Chapter 688: It

Pan Xiaohei lay quietly at Pan Yun's feet, occasionally lifting its head to glance at her.

Thanks to her, it was wildly absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate.

As the embodiment of the Spirit Realm, it could sense the surge of primordial force within Pan Yun.

The sea air was thick with humidity; spiritual energy entering Pan Yun's body circulated, water nurturing wood—water- and wood-element primordial force rapidly repaired her internal injuries, filling her Upper Dantian with abundant power.

On the third morning, they spotted the Great Ming coastline.

Before the hour of Mao, the endless sea behind them had already brightened with dawn light; the distant coastline slowly shifted from black to white, revealing other hues.

The beach far ahead was empty of people, yet gazing at that faint, shimmering line, everyone's hearts surged with emotion, their eyes growing damp.

Qu Le murmured: "We've only been away a little over a month—how does it feel like a lifetime?"

No one answered him; everyone silently stared at the line representing home.

Xue Shao, who had been sitting beside her guarding Pan Yun, rose with Xi Jin's help, walked to the bow, and gazed at the faint line—his eyes held an emotion Xi Jin couldn't understand.

Zhang Weiyi reluctantly tore his gaze away and ordered: "Alter course—do not land yet!"

"Why not land?" A hoarse voice rose behind them.

Everyone spun around in shock to find Pan Yun's eyes open, her brow furrowed.

Zhang Weiyi beamed: "Sister Pan, have you broken through? Did you attain enlightenment?"

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly: "Thank you all, senior and junior brothers, for guarding me."

Though Pan Yun said nothing outright, everyone knew she had achieved enlightenment—and significantly so.

Daoist Priests were simultaneously elated and envious, gazing at her with envy: "Will she become the first immortal in eight hundred years?"

"Even Master Senior wasn't as good as her, was he?"

"Don't say that—if the Celestial Master's Mansion hadn't forced Master Senior to solidify his foundation and held him back, he'd have risen to First Marquis long ago. Then he encountered an accident…"

Remembering Zhang Liuzhen's accident, the Daoist Priests felt a pang of sorrow—just as they were struggling with grief, they saw Pan Yun still standing motionless.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He had noticed it earlier; they curiously extended their fingers and poked her: "Little Master Uncle, why aren't you moving?"

Pan Yun: "... Numb."

Literally numb.

Tao Yanbai: "You stood for over three days—of course you're numb!"

The three immediately rushed forward to rub her legs and knead her hands.

Everyone couldn't help but grin.

Xue Shao smiled too, his eyes crinkling; he said to A Tong: "Turn the helm back—signal the other two ships to follow."

A Xin responded.

The Japanese people locked in the cabin were also released; as the coastline drew nearer, their hearts tightened.

Is this the legendary Eastern Superpower?

They said gold lay everywhere, fields glowed with golden rice and wheat, people wore silk as smooth as pearls, everyone read books and spoke elegant speech, officials were noble and loved their people like their own children…

Even the Ida family disciples who had studied books couldn't help but feel longing.

The sea vessel docked at Quanzhou Port.

Unlike the dilapidated Onsen Jintinggang, which could only accommodate small fishing boats, Quanzhou Port had once been the world's largest port; even after the imperial court imposed maritime bans, when it only permitted trade with Ryukyu and received Japanese kan'go envoys, its former harbor remained usable.

As the sea vessel entered the harbor and saw the endless rows of docking berths, the Japanese stared with unshakable envy.

The martial heroes stationed at Quanzhou Port had long noticed the drifting vessel and reported it to the Wu Lin Alliance in advance.

So when the vessel docked, Li Wenying, Zhang Ziming, and Lin Mengzhu all arrived with their people.

As soon as the ship touched shore, people leapt down from it; those on land rushed toward the vessel—the two sides rushed toward each other and embraced quickly.

The great heroes each had close friends or even relatives among the crowd.

Gao Zhiming and Song Xuan were surrounded by people from Hengshan: "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, we thought you'd perished—why did you take so long to return?"

Other great heroes also had acquaintances rushing up to greet them.

The Daoist Priests uniformly sought out Li Wenying and Zhang Ziming—all participating Daoist Priests, even those not from Long Hushan Academy, were under the Celestial Master's Mansion's jurisdiction.

Moreover, every Daoist Priest who sailed with them, whether currently studying or not, had once studied at the Academy.

Li Wenying knew his own people well—he had recited their names often during this time.

His gaze swept across the crowd, his heart chilled; he quickly looked up at the ship's bow.

His eyes met Pan Yun's, and he also saw Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Tao Yanbai standing beside her.

His heart tightened; he whispered to Zhang Weiyi: "Where are Zhang Weiliang, Xue Hua, and Wang Cong?"

Zhang Weiyi's joy at the reunion faded slightly; he whispered back: "They remained in Japan, Master. I have urgent news to report."

Zhang Ziming also noticed three missing—each of them significant—and frowned outright: "Are they dead?"

Zhang Weiyi paused, then quickly explained: "No, they're all fine. Oh, Brother Weiliang suffered minor injuries, but by the time we returned, his life was no longer in danger—he could walk already."

Li Wenying and Zhang Ziming finally exhaled in relief; with a casual wave, they said: "As long as they're alive, that's enough. Today is joyful—discuss matters later."

But the martial heroes had long been holding back; they shouted loudly: "We stormed the bandit lair and crushed the Daichin family that slaughtered villages! Daichin Jiaohong was severely wounded and paid us—no, paid Master Sanzhu one port and three ships! We also discovered a silver mountain!"

Lin Mengzhu, still gripping Qu Le, didn't react: "What mountain?"

"Silver mountain! A whole mountain of silver ore, capable of refining pure silver," Qu Le boasted. "It can yield one million taels per year!"

Lin Mengzhu reached out and touched his forehead, frowning: "Seems a bit feverish."

Qu Le twisted his neck away indignantly: "I'm not sick! Uncle, if you don't believe me, ask Pan Yun—we brought back two sacks of rocks. Have a skilled craftsman examine them—you'll see. Pan Yun said it's a rich ore, silver content over eighty percent—the highest in the world!"

Lin Mengzhu frowned, still disbelieving.

Qu Le stamped his foot and shouted toward Pan Yun still standing on the bow: "Didn't you already check it? Come down and explain—they won't believe me!"

The brocade-clad guards, government office Runners, and naval soldiers hidden among the crowd all looked up sharply at the ship's bow.

But they weren't looking at Pan Yun—they were looking at Xue Shao beside her, and behind him, Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing.

Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing glanced at Pan Yun, then, still bearing the gazes from below the ship that nearly burned through them, stepped forward two paces and said softly to Xue Shao, "Censor Xue, didn't you say you would discuss it with Pan Yun and keep it private for now?"

Xue Shao smiled warmly, "You saw it too. Daoist Pan has been in sudden enlightenment these past few days; I never had a chance to bring it up."

The two fell silent.

Xue Shao soothed gently, "The ship is full of loose tongues. Too many people already know. Even if we keep quiet now, we can't hide it privately. Better to send our memorial posthaste back to Jingcheng and respond as soon as possible."

He glanced at Pan Yun, who stood motionless, and said with a smile, "You two have seen it these past days as well. Daoist Pan has the public interest at heart—she wants to hand over both the port and the silver mine to the imperial court."

Only then did Pan Yun turn her head, giving Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing a slight nod: "I am willing to hand over the port I seized and the silver mine I discovered to the imperial court."

Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing: ……Then why announce it far and wide instead of keeping it secret?

Sigh, a misstep!

At the time they had been sent off by Pan Yun to Qiwei Port to take over the port and ships; by the time they returned, the matter was settled, and the port and silver mine were already known to everyone.

They stood on the bow chatting as if no one else existed. The people below couldn't take it anymore. Li Wenying shouted, "Pan Yun, get down here!"

Only then did Pan Yun give Xue Shao and the others a slight nod and head ashore with Miao Zhen and the rest.

The heads below were also hinting for them to go down. Chen Liutao couldn't hold out any longer, and as he turned, he whispered, "Censor Xue, be careful yourself."

Qu Zhixing also bowed to Xue Shao and left. After this, it would likely be very difficult for them to work together again.

They all understood in their hearts: after this voyage back, Xue Shao was the one in the greatest danger—especially after Pan Yun had broadcast the news of the silver mine far and wide.

As the Touring Censor of Jiangnan, putting out to sea could be said to be supervising the bandit-suppression movements of Jiangnan forces; it could also be said to be abandoning his post without permission……

If it were only about revenge, with no silver mine involved, the imperial court would surely heap great praise on Xue Shao;

but with the discovery of the silver mine, to seize the initiative, they would inevitably try to win Xue Shao over……

No one knew how many factions at court would be tempted by the silver mine, but everyone knew Xue Shao could never be made to pick a side.

After the Xue Pan case, everyone saw clearly that Xue Shao's backbone was as unyielding as his uncle Xue Xuan's.

Therefore, if they couldn't win him over, they could only shut him out.

Is there any method simpler and quicker than bringing charges against him?

Pan Yun walked down the ship and couldn't help glancing back at Xue Shao, who still stood on board.

Xue Shao had a smile at the corner of his lips, gave her a slight nod, his eyes bright and sparkling, showing not a trace of resentment or anger.

Pan Yun then turned and walked toward Li Wenying.

Li Wenying, hands on hips, asked her, "What's this about a silver mine?"

Nearby, whether jianghu wanderers, Daoist priests, imperial court spies, or the merchants and gentry who had contributed money and goods to support them—all pricked up their ears.

Pan Yun said with a faint smile, "Just as they said. I happened to discover a silver mine."

Before the crowd could exclaim, Pan Yun raised a finger to her lips with a "Shh—" and said, "Don't shout—there are still fifty Wokuo people on the ship. Some of them speak Han, though I've now trapped them in a formation, and all they can hear is the rushing of the waves. But who can guarantee there isn't someone formidable among them?"

Li Wenying's eyes went wide. She grabbed Pan Yun's hand at once and asked in a lowered voice, "Wokuo people? You didn't kill them out at sea—what did you bring them back for? The government office hates dealing with foreign criminals the most……"

"They're not criminals," Pan Yun said. "I took one of the seized sea ships and made a deal with them—traded one ship for the use rights to half a port. They came over to test the ship."

Li Wenying: ……

Zhang Ziming: ……

The two immediately turned to look at the imperial court spies hiding in the crowd.

Wonder if stuffing their ears now would still do any good? (End of chapter)