The young woman had seen through it long ago. The moment Pan Yun was handed over, she began circling the empty patch beside the plum tree. Before long, she had traced out a circle—the very spot where Wang Yong had been buried.
Pan Yun saw it, and her brows twitched. Dangling in midair from the young man's grip, she stared wide-eyed at the black cat in his arms.
She wanted to speak, only to find that no sound would come out. She could only widen her eyes further, then poked at the Three Jade Spirit Realm in her mind. [Bite him.]
The black cat stared back at her with wide eyes and did not move.
Pan Yun said gently and patiently, [If I die, then before I die, I'll definitely destroy my Mud Pill Palace.]
The black cat's eyes widened even further, its chest heaving unevenly. The young man holding it could not help lowering his head to look at it, deeply worried. "What's wrong with you?"
He wanted to check on the cat, but he did not dare put Pan Yun down. Weighing both sides, his head began to ache.
Then the black cat made the choice for him. Its claws suddenly raked toward his eyes, and it bit down hard on the web between his thumb and forefinger.
The young man let out an "Ow!" To the cat and Pan Yun's surprise, he did not fling the black cat away. Instead, he dropped Pan Yun, then reached out to grab the cat, looking as though he intended to endure the pain and soothe it.
But the black cat clearly did not appreciate his kindness. Taking advantage of the moment his hand loosened, it endured the pain and leaped away with all its might...
After Pan Yun was thrown out, she rolled across the ground. As she passed the black cat, she scooped it up into her arms and ran toward the depths of the woods...
She was a woman of her word. They could fight in private, but for now, they were allies.
No matter how foolish the young man was, he could see that the cat and the child were in league!
He took off after them.
The young woman merely turned her head to glance at them and ignored them. She had already marked out the area. With practiced ease, she fetched a shovel and hoe from a nearby corner by the wall and began digging.
The young man chased after Pan Yun. As Pan Yun sprinted wildly, she tried to gather spiritual energy again, only to discover that her meridians had been sealed. The hand seals she formed were completely useless.
She could not help cursing under her breath. Hugging the black cat tightly, she darted past the plum tree before her and ran toward the back gate of the temple ahead.
With a whoosh, the young man flew over her head. He paid no heed to the obstacles she had set using her footwork and the plum trees, landing lightly in front of her.
Pan Yun nearly failed to stop in time and crashed into him.
The young man grabbed the back of her collar and lifted her up again. "Run, then. Run some more. Your meridians are sealed—do you really think you can get away? I've lived all these years for nothing, then."
Dangling from his hand, Pan Yun kicked at him furiously. The young man raised a hand and smacked away each foot that came at him. He did not hold back, and the pain made Pan Yun suck in a breath.
Pan Yun was carried back. After he tapped several points on her body, he threw her onto the ground. This time, forget casting spells—she could not even move. Whatever position she landed in was the position she remained in.
The young woman had already dug the pit open again and was now crouched beside it, examining the corpse.
When the young man stepped forward and saw the pit full of scarlet blood, he frowned. "Junior Sister, we should report this to the authorities."
The young woman nodded. "Go bring the constables. I'll watch over this place."
Unable to move, Pan Yun grew anxious in secret. If the officials outside were truly summoned, not only she, but the Pan family would be implicated as well.
Pan Yun lowered her eyes. Once she entered meditation, she mobilized the vital essence within her body and repeatedly struck at her meridians.
So-called acupoint sealing was merely the other party sending a strand of energy into the acupoints and meridians, sealing off the functions of the corresponding meridians.
Acupoint sealing would recover after some time because that strand of energy would slowly dissipate. The deeper the cultivator's power, the more energy they could send in, and the longer it would last;
Besides waiting for it to dissipate naturally, one could also use one's own energy and strength to strike at the acupoints and meridians.
But the person sealing acupoints would often seal more than one point. Thus, to mobilize the energy in the Dantian, one had to break through them one by one. Yet they had forgotten that the meridians throughout a person's limbs and body also contained vital essence.
Seeing that the young man was already heading out, Pan Yun had no time to mobilize the faint spiritual energy in her Dantian. She directly compressed the nearby vital essence in her body and forced open an acupoint.
The pain of that desperate rush made her cry out. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth as she hurriedly said, "The one in the pit is an Imperial Guard!"
The young man stopped in his tracks and turned back in surprise. The young woman also looked up from the pit toward Pan Yun.
After catching her breath, Pan Yun said, "His name is Wang Yong. He is the nephew of the Grand Eunuch Wang Zhen. You two righteous heroes must have heard of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Xue Xuan's wrongful case two months ago, right?"
These two had clear brows and bright eyes, their faces filled with righteousness. One look told her they were good people.
Pan Yun changed her approach. Looking weak and pitiful, tears filling her eyes, she said to them, "My father, Pan Hong, was the censorate official implicated in the case."
The young man's brow furrowed even more deeply. "Pan Hong? Wasn't his entire family exiled?"
When Pan Yun heard that he actually knew her father, she felt both joy and worry. Studying their expressions, she chose her words carefully. "Yes. Before Father was wrongfully exiled, I was gravely ill and beyond treatment. He could not bear for me to suffer the hardships of exile with him, so he hid me away and only took my two Brothers with him to Datong.
"Today, the Imperial Guards received a secret report and came to search my home. To avoid implicating my elderly grandmother and my innocent uncle and aunt, I slipped away."
With tears in her eyes, Pan Yun said, "Who would have thought that I would encounter Wang Yong on the road? He did not recognize me, but seeing that I was traveling alone and resembled my father, he wanted to seize me and frame Father. In the struggle, I accidentally stabbed him in the neck with scissors. He... he died..."
The young man's heart indeed softened, and pity showed on his face. Yet he said, "Then let's go. I'll take you to the authorities to turn yourself in and plead for leniency on your behalf. You're still young; the authorities should not sentence you too harshly."
Pan Yun: ...
The young woman, who had remained cold and indifferent all this time, instead said, "I believe you. Go."
The young man was greatly alarmed and cried out in disapproval, "Junior Sister!"
After circling Pan Yun once with great interest, the young woman said, "You may not be a good person, but he was certainly an evil man. Killing evil is stopping evil; that counts as doing a good deed."
Pan Yun looked at her in surprise.
Even the black cat could not help lifting its head and letting out a meow. In Pan Yun's mind, it said, [This one seems to have rather good talent.]
So be afraid, then? It was not as if it absolutely had to be her.
Pan Yun: [Then hurry up and leave.]
The black cat fell silent. She was good, but compared to Pan Yun, she still fell far short. That was why it was willing to continue taking the risk and stay.
The young woman released Pan Yun's acupoints, lifted her chin, and said, "Go."
Pan Yun cautiously rose and took two steps toward the exit. Seeing that the young woman truly was not stopping her, she picked up the cat and was about to leave, only for the dark-faced young man to block her path and haul her back again.
"Junior Sister, even if this Imperial Guard was an evil man, this child should not have been the one to kill him. She is so ruthless at such a young age. Just now, she even wanted to kill her own cat. That shows what kind of heart she has."
The young woman said, "Wang Zhen will one day throw the nation into chaos. Every one of his followers who dies is another few people saved."
Pan Yun's eyes sparkled as she looked at the young woman, nodding again and again. Wasn't that exactly right? Though she did not know much about ancient history, she knew that Wang Zhen had thrown the nation into chaos. This woman had insight—worthy indeed of someone who could see that she was a good person.
Before you continue