Chapter 523: Brother

Pan Yun stood at the alley entrance with her arms folded, as Pan Yu came out carrying buckets and walked past her.

He walked past, then turned back.

He stared at the girl.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow at him.

Pan Yu's eyes went wide; he pointed at Pan Yun. "You—you—you…"

Pan Yun grabbed his pointing finger and pressed it down, then hushed him and asked, "Where's Father?"

"He's inside!" Pan Yu dropped the buckets and tried to drag Pan Yun home, but Pan Yun caught hold of him.

She murmured, "I just came to see you all… you and Big Brother."

Pan Yu couldn't believe it. "You're not going to see Father? What happened between you and Father?"

Pan Yu's face was full of difficulty. "Little sis, are you blaming Father? Don't blame him—there are many things he was powerless over. We didn't mean to leave you behind back then…"

Pan Yun said, annoyed, "What are you thinking? Over the past few years, different people have told me that I shouldn't see Father before I'm fourteen. Even though I don't really want to believe it, they really are people of great ability."

Pan Yu froze, stopping in his tracks. "Then why did you still come?"

"I missed home," Pan Yun said, her nose stinging and her eyes slightly wet, but she stubbornly kept them wide open so her tears wouldn't fall. "I missed you all…"

Her voice was low, and Pan Yu's heart was tugged too. His eyes grew slightly moist, and he gripped Pan Yun's hand tightly, swallowing the lump in his throat, forcing a smile. "We missed you too. Come, let your second brother see how tall you've grown?"

Pan Yu pulled her to stand side by side against the wall, held his hand above her head to measure, and his face fell. "How come you're still only up to my shoulder? You haven't grown at all these three years."

Pan Yun: "…"

The tears in her eyes vanished in an instant. She looked at her foolish brother with a deadpan face. "Second Brother, would you like to take a look at your own height before you speak? Could it be that you haven't grown these three years either?"

Pan Yu said urgently, "Of course I grew, I'm already…"

Only then did Pan Yu realize—three years ago Pan Yun's height reached his shoulder; over these three years he had grown quite a bit, and she still reached his shoulder, which meant she had grown too.

Pan Yu laughed, grinning foolishly. "Not bad, you grew pretty fast—almost catching up to me!"

Pan Yun lifted her chin and said, "I'll grow even faster over the next two years. I might even surpass Second Brother."

Pan Yu didn't mind that she might end up taller than him. Hearing this, he ruffled her head. "Then you'll have to eat more."

Pan Yun nodded. She looked Pan Yu up and down, even reaching out to squeeze his arm, and nodded slightly. "Not bad—you've clearly been training. How's the saber technique I gave you coming along?"

Pan Yu looked proud. "I train better than Big Brother. According to the manual, my saber technique has already reached the third layer. Big Brother is still stuck between the first and second."

Pan Yun: "You're the athletic type, but Big Brother is the top-student type. His martial arts might not match yours, but he has brains. I'm still more worried about you."

Pan Yu: "…What athletic type, what top-student type? No—what do you mean by that? Are you saying I have no brains?"

Pan Yun looked at him with pity. "No, I mean you're fine the way you are—you'll have far fewer troubles."

Pan Yu: …

But Pan Yu was used to it. From childhood on, his little sister had always spoken to him like this.

He had long since learned to change the subject himself. "You really won't see Father?"

Pan Yun hesitated for a moment, then still shook her head and asked, "My fate is too harsh. I won't go. Is Father all right? Did he suffer in the imperial prison? Has he been rehabilitated now?"

Pan Yu was surprised. "You don't know Father has already been reinstated to his original post?"

Pan Yun shook her head. "I didn't know. After I left Yunnan I went straight to take the exams—my information isn't current."

She asked, "What happened in Jingcheng after I left? Father was rehabilitated—what about Xue Xuan and Xue Shao, and Wang Zhen?" Pan Yu's face grew complicated, not knowing where to begin.

Seeing that he wasn't getting to the point, and that his information was scattered—bits and pieces, all hearsay—Pan Yun cut him off. "How about you sneak Big Brother out?"

Pan Yu looked at her accusingly. "You look down on me?"

Pan Yun: "I have to see Big Brother anyway. If you've said everything, what will Big Brother say when he comes? Are we supposed to just stare at each other?"

Pan Yu figured that made sense and asked, "Then tell me—between me and Big Brother, who are you closer to?"

Pan Yun answered without hesitation, "You!"

Pan Yu said smugly, "I thought so too. You were sickly as a child—I was the one who took you out to play."

Pan Yun smiled. "Second Brother, can you call Big Brother out now?"

"Wait here."

Pan Yu ran back to find Pan Yue.

No errors, no typos—every word, every line, all in one read!

Too excited, he slammed the door open with a bang and dashed straight for the study.

Pan Hong, who had been pacing the corridor with a book in his hands, saw him head straight for the study without even turning his head. He raised an eyebrow, tucked the book behind his back, and ambled over to the study door.

Pan Yu charged straight at Pan Yue, snatched the brush from his hand and tossed it aside, then grabbed him and went.

Pan Yue: "What are you doing?"

Pan Yu: "Come quick, l—"

He glanced left and right, leaned close to Pan Yue's ear, and whispered, "Little sis is outside waiting for us."

Pan Yue froze, then grabbed Pan Yu and pulled him back. "Why didn't you bring her in?"

"I wanted to, but she said she brings Father bad luck and can't see him before she's fourteen, so…"

Pan Hong, who was standing outside the wall, stiffened. The two brothers, who had just stepped out of the room and were about to dash for the gate, also stiffened. Father and sons stared at each other.

Pan Yu: "…Father, could you pretend you didn't hear any of that?"

Pan Hong glared at him, tossed the book to him, and turned to walk out.

Pan Yu hurriedly let go of Pan Yue and chased after him. "Father, Father, let's stay calm. The talismans Little sis gave us prove there really are strange forces in this world. Little sis said many great masters told her she can't see you before she's fourteen…"

Pan Hong stopped walking. "She's been my daughter for all these years—how come in the past three years she suddenly says she can't see me? All those years before, I never saw her bring me any misfortune. Even taking a step back—if she really does bring me bad luck, then so be it."

Pan Yu was confused. "But we only have to wait three more years. It's not as if we can't wait. When the time comes, our whole family can be together forever."

Pan Hong's eyes held a smile. "It's good that at seventeen you can hold such a firm conviction. But your father is thirty-eight this year. In my view, one never knows whether tomorrow or an accident comes first. If I can look at you all one more time, then I will look at you all one more time."

Pan Yu froze.

Pan Hong: "Even if Yun'er and I meet and then encounter a tribulation, that doesn't mean she has brought it down on me. The tribulation has always been there; it would have erupted one day regardless. The only difference is whether it erupts through me or through her.

If I could eliminate the tribulation for her, I would only be glad. When children hinder their parents, it shows that the parents can ward off disaster for their children. As a father, I am glad — it is she who brings it down on me, not I on her."

Pan Yu opened her mouth, unable to speak, and could only turn her head to look at her elder brother.

Pan Yue wore a thoughtful expression, and after a moment said: "Father, people only said that you and little sister shouldn't meet before the age of fourteen. Nobody said little sister brings it down on you. What if it's you who brings it down on little sister?"

Pan Hong's smile froze. (End of chapter)