Chapter 17: I

The notice was posted not only on the city walls, but Pan Yun, with sharp eyes, noticed several copies placed on the table at the city gate.

She knew she could not enter this city, lowered her head, turned to leave—and suddenly felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, flanked on both sides.

"Meow—" Pan Xiaohei, startled, rolled violently off Pan Yun's shoulder and crashed to the ground with a thump.

The child standing before Pan Yun winced in pity, immediately crouching down to pick it up.

Pan Yun's expression didn't change; in the instant the black cat fell, she had already prepared to act—when a finger suddenly pressed against her waist, that familiar sensation…

Pan Yun instantly broke free of the acupoint, yet made no move, only looked up—and saw Master Xuanmiao standing to her right, Tao Ji to her left.

Meeting her gaze, Tao Ji smiled faintly, "Surprised? How did you end up on the wanted list?"

Master Xuanmiao frowned, "No more talk. Let's go."

Master Xuanmiao grabbed Pan Yun's arm and turned to leave; Pan Yun barely had time to glance at the child and the black cat before Tao Ji reached out, snatching both up and carrying them away.

The four people and the cat departed in silence, not disturbing a single soul at the city gate.

When they reached a secluded spot, Pan Yun stepped aside, instantly putting five paces between herself and Master Xuanmiao.

Tao Ji moved to grab her, but Master Xuanmiao blocked him, saying to Pan Yun, "You think the Embroidered Uniform Guard are useless? Isn't there someone watching Pan Hong and his two sons in Datong right now?"

Pan Yun's chest rose and fell, but she said nothing.

Master Xuanmiao: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard's eyes are everywhere. They're far more powerful than you imagine."

"A guard chases a little girl down the street—and vanishes. Can they not find you in one day? Five days? Ten days?"

Pan Yun's heart sank further.

Master Xuanmiao, unusually verbose: "You underestimate my lord, and you underestimate the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"You should be grateful you were frail and sickly since childhood, never leaving home, so no neighbor ever saw you—and no one can link you to the Pan family. Otherwise, your second uncle's entire household would already be in the Zhenfu Prison."

Pan Yun touched the protective amulet she wore—it was intact, unchanged since noon today, so Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji would not harm her now.

She looked up at Master Xuanmiao, studying her seriously for the first time. "Aren't we meeting for the first time? Why are you helping me like this?"

Master Xuanmiao said solemnly, "It is a vow. You agreed to travel with us, to enter the mountains and cultivate your heart. You must fulfill your vow. I knew you killed someone, yet I did not turn you in to the authorities—when you promised to reform and cultivate, I had already decided to bring you back to the monastery. Bringing you back is the only way I can honor my vow."

Pan Yun: "... That vow wasn't spoken to me. You only thought it in your heart—you could've just..."

"Is a vow not a vow if unspoken?" Master Xuanmiao stared sternly at her. "Is deceiving yourself not deception?"

Master Xuanmiao fixed her with a steady gaze. "How can someone who deceives themselves keep a promise to anyone else?"

Pan Yun had no reply.

Beside her, Tao Ji opened his mouth, then hesitated.

Pan Yun turned sharply to him. "What do you want to say?"

So careful with his sister, yet so harsh with me—cowardly, picking on the weak!

Though he seethed inwardly, Tao Ji's expression remained sour. "Nothing. Let's go. How many detours have we taken chasing you?"

Instead of getting closer to home, we're farther away now—where the hell have we wandered to?

Pan Yun did not move immediately, but turned back to gaze at the towering city wall.

Master Xuanmiao's heart softened slightly; she stepped beside her. "There will always be a chance. You're still too young. When you're older, you can go."

Pan Yun: "With this wanted poster up, how will I ever go? I might not even be able to live a normal life from now on."

"Don't worry," Tao Ji murmured, "No one in the mountains will see this poster. Even if they do, they won't remember it."

Master Xuanmiao added, "You're still young. In a few years, you'll change. There are many people who look alike. Without proof, the Embroidered Uniform Guard can't touch you."

Pan Yun scoffed. "If the Embroidered Uniform Guard truly followed the law, how could my father be exiled to Datong? Do you know how he was imprisoned? Do you know why former Minister of Justice Xue Xuan nearly lost his head?"

Pan Yun's voice turned dark. "Because the Embroidered Uniform Guard falsely accused them of corruption and bribery—and Wang Wen of the Censorate 'heard' it, 'otherwise'—and so they were convicted!"

Every official in court, except the fool on the dragon throne, knows they were innocent.

Who has proof they're guilty?

If even Xue Xuan, a high official, and my father could be convicted without evidence, what's stopping them from crushing me with a wave of the hand?

Master Xuanmiao remained calm, repeating firmly: "For you, they cannot. This too is a vow."

Tao Ji frowned but did not object. "You underestimate Daoist Priests. Though we rarely involve ourselves in state affairs, not everyone can afford to offend us."

"Here's the deal: become my sister's disciple. From now on, the Three Pure Ones Monastery is your kin. Your second uncle is currently in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau of the Ministry of Rites in Beijing—he occasionally meets the Emperor. Even Wang Zhen won't dare offend him."

The three people in the palace most dangerous to offend: imperial consorts, eunuchs, and the astrologers of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Even the Emperor's chief eunuch treats them with courtesy. Otherwise, one day they might say, "Your Majesty, a petty villain lurks near you—his zodiac is the Snake." And the entire palace would have to purge every person born under the Snake.

Even if the Emperor is rational and ministers protest, and no one is purged, they'll still be banished.

People, after all, prefer to believe than to doubt.

So Pan Yun's matter is truly trivial to Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji.

Pan Yun opened her mouth, utterly unprepared for this turn.

Tao Ji beamed. "Well? Will you become my sister's disciple?"

"No!"

"Not accepted!"

They spoke simultaneously, meaning the same thing—both looked up at each other in surprise.

Tao Ji looked disappointed, then hesitated, twisting his fingers. "Then... I suppose I'll reluctantly take you on?"

Please... Your Majesty... Collect_(!)

No sooner had he spoken than Tao Ji thought it a brilliant idea, his eyes gleaming at Pan Yun. "You're gifted, with true talent for Daoist cultivation. It would be a waste not to learn."

He wanted to ask where she learned her strange arts—no, her techniques—and what level she'd reached, so impressive they were.

But Daoists are deeply cautious about revealing their cultivation methods unless they choose to speak of them themselves.

Tao Ji was a man who strictly followed rules; though his curiosity burned, he held back from pressing further.

Master Xuanmiao stood before Pan Yun, waiting for her decision. "Will you come with us, honestly?"

Pan Yun: "If I refuse, will you stop forcing me?"

Master Xuanmiao shook her head: "If you refuse, you'll only be forced to uphold your promise. A person without trust cannot stand. You made the promise—you must fulfill it."

She paused, then said: "Pan Yun, the fate of the Pan family rests on you."

Pan Yun looked up at her in shock. Master Xuanmiao met her gaze steadily. "If you are well, the Pan family thrives. If you falter, the Pan family's fortune plummets. If you die, every member of the Pan household—including your uncle's family—will be doomed beyond redemption."

Tao Ji interrupted hastily: "Younger sister!"

But Master Xuanmiao did not stop; she kept her eyes on Pan Yun's face. "If you die, your father will follow soon after. Then your two elder brothers. Your family has been sentenced to perpetual exile with no pardon, no amnesty. Someone must take your father's military roster—first your uncle, then your cousin, and eventually even the Pan family's collateral branches…"

Thus, exile and conscription were regarded as punishments as severe as execution.

Even among scholar-officials, they would rather be beheaded than exiled and conscripted.

The former is but a single slash of the blade; the latter is an unending chain of suffering, one that can drag an entire family to ruin.

The former kills the body; the latter kills the spirit. Neither is clearly heavier than the other.

Master Xuanmiao spat a mouthful of blood, her face ashen. Tao Ji immediately dropped the child he was holding and rushed to support her. "You're impossible," he said disapprovingly. "Big Brother was right—you should've learned the silent meditation of the monks. Talking less isn't enough for you anymore. You should stop speaking entirely!"

Tao Ji helped Master Xuanmiao sit cross-legged, and she closed her eyes to meditate.

Tao Ji turned a wary gaze on Pan Yun. "You're not thinking of fleeing while you have the chance, are you?"

Pan Yun: … She wasn't stupid. Master Xuanmiao had laid it all out—and it seemed genuine. Why would she run?

Pan Yun felt only a quiet sorrow inside. She was so close to Datong now. At her current pace, she'd see her father, her eldest brother, and her second brother in just four more days.

Damn the Brocade Guard. Damn Wang Zhen and Wang Wen. If she ever met them again, she'd definitely slap a curse of misfortune on them.

Pan Yun muttered silently to herself, but her face remained calm. She walked steadily to the opposite side and sat cross-legged. She noticed: their meditation was purely internal—they drew no external Qi from heaven and earth to nourish their bodies.

Sigh. Well, since it was because of her that Master Xuanmiao was injured, she might as well help.

With that thought, Pan Yun drew upon the faint Qi lingering in the air. Her breath, her body's rhythm, gradually synced with it. As her cultivation method activated, the Qi was drawn toward her, swirling around her form…

Pan Yun absorbed only a little, leaving the rest to drift between herself and Master Xuanmiao.

Even without actively drawing it in, the thickened Qi entered Master Xuanmiao's body through her breath and skin, filling her with a sense of clarity and ease.

Master Xuanmiao wasn't foolish. She quickly sensed the anomaly. She opened her eyes, glanced at Pan Yun, then closed them again and resumed meditating—drawing in all the surrounding Qi.

Tao Ji stood by, watching them for a while. Seeing he was no longer needed, he turned his attention to the child who had been quietly huddled in the corner.

The child, clutching a black cat, shifted instinctively toward Pan Yun when he saw Tao Ji looking. But he didn't seem truly afraid of Tao Ji—after two steps, he stopped, wide-eyed, staring back at him in silent challenge.

Tao Ji finally had a moment to wonder: Could Pan Yun, while focused on escaping, have casually rescued a beggar child?

Clearly, he and his younger sister hadn't misjudged her. Pan Yun's actions might be unorthodox, but her heart was good.

Looking at the child's facial features, the half-baked Tao Ji frowned. A short-life sign. Huh—yet there's a trace of nobility in his face. Why is he out here as a beggar?

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(End of Chapter)