Chapter 382

When government office Runner A returned to the county office, the Brocade Uniform Guards had already left, and the magistrate and commandant were not in the building.

He went straight to the torture chamber desk and rummaged through it, quickly finding the two reward posters that Hu Jing had taken down.

Since they were reward posters, they had to be widely publicized—the more, the better.

So these reward posters for criminal suspects were posted on the announcement walls at the city gates and in front of the county office.

If one was taken down, another was posted right away.

There were only a few exceptions.

For instance, if a poster was claimed by someone famous like Hu Jing, the office would retrieve it and stop posting it.

This was a sign of trust in the bounty hunter's ability, and also a convenience granted by the office.

Otherwise, with so many competitors, there would always be trouble.

Once, Pan Yun tore down every reward poster posted for her, to prevent others from snatching the same ones, artificially disrupting the competition.

As for how Qu Le originally monopolized a single reward poster, only Qu Le knew.

But Pan Yun suspected it had something to do with money.

Hu Jing was different—he had reputation, so he didn't need to spend manpower tearing down posters or money bribing officials; the office tore them down automatically.

Others who wanted the posters still had to pay extra.

The only people who paid to view reward posters were probably just these few, right?

government office Runner A handed the two posters to Wang Cong and the two others huddled in the street corner, saying, "These two men committed one case together, and additionally have separate murder charges—so the bounty is high: two hundred taels for one, two hundred and eighty taels for the other."

"Master Hu's skills are exceptional, and his martial arts are top-tier—I was there the day he claimed the posters. From what he said, he's only taking these two cases this year; after that, he'll rest for a year," said government office Runner A. "He finds people quickly. It won't be easy for you to catch them before he does."

Wang Cong pulled out another string of coins and shoved them into the runner's hand, asking, "Do you know where these two men went?"

government office Runner A shoved the coins right back, expressionless: "If I knew, I'd go catch them myself—why would I need you? Even if I couldn't catch them, wouldn't it be more profitable to sell the info to Master Hu?"

Wang Cong sighed, but still shoved the coins into his hand again. "Take it—buy medicine for your father."

government office Runner A clenched the copper coins, saw them turning to leave, pursed his lips, then added: "I saw Master Hu heading toward Jinan that day. One of these two men has an older brother living in Licheng, under Jinan Prefecture—we sent people to question him, but he insisted his younger brother never came to see him."

Wang Cong raised an eyebrow, asked for the man's name and address, then bowed: "Thank you, sir, for the tip."

government office Runner A returned the bow, watching them leave.

Once they were far away, he gripped the coins tightly and headed for the pharmacy. Sigh—he hoped Master Hu wouldn't blame him.

He actually liked Master Hu, but these three Daoist Priests gave too much—it was enough for his father to buy ten doses of medicine.

Wang Cong handed the posters to Pan Yun. "So Hu Jing suspects Jiang Shuxiao is hiding at his older brother Jiang Boqiang's home."

Pan Yun's eyes lit up at the bounty amounts; she slapped her hand down on the poster and shouted loudly, "Let's go to Licheng, Jinan Prefecture!"

Wang Cong shook his head at her excitement. "Little Master, you're not seriously planning to steal Hu Jing's poster, are you?"

Pan Yun said, "The capable take what they can. What if we catch them faster than he does? It's money handed to us—why not take it?"

Clearly, she would be disappointed.

Hu Jing, as expected, was a famed bounty hunter—by the time they reached Licheng, Jinan, Jiang Shuxiao had already been captured, and Jiang Boqiang had been imprisoned for harboring a fugitive.

They stood outside the county office and saw Jiang Boqiang's wife kneeling with her two children, wailing loudly, while onlookers pointed and whispered.

"They say Jiang Shuxiao killed six people in one family—only a little boy hiding in the chicken coop survived."

"Not just that—he used to be a mountain bandit and killed many traveling merchants, so the bounty is two hundred and eighty taels."

"Two hundred and eighty taels? With that money, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life."

"That money isn't easy to earn—I saw the big man who brought him in. Broad-shouldered, muscular—he's even bigger than Jiang Shuxiao. You? You're as thin as a stray dog—you wouldn't even last one swing from Jiang Shuxiao."

Pan Yun immediately asked, "Where is that big man now?"

"He left long ago—collected the bounty and left."

Everyone turned to look at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun quickly explained, "I've never seen a big man before—I'm just curious, wanted to see one."

"Then you won't see him—he just headed toward the north city gate."

Pan Yun heard this and immediately ran after him.

Wang Cong chased after her in the carriage, but the city streets were crowded, speed was limited—he could only run behind shouting, "Little Master, wait for us!"

Pan Yun's figure vanished quickly, her voice echoing: "I'll go ahead—we'll meet in Jinan Prefecture!"

Pan Xiaohei leapt off the carriage, all four paws airborne, zipping after her like a streak of shadow, disappearing before everyone's eyes.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He were about to jump down too, but Wang Cong grabbed each by the collar and yanked them back. "You two stay here—don't come."

They sighed in disappointment and sat back inside the carriage.

Hong Yan chuckled. "I can fly too—I can carry you both to chase after them."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "No, it's faster if Little Master goes alone."

Pan Xiaohei's legs nearly gave out, but he finally caught up to Pan Yun just before she left the city.

No matter how fast she was, she still had to stop and queue for inspection to exit.

Pan Xiaohei saw her craning her neck in the exit line, meowed loudly, then kicked off hard—four paws airborne, flying toward her. Pan Yun turned, reached up, and caught him high in the air. She hissed in pain, shaking her hand. "That hurt—can't you jump more gently?"

The child behind her jumped up and shouted to his parents, "Mom, her cat can fly!"

Pan Yun looked up—the mother instantly clapped her hand over his mouth and smiled apologetically at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun smiled back at them, then stepped forward, holding Pan Xiaohei.

Soon it was her turn.

She carried only one sword, so after the soldiers checked her Academy credentials, they waved her through.

Once outside the city, Pan Yun ran straight down the main road.

As she activated her lightness skill, her figure blurred like a shadow through the caravans and merchant trains. She ran for a long time before stopping, hands on her waist, panting: "Why haven't I caught up yet? How fast is Hu Jing running?"

Pan Xiaohei, perched on her shoulder, spoke calmly: "What if he's riding a horse instead of running on two legs?"

Pan Yun thought of the discomfort of riding a horse, and her inner thighs ached involuntarily; she muttered, "What's so good about riding a horse? Isn't a carriage more comfortable?"

!. Read

A man on horseback raced past her at high speed, dust swirling into her face and straight into her mouth.

Pan Yun spat twice, waved away the drifting dust, and fell silent for a long while.

She held her breath for a while, then walked into the woods beside the road and took several deep breaths before stepping out, bending forward into a running stance.

A moment later, she stood upright and gripped the sword on her shoulder with her free hand.

Pan Xiaohei stared fixedly, and when she didn't move for a long time, urged, "Flying isn't bad either—if you're afraid of being seen, you can fly inside the woods."

Pan Yun glanced at the trees on either side and said dryly, "You want me to crash into a tree and set you free?"

"Then fly higher—above the clouds. No one will see you then."

Pan Yun ignored it, released the sword, bent into a running stance, wiggled her ankles, and said firmly, "My lightness skill is faster than a horse."

With that, she shot forward with a hiss, soon catching sight of the man who had passed her earlier; she zipped past him, deliberately stomping hard on the ground, sending a cloud of dust flying into his face.

The rider on horseback startled, saw Pan Yun vanish in a blur, and exclaimed in shock, "Damn, that lightness skill is too fast! Spitting—"

He spat out mud from his mouth, then belatedly realized he'd been provoked.

Pan Yun leaned back, sprinting swiftly along the roadside, not knowing how long she'd run—until she felt something faint, then abruptly halted, lifting her head to gaze at the sky.

The sky had darkened, but not with night—it was about to rain.

Pan Yun frowned. "Where's this heavy rain coming from in the first month?"

She looked ahead and behind—no one in sight.

She scratched her head, then picked up a stick from the roadside, offered a sincere prayer, and silently asked: "Heavenly Lord, tell me, where is Hu Jing now?"

Pan Yun silently repeated it ten times, then raised her hand and tossed the stick—it tilted slightly, not straight ahead.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, picked up the stick, and fell into thought.

Pan Xiaohei was astonished. "You don't actually believe this, do you? Pan Yun, think carefully—your luck is so bad…"

Pan Yun said, "Bad luck and fortune are two different things. I've always believed my own fortune is quite good; the bad luck is just from being tied to my master."

Pan Yun declared firmly, "My intuition tells me, just now when I asked Heaven, it was my fortune at work."

Pan Xiaohei watched her in silence.

Pan Yun said, "Look around—it's going to pour. Hu Jing isn't self-destructive; he'll definitely seek shelter from the rain."

Pan Yun ran forward, slowing her pace as she searched for a place; behind her, hoofbeats clattered—someone was catching up.

He rode beside her; Pan Yun turned her head to look at him.

One ran, one rode; after a moment of eye contact, Pan Yun frowned and asked, "What?"

Her voice was unaltered.

The man stared at her in surprise, then asked, "You're a woman?"

Pan Yun ignored him and sped up.

He sped up too, calling out, "Are you a nun?"

Pan Yun: "I am a Daoist Priest!"

"So you're a Daoist Priest—my apologies. I am Mu Lin."

Pan Yun looked up at him, saw he was young, about the same age as Tao Yanbai, and turned away without another word; then she looked ahead—and her eyes brightened. She braked to a stop.

Mu Lin couldn't react in time; he yanked the reins hard, riding over ten paces before stopping. He turned his horse around and saw Pan Yun crouched on the ground for a moment, then turned and walked down a side path.

"Hey," Mu Lin kicked his horse's flanks and chased after her. "Why are you leaving?"

He glanced down at the ground—many hoofprints, cart tracks, and footprints. He looked up at the sky, heavy with dark clouds, and followed her onto the side path.

It was an uphill path, flanked by dense woods; the trail's wild grass was dry, but cart ruts were clearly visible. The road sloped upward—she was climbing the mountain.

After running about fifteen minutes, the wind grew stronger, and the black clouds nearly pressed against the treetops.

Pan Yun finally spotted a shrine built halfway up the mountain.

(End of Chapter)