Accidents, All Accidents

"You said today that you wanted to spread the fame of the Mount Sanqing mountain god far and wide. From now on, you will travel the world as Mount Sanqing's avatar."

Pan Yun straightened up, purely out of curiosity. "Master, if I travel the world as your avatar, can I use your abilities, just as if I were truly Mount Sanqing?"

If that were the case, she'd be willing.

She was willing for all the good deeds and achievements she would accomplish in the future to be attributed to Mount Sanqing.

This was like becoming a god with a single thought; a name was just a label.

Hey, fellow Daoist, would you like to be the mountain god's avatar? To live as long as the mountain god, possess the mountain god's abilities. The mountain god, from now on, all the plants and animals in the mountains would be at her command. Not only would she not have to worry about food and drink, but she could also perform miracles to scare the Emperor and that old eunuch in the imperial palace.

In just a moment, her thoughts had leaped to her becoming the mountain god, dominating everywhere, making the Emperor pardon her father and brother, and respectfully inviting them back to the capital to be honored.

Her thoughts were too jumpy, and since she was in a dream, some ideas would manifest. Lord Pan watched the little person appearing out of thin air, acting out a mini-movie, and couldn't help but take a deep breath, emphasizing, "It's an avatar! You're just the mountain god's avatar, not the mountain god's true self!"

"So, does the avatar have the true self's abilities?"

"Partially, but..."

The mountain god looked at her excitement and suddenly changed his mind. "Forget it, I won't make you an avatar. I'll give you this merit stone. You must make a contract with me. In the future, half of your achievements' merit will belong to me."

Pan Yun: "Master, what if I commit evil deeds? Of course, this disciple isn't saying I'm a bad person and will definitely commit evil deeds, but you know, when you're out in the world, things are often beyond your control. What if I commit evil deeds, make a big mistake?"

The mountain god looked down at the sincere little person with wide eyes and suddenly regretted it. Why had he chosen her, seeing her unparalleled talent and believing she would eventually achieve enlightenment?

Someone with unparalleled talent could become a god, or a demon.

The mountain god no longer wanted the benefits; he just wanted to say, "When you leave, don't say you're my disciple."

Anyway, the merit stone wasn't of much use to him. It was just a stone that had been tainted after merit had been recognized by the Heavenly Dao, and it had deteriorated.

Merit was not stored within it.

The incense and merit that every immortal deserved automatically returned to the respective gods; it did not linger in the merit stone.

It was just that merit always passed through this stone. The Heavenly Dao filtered and weighed the gains and losses here. It had been tainted for hundreds or thousands of years before it slowly changed, gaining the ability to automatically recognize and measure merit.

And because it had been steeped in merit power for many years, it had acquired the characteristics of calming the mind and attracting affection.

It was a good thing for humans, but for immortals, this thing was truly useless.

However, it was something that could only be encountered by chance, as not all stones tainted by merit would undergo such a change.

It was like how not all stones could produce a stone monkey.

The mountain god suddenly understood. The appearance of this merit stone on Mount Sanqing was not a fated opportunity given to him by the Heavenly Dao, but for this child.

He turned to leave.

Pan Yun lunged forward and hugged his thigh. "Master, don't go! This disciple isn't unwilling, but I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress my nature and one day cause a great disaster that will implicate you."

She looked up at him pleadingly. "Master, my nature is kind, I hate evil, I can't tolerate even a grain of sand in my eye. In the future, when I'm out..."

"You don't have to be my avatar, and I don't want your merit anymore. From now on, take the merit stone and go down the mountain. From now on, don't tell anyone outside that you are my disciple."

He turned to leave, but his leg was tightly held by Pan Yun.

Pan Yun: "Master, are you abandoning this disciple just like that? How can this disciple accept so many benefits from you for nothing? Besides the two things I mentioned earlier, no matter what you ask me to do, even if it means going through mountains of knives and seas of fire, this disciple will spare no effort."

These words were too familiar; she had just heard them.

Lord Pan also reacted. He lowered his gaze to her and, after a long while, said, "You are more shameless and thick-skinned than your Senior Brother. If he had your disposition back then, he wouldn't have been trapped on this mountain for so many years."

Pan Yun's heart skipped a beat, but she dared not probe further, maintaining an innocent look as if she didn't understand.

Lord Pan thought about it. Pan Yun was uncontrollable. If he were to bind himself deeply to her with the merit stone, the consequences would be unpredictable. It would be better to make a request that wouldn't cause him too much harm.

He said, "Didn't you promise to help me rebuild the temples? You should complete that first. In your spare time, do more good deeds down the mountain to spread the might of the Mount Sanqing mountain god. Beyond a hundred miles from Mount Sanqing, don't mention that you are my disciple, nor mention my name."

Pan Yun: "Why?"

Lord Pan smiled faintly, "I fear that before my reputation is spread, calamities will come first."

Pan Yun felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this.

Lord Pan moved his leg. "Let go."

"Oh," Pan Yun quickly let go and pushed herself up from the ground. But for some reason, her leg suddenly twitched, and with a thump, she knelt back on the ground. Unsteady, her hand flailed out.

As she flailed, she grabbed the bottom of the scabbard that Lord Pan was holding in one hand. Lord Pan's expression changed. He reached out to grab it, but it was too late. The scabbard, which Pan Yun mistook for a precious sword, was light and easily pulled off by her. She looked up and met the gaze of Lord Pan, who was trying to grab the scabbard with one hand while holding a broken sword with only a hilt remaining in the other.

Pan Yun saw his face instantly turn red. Angrily, he pushed her away, snatched the scabbard, closed the broken sword, and with a whoosh, left her dreamscape.

As soon as Lord Pan emerged, he saw the black cat, stiffly standing on Pan Yun's knees, and knew it was up to its mischief. He conjured a gust of wind from nowhere, forcefully knocking the black cat off the bed, and then, like a gust of wind, he slammed the door open and left.

The door banged against the wall with a loud sound. Pan Yun, startled, sat up abruptly. She looked down and met the dizzy Pan Little Black, who had just gotten up.

She touched her knee and stared at it menacingly. "Did you bump into me?"

Pan Little Black cried out in grievance, "I saw a mosquito buzzing around you, so I pounced on it. I accidentally bumped into your leg. Don't believe me? Touch your face. There's a big bump. If it weren't for me, it would have been at least three bumps."

Pan Yun touched her face and indeed felt a large bump. She was speechless.

Pan Little Black cautiously approached and asked her mentally, "[What happened? Did your discussion not go smoothly?]"

Pan Yun sneered, "[It was going smoothly until that moment. He got angry out of embarrassment. It's a miracle he didn't kill me to silence me.]"

Pan Little Black froze, the whole cat of it. What had it done? It had only pounced on a mosquito and bumped her leg.

Pan Yun rubbed her forehead, not offering much explanation. She never expected that the mighty mountain god's treasured sword was merely for show.

So, her mountain god Master was... poor?

The next day, Pan Yun, with dark circles under her eyes, went to find Senior Brother.

Seeing her like this, Wang Fei Yin couldn't help but worry. "You didn't sleep all night?" he asked.

He wanted to ask about the mountain god, but was afraid she'd find it difficult to talk about.

Pan Yun, however, brought up their mountain god Master herself. "Senior Brother, is our Master's incense burning brightly?"

"Very brightly! Within a hundred-mile radius, besides going to Ge Xian Temple, Fu Qing Temple, and Ling Ji Shrine, people come to worship our Master."

Pan Yun: "There are so many temples and shrines around Mount Sanqing?"

Wang Fei Yin: "It's alright, not particularly many."

"Then, within a hundred-mile radius, how many households do we have?"

Wang Fei Yin thought for a moment and replied, "About two to three thousand households."

Could this number support a deity? And with so many temples and shrines around.

Pan Yun sighed and asked, "Senior Brother, if I want to gift Master a sword, can I just make one out of paper and burn it for Him?"

Wang Fei Yin touched her forehead. "Fifth Junior Sister, what are you thinking? A paper sword is still made of paper when it reaches the other world; it won't turn into iron or copper. You don't need to give Master a grand gift; your intention is enough. Master won't fuss over these things."

Pan Yun looked at Wang Fei Yin silently. She was beginning to understand why Wang Fei Yin's prayer to renovate the temple was rejected by Master.

She probably realized that even if Senior Brother put his heart into it, it wouldn't be built very well, right? It was better not to bother.

Alas, if not for yesterday's incident, she would have been content with Senior Brother's sentiment of "intention is enough." But she had offended Master and then received such a great benefit. If Pan Yun didn't repay something, she wouldn't feel at ease.

She waved her small hand. "I've decided. I'm going to earn money to build a temple for Master."

Wang Fei Yin exclaimed, "Junior Sister is so wealthy?"

Pan Yun asked, "How much does it cost to build a temple?"

"That depends on how you build it. The minimum would be several hundred taels, right? For more, there's no upper limit; tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of taels could be spent on construction."

Pan Yun: "Senior Brother, look down at me. I'm only eight years old this year."

Wang Fei Yin: "Then let's build one for a few hundred taels. Building a temple requires buying land. If you want to build in a prosperous area, you'll need to get approval from the government office. But if you only build in a village, near the old site, then you just need the village's agreement."

"Buying bricks, timber, hiring people, and sculpting a divine statue, it would cost at least four to five hundred taels, wouldn't it?"

Pan Yun sighed. "It would be great to meet a few more generous people like old Prince Zhou."

Mentioning old Prince Zhou, Pan Yun couldn't help but think of her father. She counted on her fingers, calculating the time. "I wonder if my letter has reached Datong yet."

In Datong, someone from the Civil Mail Bureau picked up the letter and skillfully headed towards Exile Village. They knocked on a slightly ajar thatched hut and asked loudly, "Is Mr. Pan here?"

The lucky number for this chapter is still a number ending in 6, screenshot as proof.