Chapter 594: You Must Be Careful

Tao Yanbai and Miao Zhen entered together, puzzled, while Zhang Ning and Zhang Weiyi pretended not to hear and continued: "Besides the Pu family, the Chen family of Hui'an in Fujian also donated ten thousand taels and sent their younger relatives to assist."

Pan Yun: "Who exactly are this Hui'an Chen family?"

Zhang Ning fell silent.

Pan Yun turned to look at Zhang Weiyi.

Zhang Weiyi rubbed his nose and said: "The Chen family's ancestors started as salt smugglers; during Emperor Taizong's reign, they spent large sums to participate in the tribute maritime trade and made considerable profits."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "And now?"

Zhang Weiyi: "After tribute trade declined, they shifted to smuggling maritime goods."

Pan Yun nodded: "Very pragmatic. So they contributed money..."

Zhang Ning finally spoke: "The Chen family has suffered greatly from Japanese pirates—several of their ships were intercepted by sea bandits; last year, when the pirates landed, their estate was looted. So when they heard we were joining forces with the Celestial Master Sect to eradicate bandits, they immediately sent people over—not only willing to donate ten thousand taels for weapons and medicine, but also offering one hundred thousand taels in compensation."

Pan Yun's mouth slightly opened: "How much?"

Zhang Ning smiled: "One hundred thousand taels! Anyone participating in the campaign, regardless of status, who is wounded will receive fifty taels for medicine first, then additional compensation based on injury severity; those killed in combat will have their families granted one hundred taels in compensation by the Chen family."

Pan Yun's brow twitched—this compensation far exceeded that of the imperial court, which paid between ten and twenty taels of silver to fallen soldiers, depending on merit and rank.

The Chen family was offering one hundred taels per man.

Men die for wealth, birds die for food—once this news spread, who would truly rush to the frontlines to kill bandits? Would it be genuine martial artists with martial skills and self-preservation ability, ordinary civilians, or... bandits themselves?

Pan Yun felt uneasy and asked: "Have Lin Mengzhu and Zhang Yuanzhu agreed?"

Zhang Ning's voice grew somber, confused: "No—for some reason, neither Lin Mengzhu nor Zhang Yuanzhu agreed. So only we few know. Pan Daochang, I've heard you're a genius of the Imperial Academy and have great influence with Zhang Yuanzhu—why not persuade him?"

He said: "Our brothers come to fight bandits out of loyalty and righteousness, but with money offered, their families are secured—they'll fight harder, more at ease. Why not accept it?"

Pan Yun smiled faintly, about to speak, but Zhang Weiyi cut in: "Brother Zhang Ning, these are the elders' decisions—we should just listen. Asking Pan Shimei to speak up for us isn't just asking her to speak—it's asking her to endure humiliation."

Zhang Ning frowned slightly and turned to Qu Le.

Zhang Weiyi added: "Qu Shidi is now a disciple of the Imperial Academy—would you have him approach Zhang Yuanzhu or Lin Mengzhu? Isn't that putting him in an impossible position?"

Qu Le exhaled in relief.

Pan Yun smiled and steered the topic back: "Why did you come here?"

Zhang Weiyi hurriedly said: "Zhang Yuanzhu and Lin Mengzhu are currently at the Chen family's countryside villa. Since you think the Ping'an Inn isn't safe, bring them there—the elders want to meet the Cen brothers."

"The Chen family's countryside villa?"

"Yes. The Chen family's eldest and second sons are both there."

It was clear how seriously the Chen family took this campaign.

Pan Yun stepped aside and gestured with her chin toward Cen Dachuan and Cen Yuan: "Let's go."

Cen Yuan was anxious.

Cen Dachuan, however, grew calm at once, rose, and followed them out.

As he passed Pan Yun, he turned his head to glance at her.

Pan Yun met his gaze—just a flash, then away—but she saw clearly the regret, anger, and mockery in his eyes.

Pan Yun paused.

Anger she understood—but regret and mockery?

What was he regretting? What was he mocking?

Pan Yun hesitated, then followed, telling Tao Yanbai: "You go cancel the room." The Chen family's villa was large; though many were staying, it didn't feel crowded upon entering.

Zhang Ziming and Li Wenying were both there, though Zhang Ziming was only temporarily present.

After meeting Cen Dachuan and Cen Yuan, Zhang Ziming sought out Pan Yun: "I'm leaving for Fuzhou today. You must obey orders and don't act recklessly."

Pan Yun: "... Do I look like someone who acts recklessly?"

Zhang Ziming nodded: "You do."

Pan Yun:...

She changed the subject: "Aren't you supposed to be overseeing everything in Fuzhou? Why did you come to Quanzhou?"

Zhang Ziming: "The Ping'an Inn run by the Pu family is hard to break. So I came to take a look."

Zhang Ziming was skilled in arrays.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Did you break the array inside the Ping'an Inn?"

!

Zhang Ziming: "Not broken—just went in to invite the Pu family's young master out for a chat. The array is now under our control. I know you're good with arrays—after I leave, keep watch. Don't let them counter you."

Pan Yun nodded, muttering: "I thought they were voluntarily surrendering."

Zhang Ziming chuckled: "He knelt and surrendered the moment he stepped out—how isn't that voluntary?"

"What about the Chen family?" Pan Yun looked at Zhang Ziming.

Zhang Ziming's smile faded slightly; he paused before saying: "The Chen family runs smuggling operations and maintains a large force. If you really dug into it, their power rivals a mid-tier sect in the Central Plains. In the Wu Lin, once the Wu Lin Alliance's martial order is issued, they can't hide—so they came to us themselves."

Pan Yun: "Do they truly want to eradicate bandits?"

"Who knows?" Zhang Ziming's face twisted with mockery: "Whether sincere or not, they've put up real silver. The Wu Lin Alliance doesn't fully trust them either. You follow orders—but stay cautious."

Pan Yun nodded seriously, her heart growing heavy.

The atmosphere between them turned cold and solemn.

Far away, Miao Zhen and the other two stood silently, not daring to approach.

Zhang Ziming spotted them, smiled, and the coldness vanished: "Come, tell me—how did you capture them?"

Pan Yun, still thinking of the Chen family, answered absently: "A little trick. I tricked them out."

"Just lucky you tricked the second-in-command? Isn't it said their village is tightly knit, with everyone keeping quiet? The spies sent in couldn't even tell who was bandit and who was villager, let alone identify the leader—how did you recognize him?"

Zhang Ziming grew more excited, sizing Pan Yun up: "Did your face-reading skills finally breakthrough?"

Pan Yun snapped back to attention and said: "It wasn't that complicated—I caught a thief trying to sneak into my room at night. Turned out he was a bandit. After interrogation, I found out who their boss was."

Zhang Ziming could hardly believe it: "That's all there is to it?"

Pan Yun nodded: "That's all there is to it."

Zhang Ziming began muttering under his breath: "Then the Wu Lin Alliance is too useless—this isn't hard at all…"

While he was still muttering, three youths came walking toward them. Zhang Ziming immediately restrained himself and put on a solemn face, then in a mosquito-thin voice reminded Pan Yun: "The Chen family's eldest Young Master is coming."

Pan Yun raised her head to look, but her gaze fell squarely on the youth walking right in the middle. As the people drew near, she could not help breaking into a radiant smile, her eyes seeming to hold an entire galaxy of stars within them. (End of chapter)