Chapter 219: Threat

The man finished speaking and showed Pan Yun and the others a trick—he pulled out a handful of copper coins and slipped them to the soldiers while they checked his household registration and travel permit.

The soldiers glanced once at the household registration and the folded travel permit he handed over, then waved them through: "Go in."

This stood in stark contrast to how thoroughly they had just examined Pan Yun and the others' household and academic records.

Pan Yun suddenly understood: "So this is where you pay the toll—what a blunder, what a blunder, my deepest apologies."

The soldiers heard and smirked.

Pan Yun bent down, scanned the ground, picked up a stone the size of a fist, and walked up to the soldiers: "Officer, look."

She clapped her hands together and crushed the stone right before their eyes.

The soldiers: …

Pan Yun smiled sweetly: "I'm not some helpless child."

She added: "According to the Great Ming Code, accepting bribes under one tael carries seventy strokes. My cart of grain weighs ten dan; under Quanzhou's regulations, the entry tax is ninety wen. You're demanding one tael—mind if I ask, who splits the remaining nine hundred and ten wen? Or is my ten-dan grain not even recorded, and the entire tael is yours to divide?"

The soldier's face turned purple with rage: "How dare you! You dare maliciously speculate about imperial officials! Seize her!"

Pan Yun lifted the half-crushed stone, slowly grinding it to dust before their eyes, lowering her voice: "Brother, arrest me? Even if you could catch me—which you can't—even if you eventually do, do you really think you'll survive what I'll do to you?"

Pan Yun grinned: "Tomorrow's official report from the county magistrate will read: 'Three rioters from Nan'an County attacked the city gate; city guards fought bravely and died—one, two, three, four—four men total.'"

Pan Yun sneered at them: "Four men. One tael. I wonder if your families will ever see that money."

The four soldiers' expressions shifted. A tall man behind them pushed past the others, stepped forward, and glared down at Pan Yun: "Little Daoist, don't be too arrogant—watch out, or you'll die and lose your Dao."

Pan Yun: "I return that advice to you. Don't overdo it. Though we common folk are as insignificant as weeds, even weeds can pierce a man's sole and kill him."

The big man's face changed, then he stepped aside: "Ninety wen for entry. Go."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she counted out ninety wen and placed them on the table, then turned her gaze to the ledger.

The big man's lips twitched; under her stare, he recorded the entry tax and handed her the receipt.

Pan Yun took the receipt, turned, and leapt back onto the cart: "Let's go!"

Seeing Miao Zhen cracked her whip through the air with a sharp crack and gently patted the horse's rump as they entered the city.

The man who had been watching from the sidelines widened his eyes; once he saw Pan Yun and the others safely inside, he glanced around and hurried after them.

"Little Daoist, Little Daoist," the man ran beside the cart, gazing at Pan Yun with starry eyes: "You're amazing! Have you read the Great Ming Code? Your cultivation is so deep—you crushed that huge stone with your bare hands?"

Pan Yun scanned his features, then smiled and opened her palms to him: "That was fake. I'm barely any age—how could I have such deep cultivation? Ever heard of magic tricks? All of us in the martial world know a little. Look—this stone's full of holes like a beehive; one squeeze and it crumbles. Any strong man could do it."

She placed the remaining small fragment of stone in his palm: "Try it."

The man looked at the stone in his hand—it was indeed riddled with holes, just like a beehive.

He clenched his palms together and crushed it.

He hadn't expected it to be so easy—he froze in shock.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He withdrew their gazes from the man.

Seeing Miao He muttered softly: "Little Master, this man gives me a bad feeling."

Seeing Miao Zhen asked: "Little Master, are you trying to lure him? Why else would you use your Yuan force to pierce the stone like that?"

Pan Yun smiled faintly: "He's an interesting man. Seeing him, I couldn't help but feel ill will—I lost control for a moment. I'll manage it better next time."

Someone who made Little Master instantly feel ill will must be a great evil.

They had been together over a year; Pan Yun was usually forgiving toward people. Until now, they had only seen her unable to suppress ill will toward two people: one was Wang Zhen, far away in Jingcheng, and the other was the recently encountered Old Master Huang Shijian.

Even the Zhang family of Long Hushan—who had targeted and bullied them from the start—never once made Little Master feel ill will; she merely countered their moves.

"Feeling ill will" meant, before the other had even acted, you already couldn't help but want to harm them.

That's exactly what Pan Yun had done to Huang Shijian.

The man quickly caught up again, running beside the cart: "Little Daoist, you're so clever—you switched the stone right under their noses! Little Daoist, those soldiers are arrogant and brutal. I advise you to leave Nan'an County quickly—go somewhere else."

"You're strangers here, but they know every corner. You won't be able to outmatch them."

Pan Yun nodded with apparent gratitude: "Thank you, Brother, for the warning—but we came to Nan'an to find relatives. We won't leave until we find them. Besides, I believe justice is clear and the imperial court's laws stand here—they dare not do anything."

The man shook his head and sighed: "You've never been to Quanzhou before, have you?"

He looked at Pan Yun and the others, then sighed again: "Of course—you're still young, you still believe in the imperial bureaucracy. But let me warn you: those men at the city gate? They're soldiers too. They're part of the imperial system. You… just be careful."

Pan Yun nodded in agreement.

The man then bowed and smiled: "I haven't asked your names yet—I'm Song Bei."

Pan Yun returned the bow: "I'm Pan Sanzhu. These are my two junior disciples." She gave Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He a glance, signaling them to adopt false names.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He exchanged a look—they'd never been asked to use fake names for Huang Shijian.

So Little Master really means to do something evil.

Seeing Miao Zhen's thoughts shifted swiftly, yet her reply came quickly: "I'm Si Shui."

Seeing Miao He: "I'm Wu Huo."

Song Bei stared at them skeptically: "You're really named that?"

Pan Yun nodded solemnly: "Brother Song, do you think we're lying to you with fake names?"

Song Bei hurriedly shook his head: "No, no, no—I didn't mean that."

Pan Yun sighed helplessly: "It's not surprising you think that. Aside from neighbors and childhood friends, no one believes these are our real names when they first meet us—but they are."

Song Bei nodded eagerly: "I believe you, I do—but what's your surname?"

!. Read

Pan Yun's expression grew even more forlorn: "We were all picked up off the road by our senior disciples—so we have no surnames."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He nodded beside her.

Pan Yun said: "Otherwise, why do you think our names are so lazy? I was the third child picked up at the monastery, found in a bamboo grove—so I'm Pan Sanzhu."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "I'm fourth in this generation, picked up from a ditch—so I'm Si Shui."

Seeing Miao He: "I'm fifth. Since childhood, I've always been the one to tend the fire—whether cooking, making meals, or refining pills, I'm the one who lights the flames—so I'm Wu Huo."

All three were genuinely sincere; Song Bei saw no sign of deceit on their faces, so he believed them and quickly asked, "Who are you looking for here? Perhaps I can help."

The three told the truth: "We're looking for our senior brothers and sisters (or master and uncle/aunt)."

Song Bei smiled and asked, "Where are they? I know Nan'an County well—I can guide you there."

Pan Yun pointed ahead and said, "No need. We've arrived."

Song Bei turned his smiling face to look—and came face to face with the Nan'an County government office.

His smile stiffened slightly, barely holding, "T-they're at the county government office?"

Pan Yun and the other two beamed, "Yes, they're friends with the County Magistrate and live inside the government office."

Song Bei: "Why didn't you mention the Magistrate at the city gate? If the soldiers knew you knew the Magistrate, they wouldn't have troubled you."

Pan Yun spoke with righteous conviction: "How could we use our connections to bully others? If we can enter the city on our own, we shouldn't rely on others."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He also nodded, "We mustn't bring trouble upon our elders."

Song Bei: … But he felt their earlier behavior had caused no small amount of trouble.

Yet…

He looked up at the county government office, then slightly turned his head toward the rear, unable to suppress a smirk: 【Maybe not. Right now, the ones most troubled and terrified are probably the soldiers at the city gate.】

Song Bei smiled, "Since you've found your place, I won't intrude further. I'm staying at the Peaceful Inn in town. Meeting is fate—if you ever need anything, come find me at the Peaceful Inn."

Pan Yun agreed, clasped fists, and said, "Thank you, Brother Song."

Song Bei returned the gesture with a smile and turned to leave.

The soldiers trailing far behind watched them drive their cart to the side gate of the county government office, knock, whisper with the gatekeeper for a while, then be invited inside—invited inside…

The soldiers widened their eyes, dared not delay, and rushed back to the gate to report.

When the city gate soldiers heard, fear and rage surged from their chests to their crowns; one soldier cried out in despair, "Are they insane? Why didn't they use the Magistrate's name?"

The big soldier's face darkened; after a moment, he slapped the man hard, knocking his head askew: "After causing that scene, what could she say?"

"Would you have believed them if they named the Magistrate? And even if you believed, would you have dared let them in?"

He glowered, "You've already offended them. Unless you can immediately kneel and lick her shoes to beg forgiveness and calm her rage, you can only keep them outside the city—make sure they never enter. Can you do the first?"

The soldiers fell silent—they clearly couldn't.

The big soldier couldn't either.

"Such sharp eyes—she must have seen it all. She knew that if she named the Magistrate, we'd refuse her entry, so she threatened us, knowing that under daylight, we'd still have reservations—and we'd let her in, then deal with her after she entered…"

Whips, bring them—saw the readers' whips, my heart clenched, my skin tightened—I'll die today but I'm making up this chapter!

(End of Chapter)