Chapter 657

Pan Yun said: "Your carts are few, and their designs differ somewhat from ours; in terms of industrial level, you're far behind Great Ming. You've been to Great Ming—doesn't that make you envious of the suzerain state?"

Naichō Kōken ignored her.

Pan Yun turned to look at the scenery slowly receding outside and sighed: "But the scenery here is beautiful. Along this journey, I've met many common folk—they have no surnames, no shoes; some don't even have clothes. Yet when they see me, they often smile, greet me warmly, and when they spot the black cat on my shoulder, they kneel and bow, saying this cat has great spiritual power and hoping it can communicate with the local deities of mountains, rivers, and waters to bless them with a bountiful harvest and smooth fortune."

Naichō Kōken stared at her in confusion, unable to understand why her topic had jumped here.

Seeing his blank expression, Pan Yun knew he had no interest in how the common people of this land lived; she shifted to speaking of the Uji clan.

"I hear your Uji clan head has only one son, and he's young—how old is he this year?"

Naichō Kōken's face tightened, his hairs standing on end: "What do you want?"

Pan Yun smiled: "I'm merely curious—if his only son dies, who will your Uji clan choose as the next heir? Or if Uji Jiaohong himself dies now, can his young son hold up the Uji clan?"

"I've heard that in your Japan, powerful vassals often act as regents during a lord's minority—or even usurp the throne. I wonder: if your Uji clan loses one of these two, will it become like today's Ashikaga clan?"

Naichō Kōken turned pale.

Pan Yun leaned close, whispering: "I only want information about that woman in the cloak. Everything else, I don't care about. My patience is limited. If you don't speak, I'll settle this account on Uji Jiaohong's head—and what I might do then, I can't guarantee."

Naichō Kōken's body trembled slightly, but he clenched his lips and said nothing.

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, hiding her suspicions, and when they stopped for lunch, she told Chen Liutao: "Uji Jiaohong likely knows something—even that chaotic ritual they performed in Quanzhou may be tied to the Uji clan. Pay closer attention during your next interrogation."

Chen Liutao agreed.

An hour after noon, they caught up with Hu Jing and the others.

Xi Jin saw them, turned, and rushed over, circling Xue Shao: "Young Master, are you unharmed?"

Xue Shao smiled: "Everything went smoothly. No injuries."

Tao Yanbai joined Hu Jing and reported to Pan Yun: "Little Master, we also had no issues."

Pan Yun nodded slightly: "Then let's keep moving. Speed up—we aim to reach Ciyu City before nightfall."

Ciyu City is the stronghold of the Yamaguchi clan; to reach Ōmori Village, you must pass through Ciyu City.

As Pan Yun walked, she sketched maps; Xue Shao helped her. Looking at the route they'd traveled, he shook his head: "This path won't work. Unless we seize control of these few locations, this route passes through too many power nodes—there's no way to safely transport goods or establish a lasting trade route."

Pan Yun recalled the information she'd seen in the Spirit Realm and lowered her gaze: "We landed in the wrong place. Judging by direction, if we turn from here toward Ōmori Village, that area also seems close to the sea."

Xue Shao: "Are you suggesting we change our landing port?"

"Let's keep looking along the way. We don't understand this region well—walking more might reveal a new route," Pan Yun said. "If we land elsewhere and reduce overland travel, we can avoid these power nodes. Then we only need to seize the port or find a secluded, suitable landing spot."

Chen Liutao, standing nearby, twitched his ears and glanced toward Qu Zhixing.

Qu Zhixing stared at him, bewildered.

Chen Liutao walked over and seized an opportunity to say: "Xue Shao and Pan Yun have other plans—I've noticed they've been sketching maps nonstop."

Qu Zhixing: "Aren't we sketching too?"

Chen Liutao: "... Different. I just overheard them discussing privately—they're planning to smuggle something out, and intend to make this a regular route. Pan Yun I can understand—even though smuggling and leaving maritime borders is illegal, if the money's right, the navy won't interfere. But Xue Shao is an imperial court official—he'd never do this. If he's discussing it with Pan Yun, is he confident he can persuade the court to launch a campaign against the Wa?"

Qu Zhixing: "That's impossible!"

Seeing Chen Liutao fall silent, Qu Zhixing frowned: "Even if the court launches a campaign against the Wa, we—"

"If we can earn merit here, we might advance further."

Qu Zhixing said nothing.

Seeing him silent again, Chen Liutao elbowed him: "Say something!"

Qu Zhixing winced, chest aching: "They have to be willing to talk to us first. Don't you see? Even Seeing Miao Zhen, Tao Yanbai, and the others probably don't know—why would they tell us?"

"If they won't speak, we'll ask!" Chen Liutao said. "Once we arrive, interrogate Naichō Kōken and find out. Opportunities must be seized—I don't care how you feel, but I'm going for merit. My mother's waiting for me to return and marry and have children."

Qu Zhixing thought of his mother and silently nodded in agreement.

Chen Liutao was satisfied. When he looked at Naichō Kōken again, he saw nothing but a slab of meat.

The guards at Ciyu City were even laxer. With so many of them, the city gate soldiers merely asked one question to Yi Jianren, flipped through their cargo, glanced at the money bag Yi Jianren handed over, and waved them through.

Pan Yun exhaled in relief and withdrew her hand from the box.

She'd been prepared to reluctantly seal the bloody-smelling box into her own space if they inspected the carts.

Pan Xiaohei refused to let the thing enter its body, and she didn't want to sully the Spirit Realm—but it didn't matter—she had her own space too. If it got dirty, she'd just... pour water in and wash it.

Still, not putting it in her space was best.

The group entered Ciyu City without incident.

The streets of Ciyu City were smoother and wider than those of Shankou Pavilion, and the buildings on either side were more numerous; beyond them stretched endless fields.

Clearly, Ciyu City's infrastructure was more developed than Shankou Pavilion's—but…

The common folk here were just as ragged, and more importantly, even the wealthy had few smiles on their faces—the atmosphere felt uneasy.

Yi Jianren rented them a courtyard, then hurried out to gather information; Wang Cong went with him.

Pan Yun sat in the new hall, thought for a moment, and summoned the martial heroes: "We'll stay here a long time—possibly use it as our base. So take some time to learn about this city and its people."

Zhang Weiyi: "I thought we'd stay at Shankou Pavilion or nearby—it'd be easier to act. Why choose Ciyu City?"