Chapter 46: Accidents, All Accidents

"You said today that you wanted to spread the mighty reputation of the Mountain God of Mount Sanqing far and wide. From now on, you shall walk the mortal world as my avatar."

Pan Yun straightened her back, purely out of curiosity. "Master, if I walk the mortal world as your avatar, does that mean I can use your powers, as if I truly were Mount Sanqing itself?"

If that were the case, she was more than willing.

She was willing for every good deed she would do in the future, and every achievement she would attain, to be attributed to the name of Mount Sanqing.

This was practically becoming a deity with a single thought; a name was merely a code designation anyway.

*Hey, fellow Daoist, would you like to be the avatar of a mountain god? To enjoy boundless longevity like a mountain god and possess the powers of a mountain god—a mountain god, no less! From then on, all the plants and animals in the mountains would be at her disposal. Not only would she never have to worry about food and drink, but she could also pull off some divine miracles to scare the emperor in the imperial palace and that grand eunuch.*

In just a short moment, her thoughts had already leapt to her slaughtering all directions after becoming a mountain god, forcing the emperor to pardon her father and elder brother, and respectfully inviting them back to the capital to be pampered.

Her thoughts were too erratic, and since she was in a dream, some of her ideas were materialized. Lord Pan watched the mini-movie played out by the small figure appearing out of thin air beside him. He couldn't help but take a deep breath and emphasize, "An avatar! You are merely the avatar of a mountain god, not the mountain god in person!"

"So does the avatar have the power of the true self?"

It had partial powers, but...

The Mountain God looked at her excited self and instantly changed his mind. "Forget it, I won't let you be my avatar. I'll give you this merit stone instead. You must make a contract with me: in the future, half of the merits you achieve will belong to me."

Pan Yun asked, "Master, what if I commit misdeeds? Of course, your disciple isn't saying she's a bad person and will definitely commit evil, but you know how it is, walking the pugilistic world often leaves one's hands tied. What if I do commit evil and make a grave mistake?"

The Mountain God lowered his head to look at the sincere-eyed little figure, suddenly feeling a tinge of regret. Why on earth had she caught his eye for her transcendent talent, making him think she could eventually achieve success in Taoism and thus choose her?

A person with transcendent talent could become either a deity or a demon.

The Mountain God no longer wanted any benefits; he just wanted to say: *Once you go out, don't you dare say you're my disciple.*

Besides, that merit stone wasn't of much use to him anyway; it was merely a rock that had undergone mutation after being stained by merits approved by the Heavenly Dao.

Merits were not stored inside it.

The incense and merits deserved by every deity automatically returned to the deity themselves and would not linger in the merit stone.

However, merits always passed through this stone, where the Heavenly Dao filtered and weighed gains and losses. After being stained by them for thousands of years, it slowly changed, acquiring the ability to automatically recognize and quantify merits.

Moreover, due to being steeped in the power of merit for many years, it possessed the characteristics of calming the mind and inspiring affection.

While it was a good thing for mortals, it was truly useless to immortals.

Still, such an item could only be chanced upon, not sought deliberately. After all, not every rock stained by merit could undergo such a transformation.

Just as not every rock could give birth to a stone monkey.

The Mountain God understood in a flash: the appearance of this merit stone on Mount Sanqing was not an opportunity given to him by the Heavenly Dao, but to this child.

He turned and left.

Pan Yun lunged to the ground, grabbing his trouser leg tightly. "Master, don't go! It's not that your disciple is unwilling, but I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress my nature and one day bring great disaster, implicating you, Master."

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Master, my nature is kind, I loathe evil as I loathe foes, and I cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in my eyes. In the future, when I am out there—"

"You don't need to be my avatar, and I don't want your merits either. Starting today, take the merit stone and go down the mountain. From now on, do not tell anyone outside that you are my disciple."

He turned to leave, but his leg was grabbed in a death grip by Pan Yun.

Pan Yun pleaded, "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 conditions I mentioned earlier, whatever you command me to do—even climbing a mountain of blades or plunging into a sea of fire—your disciple will not hesitate!"

These words sounded far too familiar, seeing as he had just heard them.

Lord Pan reacted as well. He lowered his gaze to look at her, and after a long while, said, "You are far more shameless and thick-skinned than your senior brother. If he had your temperament back then, he wouldn't have been trapped on this mountain for all these years."

A jolt went through Pan Yun's heart, but she didn't dare to probe further. She simply put on an innocent expression, looking at Lord Pan as if she didn't understand a word.

Lord Pan pondered. Pan Yun was uncontrollable; if he were to bind her deeply with the merit stone, who knew whether blessings or disasters awaited? It would be better to ask for something else that wouldn't cause him too much damage.

He said, "Didn't you promise to rebuild the temple for me? Just finish this first. When you have free time, do more good deeds down the mountain to spread the mighty reputation of the Mount Sanqing Mountain God. Once you are a hundred li beyond Mount Sanqing, do not mention that you are my disciple, nor mention my name."

Pan Yun asked, "Why?"

Lord Pan smiled rather than smiled. "I am afraid that before my mighty reputation spreads, karmic debts will arrive first."

Hearing this, Pan Yun felt a bit embarrassed.

Lord Pan moved his leg and said, "Let go."

"Oh," Pan Yun quickly released her grip. She braced her hands on the ground to stand up, but for some reason, her leg suffered a violent spasm, and with a *thud*, she knelt back to the ground. Losing her balance, she flailed her hands blindly.

This grab happened to catch the bottom of the scabbard that Lord Pan was holding with one hand. Lord Pan's expression shifted; he reached out to grab it, but it was already too late. The scabbard, which Pan Yun believed to be a precious sword, was feather-light and easily snatched away by her. When she raised her head, she locked eyes with Lord Pan, who was holding onto the scabbard with one hand and holding a broken sword—snapped halfway with only a hilt remaining—in the other.

Pan Yun watched as the man instantly flushed bright red. Embarrassed and exasperated, he pushed her away, snatched the scabbard back to sheath the broken blade, and vanished from her dreamscape in a *whoosh*.

As soon as Lord Pan materialized, he saw a black cat standing stiffly on Pan Yun's knees. Knowing it was the culprit behind the mischief, he summoned a sudden gust of wind that unceremoniously blew the black cat off the bed, then burst through the door like a gale and left.

The door slammed against the wall with a thunderous crash, startling Pan Yun awake. She sat up abruptly, and the moment she lowered her head, she came face to face with a dizzy, newly-risen Blackie.

She rubbed her knees and stared at the cat with a dangerous gaze. "Did you shove me?"

Blackie protested its grievance. "I saw a mosquito buzzing around you, so I pounced on it and accidentally bumped into your leg! If you don't believe me, touch your face—there's a huge bump. If not for me, you'd have at least three bumps starting out."

Pan Yun touched her cheek and indeed felt a large bump, leaving her completely speechless.

Blackie cautiously stepped forward and asked her mentally, *[What's wrong? Did your negotiation not go well?]*

Pan Yun sneered. *[It was going very well originally, but because of that little incident, he flew into a rage from embarrassment. It's a miracle he didn't silence me to cover it up.]*

The entire cat was stupefied. What had it done? Didn't it just pounce on a mosquito for her and bump into her leg?

Pan Yun rubbed her temples without further explanation. She never could have imagined that the majestic, awe-inspiring Mountain God would wield a decorative prop for a sword.

So... her Mountain God master was... actually poor?

The next day, Pan Yun went to look for her senior brother with dark circles under her eyes.

Wang Feiyin couldn't help but worry when he saw her like this. He asked, "Did you not sleep at all last night?"

He wanted to ask about the Mountain God, but was afraid she might find it a sensitive subject.

Yet Pan Yun took the initiative to bring up their Mountain God master. "Senior Brother, is our master blessed with abundant incense offerings?"

"Abundant indeed," Wang Feiyin replied. "Within a radius of a hundred li, whenever people have matters to attend to, aside from visiting Mount Ge Temple, Fuqing Temple, and Lingji Temple, they worship our master."

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

Wang Feiyin answered, "It's alright, not exceptionally many."

"Then how many households do we have within a radius of a hundred li?"

Wang Feiyin thought for a moment before saying, "About two to three thousand households, I suppose."

Could that population support a deity? Especially with so many other Daoist temples and shrines around.

Pan Yun sighed and asked, "Senior Brother, if I want to give Master a sword, would it do to just make one out of paper and burn it for him?"

Wang Feiyin tapped her forehead. "Fifth Junior Sister, what are you imagining? Once a paper sword reaches the other world, it's still made of paper; it won't turn into iron or copper. You don't need to give Master a heavy gift; it's the thought that counts. The venerable Master won't mind these things."

Pan Yun looked at Wang Feiyin in silence. She vaguely understood why Master hadn't agreed when Wang Feiyin prayed to rebuild the temple.

He probably knew that even if Senior Brother tried his best to renovate it, it wouldn't turn out very well, right?

Better not to make a fuss over it.

Alas, if not for yesterday's mishap, she naturally would have been content to follow Senior Brother's philosophy—that the thought counts.

But she had offended Master and yet unmeritedly received such a massive benefit, didn't she?

If Pan Yun didn't offer something in return, her conscience wouldn't let her rest.

She waved her little hand and declared, "I've decided. I'm going to make money to build a temple for Master."

Wang Feiyin marveled, "Junior Sister is actually this 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'll take a few hundred taels. If more, the sky's the limit—tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of taels can be spent."

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

Wang Feiyin suggested, "Then let's build one costing a few hundred taels. Building a temple requires buying land. If you want to build it in a prosperous place, you have to get approval from the yamen. But if you just build it in a village near the old site, you only need the village's consent. Buying bricks, timber, hiring workers, and sculpting the divine statue... it will still take four or five hundred taels at least."

Pan Yun sighed, "If only we could run into a few more people as generous as old Prince Zhou."

Mentioning old Prince Zhou inevitably made Pan Yun think of her father. She pinched her fingers to calculate the time and muttered, "I wonder if my letter has reached Datong yet."

In Datong, a postal worker retrieved the letter, walked skillfully toward the exiled village, knocked on a half-open thatched cottage, and shouted loudly, "Is Scholar Pan in?"