Chapter 770: Pan Xiaohei, Get Up and Work

"I asked the sulfur merchant," Wang Cong said. "He said eighty thousand jin of sulfur enters annually from Japan. During regulated trade, Japan contributes twenty thousand to one hundred thousand jin as tribute; the rest is almost entirely smuggled. They mostly buy from merchants in Zhejiang and Fujian, then distribute it nationwide—but none of them ever touch the trade at the Nine Border Garrisons."

Pan Yun's gaze sharpened: "Who is this merchant? One drink and he told you all this?"

Wang Cong grinned, pulling out a yellow talisman and slapping it on the table. "I slipped a yellow talisman into his sleeve. To find out who he is, I'd have to get drunk—and only my junior uncle can investigate."

Pan Yun took the talisman and sneered: "Go to sleep."

Wang Cong staggered away.

Pan Yun sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the talisman. After a moment's thought, she grabbed Pan Xiaohei, who was napping on the pillow, and shook him awake: "It's a fine night, everyone's still awake—how can you, a night owl, be sleeping?"

Pan Xiaohei: "Don't slander me. My schedule is perfectly healthy. If I stay up late, it's your fault."

Pan Yun pulled him into her lap and gently scratched under his chin.

Pan Xiaohei closed his eyes in comfort.

Pan Yun smiled faintly. Even cats have their nature—so how could a cat sleep early?

Once he was relaxed, Pan Yun lifted his head, staring into his eyes: "Help me watch a few people."

Pan Xiaohei: "... Why don't you go yourself? With your magic power, you won't be detected unless you're surveilling someone above the Fifth Level."

Pan Yun stroked his head and laughed: "Those excuses are fake. Humans have a sixth sense—and even a seventh. The keen-minded, even without martial skill, can sense being watched. Take Yang Shan—he only knows basic horsemanship and archery, yet Xiao Hong stays by his side, and he still senses her. I've thought it over, and you're the only one I can truly trust."

Pan Xiaohei: "You're buttering me up just to get me to work!"

"No, I'm sincere," Pan Yun said. "Haven't you noticed? You follow us, yet people constantly overlook you. No wonder—you're a spiritual entity, even more hidden than ghosts."

Pan Xiaohei fell silent.

Pan Yun stroked him: "Go on, go on. Open the sea ban one day sooner, and we gain merit one day sooner. This is state policy—it affects countless lives. If we gather enough merit, maybe you'll break your seal all at once."

Pan Xiaohei scoffed: "You're too ambitious. If my seal were that easy to break, it would've been broken long ago—why wait for you?"

He said: "To break it, you need savior-level merit. Don't even dream of it in this lifetime. Just focus on your cultivation, extend your lifespan, and slowly accumulate good deeds—little by little, eventually the seal will break."

Pan Yun narrowed her eyes: "So you know quite a bit about your own seal."

Pan Xiaohei lifted his small head: "Not just a bit—I'm learning more every day. Thanks to you for breaking two seals; now I've had the chance to understand deeply."

Pan Yun: "So you still need me—and you'll need me for a long time."

Pan Yun grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him, staring at him without expression: "Then why are you dawdling? Get to work right now!"

Pan Xiaohei blinked, stunned, then glared at her with accusation: "You heartless woman! You were just coddling me—and in ten breaths you've changed!"

Pan Yun's face turned serious: "You haven't accepted your place. Pan Xiaohei, you and I are one. I've been fighting nonstop to break the seal. You? You only move when I whip you. Who's really the heartless one?"

Pan Xiaohei's mouth opened slightly.

Pan Yun: "A family can't rely on just one person's effort—especially since you're inside my spiritual altar, my soul-bound artifact. Don't think your cat body lets you ignore your true form. Count it up—who's done more to break the seal?"

Pan Xiaohei thought it over. She really had done more—most of the merit came from her. The more he thought, the guiltier he felt, and his head drooped.

Pan Yun seized his paw and spoke earnestly: "Xiaohei, I've always treated you with sincerity. What about you? Why do I always have to beg, beg again, beg a third time? Because you don't see me as family. Just thinking about it makes me heartbroken..."

Pan Xiaohei grew even more guilty. With a *shoo*, he retracted his paw and stood up: "Stop talking. I'm going. Who do I watch?"

Pan Yun wiped away imaginary tears, sniffed softly, then said: "Watch Cao Jixiang, Lu Mingzhe, and Gong Xia. If you have time, also check on Yang Shan and the captured pirate chief. See who they met tonight and what they said."

Pan Xiaohei: "... Do you think I can split myself?"

Pan Yun: "They all live in this area. The distances aren't far."

She pulled out two yellow talismans, wrapped them around his left and right front paws, then traced her fingers over them—the talismans stuck fast.

Her voice softened: "These are Light-Body Talismans. You know how to use them. With them, no matter how far you run, you won't tire."

Still feeling guilty, Pan Xiaohei didn't want to seem lazy—he accepted the heavy task.

He stood, shook his fur, and perked up: "Then I'm off."

Pan Yun smiled: "Go. I'll go watch the sulfur merchant too. Xiaohei, let's work together—let's break your seal before I die, alright?"

Pan Xiaohei: "You plan to live only a hundred years?"

Pan Yun's gaze turned tender: "For you, I'll try to live longer. But you know this world's spiritual energy is thin—it's hard to advance further. And to accumulate merit equal to savior-level merit? Even one or two hundred years may not be enough."

Pan Yun sighed: "Too bad you dragged me through time into an era of peace. Great Ming has its problems, but overall it's stable. Saver-level merit? Nearly impossible."

Pan Xiaohei grinned confidently: "Get strong enough to reach the Second Marquis, live past two hundred. Then chaos will surely come—you'll save the world and earn enough merit."

Pan Yun: "... This Great Ming isn't that Great Ming. How can you be sure historical chaos will happen? What if it doesn't?"

Pan Xiaohei glanced sideways at her: "I don't need to read Great Ming's history to know chaos will come in two hundred years. It's historical inevitability. Haven't you humans said it yourselves? After long division comes unity; after long unity comes division."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she stroked him: "You're very clever."

Pan Xiaohei shook her hand off his head: "It's settled. You must cultivate hard too—at least reach the Second Marquis. When you die..."

Pan Xiaohei paused.

Pan Yun narrowed her eyes, smiling sweetly: "When I die, what?"

"Nothing," Pan Xiaohei leapt off her lap and dashed out. "I'm going to watch your people."

Pan Yun sat on the bed, watching him leap out the window, bound onto the roof, then vanish.

She lowered her gaze, lost in thought, then let out a soft laugh. (End of chapter)