Chapter 16

Pan Yun drew five talismans in succession, until she felt her brush grow sluggish, then stopped.

She stacked the drawn talismans, placed two on him, and folded the rest to keep on her own person.

With triple reinforcement, she refused to believe she could still meet misfortune.

Pan Yun glanced at the child—he could at least survive two calamities; his fate was hard to change, but his fortune could be altered; alter it enough, and fate itself would shift.

Heaven had decreed his death, yet she insisted on challenging it; after all, she intended to save her father and brother, restore the Pan family, and defy fate—adding one more act made no difference.

Pan Yun had no desire to linger here; she told the child to sleep, then took out all her money to tally it.

One five-liang silver ingot, a handful of silver coins seized from the two traffickers—by her unskilled estimation, they amounted to seven or eight liang.

The copper coins in her own box totaled two thousand three hundred; the traffickers' copper coins were fewer, only six strings and a bit more, each string one hundred wen—she hadn't counted them carefully then, but now that she began spending, she counted the remainder and found the sum still insufficient.

After deducting today's expenses for meals, buns, and lodging, she now had two thousand five hundred and seventy-nine copper coins left—oh, not counting the one liang of silver she spent today, which was also taken from the traffickers.

Though the two traffickers were poorer than she expected, after conversion, she realized the money seized from them exceeded her eight years' savings.

She didn't know if this money could rent a cart; lacking household registration was also a problem—everything now required household registration or a travel permit.

Carriage and stable houses didn't rent out simply for money.

The imperial court strictly regulated population movement; people could not migrate or travel freely.

Of course, wild folk and refugees were exempt.

But she could not become a wild folk or refugee—she had to pass through towns to reach Datong.

Pan Yun glanced back at the child sleeping soundly, picked up the black cat, and leapt lightly out the window.

Night had just fallen, the streets were empty; the alley where she landed was desolate. She looked up at the room's location, memorized its position, then left.

She needed to obtain a travel permit and a household registration page; if a permit was not strictly required, the registration page could substitute, and in dire need, the permit could still serve its purpose.

Her plan was sound, but standing at the street corner, she realized she knew nothing about Shexian—naturally, she had no idea where to obtain these documents.

Pan Yun had thought simply: night was the perfect cover for black markets; even if Shexian was small, surely such a place must exist?

Pan Yun walked along the wall's edge, her entire figure hidden in its shadow; passersby hurrying home brushed past her without noticing the person walking beneath the wall.

Pan Yun wandered Shexian with the black cat in her arms, and when she returned to the inn's street, she was baffled: "Shexian's security is this good? At this hour, not a single criminal to be found—not even a black market?"

The black cat silently mocked her.

Pan Yun pinched its neck. "What are you grinning at?"

The black cat stiffened, silent.

Pan Yun stroked its fur, suppressed her temper, returned to the room through the window, and felt deeply displeased.

Too bad—the beggars in town had mostly been driven out, the rest hidden away; she couldn't find any to buy information from.

Beggars wandered the streets begging; their information was the most current.

Pan Yun turned to glance at the child sprawled across the bed, sighed—there was a beggar right in front of her, but he was far too young.

Pan Yun decided to visit the carriage and stable house tomorrow; she stopped dwelling on it, sat cross-legged, and cultivated two small heavenly cycles before retiring to bed.

When she woke, the child's face was flushed; he beamed: "That was the best sleep I've ever had."

Seeing how adorable he was, Pan Yun smiled, rose, and said: "Come on, let's eat. After we're full, we'll go to the carriage and stable house."

Child: "I know the carriage house—it's bad for begging there. This street's the best."

"Then you lead the way."

Shexian was small—how big could a county be if Pan Yun had finished touring its alleys in half an hour?

The carriage and stable house was no more than a quarter-hour's walk from this street.

Pan Yun led the child inside to inquire about prices.

The carriage house had few customers; many gathered at the entrance, but fewer deeper inside, where the goods grew increasingly valuable.

At the entrance stood many ox carts, mule carts, and donkey carts; further in were single-rented carts and animals; deeper still were chartered carts; at the very back, horses were sold.

Pan Yun asked out of curiosity, then lost interest—the prices were too high; her money didn't even cover the deposit.

She turned to ask about renting a cart.

"To Datong?" the manager sized up Pan Yun and the child. "Will you return?"

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, thought briefly, then asked: "What's the price if we return? What if we don't?"

"Forty liang if you return—the owner must cover the driver's food and lodging for the entire trip. Thirty liang if you don't return—you must cover food and lodging for the outbound journey." The manager asked: "How many in your party? How many carts do you need?"

Perfect—her total money didn't even reach twenty liang; Pan Yun gave up. "Are there shared carts?"

Zhang Guanshi: "Short-distance ones exist, but no long-distance ones. Datong is too far. There's one going to Jingcheng—if you're heading there, I can give you two fifteen liang."

Pan Yun: … How idle was she to go back to Jingcheng?

But the manager's words gave her an idea. Pan Yun asked: "From here to Datong, what's the next town?"

Zhang Guanshi: "Qingfeng in De Da Ming Prefecture."

Pan Yun: "How much to get to Qingfeng?"

She had no objection to returning to De Da Ming Prefecture—the two men were surely no longer there; going back would let her avoid them. The manager held up five fingers. "Fifty wen per person."

She could afford that. Pan Yun smiled. "When does it depart? We're two people."

The manager pointed outside to the entrance. "See that row of ox carts, mule carts, and horse carts? Ask who's going to Qingfeng—usually one trip per day."

Pan Yun immediately pulled the child over. Soon, she found a horse cart already carrying six people.

The cart had no canopy—a flatbed. Everyone placed their luggage in the center, then sat facing outward, legs dangling. Three could sit in front, four on each side, two more in back.

Hearing Pan Yun's question, the driver immediately said: "Call your family over—departure's imminent. Pay first, then board."

Pan Yun asked: "Can the child get a discount?"

The driver frowned at her frame. "You're not eligible. Your brother gets ten wen off."

Pan Yun counted out ninety wen and handed them over.

The driver blinked. "Where are your parents? Why are you two children traveling alone? I don't take responsibility for watching over them."

Please... collect me _(!)

"I'm going to Qingfeng to find my father. When we get there, he'll come pick us up."

The driver, upon hearing this, allowed them to board.

Pan Yun lifted the child onto the cart, then jumped up herself; the two chose to sit at the back, keeping a distance from the others, and it was quiet.

Indeed, as soon as they boarded, the cart began moving.

After leaving the city, the soldiers only checked the luggage on the cart and waved them on.

To Pan Yun's surprise, when they entered Qingfeng in the evening, the gate guards checked other people's travel permits, but for this cart they still only inspected the luggage, glanced at the driver's permit, and let them pass.

Pan Yun's gaze flickered slightly; after a moment's thought, she understood—these drivers traveled fixed routes, constantly shuttling between two places, and the guards at the gate saw them every day, knew them well, and naturally didn't inspect them closely.

This is good, this is good—even without a household registration page or travel permit, she could ride short-distance carts all the way to Datong.

It was far from here to Datong, but the next county north of this one was not far.

Finding a viable route, Pan Yun grinned, delighted.

She couldn't help telling the child, "This protective amulet really works—our luck has come at last."

Pan Yun carefully calculated the money she had; she realized that if they stayed at inns in every county, this amount wouldn't last until Datong.

But if they didn't stay at inns, only ate, the cart fares would be enough—after all, short-distance shared carts were much cheaper than long-distance private ones.

So when entering the next town, Pan Yun no longer stayed at inns; she took the child and hid in an alley near the city gate, ate, then found a quiet spot to spend the night.

The child was very familiar with this lifestyle; he didn't complain at all, ate his fill, then lay down leaning against Pan Yun to sleep.

Pan Yun covered his eyes and said, "Wait—I'll perform a magic trick for you."

The child immediately shut his eyes; Pan Yun chanted, "Heavenly spirit, earthly spirit, Dao Lord, pity me and send a blanket!"

When she removed her hands, the child saw a blanket suddenly appear in their laps; he let out a "Wah!" of delight, shouting, "It's manifested! It's manifested! It really manifested!"

Pan Yun laughed, spread the blanket on the ground, helped him lie down, half under him, half over him—it was warm enough. "Sleep now, we'll ride again tomorrow."

The child happily agreed and slid into the blanket with a soft *slish*.

Pan Yun sat cross-legged and began her usual meditation and cultivation.

Only at midnight did she finish, then lay down in the blanket beside him, the two sleeping close together.

She placed the black cat beside her head and said, "Keep watch."

Pan Xiaohei was long accustomed to this; he opened his eyes, like polished glass, fixed on the alley entrance.

Having found a suitable way to travel, Pan Yun did the same the next day—found a carriage service, rode with others, heading north to the next county.

Thus, changing carts daily, by the fourth day, she was nearly approaching the capital region.

The further north they went, the stricter the city gate inspections became; on the fourth evening, as they neared the gate, the driver called out, "Everyone, take out your travel permits and household registration pages—they'll be needed soon."

Pan Yun immediately asked to get off. "My second uncle doesn't live in the city—he's in that village over there. I'll get off here."

The driver agreed, stopped, and let her off.

Pan Yun got off with the child, shook out her numb legs, and looked at the long line of people waiting to enter the city. "Come on, let's get closer—see if there's a cheaper way to get in."

She pulled the child forward; near the gate, many others were gathered—mostly family members waiting in line for those entering, or people standing by reading the posted notices on the city wall.

Pan Yun also pulled the child forward, looked up—and instantly recognized the face on the wall.

Isn't that me?

Pan Yun widened her eyes, glanced quickly left and right—no one had noticed her—then swiftly scanned the wanted poster.

It didn't list her name, only said she was connected to an imperial court case; anyone who spotted her must immediately report to the government office, and receive a reward of ten taels of silver.

If captured and delivered to the authorities, the reward was twenty taels.

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(End of chapter)