With Zhang Liuzhen speaking on her behalf, Pan Yun's leave was quickly approved. It was not until two quarters of an hour before their departure that Zhang Liuzhen brought two people to see her.
School had just let out. Pan Yun was in the dining hall packing steamed buns—provisions for the road.
Nine shichen meant she had to eat three meals!
The old Daoist serving their food silently watched her for quite a while before placing two extra steamed buns in her bowl.
Miao He followed close behind her, stepped forward, held up one hand, and said, "So hungry, so hungry. I want five steamed buns."
The old Daoist master laughed and kindly gave her five.
Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai also asked for two more than usual.
Old Daoist master: ...
This was not how one fleeced the academy, but he gave them the buns anyway.
After Pan Yun finished eating, she bundled up the steamed buns her nephew-disciples had fleeced and stuffed them into her spatial storage. The moment she stepped out of the dining hall, she saw Zhang Liuzhen standing beneath a tree opposite. Behind him stood two men with almost no presence at all. Both wore Daoist robes and looked to be around thirty, with beards. One held a horsetail whisk, while the other carried a longsword.
Only when Zhang Liuzhen introduced the two men to Pan Yun did they seem to come alive. They formed hand seals and bowed to her.
Though Pan Yun was curious about their identities, she did not ask.
Zhang Liuzhen surely had something going on with Fourth Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother. Who knew what they were plotting behind the scenes?
When it was time for her to know, they would naturally tell her.
Pan Yun set out with