Chapter 10: Hahaha, She Escaped

The black cat's two front paws were already healed, but one hind leg still dangled limply.

Tao Ji actually knew how to set bones for cats—he realigned its leg bones and bound the leg with small wooden sticks.

So the happiest creature on this journey was the black cat; it was either carried by Tao Ji or by Pan Yun, eating until full, sleeping until awake, then gazing at the scenery—nestled in someone's arms, it saved effort and stayed neither cold nor hot, soft and cozy. Pan Yun was envious beyond words, wishing she could fake a broken leg just to be carried too.

The black cat was extremely attached to Pan Yun; if it didn't see her for a moment, it would meow. When Master Xuanmiao and Pan Yun went to relieve themselves or change clothes, it would meow incessantly. Tao Ji watched with envious eyes, feeling jealous—he had treated it better all along.

"I never asked you—what's its name?"

Pan Yun looked down at it and said, "Xiaohei. Its name is Pan Xiaohei."

The black cat angrily refused, meowing, "My name is Spirit Realm! Spirit Realm!"

【Stop crying out,】 Pan Yun replied in her mind, 【they can't understand you. And Spirit Realm isn't your name—it's the name of an object. You can call yourself Spirit Realm, but someday someone else might forge something with the same function and call it Spirit Realm too.】

【It's like the swords they carry—all are called swords, but to make them distinct, they must be given names.】

The black cat froze, thought for a moment, then accepted it. It cried out, "I don't want to be called Xiaohei. Give me a nicer name."

Pan Yun smiled faintly, hugged it close, and looked up at Tao Ji with a grin. "Look how completely black it is—doesn't it look as black as Dragon Crystal?"

Tao Ji glanced at the black cat and nodded. "It's very black."

"So its name is Xiaohei. It takes my surname—Pan Xiaohei."

Tao Ji: "... Why not call it Dragon Crystal? Dragon Crystal sounds so much better."

The black cat nodded frantically, glaring at Pan Yun with eyes like glass beads.

"Because I just like calling it Xiaohei," Pan Yun softly stroked its fur. "No matter how beautiful a name is, it can't make me as happy as this one. Right, Xiaohei? You wouldn't object to me, would you?"

The black cat stiffened for a moment, then resignedly leaned into her arms, silent.

Pan Yun nodded in satisfaction and told Tao Ji, "See? It likes it."

Tao Ji:...

Master Xuanmiao put down her chopsticks, counted out copper coins and placed them on the table, then rose. "Let's go."

Tao Ji immediately dropped his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, grabbed Pan Yun's arm, and hurried after her.

Pan Yun stumbled twice before steadying herself.

Passing a clothing shop, Master Xuanmiao looked up at the sign, turned to Tao Ji, and said, "Wait here."

As soon as she looked over, Pan Yun hurriedly said, "I don't want to buy anything. I'll wait outside with him."

Master Xuanmiao frowned, remembering Pan Yun's current condition and how much she disliked others knowing—even though Pan Yun was also a girl.

She turned to Tao Ji and warned, "Watch her."

Tao Ji assured her, "Sister, rest easy. The moment you go in, I'll seal her acupoints—block her meridians and pin her in place. No matter how clever she is, she won't escape."

Pan Yun fumed, "You're underestimating me too much. I've already agreed to come with you—have I run away at all on this journey?"

Master Xuanmiao directly approved Tao Ji's plan and turned into the clothing shop.

The moment she left, Tao Ji stepped forward with two fingers raised.

Pan Yun huffed at him, offered no resistance, but turned her head away.

Her compliance lowered his guard considerably. Just as he was about to seal her acupoints, Pan Yun suddenly brightened her eyes and cried, "Wait!"

Tao Ji froze. "What?"

Pan Yun pointed to the candied hawthorns nearby. "I want to eat those. Seal my legs, but leave my hands free—let me eat one candied hawthorn, okay?"

Tao Ji: "You just ate noodles and you're hungry again? What kind of stomach do you have..."

Pan Yun's mood instantly sank. She spoke sadly, "Since birth, I've been frail. I've never left home much. I've only heard of candied hawthorns—I've never eaten one. My second brother promised me that once I recovered, as soon as I could go out, he'd buy me candied hawthorns. But before he could buy me any, he followed Father to Datong. I've never eaten candied hawthorns in my whole life..."

Before she finished speaking, Pan Yun's eyes turned red. Before Tao Ji could react, large tears fell. She burst into uncontrollable sobs.

At first she only meant to pretend, but as she spoke, she thought of her second brother—only fourteen, still a mischievous boy himself—who had been dragged away in chains. They said they were exiled to Datong to serve as border guards—the lowest rank of soldiers.

Pan Yun wailed loudly.

Passersby on the street paused to stare.

Tao Ji flustered: "You, you, don't cry! It's just candied hawthorns—I'll buy you some!"

He immediately pulled out money and rushed to buy them.

The candied hawthorn vendor stretched his neck over, saw Tao Ji pulling out coins, and immediately smiled, plucking the largest, reddest skewer from the straw pile. "Sir, this one's sweetest—most sugar." Tao Ji glanced, satisfied, then thought and pointed to the topmost skewer. "One more."

Sister seems to like sweets too—perfect, one each for them.

Tao Ji held one candied hawthorn in each hand, smiling broadly, then turned—only to find the spot where Pan Yun had stood now empty.

His smile froze. Instantly, his hands and feet turned cold. He turned his head, scanning everywhere. The girl who had been wailing a moment ago was gone. Ahead, behind—the long street held no one resembling Pan Yun.

"She—she—she," Tao Ji frantically turned to the candied hawthorn vendor. "Where is she? Where did she go?"

The vendor scanned the area too, face turning pale. "Oh no—could she have been kidnapped by a child-snatcher?"

Tao Ji dashed into the clothing shop, clutching the candied hawthorns. Inside, only a few scattered customers remained—no Pan Yun. "Shopkeeper, did the girl who was outside with me come in?"

The shopkeeper said, "No..."

Before she finished, Tao Ji rushed back out like a whirlwind, glanced left and right, chose a direction, and sprinted forward, scanning every face along the street—still no Pan Yun.

His eyes burned red. He stamped his foot hard, rushed back into the shop, and shouted, "Sister! Sister! Come out! I let Pan Yun run away!"

!. Read

Outside, the candied hawthorn vendor had kindly begun spreading the word: "Everyone, help look! The child-snatcher can't have gone far..."

Tao Ji heard this and spat angrily. What child-snatcher could take her?

She ran away on her own!

Tao Ji looked at the candied hawthorns in his hand, furious, wanting to throw them away—but then he raised his hand and thought how innocent they were. He shouldn't take his anger out on them.

Just as he was in agony, Master Xuanmiao stepped out, backpack on her back, sword in hand.

Tao Ji looked at her, face full of grievance. "Sister, I—I didn't watch her. She ran away."

Master Xuanmiao's expression was cold, but she didn't blame Tao Ji. She directly looked at the two candied hawthorns in his hand, counted them mentally, then calculated swiftly. After a moment, she said: "Upper trigram Kan, lower trigram Xun—Water over Wind, Well Hexagram. Since she ran of her own accord, she won't escape. Near water, heading south—to the docks. We go to Kaifeng."

"Mm-hmm!" Tao Ji nodded vigorously, following Xuanmiao step by step toward the dock.

Hmph, his younger sister's Plum Blossom Divination is utterly sublime—think you can run? Not a door, not a window!

Tao Ji's eyes blazed with fury as he stormed toward the dock.

When they reached the dock, he saw dozens of boats—some already departed, others waiting to enter, countless more—and he froze. "So many boats— which one is she hiding on?"

Xuanmiao frowned, realizing she could not calculate anything more precise; she shrugged. "Search first. If we don't find her, head straight to Kaifeng Prefecture."

At this moment, Pan Yun was hiding aboard a large boat.

Pan Yun was rich, because she was always sick—her father loved to bribe her with money, and so did her older and second brothers, but…

Mostly copper coins; the only silver piece she had was because she'd been curious, so her father gave her one—not large, five taels of official silver.

As Tao Ji approached the candied hawthorn vendor, she stopped crying, and in the instant everyone's gaze turned toward Tao Ji, she slipped into the crowd like a fish—swift and silent.

She sprinted toward the dock; she'd heard while eating noodles—small boats to Kaifeng left when full, but large boats were official vessels, departing punctually every hour, regardless of passengers or cargo.

Less than a quarter-hour remained until the hour.

She rushed to the shore with her cat just as the dockworkers were untying ropes and shoving the boat outward…

Pan Yun stayed silent, sprinted forward, and leapt—landing steadily on the deck.

"Hey, kid, are you crazy? The boat's about to leave and you jump on? Where are your parents?"

Pan Yun panted heavily, pulling a handful of copper coins from her sleeve. "My family is waiting for me in Kaifeng Prefecture."

She paid the fare, sat down at the very edge, and soon after the boat set out, she spotted Xuanmiao and Tao Ji racing toward the dock.

She instantly leaned back, hiding entirely in the shadows as they questioned boat after boat.

The black cat meowed, "They're moving too fast—can you really escape?"

Pan Yun agreed—they were absurdly fast. Unless they'd found her trail immediately after she fled, but she'd already concealed her direction…

Pan Yun: "If they're searching, they'll head north. They'll never guess we're going south to Kaifeng first, then turning north—that'll throw them off…"

Pan Yun fell silent, frowning. "You're right—they're too fast. They might very well guess I'm heading to Kaifeng…"

"Little miss, what are you muttering to yourself?" An elderly woman, looking kindly, regarded her with concern. "You're so young—how could your parents let you travel alone?"

Pan Yun glanced at her, swept her eyes across the cabin, and whispered softly, "My mother died. My father… went into business. My stepmother runs the household. She sent me to Da Ming Prefecture to collect money from my uncle—he owes my family a great deal."

The old woman, taken aback by her honesty, paused before asking, "And… did you get the money?"

Pan Yun shook her head, eyes reddening, voice trembling. "No. My uncle gave me only a few copper coins and told me to go home. I—I can't get the money, so I dare not return…"

After reading readers' suggestions, starting today, I'm switching to three-thousand-character chapters. So today's six-thousand-character update is complete. Goodnight!

(End of Chapter)