Chapter 402

Pan Yun stood quietly to one side as Zhang Da Niang shouted angrily, "Do you think I want to find them? It's their parents' vengeful spirits that won't rest!"

"The Daoist Priest said they can't find their way home, so they're haunting my house—I must make them take their vengeful spirits away, each to their own home, no more interference."

The neighbor glanced suspiciously at Pan Yun and whispered, "Zhang Da Niang, aren't you being fooled by someone?"

"Fooled me? Who dares fool me? My son is an official!"

The neighbor muttered, "So what if he's an official? Didn't the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works get swindled out of his money just the other day? His whole household is in chaos…"

Pan Yun heard it all but remained silent.

Zhang Da Niang didn't believe Pan Yun could fool her.

She pulled the neighbor aside and whispered, "Don't worry—no one, no matter who they are, can fool me. First, I have no money; second, I won't spend it!"

The neighbor thought this over and nodded, "That's true. No matter who they are, no matter how clever, only two kinds of people can't be swindled out of money: the poor, and those who won't spend it."

She scanned Zhang Da Niang up and down and smiled, "Zhang Da Niang, you're both. In terms of stinginess, no one in this alley beats you."

"Shoo, shoo—I'm just frugal and thrifty. Now tell me, where did the Yang family move to?"

The neighbor paused, then pulled Zhang Da Niang aside. "Zhang Da Niang, you just arrived—you don't know. The Yue Niangzi and Hao Da Niang died unjustly, but besides our few neighboring households, hardly anyone knows the truth. Outsiders heard rumors and spread them, believing they were truly evil, that's why their family moved away. If you go knocking on their door…"

Zhang Da Niang: "I just want their parents' vengeful spirits to return home. I won't stir up trouble. Besides, when their family's scandal broke, my family hadn't even come to the capital—we had no grudge."

The neighbor hesitated, then said, "If anyone else asked, I'd never tell. But since you're asking, Zhang Da Niang… alright. During Mid-Autumn, I saw them in Mao'er Alley. We spoke a bit—they didn't say where they lived, but they must've settled somewhere in that area. Go look there."

She added, "Don't tell anyone else. No one's bothering them now, but if word gets back to Mao'er Alley, their lives will be hard again."

Zhang Da Niang was satisfied, patted the neighbor's hand, and said, "Don't worry—they'll only thank you. Even though they're dead, children always want their parents' spirits near them, don't they?"

"That's peace at last. Otherwise, lingering in my house—what's that?" Zhang Da Niang muttered, "Our lives are hard enough; the vengeful spirits won't rest either."

The neighbor thought this made sense.

Though Zhang Da Niang hadn't gotten the exact address, she knew finding Mao'er Alley wouldn't be hard. She turned to Pan Yun: "Daoist Priest, I've found their family—how do I send the vengeful spirits back?"

Pan Yun's ears had caught it—even though the neighbor had lowered her voice, she'd heard.

Having gotten the information she wanted, she extended her hand directly: "Zhang Da Niang, one cash coin."

Zhang Da Niang's face twisted in pain. "You haven't even told me how to send the vengeful spirits away!"

Pan Yun had never met anyone so stingy. She curled her finger. "One cash coin—that's for finding the cause."

Zhang Da Niang stared at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun met her gaze, unmoving.

Zhang Da Niang glared at her for a long while, realizing Pan Yun's expression didn't change—she simply held out her hand, quietly waiting.

She couldn't help grumbling, "Times have changed—now even Daoist Priests only care about money…"

After fumbling in her sleeve for a long time, Zhang Da Niang finally pulled out one cash coin and placed it in Pan Yun's palm.

Pan Yun gripped the still-warm copper coin. "The solution isn't hard—I'll teach you for free."

Zhang Da Niang's eyes lit up. "There are still good people! Daoist Priest, tell me."

"Clean the inside and outside of your house. Sprinkle water in the yard. Remove the three blue bricks directly under the side window, lay them flat again, and replace the doors to the outhouse and kitchen."

Zhang Da Niang blinked. "Why remove bricks and replace doors?"

Pan Yun: "Because stumbling over the raised blue bricks at night, and because the outhouse and kitchen doors face the wind passage—both door panels have cracks, so the wind whistles louder, wailing like someone crying."

"The rest of the wailing is wind hitting walls and narrow alleys. Just wait until winter passes."

Zhang Da Niang was still confused—but how does this have anything to do with vengeful spirits?

Pan Yun had already slung her banner over her shoulder and turned to leave.

It took Zhang Da Niang a long moment to realize—she leapt up and screamed, "You rotten Daoist! You tricked me! This has nothing to do with vengeful spirits! Give my money back—"

Pan Yun slung her banner and bolted away, vanishing from Zhang Da Niang's sight in moments.

Zhang Da Niang chased to the alley's mouth, saw her vanish into the crowd like smoke, and cursed loudly, "You rotten Daoist, swindling old lady like me! You wait—I'll find you again—"

The neighbor, startled by the shouting, opened her door, watched for a moment, then asked, "Zhang Da Niang, how much did she swindle you for?"

Zhang Da Niang scowled, silent—she felt humiliated.

The neighbor watched her storm back inside and slam the door with a loud bang.

The neighbor flinched as she shut her own door, then turned to the neighbor across the way, who'd also come out to watch. "Looks like even the poor and stingy aren't safe—they get swindled too."

Neighbor B immediately asked, "How much did she lose?"

"Don't know, but judging by her rage, it must've been a lot."

"Oh my, then her house will be chaos tonight! I always thought she was sharp—how did she get tricked?"

"As the saying goes: the Dao rises one foot, the demon rises ten. They came here specifically to swindle you—clever, calculating, taking advantage of your ignorance—who can stop them? Impossible to stop!"

Pan Yun wove through the crowd, banner slung over her shoulder, and as she ran, her spirits lifted, her inner gloom gradually lifting.

She tossed the copper coin in her hand, skipping forward. "Just endure? The Daoist can endure!"

As Pan Yun inquired about Mao'er Alley, she bought plenty of tasty treats.

When she reached Mao'er Alley, she carried her banner on her shoulder, one hand holding an oil-fried pancake, the other an ai wowo, fingers still clutching two paper bags—one of which emitted the savory scent of meat.

Pan Yun scanned the area, found a relatively clean corner, sat down, set down her banner, bit into the oil-fried pancake, and asked Pan Xiaohei, "Which one do you want?"

Pan Xiaohei pointed at the ai wowo in her hand.

Pan Yun glanced at the pure white, sweet, soft ai wowo, remembering its filling of walnut, sesame, and pumpkin seed kernels—and she didn't want to give it to it.

So she bit into her oil-fried pancake, set the paper bag aside, split the ai wowo in half, and gave it one half.

Pan Xiaohei squatted on the ground, gripped its half with both paws, bit into it, shot Pan Yun a look of disdain, then lowered its head to eat seriously.

Pan Yun ate two bites of the salty oil pancake, two bites of the sweet ai wowo, thoroughly delighted.

After finishing, she picked up the paper bag, pulled out a braised pork trotter, and began gnawing on it in the street.

Several gulps of saliva echoed.

Pan Yun bit into the meat, then looked up—just ahead stood four or five children, staring at her intently.

Pan Yun was heartless: she finished the pork trotter right in front of them, then picked up another cloth sack, opened it, and pulled out a brownish-yellow candy, putting it in her mouth right before their eyes.

The children swallowed saliva more frequently; Pan Yun slid the candy in her mouth and asked, "Want some?"

The children nodded immediately.

Pan Yun waved them over. The children rushed forward and surrounded her.

The residents of Mao'er Hutong weren't as wealthy or refined as those in the eastern district's official quarters, but their morals were good.

Pan Yun was heartless, deliberately eating delicious food in front of them to tempt them, yet the children didn't cry or fuss—only watched her quietly.

Even now, when called forward and tempted with candy, they didn't cause a scene—only waited silently for her terms.

Pan Yun said, "Answer me a few questions, and I'll give each of you a piece of candy."

"Tell us the questions first."

"Has a family moved here in the past one or two years? Surname Yang?"

"I know—it's Brother Yang's house."

"Why are you looking for them?"

Pan Yun asked, "Where do they live?"

"Are you a thief? Come to scout the place?"

!. read

"Maybe she's a child-snatcher, here to kidnap Brother Yang's little nephew."

Seeing them chatter endlessly without saying where the family lived, Pan Yun interrupted, "Still want candy? Quick—where do they live?"

"We can't tell. What if she's a bad person?"

Pan Yun: "I'm not a bad person. I'm an old friend of the Yang family."

While she was thinking of an excuse, another child blurted out, "I get it—you're Brother Yang's childhood sweetheart, became a nun, and now you've escaped to seek him out!"

Pan Yun touched her head and corrected dryly, "I'm a Daoist priest, not a nun. But since you put it that way—can you tell me now? Where is the Yang household?"

The children immediately pointed to a spot: "Right there!"

Pan Yun handed out the malt candy, patted her backside, stood up, slung the banner over her shoulder, and called to Pan Xiaohei, "Let's go."

More eager than Pan Xiaohei were the children, clutching their candy and rushing ahead, shouting, "Brother Yang! Brother Yang! Your childhood sweetheart's here!"

Seeing they'd already shouted it out, Pan Yun simply strode forward boldly with her banner slung over her shoulder, as if she truly were his childhood sweetheart.

The courtyard gate swung open, and a young man stepped out, frowning, asking the surrounding children, "What childhood sweetheart?"

He glanced behind him, saw Pan Yun, and frowned even deeper: "Daoist, you've mistaken me. I don't know you."

Just as Pan Yun was about to speak, a face as bright as the moon appeared from inside the door—both froze.

"Daoist Sanzhu?" Xue Shao stepped beside Yang Chenghao, staring in surprise at Pan Yun's hair.

"Daoist Sanzhu, what happened to your hair?"

Pan Yun waved dismissively: "Just starting over. That's not important. What matters is—why is Young Master Xue here?"

Xue Shao glanced at Yang Chenghao and said, "I'm here on my family elders' orders to visit Young Master Yang. And why are you here, Daoist Sanzhu?"

Pan Yun's gaze settled on the other young man, and she said slowly, "What a coincidence—I'm here on my family elders' orders to visit Young Master Yang too."

Yang Chenghao looked utterly confused. "Who are these elders?"

Pan Yun: "Can we go inside to talk?"

Only then did Yang Chenghao notice they were surrounded by children. He quickly opened the other door and stepped aside: "Please."

Pan Yun walked in with her banner slung over her shoulder; Pan Xiaohei moved faster, slipping inside with a swift hiss.

It was a single-courtyard residence, smaller than Yin Song's.

Yin Song never imagined his home had become Pan Yun's standard for judging other houses.

The house was small but clean; everything inside and in the courtyard was orderly.

The Yang household had two servants, a mother and daughter, who were busy in the kitchen. Hearing the commotion, they peeked out, immediately served Pan Yun tea, then retreated back into the kitchen.

Pan Yun scanned the room and asked, "Where is Young Master Yang's sister and her family?"

Yang Chenghao said, "Since we have honored guests, my sister and Da Niang went out to buy groceries."

Pan Yun turned to Xue Shao. "Honored guest?"

Xue Shao smiled warmly at Pan Yun.

But Yang Chenghao made no move to introduce Xue Shao; he only said, "An old acquaintance. But Daoist, who exactly are your family elders?"

Pan Yun lowered her eyes in thought.

Yang Chenghao's brow furrowed tighter—he grew increasingly displeased and suspicious.

Pan Yun lifted her gaze and stared straight at Xue Shao: "Young Master Xue, could you leave first? I need to speak privately with Young Master Yang."

Xue Shao glanced at her, stood, and bowed to take his leave—but Yang Chenghao quickly stopped him: "Wait, Young Master Xue."

He turned, annoyed: "Daoist, I have nothing to hide from Young Master Xue. Say what you have to say."

Pan Yun sighed, stood with her banner slung over her shoulder: "Then today's inconvenient—I'll come again another day."

She turned to leave.

"Wait," Xue Shao called after her, then said to Yang Chenghao: "Young Master Yang, Daoist Sanzhu has a soft heart and is a righteous person. If she says she's an old friend of the Yang family, she must be. You should listen."

He turned back to Pan Yun and smiled: "You came all this way—can't leave empty-handed, can you?"

He added, "I'll go now. Perhaps next time, the three of us can become friends."

Saying this, he pressed Yang Chenghao's shoulder to turn him, then reached the door—paused, and turned back to Pan Yun: "Daoist Sanzhu, Xue Xuan is my uncle."

Pan Yun:...

Xue Shao opened the door to leave.

"Wait," Pan Yun called after him, turned to Yang Chenghao, and asked flatly, "Is he telling the truth?"

"It's true." Yang Chenghao nodded.

Pan Yun took a deep breath and said to Xue Shao, "You stay."

Xue Shao turned around with a smile, his eyes bright and sparkling. "It seems we share the same goal. If I'm not mistaken, Daoist Sanzhu has some past connection with my Xue family as well?"

Pan Yun hummed an acknowledgment, was silent for a moment, then still spoke frankly: "I am Pan Hong's daughter."

Hearing this, Xue Shao burst into laughter.

(End of chapter)