Caught You, Didn't I?

The notice was not only posted on the city walls. Pan Yun's sharp eyes spotted several sheets laid out on the table by the city gate as well.

She knew she would not be able to enter this city. Lowering her head, she turned to leave, only for a hand to suddenly press down on her shoulder, people instantly pinning her in from both sides.

"Meow—" Pan Little Black was startled and rolled off Pan Yun's shoulder in a flash, hitting the ground with a bang.

The child standing before Pan Yun saw it and ached with distress. He hurriedly crouched down to pick it up.

Pan Yun's expression did not change. The instant the black cat rolled away, she had already prepared to exert force, but a finger suddenly tapped her waist, sealing an acupoint. That familiar feeling...

Pan Yun instantly broke through the sealed acupoint, yet did not move. She merely looked up to see Xuan Miao standing on her right and Tao Ji on her left.

Meeting her gaze, Tao Ji smiled without smiling. "Surprised how you ended up on the wanted list?"

Xuan Miao frowned. "Stop wasting words. Go."

Xuan Miao grabbed Pan Yun and turned to leave. Pan Yun only had time to glance at the child and black cat before Tao Ji reached out, lifted both the child and cat, and took them away.

The four of them and one cat left quietly, without alarming anyone at the city gate.

Once they reached a secluded place, Pan Yun shifted her feet and instantly put five paces between herself and Xuan Miao.

Tao Ji moved to seize her upon seeing this, but Xuan Miao stopped him and said to Pan Yun, "Do you think the Imperial Guards are good-for-nothing sacks of wine and rice? Do you think no one is watching Pan Hong and his three sons in Datong right now?"

Pan Yun's chest rose and fell, but she said nothing.

"The Imperial Guards' eyes are everywhere. They are far more capable than you imagine.

"An Imperial Guard chased a little girl through the streets and then disappeared. If they could not find you in one day, could they not find you in five days? Ten days?"

Pan Yun's heart sank without end.

It was rare for Xuan Miao to say so much at once. "You think too little of the adults, and too little of the Imperial Guards.

"You should count yourself fortunate that you were weak and sickly from childhood, never stepping beyond the inner gate, so none of the neighbors had ever seen you. That was why no one could link you to the Pan family. Otherwise, your second uncle's family would already be in the Enforcement Division's prison."

Pan Yun touched the Peace Talisman she wore. It was still intact, unchanged from how it had been at noon. Therefore, Xuan Miao and Tao Ji would not harm her now.

She looked up at Xuan Miao, studying her seriously for the first time. "Isn't this our first meeting? Why are you helping me like this?"

Xuan Miao said gravely, "Because of a promise! Since you agreed to travel with us and enter the mountains to cultivate your heart, you must fulfill your promise. And I, knowing that you had killed someone yet not handing you over to the authorities, had already decided to bring you back to the temple for cultivation the moment you promised to mend your ways and cultivate your heart. Only by taking you back can I avoid betraying my promise."

Pan Yun said, "...But that promise was not made to me. You merely thought it in your heart. You could completely..."

"Is a promise not spoken aloud no longer a promise?" Xuan Miao looked at her sternly. "Is deceiving yourself not deception?"

Xuan Miao fixed her gaze on Pan Yun. "If someone can deceive herself, to whom can she keep a promise?"

Pan Yun had no reply.

At the side, Tao Ji seemed to want to speak, but stopped himself.

Pan Yun looked sharply at him. "What do you have to say?"

He was so cautious around his Junior Sister, yet acted like this toward her—bullying the weak and fearing the strong!

Though grumbling inwardly, Tao Ji's expression was no kinder. "Nothing. Hurry up. How many detours have we taken chasing after you all this way?"

Not only had they failed to get closer to home, they had gotten farther away. Where on earth had they detoured to?

Pan Yun did not immediately set out. Instead, she turned back to look at the towering city walls.

Xuan Miao's heart softened. Walking to Pan Yun's side, she said, "There will always be another chance. You are still too young. Once you grow a little older, you can go."

Pan Yun said, "With this wanted notice posted, how will I go in the future? I am afraid even living a normal life will become difficult."

"Do not worry. It will not affect you at all," Tao Ji said faintly. "Because in mountain life, hardly anyone will see such a thing. Even if they do, they will not remember it."

Xuan Miao said, "You are still young. In a few more years, your appearance will change. There are many similar-looking people in the world. Without evidence proving that it is you, the Imperial Guards cannot do anything to you."

Pan Yun gave a cold laugh. "If the Imperial Guards truly obeyed laws and discipline so faithfully, would my father have been exiled to Datong? Do you know how my father was imprisoned? Do you know why Xue Xuan, the former Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, nearly had his head chopped off?"

Pan Yun's expression instantly darkened. "Because the Imperial Guards accused them, empty-mouthed and bare-toothed, of favoritism and taking bribes, while Wang Wen of the Censorate said, 'I heard' and 'otherwise,' so they were convicted!

"Among all the civil and military officials in court, apart from that fool sitting on the dragon throne, who did not know they were wrongly accused?

"Who had evidence proving they were guilty?"

If even Xue Xuan, an official, and her father could be convicted without evidence, dealing with her would be no more than raising a hand.

Yet Xuan Miao remained calm and stressed again, "They cannot do that to you. This, too, is a promise."

Though Tao Ji frowned, he did not object. "You think too little of us Daoists as well. While we generally do not involve ourselves in state affairs, we are not people just anyone can offend.

"How about this? Become my Junior Sister's disciple. From then on, Sanqing Temple will be your kin. Your Second Martial Uncle is currently at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' Imperial Astronomical Bureau in Beijing, and he occasionally even sees the emperor. Wang Zhen would not dare offend him too greatly."

There were three kinds of people in the palace who absolutely could not be offended: first, palace concubines; second, eunuchs; and third, officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' Imperial Astronomical Bureau who could tell fortunes.

Even the chief eunuchs around the emperor treated them courteously. Otherwise, one day they might say, "Your Majesty, there is someone wicked at your side. That person was born in the Year of the Snake."

Then everyone in the palace born in the Year of the Snake would have to be purged once over.

Even if the emperor remained rational, and the court officials opposed it so no purge occurred, those people would still be kept at a distance.

People would rather believe it existed than believe it did not.

So Pan Yun's matter truly was a trivial thing to Xuan Miao and Tao Ji.

Pan Yun opened her mouth, never having expected matters to take such a turn.

Tao Ji grew smug. "Well? Become my Junior Sister's disciple?"

"No!"

"I won't take her!"

The two spoke at the same time, yet their meaning was the same. Unable to help themselves, they both looked up at one another.

Tao Ji was quite disappointed. After hesitating a moment, he said awkwardly, "Then... I will reluctantly take you in?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Tao Ji felt that this was a fine idea. His eyes shone as he looked at Pan Yun. "You are intelligent and gifted, with great talent for cultivating the Dao. It would be a pity if you did not learn it."

He also wanted to ask where she had learned her strange arts—no, her spells—and how far she had cultivated them. They looked incredibly formidable.

But Daoists were extremely wary of outsiders probing the cultivation methods they practiced, unless they brought them up themselves.

Tao Ji was someone who followed rules very strictly. Though he was immensely curious, he still restrained his urge to question her further.

Xuan Miao stood before Pan Yun and made her decide. "Will you honestly come with us?"

Pan Yun said, "If I refuse, you will not force me?"

Xuan Miao shook her head. "If you refuse, then you can only keep your promise passively. A person cannot stand without trust. Since you made a promise, you should fulfill it."

After a pause, she said, "Pan Yun, the Pan family's chance at life rests with you."

Pan Yun lifted her head in surprise. Xuan Miao met her gaze, her eyes dark and deep. "If you are well, the Pan family will be well. If you go astray, the Pan family's fortune will take a sharp turn for the worse. If you die, everyone in the Pan family, including your uncle's family, will be doomed beyond redemption."

Tao Ji hurriedly cut her off. "Junior Sister!"

But Xuan Miao did not stop. Still looking at Pan Yun's face, she said, "If you die, your father will follow soon after. Then your two elder brothers. Your family was sentenced to permanent exile. If there is no reversal of the verdict and no general amnesty, someone must take over your father's military registration and service. First your uncle, then your cousin, and in the end, it may even spread to collateral branches of the Pan family..."

That was why exile and Military Exile were regarded as punishments as severe and harsh as beheading.

Among scholars and officials, some would rather have their heads cut off than be exiled for military service.

The former was merely one stroke after stretching out one's neck. The latter was an unending punishment, one that could even drag an entire Lineage down to ruin.

The former killed the body; the latter killed the heart. It was impossible to say which was worse.

Xuan Miao spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning deathly pale. Tao Ji hurriedly tossed aside the child in his arms and went to support her. Disapprovingly, he said, "You really are something. Senior Brother was right—you should learn those monks' silent meditation. Saying less is no longer enough for you. You should say nothing at all!"

Supported by Tao Ji, Xuan Miao sat cross-legged and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Tao Ji guardedly looked toward Pan Yun. "You are not thinking of taking this chance to run, are you?"

Pan Yun: ...She was not stupid. Xuan Miao had already laid things out so clearly, and it looked as though she was telling the truth. Why would she run?

Pan Yun merely felt somewhat disappointed and sad. She had been about to reach Datong. At her current pace, she could have seen her father, elder brother, and second elder brother in another four days.

Those damned Imperial Guards, that cursed Wang Zhen and Wang Wen. If she ever met them again, she would definitely throw a Misfortune Talisman at them.

Pan Yun muttered inwardly, but revealed nothing on her face. Calmly, she walked over and sat cross-legged opposite Xuan Miao. She had noticed that when they regulated their breathing, they only adjusted themselves internally, without drawing in the energy of heaven and earth to nourish their bodies.

Sigh, after all, Xuan Miao had been injured because of her. She would help her out.

With that thought, Pan Yun stirred the faint spiritual energy that existed between heaven and earth. Her breathing, and her body's breathing, slowly synchronized with it. As her cultivation method circulated, that spiritual energy was drawn over to circle around her...

Pan Yun absorbed only a little, leaving the rest drifting around herself and Xuan Miao.

Even if Xuan Miao did not actively absorb it, once the spiritual energy grew dense, her breath and the breathing of her skin could draw it into her body, leaving her feeling refreshed and at ease.

Xuan Miao was no fool. She quickly sensed something unusual. She opened her eyes and glanced at Pan Yun, then closed them and resumed regulating her breathing. The surrounding spiritual energy was absorbed by her.

Tao Ji stood at the side and watched them for a while. Seeing that he was not needed, he finally turned to look at the child who had been quietly huddling nearby.

The child hugged the black cat and hid off to one side. When he saw Tao Ji looking over, he instinctively shuffled toward Pan Yun. Yet he did not seem especially afraid of Tao Ji, so after moving two steps, he simply stared at him with round eyes, the two of them locked in a wide-eyed contest.

Only then did Tao Ji have time to wonder: Pan Yun had been focused on escaping, yet she had still casually saved a little beggar along the way?

It seemed he and his Junior Sister had not misjudged her after all. Though Pan Yun's actions were both righteous and wicked, her heart was good.

Looking again at the child's features, Tao Ji, only half-skilled in physiognomy, frowned. A face destined for early death? Hm, his features also carried a trace of nobility. How had he ended up wandering outside as a beggar?

Today's ten winning numbers are those ending in 3. Screenshots are proof. The screenshot deadline is before the next chapter is released. Winning readers, please join the "Sword Going Against the Grain Great Ming" Q group.