Chapter 385

Mu Lin was pushed out; young men have pride too. Struck by the blow, he grunted, dropped his umbrella, and prepared to leave alone in the rain.

"Hey!"

Pan Yun waved her hand, and the umbrella he had just dropped floated back steadily onto his head. "Getting sick is your own problem!"

Mu Lin looked up at the umbrella hovering above his head; his anger vanished instantly. He reached out, grabbed the handle, and turned to leave.

He pushed open the door and returned to the temple, but had barely walked around the statue to the front when he heard the neighing of horses.

His steps halted involuntarily. He looked up and saw over a dozen riders in straw capes arriving outside the temple.

Beneath the curtain of rain, he instantly recognized the lead rider as Jin Shu of the Duke's mansion; the man riding beside him and leaping down was unfamiliar, but a splash of vivid color caught his eye through the downpour.

It was the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Mu Lin's pupils contracted. He immediately stepped back two paces, set down his umbrella, and silently hid it behind the statue. Then he glanced at the slightly ajar courtyard gate, thought for a moment, and slipped away before the men entered, quietly closing the gate and jamming a stick of wood into it.

Having done all this, he walked forward just as the dozen men had led their horses to the shed beside the temple and were stepping inside, drenched in straw capes.

The sudden arrival of over a dozen men filled the Mountain God Temple with oppressive tension; everyone felt uneasy.

Why were so many people taking shelter here today—and why did they all seem so strange?

As Mu Lin approached, the middle-aged man at the front of the group relaxed his tense posture and hurried forward. "Young Master, are you alright?"

Mu Lin kept a stern face. "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

He glanced at the three Embroidered Uniform Guards in the group and frowned. "Jin Shu, why are there Embroidered Uniform Guards here?"

Jin Shu whispered, "His Majesty has agreed to let you return to Yunnan. These are the Embroidered Uniform Guards assigned to escort you back."

Cao Ye unfastened his cape and handed Mu Lin an imperial order. "Young Master, rest assured—we will safely escort you to the Duke's mansion in Yunnan."

Mu Lin took the order, first thanked the Emperor, then pulled Jin Shu aside and asked, "Is Uncle angry?"

Jin Shu whispered, "He is furious—very furious. That very night, the Duke sent out many men to chase after you, then rushed to the palace to beg forgiveness. His Majesty knows you were worried about the heir, so he did not punish you. Otherwise, your crime of leaving Jingcheng without permission to return to Yunnan would have been severe."

Seeing Mu Lin's grim expression, Jin Shu whispered soothingly, "Now it's settled. With His Majesty's order, you can return to Yunnan openly and without shame."

Mu Lin's gaze drifted backward. "Jin Shu, even the imperial physicians sent to Yunnan couldn't cure Father?"

Jin Shu sighed, saying nothing.

Mu Lin pressed his lips together. "The world is vast. There are so many extraordinary people, so many powerful ones. If the palace can't help, perhaps someone outside can."

Jin Shu, hearing him bring it up again, grew suspicious. "The most talented and virtuous people in the world serve His Majesty. Even the Imperial Medical Bureau couldn't help—how could outsiders possibly manage? Young Master, have you been deceived?"

Mu Lin had not been deceived. His mind was filled with the scene of Pan Yun fighting.

She was so young, yet her Wu Gong was so high—how could she not be an extraordinary person?

Though Wang Cong said it was impossible, he hadn't even asked Pan Yun yet. Wang Cong clearly wasn't as strong as Pan Yun—what if she could?

What if she couldn't—what if her master could?

Mu Lin wanted to go back and ask her, but he couldn't help glancing at the Embroidered Uniform Guards standing nearby.

There were three people lying in the courtyard—oh, one was already a corpse.

Though he didn't know what grudge they held, those two men in black and brown robes were clearly villains—foreigners daring to commit violence within the Great Ming Realm!

Mu Lin hesitated. Intellectually, he believed such matters should be handed over to the authorities to judge right from wrong;

yet reason also told him that ordinary people who tangled with the authorities or the Embroidered Uniform Guard would lose three layers of skin—let alone these clearly martial world figures.

After sharing life and death, Mu Lin didn't want Pan Yun and the others dragged into such a situation.

Though, only he considered it shared life and death.

Mu Lin stood gloomily as Jin Shu and the others cleared a dry spot and invited Mu Lin to sit.

Cao Ye circled the Mountain God Temple with his sword, paused when passing the back courtyard gate, frowned for a moment, then stepped forward and pulled out the wooden stick.

Mu Lin jumped, exclaiming, "Commandant Cao!"

Cao Ye turned around.

Mu Lin suppressed his emotions and spoke as calmly as he could. "Let's discuss how to return to Yunnan—should we take the land route, or first go by water?"

Cao Ye frowned. "What route does the Young Master prefer?"

As he spoke, he casually pushed open the courtyard gate.

Mu Lin's heart leapt—but Cao Ye merely peered inside at the overgrown courtyard.

Perhaps because the wind and rain were so fierce, rocks and broken branches kept falling from the cliffside, though none were large.

Mu Lin had unknowingly walked up beside him. "They say the temple was abandoned because the cliff constantly dropped stones. The back courtyard has always been locked to prevent injuries."

Cao Ye's gaze swept over the grass bent and battered by wind and rain. The rain was too heavy, the mist too thick—he only glanced once.

A gust of wind swept in, hurling rain against them. Cao Ye shut the gate again.

The wind pressed against the door, then yanked it violently, making it slam against the wall with a crackling sound.

Cao Ye finally frowned and pulled the door shut again, jamming the wooden stick back in as a bolt to secure it. He continued forward, his eyes scanning every face huddled in the corners, speaking respectfully: "Young Master, would you prefer to take a boat down the Grand Canal, then switch to horses—or ride directly by carriage?"

Mu Lin followed behind him, silently exhaling in relief. "Horseback, fast and direct. No need for a carriage."

Cao Ye nodded. As long as Mu Lin had no issues, none of them would have any.

He finished his circuit, found nothing unusual, and stood with arms crossed, watching the Duke's guards light a fire, cook, and serve the noble Young Master.

Mu Lin—the one who called the Emperor "Big Brother." His Ceng Zu, Mu Ying, was the adopted son of the founding Emperor and Empress Xiaoci, and took the Zhu surname. At eleven, he rode into battle alongside the founding Emperor.

Since Mu Ying, the Mu family has guarded Yunnan for three generations, maintaining close ties with the imperial house.

In the Emperor's heart, the Mu family was perhaps closer than some of his own blood relatives.

Mu Lin is the eldest grandson of Mu Ang, current Regional Commander of Yunnan and Left Grand Marshal. For years, he has lived in Jingcheng with the Prince of Qian, Mu Bin, serving the Emperor.

In the young Emperor's heart, Mu Lin ranks only slightly below the Emperor's own brother, Prince Cheng. So Cao Ye dared not offend him, nor let him suffer any slight.

He said, "Once the rain stops, we depart. First to Jinan Prefecture to rest, then southward."

Cao Ye paused here, looking at Mu Lin. "Young Master has already passed Jinan Prefecture—why turn back?"

!. Read

Mu Lin sighed gloomily, "I left without saying goodbye because I feared my uncle would worry, and also feared Your Majesty would blame him—so I decided to return to the capital and plead with Your Majesty again, which is why I turned back."

Otherwise, I would have already passed through Chengnan and headed south, and never met Pan Yun and the others.

Mu Lin grew anxious, feeling he must find an opportunity to visit Pan Yun in the back courtyard and ask if she had another way to save his father.

No—he would ask everyone inside; they all looked formidable. If they pooled their wisdom, maybe someone would know something?

Mu Lin turned to Jin Shu.

Jin Shu met his gaze, bewildered, thinking the young master still intended mischief—he felt a pang of unease and whispered, "Young Master, Your Majesty has already granted you permission to return to Yunnan. Let's not cause trouble anymore."

Mu Lin leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I have a few friends I need to see—I can't let anyone else know. Jin Shu, hold them off for me…"

Mu Lin's gaze swept over the three brocade-clad guards.

All the other soldiers were loyal to us; only these three brocade-clad guards were not.

Meanwhile, in the back courtyard, Pan Yun sensed something unusual in the temple ahead.

When Cao Ye pushed open the back courtyard door, she immediately noticed—and quietly peered out the window.

Through the heavy curtain of rain, Cao Ye didn't spot her—but she clearly saw him.

She murmured, "What a strange coincidence," then immediately looked away, afraid that staring too intently might alert him.

The weeds in the courtyard bore signs of being trampled, and faint traces of blood remained. She held her breath and waited.

But clearly, Cao Ye lacked Liu Jing's sharpness—he noticed nothing, closed the door, and left.

Pan Yun exhaled in relief, turned, and stood before the withered-robed man, her expression unreadable.

Wang Cong stood up, stretched his neck, noticed her expression, froze, and widened his eyes. "Little Master Auntie, I just revived him—surely you don't mean to…"

Pan Yun turned to Seeing Miao Zhen. "How much longer will this rain last?"

Seeing Miao Zhen glanced outside at the thick black clouds, felt the wind, and after calculating for half a moment, said, "At most two more hours."

"What's the minimum?"

Seeing Miao Zhen: "If the wind strengthens, it will clear in one hour and forty-five minutes."

Pan Yun calculated and said, "Enough."

Pan Yun told Wang Cong, "Wake him up. Miao and Tao Yanbai are tending to Hu Daxia over there—don't look this way."

Tao Yanbai: "What is Little Master Auntie going to do?"

Miao: "Little Master Auntie is going to interrogate him—she fears we'll be frightened."

Wang Cong hesitated only briefly, then stepped forward with his needle and pricked the man awake.

The withered-robed man opened his eyes to meet Pan Yun's icy gaze.

Before he could recover, the woman above him smiled faintly—yet her eyes held no warmth—and seized his throat, yanking him upward with a thud, slamming him against the wall.

The wall's chill seeped into his back. Even though he had prepared himself for death, he could not suppress a shiver of dread.

Pan Yun sensed it—and her smile deepened.

She gripped his throat, forcing him to lift his head, and stared into his eyes. "In the Central Plains, there is a secret technique. I once saw my master use it—through the eyes, one can peer directly into the soul and relive a person's entire life, even memories they themselves forgot. It is commonly called—Soul-Searching Art."

The withered-robed man's eyes widened.

Pan Yun's smile grew even wider—though still devoid of warmth. "But this technique is too sinister. After using it, the target's mind is instantly turned to mush. If lucky, they die on the spot. If unlucky, they become a fool—alive but senseless, wandering this world as a living corpse. We call it—Living Dead."

Pan Yun asked him, "Do you want to try it?"

The missing chapter from last night will be made up tomorrow.

(End of Chapter)