Chapter 390

As they neared Jinan City, Hu Jing began speaking to Pan Yun about Tang Peng: "I checked—Tang Peng still has contact with Jiang Shuxiao. He's likely active around Chengnan. I searched Jiang Shuxiao's home; Tang Peng once delivered him dried meat and fish jerky, so he probably works for a butcher. You might also ask around the docks."

Hu Jing said: "If you catch him, just give me ten taels as information fee."

Pan Yun paused, then said: "I saved your life, and I didn't ask you for money."

Hu Jing: "You told me to repay you with my body."

"That's right—you're mine now, so why are you asking for money?" Pan Yun said. "All your information belongs to me."

Hu Jing fell silent for a moment, then said: "I apologize—I've never actually repaid you with my body yet, so I'm still unskilled at it."

"I forgive you," Pan Yun asked. "Any other details? What does he look like?"

Pan Yun unfolded the wanted poster. "This face was drawn two years ago. He looks so energetic here—surely he doesn't look like this anymore?"

Hu Jing: "Fugitives like him rarely use martial arts disguise techniques. They only alter their appearance through natural means—messing up their hair, wearing ragged, filthy clothes, letting their beards grow. In less than three months, even their own parents wouldn't recognize them."

"So you look for people who are filthy, with hair and beards covering their faces," Hu Jing paused. "But if he hasn't done that, he's easier to find—you just compare his face to the poster. If his face is clean, whether he's gained or lost weight, his features remain basically unchanged."

He said: "To recognize a person, don't look at flesh and skin—look at the bone structure."

"Bone structure?" Pan Yun held the wanted poster up to the sun, frowning. "How am I supposed to see bone structure from a drawing?"

Hu Jing glanced at her. "You've seen too little. The more you see, the better you'll get. The bone structure is right there, glaringly obvious in this drawing."

He shook his head, unable to resist asking: "How did you ever catch the fugitive from Guangxin Prefecture?"

Pan Yun froze, lowering the wanted poster. "How do you know I caught a fugitive in Guangxin Prefecture?"

Hu Jing: "In our line of work, you must stay well-informed. Last year, I was hunting fugitives around Jiangxi. Guangxin Prefecture had a brutal bounty hunter—every fugitive she brought back was either dead or crippled."

"Female Daoist Priest, under twelve years old, accompanied by a young Daoist Priest of similar age. In official offices, she claims to be Pan Sanzhu of Mount Sanqing; in front of fugitives, she claims to be Pan Sanzhu of Long Hushan. The moment I heard it, I knew it was you."

Pan Yun awkwardly rubbed her nose, yet couldn't help asking: "So my reputation's that big? Everyone knows?"

Hu Jing: "Others may not, but in our line of work, everyone in the Jiangnan region knows. Fugitives on the run have surely heard of your name."

Hu Jing glanced at her. "Even though you've only caught two people, your brutal methods have spread far and wide."

Pan Yun muttered: "They're ruining my reputation—I delivered them all alive…"

What did it matter if they died later?

Outside the carriage, Wang Cong called out: "Little Master, we're approaching the city."

Pan Yun replied, lifted the curtain, and glanced outside—saw soldiers meticulously inspecting everyone at the city gate. Her gaze flickered. "Why so many people?"

Wang Cong noticed too. After watching for a while, he lowered his voice: "All adult men are being thoroughly checked and questioned, especially those entering alone. They're holding a drawing, but it's too blurry to make out clearly."

Pan Yun immediately grabbed Pan Xiaohei and tossed him to Seeing Miao Zhen: "Take Pan Xiaohei and go in to check."

Pedestrians and carriages were in separate lines; carriage queues moved slower, and there was a dedicated lane for the elderly, children, and women, so they passed quickly.

Seeing Miao Zhen caught Pan Xiaohei and immediately joined the queue to enter the city.

Since their group consisted mostly of the elderly, children, and women, they didn't even check household registration or travel permits—just glanced and let them through.

But the soldiers beside them still held a drawing.

After passing inspection, Seeing Miao Zhen, holding the cat, pretended to trip, deliberately stepped two paces toward the soldier, looked up—and immediately looked away.

Once inside the city, Seeing Miao Zhen dropped Pan Xiaohei and whispered: "Run fast—go tell Little Master. They're holding a portrait of Brother Hu."

Pan Xiaohei vanished like smoke along the wall's base.

Seeing Miao Zhen had no choice but to join another queue to exit the city.

Fortunately, exiting was easy for her.

Pan Yun received Pan Xiaohei's thoughts before he even emerged, so she lifted the curtain and told Wang Cong: "They're checking for Hu Jing up ahead."

Wang Cong's heart tightened. "I'll find an excuse to leave right away."

Pan Yun: "No need. I'll just give him a disguise. You just need to be prepared."

Pan Yun turned to Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen: "You three go in first. Find Seeing Miao Zhen and tell her not to come out. We'll enter shortly."

Tao Yanbai agreed and entered the city with Seeing Miao Zhen and Sister Hong Yan.

Pan Yun began pulling items from her small bag—bottles and jars opened, she smeared substances onto Hu Jing's face, then drew on it with a brush. In less than fifteen minutes, a rugged, middle-aged man became a wrinkled old man.

Pan Yun leaned back to examine him. "His hair's too black. Wait a moment."

She reached into her small bag, pulled out a large jar, scooped out a spoonful, rubbed it in her palm, then smeared it onto his head—especially his temples, meticulously coated.

Pan Yun stepped back, studied him, and nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Very good. My skill is improving."

Hu Jing was curious. "What do I look like now?"

Pan Yun handed him a small bronze mirror.

Hu Jing gasped—the gray-haired, wrinkled old man staring back was him?

Pan Yun: "Now you've seen your face. Remember to change your voice too." She smiled confidently. "I guarantee even your own parents wouldn't recognize you."

Hu Jing carefully touched his face. "Definitely not."

Outside the curtain, Wang Cong whispered: "Little Master, are you done? Next is our turn."

Pan Yun lifted the curtain, paused, then called out: "Brother, Grandpa's coughing again."

Wang Cong flinched, looked up—and saw an old man inside, eyes sharp and fixed on him.

Wang Cong: "... He does look like Grandpa, but his eyes are too bright."

Pan Yun turned to look at Hu Jing.

Hu Jing immediately slumped weakly, eyes half-closed.

Pan Yun beamed at Wang Cong.

"... Fine." Wang Cong lowered the curtain and urged the carriage forward for inspection.

!. Read

Because Wang Cong was an adult male, his household registration and travel permit were checked.

When the soldier lifted the curtain and saw a short-haired girl and an old man inside, and the carriage was clearly empty, he dropped the curtain, checked underneath for hidden items, confirmed nothing, then waved them through: "Go ahead."

Wang Cong immediately drove the cart in, glancing at the portrait in the soldier's hand as he passed.

When Liu Jing returned to the government office from outside and learned that Wang Shan had been persuaded by the Hundred-Pace Captain, and that a checkpoint had been set up right at the city gate to search for Hu Jing, he was speechless for a long moment.

The few Embroidered Uniform Guard who usually followed Liu Jing exchanged glances, and after a moment of silence one of them asked, "Total Banner, what do we do? This counts as startling the snake by beating the grass, doesn't it?"

Liu Jing: "This isn't just startling the snake by beating the grass — this is practically beating drums and gongs to announce it to Hu Jing!"

"But it doesn't matter," Liu Jing forced a smile. "Knowing Hu Jing's character, once he learns he's being searched, he'll definitely come to the government office to ask why. From now on, we'll shift our attention to the government office — especially the government office runners who hunt criminals. Most of them are on friendly terms with Hu Jing, and he might seek them out privately."

By ordinary reasoning, Liu Jing's deduction was spot on — but the trouble was, Pan Yun was here.

Hu Jing had already learned everything from Pan Yun, so he wasn't at all surprised to find himself being searched.

Once settled in the inn, he even asked Pan Yun, "Are you really going to escort me all the way into Jingcheng like this?"

Pan Yun: "Don't worry. Once we're out of Jinan Prefecture, as long as you don't go out of your way to rip down wanted posters and make arrests, no one will track you. Apart from us, no one knows you're heading to Jingcheng."

Hu Jing fell thoughtful.

When he looked up again, he saw her studying the portrait once more, and couldn't help glaring. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard are already in Jinan Prefecture — you can't still be thinking of making arrests, can you?"

Pan Yun said, "I won't arrest them, but I can have someone else do it. The food's already been brought right to my lips — if I don't eat, I really can't stand it."

Pan Yun committed the portrait firmly to memory, then took Seeing Miao Zhen to stroll around the docks. Finding no suitable person, she turned to leave — and at that very moment spotted a man with a face full of beard pushing a handcart toward them.

A dock laborer greeted him and asked, "Dachang, what good stuff's left today?"

The man replied simply, "Just some tripe and bones."

"That butcher Zhao's too stingy. You helped him slaughter two pigs today, and all he gave you was this stuff."

The man gave a simple, honest smile, looking as if he didn't mind at all.

Pan Yun tugged Seeing Miao Zhen and said, "Quick, let's take a look together."

Seeing Miao Zhen formed a hand-seal and opened her Heavenly Eye, while Pan Yun circulated her art and opened her Dharma Eye. When they looked at the man again, they saw his whole body wrapped in a heavy aura of black grievance.

Even if this man wasn't Tang Peng, he was still Deeply sinful.

Pan Yun immediately took a few extra looks at the man, memorized him, and then turned her gaze to Seeing Miao Zhen.

Seeing Miao Zhen had also finished looking, and gave her a slight nod.

Pan Yun took her hand and left.

The moment the two of them walked off, Tang Peng, who had been pushing the cart, looked up. Seeing only two young girls, he paid it no mind and kept pushing his cart along.

Pan Yun took Seeing Miao Zhen straight to the Thousand Breaths House.

The Thousand Breaths House was still on Flower Street. Knocking on a pleasure house's door in broad daylight made the doorman very unhappy; when he opened the door and saw two young girls, he was even less pleased, and asked with a frown, "What do you want?"

The doormen from the house across the way were also sizing up Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen. Seeing how pretty the two of them were, they drifted closer.

The Thousand Breaths House's doorman glared at them and waved them off. "Get lost, get lost — these are customers who came to us. Even grabbing customers? Have you all gone mad with hunger?"

The moment Pan Yun heard that, she immediately turned to look back at the ones approaching, her gaze turning slightly cold.

The approaching men paused in their steps, and one said with a grin to the Thousand Breaths House's doorman, "Goods delivered right to the door, and such fine goods at that — and you push them away? You deserve to be a doorman for life."

The man's eyes roamed lewdly over Pan Yun's and Seeing Miao Zhen's faces. Pan Yun stared right back. She had originally intended to hold back, but then she thought — why should she?

So she stepped forward and kicked straight at their knees.

Good night.

(End of chapter)