Chapter 1: Search

"Hurry, surround the Pan household—not a single fly is to escape!"

Rapid footsteps echoed through the alley, accompanied by the clatter of hooves; the lead men reined their horses before the Pan Zhai gate, then leapt down, their brocade fish-scale robes glinting in the sunlight, blinding Pan Yun's eyes.

Almost the instant they dismounted, she darted behind a wall, held her breath, and only exhaled slowly once certain no one had spotted her.

She heard a loud "Bang!" as the gate was smashed open, followed by her aunt's panicked cries and her uncle's furious shouts.

The scene from two months ago replayed in her mind; she clenched her fists, suppressed the killing intent within her, and turned away without looking back.

But she did not go far—instead, she circled along the wall, passed several neighbors, and stopped at a small side gate piled high with firewood.

Just as her second brother had said: the Qiao family always stacked firewood by the western side gate; this alley ended in a wall, and no one ever came here.

Pan Yun crouched beneath the firewood, sat cross-legged, muttered a spell, and as if a streak of starlight fell into her eyes, the two paper birds she had left behind in the Pan Zhai simultaneously opened their eyes.

Through the paper birds' eyes, she saw the three Embroidered Uniform Guard who had burst in first; the man in the center had a grim expression: "Bring every living soul in this house for individual verification!"

"Yes!"

The Pan family was small—after her father and brothers were exiled, only Granny Pan, her uncle's family of three, and the two servants, Aunt Gui and her son, remained.

Pan Tao stood before his family, face dark with fury, glaring at the Embroidered Uniform Guard: "What do you want? My brother Pan Hong's case is closed—this is my home now!"

Cao Ye sneered: "Whether it's closed or not isn't your call. Search the place!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard surged into every room like wolves.

Embroidered Uniform Guard confiscations meant turning the house upside down—sounds of shattering objects echoed inside; Pan Tao struggled to hold back his rage, while his wife Wang Shi, pale with terror, clung tightly to Granny Pan, head bowed, afraid the Embroidered Uniform Guard might read something in her face.

The Pan Zhai was small; soon the Embroidered Uniform Guard emerged and reported to the three: "Commandant, we found nothing."

Cao Ye frowned slightly: "No people found—what about objects?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard lowered his voice: "No clothing or personal items belonging to a little girl were found inside."

He suspected the intelligence was wrong.

Cao Ye glanced at Wang Yong beside him.

The intelligence had come from him.

Wang Yong had hoped to claim credit; hearing this, he shouted in protest: "Impossible! My intelligence can't be wrong—someone personally saw a six- or seven-year-old girl in their courtyard!"

Granny Pan burst into tears at once, looked around wildly, and cried out: "Nannan, Nannan—is that you come back? You knew your father and brothers are in trouble, so you came to see them?"

"But you're too late—your father and brothers have already gone to Datong. If you want to see them, you must go to Datong. You're only seven—how can you go? Return quickly to the underworld, stop longing for those in the mortal world…"

Pan Tao's eyes filled with sorrow as he explained to the Embroidered Uniform Guard: "My brother did have a seven-year-old daughter. She fell ill and died last spring. Everyone among our relatives and neighbors knows this—if you don't believe me, ask them, or ask our kin."

He paused, then turned to his son Pan Bai: "Go fetch the letter the clan head wrote to your uncle last year—I recall it mentions this." Pan Bai nodded and started to move, when one Embroidered Uniform Guard suddenly slammed a box onto the ground and held up a dozen letters, offering them to Cao Ye: "Commandant, these are all the letters we found."

He pulled out one and handed it to Cao Ye.

Cao Ye took it, scanned it quickly—it was from the Pan clan head to Pan Hong, stating he had agreed to record Pan Hong's young daughter's name, Pan Yun, in the family genealogy, but refused her burial in the ancestral graveyard, citing that she was only seven, a child who died young, and no deceased girl of such age had ever been buried in the ancestral grounds.

Cao Ye examined it closely: the ink had aged significantly; he held the envelope up to the sunlight, confirmed the seals were from official relay stations, then reluctantly tucked it away.

His face darkened; he barely restrained himself from glaring at Wang Yong—who had taken the eunuch Wang Zhen as his uncle, a man with powerful backing.

He dropped the letter; though mistaken, he would not apologize to the Pan family. He sneered: "Best behave yourselves. Any violation of regulations, and we Embroidered Uniform Guard will not let you off."

His gaze swept over Granny Pan and Pan Tao: "If any complaints spread, it means dissent against the imperial court, dissent against Your Majesty. Pan Hong accepted bribes and released criminals—His Majesty merely exiled him, which is already mercy. Do not squander the imperial grace."

The Pan family dared not show even a flicker of resentment.

Cao Ye was satisfied; he turned and led his men away.

Wang Yong did not want to leave—he scanned the Pan family with a venomous gaze, but Granny Pan and Aunt Gui were too old, Wang Shi didn't fit, and the remaining two youths, Gui's son Changsheng and Pan Bai, were boys—neither matched…

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He gritted his teeth in silent fury, despising the Pan household's poverty—there wasn't even a single young female servant. Had there been one, whether seven, eight, seventeen, or eighteen, he could have beaten her into confessing she was Pan Hong's daughter.

Unable to frame them, Wang Yong could only leave reluctantly.

The other Embroidered Uniform Guard captain, Liu Jing, who had remained silent, finally tore his gaze from the pile of letters, scanned the courtyard, and paused when he saw a paper bird hanging beneath the eaves.

The paper bird's eyes were vividly lifelike—he felt as if it was watching him.

Pan Yun, sitting cross-legged beneath the firewood, met his gaze through the paper bird's eyes; both felt a strange unease, and both grew wary.

Pan Yun: Could he see her?

Pan Yun did not underestimate these Embroidered Uniform Guard—this world had spiritual energy, though far less abundant than in the world she came from after its revival, yet there must be extraordinary people.

If there were extraordinary people, there must be extraordinary phenomena; as the Emperor's eyes, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would surely have some knowledge of them.

Thinking of her current cultivation level, Pan Yun dared not be careless; seeing Wang Yong reluctantly turn away, she immediately severed her connection to the paper birds.

Thus, she did not see Liu Jing, just before leaving, step past Pan Tao, stride forward, tear the paper bird from beneath the eave, examine its eyes closely, then crush it into his palm and take it away.

Pan Tao's heart pounded—he knew this was the paper bird Pan Yun had hung before leaving; he had not understood why she had urgently taken the time to hang two, but he sensed they were crucial.

He clenched his fists, wanting to rush forward and stop Liu Jing from taking it, but Granny Pan seized his arm and silently shook her head; the entire family stood in silence, watching Liu Jing carry off the object.

(End of Chapter)