Chapter 396

Two years isn't very long—the head escort's expression relaxed as he smiled, "We do have a farmstead outside the city, near which is a village. If you trust me, you can temporarily place them at our farmstead; I'll build them a few rooms and lease the land to them, so they can grow vegetables and sell them in town."

He said, "As long as they don't travel far, there's no problem. After two years, the matter of Wan Chun Tower will fade, and then they can apply for travel permits at the county office—they can decide for themselves whether to stay or return home."

Pan Yun agreed.

The two settled on the prices for escorting and housing the girls; Pan Yun left a deposit and arranged for the girls to be delivered that night.

Hong Yan walked beside her, unable to resist glancing back at the head escort, who was grinning like a blooming flower, and asked, "You've only met him once—do you really trust him?"

Pan Yun: "First, I inquired about the escort bureau's reputation; second, I can read faces."

Pan Yun pointed to her own eyes and said, "My talent reveals illusions and false appearances, striking straight to the heart. This head escort has an upright heart—he promised me, so he will keep his word."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Then he's probably dead," Pan Yun said. "Some people value integrity and reputation more than their lives, more than anything in the world."

Hong Yan: "Then you certainly aren't that kind of person."

Pan Yun: "Who says that? I'm very trustworthy, and I care deeply about my reputation."

Hong Yan: "You have a reputation?"

"I meant moral standing…"

As they walked down the main street, chatting, Pan Yun looked at the bustling thoroughfare, pulled out a string of copper coins, and handed them to Hong Yan, "Here—buy whatever you like. Come on, let's get them breakfast."

True enough, though it was already lunchtime, they were now eating breakfast.

They wandered back to the inn, their hands full of food.

Pushing open the door, the girls were already awake, quietly huddled in their room, afraid to make too much noise.

Pan Yun placed the pile of food on the table, "Come eat quickly. After you've eaten, rest. I'll record where each of you wants to go—I've already made arrangements with the escort bureau."

The girls abducted from different places included two or three from nearby regions, and all were taken from north of Jinan.

As Pan Yun recorded, she said, "This appears to be a gang operation with divided routes—this one must handle the north, selling northern girls southward and southern girls northward, ensuring their families never find them. How cruel."

All the girls shuddered.

Of the thirteen girls, six were kidnapped; the remaining seven were sold by their own families.

One girl pointed to the two girls lying on the wooden plank, "They were sold with us—we were eight girls in two carts, and two died on the way."

Pan Yun frowned, "Do you remember what the traffickers looked like?"

"I remember," the girl spat, "even if they turned to ash, I'd recognize them."

"Come on, let's draw their portraits," Pan Yun pulled out another sheet of paper and sketched their likenesses based on the descriptions.

Miao Zhen and Miao He in the next room woke up and came over to see the girls. Seeing Pan Yun drawing, they each stuffed a bun into their mouths, then grabbed paper and brushes and said, "Come on, tell me where you want to go—I'll write it down."

After hesitating, the girls began giving their addresses, still fearful, whispering as they spoke, "Miss, are the escort guards trustworthy?"

Miao Zhen said, "For an escort bureau to survive, reputation comes first. We've paid them; even if they die, they must fulfill their duty."

She paused, then added, "But never let your guard down. As you travel north together, observe carefully—if any escort behaves improperly, warn them firmly. If necessary, go to the government office."

Miao Zhen whispered, "The government office is always more trustworthy than outsiders. Keep the money we gave you safe."

Though Miao Zhen looked younger than them, she now scolded them like an older sister.

She taught them not only travel precautions but also how to handle escort guards, government office runners, and any other situations they might encounter on the road.

The girls stared blankly; one couldn't help herself and hugged Miao Zhen, "You're like my sister."

"We don't even know your names, please tell us—we will repay you in the future."

Miao Zhen glanced at Pan Yun and immediately gave their names: "We are Daoist Priests of Mount Sanqing. I am Miao Zhen, this is my junior uncle Pan Yun, this is my junior sister Miao He, next door are my senior brother Wang Cong and third senior brother Tao Yan Bai. Oh, this is Hong Yan—our Mount Sanqing's mountain deity is Pan Gong."

Afraid they'd forget, she took another sheet of paper and wrote down all their names, handing it to them.

The girl clutched the paper to her chest and promised, "When I return home, I'll ask my parents to offer thanks at Mount Sanqing."

Miao Zhen: "No need, no need—it's too far and too troublesome. Just feel grateful in your hearts."

Hong Yan stared, dumbfounded, and leaned close to Pan Yun to ask, "Do you always become famous like this when you roam the Jianghu?"

Pan Yun: "Little by little, bit by bit."

Reputation is built gradually—it's not like doing evil, so why fear publicity?

After finishing the traffickers' portraits and recording the addresses, Pan Yun turned to the three on the bed, "What about you three? Since you're awake, tell us where you want to go."

Everyone turned to look at the three.

They had been revived but remained silent—though they'd been listening.

The youngest said, "I'm Zhuo Ling. My home is in Jingcheng—I want to return to Jingcheng."

The slightly older girl beside her spoke hoarsely, "I'm Chang Yunqiu, also from Jingcheng—I want to return to Jingcheng." Another girl said, "I'm Hua Yueqiao, second daughter in my family—also called Hua Erniang. I won't go home—please place me with the other girls."

Pan Yun nodded and wrote down their details, then asked Zhuo Ling and Chang Yunqiu, "Where exactly in Jingcheng do you live?"

She paused, then added, "Or rather—where exactly do you need the escort guards to take you?"

The two hesitated, thought for a moment, then gave an address—only to the street level.

Pan Yun had Miao Zhen write it down.

She took the addresses and said, "Rest now. I'll go out and buy you two sets of clothes. After dinner tonight, we'll take you to the escort bureau."

Pan Yun left Miao Zhen and the others to guard and watch over them, taking only Wang Cong with her.

Wang Cong finally remembered what he'd forgotten last night and walked beside Pan Yun excitedly, "Junior Uncle, guess how much money we seized yesterday?"

Pan Yun: "A lot?"

Wang Cong: "Super huge."

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"That's great—this arrangement will cost a lot. Later, settle the expenses."

Wang Cong: "What about the leftover money?"

He lowered his voice, "Junior Uncle, this is my first time doing robbery—and though their money was ill-gotten, isn't it still wrong for us to do this?"

Pan Yun gave him an approving glance, nodded, and said, "It is not good. I never intended to use their money in the first place. After sending them off, the remaining money will be split in two — one portion will be distributed to the common folk along the way, and the other will be sent to the ladies of the Wan Chun House."

Wang Cong: "Are we this free? Aren't we going up to the capital?"

"The Brocaded Guards are around. At a time like this, staying put is better than moving," Pan Yun said, rocking her head. "As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. The Brocaded Guards would never think that Hu Jing is staying at an inn right now."

"We'll set off after they leave," Pan Yun said. "No matter whether they search south or north, they'll miss us."

Wang Cong thought for a moment, then nodded. "True. Hero Hu's injuries are no light matter. Yesterday the carriage was already moving slowly, yet his wounds still reopened. He needs a few days to recover."

And so the matter was settled.

Pan Yun waved her hand and said, "Let's go — we're off to buy clothes and money pouches!"

Wang Cong held her back, studied her carefully, then shook his head. "We can't go like that. We need to disguise ourselves."

So the two of them found a secluded alley and went in to disguise themselves. When they came out, Pan Yun had become a young shop hand, and Wang Cong had become a small-bearded peddler.

The two of them swaggered off toward the pawnshop.

Wang Cong said, "At a time like this, everyone has to keep a low profile. Old clothes are better than new ones, and pawnshop clothes are cheap."

At the pawnshop, not only were the clothes cheap, the money pouches were cheap too.

Pan Yun and Wang Cong were led by a shop hand to the storeroom. "There — those five rows of shelves are all clothes, socks, and money pouches and bags. Put whatever you've picked in the basket, and go up front to settle the bill."

This was Pan Yun's third time picking things out at a pawnshop, but this was the largest pawnshop storeroom she had seen so far.

Pan Yun dragged the bamboo basket forward and exclaimed, "Worthy of a prefectural city — even the pawnshop is bigger than the ones in the county town or the countryside."

Wang Cong took it as a matter of course. "Naturally. You've never seen the pawnshops in Jingcheng. Their pawnshops have over ten storerooms alone, all sorted by category. Cloth items like these wouldn't be piled together with other miscellaneous goods."

"When we get to Jingcheng, I'm going to go pawnshop-hopping."

Wang Cong also loved going pawnshop-hopping. Hearing this, he immediately said, "I'll take you there."

He said, "I've only been once myself, but after that one visit, I couldn't stop thinking about it."

Both of them were utterly enamored with the pawnshops of Jingcheng.

The old clothes and such taken in by the pawnshop had all been washed. Some were sold singly, some as sets, and the prices differed. Every shelf had its prices clearly marked.

Not expensive at all.

Wang Cong took down a set of half-old fine-cotton clothes and showed them to Pan Yun, lowering his voice. "Look — this whole set of clothes, he's selling for sixty-five wen. At a cloth shop, just buying the fabric to make this one set would cost around a hundred and twenty wen. If you bought it brand-new at a ready-made clothing shop, the price would be between a hundred and eighty and two hundred and forty wen. So even though this set is half-old, it's a real bargain."

"The clever part is, when someone pawns this set, they can get at most twenty wen for it. He then hires someone to wash it, which costs less than half a wen. One in, one out — he's made more than double."

Pan Yun: "Pawnshops really are outrageously profitable."

Wang Cong said, "My lifelong wish has been to open a pawnshop of my own."

Pan Yun: "With your ability, it would be a trivial matter. Why haven't you opened one?"

Wang Cong sighed gloomily, "Because I don't have the capital."

He said, "Opening a pawnshop requires a large initial sum, and it also requires a good eye. These things are just side items for a pawnshop — the real big money is in antiques, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain, and jewelry. With those, if you misjudge even one piece, you've worked a whole year for nothing."

"Those antiques and paintings — one piece could be worth a thousand or even ten thousand taels. How many of those do you think I could afford to take in?"

Pan Yun patted his shoulder. "A long road and a heavy burden. Keep at it."

(End of chapter)