Chapter 872

When the three armies learned the Emperor had been humiliated and slain, they were filled with utter fury, roaring to burst through the city gates; fortunately, Cao Nai snapped back to his senses, delivering a slap to each of Generals Chen Huai and others, waking them up, and after exchanging glances, their eyes blazed with heavenly fire—they instantly understood this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.

Recover the Emperor's corpse!

Retake the lands seized by the Oirats!

Wash away the shame of constant defeat!

The city gates swung wide open; Chen Huai, Jing Yuan, Zhu Mian, and others each led a division charging out—even Cao Nai and other civil officials mounted horses, wielding great swords as they surged forward.

Kuang Ye remained atop the city wall, his gaze like black ink fixed on the sky.

The birds and the man in the air had turned mid-flight immediately after landing their strike and vanished outright; not even a shadow remained.

Who was he?

Why kill the Emperor?

Kuang Ye immediately turned and summoned a trusted subordinate, ordering: "Find Xue Shao and Seeing Miao Zhen—ask Daoist Pan to break his seclusion. Say Datong is in peril, Great Ming is in peril!"

The subordinate bowed and ran off at once.

Meanwhile, Esen had also confirmed the Emperor's death; his face darkened as he looked up at the slowly opening city gates.

This gate, during this entire time, no matter how he threatened, bribed, or assaulted, had refused to yield.

Now it was slowly opening—and barely had it cracked open when a single horse surged forth first; Esen, across the ranks of soldiers, locked eyes with him—it was Commandant Jing Yuan.

He knew him; before Jing Yuan became a prince consort, they had clashed on the battlefield.

Now, the man's eyes were bloodshot, blazing with rage, and every soldier behind him was in a state of furious wrath.

Esen knew—he could not win this battle!

Anger was morale!

Esen ordered: "Deploy the central army's 2nd, 3rd, and 5th battalions to intercept; left and right wings hold the rear; the rest of the central and rear armies shift to the front—retreat!"

His gaze dropped, resting on the Emperor's lifeless body on the ground; he said grimly: "Take the Emperor to the military medic!"

The bodyguard stared in shock: "Great Khan, he's dead…"

Crack! Esen slapped him across the face, roaring: "Who said he's dead? That arrow missed! The Emperor is not dead—he's merely suffered a heavy blow!"

As long as he claimed the Emperor was alive, the Han people could not recover the corpse, could not confirm the death, and he could continue using him to threaten Great Ming.

Esen's eyes flickered as he stared at the Emperor's face; he could certainly find a lookalike impostor—if he declared him the Emperor, who would dare deny it? Who could deny it?

Esen's plan was flawless—but events did not unfold as he anticipated.

The fury of Great Ming's soldiers far exceeded his expectations; moreover, though the commanding generals were enraged, they had not lost their reason.

Each general deployed their lifetime's martial knowledge—interweaving, encircling, splitting forces to surround…

They did not charge blindly toward where the Emperor had fallen; instead, they pursued and intercepted the entire retreating Oirat army.

Esen intended to retreat—but this withdrawal lowered morale; no matter how skilled he was at commanding troops, Jing Yuan's charge threw his formation into chaos.

Amidst the confusion, Esen remained clear-headed: he ordered men to carry the Emperor backward while leaping onto his own horse to meet the assault, shouting: "Summon the lamas to reinforce—hurry!"

…

Pan Yun leapt from the sky, landing on the grass; she tore off her mask and could not help bending over to vomit a mouthful of blood.

The great black bird landed, saw this, immediately rushed forward to peck at the blood-stained grass.

Pan Yun and Pan Xiaohei stared at it with disgust, stepping back three steps in unison.

The great black bird paid no mind; when it ate humans, it never rejected human blood—as long as it enhanced its cultivation, it ate anything.

Pan Yun sat cross-legged on the ground, closed her eyes, and calmed her roiling qi and blood; within fifteen minutes she opened her eyes and ordered the great black bird to leave.

The great black bird stared at her with round, unblinking eyes, unmoving.

Pan Yun pulled out a vial of pills and offered it to the bird.

The great black bird glanced at the vial, then chirped twice.

Pan Yun: "The remaining two pills were promised to you once my third master returns to Mount Sanqing—we only have one left in stock."

The great black bird, having gained a sliver of sentience, finally realized this and chirped angrily several times.

Pan Yun, head throbbing from the noise, said: "If you don't trust us, go directly to Mount Sanqing and ask my eldest master—he's the abbot, very proud; he would never renege."

The great black bird tilted its head.

Pan Yun: "Besides, you've already defected from Mingying Sect—you need a new place to cultivate anyway. Wherever you go is the same—why not come to Mount Sanqing?"

Pan Yun grew more convinced this idea was excellent, pressing: "Do you know who the mountain deity of Mount Sanqing is? The Crane God—same as you, a bird."

The great black bird chirped several times; Pan Xiaohei couldn't help snorting, speaking in human tongue: "It even knows it's not the same species as the crane."

The great black bird glared furiously at Pan Xiaohei.

Pan Yun kept her expression unchanged, pretending not to see their squabble: "See? This cat learned to speak human speech within days of arriving at Mount Sanqing—how well it's been cultivated. Mount Sanqing is extremely friendly to animals, especially birds."

The great black bird was swayed by Pan Yun's words and immediately decided to go to Mount Sanqing to seek out Wang Feiyin for pills, and to cultivate on the mountain.

The great black bird spread its wings and flew away.

Pan Xiaohei waited until the bird vanished from sight, then asked Pan Yun: "Why did you push it to go to Mount Sanqing?"

Pan Yun, expressionless, replied: "After today, this bird will be hunted across the land. This bird has no morals—if caught, it will sell us without hesitation. Keeping it under our eyes is safest."

Mount Sanqing is vast—hiding one bird is more than enough. Later, give it a few pills, have it enter seclusion; by the time it emerges, years may have passed.

Better to keep it under our watch.

Pan Yun changed her clothes and ornaments, shoved them into her space, then pulled out the Three Treasures Cauldron and slipped back into Datong.

As soon as Pan Yun entered the courtyard, she heard commotion; the bodyguard shouted loudly: "The General says no matter what, we must persuade Daoist Pan to break his seclusion and recover the Emperor! Those lamas are terrifying—Generals Guo and Guo's supervisor died fighting to retrieve the Emperor's corpse; many soldiers rushed forward but couldn't even get close—please, Daoist Pan, come out!"

Xue Shao said: "We'll go with you—but Daoist Pan is severely injured and is currently in seclusion to recover; he cannot move."

Miao He also rolled up his sleeves: "Come on, we'll go with you!"

The bodyguard hesitated: "Are you even capable? Those lamas shake their bells—and soldiers nearby grow dizzy, their vision blurs, they can't even control their horses."

Miao He placed his hands on his hips: "Though we're no match for Little Master Shu, we still have abilities—better than you. How can you know we won't succeed unless you try?"

Seeing Miao Zhen pressed herself against the door, listening intently to the sounds outside, when suddenly the window shifted—she whirled around and saw Pan Yun slip in with a light flip, gently closing the window.

Seeing Miao Zhen's eyes lit up brightly, and she hurried forward.

Pan Yun waved at her, and the two steadied their breathing before opening the door and stepping out.

Xue Shao saw Pan Yun emerge, his gaze shooting toward her like lightning, sweeping over her sleeves, hem, and shoes, saying nothing.

Pan Yun pretended not to notice, her face pale as she stepped forward and asked the soldier: "What's happened?"