Chapter 92: The Little Beggar

Pan Yun watched in silence; though she knew there was nothing between them—Miao Zhen was still young, and Wang Xiaojing merely a mischievous boy—yet…

She glanced at Wang Xiaojing's flushed face, couldn't help letting out a soft tsk, and turned away to look at the scenery.

Miao Zhen gave Wang Xiaojing a cold look, then turned away to join Pan Yun in gazing at the landscape.

Wang Xiaojing was utterly nervous; he opened his mouth, then suppressed his wildly pounding heart and whispered, "S-sister-instructor."

Pan Yun and Miao Zhen immediately turned back.

Miao Zhen nodded slightly at him, adopting the demeanor of a senior: "If you're going to learn martial arts, you must learn seriously. Just going through the motions won't do—you must learn to exert force, build strength, and stabilize your stance. Just now I saw your stance was unsteady; if you fought someone, one sweep kick would knock you down."

Miao He nodded vigorously, "That's right, I'll train my stance too—I do horse stance every day, and run with sandbags tied on. I know this best—I can teach you."

Master Xuanmiao said, "Since you're going to teach, teach now. Both of you, get off the cart and run to Yushan County."

Miao He's eyes widened.

Wang Xiaojing, for some reason, felt guilty and silently got off the cart.

Miao He could only get off too, leading Wang Xiaojing in a run.

Of course, running humans moved far faster than walking mules; the two vanished in a flash ahead.

Miao He made Wang Xiaojing hold horse stance while she squatted on the grass, drawing circles, waiting for the mule cart.

She was deeply frustrated: "Why did Fourth Master suddenly make me get off and run?"

Wang Xiaojing remained silent.

Miao He sighed, "Little Master and Miao Zhen won't be friends with me anymore—they won't even accompany me when I run."

No sooner had she spoken than she saw Pan Yun and Miao Zhen sprinting toward her with lightness techniques; Miao He leapt up excitedly, waving wildly, "Little Master! Miao Zhen! I'm here!"

Pan Yun and Miao Zhen shot forward, stopping abruptly before her with a whoosh, "We saw you."

Miao He asked happily, "Did you come specially to accompany me?"

Pan Yun: "Of course. Aren't we nice to you?"

Just as Miao He was about to nod, Miao Zhen said, "Fourth Master told us to get off and train lightness techniques with you."

Miao He turned to Pan Yun, pouting, "You lied to me."

Pan Yun: "Then remember this lesson—don't believe everything people tell you."

"Oh," Miao He replied, turning to look at Wang Xiaojing, "Then what about Xiaojing? We're using lightness techniques—he won't be able to keep up."

Pan Yun: "Since you're already teaching him external and internal arts, just teach him lightness too."

Miao He scratched her head: "But how do you teach lightness? My own is half-baked."

Pan Yun: "Just run. Isn't lightness just the art of running?"

The three began running, making Wang Xiaojing chase behind.

Wang Xiaojing felt he was running fast enough—but they vanished in a flash.

Wang Xiaojing felt a pang of despair.

But soon, Pan Yun zoomed back—faster than a blur.

Miao Zhen and Miao He lagged a few steps behind but returned quickly; all three stood silently watching him.

Wang Xiaojing was panting: "I—I've tried my hardest."

Pan Yun said, "Your breathing's wrong. I'll teach you."

Pan Yun taught him breathing and qi-regulation methods—essentially internal art practice—but he couldn't learn it at all.

Pan Yun refused to admit her teaching was poor; she thought he lacked talent, and bluntly said, "Just hold your breath, don't let it escape—breathe through your nose."

Wang Xiaojing understood this, and nodded.

The four ran again—but now Pan Yun and the others chased Wang Xiaojing.

Catching sight of them closing in from the corner of his eye, Wang Xiaojing instinctively pumped his legs faster.

He thought he was fast—the trees blurred past him, the shadows grew hazy—what did that mean?

It meant he was fast!

But he didn't know Pan Yun, Miao Zhen, and Miao He watched him in silence, realizing his speed was even slower than before.

The three stopped. Miao He nearly cried, "What do I do? Will Fourth Master punish me for failing to teach him?"

Miao Zhen: "A rotten log cannot be carved. Forget it. Cultivation requires talent; martial arts require talent too. Learn to let go."

Pan Yun: "It's only been two tries. Let him try once more."

Wang Xiaojing stopped, panting heavily, his breath uneven.

Pan Yun: "Just from your breathing, I know you're breathing through your mouth."

Wang Xiaojing: "But it's so exhausting—how can I stop breathing through my mouth?"

Pan Yun: "Try pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth."

Wang Xiaojing copied her, pressing his tongue against the palate; his nasal breathing grew rapid, but his heart felt easier. Soon, his breath steadied, and his body felt less tired.

Wang Xiaojing widened his eyes in surprise.

"When you run, do this too—and match your breath to your steps…"

Pan Yun broke it down step by step, making him jog a short distance first to gradually adapt to the breathing method…

Miao Zhen and Miao He stood boredly aside; when they spotted Fourth Master and the mule cart appearing in sight, they called out, "Little Master! Fourth Master's coming!"

Pan Yun had Wang Xiaojing practice again; this time, the three slowed their pace, forgoing lightness techniques, simply jogging slowly behind him.

They ran for nearly fifteen minutes before stopping. Miao Zhen glanced back—Master Xuanmiao and the mule cart were gone again. "I suspect Fourth Master is deliberately keeping the cart slow, making us run all the way to Yushan County."

Pan Yun now felt full of love for the world, unbothered, and told them, "This is Fourth Sister's trial for us. We should be grateful."

Miao Zhen and Miao He exchanged glances, then softly asked, "Little Master, what happened to you in Da Zhou Village? Ever since you came back, you've changed completely."

Pan Yun: "Do you think I've become divine?"

Miao Zhen: …

Miao He: "Divine nature?"

Pan Yun tilted her head back at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky, her face utterly sincere. "The me of today is no longer the ignorant, arrogant me of before. I feel I've found my Dao. One day, I will surely cultivate it and ascend to godhood."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He exchanged a smile—their familiar little martial aunt was back. What a relief.

The four youngsters somehow made it to Yushan County, half running, half walking.

Seeing Miao Zhen stopped and asked, "Shall we wait here for Fourth Xiao Shishu?"

Pan Yun waved her hand and said, "I'm starving, I can't wait any longer. Let's go eat first, and we'll head to the apothecary to find him later."

!. Read

This time they had also come down the mountain to buy medicinal ingredients for body refinement, so the apothecary was a must-visit.

The four of them decided to look for food near the apothecary.

They had only just approached the apothecary when Pan Yun spotted a little beggar girl sitting beside a food stall.

She was thinner than before, cheerfully greeting every passerby, but not a single person was willing to stop and give her money.

"Little Martial Aunt, let's eat dumplings. I haven't had dumplings in ages."

Pan Yun came back to herself, followed the direction Miao He was pointing, and saw a noodle stall set up by the roadside. Besides noodles, it also sold dumplings and wontons.

She nodded, led the group forward, and told the stall owner, "Five bowls of dumplings."

Miao He hurriedly said, "Little Martial Aunt, his dumplings are very big portions—I can only finish one serving."

Pan Yun said, "I have a friend. I'd like to treat her."

Miao He: "Who?"

Pan Yun beckoned to the little beggar girl across the street.

The little beggar girl kept her eyes and ears on everything around her. From the moment Pan Yun and the others appeared, the corner of her eye had been tracking them. Now, seeing Pan Yun beckon to her, she immediately scrambled up from the ground and ran over, sweetly calling out, "Big Sister!"

Pan Yun dragged the stool outward, giving her half the space. "Sit down, I'm treating you to dumplings."

The little beggar girl quickly glanced at the stall owner, then beamed at Pan Yun. "Thank you, kind one. Big Sister is so good-hearted. Just bestow a bowl of dumplings on me, and I'll eat by the wall over there. I'm dirty—if I get you dirty, Big Sister, that wouldn't be good."

Pan Yun: "Don't you recognize me? You even gave me a cake once. I was much dirtier than you back then. Come, sit down."

Only then did the little beggar girl recognize Pan Yun. Her eyes went wide. "You—you found your way home?"

Pan Yun nodded. "My family had gone to buy medicine at the time."

The little beggar girl looked at her enviously. "How nice."

Pan Yun smiled at her and told her to sit.

The little beggar girl carefully set her bowl down by her feet, fidgeting with her fingers, at a loss as she waited for the dumplings.

Pan Yun asked her, "You look so young—how old are you?"

"Seven."

"Then I'm older than you," Pan Yun said. "How long have you been away from home?"

The little beggar girl tilted her head. "I don't know. I only know I've been through three winters, three New Years."

The little beggar girl's gaze swept over the others, and she asked curiously, "Are these all your family?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Yes, we're from a Daoist temple."

The little beggar girl sounded disappointed. "You're from a Daoist temple, so you don't have a family either?"

Pan Yun fell silent.

Theoretically, she didn't. Practically speaking, she did.

The little beggar girl, thinking she understood, even turned to comfort her. "Don't be sad. They're the ones who don't deserve such a wonderful daughter as us."

Pan Yun asked, "Who told you that?"

"Granny," the little beggar girl said. "Granny says that we abandoned children are all treasures our parents couldn't keep—whether boys or girls, we're all treasures."

Pan Yun said softly, "She's right."

The stall owner brought up the five bowls of dumplings. Though he glanced at the little beggar girl more than once, he didn't chase her away. When setting the bowls down, he even placed the one with two extra dumplings in front of her.

Although the stall owner had smoothed things over and added more soup, what kind of eye did Pan Yun have? She noticed it at a glance.

She smiled, said nothing, and asked the little beggar girl, "Is that enough for you?"

The little beggar girl nodded rapidly. "It's enough, it's enough."

After eating the dumplings, the little beggar girl took a great liking to Pan Yun. Learning they had come to buy medicinal ingredients, a glint flashed in her eyes, and she immediately set down her chopsticks. "Let me take you to my home. My granny gathers herbs too—we have medicinal herbs at home."

Pan Yun was about to nod after a brief thought when Master Xuanmiao arrived driving the mule cart.

She cast a silent glance at the group. Pan Yun immediately called out loudly, "Stall owner, another bowl of dumplings—the big bowl!"

Good night

(End of chapter)