Chapter 616: I Have a Request

Li Wenying and the others waited for her to speak.

Pan Yun: "Any news from the imperial palace?"

Li Wenying blinked in surprise: "You're asking about that?"

"What else? Who in the imperial court is colluding with the Chen family?"

Li Wenying confronted her squarely: "Why didn't you ask me?"

Pan Yun spread her hands: "I don't move in official circles—I can't touch them. What's the point of asking?"

Li Wenying raised an eyebrow: "Then why ask about the imperial palace?"

Pan Yun grinned: "Because I can kill them. And I've promised someone I'd avenge them."

After a moment of silence, Li Wenying said: "As a Daoist Priest, don't casually promise others things."

He turned back to the table, took a sheet of paper, wrote down several names, and handed it to her: "He doesn't know much—only that when the Chen family made contact, they mentioned these names. The few Japanese pirates left on the island would only confess minor details; whenever it came to the imperial palace, they either stayed silent or spouted nonsense. But one thing is certain: they returned to Japan."

After this battle, they won't dare come to Great Ming again in the short term—even for the next few years. If you want to avenge them, you'll have to settle for killing other Japanese pirates instead."

If it had been earlier, Pan Yun might have listened—but now…

She turned her head toward the door, her gaze crossing the island's hills to the distant sea, eager: "Brother Li, we're closer to Japan now. We've come all this way—going back without doing anything would be a waste."

Li Wenying frowned: "What, you actually want to go to Japan?"

Pan Yun: "They came here—why can't we go there?"

Li Wenying shot her a sharp look: "You want to be like your fourth senior sister?"

Pan Yun muttered: "What's wrong with being like my senior sister?"

Li Wenying grew tense: "You're not seriously planning to go, are you?"

Pan Yun nodded at him with a smile: "Of course. If we're going to clear out bandits, we must clear them out thoroughly—kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, so they don't think we're easy to bully."

Li Wenying fell silent.

Pan Yun pressed on: "Brother Li, no matter what those colluding with the Chen family think, the Quanzhou prefecture, county, and naval offices must have people supporting our campaign against the bandits—otherwise, why would they send Chen Battalion Commander and others to disguise themselves and follow us? I heard Brother Zhang's side even has naval soldiers in civilian clothes and Embroidered Uniform Guard. Clearly, someone in the imperial court wants to eradicate these sea bandits and prevent further coastal raids."

"The imperial court has its difficulties, but since they're willing to provide money, men, and ships this time, why not finish it once and for all—make the sea bandits truly afraid?" Pan Yun urged: "Six out of ten of our Great Ming's sea bandits are Han Chinese pretending to be Japanese pirates, simply because they think Great Ming won't cross the vast ocean to raid Japan, and can't trace them back from the pirates themselves. So if we strike straight into the pirates' stronghold, kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, and show them: those who defy Great Ming, no matter how far, will be punished!"

Li Wenying grumbled: "You're good at repurposing old sayings—sounds noble, but you just want to go to Japan to find Zhang Li and the others."

Pan Yun grew anxious: "Brother Li, how can you think so little of me? Am I the kind of person who confuses public duty with personal matters?"

Li Wenying: "Do you even have public duty?"

Pan Yun opened her mouth, her face flushing red: "I'm going to Japan to avenge the people of Great Ming—not to find Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister."

She muttered: "They don't even need me to find them…"

Li Wenying paced twice around the room, then finally gave in to her earnest gaze: "What do you need?"

Pan Yun immediately said: "One ship, three people!"

Li Wenying: "People? Which people?"

Pan Yun chuckled: "Just Ah Xin and his two crewmates who sailed for me this time—just give me another ship."

"Just that?" Li Wenying said. "Do you know how hard it is to get a ship?"

Pan Yun shot back: "I know! We captured four ships—we contributed at least half the credit. If I hadn't played bait, we wouldn't have kept even our own two. I'm only asking for one ship—not four!"

Li Wenying opened his mouth, pointed at Pan Yun, and couldn't speak.

He knew it all along—Pan Yun was never humble or yielding.

Better to ask who's colluding with the Chen family—he'd tell her everything, not hiding a single detail.

By the time Pan Yun left the room, the sun had set. The Japanese pirates had been disarmed and locked away in separate locations.

Among the captives were not only Japanese pirates, but also their families who had lived on the island.

There were old, weak, women, and children.

The elderly were mostly former pirates from the previous generation, who had settled there after growing old;

the women and children were the pirates' families, mostly second wives.

The heroes didn't know how to handle them.

Those who came to crush the bandits—whether initially seeking fame or profit—still carried the righteous heart of avenging the people of the southeast coast and eliminating banditry.

With such hearts, they naturally wouldn't slaughter the families—but they didn't want to take them back either.

"There are too many. Our casualties were heavy. Transporting them scattered across ships is too dangerous."

"Leave them on the island?"

"Not impossible—the island can grow crops and support fishing."

Some felt pity: "But if we take all the ships and supplies, what if a storm hits or someone falls ill? They'll die quickly."

Seeing them on the verge of arguing, Pan Yun stepped forward to resolve their dilemma: "I have a solution."

The heroes no longer saw Pan Yun as a child—they smiled at her and asked seriously: "Daoist Priest Sanzhu, what's your solution?"

Pan Yun: "Great heroes, you are kind-hearted. They are the families of pirates—they are guilty, so we confiscate all their belongings as punishment. But they don't deserve death. Leaving them here is no different from killing them. So I'll send them back home—to return to their homeland."

Everyone froze: "What?"

Pan Yun asked earnestly: "Great heroes, do you have a better solution?"

The heroes exchanged glances, then silently shook their heads—there wasn't one.

Pan Yun then conveyed the heroes' earnest request to Li Wenying.

Li Wenying had just finished organizing the remaining spoils.

Oh—the heroes had already secretly divided a portion among themselves.

Not only did Li Wenying pretend not to notice, but even Xue Shao, the imperial censor, turned a blind eye.

"Everyone risks their lives to crush bandits—taking spoils is only fair. Even the army leaves something for its soldiers, to keep morale from sinking," Xue Shao encouraged Pan Yun: "You contributed the most—you should take your share too."

But seeing the fallen heroes, Pan Yun took nothing. She knew the remaining gold, silver, and jewels would be sold after returning home by the Wu Lin Alliance and the Celestial Master's Mansion to fund compensation for the dead.