Chapter 6: Caught in the Act

Pan Yun’s face was deathly pale, yet her movements were resolute. She transformed all her remaining spiritual power into sealing talismans, hurling them one after another at the entity.

The spiritual realm flailed left and right, the white jade lotus petals fluttering, seemingly on the verge of bursting through the encirclement, but Pan Yun refused to yield...

Though she was clearly inside her own Mud Pellet Palace, one careless slip could leave her a fool or cost her life. Yet she stood unafraid, as if bare-footed before those wearing shoes.

The spirit had slumbered for many years and had only just awakened; it was unwilling to fall back into unconsciousness and dared not die. A magical artifact becoming sentient was a one-in-a-thousand chance; it had already spent its lifetime’s fortune to attain this state and could not risk anything further.

It had no choice but to abandon a direct confrontation with Pan Yun, forsaking its true form and expending all its energy to break free from the sealing talisman’s encirclement, bursting out from within Pan Yun’s body in an instant.

A beam of spiritual light shot out from Pan Yun’s forehead, zipping into a nearby plum tree. Pan Yun snapped her eyes open and, with a swift movement of her right palm, a talisman forged from spiritual energy appeared in her hand, which she immediately struck toward the plum tree...

The spirit howled in distress as the talisman landed, fleeing from the plum tree without a glance back, and quickly leapt into a cat not far away.

Once inside, it tried to escape but found it was a dead cat with broken legs. As soon as it tried to stand, it collapsed again.

Seeing the approaching figure, the spirit cried out loudly, “You are dishonorable! We agreed to cooperate, yet you betray me!”

Pan Yun, having exhausted her spiritual power, walked forward while refining the essence energy within her body, waiting for the spiritual power to regenerate before drawing more talismans. Yet she showed no sign of strain, standing firmly before the spirit and speaking casually, “When did I ever agree to cooperate with you?”

The spirit meowed insistently, but Pan Yun understood perfectly. “You just said yes to me earlier!”

Pan Yun replied, “When I said yes, it only meant I acknowledged you, not that I agreed to cooperate.”

The cat stiffened, recalling that indeed, she had only uttered an “oh” without any clear agreement.

The spirit, or rather the cat, was infuriated.

After refining the essence energy into spiritual energy and storing it in her dantian, Pan Yun immediately mobilized it. A talisman appeared in her hand, and she raised her palm to strike down. The cat screamed, “If you seal me, you won’t get my help—”

“In your past life, you never awakened in the research institute. We could still use you then, just with many abilities sealed. But information already decrypted can be accessed. Your awakening is too troublesome; better to keep sleeping.”

The spirit let out a sharp, wailing scream and tried to persuade her further, but the talisman was already pressing close. It suddenly lost its voice when a loud shout rang out, “Stop!”

A force struck Pan Yun, sending her flying backward, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

The cat was scooped up by a hand and instantly froze.

---

Pan Yun felt as though her internal organs had shifted, but she dared not cry out. She quickly got to her feet, her eyes bloodshot as she stared at the suddenly appeared figure.

A young man in a bluish-gray Daoist robe held the black cat in his arms, frowning at her. Seeing her small and frail frame, appearing only six or seven years old, he stiffened. “So young?”

Then anger flared. “So young and yet so cruel—a born villain! Let me teach you a lesson.”

He raised his hand to strike, but a voice stopped him, “Wait!”

Pan Yun silently stepped back two paces, noticing a second figure arriving, her hair standing on end as she sensed danger.

The second person was a young woman also clad in a bluish-gray Daoist robe, exuding coldness. Her gaze swept over Pan Yun before fixing firmly on the empty space behind her. “You killed someone.”

The certainty in her words made Pan Yun’s heart pound fiercely.

The young man scrutinized Pan Yun, frowning. “Sister, you must be mistaken. This child looks no more than six or seven. She can barely kill a cat, let alone a person.”

The young woman replied coldly, “Eight years old. There’s a large bloodstain on her. Are you blind?”

The young man’s expression darkened. “That’s not the blood of a tortured cat…”

He hesitated; one cat wouldn’t bleed so much.

He regarded Pan Yun again, his face growing grimmer. “Such a cruel child... Could she be a fake? A dwarf? Or someone using a technique to appear smaller?”

The young man grew cautious, stepping forward slowly with the cat. He sniffed carefully; the scent of blood grew stronger, his face growing graver still.

Such a strong stench of blood—this was torture and murder?

Pan Yun retreated step by step with his approach, desperately refining the essence energy inside her. But she had eaten little today; hunger gnawed at her belly, pushing her to the brink.

Though there was some spiritual energy drifting in the air, it was scant. She had to struggle to absorb even a little.

She edged closer and closer to the plum tree, just a bit more, just a bit more, and she could...

Just as she was about to hide beneath the plum tree, a figure darted forward like lightning. Pan Yun’s heart leapt in alarm; she swung her hand in defense, splitting her last spiritual power in two. One formed a silver-white blade of light that whooshed toward the young woman’s neck, while the other forced her to retreat rapidly, slipping into the plum tree’s shadow.

Wait a little longer, just a little longer, until she refined more essence and spiritual energy...

---

“Take me away...” a faint voice echoed in her mind—it was the spirit still residing in her Mud Pellet Palace.

Pan Yun snorted coldly in her heart. “I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.