Xue Shao planned to make a trip to the county yamen. He would inspect his way south, then head north through South of the Yangtze.
"Last night, I forgot to ask—how did you end up here?"
Pan Yun said, "I was bored staying in the Capital City, and my cultivation had made no progress for two months. So I came out to gain experience, observe people's livelihood, and find a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters to enter secluded cultivation."
"Aren't you cultivating merit?"
After she had snatched back the late Emperor's body, her merit had surged wildly. Later, when the imperial campaign ended and she returned to the Capital City, it surged again. After becoming the State Preceptor, her spirit realm broke through two seals in succession. After that, her merit bar had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, while the progress needed was an entire finger—the longest one at that.
That meant the merit she had painstakingly accumulated over more than ten years was worth only a fingernail before the next seal.
But after breaking two seals in succession, her spirit realm had become utterly different. She had a premonition that once she broke another seal, she would be able to touch upon the mystery of separating soul from body. If the soul could leave the body without perishing, wouldn't that be half-immortality?
And such an immense amount of merit could only come from the people.
Seeing that she did not answer, Xue Shao did not force the issue and simply invited her, "Since you wish to observe people's livelihood, would you like to come with me?"
Pan Yun considered it, then nodded. "All right."
The two returned to the Xu family together, called Xi Jin over, and bid the Xu family farewell.
Old Master Xu