Chapter 784
Changes
The group turned their heads and saw two or three people walking slowly towards them, carrying wooden buckets, winnowing baskets, ropes, shovels, and other tools.
Seeing them making a fire, the crowd curiously approached. When they saw the large fish the people were carrying, they exclaimed in amazement and excitement, "Did you catch this from the sea?"
Pan Yun nodded: "Yes."
"Great, great! It looks like we'll find a lot of good stuff after the tide goes out tonight. This area hasn't been fished in a long time."
Pan Yun: "Are you here to catch the tide?"
"Correct."
Pan Yun smiled and reminded her, "The tide doesn't recede until around 3 AM. It's still early, so why don't you go home and rest first?"
They didn't listen: "That won't do. The sea ban has just been lifted, and we don't have any boats to go out to sea to fish. Going with the tide is the best and easiest way."
"The New Year is almost here, so it's good to collect as much stuff as possible. Even if we can't sell it, it's good to take it home and eat it ourselves."
After saying that, he stared at the big, fat fish in their hands and secretly swallowed.
Pan Yun nodded slightly and generously invited them to sit down and eat grilled fish together.
Catching fish wasn't difficult for Xiao Hong and Pan Xiao Hei, and the fish they caught were all big. Two fish would be enough for so many of them, and the rest could indeed be offered to them.
Miao and Miaozhen rolled up their sleeves to prepare the fish, while Pan Jun, carrying Pan Xiaohei, strolled towards the sea, a fishing net appearing in her hand at some point.
No one around noticed that Pan Yun floated gracefully to a distant reef. Before anyone could cry out in alarm, she cast her net, pulled it up a moment later, and caught more than twenty fish.
The net became very heavy, but Pan Yun managed to drag it up, and then, while the seawater was lapping against the shore, she floated gracefully onto the beach with the net.
Pan Jun dragged the net full of fish aboard, and made Wang Cong take them all out. He left a few for them to grill, and packed the rest to take with them.
When you go home, you should at least bring back some local specialties, right?
A passerby stared at her blankly and couldn't help but ask, "Young lady, are you a Taoist priest?"
Pan Yun glanced down at her casual clothes and smiled, "No."
The people chasing the tide were somewhat disappointed: "No, seeing how skilled you are, I thought you were Master Pan."
Pan Yun: "Master Pan is so amazing, how can I compare to her?"
“That’s true. Although I’ve never met her, I’ve heard that Master Pan is very beautiful, like a fairy. You certainly don’t look like one.”
Pan Yun: ...
The person next to him was already complaining, "What do you mean 'like a fairy'? Master Pan is a fairy, this person..."
He looked Pan Yun up and down, then shook his head and said, "Not nearly as good."
Xue Shao couldn't help but smile, interrupting their conversation as he rescued Pan Yun from inside.
Pan Yun smoothly changed the subject: "Now that the sea ban has been lifted, what are your plans for the future?"
They were all very excited, chattering amongst themselves: "Let's catch the tide first..."
“The government office has boat rentals, and we plan to rent one boat from our two families to go fishing at sea after the New Year.”
“I don’t fish. My dad says I’m not a good swimmer and can’t go to sea. But after the New Year, there will definitely be more boats in the port. I can go to the port to run errands for people and earn some money. That way, I can pay less rent for two acres of land. The rent is too expensive.”
"Yes, the rent is too expensive, and whether we can have a good harvest depends on God."
"Now it's good, we have another way to make a living. We'll all rent less and see how those landlords can raise the rent."
The fish was grilled, and Pan Jun ate it while listening with great interest.
They roasted several fish over the fire, kept two for themselves, and gave the rest, along with the fire, to the people who came to catch the tide.
When they left, there were already quite a few people on the beach. They sat down far from the water, with burlap sacks spread out on the sand.
The majority are young adults, with only a small number being elderly people and women.
Pan Yun glanced back before leaving, and it took Wang Cong several calls to bring her back to her senses.
They walked along the road, into the woods, and when no one was watching, they released the Three Treasures Cauldron. One by one, they climbed inside. Xi Jin was visibly excited; it was the first time he had sat in the Three Treasures Cauldron while fully conscious, and he was overjoyed.
Once inside, apart from Pan Yun who stood controlling the flying cauldron, everyone else sat cross-legged inside the cauldron with their eyes closed, resting.
Seeing that he was really excited, Xue Shao patted his head and laughed, "If you want to see, then stand up and watch."
Before Xue Shao could finish speaking, Xi Jin stood up and peered out from under the pot.
In the darkness, only a few points of light could be seen ahead and below, as distant and unreachable as the stars in the sky.
But soon, the Three Treasures Cauldron flew over those areas, and then a hazy starlight enveloped them, blurring the mountains, rivers, vegetation, and trees below...
Xi Jin stared blankly for a while, then sat down next to Xue Shao and asked softly, "Young Master, if you start cultivating now, will you be able to do this in the future?"
Xue Shao: "It's generally possible."
Xi Jin grabbed his arm and said, "Then don't sleep, seize the time to cultivate now."
Xue Shao: "...It's late, we should rest."
"But you have plenty of energy, and you used to study late into the night. It's nothing for you to miss one night of sleep."
Xue Shao flicked his forehead: "Go to sleep, don't disturb the peace."
Xi Jin reluctantly sat down next to him and closed her eyes, but she couldn't fall asleep at all; she was completely excited.
Just as he finally calmed his excited mind and drifted off to sleep, he was shaken awake.
They arrived, and not only did they arrive, but it was also just beginning to get light.
Pan Yun stopped the Three Treasures Cauldron and slept for an hour before waking them up at dawn.
She placed the Three Treasures Cauldron between the academy and Shangqing Town, and walked half a step uphill to reach the mountain gate.
The academy had already closed for the holidays, and there were hardly any people there at the time. However, the Da Shangqing Palace was bustling with worshippers, as many people had come up the mountain to pray and burn incense recently because the Lunar New Year was approaching.
They entered through the Shangqing Palace, reached the entrance of the academy, and pushed the door open to go inside.
The senior disciple guarding the gate was sitting on a futon, sunbathing and cracking pine nuts. The door was pushed open, and he was still battling with a single pine nut.
He looked up, bewildered, and met the gaze of Pan Yun, who had just entered through the door.
Pan Yun grinned, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Senior Brother."
The senior student guarding the gate silently put the whole pine nut into his mouth and chewed it up, shell and all: "Junior Sister Pan, the academy is on holiday."
“I know, we’re back to retrieve our luggage. We left a lot of our luggage at the academy when we went out to sea.”
The senior student guarding the gate stared at her blankly for a moment. Seeing that she really had no intention of giving way, he took out a notebook and handed it to her: "Fill it out."
Pan Yun immediately filled out the registration form, then waved her hand and led everyone toward Fengqi Courtyard.
The senior guard stopped Xiao Hong and Hong Yan, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
Pan Yun turned around and silently met his gaze.
The senior disciple guarding the gate glanced at Xue Shao and Xi Jin, and said expressionlessly, "These two are one thing, although they are not disciples of my academy, they are still human beings. What about these two?"
Pan Yun pulled his hand aside and whispered, "Senior brother, all the teachers in the academy know about this. Xiao Hong is an acquaintance of theirs. You've been guarding the gate all this time, so you should know."
"Don't talk nonsense, I don't know."
Pan Jun slipped a silver ingot into his hand.
The gatekeeper glanced at the silver ingot in his hand, silently tucked it into his sleeve, and nodded, saying, "Alright, I can understand it too. Half an hour, is that enough?"
Pan Jun nodded repeatedly: "That's enough, that's enough."
If they didn't come out after half an hour, the gatekeeper couldn't possibly abandon the gate and run in to catch them. (End of Chapter)