Chapter 222

Someone invites you to eat; not eating is wasting food.

Pan Yun said to Spirit Realm in her heart: "Bring Miao He back; there's a feast waiting at the inn!"

The black cat, mouth open to catch the dumpling Miao He offered, ignored her.

Miao He fed Pan Xiaohei one dumpling, then shoved the remaining two into her own mouth, closing her eyes happily and saying to Pan Xiaohei: "These fish dumplings are delicious, but they're too small—if only they were as big as the meat dumplings we make for New Year's."

Pan Xiaohei lowered his head, savoring slowly, thinking to himself, 【Those meat dumplings you make? You probably dump a whole basin of flour into them—how tasty could they possibly be?】

Miao He didn't hear Pan Xiaohei's thoughts, but Pan Yun at the inn did; at this moment, she and Seeing Miao Zhen had already entered the private room at Song Bei's invitation, and she thought to herself, 【You're eating dumplings? I heard the fish and shrimp dumplings at Ping'an Inn are the best in Nan'an County.】

After finishing the dumplings, Pan Xiaohei meowed at Miao He.

Miao He picked him up and said: "You want more? No, we need to save room for other food—look, there's so much delicious stuff along the way."

"Meow-meow-meow…" I mean the inn has good food—we need to go back to the inn.

"I know, don't worry—I'll buy you a fish when we see one. Little Xiao Shishu hasn't fed you fish in a long time. I know you're hungry, and I am too."

"Meow—" Pan Xiaohei realized he couldn't communicate with her, so he jumped down from her arms, turned, and sprinted toward the inn.

"Xiaohei—" Miao He startled, rushing after him.

Pan Xiaohei ran a little farther, saw she was following, and kept running, leading Miao He back to the inn.

As soon as they entered, without anyone calling, he knew exactly where Pan Yun was—he dashed straight upstairs toward the opposite private room.

Miao He chased after him, saw the cat stop at a private room door and glance back at her—her eyes widened instantly.

Oh no, Xiaohei's about to cause trouble!

In a panic, Miao He abandoned the stairs, stepped onto a chair, and leapt straight up to the second floor, reaching out to grab him—while Pan Xiaohei, seeing Miao He behind him, relaxed and barged through the door into the room.

Miao He's fingers just brushed Pan Xiaohei's tail—the tail was impossibly smooth, slipping out of her grasp with a hiss.

Miao He's heart sank instantly; she couldn't stop her momentum and crashed to her knees with a thud.

Everyone on the first and second floors stood up to stare at her; several armed martial artists blurted out praise: "Such elegant lightness skill!"

As the door crashed open, Song Bei stiffened, gripping his teacup and turning—just in time to see a cat slip inside, and the little Kun Taoist named Wu Huo kneeling at the threshold.

Song Bei blinked, glancing at Pan Yun: "This…"

Pan Yun glared at Pan Xiaohei and said to Miao He: "Can't even walk properly? You're eating an extra bowl of rice today as punishment."

To Miao He, this voice was like heavenly rain—she scrambled up, brushed off her knees, and beamed: "Little Xiao Shishu, the floor's just too slippery."

Pan Xiaohei had already jumped onto a chair, paws neatly folded forward, waiting for the meal.

Song Bei snapped back to himself: "San Zhu Daochang's punishments are truly unusual."

Pan Yun said solemnly: "She's dieting—must eat less. Making her eat an extra bowl now is a serious punishment."

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded solemnly too.

Miao He tried to look sad, but half the dishes had already arrived: three-color dumplings, including the fish dumplings she'd just eaten, plus shrimp and meat dumplings.

Beside them sat a steaming whole chicken, its aroma alone making it look delicious.

She couldn't possibly stay sad, so she changed the subject: "Little Xiao Shishu, who's treating us to this meal?"

Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen both turned to look at Song Bei.

Song Bei smiled: "It's me. Wu Huo Daochang, feel free to order more if you'd like."

Miao He immediately shook her head: "I'm not picky—I like everything. No need to order more."

Since they were young, Song Bei didn't dare offer them alcohol, so he poured them tea and asked curiously: "Aren't you three little Taoists supposed to be searching for relatives at the county office? Why are you staying at an inn?"

Pan Yun sighed: "Our relatives are no longer at the county office."

"Oh? Where did they go? Are you going to look for them?"

"The county office doesn't know where they went—they left no message at all. Even if we wanted to look, we have no clue where to start."

"Then what are your plans from here?"

Pan Yun said: "You know, the three of us are students at Long Hushan Academy. Our academy requires annual field studies. Since we can't find our relatives, we must still complete this requirement—so we've decided to continue our journey."

Song Bei asked immediately: "Do you have any specific destination in mind?"

Pan Yun asked directly: "Are you suggesting something, Brother Song?"

Song Bei smiled: "I see your martial skills are excellent. To be honest, I have a shipment to deliver to the Cìtóng Port in Quanzhou—I'd like you three to accompany me."

Pan Yun blinked, pointing at herself: "You want us to escort your goods?"

Song Bei hurried to clarify: "Of course not—I have my own men, plus hired guards from a security guild, and other merchant caravans traveling with us. There are plenty of people—we're not afraid of bandits. But…"

He lowered his voice: "There have been strange occurrences along the route. We originally planned to hire a few sorcerers to join us—luckily, we met you three. What's a wandering sorcerer compared to real Taoists trained at Long Hushan? If San Zhu Daochang agrees to come along and handle any supernatural troubles on the journey, I'll pay you this much when we arrive."

He held up his fingers.

Pan Yun glanced: "Ten taels?"

Song Bei: "…."

He forced a stiff smile: "San Zhu Daochang, you're joking with me now? It's ten taels."

Pan Yun looked disappointed: "Ten taels? Why make such a big deal out of such a small deal?"

Song Bei: "…Do you know how much a guard earns on one escort run?"

"How much?"

"From Nan'an County to Cìtóng Port, two days' journey—a guard earns two to ten taels. The best head guard gets ten."

He thought he was offering them the highest possible rate—they should be grateful.

!. Read

Pan Yun smiled lightly: "But the things we handle are different from what guards deal with."

She added: "Besides, we're not just good against supernatural threats—we can help against bandits too."

As she spoke, she placed her hand on the table edge and, under Song Bei's gaze, snapped off a piece.

Song Bei stared, heart pounding.

Pan Yun placed the corner of the table into Song Bei's palm and smiled sweetly: "We're doing double the work—so shouldn't we get double the pay? Brother Song, think it over carefully."

Song Bei lowered his gaze to the wooden fragment in his hand; its cut surface was uneven and raw, proving the table had not rotted—it had been forcibly torn off.

This was a round table. He could have torn off a corner from a square table too, but a round table…

Song Bei swallowed hard, thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled: "Fine. The fee for this trip is twenty taels per person. My only condition: deliver the goods safely to Citong Port."

Pan Yun didn't ask what the goods were—she agreed at once.

Song Bei brightened and raised his cup: "Then let us wish for a pleasant cooperation."

Pan Yun clinked her teacup against his: "Pleasant cooperation!"

Seeing and Miao Zhen exchanged a glance. Was it really decided already?

Pan Yun placed an empty bowl on Pan Xiaohei's chair, piled it with fish and shrimp dumplings, and asked: "Brother Song, when do we depart?"

Song Bei said: "We're still waiting for a few others. As soon as they arrive, we leave. If nothing goes wrong, we depart the day after tomorrow."

Pan Yun: "We originally planned to leave Nanan County tomorrow morning. Now that we're waiting, who covers our food and lodging?"

Song Bei: "I'll take care of it. You three will stay at Hanshu Inn—no hardship will befall you."

Pan Yun smiled in agreement, planning to escort Song Bei back to his suite afterward—then she could look down upon the inn and garden from below.

Pan Yun asked only this one question, perfectly embodying the image of a naive newcomer, unworldly and innocent.

Song Bei said no more: "The others haven't arrived yet. When we depart, I'll introduce you to them."

Pan Yun shrugged: "I only follow orders. Does it matter whether I know my fellow travelers? I only need to know who gives the commands."

Song Bei smiled and urged them to eat more.

The three people and the cat ate without restraint, their bellies round and full, then politely took their leave.

Oh, before leaving, Pan Yun still asked Song Bei for a deposit: "My senior brother said—when working outside, you must take a deposit, or you might finish the job and get paid nothing."

Song Bei pulled out a ten-tael silver note and handed it to her: "The remaining fifty taels will be paid after we reach the destination and the goods are successfully delivered."

Pan Yun agreed, picked up Pan Xiaohei, and led Seeing and Miao Zhen back to their room.

As soon as they left, Song Bei's smile vanished. He waved his hand—the open door slammed shut with a bang.

After a moment, a smooth wall slid open, and a man stepped in from the adjacent room. He glanced at the closed door: "They seem foolish. Why pay so much to hire them?"

Sixty taels isn't a small sum—it could buy twelve good knives.

"They're not foolish," Song Bei said, "just inexperienced. If they were truly stupid, they'd have either been barred from the city gate or caused a major incident—but they did neither. Clearly, they're far smarter than most."

"Then why hire them? There are no demons or monsters on this journey. Do you really believe in river ghosts?"

The man sneered: "If river ghosts truly existed, Citong Port would be overflowing with them—why would it still be here?"

Song Bei: "I don't care if it's a ghost or a human trick—I only need the goods to reach Citong Port safely. They're young, but their cultivation isn't low."

The man: "Have you fought them?"

(End of Chapter)