Chapter 628: Released Captives

Seeing Miao Zhen smiled: "I know a little—unluckily, I understood about eight out of ten words you just said."

Benshan Yousun felt like his whole body had gone wrong.

He felt the entire world was targeting him.

It turned out he was right.

After Pan Yun had loaded all the looted goods—no, correction, the compensation payments from the three families for plundering her, their esteemed guest—onto the ship, she brought the three of them aboard the main vessel and opened the cabin doors, ordering the captives inside to come out.

These captives had been locked in the cabin since being taken from the island and had not seen daylight since; now standing in the sun, they instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Over a hundred captives crowded onto the deck, watching Pan Yun with fear and unease.

Pan Yun addressed Benshan Yousun and the other two with a gentle tone: "These are innocent civilians seized by Japanese pirates and held on the island. After we wiped out the pirates, we couldn't bear to leave them stranded, separated from their families, so we brought them back."

Pan Yun spoke these words in Japanese—imperfectly, so she spoke slowly, word by word, her voice neither loud nor soft, audible to everyone on and off the deck.

Pan Yun: "Some of these people are from Siguodao. I wish to entrust them to you—please return them to their homes, so they may enjoy family warmth and reunite with their parents."

At these words, not only did Benshan Yousun and the other two freeze in stunned silence, but even the captives on deck stood motionless, bewildered.

They were just… letting them go?

Pan Yun asked gently: "Who among you is from Siguodao? Please step forward. I've already arranged with these three—they will escort you home."

The crowd fell utterly silent; no one dared move.

Pan Yun looked disappointed: "None of you want to return home?"

The captives who had seen her brutality turned pale; someone in the crowd cautiously shifted.

Pan Yun's gaze fell on her; her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground.

The crowd instantly scattered, everyone retreating three zhang away.

She was a woman around twenty, with a child of three or four clinging to her side.

The child, clearly frightened, pressed close to her, eyes wide, straining to look up at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun met his gaze and paused slightly; her expression softened, and the coldness in her eyes toward the woman on the ground lessened.

The woman prostrated herself fully, forehead pressed to the deck, bowing in deep humility before Pan Yun.

Pan Yun stepped forward to help her up, but the woman refused to rise, only lifting her upper body while keeping her legs straight and folded beneath her: "Please, noble one, spare my life—I am from Tokushima County. I want to go home."

"Good!" Pan Yun agreed at once, then turned to ask the three: "How far is Tokushima County from here?"

Before Benshan Yousun could answer, Ichiro Taro blurted out: "Not far—Tokushima County is on the eastern side of Siguodao; our Kōchi County lies to the south. You can reach Tokushima by land or sea—Ichimonji family has ships; we can take her partway…"

He made it sound complicated, but Shikoku had only four counties, none larger than a single prefecture—Tokushima was right next door; how far could it possibly be?

Yet Pan Yun nodded with clear satisfaction and asked the woman gently: "Do you want them to escort you, or will you go on your own?"

"If you go alone, I'll have them give you travel funds. If you go with them, I'll instruct them to ensure your safety and give you silver for new clothes—so you won't appear too ragged when you meet your parents."

The woman stared up at Pan Yun, dumbfounded.

Pan Yun smiled encouragingly, waiting for her answer.

The woman's heart tightened; she waited quietly, but heard no sound from the others.

Suppressing her disappointment, she glanced at her son, then at Ichiro Taro—disheveled, stained with blood—and gritted her teeth: "Please, Ichiro-kun, take me."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly; she turned to the child beside her and asked: "Is this your son?"

"Yes."

Pan Yun nodded slightly and said to Ichiro Taro: "Please provide two sets of clothing for them and see them safely to Tokushima County."

Ichiro Taro immediately bowed respectfully in agreement.

Among the captives, a murmur rose; soon, over a dozen stepped forward—old and young, men and young women with children—all from Siguodao, wanting to stay.

Pan Yun nodded slightly and agreed at once.

With so many people and differing destinations, Ichiro Taro alone could not handle it all.

Benshan Yousun and Chōsokabe Shigeru were no fools—they immediately stepped forward to volunteer.

Some wanted to go on their own; Pan Yun immediately had the three families provide them with goods and money, distributing their belongings on the spot before letting them leave;

Others chose to be escorted by the three families; Pan Yun had them provide two sets of clothing each, then formally entrusted them with the task.

Some, though not from Siguodao, still wished to remain there.

Pan Yun did not stop them; instead, she publicly asked the three to arrange employment for them.

One might say Pan Yun cared more for these captives than for her own relatives.

Thus, through a long, busy day, Pan Yun released twenty-eight captives—men, women, old and young.

By evening, the ship had been largely refitted, new banners raised; Pan Yun departed Kōchi County with Ichiro Taro's eldest son, Yi Jianren, two household retainers, four guards, Benshan Yousun's second son, and Chōsokabe Shigeru's second son.

Their departure was so swift, the three families were stunned.

Only when the ship vanished beyond the harbor did they snap back: "They just… left like that?"

Ichiro Taro's face darkened: "What else could we do? Our lives are in her hands—could you kill her?"

Benshan Yousun's heart burned with resentment: "But we're free now!"

Chōsokabe Shigeru glared at him fiercely: "Our sons are aboard her ship—dare you attack her vessel? I told you from the start to let her stay in my villa, but you insisted on competing with me. If you hadn't messed up, we'd have boarded the main ship long ago—we wouldn't be left with nothing but loss!"

Benshan Yousun exploded: "You're lying! You were the greedy one—I originally wanted to trade with her, but you goaded me into attacking her!"

Ichiro Taro cut them off loudly: "Enough! This cannot be spoken of. She specifically inquired about the Uchimura clan—their fleet is large, like the Kikuchi clan, and they dominate maritime trade. The pirates we fought at sea may have been Uchimura's men."

Benshan Yousun gasped: "She doesn't actually plan to go to Shimane County, does she? But she used your flag to pass checkpoints—if the Uchimura clan finds out and demands retribution, you—"

Ichiro Taro's face darkened: "I have no good solution now. But I know my eldest son is in her hands—he is my finest son. If you cause him to die at Pan Yun's hands, I will not let you live."

Benshan Yousun and Chōsokabe Shigeru both felt as if they'd swallowed a fly.

(End of Chapter)