Chapter 496: Beating Someone

They were not awakened by the pressure of fingers, but because Pan Yun's merit aura was too richly fragrant.

As she drew near, their instincts stirred them to agitation, yet no matter how hard they struggled, they could only twitch slightly.

The disturbance was minor, but Mu Xi still frowned.

Mu Lin swallowed hard, nervous.

Pan Yun's fingers kept moving, brushing over his internal organs, pausing slightly…

Li Wenying sensed something sharp, tilted her head to look at her—a thin golden light seemed to flash from beneath her eyes, gilding her eyelashes. What was this?

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, activated her Five Orifices Heart talent; she could pierce illusions, but everything before her was real, so all she could hear was the sound of worms writhing inside him.

But those sounds told her the worms inside him were truly dense and countless.

Pan Yun's fingers slid, repulsed and heart-wrenched, her face grim.

By the time she had touched every part of his body, she had a rough count of the worms within him.

Pan Yun withdrew her fingers: "Too many worms. Except those in the organs, remove every single one from the blood vessels and meridians."

"Precise worm removal?" Zhang Ziming sneered. "With a King Worm present, they can't even draw out one worm—yet you think you can bypass the King Worm and remove them precisely? What are you thinking?"

Pan Yun already had a plan, though she wasn't sure if it would succeed: "Let's try."

Zhang Ziming lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then nodded: "Fine. Your merit aura is lethally attractive to them. Even if you can't save him, you can draw every worm out—giving him peace at least."

Mu Lin froze, then hurriedly asked: "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Ziming smiled faintly, offering no explanation, glancing at Pan Yun and tilting his chin: "You explain."

Pan Yun was about to speak, but Li Wenying spoke first: "If we can precisely control the worm removal, Elder Second Mu might have a sliver of hope. If we can't, Pan Yun's merit aura can draw every corpse worm out of him."

"The corpse worms have fused with him now," Li Wenying said. "He nourishes them; they sustain his life. If all worms leave his body, he will die without doubt."

Mu Lin: "But isn't the King Worm intelligent? It wants to live on through my father, even replace him—why would it come out?"

Pan Yun: "You saw just now—I have immense allure to the gu worms. This is already me restraining myself. I can amplify that control, reverse it, and lure them out."

She said: "The King Worm is intelligent, but it is nowhere near as clever as a human—and it cannot control its own greed."

Pan Yun looked at him: "You may choose: risk your life for this sliver of hope—or continue waiting as you are now."

Mu Lin clenched his fists, silent for a moment.

Mu Yuan, seeing the eldest young master unable to decide, stepped forward: "Young Master, the envoy has endured long travel—why not let them rest first?"

Mu Lin snapped back to himself: "My apologies—I forgot you haven't bathed or eaten since entering Jingcheng. Someone, take our esteemed guests to bathe and dine."

As Pan Yun passed him, she patted his shoulder: "Think carefully."

The Mu household servants led them to rest.

Mu Bai, having left, prepared new guest quarters for them.

He had originally assigned them to the side courtyard for guest ministers in the front courtyard—two per room, arranged in a row.

But after Mu Ang changed his attitude, he immediately moved them to the guest courtyard.

Two adjacent large courtyards, spacious rooms, open grounds, close to the rear garden, nearer the central axis than Mu Xi's small side courtyard.

Two-story buildings, with an aerial corridor connecting the second floors across the courtyard—leaning out, one could see the rear garden, and looking up, one could see the highest point of the Mu estate.

It was a mountain of flowers.

The Mu estate was built along the mountain, which served directly as the rear wall—no one could scale it to enter.

Because the other side of the mountain also belonged to the Mu estate.

Along the mountain, the estate was built tier upon tier, with pavilions, halls, and towers above.

Beyond the structures lay only flowers and plants.

At mid-mountain, beneath the viewing pavilion, bloomed vast clusters of camellias.

Pan Yun stood on the second-floor veranda, gazing upward, murmuring: "Camellias blooming this season…"

"Kunming is called the City of Eternal Spring—flowers bloom year-round," Li Wenying walked beside her, hands behind his back, speaking calmly. "The Mu estate has summoned countless physicians, monks, and great shamans—they couldn't possibly have failed to draw out even one worm. After all, the worms inside him have multiplied so densely they burst from his body to maintain balance—otherwise, how could the ditches outside the courtyard exist?"

Pan Yun: "They didn't try because their chances are far lower than mine."

"You have one more chance than they did," Li Wenying said, "but his chance of death remains high. If you kill him in treatment, the Mu estate may harbor resentment."

Pan Yun: "Even General Mu himself doesn't want to treat him—he was ready to kill his own son…"

"But he hasn't acted yet," Li Wenying smiled at her. "I didn't expect you, after your trip to Jingcheng and your taste of court intrigue, to still be this naive. Let me teach you one thing today: never believe what officials say."

He turned to leave, then paused, turned back, smiling: "Fine, I'll be generous today—let me teach you another: when a life hangs in the balance, never believe what the patient's family says."

Li Wenying tapped her forehead, smiling: "Even your senior brother's father wasn't immune to this—how much less Mu Ang?"

Pan Yun rubbed her forehead, eyes darting: "You mean your senior brother is Zhang Liuzhen?"

Li Wenying walked down the stairs, hands behind his back: "Who else? I'm not that old—I never met Wang Feiyin's father."

Pan Yun muttered: "So even the True Person isn't that great… Hey, isn't the True Person your beloved master? Why are you speaking ill of him behind his back?"

Pan Yun chased after him: "Tell me more about your master!"

Li Wenying told her to rein in her tone, gesturing ahead—Zhang Ziming stood with Zhang Weiyi and Xue Hua, arms crossed, watching them.

Pan Yun immediately composed herself, face stern: "I'll go bathe and change. Ugh, this journey has left me reeking."

As she passed Zhang Ziming, he asked: "What will you do about the man still following you?"

Pan Yun tilted her head: "Huh? Hasn't the Brocade Guard arrested him yet?"

Zhang Ziming: "Arrested him, then released him. I just saw him loitering outside the Mu estate again."

He frowned: "Figure out a way to deal with him. Every day he sends letters or disguises himself to meet you—it's annoying."

Pan Yun: "It's me who's annoyed. What's it to you?"

Zhang Ziming raised his hand, a slip of paper pinched between his fingers, expressionless as he held it before her: "He bribed a servant of the Mu estate—but accidentally slipped the note into my room. Tell me, what's it to me?"

Pan Yun stared at the paper in his fingers, expressionless as she took it, opened it, glanced once—then her palm burst into flame, reducing it to ash.

The Mu servant entering with hot water stared, dumbfounded.

The wooden bucket slipped from her hand and crashed to the ground, spilling out a good deal of water as it sloshed.

Pan Yun glanced at it and said, "Bring the hot water to my room."

The servant snapped back to attention, immediately agreed, and hurriedly grabbed the bucket, following her.

Zhang Ziming: "..."

He gritted his teeth and said, "That's my hot water!"

But the two servants carrying the hot water acted as if they hadn't heard, scampering after Pan Yun, handing both buckets to her first.

Li Wenying burst out laughing.

Zhang Ziming whirled around to stare at him. Li Wenying shrugged at him and walked away.

The Daoist priests all lived in this one courtyard; the Brocade Uniform Guards resided in the neighboring courtyard.

Pan Yun pushed open the door, had the servants bring the hot water inside, then stepped casually into the adjacent room.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He were accustomed to sharing a room, and since the guest quarters had spacious rooms, they had let Xiao Hong out to stretch—when the door opened, both women jumped, and Xiao Hong instantly darted behind the screen.

Pan Yun shut the door behind her: "Don't hide. Anyone who can see you won't barge in without knocking; anyone who barges in can't see you anyway."

Xiao Hong floated out, saw she was upset, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just annoyed by someone," Pan Yun turned to Miao Zhen. "Cast another divination for my father—really, is he truly not in mortal danger?"

Miao Zhen: "... Little Uncle, I've already cast this same question three times on this journey. Ask something else."

Pan Yun stroked her chin and said, "Then I won't hold back—I was going to use my own blood, but he insisted on walking right into my hands..."

Miao He leaned in. "Little Uncle, who are you talking about?"

Please... Your Excellency... Collect_(!)

Pan Yun pushed her face away. "Don't ask childish questions. Hurry up and bathe, change clothes—we're going out shopping after dinner."

Several beings turned their heads toward the window together: "Shopping?"

By the time they finished bathing and eating, wouldn't it already be dark?

Pan Yun stood up. "Don't worry—here, nightfall comes late. We have time."

Kunming isn't Jiangnan, where it gets dark at five.

Indeed, by the time they finished bathing, dried their hair with internal energy, tied it up, and went to eat, the sky was still bright, the sun only slightly westward, not yet ready to set.

Miao He looked envious. "How nice—the days here are so long."

Tao Yan Bai frowned. "Then doesn't that shorten our sleep time?"

"Stop rambling. Come eat. After dinner, come with me shopping."

Wang Cong sat slumped in his chair, looking utterly defeated. "After all that travel, why not rest instead of going shopping?"

Pan Yun grinned at him. "Because I'm going to catch a rat."

Wang Cong, exhausted to the point of mental mush, refused to move. "What rat?"

Miao Zhen: "The one who's been following us all along?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Wang Cong lifted his head, dazed. "And then what? The Brocade Uniform Guards caught him before and let him go—he must be someone's agent..."

Pan Yun sneered. "Who sent him doesn't matter. In Yunnan, he answers to me."

She hadn't moved outside because of consequences—but here, she could reduce her caution and shift some consequences elsewhere.

Pan Yun picked up her bowl, took a bite of food, and gestured for everyone to begin. "Perfect. Mu Xi needs a blood lure to purge the pests—and no one's more suitable than him."

Wang Cong, seeing Pan Yun eat, immediately grabbed food. After two mouthfuls of rice, his mind finally cleared: "You're dragging the Mu household into this for her?"

Pan Yun: "I can't work for free, can I?"

Wang Cong: "But you're not even sure you can save him. The Mu household might not even agree to the purge."

"They'll agree," Pan Yun said calmly. "Whether it's Mu Ang, Mu Xi, or Mu Lin—they're all descendants of military families. Their inner resilience will make them choose to fight, not wait to die."

Wang Cong hesitated, then said, "Actually, Li Wenying wasn't wrong. When a patient's life is at stake, the family's words can't be fully trusted."

He added, "Today, General Mu seemed carefree—but if you fail to save Mu Xi, and his actions hasten his death..."

Pan Yun said, "If he trusts me as a Physician, I'll trust him as a family member."

Wang Cong fell silent, then nodded. "Then let's do it."

He bent over his rice. "Even if he blames us later, he can't do anything to us."

Miao Zhen and the others nodded in unison.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly. "Then after dinner, let's all go shopping."

Wang Cong groaned again. "It's just one person. Isn't catching him child's play for you, Little Uncle? Why does everyone need to go out?"

"Oh, I just feel like beating someone up. There's strength in numbers—after all, using Wu Gong or magic might kill him."

Wang Cong perked up, eating faster. "Hurry, hurry, eat fast!"

He'd been suppressed by Li Wenying and Zhang Ziming lately, tired and frustrated—this was the perfect chance to vent.

After dinner, the entire Mount Sanqing group walked out of the Mu residence, carrying a cat and a fox, heads held high.

The Mu household servants offered to guide them, but were refused.

Pan Yun said, "We're Daoist Priests. Other than that, we definitely won't get lost!"

The Mu servants could only watch them leave.

An Chen led two Brocade Uniform Guards trailing behind them.

Pan Yun suddenly turned around—the three made no move to hide, just stood calmly, arms crossed over their swords.

Pan Yun: "... I'm not running away. Why do you insist on following me?"

An Chen: "That's not certain."

"My father and two older brothers are in Jingcheng. Where could I possibly run to?"

An Chen thought that made sense, but still insisted on following them; when she tried to shoo him away, he said, "It's my duty."

Pan Yun gritted her teeth, snorted, and turned to walk away.

Wang Cong leaned in and asked, "Little Xiao Shishu, are we still chasing them?"

"Yes!" Pan Yun said. "They're here to protect me—what does it have to do with them if I hit or beat someone?"

Wang Cong thought that made sense too.

The group began searching around the Mu residence, and surprisingly, they actually found someone beside a guesthouse wall.

He was eating at a stall beside the wall, directly opposite a small side gate of the Mu residence.

He met Pan Yun's gaze, froze in excitement—he had been chasing her for so long, and now she was finally paying attention to him.

He immediately stood up and rushed straight toward Pan Yun.

Pan Yun smiled and rushed toward him too, rolling up her sleeves as she walked.

They met in the middle of the road; Pan Yun kicked out, aiming straight for his stomach—no Qi or internal force, just raw strength—but it was no light blow; with a thump, she sent him crashing to the ground.

She raised her fist and struck down: "I'll teach you to threaten me with my father!"

(End of Chapter)