Chapter 787

Pan Yun: "... Brother Li, what are you imagining? Zhang Brother and I are bosom friends— isn't this gift meant for a bosom friend?"

"What I can't accept is this!" Li Wenying twisted his face. "Aren't I his bosom friend too? We've grown up together since childhood, been inseparable for over twenty years..."

Pan Yun chuckled. "That must be because your skin's thinner than mine."

Li Wenying instantly calmed, nodding. "True. There aren't many people in this world with skin as thick as yours."

He accepted the explanation, then kicked the box with his foot. "Get out already! Quickly put this box away, fill the hole, and if Lin Jingle comes over, I won't cover for you— if you want to spend New Year on the Reflection Cliff, just say so!"

Upon hearing this, Pan Yun didn't let Xiao Hong emerge; she immediately sealed the box. "Xiao Hong, you can nurture your soul better inside your own body— stay put, don't worry about what's outside."

Hearing this, Xiao Hong peacefully closed her eyes.

Pan Yun sealed the box, then stored it within her Spirit Realm.

Wang Cong and the others hurriedly shoveled dirt back into the hole, filling it up.

Pan Yun frantically dismantled the Yin-Nourishing Array in the courtyard, just finishing up, when a figure drifted down from above, landing steadily atop the roof, watching them quietly yet openly.

Everyone stiffened, looking up.

Pan Yun forced a stiff smile and waved. "Lin Tangzhu, long time no see. I hope you're well."

Lin Jingle regarded her expressionlessly. "What are you doing here?"

Pan Yun hurriedly replied, "I'm digging up wine. I buried a jar under the phoenix tree—I figured it's almost New Year, so I came to dig it up."

Li Wenying glanced at her, awed. This mind, this brazen lie-telling—no one could match her.

But Lin Jingle wasn't easily fooled. He flew down from the roof, walked to the half-filled hole, and asked coldly, "Do you bury wine this deep?"

"To keep the temperature steady, hehehe..."

Lin Jingle stared at her coldly.

Pan Yun's smile vanished; she fell silent immediately.

"No scent of wine—only the stench of a corpse," Lin Jingle said expressionlessly, glancing between Pan Yun and Li Wenying. "Pan Yun, do you dare raise corpses within the Academy?"

Pan Yun waved her hands frantically. "No no no, Lin Tangzhu, don't misunderstand me—I really buried wine! Even if you gave me a hundred courage, I wouldn't dare raise corpses in the Academy!"

Lin Jingle turned to Li Wenying. "Is that true?"

Li Wenying rubbed his nose. "I guess?"

Pan Yun couldn't help stepping on his foot, gritting her teeth. "Don't answer with a question~~"

Lin Jingle sneered and turned away. "You have fifteen minutes to restore everything to its original state, then get out."

Pan Yun hadn't expected him to let them off so easily—she was momentarily stunned.

It was Li Wenying who shoved her. "What are you standing there for? Get moving!"

"Oh oh," Pan Yun said at once. "The arrays are gone—we can use spells now."

The others snapped to action, spells and shovels flying, finally leveling the ground.

Pan Yun stomped twice on top, ensuring it was firmly packed, then sighed in relief.

She rummaged in her Spirit Realm, pulled out a fish, and handed it to Li Wenying. "Here. New Year gift."

Li Wenying took it. "Rare. You actually gave me a New Year gift."

"Brother Li, you underestimate me—this is sea fish, caught by me with great effort from the ocean, just last night, still fresh." Li Wenying lifted it, inspected it, and nodded slightly. "Alright, thank you. But I have no New Year gift for you."

"No need to be polite—we're close enough to skip formalities. But why did Lin Tangzhu let us off so easily? He didn't even glance at Sister Hong Yan."

Li Wenying: "Probably because he just came from Liu Zhen."

At the mention of Zhang Liuzhen, Pan Yun immediately asked, "How is Brother Zhang? I'll go see him later and bring him a fish."

"Lin Jingle told you to leave within fifteen minutes," Li Wenying gestured to the time—she had little left.

Pan Yun pulled everyone out of Fengqi Courtyard, then closed the door with thoughtful care. "See? We've rolled out."

Li Wenying praised: "You truly have thick skin and a talent for redefining terms. Impressive, impressive."

Pan Yun said: "Since Lin Jingle let me off because of Brother Zhang, he must be glad I'm going to see him—I still need to take his pulse and ask my Senior Brother about his medicine."

In the past, Li Wenying would've dragged her straight to Fanxi Courtyard without hesitation. But this time, he wasn't in a rush at all—he even had time to chat with her at the courtyard gate.

"Master Wang has been sending medicine to Liu Zhen—why do you need to act as messenger?"

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, stroked her chin, and asked: "Did my Third Brother and Fourth Sister come by?"

Li Wenying gave her an approving look and walked toward Fanxi Courtyard. "Unlucky—you just missed them. They left two days ago."

Pan Yun bounced along behind him. "Why did they come? Did they find a cure for Brother Zhang?"

"Don't ask so many questions, child."

"It's you adults who are strange—always hiding things, especially Third Brother and Fourth Sister. Ask them about their time in Wa Country and they just say 'revenge' and 'kill pirates'—not one more word. Really."

Everyone followed to Fanxi Courtyard.

Xue Shao saw Zhang Liuzhen for the second time and noticed his complexion had improved greatly.

Pan Yun noticed too. With her Linglong Heart, she perceived the essence of people—she also saw Zhang Liuzhen's vital energy had strengthened.

Pan Yun beamed and skipped forward. "Brother Zhang, are you better?"

Zhang Liuzhen had the acolyte bring out breakfast, invited everyone to sit, and smiled. "My little aunt brought back several medicinal herbs from Wa Country—they've helped my body immensely. I'm much better than before."

The acolyte brought a basket of buns, a large pot of porridge, two small dishes, and a bowl of stir-fried noodles.

Pan Yun stared blankly. "Brother Zhang, did you prepare this for us?"

Zhang Liuzhen nodded. "The gatekeeper sent word you'd returned to the Academy. The main kitchen wasn't open, so I figured you hadn't eaten breakfast yet—I had the acolyte make some."

"You came just in time—it's just been made. Have some." Zhang Liuzhen gestured for Li Wenying to sit too. "You haven't eaten either, have you?"

"No, I was meditating when I heard the screaming and rushed out."

Pan Yun rubbed her nose and stayed silent.

Zhang Liuzhen smiled, didn't ask what they'd been doing, simply passed out bowls and told everyone to take whatever they wanted.

He handed Xue Shao a bowl and praised: "In just three months, Young Master Xue's cultivation has grown so much."

Xue Shao said, "Pan Yun's guidance from the side has been a great benefit to me, but I started cultivating late, and I'm still far behind my peers."

Zhang Liuzhen laughed and said, "You're already very impressive." (End of chapter)