Chapter 230: Temporarily Believing

Miao He and Seeing Miao Zhen watched with undisguised envy, "I wonder if we'll awaken a talent someday?"

Pan Yun thought for a moment, then said, "It requires a massive surge of spiritual energy. If we could find a spirit vein, it might be possible."

The ability to speak with animals was Pan Yun's talent. Of course, that alone wasn't enough. Once her heart orifices grew further and her talent advanced two more levels, reaching the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart, she would be able to speak with all things.

Not limited to animals—even plants that had not yet become spiritual, she could listen to their feelings, and even read their memories, tracing back the past.

Pan Yun was wondering where to find a place rich in spiritual energy or a spiritual item to awaken their talents, when she heard Pan Xiaohei's sharp "meow."

Pan Yun lifted her eyes and looked over, to see a person standing in front of Pan Xiaohei.

The moment the cat cried out, he turned his head to look over.

Pan Yun: "Xue Shao?"

He walked out from the darkness into a place the firelight could reach, letting people see his face clearly—it was indeed Xue Shao.

Xue Shao was about to walk over, but a guard squatting by a bonfire not far from Pan Yun immediately came over to block him. "Hey, hey, hey, this is our caravan area, you can't come over."

Xue Shao stopped.

Seeing Miao Zhen glanced at Pan Yun, immediately got up and walked over, saying, "Wait a moment, this is a friend who helped us before, let him through."

The guard hesitated, glanced at Pan Yun who was leaning against Miao He, and still stepped aside.

They had all seen the little Daoist's great battle against Hero Zhu at noon today. Although she didn't seem as powerful as Hero Zhu, she was young.

Her age was barely a fraction of Hero Zhu's, yet she had managed to wound him. As long as she could heal her injuries, her future martial skill and accomplishments would surely surpass Hero Zhu's.

So the guards didn't dare offend her.

After noon, although her carriage had been moved to the back of the caravan by the owner, the guards still took very good care of them, keeping watch often and not letting the merchants behind disturb them.

Song Bei didn't know what information he had gotten from Physician Zhao, and didn't quite believe Pan Yun could recover, but the guards were different.

They were all men of the jianghu, and believed that man could conquer fate. Pan Yun was such a genius—how could the heavens let her perish like this?

The guard stepped aside and said to Pan Yun, "Daoist Pan Sanzhu, if there's any trouble just call for us, we'll be right next door."

Pan Yun nodded in agreement.

Xue Shao immediately turned and beckoned his attendant, smiling as he lifted his robe and sat cross-legged by the bonfire. "Strange—every time the three little Daoists gather to talk, no matter how close I get, I can't hear a thing."

Pan Yun: "Do you know martial arts?"

Xue Shao: "A little."

Pan Yun: "Then it must be that your cultivation isn't up to par. The moment we speak softly, you can't hear us."

Xue Shao: "I thought it was because you were using a sound-isolating array."

Pan Yun's eyes widened at once. She looked him up and down and asked, "How do you know about sound-isolating arrays? Are you a cultivator of the Dao?"

Xue Shao: "I'm not. I'm just a scholar, but I have elders in my family who cultivate the Dao, so I know a little."

Pan Yun continued lazily leaning against Miao He, stretched out her hand, and said, "Right, we did set up a sound-isolating array. If you have something to say, just say it straight out."

Pan Yun had thought he would bring up the matter of the goods in the caravan, since he had warned her during the day that two of the carts were different.

Who would have thought that the moment Xue Shao opened his mouth, he said, "We have no food. Could Daoist Pan spare us a little to eat?"

Pan Yun, Seeing Miao Zhen, and Miao He all looked up at him in silence.

The two sides stared at each other for a moment. Pan Yun still clicked her tongue and nodded at Seeing Miao Zhen.

Seeing Miao Zhen got up at once. "Wait a moment."

She went straight to Song Bei to ask for food.

Song Bei immediately considerately had a guard take Seeing Miao Zhen to find the cook, and added, "See to Hero Zhu and Daoist Pan Sanzhu's group first."

The guard acknowledged.

Seeing Miao Zhen quickly came back with a pile of food—stewed meat and vegetables, a basket of steamed buns, and roasted meat.

Seeing Miao Zhen, carrying the food, brushed past A Xin as they passed each other. A Xin turned to glance at her, then went back to find Song Bei. "Big Brother, why did you arrange Daoist Pan Sanzhu and the others on the outer perimeter? She's injured—if something dangerous happens out there, what then?"

Song Bei sighed. "They're young, and they don't want to sit too close to Hero Zhu and the others."

A Xin choked up, understanding—this was throwing a childish tantrum.

He hesitated, then said, "Tomorrow should we still arrange them at the tail end? How about letting them move up to the front instead?"

Song Bei's expression cooled slightly. He said sternly, "A Xin, for us, nothing is more important than the safety of the caravan—including our own lives."

"Besides, arranging them at the tail end is actually the best for them. If danger strikes up front, we resist it. Daoist Pan Sanzhu is injured and no longer has fighting capacity—staying at the back lets her escape faster."

A Xin thought about it and agreed. Originally, placing Pan Yun at the front had been to use her as a combatant. Now that she was injured, putting her at the front would be dangerous.

He said no more.

But Xue Shao, who had gotten his meal, brought it up. "Song Bei puts profit first. Seeing you seriously injured, he abandoned you, yet he's also a hypocrite—abandoning you on one hand while putting on a show of heartache and care on the other. Such an act—can you stand for it?"

Pan Yun: "Sowing discord?"

Xue Shao shook his head: "No, I'm speaking the truth."

"What's your aim?" Pan Yun asked. "What do you want to achieve?"

Xue Shao said, "I want you to see his true colors, then become his sworn enemy, and ally with me to investigate him." Pan Yun grew curious, propped herself up on her arm to sit a little straighter, her eyes bright, and asked, "What do you want to investigate about him? Why do you want to investigate him?"

"I want to know what goods he's transporting in his caravan. As for why I'm investigating him—I have a friend who once worked as Song Bei's accountant. Later he vanished without a trace—no sign of him alive, no sign of him dead."

Xue Shao's gaze hardened slightly. He said in a low voice, "Before the incident, he had mentioned to his friends that there was something off about Song Bei's business, but he didn't get the chance to say what exactly was off."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow. "You trust me that much? Spilling everything the moment we meet—aren't you afraid I'll go and tip off Song Bei?"

Xue Shao said, "I saw it. You deliberately crashed into the goods cart, and even slapped a palm onto the cart, making sure to knock it over. I also saw your martial niece open the crate and reach in for a handful."

Pan Yun immediately looked at Seeing Miao Zhen.

Seeing Miao Zhen's eyes went wide too.

Xue Shao said, "Don't worry, I was paying close attention at the time. I was the only one who saw it, because I happened to be standing in a corner with a clear view. Even Hu Jing and Su Ying had their lines of sight blocked, and their attention wasn't on you at the time—they were watching Zhu Zixun."

Pan Yun: "You even know the names of those three?"

Xue Shao paused, then said, "Didn't you know? The three of them are quite famous in the jianghu, especially Zhu Zixun. He's a retainer under Song Bei, and has been working for him for five years now."

Pan Yun: "Oh, we know — we just find it strange that you actually know too."

!. Read

Xue Shao: …

He could tell — they didn't know. This was a pure bluff against him.

But Xue Shao didn't expose it; instead he pretended they knew, and went on to introduce them in detail. "Zhu Zixun is a famous palm-master of Fujian. His Pure Yang Palm has reached the pinnacle — he once defeated eighteen people in a single day. His Bone-Severing Fist can't quite compare, but it's still practiced to perfection. In the jianghu, very few can last twenty moves against these two arts of his. And yet you fought him to a mutual defeat within twenty moves."

Pan Yun nodded solemnly and said, "I know — I've heard of his Pure Yang Palm and Bone-Severing Fist, so I came prepared to deal with them."

A glint of amusement flashed in Xue Shao's eyes as he continued, "Hu Jing — I don't know where he's from, but judging by his accent he should be from the northwest region. Still, he made his name in Jiangnan."

He said, "His Sorrow-Blade Dao is famed in Jiangnan because a few years ago he cleared the wanted lists of Changzhou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, Yingtian Prefecture, and Suzhou Prefecture — every criminal on those lists was caught by him. But two years ago he vanished from Jiangnan, whereabouts unknown. I never expected he'd be here serving as a retainer for Song Bei."

Pan Yun nodded. "I didn't expect it either. When I saw him at the time, I was stunned."

Xue Shao pressed his lips into a smile. "Su Ying's strongest skill is his swordsmanship — it's called Spring Wind into Rain Sword. He comes from the South Sea Sect; the sect is on an island in the sea."

Pan Yun blinked, and when he didn't continue, asked, "That's all?"

Xue Shao nodded. "That's all. I don't know much about him either."

"Doesn't Daoist Sanzhu know those three as well?" The book-boy fixed Pan Yun with bright, eager eyes. "Won't you share it with us too?"

Pan Yun: "What I know, Young Master Xue already knows."

Xue Shao shot the book-boy a glance and gave a warning call, "Xijin, don't be rude."

"Oh~" Xijin lowered his head and answered.

Xue Shao fixed Pan Yun with bright, intent eyes. "Well, Daoist Pan — shall we cooperate?"

Pan Yun: "You trust me that much?"

Xue Shao said, "You've eaten my buns, and I've eaten your steamed buns and rice — so I trust your character."

Seeing Miao Zhen looked up in surprise. "Little Xiao Shishu, when did you ever eat his buns?"

Pan Yun said casually, "Last year."

She pondered for a moment, then nodded and agreed, "Fine. Pleased to cooperate."

Xue Shao glanced at her outstretched hand, reached out and gave it a pat. "Good. Pleased to cooperate."

Pan Yun asked, "How many people do you have?"

Xue Shao: "Two."

Pan Yun's gaze immediately fell on Xijin, her face utterly speechless.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He also looked at him with equally speechless expressions.

Pan Yun decided to hold her tongue, and so continued, "How do you plan to investigate? We only have tomorrow — one day. The goods have to reach their destination by tomorrow."

Xue Shao's gaze turned to Seeing Miao Zhen: "First we need to know what's in the chest."

Seeing Miao Zhen was silent.

Pan Yun said, "One quarter past the chou hour, by the river."

Xue Shao agreed at once, "Good."

He rose and said, "I won't disturb the three little Daoists' rest any longer."

The moment he left, Pan Yun sat up and began regulating her breath. "You two rest too. I'm going to heal my injuries."

Miao He: "Little Xiao Shishu, are we really going to trust him just like that?"

Pan Yun looked at Seeing Miao Zhen: "What do you think?"

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded. "He's trustworthy — his face looks righteous."

Miao He thought it over and stopped asking. Anyway, she hadn't sensed any malice from him either. Since both Little Xiao Shishu and Seeing Miao Zhen said so, she'd trust him.

Good night — wish me a happy birthday!!! Thank you all, dear readers, for your blessings.

(End of chapter)