Chapter 759

Pan Yun and the others didn't set off to chase Wang Cong until three days later; before leaving, she gave Kuang Ping some copied manuscripts from Seeing Miao Zhen and took another portion with her.

She decided that after returning, she would have them printed into volumes and send them to those skilled in arithmetic and machinery.

They departed after dark and by the middle of the night spotted Wang Cong's ship amid the vast ocean.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she prepared to descend the Three Treasures Cauldron, when suddenly a burst of flame erupted across the horizon.

Pan Yun froze; Xue Shao saw it too, his heart tightening as he asked, "Where is that?"

A map of the sea unfolded in Pan Yun's mind; her expression darkened slightly as she said, "It's along the edge of Liuqiu."

Xue Shao said, "Liuqiu is a vassal state of the Great Ming, unlike Japan—it has close ties with the Great Ming; its king's appointment, like Korea's, requires the Great Ming's approval. Let's go see."

Pan Yun immediately shot forward; as the Three Treasures Cauldron flew over the two ships, she flicked her finger, sending a honey pill flying—puff—it pierced a window, and zheng—it embedded itself in a wooden pillar.

Wang Cong jolted awake in his sleep, rolled off his bed, listened carefully, then lit a candle and checked outside—saw nothing, returned inside, and pried at the honey pill.

By the time he finally pried the pill out of the pillar and opened it, the note inside revealed that Pan Yun and the others had long since flown away.

Wang Cong walked onto the deck, peered through his long-range glass, and finally glimpsed faint glimmers of firelight in the darkness.

Wang Cong's heart clenched; he immediately sought out the helmsman: "Lower the sails, reduce speed."

"We're riding a tailwind now—speed is high; reducing speed means we won't reach Quanzhou within ten days…"

"I said reduce speed, and I take responsibility."

This was their private ship, not an official vessel—so what if they couldn't reach Quanzhou in ten days?

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others had also woken, peering over the pot's rim.

The Three Treasures Cauldron shot like a meteor—shoo—toward the firelight.

Seeing Miao Zhen looked at Pan Yun with concern: "Little Master, you should be stopping to meditate and rest at this hour—your Qi…"

Pan Yun: "We observe first, then decide whether to intervene."

Everyone nodded in agreement, all obedient—until they saw the flag of the Great Ming flying on the ship under siege; their expressions shattered.

One official ship was anchored near shore, two others had sailed out to sea—but all three were now halted.

Pirates kept climbing aboard via ropes from small boats; shouts of battle rang out; nearby, cannons fired at the official ship.

Soldiers were driven overboard one after another—only to be blown apart by cannon fire beside them, reduced to bloody sprays or stunned and sinking into the deep.

The official ship, struck by cannonballs, could not move; someone fell between two ships, screaming in agony.

Yang Shan was forced out by a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards, who tried to drag him ashore.

Yang Shan slashed through the bandits lunging at him, eyes bloodshot: "Don't go ashore, don't go ashore—there are ambushes on land!"

No sooner had he spoken than soldiers who had scrambled ashore in a rush were cut down by axe-wielding ambushers just a hundred paces away.

Yang Shan's heart bled; he shouted: "All soldiers, form a circle! Three men per formation, retreat in order—don't panic, don't panic—"

He turned and bellowed: "Master Xuanmiao, Tao Ji—"

Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji burst from the stern cabin—just as a cannonball flew in from afar—

All this happened in an instant—from when Pan Yun and the others saw the Great Ming flag to scanning the ship's situation—no more than five breaths.

As the cannonball neared, Master Xuanmiao raised his sword to meet it—when a sharp whistle pierced the air; a stone flew faster than he could react, striking the cannonball dead center.

The two collided midair—boom—they exploded.

Master Xuanmiao spun away swiftly, landed on the ship, staggered back two steps, looked up—the Three Treasures Cauldron had just flown over their heads.

Master Xuanmiao immediately relaxed and shouted: "They have five cannons total!"

Pan Yun had already seen them; she pinched her fingers open, activating the barrier; Xiao Hong and Hong Yan shot out instantly, two red figures streaking through the air, landing and twisting silk ribbons around the gunners' necks—yank—the crack of bone, heads slumped.

The Three Treasures Cauldron flew past another cannon at high speed; Pan Yun dropped off Seeing Miao Zhen and the others; Bangchui panicked and jumped down after Miao He.

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others already had swords drawn; upon landing, they slashed the stunned gunners—

Pan Yun charged toward another cannon; her longsword flew out, slicing clean through the gunners' necks—she never touched ground, yet half of them were already dead.

She leapt from the Three Treasures Cauldron, caught her returning sword, and plunged into the crowd.

In moments, the rest were slain; Pan Yun turned to clear the other cannon positions, passed a cannon, paused—her hand brushed it—and the cannon and its shells vanished instantly.

Hong Yan and Xiao Hong moved swiftly; after killing the gunners, they turned to leave—but Xiao Hong stared at the cannon, unmoving.

Hong Yan stopped: "Come on, go save the people on the ship."

Xiao Hong: "Take that cannon."

"No, my belly can't hold it."

"Didn't Pan Yun give you a space jade? Put it in there."

Hong Yan reluctantly took it.

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others finished killing and looting everything clean—by then, Pan Yun had already cleared the remaining two cannons.

With no cannons left as threats, the group and the demons flew onto the large ship and immediately began their massacre.

No—rescue mode.

The pirates were numerous, and the other two ships had sailed seven or eight miles out to sea—ordinary cultivators couldn't reach them—but now they had Pan Yun and Master Xuanmiao.

With the situation on this ship under control, the two flew over immediately, fighting until the horizon brightened and the pirates were all cleared.

How many escaped was unknown, but twenty-eight were captured, two hundred thirty slain.

In naval warfare, this was a massive victory report.

Yang Shan's face was streaked with blood; after examining the pirates' corpses, his expression darkened as if ink would drip from it: "These aren't pirates—this isn't just pirates…"

Master Xuanmiao carefully inspected his precious sword, sheathed it, and said gravely: "These people didn't want you to return alive to the Great Ming."

Yang Shan turned and walked away: "Bring me all the captives—I'll interrogate them myself!"

The captives had barely been dragged up when they all widened their eyes, spat blood, and died.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards rushed forward, pinched one man's jaw open, pried his teeth apart—then let the limp body fall, saying gravely: "Poison sacs—they're all dead."

"Ha!" Yang Shan laughed bitterly: "Pirates commit suicide? With poison sacs? When did sea bandits become so loyal?"

Pan Yun and Xue Shao walked over in silence, saying nothing.

Yang Shan paced in furious circles, the ship utterly still except for the constant thud of his footsteps.

Everyone knew this was more than just pirate robbery—they could even guess the pirates' purpose.

It was simply that they didn't want Great Ming to lift the maritime ban. "If that's the case, there's at least an eighty percent chance the maritime ban will be lifted—otherwise, they wouldn't have gone so mad as to ambush the envoy's ship at sea?" Pan Yun rubbed her chin, growing more excited with each word, and turned to Yang Shan: "My lord, this is good news."

Yang Shan finally stopped pacing and looked at Pan Yun: "Because of their selfish motives, so many of us have died…"

Pan Yun curled her lips in a cold smile: "More people will die after this."

Xue Shao sighed: "Private desires breed selfish intentions; the conflicts won't end. But we can't abandon the sea ban out of fear—it would kill just as many."

Yang Shan fell silent, thinking of the impoverished coastal villagers and the civilians slaughtered last year when Japanese pirates landed. After a long pause, he said: "They want to use the excuse of opening the sea ban—inviting wolves into the house, endangering the people—but they don't realize it's precisely because of the sea ban that sea bandits have grown so bold."

"You're right—we can't abandon the sea ban out of fear," Yang Shan murmured. "I'll return to the capital. I'll petition Your Majesty. I will lift the maritime ban!"

He had exerted tremendous effort to negotiate so much for Great Ming and Japan, even leaving two-thirds of his men behind in Japan—he couldn't give up now.

Xue Shao spoke with implication: "If someone in the court proposes a partial lifting of the maritime ban, how will you respond?"

"What do you mean by 'partial lifting'?"

Xue Shao: "Only official ships permitted to sail; private merchant vessels banned. Civilians forbidden from approaching the coast."

It was similar to the maritime policy during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

Pan Yun said: "A partial lifting benefits no one. The pirates will grow even bolder. Official ships trying to sail the seas? Hmph—they'll find it harder than ever."

Yang Shan fell into thought.

Seeing he was listening, considering solutions, they said no more—sometimes, too much is worse than too little.

Pan Yun then cheerfully greeted Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji: "Fourth sister, have you finally decided to return?"

Tao Ji nodded: "The New Year is coming."

Master Xuanmiao said: "My sword's edge is chipped."

"Ah?" Pan Yun's gaze instinctively fell to the sword in her hand—how many people had she killed?

Master Xuanmiao asked: "Where is your ship?"

Yang Shan finally realized: "Right—where's your ship? How did you get here? I—I thought I saw you flying over!"

Pan Yun: "Our qinggong is exceptional. We truly flew here."

"... What kind of qinggong is so powerful it can cross a strait?" Yang Shan thought a moment, then said: "Don't hide it—I know you cultivators are different."

Pan Yun exclaimed: "Wow! My lord, you believe us already?"

Yang Shan sighed: "I've witnessed their Shinto miracles in Japan—they're truly extraordinary."

"My lord needn't be astonished. In matters of spirits and ghosts, Great Ming is no weaker than Japan. Look at our sacred mountains and rivers—you'll see our immortals are no less powerful than theirs."

Yang Shan: "Master Pan understands these matters better than I do. Then tell me—when we're stranded at sea like this, which immortal should we pray to?"

"Mazu. Next time, silently pray for Mazu's protection. When you return, remember to burn two sticks of incense for her."

Yang Shan stared, bewildered: "If I pray to Mazu, will she save us?"

Pan Yun: "Believe, and she exists. Don't believe, and she doesn't. Try it—your chance of survival might be higher than others'."

Seeing she gave the same vague answer as monks and Daoist priests, Yang Shan exhaled, waved his hand, and went below to count casualties and handle other matters.

The ship needed repairs; the wounded needed healing; those who fell into the sea had to be fished out…

Soldiers helped each other find places to rest, bandaging one another's wounds.

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others immediately brought out their medicine chests to treat the injured.

Pan Yun and Master Xuanmiao exchanged glances, then went to sail the ship.

Yes—they had to sail it back to shore.

The ship malfunctioned; after much effort, they managed to sail five or six li before barely making landfall. Everyone immediately disembarked.

Half the people aboard were drawn from the Tianjin guard battalion naval command; the other half from the Ministry of Rites, the Honglu Temple, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Many couldn't swim at all. They had always feared the sea, and now they wanted to be a hundred meters away from it.

As soon as they reached shore, they hurried away from the coast and collapsed, motionless.

Yang Shan organized troops to search the shore for remaining Japanese pirates, hoping to gather more evidence.

Then, they discovered one cannon left behind by Pan Yun.

Yang Shan didn't know Pan Yun had taken the other four cannons. He muttered: "Even in retreat, they managed to carry off four heavy cannons. They must be deeply entrenched here—could they be connected to Ryukyu nobility?"

Pan Yun heard his muttering but pretended not to.

Master Xuanmiao glanced at her and asked: "Were all four heavy cannons identical?"

Pan Yun: "I never compared them closely. Leaving one behind as evidence was already generous."

Master Xuanmiao nodded: "He has live captives."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Fourth sister, shouldn't we steal one and interrogate him? Don't you want to know who did this?"

Master Xuanmiao gave her a sidelong glance: "Why go through the trouble? Let them interrogate him and take the results. Who's better at torture—you or me?"

On this point, they were both inferior to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

To Pan Yun's surprise, there were quite a few martial artists on the three official ships—eighteen in total.

All had coincidentally ended up in Japan this year. Learning the imperial ship had stopped at Sakai Port, they simply boarded there.

Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji, wandering freely, also thought Onsen Jintinggang too far to visit Pan Yun, so they went straight to Sakai Port.

As long as they could prove they were subjects of Great Ming, the imperial soldiers were happy to bring them home.

How could one not protect one's own people?

But no better treatment was offered—they remained confined to the lower decks, except Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji.

Because they were too outstanding, too famous.

So famous that even Yang Shan, an imperial official, had heard their names before departure, knowing they had sailed to avenge last year's Japanese pirate massacre of a village—and he deeply admired them. He placed them in rooms next to his own.

Thus, Yang Shan, who was unskilled in martial arts, survived until the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to rescue him.

When all the wounded soldiers who could still move had boarded shore, they saw two large ships approaching from afar across the sea.

On these two ships flew three banners: one bearing the character "Ming," one the character "Pan," and one the character "Wang."

Master Xuanmiao spun around sharply and asked, "Is Wang Cong also on board?"

(End of Chapter)