Chapter 798: Infiltrating the Wang Fu

Pan Yun didn't tell Xi Yan any more; she only gave her several talismans of safety and arranged a formation around her house and yard.

Finally, she gave her a statue of the Mountain God: "If you encounter a problem you can't solve, or if they come to your door, worship Him—so long as you pray sincerely, I will hear you."

Because Xiao Hong stood beside her, Xi Yan believed without doubt, solemnly accepted the statue, and placed it beneath the main hall.

Xi Yan and Xiao Hong were reluctant to part; she looked at Xiao Hong with worry and quietly pulled her aside: "What will happen to you in the end? Shouldn't we deal with those Daoist Priests?"

Xiao Hong was startled, lowering her voice: "You can deal with Daoist Priests?"

Xi Yan's whole body tensed, clearly nervous, yet still nodded: "I have poison—when the time comes, bring them to me…"

Xiao Hong froze for a moment, then laughed, gripping her hand: "Don't fear—they won't harm me."

"Not now, but later…"

"Not later either," Xiao Hong said with certainty.

Xi Yan was half-skeptical, squeezing her hand: "Fine—if you need me, come find me, Xiao Hong. I was wrong to you before."

Xiao Hong shook her head: "What does that have to do with you? They are the ones who did evil. Xi Yan, don't burden yourself. Live well. If you're ever needed to testify, come if you wish, or don't—if you don't, that's fine too. Just live your life."

Xiao Hong had already decided: if the imperial court won't punish them, she'd quietly kill them herself—why drag so many innocent people into this vortex just for revenge?

Xiao Hong didn't want to return with Pan Yun for the New Year: "I want to go to Yanzhou to meet the Prince of Lu and his Chief Secretary."

Pan Yun: "You're in a hurry, aren't you? Fine, then let's go together."

The group hurried off toward Yanzhou.

Wang Cong looked up at the sky and sighed: "Looks like this year, my father will have to celebrate the New Year alone."

Pan Yun: "If we move fast, we can still make it—with me, flying back takes only a few hours."

Pan Yun felt she was incredibly useful—truly a time-saving marvel.

"Time is life, information decides victory or defeat—hmm hmm hmm—on this one point, they're doomed to fail."

Pan Yun guessed correctly: when they flew to Yanzhou, checked into an inn, and slipped into the Wang Fu at night to scout, they caught Chief Secretary Sun Xin slipping a note into a bamboo tube tied to a pigeon's leg.

Pan Yun and Xiao Hong's eyes lit up; they couldn't help but glance at each other—how coincidental?

The pigeon flew off; Pan Yun shot forward in a blur to snatch it, while Xiao Hong continued drifting invisibly, watching Sun Xin.

They saw Sun Xin return to his desk, pick up a sheet of paper, and hold it close to the candle flame…

Xiao Hong's gaze flickered; she waved her hand—the candle snuffed out, the other lamps in the room swayed, cold winds stirred.

Sun Xin's hair stood on end; for an instant, he felt someone standing behind him—he spun around in terror, but saw only emptiness, the window swaying, a faint breeze blowing in.

He exhaled in relief, stepped forward to close the window, and just as he reached for the candle, he suddenly realized—where was his note?

Sun Xin froze in shock, staring at his empty fingers, cold sweat breaking out along his spine.

How?

He had clearly been holding it just now!

Sun Xin immediately lit another candle, lantern in hand, retracing his steps to the window—found nothing. He blocked the wind, stepped outside, searched the courtyard—no shred of paper remained.

Xiao Hong silently followed him out, watched him search again in desperation, then sneered inwardly: Keep looking—you'll never find it, not even if you die searching.

Xiao Hong floated away with the note.

Pan Yun also flew back.

Xiao Hong: "Why did you come back empty-handed?"

Pan Yun: "I read it, then let it deliver the message. Holding the evidence ourselves won't help much—we need Wu Zhihong."

Pan Yun tilted her chin and asked: "Want to go see the Prince of Lu?"

"Let's go!"

Among their group, only she and Xiao Hong were suited for a night infiltration—one naturally invisible, the other able to use magic to vanish.

The Prince of Lu was over fifty; as soon as darkness fell, he extinguished his lamps and went to sleep—his routine was extremely healthy.

So healthy that Pan Yun and Xiao Hong stared in disbelief, pacing before his bed, nearly itching to drag him out—why sleep now? The night was perfect! Get up, have fun, do something wrong—how else would they gather evidence?

While they hesitated, Xiao Hong suddenly caught the familiar sound of music and flutes; she tilted her head, listened, then floated out immediately.

Pan Yun, seeing this, hurried after her.

The ghost and the woman passed through layer upon layer of courtyards, arriving before a magnificent pavilion, where music and flutes rang out—clearly, a lively gathering inside.

Pan Yun and Xiao Hong exchanged glances; Xiao Hong floated straight in.

Pan Yun, however, peered nervously at the doorway.

Inside, six beauties spun around the hall in dance; above them sat a middle-aged man, lavishly embraced on both sides, thoroughly delighted.

Too many people—the beauties kept spinning, and she might get bumped.

She could only become invisible, not intangible—being hit would still hurt.

Xiao Hong had no such trouble; she floated straight in and sat directly before the middle-aged man.

She propped her chin, studied his face carefully, then quietly began searching his body—soon, she found a small seal.

The seal hung from his waist, encased in an exquisite sheath, designed as ornamentation—clearly, it was beautiful.

Xiao Hong took the seal and left.

Pan Yun, meanwhile, learned from the surrounding flatterers that the young man was Wang Shizi Zhu Taikan.

The two took the seal to Wang Shizi's small study first, stamped it onto over a dozen blank sheets with inkpad, then had Xiao Hong return the seal—while Pan Yun rummaged through the study.

When Xiao Hong returned, Pan Yun had found three hidden boxes. Opening them, two contained land deeds, property titles, and silver notes; the third held over a dozen letters.

Pan Yun opened and read them—they were correspondence between him and regional officials.

Some begged him to help secure official posts; others asked him to intercede, to connect them with certain officials.

Pan Yun opened and read every letter, frowning slightly.

Xiao Hong could only read the characters, not grasp their meaning; her eyes shone as she looked at Pan Yun: "How is it? Can these letters convict him?"

"They suggest collusion and factionalism, but proving it for a severe punishment is difficult," Pan Yun scanned the study: "We still need evidence of their alliance with pirates, smuggling, and the murder of the envoy mission—there's none here. Let's search other studies."

The King of Lu had a study as well, with two guards posted at the door.

Pan Yun felt her way to the back window and pulled, only to find it sealed shut, so she exchanged a glance with Xiao Hong.

Xiao Hong circled the study, found a crack to slip through, and only then opened the back window to let Pan Yun in.

If the door hadn't been closed—pushing it open would have given her away—she would have walked in right under the guards' noses, one way or another.

Pan Yun could see in the dark; she walked lightly around the room once and found the mechanism. With a quiet touch, the bookshelf behind the great desk shifted, revealing a hidden space.