Chapter 236: Tearing Off the Mask

Pan Yun frowned, about to say no, when the two cart drivers had already turned their heads and shouted toward the front, "The soldiers are here, there's ene—"

One cart driver even grabbed the whistle around his neck and blew it hard.

The whistle was shrill, instantly spreading across this stretch of heaven and earth.

The fog was thick, and the carts had to keep a certain distance from one another, so the carts up front had no idea what had happened behind.

But the moment the whistle sounded, all the guards—whether in grey or blue—immediately drew their blades with a sharp shing and ran toward the direction the whistle had come from.

Because the fog was thick, and after blood was shed all the heavy mists surged toward this spot, visibility dropped to less than two meters; past two meters they couldn't even see a human shadow, so as they ran they kept crashing into each other.

Pan Yun heard the footsteps, turned back, and said to the nine people still tugging at the ropes: "You all run—run back the way you came."

The nine looked back—still a wall of thick fog—and fear rose in their hearts.

Pan Yun formed a hand seal, and a streak of golden light burst from her fingertip; the thick fog split open along a line, as if a water-filled pig's bladder had popped with a bang, letting them see the world beyond.

The nine reacted at once, scrambled up, stumbled forward, and after a dozen or so steps burst out of the fog.

The two cart drivers weren't fools either; they realized in an instant that Pan Yun had been able to break the fog all along—she'd simply chosen not to.

The two involuntarily stepped back, and the guards finally arrived too; seeing the grey-clad men lying on the ground, they were greatly shocked. "This—who did this?"

The two cart drivers immediately pointed forward, but Pan Yun, who had been standing in front of them, had vanished at some unknown moment; the spot was empty, nothing but fog.

"This… she was right here just now. It's the Daoist Priest, that little Daoist called Sanzhu—she can break the fog, she did it on purpose. Maybe this thick fog is something she made; there wasn't any fog on this road to begin with!"

"Why would she kill our people? Isn't she a retainer our employer invited?"

"And she killed so many guards—why did she let the two of you go?"

"How are we the same? These ones are Japanese pirates!" the cart driver whose throat had been cut immediately realized and shouted: "Right, they're Japanese pirates! At the time they were about to kill those hired poor laborers, and Daoist Priest Sanzhu saw it and turned the tables on them, and—and let those nine people go."

Pan Yun, using the thick fog as cover, quickly made her way back to the front; gripping her sword, she went straight into the maze.

Song Bei and A Xin, leading a group of guards, were running around like headless flies; they felt they'd almost turned over half the mountain, but in truth they were only spinning in place, going back and forth within a dozen or so meters.

Not far off were Zhu Zixun and the others, furiously attacking the thick fog.

The moment Pan Yun entered the maze, Song Bei noticed at once; he whipped his head around, saw the sword in her hand, his eyes flickered, and he immediately called out: "Daoist Priest Sanzhu, we've been hit by a ghost wall—break this ghost wall quick!"

Pan Yun said: "That's not hard at all—just a wave of my hand."

Song Bei, hearing this, immediately asked her to act.

Pan Yun walked toward him, smiling lightly: "It isn't hard, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask the employer, so until I have my answers, I won't break it."

Seeing her approach, Song Bei hurriedly stepped back, reaching out a hand: "Daoist Priest Sanzhu, once we reach the place I'll gladly tell you everything I know, hold nothing back. The urgent matter right now is breaking this ghost wall—who knows how our caravan is doing…"

"The employer can rest easy—they're not moving at all right now, perfectly safe."

A Xin stepped in front of Song Bei, gripping his blade and watching Pan Yun warily. "Daoist Priest Sanzhu, have you been possessed by something evil again?"

Pan Yun laughed lightly and said: "A Xin, you're good at making excuses for me. I haven't been possessed by anything evil, and our employer hasn't been either. The vengeful spirits here aren't that capable—at most they can affect your mind and patience, make you show your true nature: the stupid more stupid, the wicked more wicked, the weak more weak, that's all."

A Xin tightened his grip on the blade: "What do you mean?"

The guards at the side also flanked A Xin, shielding Song Bei in the middle.

Pan Yun walked up to the two of them, stopped, and tapped her finger as she counted heads: "One, two, three, four, five…"

"Seven people. Apart from you, A Xin, and one blue-clad guard, the rest are all grey-clad men." Pan Yun tilted her head and, past A Xin, smiled at Song Bei behind him. "Looks like you still trust the Japanese pirates more—even though A Xin is loyal to you to the death."

A Xin's expression didn't change; he pointed his blade at Pan Yun and asked: "What are you trying to do?"

"You're not surprised at all—seems you knew they were Japanese pirates. Then…" Pan Yun pointed at Song Bei: "Did you know he's a Japanese pirate too?"

"Stop trying to drive a wedge between us. How could Big Brother be a Japanese pirate? These Japanese pirates were hired by us—I knew from the start they were Japanese pirates."

Pan Yun was slightly surprised, raised an eyebrow, and said: "But the guards under you didn't know?"

"That was for the caravan's safety. Some people have misunderstandings about the Japanese pirates," A Xin, assuming Pan Yun was one of those with misunderstandings, hurriedly explained: "Although they're Japanese pirates, they came to our Great Ming in earnest to find work. Their martial arts are good, they follow our orders, they're not Japanese pirates."

"Not Japanese pirates?" Pan Yun laughed softly and asked: "But aren't you all pirates? What, you go out raiding to earn money to feed the Japanese, while they stay home washing clothes, cooking meals, and having babies for you?"

A Xin's face instantly flushed crimson, the hand gripping his blade bulging with veins. "You know we're pirates?" "I do, but I still have a few questions for Song Bei." The smile on Pan Yun's face slowly faded, and her gaze, blade-sharp, turned to him. "You forged an identity, pulled so many commoners out of Quanzhou Prefecture to become bandits with you—are you trying to use them as a lever to overthrow the imperial court?"

The usual smile on Song Bei's face had long vanished; he said calmly: "I don't know where Daoist Priest Sanzhu heard such rumors, but I can tell you I'm Han, a subject of Great Ming, not a Japanese pirate!"

"You must have seen the household register and travel permit I carry. If I were a Japanese pirate, could I have those?"

Pan Yun said coldly with a smile: "If mere pirates could force the imperial court to close the country and impose the sea ban for decades, what in this world is impossible? You still don't know, do you? The moment I saw you I knew you were a Japanese pirate. You stand behind A Xin, just as I stand behind A Xin—his tall, broad frame completely hides you from view."

Even the usually calm Song Bei's face twisted for a moment; he clenched his fists, and only with tremendous willpower suppressed his fury. "Daoist Priest Sanzhu, you've gone too far. You judge me a Japanese pirate just because of my build?"

"Of course not," Pan Yun said. "But why should I tell you? Whether you are or not—won't we find out once we fight?"

Pan Yun drew her sword and went straight for him.

A Xin hurriedly stepped forward to block.

Song Bei hadn't expected her to try to kill without a word either; he retreated again and again, and the guards immediately paired up to shield him in front, then charged at Pan Yun together.

Pan Yun's sword, like a swimming dragon, tangled with A Xin's blade; the sword tip thrust out, and his palm was pierced in an instant. The hand gripping the blade loosened, and Pan Yun kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.

! 。Read

The blades of two grey-clad men arrived in an instant, hacking down with a swish-swish, swift as a gust of wind.

Pan Yun dodged sideways again and again, retreating three steps.

Five grey-clad men instantly surrounded her in the middle, gripping their blades, half-crouched, watching her warily; with light steps they shifted positions.

Pan Yun couldn't help but laugh out loud; after twirling a sword flourish she smiled: "Come on!"

As the grey-clad men moved, one of them behind her to the side thrust a blade quickly at her back. Without looking back, Pan Yun brought her sword behind her and blocked it—clang! —she stopped the strike, and at the same time spun swiftly, tangling her sword around his blade so he couldn't pull it back. Just as her sword was about to slide along the blade and slice off his palm, the attacks of the other grey-clad men arrived in an instant…

The Japanese pirates who stuck close to protect Song Bei were indeed skilled—any one of them taken alone was far from Pan Yun's match, but they formed a formation, their coordination exceptionally tight.

Pan Yun, it turned out, couldn't break the deadlock for the moment either.

At the same time, the people in the other two mazes had finally found an opening too.

Zhu Zixun said coldly with a smile: "Force breaks all laws. I don't care if this ghost wall is a formation or a ghost—there's nothing force can't break."

Seeing Miao Zhen said: "Fog has no form, ghosts have no form—force can't even touch them. How do you break it?"

"Right," the guards at the side said: "Hero Zhu, we really can't fight anymore."

Hu Jing said: "Hu Daxia Zhu, why don't we rest for a while? Since we encountered the ghost wall, we've been fighting nonstop."

Zhu Zixun: "No. I've already sensed it—keep striking in this direction, and we'll definitely break this ghost wall."

Seeing Miao Zhen: … She's surprisingly perceptive. When she realized they were circling back, Zhu Zixun started ordering them to attack in all directions, then found this spot and had them blindly strike toward it.

Fortunately, he only found a general direction, not the array's core—only half the attacks landed on the core.

But… this illusion array is nearly broken. Sigh, I'm so anxious—I don't know how far Little Master Shu has progressed. She probably can't hold out much longer.

Zhu Zixun glared coldly at Seeing Miao Zhen: "Aren't you a Daoist Priest? I heard you received the same payment as Pan Sanzhu. Yet when faced with something like this, you're utterly useless. You really do earn your pay easily and peacefully."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "I just found the way out. If you follow the direction I lead, you'll exit in less than three hundred steps. But you kept disobeying, wandering off randomly—this made the array I had some control over grow increasingly complex and now it's completely sealed."

Zhu Zixun: "An array? This is an array?"

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Of course. Isn't every ghost wall a soul-confusing array? Walk long enough, and your soul gets lost—then you become one of the ghosts."

Everyone shuddered, huddling close to their companions, and began to resent Zhu Zixun.

If only he hadn't constantly doubted Daoist Si Shui and refused advice, we would've already left under Daoist Si Shui's guidance.

Zhu Zixun saw the expressions on their faces and flew into a rage: "Do you think we can't get out without your guidance? If you won't break it, I will!"

With that, he turned and punched the spot he'd targeted—but he missed, striking directly into the array's core—and the array disc hidden in Seeing Miao Zhen's sleeve cracked open…

Good night

(End of Chapter)