Chapter 18

Pan Yun opened her eyes to find Tao Ji staring at her with an eager expression.

Tao Ji's eyes lit up when he saw her awake; to avoid disturbing Master Xuanmiao, he lowered his voice: "Come here—where did you pick up this child?"

Having already decided to go with them, Pan Yun had no reason to hide anything: "I found him at the gate of Shexian."

"So you really went to Shexian," Tao Ji said, sounding exasperated. "Were those two human traffickers, half-eaten by beasts near Jiaozhangkou Forest not your doing?"

"You found them too?" Pan Yun nodded. "I did it. What kind of beast chewed them up? Are they dead?"

She frowned. "Dead's no good—I was counting on them being caught by the government office and naming all the children they kidnapped."

Tao Ji said: "They're not dead, but close enough."

Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao had been racing toward Datong; since Master Xuanmiao's divination couldn't be used constantly, they kept stopping to calculate Pan Yun's location—and each time, they found her farther south.

So they turned back, tried again, searched, tried again, searched.

By the time they reached the Zhangde Prefecture area, they heard of a strange incident near Anyang and Shexian.

Two human traffickers were punished: bound in the wilderness, attacked by beasts at night, barely escaped, then ran straight into a troop of soldiers returning with prisoners.

These soldiers were low-ranking troops, struggling to earn merit—yet before they even reached Anyang, a stroke of luck landed in their laps.

Recently, Ruzhou, Zhangde, Kaifeng, and De Prefecture Prefectures had joined forces to crack down on human trafficking; even a tip about traffickers counted as merit. So when they saw the characters on the men's back, the soldiers lunged like wolves and pinned them down.

The merit fell from the heavens, compounded by their beast attacks—one man had an arm torn off, half his face gnawed away—making the tale wildly legendary across Anyang.

Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao overheard it on the road, sensed something odd, and went to the county government office to inquire.

Neither trafficker saw who knocked them out, but both suspected the little girl they'd kidnapped—the one with the black cat.

Unfortunately, the government office didn't believe them.

The county magistrate and government office runners thought they'd been robbed by bandits; the girl had likely been taken too, probably dead.

The government office had been searching nearby for her—so much so that local bandits had dared not show their faces lately.

The government office didn't believe them, but Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao did.

They exchanged glances—they'd finally found Pan Yun's trail.

A thread, once you find its end, no matter how tangled, can be unraveled.

They now held the end—and had followed Pan Yun's trail all the way here.

Tao Ji proudly explained how they'd tracked her down, then warned her: "Even we found you. What about the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Don't wander off—they'll catch you."

A Embroidered Uniform Guard vanishing mysteriously in Jingcheng could be a huge or tiny matter—not just Pan Yun, but even Qingyuan Temple must tread carefully.

When Wang Yong chased Pan Yun on horseback down the street, dozens saw it; government office runners and officials helped hunt her—how could there be no trace?

Luckily, Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao quietly took her out of Jingcheng—the trail was temporarily severed within the city.

Pan Yun hadn't thought of this before, but now, with their words, she began to wonder: "What was the name of that temple we left?"

Tao Ji: "Tianning Temple."

"Won't the Embroidered Uniform Guard trace you back through Tianning Temple?" Pan Yun asked. "We saw a Embroidered Uniform Guard enter the plum grove—and you two left Tianning Temple right after."

Tao Ji: "They're monks. Monks don't meddle in worldly affairs."

Pan Yun stared at him silently.

Tao Ji stared back silently.

"Oh," Pan Yun realized Tianning Temple wouldn't betray them, and changed the subject, nodding toward the child. "Since you're so good at divination, find his parents and send him home."

Back with his parents, his early-death sign should break, right?

Tao Ji couldn't see any more—he could only wait for Master Xuanmiao to wake.

Master Xuanmiao woke, her complexion improved; she bent to examine the child closely, met his large, glistening eyes, and after a moment said: "Imperial blood. Let's go—back to Kaifeng."

Tao Ji picked up the child.

Pan Yun hugged her black cat, frowned, and asked: "Who in Kaifeng has royal relatives?"

Master Xuanmiao: "The Zhou Wang."

Seeing her confusion, Tao Ji, knowing she was a child and didn't know, explained: "The Zhou Wang is the grandson of the fifth son of Emperor Taizu. His late father and Emperor Taizong were both legitimate sons; he's the current emperor's imperial uncle, closely related by blood."

In short, Zhu Yuanzhang's grandson.

Pan Yun automatically simplified the relationship.

Pan Yun: "Did his family lose a child?"

Master Xuanmiao: "Since the end of last year, Ruzhou, Kaifeng, Zhangde, and De Prefecture Prefectures have jointly cracked down on trafficking. Since spring, the number of soldiers hunting traffickers has increased, not decreased. No official word yet—but the Zhou Wangfu in Kaifeng must have lost a child."

Tao Ji nodded vigorously, then suddenly froze, his face blank: "But doesn't the Zhou Wang have no sons? Where did the Zhou Wangfu get a child?"

Master Xuanmiao glanced at him. "Didn't you hear in Jingcheng? The Zhou Wang is critically ill. Remembering his past bond with his adopted son, he petitioned the Emperor to restore Zhu Youlao's son, Zhu Zijin, as his heir. Because his plea was sincere, last year the Emperor allowed Zhu Zijin, who'd been confined in Jingcheng, to return to Kaifeng to visit the Zhou Wang."

Tao Ji suddenly understood—he'd heard this gossip, but hadn't paid attention.

He looked down at the child in his arms, eyes full of pity: "Life in noble houses isn't easy."

Master Xuanmiao nodded.

Pan Yun nodded in deep agreement. She'd struggled walking north with the child, but heading south to Kaifeng was far easier.

Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji finally relaxed—they stopped insisting on walking. First, they took her to a small dock and boarded a boat going downstream.

Then they stopped at a county town with lax gate controls.

Master Xuanmiao turned to Pan Yun after a moment and said: "To enter Kaifeng, you need a household registration and a travel permit."

Pan Yun stared at her silently.

Master Xuanmiao took her to a pawnshop.

Tao Ji spoke with the clerk, who then led them to a small room and soon returned with a stack of papers: "Here—these are all valid registrations, for boys and girls aged six to ten."

Pan Yun's mouth dropped open.

Master Xuanmiao carefully selected one, then asked: "Who was the original owner of this one?"

The clerk glanced, flipped through a register, and quickly found the record: "Zhang Xiaomei, native of Xiangfu County, Kaifeng. Born in the ninth year of Xuande. Sold into servitude in the fifth year of Zhengtong. Died in winter of the sixth year."

!.

Master Xuanmiao: "Take hers. And get me another travel permit in her name."

Master Xuanmiao placed a silver ingot on the table.

The clerk glanced at it, then closed the register. "Wait a moment."

He took everything out and returned shortly with three sheets of paper: not only the household registration page for Little Sister, but also the travel permit and her indenture contract.

Master Xuanmiao was satisfied: with this, Pan Yun could be whatever identity she wished.

Pan Yun walked silently out of the pawnshop with them.

Master Xuanmiao said: "Many things can be pawned, and naturally, many things can also be bought from a pawnshop."

Pan Yun pondered, "From birth to death?"

Master Xuanmiao nodded. "From birth to death."

Master Xuanmiao handed her all three papers. "Go. Until we return to Mount Sanqing, you are her."

Pan Yun reached out and took them.

With these documents, travel would be far easier. They decided to hire a carriage directly to Kaifeng.

While hiring the carriage, Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao handled everything, so Pan Yun didn't need these papers—but as they neared Kaifeng, patrols would grow more frequent, and sometimes they would stop to inspect: not only the my lord's household registration and travel permit, but also the child's.

Pan Yun's household registration page would come in handy now.

Oh, the child beside her didn't need one, because he was too young. In ancient Chinese society, there was one strange thing: children's household registration was delayed.

Many families waited until their child was five, six, or even seven or eight years old before registering them.

Pan Yun: "So they're searching for a three- or four-year-old child, yet checking only the household records of children eight or older—letting the most suspicious person slip through. What's the point of this massive search?"

The other two who understood, along with the cat, fell silent, then lowered their heads to look at the child, feeling even more pity for him.

The group of four entered the city and headed straight for Zhou Wangfu.

Pan Yun stood before Zhou Wangfu, unusually uneasy: "Are you certain this child truly belongs to Zhou Wangfu?"

If he isn't, being thrown out is minor—but if they're arrested and their identities exposed, it would be disastrous.

Master Xuanmiao glanced at her, then turned to Tao Ji.

Tao Ji straightened his chest and walked toward the gates of Zhou Wangfu.

The front of Zhou Wangfu was empty—even a single gatekeeper was absent.

Tao Ji stepped forward and banged loudly on the door.

Long moments passed before someone finally opened it.

The gatekeeper, seeing a Daoist Priest, frowned. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Tao Ji: "I am Tao Ji, a Daoist Priest of Mount Sanqing. I come to deliver good tidings to Prince Zhou."

Perhaps because Tao Ji was a Daoist Priest, the gatekeeper endured and asked, "What good tidings?"

Tao Ji stepped aside and pointed to the child beside Pan Yun. "The joy of a lost child returned."

At first the gatekeeper didn't react, but after staring at the child for a moment, his eyes widened. "This—this—this—is our Young Master?"

Tao Ji said: "Whether he is or isn't—have your Young Master come out and see for yourself."

The gatekeeper didn't know the Young Master well—he had only been in Kaifeng briefly before disappearing, and the gatekeeper had seen him twice from afar. Half a year had passed, and the child had changed...

But even changed, there was still a trace of resemblance.

The gatekeeper left the door wide open and stumbled inside, shouting: "The Young Master has returned! The Young Master has returned—"

The ten lucky numbers for this chapter are those ending in 6. Screenshot as proof, screenshot deadline until the next chapter is released.

(End of chapter)