Chapter 611

Pan Yun immediately agreed, lifting her chin toward Chen Han, who was surrounded by a crowd: "And him? Who's with him?"

Li Wenying: "Do you want him?"

Pan Yun's eyes lit with determination, eager: "I'm certainly interested—I want to know what the Chen family means by this."

Li Wenying lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, then nodded: "Fine, you take him; I'll take Pu Min."

Pan Yun glanced at Pu Min, standing alone and dazed nearby, recalling his enthusiasm and thoughtfulness when guarding the gate, then paused: "Didn't the Pu family send anyone for him?"

"They sent one manager and five guards; two guards died during the ship assault, and the manager was injured, so now all three remaining guards are guarding that manager," Li Wenying guessed he was pitiable, paused, then added: "I asked—Pu Si told him that brothers should support each other; his father is ill, and the family has spent heavily this year. With so many martial artists arriving in Quanzhou to suppress bandits, the Prefect needs someone to accompany them, so Pu Si came to him, hoping he could represent the Pu family."

"Give some effort—gain face before your superior, accomplish something, aid your family, win favor with the heir, and solve your household's financial crisis…"

Li Wenying withdrew her sympathetic gaze and said calmly: "I'll take him with me. Whether he knows or not, whether the Pu family has other plans—I'll bring him back safely to confront Pu Si. But as for Chen Han, though he appears to have only a few men around him, from my observation, at least a dozen others are hiding among these martial artists, secretly protecting him."

"He's merely an adopted son of the Chen family. The Chens pushed him onto the ship—they may not care for or value him. These martial artists may not even be Chen's men. How will you tell?"

"If you can't tell, then don't bother." Pan Yun: "I judge by deeds, not intentions. Let them survive first."

Li Wenying raised an eyebrow: "You won't protect his life?"

Pan Yun: "Among those who came, how many aren't driven by righteous ideals? Everyone has only one life—aren't these people more worthy of protection than he is?"

Li Wenying understood: she would let Chen Han fight on his own—his survival or death would depend on his own effort.

"Since you've taken charge of him, it's your call," Li Wenying paused, then added: "I don't care about the others, but you must keep Qu Le safe."

Pan Yun: "I know. I won't lose him."

Qu Le seethed with resentment; when she came to him, he turned his back and ignored her.

Pan Yun grabbed him outright and dragged him toward the ship's edge: "Stop dawdling—hurry and switch ships!"

Qu Le had no time to voice his grievance before she yanked him across the plank onto another vessel.

Turning his head, he saw not only Seeing Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Tao Yanbai, but also Wang Cong and that man called Elder Gu.

Chen Wen was on another ship; he bowed to Pan Yun and called out loudly: "Master Sanzhu, it's still just you and me traveling together—please look out for me."

Pan Yun met his bright gaze with a meaningful smile, returning the bow: "Elder Chen, you're too kind. For country and people, we have no choice but to act."

Both turned and gave orders to those beside them: "Set sail—go!"

Chen Wen still gave Pan Yun Ah Xin and the others to handle the steering.

The men were now exhilarated; following Pan Yun, they felt they could survive to the end.

Though exhausted from the whole day, they remained full of energy, guiding the crew to adjust the rudder, and only rested after everything was settled.

Chen Han's men were split apart; only his openly displayed guards remained beside him, the rest left by Li Wenying on his original ship.

Pan Yun turned to meet Chen Han's gaze and smiled gently at him: "Young Master Chen, it will take some time to reach Wangyue Island—you might as well rest in the cabin."

Chen Han tugged at his lips, shaking his head slightly: "The wind isn't favorable, but the speed isn't slow—we'll arrive in no more than an hour."

Pan Yun: "Don't underestimate an hour. Half an hour of sleep can restore your energy."

Pan Yun spoke meaningfully: "Energy, internal Qi, and physical strength reinforce each other."

Everyone on the ship slumped on the cabin floor or the deck.

They didn't mind the bloodstains smeared everywhere—just sat or lay down directly on the ground.

As Pan Yun said, energy, internal Qi, and physical strength reinforce each other; another fierce battle looms ahead—they must rest while they can.

Either meditate and regulate their Qi first, then sleep, or sleep first, then meditate and regulate their Qi.

Even Pan Yun found a spot to sit and regulate her Qi.

Seeing Miao Zhen, Miao He, and the others clustered around her.

Pan Yun smiled and asked them: "Are you all unharmed?"

Seeing Miao Zhen shook her head: "Miao He and I are unharmed, but Third Master twisted his ankle—he was shoved by martial artists rushing past behind him."

Tao Yanbai complained: "I nearly got knocked overboard."

Miao He complained about something else: "We three fought in formation the whole time, but afterward, the Hundred-Expert's ledger credited several of our kills to others."

Pan Yun: "Why?"

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Because we didn't strike hard enough—others finished off the enemies for us."

Pan Yun spread her hands: "Then I can't help you."

Qu Le: "Can you talk about something serious?"

He sat cross-legged beside Wang Cong, glaring at Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai opposite him: "Last night she dumped us on Mr. Li's ship, cramming all of us into the cabin—we only ate two pieces of dried rations all day…"

Seeing Miao Zhen interrupted him: "What's serious about that? What we're talking about is serious."

Wang Cong also scolded him: "Young Master Qu, you're too immature. Right now, killing the Japanese pirates is the priority—how can you care about trivial things like food and drink?"

Qu Le stared wide-eyed, furious: "Do you think I'm talking about food and drink? I'm saying she's hiding things from us—we're a team, why won't she tell us anything?"

Qu Le rattled on: "We fight side by side—what matters most? Trust! She won't even tell us the truth—what kind of trust is that?"

Qu Le grew more wounded as he spoke: "I tell you everything I know—everything the Wu Lin Alliance told me, I gave you without holding back. But you hide everything from me! Do you even see us as teammates? As friends?"

Pan Yun saw his eyes turning red and hurriedly said: "You misunderstand—I'm not refusing to tell you; it's because the Wu Lin Alliance has sealed this matter—until it's finalized, no fourth person may know. Only I, Zhang Ning, and Zhang Weiyi on this ship know…"

She lowered her voice: "If this leaks, disaster will follow—because someone on this ship…"

Qu Le stared: "Who?"

Pan Yun: "A spy."

Qu Le froze: "What spy?"

Pan Yun: "A Japanese pirate spy."

Qu Le looked unconvinced: "Are there Japanese among us?"

Pan Yun: "Not necessarily Japanese."