Chapter 630: Truth or Lies (A birthday bonus for reader

Xue Shao froze, his gaze quickly sweeping past Hu Jing beside him, and he fell silent.

Hu Jing beside him felt his scalp prickle, lowered his eyes, and said nothing.

Qu Le's body stiffened too; he swallowed and replied, "I remember. What of it?"

"Then you still remember the reason you chased Hero Hu all the way to Jingcheng, right?"

Qu Le's face flushed red. He felt what he had done wasn't quite proper, a bit unchivalrous. Guiltily, he glanced left and right, and only after a long while let out an "Mm" under Pan Yun's gaze.

Pan Yun said, "Bring up the old matter again on the ship."

Qu Le stared blankly. "What?"

Seeing him so dense, Pan Yun stated plainly: "You get along well with the captives, so when you speak normally you don't have to be so cautious. Leak the matter of the treasure map—tell them the treasure map in Hu Jing's hands was ultimately taken by people of the Ouchi clan. We jianghu people killing our way to the island are, first, to avenge the people of Quanzhou, and second, to snatch the treasure map back."

Qu Le gaped, hurriedly asking, "How do you know this? Was the treasure map really snatched away by people of the Ouchi clan?"

Pan Yun: …

Hu Jing: …

Xue Shao couldn't help but laugh, then felt it wasn't very friendly, and forcibly swallowed the rest of his laughter, his face flushing red from holding it in.

Pan Yun said quietly, "Yes, the map really was taken by people of the Ouchi clan."

Qu Le's eyes went wide. "Then what about Hero Hu? What happened to him?"

Pan Yun's tone shifted, her face grave: "This is something Hero Hu told me himself. He was injured, and very heavy. He had wanted to hand the treasure map over to the imperial court, but the court is controlled by Wang Zhen. He feared the map would never reach Your Majesty, so he would only give it to Grand Secretary Yang, who had a reputation for virtue. But by the time he reached Jingcheng, dodging the Embroidered Uniform Guard, jianghu people, and Japanese pirates in pursuit, Grand Secretary Yang had already passed away. He could only flee Jingcheng…"

Qu Le's face was full of sorrow and shame, wanting to speak but holding back.

Pan Yun sighed and went on: "After he left the capital, Japanese thieves the Ouchi clan had smuggled into the Central Plains found him. After a fierce struggle he was gravely wounded, and the treasure map was taken."

Hu Jing: …That story was woven so well he was almost starting to believe it himself.

"He contacted me through my eldest martial nephew. He knew I was going overseas to wipe out the pirates, so he entrusted me to recover the treasure map no matter what. All that wealth was plundered from the people of Great Ming by the sea bandits—it must be brought back to the country."

Qu Le nodded repeatedly, growing more ashamed: "I—I chased him before, and my uncle said exactly this, that the treasure had to be brought back to Great Ming…"

He thought, if he hadn't gone after Hu Jing, wouldn't Hu Jing have met Grand Secretary Yang long ago, and the treasure map been handed to the Emperor long ago?

The thought of the treasure map falling into the hands of the Ouchi clan, who had slaughtered the village, burned in Qu Le's heart like fire.

Pan Yun patted his shoulder and said, "So this time when we go after the Ouchi clan, it's not just for revenge, but to take back the treasure map."

Qu Le nodded fiercely, his face solemn: "I know, I'll definitely keep it secret…"

"You don't need to keep it secret," Pan Yun cut him off, her face encouraging. "Spread the word."

Qu Le was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized—Pan Yun wanted him to pass the little story along to the captives.

He was puzzled: "Why spread this to them? Isn't it better the fewer people know about the treasure map?"

Pan Yun: "We're outsiders after all, unfamiliar with Japan, and few in number. The Ouchi clan are daimyo of Japan, their family power is vast. Relying on just us, I'm afraid it'll be very hard to force the treasure map out of them."

"But everyone on this ship is a captive…" Qu Le wasn't entirely stupid; he caught on now: "You want to pass a message to Yi Jianren and the others? Then why not just tell them directly?"

Pan Yun looked at him with tender affection: "Things in this world—those obtained through great hardship and those picked up with a flick of the wrist—are worlds apart, even when they're the very same thing."

Hu Jing's mood quietly recovered too. He glanced at Pan Yun, then said unhurriedly: "News like this, of course, sounds more precious and more real when it's been obtained through great hardship."

Pan Yun nodded.

Qu Le understood, but felt uneasy. He rolled his eyes and asked, "Why don't you let your martial nephews do it?"

Pan Yun asked, "Of my four martial nephews, which one has become thick as thieves with the captives?"

Qu Le tilted his head and thought, and found that indeed none had.

The four of them had, once aboard, spent most of their time hiding in the cabin, ostensibly cultivating—no one knew if it was real.

Pan Yun praised him: "Not just my four martial nephews—so many people on this ship, Hero Gao, Hero Song and the others, and Zhang Weiyi's group—none of them have your亲和力. The captives on this ship love playing with you, and are willing to tell you things; news leaked from you sounds more real. If they did it, it would be too deliberate."

Qu Le puffed out his chest: "See? I'm useful after all! Lucky I snuck aboard—otherwise wouldn't you have no one to use right now?"

Pan Yun nodded rapidly: "Right, right, right, thanks to you. You being on this ship is my blessing, and the blessing of everyone on board."

Pan Yun was about to coach him on how to let the news slip out casually, but Qu Le had already waved impatiently: "It's not some hard task, I can handle it myself."

Then he strutted off, full of spirit.

Xue Shao watched him go, couldn't help but chuckle softly, and said to Pan Yun, "Lucky he thinks it's true."

Pan Yun sighed: "Yes, Lin Mengzhu has it tough too, thinking about it."

Hu Jing said darkly, "I don't feel that way. I feel it's even tougher staying by your side."

Pan Yun looked at Xue Shao. Xue Shao pretended he hadn't heard a thing, lowered his eyes, and stared at the sea as if flowers were blooming on it.

Hu Jing had his own sense of it—Xue Shao was so clever that his identity was no secret to him—so he didn't beat around the bush, and asked Pan Yun directly: "What are you doing? What's the point of muddying the waters this much?"

Pan Yun: "Ah, haven't I told you? My Third Martial Brother and Fourth Martial Sister are also in Japan. They're currently smashing up the Kikuchi clan's strongholds everywhere. I think I should send them word, get them to keep an eye on the Ouchi clan too, and at the same time, ease some of the pressure off them."

Pan Yun smiled brightly: "Muddy water is good for catching fish, so naturally the muddier the better."

Hu Jing: "Be careful stirring up the broken porcelain and broken blades at the bottom. The water gets muddy, sure, but if you step in, it'll cut your feet."

Pan Yun held out her hand, a silver-white ball of Qi condensing in her palm, and said with a beaming smile: "I'm not afraid. I have shoes—thick leather shoes at that. They can't prick me."

Hu Jing snorted and turned to leave.

Xue Shao waited until he was gone to ask, "You specifically named Shimane Prefecture as the destination—is it only for the Ouchi clan?"

Pan Yun: "What else could it be for?"

Xue Shao lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then looked up: "You brought up the treasure—could there be treasure in Shimane Prefecture too?"

Pan Yun stared at him blankly, and only after a long while asked, "What basis do you have?"

Xue Shao chuckled softly and shook his head slightly: "No basis. It's a hunch. If it were only to kill the Ouchi clan for revenge, with your ability, you wouldn't need this extra move. Since you've added an extra move, you must have some scheme. So what's in Shimane Prefecture?"

Silver mines.

Pan Yun beamed a brilliant smile at Xue Shao, as dazzling as the silver-gold sunlight reflected off the sea. (End of chapter)