Chapter 395: Find the Escort Agency

They had never heard such a thing before; even Hu Jing couldn't help raising his head to look at her.

Pan Yun smiled warmly and said to them, "New beginnings are always joyful. Tomorrow I'll buy you delicious food to celebrate—first, for your safe escape; second, to congratulate you on your new life. From now on, one heavy mountain has been lifted from your backs—you are free, no longer oppressed by parents or kin."

The girls opened their mouths wide and murmured, "No parents or kin oppressing us… but isn't that pitiful, without parents or kin?"

Pan Yun said, "Pitiful? Things born of heaven and earth are always treasured. You've become treasures—Heaven, Earth, gods, and immortals are now your kin and your support."

Pan Yun had only been speaking nonsense to comfort them, but as she spoke these words, she paused, realizing there was truth in them. She said, "If not for fate, how could we have met? How could I have saved you?"

Pan Yun's gaze swept over their faces, then she smiled suddenly. "Amidst the vast sea of humanity, you found each other—that is destiny."

The girls exchanged glances; during this time, they had all looked out for each other despite being beaten, cursed, and starved.

One girl placed her hand on another's, and the loneliness of losing her family, of facing solitude alone, grew a little lighter.

Hu Jing was carried overnight into the room next door where Wang Cong and Tao Yan Bai lived. Before he could speak to Wang Cong, the two of them immediately tiptoed over to the neighboring room.

All the girls were injured; three among them were seriously wounded—they had to save them.

A curtain divided the room; Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen and others applied medicine to them on the inner side, and the group worked until dawn broke.

Pan Yun told them all to return to their rooms and sleep; she then went back to her room, changed clothes, thought for a moment, and took Pan Xiaohei out for a stroll.

Seeing Miao Zhen barely opened her eyes, then rolled over to face Miao He and fell asleep, muttering softly, "Little Uncle's energy is incredible."

Hong Yan was just as energetic as Pan Yun.

She didn't want to sleep, so she changed out of her blood-stained clothes, swung her money pouch, and went after Pan Yun.

Wang Cong, who had collapsed into bed the moment she returned, kept feeling she'd forgotten something, but since she couldn't recall it, she gave up and dropped off to sleep.

Wan Chun Tower exploded, and not only was it haunted, but all its wealth had been looted.

The madam's hidden gold and silver in the storage room had been entirely carried off; the two guards stationed there lay dead at the door, the chests inside emptied, even the fabric she'd bought for the girls' spring clothing had been taken.

Her own room, too—every coin counted, even a single wooden hairpin had been stolen.

The madam stood at the door, feeling cold all over.

The girls stood behind her, watching it all, their eyes flickering.

The madam turned back with a dark face, her gaze sliding over the girls' faces, and asked coldly, "So much taken—and you knew nothing?"

The courtesan snorted. "Madam, are you suspecting us? Last night, the sisters were all entertaining guests, surrounded by people everywhere, and the main gate was guarded by many. If we had the ability to rob such wealth, we'd have left long ago."

The words were harsh, but true. The madam turned to the guards beside her, her gaze dark. "What about you?"

Half the guards of Wan Chun Tower had just woken up and were still dazed.

The madam's gaze grew even darker. "So much money and so many girls gone—the tower must answer to the owner. And you were the ones guarding both the money and the girls."

The guards turned pale. "It was a ghost—we all saw it. It appeared out of nowhere and vanished into thin air."

The two men in the rock garden also nodded quickly. "Yes, it was a ghost—a red-clad female ghost. We saw it too."

"What would a ghost want with my jewelry and money?" The madam had believed it was a ghost—after all, she'd seen it herself—but now she said coldly, "It's more likely someone is playing tricks."

Only someone inside Wan Chun Tower could have done this without a sound.

The madam said, "I'll give you one last chance: return the girls and the money before noon today. Otherwise, I'll report it to the owner. If the owner reports it to the authorities, it won't be just our tower's problem anymore."

Unfortunately, by noon, no one in Wan Chun Tower moved. The money didn't return. The girls didn't return. Instead, the news of last night's haunting spread across half the city.

In Qianxi Tower across from Wan Chun Tower, Ning Shuang murmured in amazement, "That little Daoist really is impressive—he actually managed to take people out of Wan Chun Tower."

Taking the money isn't surprising, but taking the people—that's extraordinary.

"I heard sixteen girls were taken, three of them seriously wounded."

Ning Shuang's eyes flickered thoughtfully. "They must be more than two people. Have they found where they're staying yet?"

"We've set the city's spies in motion, but they dare not act too boldly—the Brocade Uniform Guards are in the city; we must avoid them carefully."

Ning Shuang frowned. "They took a lot of money from Wan Chun Tower—that's major news. Do Brocade Uniform Guards spend this long hunting bandits? And Hu Jing hasn't shown up either…"

Ning Shuang thought deeply: "Could the bandits have found Hu Jing before them?"

"No news yet."

"What about the bandits?"

"We've been watching. Last we heard, they were in Huai'an Prefecture—no updates since."

Ning Shuang snorted. "People from such a backwater dare to come straight into Great Ming to snatch people? They've insulted us to our faces—and the Wu Lin Alliance hasn't moved at all?"

"I was just about to tell you—the Wu Lin Alliance has issued orders: all sects are sending people to find Hu Daxia, claiming they want to protect him. Qianxi Tower must provide information." Ning Shuang's eyes flashed, and she laughed sweetly. "Oh? Then why not issue a martial world decree and have Hu Daxia come straight to Qianxi Tower—or report to the Wu Lin Alliance's base? Wouldn't that protect him better?"

The other side said nothing.

Ning Shuang sneered. "So the tower, like the Wu Lin Alliance, suspects the treasure map is in Hu Daxia's possession."

"That's the real money-maker. Wan Chun Tower is nothing. Ning Shuang, I advise you to stop staring across the street—finding Hu Daxia is urgent."

Wan Chun Tower still reported it to the authorities.

Wang Shan, who was eating meat and drinking wine at the county office, didn't believe in ghosts. And since the owner of Wan Chun Tower came in person to file the report—coincidentally, he'd been drinking with them last night—

Wang Shan took the Brocade Uniform Guards to investigate, partly out of goodwill.

Liu Jing followed silently. He had already suggested withdrawing the guards from the city gates, but Wang Shan stubbornly insisted that since the cat was already out of the bag, they might as well let it run wild, so he refused to recall them.

Liu Jing cursed inwardly, but smiled warmly and praised Wang Battalion Commander's foresight—so the city gates remained heavily guarded.

The Brocade Uniform Guards had to patrol intermittently, wasting manpower greatly.

So much so that, aside from checking the city's population, even the number of men left near Tang Peng was small.

!. Read

And as the surveillance dragged on, Tang Peng seemed to sense something.

Liu Jing rode behind Wang Shan toward Wan Chun Tower, pondering whether to capture Tang Peng if Hu Jing never showed up—use him as bait to draw the others out.

When the Brocade Uniform Guards passed, pedestrians immediately dodged aside.

Pan Yun, holding Pan Xiaohei, pulled Hong Yan around to avoid them.

Liu Jing rode past behind her and didn't see her standing by the roadside.

Pan Yun glanced back at him, tugged Sister Hong Yan along, and said, "Come on, let's go find an escort agency."

Over the course of a single morning, Pan Yun had thoroughly inquired into both the brokerages and the escort agencies of Jinan Prefecture.

The most trustworthy brokerage was still the one licensed by the government office, and the escort agency with the best reputation was the one diagonally opposite the county government office.

Setting the brokerage aside for now, Pan Yun decided to go find the escort agency first.

The position of an escort agency has always been somewhat peculiar, because it sits between all sides and is a very neutral existence.

You could call it a jianghu organization, because the escorts inside are basically all men who run in the jianghu;

you could also call it a commercial establishment, because it does business;

and in order to survive, it also maintains very close ties with the government office.

Therefore, it sits among the three parties.

And the fundamental thing sustaining an escort agency's existence is its reputation; martial prowess comes only second.

So before leaving the mountain, her senior martial brother had told her that if there was any difficult matter she could not resolve, she should spend the money and hire an escort agency — it would help her settle it.

As long as she had the money.

Not only would they carry out the commission, their lips were also tightly sealed.

Pan Yun went to their door, asked the price for escorting people, and after meeting their escorts, went into a room alone with the head escort to talk.

"Escorting kidnapped women?" The head escort looked Pan Yun up and down, then immediately caught on. "The woman who wreaked havoc at Wan Chun Tower last night was you, heroine?"

Pan Yun agreed at once. "I did get the people out, but I can't just dump them anywhere, so I'd like to ask Ping'an Escort Agency to escort them home."

The head escort's face grew solemn, and he agreed at once. "I'll take this escort job."

Not only did he take it, he took it at the lowest price.

Pan Yun, however, was very generous. She waved a hand and said, "I know the brothers of the escort agency all live by the blade for their daily bread — it wouldn't be right to ask them to work for nothing. Charge the usual price."

The head escort said, "Heroine, you are righteous. The men of our Ping'an Escort Agency aren't all single-mindedly after money either. This is a virtuous deed — let us lend our hand as well."

"Head Escort, you're righteous. It's wonderful that the agency is willing to help," Pan Yun said. "There's one more thing I'd like to ask of you."

"Please, go ahead."

Pan Yun said, "A few of the girls weren't kidnapped — they were sold by their own parents and family. Since they've been rescued, I can't send them back into the tiger's mouth. Their homes are wolves' dens too, so I'd like to find another place to settle them."

Pan Yun said, "I wonder if the head escort has any place or anyone to recommend. They have hands and feet — they can farm, weave, wash and earn their own keep. As long as the place is safe and they have somewhere to settle, that will do."

"This…" The head escort frowned. "Heroine, our agency has never handled a matter like this…"

Pan Yun said, "I'm willing to pay for renting a house and land, and I'm also willing to put up a sum for protection. All I ask is that the agency look after them for two years."

After two years, if they still can't stand on their own feet there, then let it be as heaven wills.

(End of chapter)