Chapter 596: Let

Footsteps clattered, and the two people standing before the moon gate turned their heads simultaneously.

Qu Le halted his steps, a chill gripping his heart; he dared not look at Pan Yun, so he turned to Xue Shao—and froze. "You?"

Xue Shao bowed with a smile. "Young Master Qu."

Qu Le nodded to him; the tension eased. Only then did he turn to Pan Yun: "Pan Yun, did Chen Lan invite you all to dinner?"

Pan Yun nodded.

Qu Le exhaled in relief. "Good."

Pan Yun asked him: "How many from the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi's Mansion are coming?"

Qu Le's expression turned strange. "Besides us, no one else."

Pan Yun blinked. "Why?"

Qu Le: "It seems no one could be persuaded. Several senior brothers are locked in their rooms cultivating—unless it's official business, they won't even open their doors."

He paused, then added: "Chen Lan went to invite them. Master Zhang Weiliang was about to agree, but then Master Li scolded him for his distracted mind and sentenced him to house arrest—told him to stay in his room and cultivate."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow. "When Chen Lan invited me, Master Zhang Yuanzhu was right there. Why didn't he scold me?"

Qu Le stared at her, silent, eyes wide.

Pan Yun smiled and waved at him. "Go on. We'll leave together a bit later."

Qu Le had come to Pan Yun specifically to ask this: "Will it really be fine for us to attend this banquet?"

Since Li Wenying forbade Zhang Weiliang from going, all other disciples of the Academy followed suit and refused Chen Lan's invitation.

Pan Yun: "What problem could there be? Master Li forbade Zhang Weiliang because he knows he's foolish—he's the type who'd get sold and still count the coins for the buyer. I'm not in that danger. You're with me—I'll watch you. No worries."

Qu Le: "... Why do you only use me as an example? What about Seeing Miao Zhen and the others?"

"Them?" Pan Yun smiled. "They're younger than you and simpler-minded, but it's still hard to trick them."

Qu Le frowned. "Why?"

"Because desirelessness makes one strong."

Qu Le's face darkened—he felt as if she implied he had a thousand desires.

Qu Le grunted and turned to leave; his gaze swept over Xue Shao, paused, and he frowned. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

Xue Shao smiled. "Last year, during the bandit suppression..."

"No," Qu Le interrupted, staring hard at his face. "I've seen you elsewhere—I just can't recall where."

Pan Yun snapped: "If you can't remember, it's not important. We're all in the Jianghu—occasional glances are normal. Are you leaving or not?"

Qu Le opened his mouth. "Why are you pushing me to go?"

"Go change!" Pan Yun said. "You're my guest—you represent the Academy. Why dress like a spoiled rich brat? Put on your Academy robes."

Qu Le turned away, muttering under his breath: "Didn't you yourself tell me to wear this? You're dressed like a noble young lady too..."

Pan Yun, of course, also needed to change.

She changed into a neat Daoist robe.

A dark crow-colored fine-cotton Daoist robe, arrow-sleeves tied at the wrists, a leather belt with twin fish-shaped bronze buckles, the hem just reaching mid-thigh—practical and sharp.

This was one of the Academy's robes, worn during martial drills—ideal for fighting. The crow color hid dirt; the fine cotton dried fast. Pan Yun had brought an extra set specifically for this trip, planning to wear it when she went to kill sea bandits.

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others copied her, bringing extra sets of the same robe.

Seeing their junior uncle don it, they all changed into theirs too.

When they gathered at the guesthouse gate, Qu Le—dressed in a sky-blue wide-sleeved Academy robe, standing in the wind, poised as if ready to ascend—stared silently at the four in uniform.

Qu Le gazed at them with wounded eyes.

Pan Yun suppressed her laughter and comforted him: "It's not wrong. As long as you represent the Academy, it's fine."

Qu Le: "Why didn't you tell me to wear the drill robe?"

Pan Yun looked regretful. "I thought we'd have a rapport. We've lived together for days—yet apparently, we still lack it."

Qu Le grumbled bitterly as they left: "Why are we even attending this banquet? We leave in two days—can't we rest?"

Pan Yun: "I'm curious about the Jianghu, so I'm just here to see the spectacle."

Qu Le turned to Xue Shao beside them. "What about him?"

!

Pan Yun kept her gaze straight. "Ask him yourself."

Xue Shao smiled at Qu Le. "I'm curious about the Jianghu too—so I'm just here to see the spectacle."

Qu Le looked unconvinced, but no one answered him.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao exchanged a glance.

Pan Yun's reason was psychological: she felt uneasy and wanted to observe, to learn more about the two Chen brothers she'd soon fight alongside, to gauge their intentions.

Xue Shao's reason was simpler: as a Censor, everything here fell under his investigation.

The group headed to Zui Xian Pavilion; Pan Yun was surprised to find Chen Lan had also invited Pu Si, the young master of Ping'an Inn.

Though they'd only met twice, Pan Yun recognized him at once—and he recognized them too.

Pu Si smiled and bowed to Pan Yun. "The first time I saw Daoist Sanzhu, I sensed you were no ordinary person—and now, Daoist, your name has spread across Jiangnan. Meeting you now, you must be famed throughout the Jianghu."

Pan Yun demurred: "I'm still young, far behind all of you. Who here isn't a hero renowned under heaven?"

Those present? "Renowned under heaven" was a stretch—each one at least had a name Qu Le had heard, and he whispered to her, detailing their backgrounds.

But "heroes and worthies"? That was another matter.

Qu Le had his own opinions: "Sun Dacheng of the Beggar's Sect truly qualifies as a hero—but those three from the Canal Gang? Pfft. What right do they have to sit at this table? We're not here to do business."

Pan Yun lowered her voice: "Your likes and dislikes are too obvious. I think they're fine. Why do you look down on the Canal Gang?"

Qu Le: "Their Grand Boss's mother is Buddhist; he follows monks. In the sixth year of Zhengtong, when the Two Lakes flooded, Daoists from Wudang needed to transport grain via canal, but the Canal Gang extorted them. The two sides fought on the boats—many died. Since then, the Canal Gang demanded double tolls from any Daoist boarding their ships—until the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi's Mansion intervened in the eighth year of Zhengtong and forced them to change the rule."

Pan Yun immediately said: "That's really not great."

But raising her head to look at the three men from the Canal Gang seated diagonally across from her, Pan Yun furrowed her brow. Their faces looked fierce and ruthless, but the Qi on their bodies was not muddled—it still leaned toward the righteous.

A person's words and deeds can both be faked, but the Qi on one's body is very hard to counterfeit. Pan Yun cast a glance at Qu Le—would this kid be trying to trick her?

Qu Le met her gaze with a blank, bewildered look.

Pan Yun withdrew her gaze. Forget it; he didn't look like the type who could fool her anyway. Later they'd be killing the bandits together, and she'd inevitably cross paths with him. What sort of person he was, she could see for herself. (End of chapter)