Chapter 380: All Is Not Well

To shake off the imperial guards behind them, Wang Cong whipped the reins and sped up.

Just as the horses were about to collapse from exhaustion, they finally spotted the relay station.

After a brief moment of thought, the group decided to check in.

The sun had already dipped westward; in half an hour it would set, and by then there might be no place to stay.

The five people, one fox, and one gold hairpin booked two rooms.

Wang Cong dipped his chopsticks in water and drew two lines on the table, asking, "Little Master, shall we cross Yanzhou by land to Jinan Prefecture, or take the Grand Canal straight north?"

He said, "Judging by the imperial guards' posture, there must be checkpoints all along the route—better to take a boat straight to Jingcheng."

The soldiers don't inspect boats on the Grand Canal strictly.

Seeing Miao Zhen frowned, "We've already slipped past this wave of imperial guards; we can just take out some luggage to handle future inspections. Why go out of our way to take the water route to avoid them?"

Wang Cong looked at Pan Yun, hesitated a moment, then asked, "Little Master, did that imperial guard Liu Jing recognize you? He kept staring at you."

Pan Yun: "I've seen him. Whether he saw me or not, I don't know."

Wang Cong frowned, but Tao Yanbai said, "Even if he did, it doesn't matter. Little Master looks nothing like she did when she first arrived; only those who knew her intimately might recognize her."

Wang Cong had roamed the martial world for years and knew never to underestimate anyone; he tapped the table with his chopsticks and said, "Avoid him from now on. Fortunately, Third Master and Fourth Master crafted Little Master's backstory perfectly—it withstands scrutiny. As long as they can't produce concrete proof, we have nothing to fear."

"The imperial guards are powerful, but our master isn't some pushover."

Pan Yun opened her mouth, then whispered, "Big Disciple, shouldn't we avoid constantly invoking Second Brother's name like this? His official rank may be impressive to martial artists and common folk, but in the bureaucracy—especially in Jingcheng—might it bring trouble upon Second Brother?"

Wang Cong: "After our master passed the imperial examination for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, he said he took the exam only to protect Sanqing Temple and us. Otherwise, isn't the mountain's qi just as rich? Isn't the mountain peak higher than the palace's star-gazing terrace? If we don't leverage his power, his taking the exam would be meaningless."

Pan Yun: "... I never thought of that as a reason for taking the exam."

"And I never imagined Second Brother would just come out and say it so plainly."

Pan Yun raised her thumb. "Impressive. He's impressive. You're impressive too."

With that, Wang Cong's words lifted Pan Yun's hesitation; she immediately pointed to the eastern line with her finger and declared firmly, "Then let's take Andong Wei and head straight along the coast to Tianjin Wei!"

Wang Cong paused, then looked up at her slowly. "... Little Master, we don't fear trouble, but we don't go looking for it either. Are you going to seek out the pirates they mentioned?"

He had heard every word from the carriage earlier.

Pan Yun looked at him with deep concern. "Big Disciple, there's something you don't know yet, is there?"

Wang Cong: "What?"

Pan Yun: "The treasure map they're talking about is in my possession."

Wang Cong instantly stood up.

Pan Yun: "My Fourth Sister and I found a partner—a young, ambitious commandant, sidelined and forced to garrison on an island. We agreed: once he consolidates his troops and picks an auspicious day, we'll go to the island and claim the treasure."

Wang Cong slowly sat back down. "This won't be easy, will it? All the Japanese pirates who landed are dead, but Japan itself must have their people—surely someone in their main base knows the island's route?"

"Exactly. So we assume they do know. The commandant's primary mission is to intercept any Japanese pirates approaching the island, preventing them from landing before us."

"It preserves the treasure and lets him train his troops by fighting these pirates—two benefits in one. But since he bears the greatest burden, our agreement is an eight-to-two split."

Wang Cong narrowed his lips. "He gets eight?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Wang Cong clutched his chest. "If..."

If the Japanese pirates didn't know the island's coordinates or route, and still needed the treasure map from them, then this deal was a terrible loss.

In fact, they didn't even need to partner with this commandant—they could sneak onto the island themselves.

Wang Cong could picture it: from the start, Little Master and Fourth Master had brought the commandant into the scheme solely to block the pirates from landing ahead of them.

"Oh no, oh dear," Wang Cong groaned, his chest aching more with every thought, "Little Master, why did you tell me this?"

The others also felt regret, but they didn't care about money as much as Big Brother did, so they were less distressed; seeing him so upset, they hurried to console him: "Big Brother, it's fine—two percent of the treasure is still a fortune."

Seeing Miao Zhen added, "I've met Kikuchi Wu Bei. The Japanese pirates are rich. Two percent of their accumulated treasure over the years may be worth more than all of Sanqing Temple."

Wang Cong: His chest hurt even more.

Seeing his agony, Pan Yun's own pain lessened; she generously taught him her mantra: "I came up with a chant to calm this feeling."

Wang Cong stared at her.

Pan Yun said: "Fusheng Wuliang Tianzun. All that I choose is the optimal choice. Fortune is misfortune, misfortune is fortune. Even if I suffer loss now, great blessings will surely come later."

Wang Cong lowered his hand from his chest. "Little Master, you did this on purpose."

Pan Yun shook her head amiably. "No, no—I'm simply being honest. So, Big Disciple, shall we go to Andong Wei?"

Wang Cong's gaze settled on the table; after a long pause, he said: "Yes."

"If we're going to Andong Wei, we must pass through Pizhou. We'll move faster tomorrow—we'll reach Pizhou City by evening." Wang Cong mused, "Since they're also searching along the coast, there will surely be more checkpoints. We may not encounter Liu Jing again, but we must still be cautious."

"To handle inspections along the way, we need to take out our luggage."

That night, each of them packed a few clothes onto the cart as decoy. But Red颜, accustomed to the cart's neatness, was displeased by the clutter; her paws couldn't help but scratch at the bundles.

Pan Yun slapped her paws.

She scratched again—Pan Yun slapped again.

The woman and the fox fell into this cycle; Pan Xiaohei watched, retracted her own paws, and lay motionless, curled against her belly.

Wang Cong couldn't bear it. "Once we enter the city, let's buy some bags?"

"Bags?"

Wang Cong nodded. "Yes. Big ones, small ones—any kind."

Pizhou City wasn't bustling; Wang Cong followed the main road and found a tailor's shop.

He led Pan Yun and the other four inside.

Red颜, curious about shopping, transformed into human form, hiding her tail beneath her skirt as she entered with them.

Wang Cong said: "We want to buy bags."

!. 讀

Seeing so many customers, the Shopkeeper happily answered and immediately had his assistant bring out all the bags for them to look at.

"Honored guests, would you like ones to carry by hand, sling across the shoulder, wear on the back, large or small?"

Wang Cong: "Large ones, for luggage."

Catching Pan Yun and Miao Zhen and Miao He looking curiously at the bags hanging in the ready-made clothing shop from the corner of his eye, he paused.

Come to think of it, the three of them had hardly ever browsed a ready-made clothing shop.

Not to mention Pan Yun; Miao Zhen and Miao He also rarely came down the mountain, and when they did it was mostly to visit medicine shops and restaurants. Having grown up this long, they had only bought ready-made clothes two or three times, and two of those times it was my lord who went to buy them.

Wang Cong recalled the small square sling bags he had once seen young ladies of the inner chambers wear, and said to the Shopkeeper: "Bring some sling bags too, the small and pretty ones."

The Shopkeeper happily assented and immediately had his assistant take down the top row of bags as well.

Pan Yun craned her neck to look, and was amazed at the small square sling bags that came down.

There were embroidered flowers on them, and tassels; they looked far more artistic and exquisite than anything she had used in the 26th century.

Pan Yun curiously flipped through them, and seeing two inner pockets inside, raised her brow. "These bags are quite pretty."

Wang Cong glanced over — that bag only had a single orchid embroidered so-so, with two tassels hanging on either side of the pouch, that was all.

Compared with what he had seen in the ready-made clothing shops of Jiangnan, it was hardly worth mentioning.

Wang Cong cast an affectionate glance at Pan Yun. "If you like it, then buy it."

Miao Zhen, who was beside them, picked out a bag and handed it to Pan Yun, happily saying: "Little Xiao Shishu, this one has bamboo on it."

Pan Yun took it and had a look, then nodded and said: "The embroidery is passable. Shopkeeper, how much is this bag?"

The Shopkeeper smiled. "Six hundred wen."

Pan Yun set the bag down and said to Wang Cong: "Hurry up and buy the luggage bags, it's going to get dark soon."

The luggage bags were sewn from thick hemp cloth, mostly blue-grey and black, not only sturdy but also waterproof.

Pan Yun touched them in surprise.

She did not know that the textile products of the Great Ming were already this advanced, because in her travels and daily life, everyone still used wrapping cloths more, and very few people used bags.

Wang Cong asked the price.

Though these luggage bags were large and sturdy, they were actually cheaper — different colors, sizes, and styles ranged from one hundred twenty wen to two hundred forty wen.

Wang Cong picked the five cheapest ones, one for each person, then pointed at the three small square sling bags on the table and said: "Wrap these three up as well."

Pan Yun, Miao Zhen, and Miao He all turned their heads together to look at him.

Wang Cong smiled and said: "For you all to carry your dharma artifacts in."

He paused, then asked Hong Yan, "Does Miss Hong Yan want to buy one?"

Hong Yan looked on with bright, sparkling eyes — she simply liked the embroidery patterns on them — and so she nodded.

Wang Cong told her to pick one.

Hong Yan, without the slightest hesitation, chose a bag embroidered with a Vermilion Bird, worth one tael!

The Shopkeeper happily wrapped the bags up for them.

Wang Cong, seeing them clutching the bags with teary, moved eyes, could not help but shake his head. "Little Xiao Shishu, how can you be so generous and yet so stingy at the same time? Back on the painted boat, those little silver notes were stuffed onto the flower-ladies as if they weren't money at all, yet here it's just one bag — one tael could buy three or four of them."

Pan Yun, clutching the small square bag, said: "You don't understand. When I was holding the young ladies, all I wanted was to give them money to spend — seeing them happy made me happy too."

"But looking at the bag in my hand and thinking it costs three hundred wen, my heart aches. Fortunately, it's not my money being spent, so it doesn't matter."

Miao Zhen and Miao He nodded together.

Wang Cong: …

(End of this chapter)