Chapter 93: Do Good Deeds

Xuanmiao unhitched the cart, tied up the donkey, then stepped forward. She glanced at the little beggar, then at Pan Yun, and waved them off. "Go on."

Pan Yun: "Fourth sister, she says her grandmother has medicinal herbs—won't you come with us to see?"

"If you can handle it yourself, why should I go?" Xuanmiao said. "I'll give you half an hour. I'll buy the herbs, then head to the kiln."

Pan Yun immediately agreed and pulled the little beggar away.

The little beggar led them winding through the city's alleys, until they grew ever farther from the urban district and streets; the houses on either side shifted from brick-and-stone to stone, then to half-stone, half-mud structures.

The road changed from blue stone paving to compacted earth, then to potholed dirt, just like the roads in their village.

Gradually, vegetable plots appeared, then rice fields just harvested; as they walked deeper into the remote area, she turned aside and led them into a thatched shed built against a mud house.

Wooden poles propped up a four-cornered space, roofed with rice straw; the entrance was a curtain of thatch.

The little beggar pulled back the curtain and called out loudly: "Grandma."

Pan Yun stepped inside the shed. It was stifling and damp, reeking of mildew mixed with wormwood.

The thatched shed could be seen from end to end—no one was there.

The ground was still dirt, but compacted; straw and rice husks were laid on either side, bearing traces of people having slept there, and none of the spots were large.

Pan Yun scanned it once and realized at least twelve people slept here at night. She asked: "How many people are in your family?"

The little beggar: "Fourteen, plus Grandma—fifteen."

Pan Yun asked: "Where are they?"

The little beggar: "They went to work."

She acted like a grown-up, fetching a water jug to fetch and boil water.

Pan Yun stopped her. "Let's find your grandma, or show us where her herbs are—I'll take a look."

The little beggar led them out, around the back of the thatched shed.

Only then did they notice a flat open space behind it, cleared of weeds and stones, with several sacks laid out, drying medicinal herbs.

Pan Yun stepped forward and saw common herbs: honeysuckle, thunbergia, licorice, and others.

She picked through them and saw they were well-dried. She asked: "These can be sold to herb shops—why sell them to us?"

The little beggar: "If we sell to herb shops, they mark up the price and sell to you. Better to sell directly to you—we add a little, you pay a little less. I earn more, you spend less. Isn't that better?"

Pan Yun praised: "You're clever. Many older than you can't see this."

Seeing Miao: "But…"

Seeing Miao Zhen tugged her sleeve, stopping her from speaking.

Pan Yun asked the price they charged herb shops, compared it with current market rates, and bought the herbs at a fair middle value.

When Old Yu returned, carrying one child and leading another, they had already packed the herbs. Pan Yun counted out coins to the little beggar.

Old Yu hurried to stop her, pushing the money back. "You're Daoist Priests from Mount Sanqing, aren't you?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Old Yu smiled. "I know you. If anyone else came to buy, I'd sell. But you—Mount Sanqing may lack many things, but never herbs."

Pan Yun: "Grandma, you misunderstand. If Mount Sanqing didn't need herbs, we wouldn't come down every month to buy them."

Old Yu shook her head firmly. "When you buy, it's for herbs Mount Sanqing doesn't have—rare, expensive ones. The herbs from our area aren't among those."

Old Yu looked at them kindly. "You're still young. Don't waste the temple's money on unnecessary things—you'll be punished by your masters."

The little beggar pleaded: "Grandma~"

"Little Seven, don't trouble the Daoist Priests. Take them back to the main street."

The little beggar sighed dejectedly and turned to lead Pan Yun away.

Seeing Old Yu's resolve, Pan Yun thought a moment, then withdrew five Peace Talismans and two Wealth Talismans from her sleeve and pressed them into Old Yu's hands. "Take these. Give the Peace Talismans to them. These Wealth Talismans—consider them good omens."

Old Yu accepted them with a beaming smile and thanked Pan Yun.

Pan Yun watched as Old Yu gave one Peace Talisman and one Wealth Talisman to Little Seven, and slipped a Peace Talisman into the hands of the child she held and the one she carried. She smiled faintly and turned to leave.

Little Seven led them to the main street, dejected. "I didn't expect Grandma wouldn't sell you the herbs. Were you really buying them out of kindness?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Yes. Honeysuckle, licorice, thunbergia—common herbs. Mount Sanqing has plenty."

Little Seven sighed, but only once. Then she perked up. "Thank you. But don't do this again. Buy herbs only when you truly need them."

Pan Yun nodded. "I'm going to buy grain now—to donate to the Orphanage. Would your shed like some?"

Little Seven nodded eagerly. "Yes yes yes! Is this… really allowed?"

"Why not?" Pan Yun said firmly. "I do good deeds for the Orphanage, and I do them for you too. You beg on the streets—what's the difference between that and accepting grain I give you?"

Little Seven thought carefully, then said: "There's no difference, Miss. Don't worry—I'll tell my brothers and sisters to pray for you. Every time we eat your grain, we'll say a prayer."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly. She didn't refuse. "Good. Let's go to the grain shop."

Pan Yun bought the cheapest grain. New harvest had just come in; the shops stocked only new grain. Though autumn harvest had just ended, prices hadn't changed—still two and six cash per dan.

That was the price for good rice. Second-grade rice, with more broken grains, was two and four cash per dan.

Pan Yun still owed Tao Ji money. All she had now was what remained from the last silver tael she'd broken.

Pan Yun pulled out three strings of coins, gave two to the clerk, counted out forty cash more, and bought one dan of the second-grade rice.

Pan Yun: "Will you deliver it?"

One dan was no small amount. The clerk said: "We deliver within the city, but not beyond."

Pan Yun: "It's within the city. Deliver it there."

Pan Yun told Little Seven to lead the way. "Thank you for giving me that bun last time. I'm a Daoist Priest of Mount Sanqing—we believe in karmic ties. You helped me; now I help you. This is good karma. Don't take it too deeply to heart."

Little Seven's eyes sparkled as she nodded. "I hope everyone I help in the future is like you, Little Daoist. Then I can help many, many people—and receive help from many, many people too."

Pan Yun: "Perhaps you could pray to the God of Mount Sanqing. Maybe it will come true."

Little Seven's eyes lit up. "Is the God of Mount Sanqing efficacious?"

!.

Pan Yun nodded. "I think it's very effective."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He both silently turned to look at her. Outsiders might not know, but who on the mountain didn't know? The senior master and the junior aunt were the mountain god's direct disciples.

Watching Xiao Qi lead away the laborers carrying grain, the spiritual realm chimed softly—Merit +10.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly. "Let's go. We'll find our sister at the herbal shop."

Wang Xiaojing followed them in silence. When they reached the herbal shop, he was even more astonished to see Master Xuanmiao buy dozens of taels' worth of herbs without blinking.

He couldn't help whispering to Miao He, "Is your monastery this rich?"

Miao He: "Our monastery has no money."

"You spend dozens of taels so casually—how can you say you have no money?"

Miao He explained, "These are body-refining herbs. We must soak in them every ten days. It's money that must be spent."

Wang Xiaojing felt disheartened. "Practicing martial arts is so expensive..."

"There are ways to train without spending money," Miao He said, "but none are as good or as fast as spending it. You only want to learn some basic fistwork for self-defense—just practice diligently. No need for herbal baths."

Miao He even felt a little envious of him. "Herbal baths are very painful."

Wang Xiaojing said nothing.

After buying the herbs, Master Xuanmiao took them to see the kiln site.

The kiln site lay beside a hill just outside Yushan County—not far at all.

The soil there was excellent, always used for firing kilns; the porcelain produced in Yushan County was called Dukou Kiln ware.

As soon as Master Xuanmiao's mule cart entered the village, someone immediately approached to solicit her. "Reverend, are you here to buy porcelain? I have plenty—bowls, plates, dishes, and all kinds of vases."

Master Xuanmiao stepped down. "I need to cast a divine statue."

Upon hearing it was for a divine statue, most of the crowd scattered immediately, stepping back several paces to merely watch.

It wasn't that they didn't want the job—it was just hard to take on.

Divine statues are difficult to fire: large in size, intricate in detail, and any flaw means starting over—laborious and costly.

Judging by Master Xuanmiao's attire, they didn't look like wealthy Daoist Priests.

In the end, only two families remained. After walking a little further, a third rushed up and joined to hear Master Xuanmiao's requirements.

Master Xuanmiao required the statue to be life-sized—1.6 meters tall. One of the three families hesitated, wanting to withdraw but unwilling to give up so easily.

Master Xuanmiao then produced the blueprint.

The moment they saw the blueprint, that family no longer hesitated. They bowed slightly and stepped back immediately.

The remaining two families exchanged glances and neither withdrew.

Coincidentally, both families shared the surname Yu—and were relatives, descending from the same ancestor five generations back.

The two men studied the blueprint carefully. They found the colors too numerous, and the life-sized statue even harder to fire. They asked, "Could it be made smaller? Usually, a one-meter-two statue is sufficient."

Master Xuanmiao: "If it's seated, that's acceptable."

Pan Yun had only ever seen Pan Gong standing; she'd never seen him seated. But that was no problem—she could simply ask the deity to appear and sit down.

She asked, "Is a seated statue easier to fire?"

The two men replied, "Not necessarily—it depends on how it's seated and the color requirements. But if it's shorter, the success rate improves slightly."

They asked, "How much are you prepared to spend, Reverends?"

Master Xuanmiao named her bottom price: "One hundred taels."

The Yu brothers frowned. The price wasn't low, but neither was it high—it was just that the success rate was uncertain, and they couldn't guarantee anything.

Continue following screenshot game: today's lucky number is any number ending in 9. Screenshot as proof. Post screenshot to Great Ming group.

(End of Chapter)