Chapter 869: Help

What about the one supported by the palace?

He won't come out; the founding ancestor made an alliance with the Zhang family.

Chen Huai, seeing they still clung to seeking mystics, bluntly said: "We can bring Pan Yun; they can bring a grand lama with eight little lamas; we bring the Zhang family's Laozu—how do we know what kind of person they'll dig up? Individually, these people can't stand against a thousand troops, but each can kill a hundred, a thousand—aren't those hundred, those thousand lives also lives?"

Chen Huai said: "When cultivators fight, they drag soldiers into the chaos; no one can stop it then. And dragging that group into secular warfare is no good at all. None of us can control them."

They could accept Pan Yun because she had loyalty to the emperor and love for her country, and because her father and brothers were still alive, and she deeply cared for them.

Otherwise, even if they were desperate, they would never have thought to pull her into this.

Everyone realized this was true, and reluctantly gave up the idea.

Pan Yun was wounded far worse than they'd expected; she didn't wake until noon the next day, and upon waking, she vomited blood in great gouts, making Kuang Ye and the others' hearts turn cold.

Pan Yun vomited blood as if spitting water; after finishing, her face turned pale: "I need to enter seclusion to heal."

Kuang Ye and the others dared not ask a single question, nodding frantically in agreement.

As soon as the door closed, Seeing Miao Zhen turned to look at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun expelled all the stagnant blood from her body, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed her eyes, and cultivated; after a long while, she opened her eyes.

Seeing Miao Zhen poured out a pill for her.

Pan Yun glanced at it and shook her head: "This is your life-saving pill—keep it for yourself."

"But you—"

Pan Yun smiled: "My injuries aren't as bad as you think."

Seeing Miao Zhen stared at her silently.

Pan Yun avoided her gaze, swept her eyes around the room, and asked: "Where's Pan Xiaohei?"

Seeing Miao Zhen went to the windowsill and picked up the listless Pan Xiaohei, bringing it to her.

Pan Yun reached out, hugged it, stroked it, and sighed: "You've worked hard."

Pan Xiaohei didn't even have the energy to roll its eyes; it lay limp on her lap, eyes half-closed.

Seeing Miao Zhen quietly placed the pill box beside Pan Yun: "Third and Fourth Masters sent word."

Pan Yun had just closed her eyes; upon hearing this, she instantly opened them: "Where's the letter?"

Seeing Miao Zhen handed her the letter.

Pan Yun unsealed it and scanned it rapidly: "Who's seen this letter?"

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Only me."

Upon opening it, she immediately sensed something was wrong, and at once tucked it away, showing it to no one.

Pan Yun crumpled the letter into a ball; a white flame rose silently, and in moments, the letter turned to ash.

Seeing Miao Zhen blinked in surprise; she had also felt Pan Yun's pulse—Pan Yun's injuries were indeed severe, with not a trace of Qi left in her Upper Dantian or meridians—how could this be…

Pan Yun brushed off the ash, looked up at Seeing Miao Zhen, and smiled: "Miao Zhen…"

Seeing Miao Zhen shuddered: "Just give orders—don't call me that."

Pan Yun dropped her smile and told Seeing Miao Zhen to stay in the room: "For the next three days, let no one enter. Let no one know I'm gone."

Seeing Miao Zhen agreed.

Pan Yun said gravely: "This won't be easy."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Even if the sky falls, I won't let anyone in."

Pan Yun was satisfied, closed her eyes to cultivate, and at dusk slipped away quietly, without disturbing anyone.

Outside Datong City, darkness stretched thickly; the night wind blew fiercely, chilling anyone it touched. Pan Yun leapt out of the Three Treasures Cauldron, casually slung the shrunken cauldron around her waist, and looked around curiously.

One figure rose from the grass, watching her silently.

Their gazes met; both fell silent for an instant.

Pan Yun: "Fourth Sister, why are you injured? Where's Third Brother?"

Master Xuanmiao turned and descended the slope.

Pan Yun immediately followed, walked to the leeward side, and found a dug-out entrance; inside sat a man cross-legged.

Pan Yun: "... Why is Third Brother more wounded than you?"

Master Xuanmiao casually picked up a bundle beside Tao Ji and tossed it to her: "What you asked for."

Pan Yun stared at her hopefully.

Master Xuanmiao walked into the open space; a piercing shriek rang out, and soon, the sound of flapping wings came from the sky.

Pan Yun looked up and saw a dark shadow diving from the dim sky; as it neared, the faint moonlight struck its body, revealing a massive silhouette.

It flew low, its wingbeats whipping wind against their faces, painfully sharp; Pan Yun's hair was all flung backward, a tearing pain threatening to rip it from her scalp.

She squinted and saw it land, folding its wings; two black-bean eyes rolled around, watching her, then tilted its head.

Pan Yun blinked: "This bird—I think I've seen it before."

Master Xuanmiao glanced at her: "You mean Ming San's black bird? They're brothers. This one belonged to Ming Yi."

Pan Yun: "... Brothers use brother birds? I never thought of that. Sister, wasn't Ming Yi already killed by you? Was this bird still alive then?"

Master Xuanmiao: "It ran fast. And it's just a beast—I had no reason to hold a grudge against it."

Pan Yun studied her wounds: "These injuries are…"

"From breaking into Mingying Sect," Master Xuanmiao glanced at her: "You wanted to make it seamless, didn't you? Rely heavily on the lamas, know well the ways of cultivators. Mingying Sect is on the steppe, closely tied to the Wala tribes—not just with Yexian, but also with several of his top generals, including the Aral Zhiyuan you mentioned in your letter."

Master Xuanmiao gestured to the bundle on the ground: "Inside are the clothes and ornaments of Aral Zhiyuan's tribe. Tao Ji went to great lengths to obtain them."

Pan Yun frowned in distress: "Won't this framing be too obvious?"

Master Xuanmiao's face remained expressionless: "As long as it works. Didn't you say Yexian and Aral Zhiyuan have conflicting interests and pretend to be allies? Maybe Yexian just needs an excuse."

Pan Yun: "But will the imperial court believe it?"

"Who cares if they believe it? As long as they don't know it's you, and can't catch you in the act."

Pan Yun thought it over and decided it didn't matter what they thought or guessed, as long as they couldn't figure out it was her.

Pan Yun shoved the bundle into her space, then turned to look at the big black bird—her expression changed, a warm smile spreading across her face.

The big black bird shuddered under her gaze and couldn't help letting out a "chirp."

Pan Yun had a natural gift for communicating with animals; she smiled and said softly, "Don't be afraid. I'm a good person."

The black bird looked at her with disdain and chirped twice: 【Don't think I don't understand. Just now you said my brother was killed by you.】

Pan Yun: "Do birds even care about blood ties?"

The big black bird fell silent. She hadn't had much feeling for her brother, but even so, it was more than she felt for any other bird.

Still, she bore no grudge against Pan Yun. Big fish eat little fish; little fish eat shrimp.

They eat people; people eat them—it's normal. Lose, and you lose. She wouldn't be like humans, pretending to be virtuous and dragging out revenge.

Third brother lost to Pan Yun because he was weaker. He died, and that's that. She had to survive first.