Chapter Seventeen: Got You Now

The notice was not only posted on the city walls; Pan Jun keenly noticed a few copies placed on a table by the city gate.

She knew she could no longer enter this city. Lowering her head, she turned to leave, but suddenly a hand pressed down on her shoulder, and she was swiftly grabbed from both sides.

“Meow—” startled, Pan Xiaohei tumbled off Pan Jun’s shoulder and thudded onto the ground.

The child standing before Pan Jun, seeing this, immediately squatted down to pick him up, heart aching.

Pan Jun’s expression remained unchanged. The moment the black cat fell, she was already ready to exert force, but suddenly a finger pressed against her waist. That familiar sensation…

Pan Jun instantly broke free from the acupoint but made no move. Instead, she looked up and saw Xuan Miao standing to her right and Tao Ji to her left.

Their gazes met. Tao Ji’s smile was ambiguous. “Surprised to see your wanted poster? How do you think it ended up there?”

Xuan Miao frowned. “Enough talk, let’s go.”

Xuan Miao grabbed Pan Jun and turned to leave. Pan Jun only managed a glance at the child and black cat before Tao Ji reached out and scooped them both up.

The four of them and the cat left quietly, without drawing the attention of anyone at the city gate.

Once in a secluded spot, Pan Jun took a step, instantly putting five paces between herself and Xuan Miao.

Tao Ji, seeing this, wanted to seize her again, but Xuan Miao stopped him and said to Pan Jun, “Do you think the Embroidered Uniform Guard are just good-for-nothings? Do you know no one is watching Pan Hong and his sons in Datong?”

Pan Jun’s chest heaved silently, saying nothing.

Xuan Miao continued, “The eyes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are everywhere. If one of them chases a little girl through the streets and then disappears, you think they won’t find you in a day? Five days? Ten days?”

Pan Jun’s heart sank further.

Rarely speaking at such length, Xuan Miao said, “You underestimate adults and the Embroidered Uniform Guard too much. You should consider yourself lucky—you were sickly as a child, never leaving the house, never seen by the neighbors, so no one could connect you to the Pan family. Otherwise, your second uncle’s family would already be in the Datong Bureau’s prison.”

Pan Jun touched the talisman she wore—it was intact, unchanged since noon—so she knew Xuan Miao and Tao Ji wouldn’t harm her now.

She looked up at Xuan Miao and, for the first time, studied her carefully. “Isn’t this our first meeting? Why are you helping me like this?”

Xuan Miao’s voice was grave: “This is a promise. Since you agreed to come with us to the mountains to cultivate your mind, you must fulfill that promise. I knew you had killed, yet I did not hand you over to the authorities. When you promised to reform and cultivate, I decided then to bring you back to the sect for training. Bringing you back is keeping my promise.”

Pan Jun said, “...That promise wasn’t made to me. You just thought it in your heart; you could easily—”

“Is a promise not a promise if unspoken?” Xuan Miao’s gaze was stern. “Is deceiving yourself not a lie?”

She looked steadily at Pan Jun. “If you deceive even yourself, who else can you keep a promise to?”

Pan Jun was speechless.

Tao Ji hesitated beside them.

Pan Jun sharply looked at him. “What do you want to say?”

He was so cautious with her junior sister but so different with Pan Jun—soft on the weak and afraid of the strong! Muttering in her heart, Tao Ji scowled. “Nothing. Let’s just go. How many detours have we taken chasing after you?”

Not only did they not get closer to home, but they somehow ended up farther away, winding through unknown paths.

Pan Jun did not leave immediately but glanced back at the towering city walls.

Xuan Miao softened and walked to her side. “There will be a chance. You’re still too young. When you grow older, you can go.”

Pan Jun said, “With this wanted poster posted, how can I ever go? It might be hard to even live a normal life in the future.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t affect you at all,” Tao Ji said quietly. “Because life in the mountains, hardly anyone will see that poster. And even if they do, they won’t remember it.”

Xuan Miao added, “You’re still young. After a few years, you’ll look different. Many people look alike. Without evidence proving it’s you, the Embroidered Uniform Guard can’t touch you.”

Pan Jun scoffed, “If the Embroidered Uniform Guard were truly law-abiding, would my father have been exiled to Datong? Do you know how he got in? Do you know why the former Deputy Minister of the Court, Xue Xuan, was almost executed?”

Her expression darkened instantly. “Because the Embroidered Uniform Guard accused them of favoritism and bribery without evidence, and Wang Wen of the Censorate ‘heard rumors’ and ‘disagreed,’ so they were convicted! Who in the court, besides the fool on the throne, doesn’t know they were framed? Who has proof they’re guilty?”

Even officials like Xue Xuan and her father were convicted without evidence. Dealing with her would be even easier.

Xuan Miao’s face remained calm as she emphasized again, “They won’t touch you. That is also a promise.”

Though Tao Ji frowned, he did not oppose. “You underestimate us Taoists too much. Though we rarely involve ourselves in state affairs, not everyone dares to offend us. How about this—you become a disciple of my junior sister, and from then on, the Three Purities Temple is connected to you. Your second senior uncle is now at the Imperial College in Beijing and sometimes sees the emperor. Even Wang Zhen wouldn’t dare offend him.”

In the palace, three kinds of people are untouchable: the imperial consorts, the eunuchs, and the fortune-telling officials of the Imperial College.

Even the highest eunuchs treated them with respect. If one day they said, “Your Majesty, there’s a villain nearby born in the Year of the Snake,” all the palace’s snake-born would be purged.

Even if the emperor was rational and ministers opposed it, those people would be isolated.

People tend to believe in such things just in case.

So, to Xuan Miao and Tao Ji, Pan Jun’s predicament was a minor issue.

Pan Jun opened her mouth, surprised she hadn’t expected this outcome.

Tao Ji beamed, “Well? Will you become my junior sister’s disciple?”

“No!”

“I won’t take you!”

Both spoke at once, meaning the same thing, and couldn’t help but glance at each other.

Tao Ji looked disappointed, hesitated, then shyly said, “Then, I’ll reluctantly accept you?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Tao Ji thought it a good idea, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Pan Jun. “You’re clever and have great talent for cultivation. It would be a pity not to learn the Dao.”

He wanted to ask where she learned her occult arts, or rather, her magic, what stage she had reached—it was impressive.

But Taoism was very protective of its cultivation methods. Unless voluntarily mentioned, outsiders were not to pry.

Tao Ji was a stickler for rules. Though curious, he restrained himself from probing further.

Xuan Miao stood before Pan Jun, urging her to decide. “Will you come with us willingly?”

Pan Jun said, “If I refuse, you won’t force me?”

Xuan Miao shook her head. “If you refuse, you’ll only be bound by the promise passively. Without trust, one cannot stand. Since you promised, you must fulfill it.”

She paused, then said, “Pan Jun, the Pan family’s hope lies with you.”

Pan Jun looked up at her in surprise. Xuan Miao’s gaze was deep as she met her eyes. “If you’re well, the Pan family prospers. If you fall, the family’s fortunes will plummet. If you die, everyone in the Pan family, including your uncle’s family, will face ruin.”

Tao Ji quickly interrupted, “Junior sister!”

But Xuan Miao did not stop. She continued staring at Pan Jun’s face, “If you die, your father will follow, then your two elder brothers. Your family’s exile sentence will never be overturned or pardoned. Someone will have to take up your father’s military duties—first your uncle, then your cousins, and eventually it will affect the extended Pan clan.”

Exile and forced military service were considered punishments as severe as execution.

Among the gentry, many would rather be beheaded than exiled or conscripted.

The former was a swift death; the latter was endless torment, dragging the whole family to ruin.

The former kills the body; the latter kills the heart. It’s impossible to say which is worse.

Xuan Miao spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, her face pale. Tao Ji immediately dropped the child he was holding and supported her, disapprovingly saying, “You’re impossible. Senior brother’s right—you should learn those monks’ silent meditation. You can’t stand talking. You should just keep quiet!”

Xuan Miao sat cross-legged, eyes closed, regulating her breath.

Tao Ji glanced warily at Pan Jun. “You’re not thinking of escaping now, are you?”

Pan Jun thought: …She’s not stupid. Xuan Miao spoke so seriously, and it seems genuine. Why would she run?

Pan Jun felt a pang of sadness. She was so close to Datong. At her current pace, in four days she could see her father, elder brother, and second brother.

Damn the Embroidered Uniform Guard, damn Wang Zhen and Wang Wen. She hoped never to meet them again, or she would toss them a misfortune charm—no matter what.

Though murmuring internally, her face showed no emotion. Calmly, she sat cross-legged opposite Xuan Miao. She noticed their breath regulation was internal, not drawing in the surrounding qi to nourish their bodies.

Sighing, since Xuan Miao was injured because of her, she decided to help.

With that thought, Pan Jun summoned the faint spiritual energy in the world. Her breathing, her body’s breathing gradually synchronized with it. Her cultivation method activated, drawing the spiritual energy to swirl around her.

Pan Jun absorbed only a little, allowing the rest to drift between herself and Xuan Miao.

Even if Xuan Miao didn’t actively absorb it, the enriched spiritual energy would be taken in through her breath and skin, bringing a sense of comfort and clarity.

Xuan Miao was no fool. She soon sensed something odd, opened her eyes to glance at Pan Jun, then closed them again to continue regulating her breath. The surrounding spiritual energy was then absorbed by her.

Tao Ji stood aside and watched them for a while. Seeing he wasn’t needed, he turned his attention to the child who had been quietly shrinking into a corner.

The child hugged the black cat, hiding to the side. Seeing Tao Ji look over, he instinctively edged toward Pan Jun but didn’t seem very afraid of Tao Ji, stopping after two steps to stare at him with wide, round eyes.

Only then did Tao Ji have time to be curious: Pan Jun, focused on fleeing, even managed to rescue a little beggar?

It seemed he and his junior sister really hadn’t misjudged her. Though Pan Jun’s actions were sometimes righteous, sometimes dubious, her heart was good.

Looking at the child’s face, Tao Ji frowned—signs of a short life, but also a hint of nobility. Why was such a child begging on the streets?