Chapter 581

Pan Yun and the others arrived at Sanlipu Relay Station by the fifth hour, where senior disciples had already arrived ahead of them.

But they were all covered in dust.

Oh, Pan Yun and the others were dusty from riding horses too, but the senior disciples who flew on foot were even dustier.

Their bodies reeked of mixed dust, cow dung, horse manure, and sweat—a truly moving stench.

Pan Yun and the others sat far away, watching them with expressions of pity.

The once-proud senior disciples: …

They glanced at the five horses they had ridden in on, and fell silent.

Pan Yun cupped her hand to her mouth and whispered: "Shall we just keep going? We're definitely heading toward Fuzhou anyway."

Tao Yanbai hesitated—but only briefly: "What if the teachers changed their orders?"

"The final goal hasn't changed. Even if the path differs a little, that's fine… right?"

The four senior disciples looked at each other, about to agree, when Qu Le murmured softly: "The Wu Lin Alliance sent me a message—I must deliver it to the three teachers."

Pan Yun's desire to leave cooled instantly: "Fine."

Fortunately, Daoists dislike formalism; even Li Wenying, who was always slow and sluggish in class, became brisk and decisive, gradually increasing daily travel distances to stretch the students' limits.

In just three days, they reached Fuzhou on foot.

Through Qu Le's introduction, they met the emissaries sent by the Wu Lin Alliance and exchanged the information they had gathered.

A comparison immediately revealed the disparity: the Academy's intelligence was essentially scraps from the Wu Lin Alliance's holdings, offering almost no new information.

The Wu Lin Alliance, however, had even learned that a group of sea bandits had recently landed ashore.

Because Pan Yun was assigned to lead and protect Qu Le, she had the privilege of silently listening to the entire exchange beside the three teachers.

"These sea bandits fly the banner of Japanese pirates and speak Japanese when raiding at sea, but they are in fact Han Chinese," said Zhang Ning of the Wu Lin Alliance: "They were once coastal fishermen who turned to banditry after the imperial court banned maritime trade. They only plunder merchant ships at sea, occasionally harass official vessels, and rarely raid ashore."

Zhang Ziming: "Then why are we looking for them? This mission isn't primarily about Japanese pirates or land-based sea bandits, is it? These people aren't worth our troops."

"True, they weren't originally on our list for extermination, but we've received word that last year's Japanese pirates who landed in Quanzhou bought intelligence from them," Zhang Ning said: "Those pirates last year were ruthless— they cannot be allowed to live. If we're to eradicate the pirates, this group must be killed."

"We must find out their origins and whereabouts— the fastest way is through them," Zhang Ning glanced quickly at Qu Le before adding: "But these men are shrewd and hard to catch. When they come ashore, they return home— every village is tied by kinship. Any approach to their homes will alert them. We've sent out several teams and none could act. Perhaps the Daoists have a solution?"

Li Wenying looked at Zhang Ziming, who immediately turned to gaze at Pan Yun standing behind him.

Zhang Ning followed his gaze, glanced over Qu Le, and said: "Qu Young Master is under the care of Daoist Pan? Perfect. Qu Young Master has seen the portraits of these sea bandits, but the rest of you are unfamiliar faces—you're the ideal ones to act."

"And with Daoist Pan's abilities, a single strike will surely hit the mark."

What if it doesn't?

Pan Yun mentally scoffed but said nothing.

After all, she had pride—Pan Sanzhu's reputation was excellent, and she carried the burden of fame.

Pan Yun smiled faintly and replied: "Alright. Leave this to us."

That afternoon, the five appeared on the street, each holding a horse purchased from Shangqing Town.

Since their missions differed, they had to split up.

Lou Tong was delighted to finally be rid of this group.

Standing on the street, Qu Le asked them: "How do we catch them?"

Pan Yun: "First, think about how to enter the village and find them." Qu Le: "What's hard about that? I'll just show you the portraits."

Pan Yun: "Walk right in openly?"

Qu Le: "Aren't you capable of earth-dodging? Just earth-dodge into the village, grab them, and drag them out—how complicated is that?"

Pan Yun stared at him: "Qu Le, be honest—didn't you volunteer for this just so we'd do exactly that?"

Qu Le: "Is my idea that bad?"

"Terrible!" all four said in unison. Pan Yun retorted: "Do you even know what 'dodging' means? Dodging is for escaping death!"

"As long as it catches them, it's a good method," Qu Le said.

Seeing Miao Zhen disagreed: "That would drain too much Yuan energy. When traveling, you must always keep your Upper Dantian above seventy percent…"

"Enough. If no other method works, we'll use this one." Pan Yun held out her hand to Qu Le.

Qu Le blinked: "What?"

!

Pan Yun: "Money!"

"I've thought of it," Pan Yun said: "We're a perfect example of a wealthy family—exactly the kind sea bandits love. We, as young heroes, don't engage in sneaky tricks—aren't we exactly the kind of people they'd expect in their village? We'll walk in openly!"

Qu Le: …

Qu Le never lacked money—even if he had none on him now.

He pulled out a copper token, led Pan Yun and the others into a money house, and twenty minutes later was respectfully escorted out by the Shopkeeper.

He now carried a wad of silver notes.

After walking only a few steps outside, he pulled out the notes and handed them to Pan Yun: "Here, the money you asked for."

Pan Yun accepted them with both hands, flipped through them briefly, then returned them, ignoring the dark clouds drifting overhead: "Your money—you keep it."

Qu Le sighed: "We're all here to eliminate bandits—why are you being so reluctant? Take it! Look, the sky's darkening—I think it's going to rain."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Clear skies today and tomorrow. No rain."

Qu Le pointed at the gathering clouds above: "You call that clear?"

"As long as you hold the money, it's clear," Miao He sneered: "Stop complaining. Little Uncle Pan told you to keep it—keep it. When you need to buy something, pay for it."

So he was not only the money pouch but also the lackey?

Qu Le grumbled inwardly but said nothing, re-stuffing the notes into his robes.

Only because they were truly powerful would he tolerate this—if they weren't, he'd never listen.

Pan Yun led them around town, and by the time they exited the last shop, all five of their identities had changed.

Qu Le lowered his head to look at the clothes on his body and said disdainfully, "This is good enough to enter the village? These clothes aren't even a patch on what I wore when I was a young master at home."

He said, "In the past I never bought my clothes ready-made. I always had someone come to the house to measure and tailor them, or had our servants make them. Our household had a sewing room."

Pan Yun said, "Yes, yes, yes, but didn't we run out of time? It just so happens that this place is some distance from Yongtai in Fuzhou, so the people there won't know about the clothes we bought at the ready-made shop. Just make do with it."

Qu Le said, "It's not that I can't wear them. When I was wandering the jianghu, I even wore coarse hemp cloth and slept in a cattle shed."

"Impressive — a true knight-errant truly doesn't fuss over small matters," Pan Yun tossed out a casual compliment, then said, "Let's go, nephew. Go swap out the horses for a carriage." (End of chapter)