Chapter 95

Pan Yue saw him out the door and replied, "That's difficult—it's a prescription written by a Daoist priest from Jiangnan."

Upon hearing it came from so far away in Jiangnan, the Physician became utterly disheartened and shook his head as he left.

It seems I may never see him in this lifetime.

Pan Yu used the new prescription; his wound healed rapidly, his complexion improved day by day, he stopped bleeding internally, and his lips regained color.

Pan Yu: "My little sister's third senior brother is truly remarkable—even a prescription written from afar is this effective. I wonder if my little sister can learn his skills."

Pan Yue: "She's always been clever and learns quickly; it shouldn't be hard."

Pan Yue urged Pan Yu, "Why don't we write her a letter and ask? If she hasn't started learning yet, we can persuade her to. Though she's a girl, it's better to learn a trade—no matter what circumstances she faces later, she can rely on it to survive."

Pan Yu hesitated: "Will Father allow us to write to my little sister?"

He didn't even let them read her letters before.

Pan Yue said, "I've already noted down my little sister's exact address. Even if Father refuses, we can still send it. But I don't know if someone's still watching us from above, or what identity she's using over there…"

"So you finally realize someone up top might be watching us?" Pan Hong walked in.

Pan Yue and Pan Yu immediately bowed their heads in apology.

Pan Hong said, "Write it. Send it together with my letter."

He added, "In her letters, she uses the tone of an old friend of mine; the return address is under her third senior brother's household registration. It's passable, passable—Sanqing Temple bought her a household registration under the name Zhang Xiaomei. You two should correspond with her as pen pals."

Pan Yu was heartbroken: "Will my little sister never be able to use her real name again?"

Pan Hong sighed, "As long as she's alive, that's enough."

Pan Yun had almost forgotten her fake name, because except for a few inspections in major cities where her household registration and travel permit were checked, the purchased household page and travel permit had never been used.

When traveling outside, she still used the name Pan Yun.

She only remembered it now because the Mountain God Temple needed a temple keeper.

Wang Feiyin said, "Since you funded the construction of the Mountain God Temple, you should be the temple keeper."

Whether building the temple or serving as temple keeper, both required official notification to the government office.

Great Ming strictly regulated monks and Daoists.

The founding Emperor had once been a Monk, and knew that monks and Daoists were exempt from taxes and corvée labor—many people deliberately became monks or Daoists to evade taxes and labor duties.

Thus, he strictly controlled the total number of monks and Daoists nationwide; to become a legal monk or Daoist, one must pass the du die examination.

Any monk or Daoist without a du die was illegal; if the people didn't report them, the officials wouldn't pursue them—but if officials decided to investigate, they caught them every time.

Wang Feiyin told Pan Yun, "You're too young to take the du die exam, but if you can obtain the official paperwork for temple construction from the government office, as the financier you can naturally become the temple keeper."

Pan Yun found it troublesome and asked, "Master, why can't you be the temple keeper?"

"I can't," Wang Feiyin shook his head directly. "I'm already the abbot of Sanqing Temple—I can't hold both positions."

"Then let the third senior brother be."

Wang Feiyin: "That won't work."

Pan Yun silently stared at him.

Wang Feiyin looked torn and said, "Sister, you know how cursed our master is. We're his direct disciples—we've benefited from him, so it's only natural we suffer his ill fortune. Letting your third senior brother take our place and bear the curse? That wouldn't be right, would it?"

Pan Yun was convinced and nodded. "Fine, then I'll be the temple keeper."

Only then did they realize something was wrong—the household registration page Pan Yun had produced bore the name Zhang Xiaomei.

Pan Yun hesitated only a moment before saying, "Use this name. A name's just a label—I don't care that much."

"No!" Wang Feiyin's face turned grave. "A name is a label, but it's more than just a label. You took your vows as Pan Yun—your birth chart and destiny are Pan Yun. Switching to Zhang Xiaomei now means becoming a different person."

Pan Yun spread her hands. "Then what do you suggest? Can I just rewrite this household page to say Pan Yun?"

"Why not?" Wang Feiyin turned to Tao Ji. "Where's Wang Cong? Why hasn't he returned?"

Tao Ji: "... He's out doing business."

"Write him a letter telling him to come back. There's no end to business in this world."

Pan Yun asked eagerly, "Master, does my senior nephew have such abilities?"

Wang Feiyin said, "He's familiar with the county government office, and has some connections in Guangxin Prefecture's government office."

"Then I'll just wait patiently for my senior nephew to return and help me fix the household registration."

Of course, she hadn't neglected other matters either—under Wang Feiyin's guidance, she performed her first ritual to summon a deity and, for the first time outside a dream, saw the Mountain God in person.

Pan Yun spun a sword flourish, two swift whooshes, and tucked the wooden sword behind her back. She smiled sweetly at Pan Gong. "Master, the statue is too tall and looks awkward, and standing all the time must be tiring. We've decided to burn you a new statue—sitting, lying down, or any other pose. What style do you want?"

Pan Gong glanced at the chair she'd placed before the incense altar, waved his hand—the chair flew away and landed to the side. He gestured again, and a square black stone platform appeared before him.

Pan Gong stepped forward, lifted his robe, and sat solemnly atop the platform, adjusting the long sword in his arms so it leaned diagonally against his shoulder.

He lifted his gaze, his expression stern, fixed on Pan Yun.

"Quick, quick, Master, draw this! Master looks absolutely stunning like this!"

Though she was the one summoning the deity, Wang Feiyin ended up doing all the work.

Wang Feiyin stared at her helplessly but couldn't refuse, because Pan Gong was watching him coldly.

Pan Yun acted as if she hadn't noticed Pan Gong's icy gaze and chatted on. "Master, do you have any specific requests for the Mountain God Temple? Like how to arrange the statue, your favorite colors? Nothing's started yet—we can still change everything."

Pan Gong replied coldly, "Since it's your disciples' gesture, do as you wish. If the finished temple pleases me, I'll be happy; if it doesn't, I'll just be unhappy."

Pan Yun: "... Why can't you just say what you want ahead of time, for the sake of happiness?"

Wang Feiyin cleared his throat and whispered to Pan Yun, "Shut up. Your master only accepted this temple out of politeness."

"Oh~~" Pan Yun nodded, giving both man and deity a knowing look. "I understand. I understand—it's just politeness."

After that, Pan Yun never asked Pan Gong about the Mountain God Temple again. After receiving the drawn plans, she and Wang Feiyin revised them repeatedly until they settled on the best version, then she descended the mountain to find Yu Qing's brothers.

She also brought luggage for Wang Xiaojing.

"Your grandmother and mother miss you. Your father told you to work hard. Your grandfather said if you're mistreated, come home. Your second uncle said he's taken your place as a carpentry apprentice—you can't go back even if you want to, so focus on learning porcelain-making here. Seeing Miao Zhen told you to train hard and not let your Wu Gong go to waste. Miao He said your family's persimmons are ripe—remember to save some for her when you return."

Pan Yun delivered it all in one breath, exhaled, and asked, "Now, I'll ask right here—how far have you gotten these past two days? Have you seen the kiln fired yet?"

Wang Xiaojing hadn't processed all that earlier speech, but at this he immediately nodded. "I saw it—I carried several bundles of firewood for Master Yu's kiln too."

"Good. Do you have any insights? Do you think you have talent?" "I think I do. Master Yu said the most important thing in firing kilns is temperature."

Pan Yun patted his shoulder. "Then study seriously. I'll look for books on kiln-firing and bring them to you later—you can study them yourself. Maybe you'll become a master. Don't forget to fire me a few valuable porcelain pieces when you do—I need to sell them for profit."

Wang Xiaojing: "I'm very tempted, but I can't read."

Pan Yun: "... You're from Fen Shui Village—a family with standing. Why can't you read?"

Wang Xiaojing's face flushed red. He whispered, "I—I'm bad at studying. I went to school for two years as a child, but I only recognize a few common characters. The rest, I don't know."

Pan Yun looked at him with disappointment, waving her hand. "Fine. I'll bring you the books anyway. Whether you understand them or not is your problem. Figure it out yourself."

Wang Xiaojing was deeply curious. "Are there really books on porcelain-firing?"

"What's so strange about that? There are books on composting too—I found one just two days ago."

Wang Xiaojing was baffled. "Do you need books to make compost? Isn't that something you're born knowing?"

Pan Yun snorted. "What you know is nothing compared to what's written in the books."

!. Read

Wang Xiaojing immediately listed three composting methods: wet composting, dry burning, and a combined dry-wet method.

Though his descriptions differed slightly from what Pan Yun had found, they were broadly similar.

Pan Yun: "... How do you know these composting methods?"

"Everyone in the village knows. Every year the village does it this way—I've watched for years. Even a fool would learn by now."

Pan Yun tugged at the corner of her mouth. So that's why Senior Brother always sighed when Third Brother mentioned winter wheat planting and opening medicinal fields—complaining about lack of fertilizer and poor soil?

It wasn't that there was no fertilizer. It was that no one bothered to make it.

Pan Yun now understood. She decided to support Third Brother as soon as she returned—otherwise, wouldn't she be wasting the two nights she spent searching for composting methods?

"Junior Auntie? Junior Auntie?" Wang Xiaojing called her several times.

Pan Yun snapped back, grinning at him. "How did you get your seniority mixed up? Shouldn't you call me Junior Ancestress?"

Wang Xiaojing scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

Pan Yun didn't press him. She waved her hand. "Come on. Take me to see Yu Qing."

Yu Qing and Yu Sheng were slightly displeased when they saw a young Daoist come to deliver blueprints—they thought Xuanmiao didn't take this seriously.

But Pan Yun pulled out the blueprints and said, "These blueprints were drawn by me and my Senior Brother. If you have any questions, ask me directly. Once you take this job, I'll come here every three days."

Yu Qing blinked. "So from now on, all matters about the statue will be handled by you, young Daoist?"

"Correct. It's me."

Yu Qing frowned slightly, but didn't voice his displeasure—who were they to argue? They were the buyers.

To earn this money, even if the path ahead was dung, he'd have to study it carefully.

Yet no matter what questions Yu Qing or Yu Sheng asked, Pan Yun answered them all—and even modified two details on the spot.

Seeing her pick up a brush and change the design so naturally, Yu Qing hesitated. "Young Daoist, are you really authorized to decide on the statue?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Yes."

Afraid he'd doubt her and delay the work, she said bluntly: "I'm the temple keeper. I paid for the temple's construction. What do you think?"

Hearing she was the one footing the bill, Yu Qing and Yu Sheng had no more questions. "We'll follow your every instruction, Young Daoist."

Pan Yun left Wang Xiaojing behind. "If anything comes up, find him. You two Yu masters, I'll take my leave."

Yu Qing and Yu Sheng hurried to see her off at the village gate. If they could complete this job, their reputation would spread—and soon they could take orders for porcelain statues across Yushan County, even possibly in Guangxin Prefecture.

The kiln yard lay outside the South City Gate, but Mount Sanqing stood outside the West City Gate. So to return to Mount Sanqing, she'd have to enter the city first, then leave again.

Walking through the city streets, Pan Yun thought: since I'm here already, wouldn't it be rude not to visit an old friend?

So she turned her steps toward the Qian residence.

The Qian steward saw Pan Yun and immediately opened the gate, personally leading her to the main hall. "Young Daoist, please sit. I've already sent someone to fetch Master Qian."

Pan Yun nodded, then turned and saw Sun Wuyi passing through the front hall, heading toward the back courtyard.

He was lost in thought and didn't notice anyone in the hall.

Pan Yun narrowed her eyes. "Why is Sun Wuyi here?"

The steward hurried to answer. "The cousin is studying here. Next year he'll take the county school exam—our master plans to send him to the county school."

Pan Yun's eyes brightened slightly. "Is Master Qian well-acquainted with the county government?"

The steward replied with modest pride. "Moderately so. But our master often sponsors bridge-building and road repairs—so the county magistrate, deputy magistrate, and registrar all have dealings with him."

Pan Yun understood: this was a famous philanthropist of Yushan County. How could the county officials not know him?

Master Qian hurried in, followed by his son, Qian Dahong.

Both bowed to Pan Yun.

Qian Dahong opened his mouth to begin polite small talk—but his father cut him off with blunt directness: "Young Daoist, what do you want from me?"

He added: "Whatever it is, if I can help, I will."

Pan Yun was equally direct. She pulled out a handful of yellow talismans. "Master Qian, during my recent cultivation, I've drawn many talismans. Do you still want any?"

Master Qian nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, yes! I'm glad you remembered me. My son is leaving in two days—I was just planning to go up the mountain tomorrow to beg for a safety talisman for him."

"You must carry a safety talisman," Pan Yun studied his face carefully. "Best to keep it on your person at all times. Master Qian, let me tell you—I draw only two kinds of talismans that are truly the best."

Master Qian replied without thinking: "Which two?"

Pan Yun: "Safety talismans and wealth talismans."

Master Qian asked: "How much for one yellow talisman?"

"Twenty taels."

Pan Yun felt no hesitation. She believed her yellow talismans were worth far more—twenty taels apiece was practically a giveaway.

Master Qian also thought it cheap—but his family couldn't afford to buy many. So far, one talisman's effect lasted a long time; unless danger struck, a single talisman might last a lifetime.

So he felt it was a bargain, but he couldn't use it all up.

(End of chapter)