Chapter 4: Pursuit

Wang Yong frowned, his gaze sweeping over her before turning to the beggar children huddled at the street corner.

He was wrestling inside: should he act or not?

If he acted, it might stir up trouble—the Pan family couldn’t find any trace of their “daughter,” and as the letter said, Pan Hong’s daughter likely died last spring.

Pan Hong and his two sons had already been exiled; now, if he pinned a daughter on them, it would only implicate Pan Tao’s family for harboring “her”—but would it be enough to add to Pan Hong’s crimes and upgrade his sentence to execution? If Pan Hong were beheaded, his elder brother and uncle would surely feel more satisfied.

But the risk would increase.

If he did nothing, all his effort would yield nothing, and he’d be bitterly disappointed.

How could he have mistaken her? His spies had clearly seen a little girl of the right age inside the Pan household.

Thinking of the sketch submitted by his spy, Wang Yong’s gaze automatically followed forward—only to find the little girl gone from sight, while the man she’d called “Father” had just stepped out of the tavern with a jug of wine, arm-in-arm with another man, walking ahead.

Which man takes his daughter out for drinks?

Wang Yong snapped back to awareness, his mind racing, and immediately spurred his horse to chase after them.

Liu Jing, one step behind, was staring at the paper bird in his hand. Seeing Wang Yong gallop off in haste, he flickered his eyes, thought for a moment, then kept his distance and followed.

He couldn’t steal the credit from Wang Yong—but at least he needed to know what Wang Yong was doing in secret. It might prove useful later.

Pan Yun weaved through the crowd, turning at every corner, slipping into every alley, trying to shake off Wang Yong behind her. She occasionally glanced back and saw no sign of him—but her senses kept sending her “danger” signals; clearly, she hadn’t escaped.

【What are you waiting for? Help me!】

Though grumbling, the Spirit Realm—having already given up some spiritual energy—extended its spiritual sense through the net she’d opened.

This was the first time since arriving in this world that it had openly used its spiritual sense to observe the world; previously, to avoid detection by Pan Yun, it had only seen through her eyes.

This world felt familiar—in the thousands of years of its existence, most worlds had looked like this.

It quickly spotted Wang Yong chasing after them, and also saw the imperial officers closing in from all directions. Now it understood why he couldn’t see Pan Yun yet still clung to her trail.

【Go straight, turn right at the next two alleys, run to the end—there’s a small grove there, unoccupied.】

Pan Yun followed its instructions and ran.

The Spirit Realm’s spiritual sense involuntarily scanned the people nearby. Pan Yun seemed to know what it was thinking; as she ran, she chatted with it mentally: 【You want to leave me and find someone else?】

Spirit Realm: Who’s really inside whose mind?

Pan Yun: 【Do you think you can escape? If you even try, I’ll take you down with me.】

Pan Yun spoke with absolute finality—because she’d already trapped it with her net before, the Spirit Realm dared not move.

Though in its past life it had been studied by them, this young researcher had only shown professional skill; it didn’t truly know her.

In this life, though it had been with her since birth, her life was simple—she never left home, her parents and brothers doted on her, and her days were spent reading, learning characters, taking medicine, or cultivating. Her emotions were a flat line.

The two major emotional shifts were: two months ago, when her current father Pan Hong was arrested and the family exiled; and just now, when she nearly dragged the entire Pan family down with her.

Even when she’d nearly died of illness last year, her mood hadn’t fluctuated much—so the Spirit Realm couldn’t tell if she was truly this fierce.

Whether she was or not, the Spirit Realm wasn’t. It had existed for so long—it didn’t intend to be undone by a reckless youth.

The thought had barely crossed its mind when Pan Yun softened her tone and asked slowly in his mind: 【And can you find a better cultivation prodigy than me in this world?】

Born with cultivation awareness, able to refine primordial qi, a cultivation prodigy among prodigies when spiritual energy returned in its past life, possessing vast cultivation knowledge—who could match her?

The Spirit Realm fell silent, answering with action: 【Wang Yong is still two alleys away, but he doesn’t know your exact location—he’s sent men to search in all directions. He’s now the closest.】

It continued: 【Ahead of the grove is a temple; to either side, not far, are fields; farther still, houses. Beyond that, I can’t see.】

Pan Yun was satisfied. She ran into the grove—it was a plum orchard, the trees now full of leaves, with small fruit the size of a thumb nestled among them.

Pan Yun glanced around, walked deeper into the grove, and picked up several stones from the ground, then casually tossed them…

The Spirit Realm watched where they landed: 【Do you have enough spiritual energy to activate the array yet?】

Pan Yun had already sat cross-legged behind a tree, her aura shifting—she seemed to merge with the plum tree behind her. She calmed her breath and cultivated: 【Keep watch—I need to restore some strength and spiritual energy.】

The Spirit Realm agreed. Seeing Wang Yong drawing nearer, it hesitated, then released a portion of its spiritual energy.

Please... Your Majesty... collect _(!)

Spiritual energy appeared in her meridians. Pan Yun immediately sensed it—she was startled, but didn’t slow; she immediately guided it, setting the energy circulating…

Along with her internal spiritual energy, some external qi and internal energy were also refined into qi, circulated through the Microcosmic Orbit, and gathered into her dantian…

Once she had fully absorbed and transformed this qi, she opened her eyes and directed it toward each array point…

The mist in the grove thickened gradually, fog rising—Wang Yong, who had been searching, finally arrived here.

That little girl must be suspicious!

Wang Yong already had a theory: his spy hadn’t been mistaken—the Pan family was harboring Pan Hong’s daughter. He didn’t know how they’d gotten word in advance or prepared, but they had.

The thought of gaining credit—and possibly exposing disloyal members within the Embroidered Uniform Guard—made him tremble with excitement.

He had no blood tie to Wang Zhen; his status paled beside that of Wang Zhen’s own nephew, Wang Shan. But he was capable—what could Wang Shan, a drunken wastrel, possibly do?

If only Wang Zhen could see his abilities…

Wang Yong’s eyes gleamed. He reached the edge of the grove, glanced at the faint footprints on the ground, then looked up at the blurred shadows of the trees—and smiled. Thought hiding here would escape his notice?

His hand pressed on his blade as he slowly stepped into the grove…

He didn’t notice—the deeper he went, the thicker the mist became, until his own figure grew indistinct.

Pan Yun rose silently, a stone clutched in her right hand. She opened her left palm and prodded the Spirit Realm mentally: 【Give me the scissors.】

It was her sewing scissors.

The Spirit Realm didn’t ask why. A pair of scissors appeared in Pan Yun’s hand.

(End of Chapter)