Chapter 91

The whole village was busy; the villagers of Fen Shui Village only realized the Daoist Priests had come down the mountain to harvest rice after they'd cut more than half of it.

They no longer hurried back to eat; instead, they stood on the road chatting with Wang Feiyin and others, "Master Wang, I saw a lot of stuff piled up at Xiao Jing's place—is it true you're building a temple?"

Wang Feiyin nodded, "After the autumn harvest ends, I'll ask everyone to help."

Every villager agreed, "We'll definitely come."

The rice was harvested for two days, then dried in the fields for two more days before being taken to the village's large courtyard for further drying and threshing.

Only then did Pan Yun finally recognize everyone in the village.

Truly recognize them all—it was lively.

From seventy-year-old elders down to one-year-old children, all gathered at the courtyard.

Adults beat the rice to thresh it, kept an eye on the children, and still managed to chat together.

Many there were older than Wang Feiyin; each one who saw him called out, "Ah, it's Er Yaizi! Haven't seen you in so long—how are you still not aging?"

Others his own age looked like his elders, their expressions complex: "Er Yaizi, how do you stay so well-preserved?"

Wang Feiyin chuckled, "I drink the wind, eat the dew, don't worry about children—so I never age. You all? You worry too much."

The old comrades brightened: "Oh come on, you can't not worry! Er Yaizi, hasn't your Wang Cong gotten a bride yet? He's over twenty, right?"

Wang Feiyin: "Next year he'll reach adulthood—next year! He's not over twenty."

"Still, he's old enough to marry. If you wait any longer, he'll end up like your junior Daoist brothers and sisters."

They glanced at Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao, who were silently beating rice, clearly disappointed.

Wang Feiyin smiled warmly: "We Daoists believe in fate and destiny in marriage—we don't force it, we don't force it."

An elderly man lectured him: "Once you've had the wedding ceremony, fate is sealed. The world is full of people—just meeting is fate; staying connected deepens it further; marrying is the greatest fate of all. Mutual respect keeps life going. You keep riding the donkey looking for the horse—say this one has no fate, that one has no fate too. You'll never marry like this."

Wang Feiyin: "Their Daoist destiny runs deeper."

The villagers turned away, disbelieving.

The old man's gaze shifted and landed on Pan Yun; he hurried over to study her face, then nodded with satisfaction: "This girl is well-formed—only slightly less lovely than Miaohé, but her face is as round as the full moon—clearly a woman of good fortune."

Pan Yun said: "My eldest brother said the same."

Wang Feiyin lowered his voice: "Don't talk nonsense—don't ruin my reputation. Do you think I'd dare say you're lucky?"

Pan Yun ignored him and leaned in to speak to the elder: "Good elder, would it be alright if we expanded the Mountain God Temple at the foot of the mountain?"

"It'd be fine—but do you have money?" the elder said. "We don't even know how much we'll have to hand up this year. We can lend labor, but we can't raise cash."

Pan Yun immediately said: "We won't ask you for money—we'll pay wages for labor. I just want to ask the Mountain God ahead of time: when the temple's built, will there be incense offerings?"

"Of course there will," the elder smiled. "Our village worships the Mountain God every year, praying for a good harvest. When the temple's built, I'll pray for you to find a spouse."

Pan Yun: "Good elder, pray for my wealth instead. I'll pray for my own marriage—my heart will be more sincere."

"True. Marriage must be prayed for personally."

Someone nearby quickly asked: "Is the Mountain God Temple good for wealth?"

Pan Yun's heart tightened—she didn't know if her master's deity was effective or not.

She forced a stiff smile: "Sincerity brings results—sincerity brings results. But I know our Mountain God Temple is very effective for safety and health."

Everyone lost interest.

Safety and health sounded important, but the crowd still preferred praying for wealth and marriage.

Especially wealth—it wasn't just about money, but power and future prospects too.

It had always been the most popular request.

"Where do you plan to build the Mountain God Temple?"

The location of the Mountain God Temple mattered.

Wang Feiyin had instinctively built all structures on Mount Sanqing according to the Eight Trigrams—the location of the temple below the mountain was no exception.

There was no better spot than the current temple's location.

So they decided to build the new temple on the same site, leveling the ground behind the current temple, cutting down trees, and filling the earth to create a flat, spacious area.

Wang Feiyin and Pan Yun worked together to draw the plans.

Not bad—Pan Yun's drawing skills were solid; from the moment they decided, she already had the image in her mind.

Wang Feiyin made minor adjustments after she drew it; by the time all the rice was threshed, the blueprint was complete.

The autumn harvest ended, most villagers were idle, and all were willing to lend a hand.

Trees were cut, land leveled—but no one dared touch the small temple by the roadside.

Wang Feiyin and Pan Yun didn't touch it either; the two siblings bowed to the temple, then began construction.

Wang Feiyin had calculated the finances: adding the hundred taels given by Sun Xianniang to the current funds in the Daoist observatory, after deducting the three-month cost of their body-cultivation herbs, they had eighty-nine taels left—he was willing to contribute eighty.

One hundred and eighty taels total still wasn't enough.

"The temple needs a deity statue. What kind do you plan to cast?" Wang Feiyin said. "Even a clay statue, life-sized, costs at least fifty taels. If it's porcelain, given your design—with all those colors and fine details—one hundred taels might not even cover it."

Pan Yun was astonished: "Porcelain costs that much?"

"Naturally. A life-sized statue can only be fired one at a time, with extremely low success rates. If he produces it within ten firings, he's lucky. If he fails ten times, he loses money—and has to pay out of pocket."

Wang Feiyin said: "This is a bad omen. We can't let him lose money—we'll have to add more later."

He added: "Clay and porcelain are cheapest. More expensive options: bronze, gold, wood." Pan Yun: "Wood…"

Wang Feiyin: "Don't think wood is cheap. The wood suitable for deity statues isn't cheap at all—and with fine carving, the price? Hmph. A fine wooden statue costs more than bronze."

Pan Yun decided: "Then porcelain."

Clay was too cheap, too low-class. Expensive ones were beyond her means. Medium was best.

She hoped her master was a medium-level deity—less trouble.

Wang Feiyin: "Then we need to find a kiln."

"I'll go," Pan Yun said. "Good—I'll check if my Datong has sent any letters."

Wang Feiyin waved his hand, "Go, go, take Miao Zhen and Miao He with you."

They've been cooped up for a while; it's perfect to go down the mountain and see the world beyond.

Wang Feiyin gave Tao Ji the list of items to purchase and told him to take them shopping, but the next day someone climbed up the mountain seeking medical aid: "It was Qian Lao Ye from Yushan County who recommended you. Our Cheng Lao Ye heard that Tao Daochang's medical skills are exceptional, so he asks you to travel to Guangxin Prefecture. Don't worry—Cheng family will cover all your food and lodging along the way, and you'll receive one tael of silver per day as payment."

One day's pay is one tael of silver even if you do nothing—thirty taels a month. This income is quite decent.

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Thinking that all the money had been spent building the temple and that the next batch of herbal ingredients for alchemy was still far off, Tao Ji agreed: "Fine, I'll go."

He'll take Tao Yanbai with him.

That means the shopping must be entrusted to Master Xuanmiao to lead them.

The mountain was left once again with only Wang Feiyin, a lonely man.

Wang Feiyin was overjoyed, warmly seeing them off at the mountain gate, saying, "Buy everything you need before returning. If you can't make it back in time, stay overnight in town—no rush to return."

Miao He: "Senior Master, now that we're all leaving, what will you eat for lunch? What about dinner?"

Wang Feiyin: "I practice abstinence from grains."

Miao He felt her Senior Master was pitiful, and didn't want to go down the mountain anymore.

Wang Feiyin feared she wouldn't leave, so he hurriedly waved her off: "Go, go! Why are you worrying about this at such a young age?"

He turned to instruct Master Xuanmiao: "Sister, you should teach them more—to be more carefree, think of yourself more often, and not always think of others."

Master Xuanmiao: "..."

She turned directly to the three of them: "Did you hear that?"

All three nodded together.

Master Xuanmiao nodded to Wang Feiyin: "Senior Brother, they've learned it."

Now it was Wang Feiyin who was speechless.

Tao Ji and Tao Yanbai were heading toward Guangxin Prefecture; Master Xuanmiao and the others were going toward Yushan County—they weren't on the same path.

The two groups parted at the foot of the mountain: Tao Ji and Tao Yanbai boarded the Cheng family's cart and departed, while Master Xuanmiao and the others led their own mule cart.

Wang Xiaojing had been waiting for them, brought over the mule to hitch to the cart, then smiled apologetically at them.

Miao He didn't react at all—she was warmly hugging the mule.

Pan Yun asked, "Do you want to come with us to the county town?"

Wang Xiaojing immediately nodded, eyes shining: "Really?"

Master Xuanmiao asked him, "What will you do in the county town?"

"I don't want to go to the county town—I want to go to the kiln yard," Wang Xiaojing said. "Master Xuanmiao, my family plans to send me to learn carpentry, but I don't like carpentry. I want to fire porcelain."

Master Xuanmiao: "Have you spoken to your family about this?"

"My grandfather knows I want to go—he agreed. As long as the Daoists from the temple take me, I can go anywhere."

Master Xuanmiao said, "Get on the cart."

Wang Xiaojing was overjoyed and hurriedly climbed aboard and sat down.

Pan Yun and the other two also sat down, leisurely heading toward Yushan County.

The old mule knew the way, so little driving was needed—just steer the direction; the mule could run on its own.

Wang Xiaojing had never been to the county town before and was excited—he couldn't sit still, waving his arms: "Miao He, I've learned the fist set you taught me last time. When we get off, I'll show you."

"Sure! But those are all external arts. Recently, I found a book on internal cultivation methods. I asked Senior Master—he said we can teach them to outsiders. I'll pass the internal cultivation method on to you then."

"Great! Great!" Wang Xiaojing bowed to her. "I should call you Master."

Miao He beamed.

Pan Yun: "Then won't you have to call me your Master's Master?"

Wang Xiaojing suddenly remembered: "Your seniority is so high!"

Pan Yun: "Just say whether you'll call me or not."

Wang Xiaojing thought it over—he realized it was correct, since Miao He was his teacher and Pan Yun was her Senior Aunt, so he bowed and said: "Master's Master!"

Pan Yun beamed: "Good grand-disciple!"

Miao Zhen: "Then I'm your Senior Uncle and Senior Aunt."

Wang Xiaojing turned to look at Miao Zhen's face—couldn't bring himself to call her Senior Uncle, let alone Senior Aunt, and his face flushed red.

(End of Chapter)