Chapter 89

This time, the moment of enlightenment lasted a long while; no one knew what Pan Yun was thinking in that small head of hers, so the celestial qi remained suspended for a long time.

Tao Ji sat on the steps, dazed, feeling for the first time the stark disparity between people.

Pan Yun sat there straight through until late night.

The street bustled with people, then gradually thinned; as darkness crept in, Pan Yun still had not opened her eyes, so Tao Ji pulled out a handful of copper coins and asked a clerk from the Minxin Bureau to deliver a message to Da Zhou Village: they would return the next day, so the Zhou family wouldn't think their master and disciple had run off.

The street slowly emptied; shops closed one by one, and the entire alley fell silent.

Tao Ji lay on his side on the steps, drowsiness creeping over him, but he remembered his duty as guardian and kept opening his eyes to glance over now and then, sleeping uneasily.

Pan Yun slept soundly.

She thought of many things; the thick fog before her slowly parted, and the path ahead finally became clear.

She thought she had only pondered for a moment, but she had thought for a whole day; she was about to open her eyes when a figure walked slowly toward the end of the path—Pan Yun did not open her eyes.

Pan Gong walked forward step by step, holding a precious sword, stopping ten paces away from her.

The master and disciple locked eyes, both silent.

Pan Yun had already decided what she would do in the future; she no longer cared much for the Dao, but she could not help but care for her master.

Because she had finally understood.

Everything she had suffered was because of Pan Gong.

There was no such thing as the Dao watching—this was simply the rule!

Pan Gong stared at her for a long while, then asked: "Will you leave?"

"Will you let me leave?"

Pan Gong said: "You are the most gifted person I have ever seen. I cannot deny I want to keep you—but I will not force you to stay."

He said: "Since you've seen through it, you should know the benefits of staying here. I leave the choice to you."

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, then looked up at him and said: "I won't leave."

Pan Gong's lips twitched slightly, then slowly vanished from her sight.

In the darkness, Pan Yun opened her eyes; everything was pitch black, utterly still—except for the black cat sitting on her knees shifting slightly, and Tao Ji's breathing beside her.

Pan Yun brushed the black cat aside, stood up, stretched her neck and waist, then turned to find Tao Ji's eyes gleaming brightly in the dark.

Pan Yun said: "Thank you, Third Master, for guarding me."

Tao Ji twisted his stiff body and asked: "What realm are you in now?"

Pan Yun said: "I've just understood some things—my cultivation level hasn't changed."

Tao Ji snorted; no advancement in realm, perhaps, but progress was certainly there.

He sat on the steps, gazing at the dark sky, and said: "Dawn's coming—this is the darkest hour. Will you go to an inn, or stay here?"

"Let's stay here. This is when people are most exhausted—why disturb them?"

Tao Ji thought the same.

The two of them, unbothered by the dirt, lay down again on the steps and fell asleep.

Pan Yun woke to the sound of small, nibbling bites; before she even opened her eyes, sunlight rushed through her eyelids. Half-asleep, she opened them to see a ragged child sitting beside her step, head bowed, gnawing on a bun.

Seeing her watch, the little beggar thought for a moment, then broke off half the bun and offered it to her.

Pan Yun stared at the bun extended toward her, paused, then reached out and took it.

She squatted beside the child and ate the bun together.

The bun was hard, dry, slightly dirty and stale—no one knew where it came from or how long it had been kept.

Pan Yun bit down hard, chewing slowly, focused on eating, when two copper coins were placed beside her.

Pan Yun looked up blankly, following the slender fingers to a boy in a blue lan shirt standing before her; he had placed the coins, then stood up.

Seeing her stare, the boy nodded to her, turned, and gave the little beggar five copper coins, then walked across the street and bought four buns from a stall, giving two to each.

Pan Yun held one large bun in each hand, too hot to hold, so she shoved them into her mouth, eager to finish quickly and free her hands.

The little beggar, however, could endure the heat; she didn't eat the buns but tucked them into her bosom, clutched the coins in her palm, and beamed her thanks: "Thank you, Big Brother! You're so kind—you'll surely pass the imperial exams, become a high official, and grow rich!"

The boy smiled at her, then turned and left.

The little beggar, clutching her buns, was about to leave when Pan Yun called her back, gave her one more bun, and handed her the two copper coins beside her.

The little beggar hesitated, then pushed them back: "Miss, you're even worse off than I am—keep them for yourself."

Pan Yun insisted: "Take them. I'm not pitiful at all."

The little beggar frowned seriously: "Miss, you just left your family—you need money and food more than I do."

Pan Yun: "My family just went shopping—they'll be back soon."

The morning market's herbal shops are cheap and have many varieties; if you're lucky, you might even find something good.

Pan Yun woke to find Tao Ji gone—she knew he had gone to browse the herbal shops.

Her current cultivation level is higher than Tao Ji's; she doesn't need his protection.

She didn't feel pitiful herself, but to outsiders, she looked it: her face was covered in grime, her neck and clothes filthy and wrinkled, her expression drowsy, with marks from the stone steps still on her.

She looked exactly like someone who had slept on the steps all night.

What kind of girl would sleep on a public street?

The little beggar knew this well—this was how she had been abandoned.

So she refused Pan Yun's money and buns, took only her own share, and warned her: "Don't wait for your family—they won't come. If you remember where your home is, go back. If you don't, stay in the city and beg. We're girls—you should smear your face dirtier. I'll take you with me. I know which streets have kind, easy people."

Then she ran off.

Pan Yun watched her disappear, then looked at the bun in her hand, lowered her head, and kept eating, pocketing the two copper coins as well.

After last night's enlightenment, though she hadn't advanced, her senses had sharpened—she heard people speaking not far away.

"Young Master, the younger one was polite, but the older one didn't even say thank you—so unpleasant. Will she ever get food?"

"She's not a beggar."

"Huh?"

!. Read

"I mistook her for someone else, so you should be grateful she didn't throw the bun back at my face."

The servant fell silent; after a long while, Pan Yun heard him say, "She's so filthy—could she really not be a beggar?"

The young master said nothing; Pan Yun lowered her head to look at herself, wondering just how filthy she looked.

But she couldn't tell—she felt fine about herself.

She ate both buns, yet her stomach was still hungry. She glanced at the bun stall, but didn't go buy more; instead, she headed toward the herbal medicine shop.

Before she reached her destination, she met Tao Ji carrying several large bundles of herbs.

He naturally handed her one bundle. "Hold this for me. We're heading back to Da Zhou Zhuang right now. Zhou Meiniang's wound is nearly healed; in the next couple of days, we can remove the stitches. Then we can go home."

Pan Yun hugged the herbs and asked, "Third master, am I really that filthy?"

Tao Ji glanced at her and said, "You slept on the street, and last night's wind was fierce—of course you're dirty. But what does it matter?"

Pan Yun thought about it—he was right. She'd just wash up when she got back.

Today, Master Zhou wasn't going to the fields to harvest rice; he was threshing at home.

Half-dried rice was spread on the ground. Master Zhou directed the laborers to bring a stone roller, tie ropes around it, and have the men grip the ropes, shoulder them, and bend low to pull the roller in slow, circular motions from the outer edge inward.

Each pass of the roller separated some grains; then they'd turn the rice over and pull again, gradually freeing all the grains.

This was rolling. There was also pounding.

Right now, Master Zhou was pounding a pile of rice—this was reserved specifically as seed grain, so it had to be handled with special care; it couldn't be crushed like the rest with the stone roller.

He looked up and saw Pan Yun, stunned. "Little Daoist Pan Xiao—did you just crawl out of a beggar's den?"

Pan Yun stopped walking. Tao Ji passed by her side and replied casually, "Master Zhou, don't look down on beggars. They're poor, but they're cleaner than she is."

Master Zhou actually nodded.

Pan Yun asked, "Does the landlord have to thresh rice himself?"

Master Zhou: "I'm a landlord because I own a lot of land. I'm capable. A landlord isn't someone who just eats rice for free—money doesn't fall from the sky. Go ask around the village—when I was young, who worked harder in the fields than me?"

One of the laborers, halfway through pulling the roller, paused to rest. He grabbed the cloth around his neck and wiped his sweat. "True enough—Master Zhou still works hard. Yesterday, when he cut the rice, he was even faster than us young ones."

Master Zhou lifted his chin proudly.

Pan Yun gave him a thumbs-up, then followed Tao Ji back to the Zhou household.

Tao Ji, a diligent physician, washed his hands immediately upon arrival and went to see Zhou Meiniang.

Pan Yun went to the well, drew water, and studied herself closely.

She'd smeared her face earlier and felt only a little dust—but now, looking into the water, she realized how absurd she looked.

She scooped a handful of water from the bucket and wiped her face. Her palm turned completely black.

She washed her hands, then grabbed a lock of hair. When she pulled it free, her palm was streaked with black lines.

Pan Yun silently drew more water and went to the washing room. She washed her hair and body with cold water.

By the time Tao Ji noticed, she'd already washed twice and was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, drying her wet hair in the sun while cultivating.

Tao Ji watched silently. Such cultivation, such insight—such talent, and yet she trained so diligently.

Pan Yun felt his gaze and turned. "Third master, how is Zhou Meiniang?"

"We can remove the stitches tomorrow," Tao Ji asked. "Will you stay in Yushan County waiting for a reply from Datong?"

"No," Pan Yun said, calm now, no longer anxious or worried as yesterday. "I'll come back in four days to check. For now, I'll return to harvest the rice."

The bandages on Zhou Meiniang's feet were removed. Tao Ji carefully pulled out the stitches, reapplied ointment, and rewrapped them.

He handed the ointment to Sun Xianniang. "For the first five days, apply it twice daily—morning and night. Before each application, boil the herbal packet I gave you, let it cool, then clean the wound. After five days, apply only once in the morning. Once the wound fully scabs and the scabs fall off, switch to this other jar of ointment—apply every three days. Remember: every time you change the ointment, clean the wound with the herbal packet I gave you."

Sun Xianniang memorized every word. With only them in the room, she quickly opened her purse and pulled out two silver notes. "This is one hundred taels—the amount we promised you."

(End of Chapter)