"Today, you said you would spread the mighty name of Mount Sanqing's Mountain God across the four seas. From now on, then, travel the world as Mount Sanqing's incarnation."
Pan Yun straightened up, purely curious. "Master, if I travel the world as your incarnation, can I use your powers, as though I truly were Mount Sanqing?"
If that were the case, she was willing.
She was willing for every good deed she did in the future, every achievement she earned, to bear Mount Sanqing's name.
This was becoming a god in a single thought. A name was merely a designation.
Hey, fellow Daoist, would you like to become a Mountain God's incarnation? To enjoy a Mountain God's endless lifespan and possess a Mountain God's powers? A Mountain God! From then on, every plant and animal in the mountains would be at her command. Never mind not having to worry about food or drink—she could even stage a few miracles to scare the emperor in the palace and that chief eunuch.
In only a moment, her thoughts had already leaped to the part where, after becoming a Mountain God, she swept through all opposition, forced the emperor to pardon her father and brother, and had him respectfully invite them back to the Capital City to be honored.
Her thoughts jumped about too wildly, and since this was a dream, some ideas took form. Watching the little figures that had appeared out of thin air beside her act out a tiny show, Lord Pan could not help but draw a deep breath and stress, "An incarnation! You are only the Mountain God's incarnation, not the Mountain God's true self!"
"So does the incarnation have the true self's powers?"
It had some of those powers, but...
Seeing her excitement, the Mountain God abruptly changed His mind. "Forget it. You will not become my incarnation. I will give you this Merit Stone instead. You must make a contract with me: in the future, half the merit from your achievements shall belong to me."
Pan Yun said, "Master, what if I commit sins? Of course, your disciple is not saying I am a bad person and will definitely commit sins, but you know how it is—when one walks the rivers and lakes, much is beyond one's control. What if I do commit sins and make some grave mistake?"
The Mountain God looked down at the little person with her earnest eyes and suddenly felt some regret. Why had He chosen her just because He had seen her extraordinary talent and believed that she would ultimately succeed in cultivating the Dao?
Those with extraordinary talent could become gods, but they could also become demons.
The Mountain God no longer wanted any benefits. He merely wanted to say: after you leave, do not tell anyone that you are my disciple.
In any case, the Merit Stone was of little use to Him. It was only a stone that had changed after being stained by merit acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao.
Merit was not stored inside it.
The incense offerings and merit due to each god and immortal automatically returned to that deity; they did not remain in the Merit Stone.
It was simply that merit always passed through this stone, where the Heavenly Dao filtered it and weighed gains against losses. Having been steeped in it for hundreds and thousands of years, the stone had slowly transformed and gained the ability to automatically recognize and measure merit.
And because it had long been suffused with the power of merit, it had acquired the qualities of calming the mind and drawing people's affection.
It was a fine thing for humans, but to gods and immortals, it was truly of no great use.
Still, it was something one could encounter only by chance and never seek at will. After all, not every stone touched by merit could undergo such a transformation.
Just as not every stone could give birth to a stone monkey.
The Mountain God suddenly understood. The appearance of this Merit Stone on Mount Sanqing was not an opportunity granted to Him by the Heavenly Dao, but one granted to this child.
He turned and left.
Pan Yun immediately flopped to the ground and wrapped both arms around His thigh. "Master, don't go! It is not that your disciple is unwilling. I am only afraid that I will be unable to restrain my nature, and one day cause a great disaster that will implicate Master."
She raised her head and looked at Him pleadingly. "Master, I am kind by nature, hate evil as though it were an enemy, and cannot tolerate even half a grain of sand in my eyes. In the future, when I am outside..."
"You need not become my incarnation, and I do not want your merit either. Starting today, take the Merit Stone down the mountain. From now on, do not tell others that you are my disciple, nor mention my name again."
He turned to leave, but Pan Yun clung tightly to His leg.
Pan Yun said, "Master, are you abandoning your disciple just like that? How can your disciple accept so many benefits from you for nothing? Aside from the two things mentioned earlier, whatever you ask me to do, whether climbing a mountain of blades or plunging into a sea of fire, your disciple will not hesitate."
Those words sounded far too familiar. After all, He had just heard them.
Lord Pan realized it too. He lowered his eyes to look at her, then after a long while said, "You are more shameless and far thicker-skinned than your Senior Brother. If he had possessed your temperament back then, he would not have been trapped on this mountain for so many years."
Pan Yun's heart jolted, but she did not dare ask further. She merely put on an innocent, uncomprehending expression and looked at Lord Pan.
Lord Pan thought it over. Pan Yun was uncontrollable. If He bound Himself deeply to her with the Merit Stone, fortune and disaster alike would be difficult to predict. Better to make another request that would not harm Him too greatly.
He said, "Did you not promise to rebuild a temple for me? Complete that first. When you have spare time, do more good deeds below the mountain and spread the majesty of Mount Sanqing's Mountain God. Once you are more than a hundred li beyond Mount Sanqing, do not mention that you are my disciple, and do not mention my name again."
Pan Yun asked, "Why?"
Lord Pan smiled without smiling. "I fear that before my mighty name spreads, grievances and karmic debts will arrive first."
Pan Yun felt a little embarrassed when she heard that.
Lord Pan moved His leg. "Let go."
"Oh." Pan Yun hurriedly released Him and braced herself against the ground to rise, but for some reason, her leg suddenly twitched. With a plop, she dropped to her knees again. Her body unsteady, her hands grabbed wildly.
That grab caught the bottom of the scabbard Lord Pan held in one hand. Lord Pan's face changed, and He reached out to seize it, but He was already too late. The scabbard Pan Yun had taken for a treasured sword was light as air, and she pulled it off in one motion. When she looked up, her gaze met Lord Pan's—one hand reaching for the scabbard, the other holding a broken sword with most of it snapped off, leaving only a section of the hilt.
Pan Yun watched His face instantly flush crimson. In shame and fury, He shoved her away, snatched back the scabbard and sheathed the broken sword, then vanished from her dream with a whoosh.
The moment Lord Pan emerged, He saw the black cat standing stiffly atop Pan Yun's knee and knew it was the culprit. A wind rose from level ground, directly flinging the black cat off the bed. Then He stormed out like a gust of wind, knocking the door open.
The door slammed against the wall with a tremendous bang. Startled, Pan Yun opened her eyes and abruptly sat up. Looking down, she met Pan Little Black's dizzy gaze as it had just climbed back up.
She rubbed her knee and stared at it with a dangerous expression. "Was it you who bumped into me?"
Pan Little Black cried injustice. "I saw mosquitoes circling around you, so I pounced on them. I only accidentally bumped into your leg. If you do not believe me, feel your face. There is such a huge bump there. If it were not for me, you would have at least three bumps by now."
Pan Yun touched her face and indeed found a huge bump. She was immediately left speechless.
Pan Little Black cautiously stepped closer and asked in her mind, [What happened? Did your discussion not go well?]
Pan Yun gave a cold laugh. [It was going very smoothly. Because of that one bump, He flew into a rage from humiliation. It would already be a mercy if He did not kill me to silence me.]
Pan Little Black froze from whiskers to tail. What had it done? Had it not merely pounced on a mosquito and bumped her leg?
Pan Yun rubbed her forehead and did not explain further. She had never imagined that the majestic Mountain God's treasured sword was actually just for show.
So her Mountain God Master was... poor?
The next day, Pan Yun went to find her Senior Brother with dark circles under her eyes.
When Wang Fei Yin saw her like that, he could not help worrying. "Did you not sleep at all last night?"
He wanted to ask about the Mountain God, but he was afraid she might find it difficult to speak of.
But Pan Yun had already taken the initiative to bring up their Mountain God Master. "Senior Brother, does our Master receive abundant incense offerings?"
"Very abundant. Within a hundred li, whenever people have troubles, aside from going to Ge Immortal Temple, Fuqing Temple, or Lingji Temple, they worship our Master."
Pan Yun asked, "There are so many temples and shrines around Mount Sanqing?"
Wang Fei Yin said, "It is all right. There are not especially many."
"Then how many households are there within a hundred li?"
Wang Fei Yin thought for a moment before saying, "Around two or three thousand households."
Could that many people support a god? And with so many Daoist temples and shrines nearby?
Pan Yun sighed and asked, "Senior Brother, if I want to give Master a sword, do I only need to make one from paper and burn it for Him?"
Wang Fei Yin touched her forehead. "Fifth Junior Sister, what are you thinking? A paper sword remains paper in the other world. It will not turn into iron or bronze.
"You do not need to give Master some heavy gift. The thought is what counts. Master will not fuss over such things."
Pan Yun silently looked at Wang Fei Yin. She vaguely understood why, when Wang Fei Yin had prayed to rebuild the temple, Master had refused.
He probably knew that even if Senior Brother rebuilt it with all his heart, he could not build it very well.
Better not to make a fuss at all.
Ah, if yesterday's incident had not happened, she would naturally have been willing to be like Senior Brother and let the thought be what counted.
But had she not offended Master, and then received such an enormous benefit for nothing?
If Pan Yun did not repay something, she would feel uneasy.
With a wave of her little hand, she declared, "I have decided. I will earn money and build a temple for Master."
Wang Fei Yin exclaimed in amazement, "Junior Sister is actually so wealthy?"
Pan Yun asked, "How much does it cost to build a temple?"
"That depends on how you build it. At the very least, it would cost several hundred taels. At the high end, there is no limit. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels could all be spent on one."
Pan Yun said, "Senior Brother, lower your head and look at me. I am only eight this year."
Wang Fei Yin said, "Then build one that costs several hundred taels. To build a temple, you need to buy land. If you build one in a bustling place, you must obtain approval from the authorities. But if you only build it in a village, near the old site, you merely need the village's consent."
"Buying bricks, buying timber, hiring workers, then creating the divine statue—it would cost at least four or five hundred taels, no matter what."
Pan Yun sighed. "It would be nice if we could meet a few more people as generous as old Prince Zhou."
Mentioning old Prince Zhou made Pan Yun think of her father. Counting on her fingers, she said, "I wonder whether my letter has reached Datong yet."
In Datong, the Civil Mail Bureau staff took the letter and, with practiced ease, headed for Exile Village. They knocked on the door of a half-open thatched hut and called loudly, "Is Scholar Pan here?"
This chapter's lucky number was still one ending in 6. Screenshot as proof.
Before you continue