Chapter 563

"The moment you fell, some of your bad luck vanished; if you let your leg injury go untreated, it's not a natural disaster—it's self-inflicted misfortune," Pan Yun shook her head and sighed. "Natural disasters can dispel bad luck, but self-inflicted misfortune only adds to it."

Old Master Li gasped: "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Pan Yun: "Sorry, you and Young Master Li were shouting so loudly just now, I got scared and forgot."

Old Master Li: …

He immediately took off his shoes and socks to show Pan Yun his ankle.

The ankle was completely swollen; Pan Yun pressed it, pulled a vial from her sleeve, then gripped his ankle and slowly twisted and massaged it. Seeing his foot tense up, she slapped it lightly and said: "Relax—it's just to warm it up so the medicine can work."

Old Master Li: "… Isn't this supposed to be bone-setting?"

Pan Yun grinned at him: "Old Master Li, I may be skilled, but I don't have that kind of ability—I just have healing ointment to rub and massage with."

Though disappointed, Old Master Li relaxed.

Sensing his tension ease, Pan Yun increased her pressure—rubbing, pressing, twisting—until she felt him fully relaxed, then swiftly pushed, pulled, and realigned the bone along its natural axis. Crack! The bone snapped back into place.

In that instant, pain shot straight to the crown of his head; Old Master Li opened his mouth to scream—but Pan Yun glared at him: "Don't scream!"

Old Master Li, face twisted in pain: "I can't even scream?"

"When my sect's healers set bones, no one screams. Why should you scream just because I'm setting yours?" Pan Yun demanded. "Are you still in pain?"

Old Master Li's whole face scrunched up as he nodded: "Yes, it hurts!"

Pan Yun poured out the medicine, rubbed it in, then wiped it on his ankle and declared: "No, you're not in pain."

Li Wenying walked over, shaking his head: "Covering your ears while stealing a bell."

Pan Yun: "You want to try?"

Li Wenying squatted down, felt Old Master Li's bones, then said after a moment: "It's already set."

Old Master Li hissed sharply.

Li Wenying said: "The pain comes from how long it's been untreated—you should've set it sooner."

"Ah, everyone was furious back then," Pan Yun sighed. "It seems the yin-evil aura affected you too. Old Master Li, look at yourself—if you'd just spoken up early, none of this would've happened."

Old Master Li: "You're blaming me for this?"

Pan Yun slapped the ointment twice, working it deep into the skin—then suddenly heard a rustling, clattering sound.

She turned her head to look down the slope.

Everyone else heard it too and looked down—there, the steward led a group emerging from thick grass and trees.

Pan Yun said smugly: "I told you they'd arrived—you didn't believe me."

Old Master Li gaped: "You heard them from that far away?"

Li Wenying looked thoughtful: "You just…"

Pan Yun cut him off: "Yes, I have the Clairaudience—my innate divine ability. There's no one else in the world with it."

Li Wenying immediately clamped his mouth shut.

Old Master Li was skeptical, but grew more convinced by the second.

By the time the steward and his men nearly reached the hilltop, Old Master Li was fully convinced.

His face grave, he twisted his leg and dropped to his knees, gazing up at Pan Yun with desperate eyes: "Master Pan, please save my Li family."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Old Master Li, speak plainly—why bow like this?"

Old Master Li spoke rapidly: "Master Pan, I'm not hiding this because I want to conceal such a heinous act—I'm hiding it because it implicates too many people. After Yang Ji was arrested and taken to the capital, many were dragged down with him… but many also escaped."

"If this comes out and those people are exposed, they'll tear me and my family apart alive."

The officers drew nearer; Old Master Li's voice grew even lower: "Master Pan, you yourself said humans are terrifying. These spirits can be subdued by monks or Taoists—but when they were alive, even they couldn't defeat them. What chance do we have now they're dead? If they learn I unearthed these things and dragged them into the light, their parents, wives, children, clans—they'll never let my family live."

Pan Yun placed a hand on his shoulder, leaned down, and locked eyes with him, speaking slowly, each word deliberate: "I can guarantee your Li family survives their attacks—so long as you expose every last one of them to the sun."

"Not one spared!"

Old Master Li's eyes widened slightly—he said nothing.

Young Master Li stepped forward two paces, staring intently at his father.

Old Master Li saw the shoes before him, clenched his teeth, and said: "Fine!"

Young Master Li exhaled.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly; her hand on his shoulder slid down, gripped his arms, and lifted him up with force: "Don't worry."

Old Master Li suddenly felt at ease.

Though she was truly young, at this moment, he believed she could do it.

The steward arrived with officers and retainers, carrying hoes and shovels.

!

Five officers, all broad-shouldered and burly.

Don't think it's few—according to the government office's rules, five is already excessive; for field duties, two are usually enough.

They came in full force this time because the Li family is rich!

The officers came for the "hardship pay."

They loved cases reported by local gentry—small cases, but with grease to skim, enough to be profitable without making the gentry feel guilty.

So when the Li family's servant came to the government office to report the case—claiming their hired Taoist had found the evil spirit harming their master—they came purely to watch the spectacle.

They never expected it to be such a grueling task.

After arriving at Da Li Village, they had to backtrack two or three li—and climb a mountain.

Panting as they reached the hilltop, they saw the disheveled Old Master Li—and all five officers sighed in relief, thinking their hard labor was over. They assumed stern postures and asked: "Old Master Li, where is the evil spirit that harmed you?"

Their eyes swept over Pan Yun and Li Wenying.

Whoever it was—if Old Master Li paid enough—they could take the person back to the county jail for a proper chat.

Old Master Li looked at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun gave a slight nod, barely perceptible.

Master Li simply closed his eyes, pointed downward with his hand, and turned his head away: "Over there."

The five constables:...

A quarter of an hour later, the five constables, shovels and hoes in hand, were digging alongside the Li family's servants, grunting and puffing.

They had already dug down half a meter and found nothing; all five were starting to suspect Master Li had filed a false report just to torment them.

"Master Li, is there really some evil thing in this soil that harmed you?"

Master Li, his face pale, nodded: "If the officers don't believe it, you can ask Daoist Pan!"

The five men looked at Pan Yun with suspicion, then quickly slid their gaze toward Li Wenying, their eyes threatening.

Li Wenying:...

Heaven be his witness, what did this have to do with him? He was just here to watch the excitement.

Pan Yun, not wanting to give him the credit, sidestepped smoothly, moving right in front of Li Wenying, lifted her chin, and said haughtily: "That's right, this humble Daoist calculated the whole way here, and it is exactly this spot. If you gentlemen don't believe it, just dig a little deeper and you'll see."

The five men frowned, about to speak, when suddenly there was an "Ah!" from behind. One of the servants dropped his shovel and scrambled up out of the pit in terror: "A hand, a hand, a hand..."

The five men whipped their heads around, saw the white bone in the soil, their faces changed, and immediately stopped the servants from continuing their rough shoveling, stepping forward carefully to brush away the dirt.

After confirming it was indeed a complete hand, the five men exchanged a look and said solemnly: "It's a corpse—this is a homicide. Get them all up out of here, we'll do the digging." (End of chapter)