Chapter 383: Assassination

Pan Yun paused, then stepped forward, standing before the Mountain God's temple, clasped her hands in a seal, and bowed her head to murmur: "Disciple of the Mountain God of Mount Sanqing, temple keeper Pan Yun seeks refuge on your sacred ground; I humbly beg the Mountain God's protection."

After finishing her prayer, she bowed again, then pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The temple was full of people; as soon as the door opened, everyone turned to look.

Seeing her alone, young, yet carrying a sword on her back, they dared not stare long—just two glances, then they looked away.

Mu Lin caught up, tied his horse outside, then hurried in, "You ran so fast…"

When he saw the crowd inside, he froze. "There are so many people."

Seeing the boy's rich attire, a passing merchant immediately stood and greeted, "We're all here to wait out the rain. Young Master and… and young master, come sit down, rest until the rain passes?"

Pan Yun scanned the temple, didn't spot Hu Jing, but after forming a seal, she still felt Hu Jing was nearby.

She stepped inside, circled halfway, then saw a door behind the Mountain God's statue, and immediately went to push it.

The door seemed locked from within—she tugged, but it wouldn't open.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, stepped back a few paces, and bent to examine the ground.

Finally, she spotted two faint footprints before the door, with a few strands of straw scattered, perfectly concealing most of the prints.

Pan Yun instantly recognized the two footprints were different, yet both pointed toward this door.

Pan Yun no longer hesitated, pressed her hand against the door, and with a sudden *boom*, her Yuan force shattered the lock, then shoved it open and leapt inside.

Before the statue, the merchant was enthusiastically serving Mu Lin, "Young Master, would you like tea? I just boiled some water—I'm a tea merchant, plenty of leaves to spare."

Mu Lin declined, then heard a soft but distinct *boom* from behind, and instinctively turned his head to look.

Others paid no mind, telling Mu Lin, "Behind is a cliff—rocks fall occasionally, so the back gate's always kept shut, to keep travelers from wandering in and getting crushed."

But Mu Lin knew it wasn't the sound of falling rocks—he made an excuse to leave the merchant, walked behind the statue, and found Pan Yun gone, the back gate slightly ajar, clearly opened.

He rushed to push the door open.

Pan Yun had slammed the door shut the moment she entered, and now surveyed the back courtyard.

The courtyard was open-air, directly facing a cliff—uneven and slanting upward—with a thatched pavilion open below; on either side stood two rows of dilapidated houses, three rooms each.

The empty center spanned roughly half a mu, now overgrown with weeds—tall ones reached her waist, short ones barely above her calves, all dried and brittle, crunching underfoot with *crack-crack* sounds.

Pan Yun smelled a faint scent of blood.

Pan Xiaohei slipped silently from her shoulder, and as Pan Yun stepped forward, he darted nimbly into the weeds and vanished.

Pan Yun reached back, gripped her sword, scanned the area, and called out: "Hu Daxia, are you here?"

Pan Yun advanced step by step; just as she neared one of the houses, a flash of white light struck—she sidestepped slightly, drew her sword, and slashed sharply toward her side and rear.

She heard the sound of flesh being cut, but when she turned her head, nothing was there.

Pan Yun glanced down at the sword held in reverse grip—a single drop of blood slowly dripped from the tip.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, still holding the sword reversed, murmured: "Is this the Fifth Time?"

Her gaze swept the ground, and she stepped forward slowly, spotting bloodstains on the dry grass; she wiped it with her finger, rubbed the blood between her fingers—its warmth had not yet coagulated, so Hu Jing had been attacked not long ago.

Pan Yun smirked, raised her voice: "Hu Daxia, this is Pan Sanzhu, the Daoist! If you're still alive, make a sound—I'll get you out!"

Before her words faded, a surge of energy struck from behind—she kicked off her heel, drifted sideways to evade, then swung her sword downward, then thrust backward—this time, she finally saw the figure.

The man wore dull yellow clothing; had he not moved, Pan Yun might not have recognized him as human.

In a flash, he tried to crouch into the weeds—but Pan Yun slashed her sword, sending dry grass flying, and surged forward with blinding speed.

"Watch out…" came a weak voice—and at the same moment, Pan Yun's neck chilled; she kept thrusting forward with her sword, while her left palm unleashed a sphere of Yuan force and slapped sideways.

The newly appeared shadow was flung back by the palm strike, while her sword pierced through the chest of the yellow-clad man with a *puch*.

Yet the man didn't stop—he charged forward in a suicidal rush, letting the sword pierce his chest, then his short knife flashed toward Pan Yun's throat.

Pan Yun seized his wrist, twisted sharply—*crack*—she snapped his wrist clean off.

Even so, he only grunted, and his other hand shot toward her throat.

Pan Yun leapt back, kicked out hard, and sent him flying.

Mu Lin had just pushed open the door when a black shadow flew through the air—he kicked out instinctively, and the shadow bounced like a ball, *boom*, rebounding back, then *pam* landed at Pan Yun's feet.

Dark clouds loomed overhead; the sky was as dim as the ninth hour of night—visible shadows, but no clear detail.

Yet even blurred, he saw it was a person.

Mu Lin hurried to apologize, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't know you were a person!"

Pan Yun ignored him; as soon as he hit the ground, she lunged forward and sealed all his major acupoints, rendering him immobile, then turned to search for the other.

But the black shadow that had been kicked away had vanished—nowhere to be seen.

Pan Yun ran forward—only his landing marks remained, no trace of his departure.

Pan Yun's expression turned grim, but her steps didn't pause—she turned and kicked open the spot where Hu Jing's voice had come from. The room was empty, only a pool of blood on the floor.

Mu Lin rushed up, startled, "What happened?"

Before Pan Yun could speak, Pan Xiaohei's voice echoed in her mind: "The room pressed against the cliff."

Pan Yun turned and kicked the door open with a *boom*.

The man hadn't expected her to discover him so fast—or to burst in so decisively—he grabbed Hu Jing and smashed through the window.

Pan Yun flung her sword—*shoo*—it shot through the air, straight toward the man's face.

Ridiculous—he was alone, she couldn't spot him; now he's carrying someone, does she still not see him?

The man instantly ducked, hiding entirely behind Hu Jing, perfectly aligned with him, and shouted in broken Chinese: "Stop, or I kill him!"

Before his words ended, the long sword veered away from Hu Jing—*shoo*—it sliced past their necks, then curved sharply, *puch*—plunging straight into the man's back.

The man never imagined a sword could turn midair—he opened his mouth, blood spilled from his lips; he looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest.

The sword tip barely touched Hu Jing's back.

!. Read

Hu Jing stiffened, dared not move a muscle.

The black shadow was clearly furious, still gripping Hu Jing's shoulder tightly with one hand while holding a short blade in the other.

He muttered a low curse, "Bastard…"

He steeled himself, about to slit Hu Jing's throat at the last moment, but before his hand could move, Pan Yun flashed forward and seized it, twisting and bending it until it snapped.

She grabbed Hu Jing's shoulder and shoved him behind her, then swept her hand—the sword embedded in his back flew out instantly, landed in Pan Yun's hand, and she smoothly drove it forward, stabbing straight through his abdomen.

Pan Yun paused, glanced down at the sword, and after pulling it out couldn't help but scold it, "Who told you to stab him so hard? I only meant to scare him a little. You've gone too far."

The black shadow glared at her in fury, his whole body tilting backward, and with a thud he crashed to the ground.

Seeing the man taken down by Pan Yun, Hu Jing's eyes rolled back and his body went limp as he collapsed.

Pan Yun immediately reached out to support him, easing him down gently so his injuries wouldn't worsen.

The man had barely hit the ground when the sky flashed with lightning and thunder, and a single fat raindrop smacked onto the back of her hand with a sharp sting.

Pan Yun moved swiftly, scooping up Hu Jing and ducking into the house nearby.

Mu Lin immediately followed.

They had barely stepped inside when raindrops came crashing down behind them with a clatter.

Looking outside, dark clouds hung low, the rain curtain falling like a grey-black sheet of cloth, looking for all the world like the end of days.

Pan Yun turned expressionlessly to look at Mu Lin. "Why didn't you bring the one in the withered-yellow clothes inside?"

Mu Lin was stunned. "Isn't he a villain?"

"He's a villain, but he can't die yet. I still have a lot of questions to ask him."

Mu Lin: "Then shall I go carry him in?"

Pan Yun: "Go."

Mu Lin stood without moving.

Pan Yun frowned: "Go on."

Mu Lin looked at the sky, where rain was coming down like pebbles, and said, "How about a little later? This is spring rain—getting soaked will make you sick, won't it?"

Pan Yun: "Does this rain look anything like spring rain to you?"

Mu Lin: "But it really is spring rain. It's only the first month of the year."

Pan Yun sighed, eased Hu Jing down onto the ground, and said to Mu Lin, "Then you'll have to forgive me."

"What?" Before Mu Lin could finish speaking, Pan Yun tapped him sharply a few times on the body, sealing his acupoints.

He widened his eyes and cried out, "What are you doing?"

Pan Xiaohei paced over to Hu Jing's side and crouched down, snickering: "She doesn't trust you. She suspects you."

Unfortunately Mu Lin couldn't understand cat speech—he only heard "meow meow meow"—and could barely tilt his gaze sideways, exclaiming in surprise, "How is there a cat here too?"

Pan Yun had already charged into the rain curtain, yuanqi swirling around her body and scattering the rain. With one hand on the withered-yellow-clothed man and the other on the black-clothed one, she hauled both heavily wounded men back into the house. The moment she stepped inside, the cliffside let out a boom, and two stones the size of watermelons came crashing down.

Pan Yun: …

She dumped the two men on the ground, then reached out to unseal Mu Lin's acupoints, and said to Pan Xiaohei crouching beside Hu Jing, "Go check whether Wang Cong and the others have arrived. If they have, tell them to come over and treat Hu Jing's injuries."

Pan Xiaohei pointed his cat paw outside and meowed, "You want me to run over in this kind of rain?"

Good night

(End of chapter)