Chapter 5: The Ambush

Pan Jun held the scissors in a reverse grip, moving slowly and appearing a few steps diagonally in front of Wang Yong. He could not see her; in his eyes, her current position was occupied by a plum tree. Indeed, it was a plum tree, and she stood right beside it.

Wang Yong frowned, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade as he scanned left and right. Seeing no suspicious figures in the woods, he wondered if he had come to the wrong place.

A vague sense of unease crept into his heart. His breath quickened, and just as he turned to leave, a sound cut through the air.

Wang Yong drew his sword with a fierce, swift motion, slashing toward the source of the noise. His blade sliced through a branch and buried itself deep into the tree trunk. At the same moment, a sharp pain struck the back of his right knee, and his leg gave way, causing him to collapse onto one knee with a thud.

Reacting quickly, he realized he had been ambushed. He gripped the hilt with both hands, intending to pull the blade free, but at that very instant, a sharp pain pierced his neck. With a sickening squelch, a spray of blood erupted. A figure suddenly manifested before him, the hot, crimson liquid splashing onto her and then raining back down, drenching him.

Wang Yong’s eyes widened. His hands reflexively released the sword hilt to clutch at the object lodged in his neck. He stared at the young girl standing before him in disbelief, unable to comprehend how she had suddenly appeared; he clearly hadn't seen her there.

Pan Jun gripped the scissors tightly, pushing them deeper with force, staring fiercely into his eyes. "I know you. You are Wang Yong, Wang Shan’s younger brother and Wang Zhen’s nephew. It was you all who framed my father. Those you wronged to their deaths are waiting for you right now!"

Wang Yong opened his mouth, wanting to say it wasn't him—that they only shared the same surname and were merely distant clansmen—but he could not speak. As he opened his mouth, thick gouts of blood spilled out. The strength in his body began to fade. He looked at Pan Jun with panic and despair, realizing for the first time that he, too, could die.

The light in Wang Yong’s eyes slowly dimmed, his body grew limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

Pan Jun kept her grip on the scissors, her body sinking to a half-kneel along with him. Once she confirmed he was dead, she yanked the scissors out. Blood sprayed everywhere—onto her clothes, her face, and even her hair.

With a cold, composed expression, she wiped the scissors clean on his clothes. Finding they wouldn't come clean, she simply gave up and looked down at the body on the ground.

The Spirit Realm, which had existed for thousands of years and seen much, was startled by her decisiveness and cold-bloodedness. It whispered, "I was right about you. You are so ruthless; you will surely achieve great things in the future."

"If you want to praise me, do it properly," Pan Jun said. "I have not only caught ghosts, but I have now killed a man. Do you want to bet that next time I might try killing a spirit?"

The Spirit Realm immediately fell silent.

Once she spoke, Pan Jun calmed down, her reason returning. She began to consider the aftermath.

She scanned her surroundings and began to strip Wang Yong. She used the scissors to cut open his outer garments, wrapped her hands to avoid the mess, and quickly peeled away his clothes until only his inner garments remained. She bundled all the clothing up and retreated a dozen steps to survey the area. "Can you pack the body away?"

The Spirit Realm retorted, "Don't even think about it. Carry it yourself, drag it yourself. There is no way I am putting him into my Spirit Realm space." It possessed three jade fragments, one of which was a storage space for physical objects. Most of it was sealed, and only a tiny, pristine portion was currently unlocked.

Pan Jun didn't want to either, considering her own belongings were kept there, so she had only asked. Seeing the Spirit Realm’s refusal, she let it go and began looking for tools. But as a sheltered noble daughter who only had scissors for a weapon, what tools could she possibly have to deal with a body? Everything she had stored in her space today consisted of her own clothes, shoes, wooden basins, curtains, and other daily necessities—let alone a shovel, she couldn't even find anything sharp.

She felt her empty dantian and said to the Spirit Realm, "Give me some more spiritual energy. I need to bury the body."

The Spirit Realm grumbled but complied. This man was a Jinyiwei; if they didn't handle this properly and the authorities found out, they would all be finished. It didn't believe Pan Jun could take on a group of Jinyiwei right now, given that she needed a formation just to deal with one.

Feeling the power return to her hands, Pan Jun said, "Give me a technique for digging a hole."

The Spirit Realm asked, "Wait, you don't know it?"

Pan Jun replied, "In my past life, we had robots for digging, or at the very least, excavators. Why would a researcher like me need to know a spell for digging?"

The Spirit Realm said, "From now on, give me half of the spiritual energy you cultivate every day."

Pan Jun countered, "You're bargaining with me at a time like this?"

The Spirit Realm replied, "Knowledge has value. You know how much knowledge you recorded within me. Will you not need it in the future? It’s only half your spiritual energy; think of it as tuition. Once my seals are lifted, you will be able to access ancient cultivation techniques, and you can draw upon the knowledge you need at any time."

Pan Jun lowered her eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "Oh."

The Spirit Realm breathed a sigh of relief. It knew that once its secret was out, it could no longer receive spiritual energy from her for free, and the most valuable thing it possessed was the wealth of cultivation techniques and various knowledge recorded within it.

Once the Spirit Realm agreed, a sequence of incantations, hand seals, and a flow diagram for spiritual energy appeared in Pan Jun's mind. Pan Jun found them very familiar; they followed the standard format of the national school textbooks. To facilitate self-study, the textbooks were always very detailed, covering everything from the incantations and hand gestures to the energy flow diagrams, and even suggesting the best posture to use for each spell during combat.

Pan Jun, a top student, memorized it at a glance. She lowered her eyes, formed the hand seals, and chanted silently. An invisible energy caused the ground before her to ripple. The soil softened and parted to both sides, quickly forming a large pit.

Pan Jun exhaled, pushed Wang Yong’s body into the hole, and then performed the hand seals in reverse. The soft soil immediately collapsed and moved back, filling the pit in no time.

Seeing this, the Spirit Realm couldn't help but ask, "You know the spell for filling a hole?"

"I didn't," Pan Jun said coldly. "I just deduced it from the digging spell. Is this supposed to be difficult?"

The Spirit Realm was speechless.

Pan Jun curled her lips slightly. She chose a relatively clean garment from Wang Yong’s pile of clothes, bundled the rest of the dirty ones inside, and said, "Store this away. There are too many traces on these clothes; I can't let them know the perpetrator was a small, short person."

It would be too easy to guess her age. Although the chance was slim, she would not allow anyone to link this event to the Pan family or herself—not even the slightest possibility.

This time, the Spirit Realm stored the bundle without complaint.

Pan Jun did not leave immediately. She had just killed someone, and being young and physically weak, with her spiritual energy mostly depleted, she seemed unable to hold on. She sat cross-legged against the plum tree and began to cultivate.

The Spirit Realm did not rush her. This place was remote, and few people came here. With the government officials and guards that Wang Yong had summoned scouring the area, staying in the plum grove was safer than leaving.

Pan Jun completed two small cycles. Although the process was slow, the spiritual energy generated flowed steadily into her dantian. As the energy circulated through her limbs and bones, the soreness and weakness began to dissipate, and her strength returned.

Pan Jun felt a little more at ease, but she did not stop. She lowered her eyes to hide the chill within them and channeled all the spiritual energy from her lower dantian, continuing to circulate it through her meridians until it reached her Niwan Palace.

Her consciousness descended into the Niwan Palace along with the spiritual energy. Just as the Spirit Realm sensed her consciousness and raised its guard, it saw her spiritual energy manifest into a talisman and strike down...

The Spirit Realm shrieked, "You crazy fool! Are you trying to kill yourself? You’re sealing me inside your own Niwan Palace! Aaaah—"