Chapter 835

Zhang Ziwang went to find the county magistrate.

Pan Yun and Li Wenying squatted on the street, holding bowls of wonton.

Li Wenying poured the last drop of broth into his mouth, wiped his lips, glanced left and right, and sighed: "This town is so desolate—before noon, the market's already gone, and there's only one bun shop and a wonton stall with no storefront."

Pan Yun also finished the last drop of broth, casually pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and glanced around before saying: "Is it really because there's no big market?"

"But the Huang family mansion is so wealthy—surely the villagers from this town and nearby villages should be rich too; even without a big market, there should be some people around."

Pan Yun glanced at him.

Li Wenying shifted closer to her, shoulder brushing shoulder, whispering: "You also think that Huang guy is a rich bastard who exploits others?"

Pan Yun: "It's not that I think it—it's that you think it."

Li Wenying acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing: "In the Jianghu, robbing the rich to help the poor is professional ethics."

Pan Yun: "Go ahead—I support you in my heart."

Li Wenying, seeing she wasn't tempted, changed tactics: "But we're Daoist Priests—we shouldn't be so crude. We can outwit him."

"You can't even get through the gate—how are you going to trick and swindle him?"

Li Wenying: "He seems terrified of Long Hushan Daoist Priests—we can pretend to be enemies of Long Hushan, take on a new identity, and go in."

Pan Yun: …It matched her own earlier behavior—if they went, that Huang guy would probably slip up.

Pan Yun: "Brother Li, I never knew you were so unbound by convention."

"Heh, when you're roaming the Jianghu, you've got to be spontaneous."

"What will Zhang Ziwang think?"

Li Wenying fell silent.

Pan Yun relaxed—now she was glad Zhang Ziwang had come along.

Li Wenying shifted two steps away, no longer shoulder-to-shoulder with her, placed his bowl in front of him, and sighed as he stared at the dusty little town.

As he stared, he grew puzzled: "Where's your cat?"

Pan Yun, expressionless, stacked her bowl on top of his and said casually: "Gone to catch field mice."

Li Wenying froze: "It eats field mice?"

"You don't feed it—it can only absorb and exhale Qi, hasn't become immortal yet—if it doesn't eat, it'll starve to death."

Li Wenying stared at her with an accusatory look: "It's just a cat—if you can't afford to keep it, give it to me—I'll raise it. You're letting it go out alone to catch field mice?"

Pan Xiaohei had reached the edge of the formation Pan Yun had set, and linked with her through his physical form: 【I found the core—should I tear it off now?】

Pan Yun glanced at Li Wenying beside her, estimated how long until Zhang Ziwang returned, silently murmured "hmm," and Pan Xiaohei swiped his paw—peeling off the yellow talisman glued to the core…

Pan Yun suddenly clutched her stomach, hissed twice, and grabbed Li Wenying's arm: "Bad—my stomach's upset!"

Li Wenying cried "Ah!" and immediately steadied her: "Come on, come on—I'll find you a latrine!"

"No—not a latrine will fix this—it hurts too much, my intestines feel twisted—aaah, aaah, aaah…"

Seeing her face pale and sweat beading on her forehead, Li Wenying grabbed her wrist to feel her pulse, frowning: "Is this just food poisoning? I feel like it's Qi deviation."

"What Qi deviation? I didn't cultivate just now, didn't shout or scream—how could I have Qi deviation? It's definitely food poisoning—Brother, give me two acupuncture needles." "Are needles something you just stab at will?"

Li Wenying gripped her calf, felt through her pants for Zusanli, pressed his thumb, saw her face turn pale and hear her cry out in pain, then channeled Qi to massage: "So it really is food poisoning?"

Li Wenying decided he'd confront the stall owner later.

The wonton stall owner was also terrified, quickly gathered the bowls, shoved his cart back, and urged Li Wenying to help Pan Yun sit inside: "This side's shady—could the young lady have heatstroke?"

He hurried to say: "My wonton's clean—the meat I picked myself, slaughtered fresh by the butcher in the morning, vegetables grown at home—no problem."

Pan Yun waved her hand: "No, it's not your fault—I got hungry this morning and secretly ate two stale osmanthus cakes."

Li Wenying stared at her, speechless.

The stall owner exhaled deeply, wiped sweat from his face with a towel, and laughed: "I told you—my wonton's clean."

He immediately poured a bowl of rice soup: "Drink this—it replenishes Qi, flushes things out, and you'll be fine after a trip to the latrine."

Pan Yun murmured "hmm," sensed Li Wenying's hand about to withdraw from her leg, and cried out again: "Brother, give me two acupuncture needles."

Li Wenying grumbled but took the needle pouch she handed him, had her lean against the doorframe, and pulled out four needles—inserting them precisely at Zusanli on both legs, Zhongwan, and Tianshu.

His medical skill didn't match Tao Ji's, nor even Seeing Miao Zhen's or Tao Yanbai's—but acupuncture was no problem.

For Daoist Priests, locating acupoints was as natural as eating and drinking.

So he always inserted needles through clothing—his placement was exact, the depth flawless.

The two needles at Zhongwan and Tianshu trembled slightly—clearly working—Pan Yun's pallor faded.

By the time Zhang Ziwang arrived with the county commandant and a group of government office Runners, the needles had been removed and Pan Yun had gone to the latrine.

Pan Yun emerged from the latrine a second time—her lips flushed pink again, the rice soup having refreshed her: "I'm fine!"

Zhang Ziwang frowned at the two: "What happened?"

Pan Yun smiled sheepishly: "I got greedy and ate spoiled food—got food poisoning. Lucky Brother Li was here—I'm fine now."

Zhang Ziwang didn't press further; the three followed the commandant into the Huang mansion.

The Huang patriarch had grand ambitions, but his great project remained unfinished—he still had to shrink before the commandant.

So when he saw Zhang Ziwang and the others return, though furious and humiliated, he still had to let them in.

Yet beneath his anger, a flicker of fear remained—what if their family's secret of becoming a dragon was about to be exposed?

As soon as Zhang Ziwang and Li Wenying entered the courtyard, they pulled out compasses and wandered around; Pan Yun also took out her own compass, feigning ignorance, following the needle to locate formations and dragon veins.

She checked several formation nodes, nodded slightly—Pan Xiaohei had cleaned thoroughly, left no paw prints.

By "cleaned thoroughly," she meant no yellow talismans remained—but traces of the former formation couldn't be erased.

Zhang Ziwang and the others quickly found the formation nodes and core—but what startled them was the spinning compass: "This… the formation's been dissolved?"

Zhang Ziwang snapped his head up to stare at Li Wenying.

Li Wenying leapt straight up, shouting: "Not me!"

Zhang Ziwang's face was ashen, his expression full of suspicion: "It wasn't you?"