch a campaign.

At this time, it was the Ghost Month, the hottest period of the year, and the silver transported back via Quanzhou Port had just been transferred to Jingcheng.

The Emperor ordered that henceforth, all silver sent from Wa be managed by a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for military grain procurement, and appointed Physician Jiao Hong to supervise grain supplies in Yunnan.

Military reports sped across the empire via relay stations, but only the top two officials in each region learned the state was about to go to war; the common people remained unaware, still immersed in the harvest and Ghost Month rituals.

In the seventh lunar month, wheat, soybeans, and other crops had been harvested, and the rice paddies were turning golden, awaiting the end-of-month harvest.

Perhaps last year's floods and typhoons had exhausted this year's disasters in advance; this year, only a slight drought occurred during early planting, followed by perfect weather.

At this moment, the rice in the fields had just been fertilized, a recent rain had left a shallow layer of water, the grain heads had begun to droop slightly, the sun shone brightly, and when the wind blew, green waves rippled, carrying a faint fragrance of rice blossoms.

Pan Yun and the others were crouching in the rice paddies catching crabs; Zhang Ziwang glared at them with a stern face and scolded: "How big are those crabs? Have you never eaten crabs before?"

Pan Yun instantly lifted one up and shouted: "Master, look—I carefully selected this one; it's plump enough to eat!"

The field owner chuckled: "Eat it, eat it! This year we released the crab seedlings early, and they're bigger than usual; the water plants are lush, so they've grown better than last year. Little Daoists, feel free to catch more."

Zhang Ziwang quickly apologized to him and reprimanded the students for their lack of decorum.

The field owner dismissed it: "You Daoists came to our village to perform rituals—we're just offering you a crab feast. How could we be rude?"

Though called a crab feast, the table certainly didn't feature only crabs; in fact, there weren't many crabs at all.

Although Pan Yun and the others had gone into the fields to catch them, it was just play—they caught very few, barely one crab per person.

The field owner saw they were people of restraint and became even happier, treating them with even greater warmth.

Pan Yun, muddy to the ankle, climbed out of the field barefoot, walked across the grass to the irrigation ditch, washed her feet, and asked: "Village head, your village's irrigation ditch is well-built—do you repair it every year?"

The field owner laughed: "Not every year, but we clear the silt every other year; otherwise the ditch clogs. Water conservancy requires maintenance to benefit people—otherwise it harms them."

Pan Yun nodded.

The field owner, though seeing her dressed in a student's Daoist robe, guessed from the way Zhang Ziwang and the other students treated her that she was no ordinary person.

Otherwise, when Zhang Ziwang had scolded them just now, all the other students had cowered—but she showed no fear.

So he treated her with great respect; in matters of human relations, he was serious.

He stepped closer to Pan Yun and asked: "Little Daoist, the fifteenth day of the seventh month is coming soon—our village has performed the rituals. Will our ancestors receive our offerings?"

Pan Yun nodded firmly: "Yes!"

The field owner exhaled deeply: "Then…"

"As long as your ancestors have sincere hearts, they will surely protect you with safe travels and good health."

The field owner's eyes crinkled into a wide smile.

This was a large village, with only two major surnames: Qian and Wu.

Each year during the Ghost Month, they invited monks and Daoist priests to perform rituals—oh, because a nearby Han Shan Temple was close, they mostly invited monks.

After last year's typhoon and flood, they invited monks to perform rituals and bury the villagers who had died unjustly; but soon after, several households' houses collapsed, then a heavy rain triggered a landslide on the mountain, killing more people.

The villagers felt the monks' powers were inadequate, so this year they switched to inviting Daoist priests.

The entire village began pooling money from April until June, then traveled to Long Hushan, using many connections to get this task listed on the Academy's training roster.

It happened that Zhang Ziwang was preparing to teach them large-scale blessing and soul-peace rituals, so he selected this one from the list. Thus, on a bright, pleasant morning, Zhang Ziwang led his group of students on a two-day journey to this simple village.

The villagers, who had paid dearly, did not know this was a group of student trainees whose task had been repurposed for teaching.

Of course, they weren't cheated either—Zhang Ziwang himself led the team, had completed his teaching mission, and recently idle Li Wenying had come along to join the fun.

So whenever students made mistakes, the two teachers immediately stepped in, ensuring the villagers received full value.

The villagers were extremely warm; as soon as the Daoists entered the village, they began slaughtering chickens and sheep, making Pan Yun and the others feel embarrassed.

Zhang Ziwang scolded them: "Knowing shame leads to courage—if you feel embarrassed, you must work even harder and not betray the goodwill of these kind people!"

So Zhang Ziwang demanded they upgrade the ritual—not only praying for blessings for the people of this village, but also for this stretch of land, for the nation.

The students were under immense pressure and could only pull out more talismans to set up.

Well, these talismans were all drawn by themselves, so the task fell on Pan Yun, whose talisman-drawing was the best.

Of course, the other students drew some too, but only a token two or three sheets.

And the talismans and talisman arrays Pan Yun drew were counted by the stackful.

Li Wenying walked over to Zhang Ziwang, glanced at Pan Yun, who was still rolling up her trouser legs to cool off, shook her head and said: "Why must you torment them like this? Among these students, besides Pan Yun and Miao Zhen, who else has the ability to step into a nation-blessing ritual array?"

Zhang Ziwang: "Isn't there still you and me?"

Li Wenying: "……I'm just here to join the fun."

Zhang Ziwang: "You didn't eat their food? You didn't drink their tea? Since you've accepted their kindness, you have to pay the price!"

Li Wenying was left speechless.

The village needed two different rituals—one to soothe the souls, mostly for the villagers who died unjustly last year, to be completed in the dead of night;

one to pray for blessings, which had to be done during the day.

So at night, they first laid down the soul-soothing array; the steps and essentials of this ritual they were still learning, and the class pass rate was ninety-seven percent.

Pan Yun had the best results, so she led at the front, with her classmates holding various ritual instruments assisting behind her.

Late at night, the villagers quietly gathered around, watching in silence.

When Pan Yun used her sword to lift the talisman paper, it ignited in midair, sparks burst open, drifting into different shapes, and some villagers began to stir, whispering in shock: "I—I see my father!"

"I see my big brother too……"

Low sobs rose from the crowd.

Seeing Pan Yun had burned the talisman paper, Zhang Ziwang then said to the villagers: "The Gate of Yin has opened; you may now burn paper and send blessings to your loved ones."

The villagers immediately spread out a little, families gathering in a circle to light fires and burn the paper money, ingots, clothes, and so on in their hands.

The villagers lowered their voices to speak with their departed loved ones; for a time, the village showed only scattered firelight, the murmuring of family members mingling with frogs and insects, so that even Pan Yun, whose ears and eyes were attuned to the spirit realm, could not hear them clearly.

After about a quarter of an hour, Miao Zhen gently shook the bell in her hand, and Zhang Ziwang immediately reminded the villagers: "The Gate of Yin is about to close; quickly bid your loved ones to depart in peace, do not cling to the mortal world, lest their souls find no rest."

A villager immediately sobbed: "Mother, the family is doing well, please go in peace and be reborn, do not worry about home……"

"Father of my child, I will take good care of the family, go in peace……"

"Big brother, don't worry, when I have a son in the future, I'll surely adopt one over to you, go in peace and be reborn; if luck wills it, maybe you'll be reborn as my son……"

Once spoken, once wept, everyone felt lighter at heart.

Pan Yun seized the moment, immediately leading everyone in measured steps to send off the yin souls, soothing the ghosts with scripture; as the yin souls entered the Gate of Yin, a gust of yin wind rose from nowhere, sweeping the burnt paper ash on the ground into the sky, like a small-scale tornado, lightly brushing everyone's cheeks yet carrying countless ash high into the air……

The villagers looked up at this astonishing sight, all the more convinced their loved ones had returned and received their blessings and the things sent along.

When the ritual was done, the worry and sorrow that had clung to the villagers before had largely dispersed; smiles appeared on every face, and a relaxed air pervaded their whole being.

The next day's blessing ritual was a different scene altogether; the whole village was rowdy with gongs and drums, and Zhang Ziwang personally took the lead, demonstrating for the students and leading them through a grand blessing ritual.

The villagers knelt around them; when the talisman mountain Zhang Ziwang had lifted ignited in midair, they immediately closed their eyes devoutly and murmured prayers, making their wishes: "Great Ancestor, please bless our family with smooth sailing and great wealth this year; whatever you want, just send it back in a dream……"

Their voices were very soft; some didn't even mouth the words, but Pan Yun, standing in the second row holding a peachwood sword, heard every wish made by everyone present.

She tilted her head, thoughtful.

Outside the crowd, Li Wenying, who was tasked with observation, glared at Pan Yun; Pan Yun immediately dared not make any more extra movements, listening to the wishes converging from all directions while staring blankly at Zhang Ziwang, waiting for the next step.

This ritual took a very long time; every position had different steps, different incantations, different yellow talismans to burn, as offerings to the heavens.

When others performed, they had to watch, listen, be earnest, and respond in their hearts, lest after inviting the gods the deities sense any disrespect and the whole thing backfire.

This half of the ritual took a full one and a half hours in total.

One and a half hours under the blazing sun.

When it ended, it was exactly noon—not a minute more, not a minute less.

When Pan Yun and the others stopped, their faces were flushed red from the sun, and their expressions were dazed.

You think it's over?

No!

For blessing the nation, the gods invited are not one or two, but a whole group!

Since the gods have been invited, they must be properly sent off, so the morning was only half the ritual; there's another half in the afternoon.

Because Zhang Ziwang had upgraded the ritual on short notice, much of the preparation only began yesterday afternoon—insufficient, so today they still had to prepare more.

Pan Yun and the others stepped back, shed their heavy ritual robes, and sat in various shady spots—under trees, eaves, corridors—then took out paper money and began folding: folding gold and silver ingots, folding clothes, folding carts, folding all manner of things that could be offered to the gods.

The villagers brought them water; knowing they wouldn't eat today, only drink water and vegetable soup, they delivered the water and then stood nearby watching.

Seeing how deft their hands were, the villagers exclaimed: "Your craftsmanship is even better than the coffin shop in our county!"

Pan Yun said proudly: "Of course; we who come out of Long Hushan Academy, not to mention anything else, even if we can't make it as Daoist Priests later, opening a coffin shop would still be viable."

"Sure, sure, that trade won't fail; in this world, there are only two things that never change—birth and death."