Chapter 11: A Contest of Acting
"Poor child," the old woman said, grabbing her small hand and patting it comfortingly. She said with pity, "With your father away from home, there is no one to stand up for you, no matter how much you are wronged.
Your stepmother is so vicious; to make you travel such a long way from Kaifeng to Daming all by yourself—how could you possibly fare well returning empty-handed?"
The old woman’s eyes grew increasingly kind, and she said with a sorrowful face, "I am just an old woman with little knowledge, but I have walked many roads and seen many people. Such vicious stepmothers always love to find excuses to sell off the young girls in the house..."
Pan Jun trembled in her grasp, wearing a look of terror. The old woman squeezed her hand tighter and said tenderly, "Good child, you’d be better off delaying your return. Wait until your father comes back before you go home. That way, no matter how much anger your stepmother has, she won't dare to do anything to you."
Pan Jun looked tempted, but after a moment, she shook her head in distress. "But my uncle's family was very angry about the debt this time; they definitely won't take me in. I... I don't know where to go..."
The old woman, of course, knew her uncle’s family wouldn't take her in. Any relative with a shred of conscience wouldn't feel at ease sending a child out on her own.
Wasn't this person being delivered right into her hands?
Since the person was already standing before her, if she didn't take her, wouldn't she be letting down the heavens?
So, the old woman patted Pan Jun’s hand gently and said, "Good child, if you don't mind, come with me. Stay at my place for a few days. Once you hear that your father has returned, you can go home."
Pan Jun’s eyes brightened slightly. She was about to nod, but then she remembered something and shook her head. "I can't. My stepmother has a clansman who is a minor supervisor at the Kaifeng docks; he was the one who put me on the boat. If I return to Kaifeng but don't go home, I’m afraid I’ll have no face to see anyone ever again.
My family moved to Kaifeng from the capital. My stepmother knows many people in Kaifeng, but I... I don't know a single soul..."
The last shred of doubt in the old woman’s heart vanished. She had been about to ask how a child who claimed to be from Kaifeng could speak with such a heavy capital accent.
In her mind, she instantly filled in the gaps of Pan Jun’s background.
Her biological mother died, her father moved the whole family to Kaifeng for business, remarried a local woman, and left his daughter and household in the care of the stepmother while he went off to trade. As a result, the stepmother couldn't tolerate the daughter from the first marriage...
The smile on the old woman’s face grew even brighter. She gently patted Pan Jun’s small hand and said, "Good child, don't you worry. We won't go all the way to Zhuxian Town; we'll get off at Jiaozhangkou just ahead."
Pan Jun looked confused. "What place is that?"
The old woman replied, "That’s a ferry crossing in Zhangde Prefecture, not far from Anyang. My home is in Anyang. You come home with me for a while, and when your father returns in a few days, I’ll have my son send you back. It’s very convenient."
Pan Jun asked, "Can the boat stop at Jiaozhangkou halfway?"
"Of course it can. You can get off halfway, and you can get on halfway too. I’ll talk to the boatman in a moment; you just follow me."
Pan Jun nodded with a look of trust, her eyes shining as she looked at her. *What a good person~~*
The old woman also looked at her with glowing eyes. *What a good girl~~*
After sitting for a long time, the boat began to pull over. Not far ahead was a very small ferry landing built of wood. Five or six people stood on the shore, waving at the boat in unison.
As soon as the boat drew near, a boatman threw a mooring line, and the vessel was quickly secured. The boatman lowered the gangplank, and the people waiting on the shore immediately carried their goods onto the boat. Some followed the boat, while others left as soon as they dropped off their items.
Seeing Pan Jun watching with great interest, the old woman explained, "Everyone is just trying to make a living. The boatmen’s wages are low, so they have to make up for it in these places. It’s also convenient for us poor folk."
Pan Jun smiled but said nothing. Others might be poor, but the old woman sitting beside her certainly wasn't.
Her gaze swept over the tall man opposite them, the corners of her mouth curling slightly as she stroked the black cat with even gentler movements.
The black cat shivered in her arms, remained calmly curled up, and cast a sympathetic glance at the old woman with its glass-like eyes.
The old woman also glanced at the cat, but didn't think much of it.
Although it was strange to bring a cat on a journey, the girl was young, and the cat seemed very familiar with her, so it wasn't surprising given her background.
She was likely afraid her pet would be abused by her stepmother if left at home, so she took it wherever she went.
Along the way, the boatman would stop briefly whenever someone waved. Most were official ferry landings, but some had no landing at all; people would simply row small skiffs over to ferry goods and passengers onto the large boat.
Pan Jun watched the whole way and figured it out: the boat fare for these passengers—who didn't buy tickets at the official stations—was pocketed by the boatmen, perhaps with a cut going to the supervisors above.
This boat was an official vessel of the Daming Prefecture government, intended for merchants and travelers. It only stopped at four official landings along the way, and the fares collected were only for those four stops.
Jiaozhangkou was not among them.
It wasn't until noon the next day that the boat reached Jiaozhangkou.
The old woman spoke to the boatman in advance, and as soon as the boat reached Jiaozhangkou, it turned into the landing. The moment they docked, the old woman grabbed Pan Jun’s hand tightly and led her ashore. Following behind them was a sturdy, middle-aged man, roughly in his thirties.
Pan Jun was led ashore, looking bewildered. After walking a distance, she noticed someone following them. She turned back to see the fierce, undisguised glint in the middle-aged man’s eyes and hid behind the old woman, looking timid. "This is..."
The old woman smiled and reassured her, "This is my son. Don't let his fierce look fool you; he’s actually a very good person."
The middle-aged man squeezed out a smile at her, which only made his whole face look even fiercer.
Pan Jun, however, seemed not to notice. She relaxed, looking relieved, and obediently called out, "Hello, Uncle."
"Good, good, good. Let’s hurry," the old woman said. "There’s still a long way to go from here to Anyang. We must be quick, or we won't make it to the post station to stay the night."
Outside Jiaozhangkou was a town. The two led Pan Jun directly toward the outskirts. Once they left the area with houses, the people gradually thinned out. The main road soon turned into narrow paths between fields. After walking for a while, the fields disappeared, and there were only trees and weeds on both sides of the narrow trail.
Seeing Pan Jun looking around, the old woman estimated the distance and decided to coax her into walking on her own. She explained, "Taking the small path is closer. We can reach the post station outside Anyang before sunset."
Pan Jun whispered her agreement. Seeing that the area was dense with trees and weeds and completely deserted, she leaned in close to the old woman and whispered even more softly, "Grandma, I... I need to relieve myself."
The old woman smiled kindly. "Good child, don't be so shy. I’ll go with you."
She tossed her bundle to the middle-aged man, telling him to wait by the side of the road, and pulled Pan Jun into the woods.
Pan Jun placed the cat on her shoulder and looked at the old woman with a flushed face.
The old woman understood; young girls were thin-skinned, so she tactfully turned her back.
Pan Jun had been so obedient and well-behaved, doing whatever she was told the entire way. Combined with her youthful appearance, the old woman had no defenses up at all.
If it had been anyone else, she would never have exposed her back.
The moment she turned around, the smile on Pan Jun’s face vanished. A *xiuchun* saber appeared in her hand. Without drawing the blade, she gripped the scabbard with both hands and smashed it hard against the back of the old woman’s head...
The old woman had just turned and stood still; she couldn't react at all. Her head went blank, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the side.
Pan Jun reached out to catch her, laying her gently on the ground. Seeming not quite satisfied, she flipped the woman over as she laid her down, then chopped the back of her neck several times—the black cat winced just watching it.
Seeing how ruthless she was, the black cat became even more docile, standing perfectly still on her shoulder.
Pan Jun walked out quietly, clutching her saber. She crept up behind the middle-aged man, who was standing with his back to them, and raised the scabbard to strike.
She held nothing back this time. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* She struck three times in a row. The man didn't even roll his eyes; he simply collapsed face-first with a thud.
Pan Jun kicked the middle-aged man. Seeing no reaction, she used the scabbard to strike his neck and head several more times. Only when she was certain he was knocked out cold did she put the saber away and begin to search them.
These two—one looked kind-hearted but had fox-like eyes and horizontal lines on the bridge of her nose, indicating a cunning and calculating nature; her greedy gaze had been glued to her the whole time, and she expected her to trust her?
The other had triangular eyes and a dark, ominous aura between his brows. Even though she wasn't an expert in physiognomy, she could tell he wasn't a good person. The stench of blood and violence radiated from him; who knew how many innocent lives he had on his hands.
Pan Jun emptied the money pouches from both of them. Unfortunately, they didn't have much—just a few strings of copper coins and some broken silver.
After taking everything, she looked at their clothes with disdain, but still dragged them to a spot and stripped them, leaving only their undergarments.
She used a dagger found on the man to slice his arm. Once the blood flowed, she dipped his finger in it and wrote the five characters "I am a human trafficker" on the back of the old woman’s undergarment.
By the time she finished, the bleeding had slowed. Without a hint of pity, she sliced his arm again. This time, she grabbed the old woman’s finger, dipped it in the blood, and wrote "I killed people" on the back of the man’s undergarment.
Pan Jun admired her masterpiece and nodded with great satisfaction.
It was fortunate there were two of them. If it had been just one, she would have had to use her own finger to dip in the blood, which would have been far too polluting for her.
She tied the two of them to a tree with a dead knot, took the rest of their belongings, and walked away, dusting off her hands.
Once she reached the main road, Pan Jun carefully checked the sun and the time. After determining the cardinal directions, she chose a path heading north.
As night fell, Pan Jun gathered some firewood. Focusing her spiritual energy into her finger, she drew a fire talisman in mid-air, which ignited the wood.
With the fire, she not only had warmth but also a sense of security.
Pan Jun let out a breath, folded many branches with large leaves to spread on the ground, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate.
The black cat shifted its body, curling up obediently by her leg. It tilted its head toward the moon, absorbing moonlight while rubbing against the spiritual energy she attracted.
*Wuwuwu*, ever since it abandoned its true form and escaped from her *niwan* palace, the good old days of freely grabbing spiritual energy were gone forever. Now, it could only sneakily steal a little bit.
It missed its true form so much; it missed her head.
(End of chapter)