Chapter 10 Hahaha, I ran away

The black cat's two front paws have healed, but one of its hind legs is still drooping.

Tao Ji actually knew how to straighten a cat's bones. Not only did he straighten its leg bones, he also tied its legs up with small wooden branches.

So the happiest one on the journey was the black cat. It was either held by Tao Ji or by Pan Jun. It would sleep after eating and enjoy the scenery after sleeping. Nestling in someone's arms was not only energy-saving, but also neither too cold nor too hot and soft. Anyway, Pan Jun was so envious that he wished he could pretend to break a leg so that someone could hold him.

The black cat is very attached to Pan Jun. It will meow if it can't see him for a moment. Even when Xuan Miao and Pan Jun go to the toilet, change clothes, etc., it will meow. Tao Ji feels jealous and a little jealous, even though he has been treating it better along the way.

"I never asked you, what's its name?"

Pan Yun looked down at it and said, "Xiao Hei, its name is Pan Xiao Hei."

The black cat refused angrily, meowing, "My name is Lingjing, Lingjing!"

[Don't call it that] Pan Jun replied in his mind, [They don't understand what you are saying, and Lingjing is not your name, it is the name of an object. You can call it Lingjing, and in the future, if others forge something with the same function, they can also call it Lingjing.

This is just like the swords in their hands, they are all called swords, but to be different, they must be given names. 】

The black cat was stunned for a moment, then accepted it after thinking about it, and shouted, "I don't want to be called Xiao Hei, give me a better name."

Pan Jun smiled slightly, held it in his arms, and smiled at Tao Ji, "Look, it's all black. Is it as black as dragon crystal?"

Tao Ji went to see the black cat and nodded, "It is very black."

"So it's called Xiao Hei, after my last name, Pan Xiao Hei."

Tao Ji: "...Why not Long Jing? Long Jing sounds so nice."

The black cat nodded repeatedly, staring at Pan Jun angrily with its glass-like eyes.

"Because I like to call it Xiao Hei," Pan Yun stroked its fur and said softly, "No matter how nice the name is, it's hard to make me happy, right, Xiao Hei, you shouldn't object to me, right?"

The black cat's body was stiff for a moment, and then he leaned in her arms as if resigned to his fate, without saying a word.

Pan Yun nodded in satisfaction and said to Tao Ji: "Look, it likes it."

Tao Ji: ...

Xuan Miao put down his chopsticks, counted out the copper coins and placed them on the table, then stood up and said, "Let's go."

Tao Ji quickly put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth, then dragged Pan Yun to follow.

Pan Jun staggered twice before steadying himself.

Passing by a clothing store, Xuanmiao looked up at the store, then turned to Tao Ji and said, "Wait here."

When she looked over, Pan Yun hurriedly said, "I don't have anything to buy. He and I will wait outside."

Xuanmiao frowned, thinking about the inconvenience she was feeling now, and she really didn't want others to know, even though Pan Jun was also a girl.

She looked at Tao Ji and warned him, "Keep an eye on her."

Tao Ji assured: "Don't worry, Junior Sister. As soon as you go in, I will press her acupuncture points and make her unable to move. I will seal her meridians and press her acupuncture points. No matter how clever she is, she won't be able to escape."

Pan Yun was angry, "You guys underestimate me too much. I agreed to go with you. Did I run along the way?"

Xuanmiao directly agreed with Tao Ji's approach and turned to go into the clothing shop.

As soon as she left, Tao Ji raised two fingers and walked closer.

Pan Jun snorted at him, did not resist, but turned his head to the side.

Her obedience made Tao Ji let down his guard. Just as he was about to press her acupoints, Pan Yun's eyes suddenly lit up and he shouted, "Wait a minute."

Tao Ji stopped and asked, "What?"

Pan Yun pointed at the candied haws not far away and said, "I want to eat that. How about you press the acupoints on my legs, hold my hands, and let me eat a candied haws?"

Tao Ji: "You're hungry after just eating noodles? What kind of stomach is this..."

Pan Yun's mood instantly dropped, and she said a little sadly, "I have been weak since I was young, and I have hardly left home since I was born. I have only heard of candied haws, but I have never eaten them. My second brother promised me that when I get better, he would buy me candied haws as long as he can go out. But he followed my father to Datong before he could buy me candied haws. I have never eaten candied haws since I was a child..."

Before she finished her words, Pan Yun's eyes were already red. Without waiting for Tao Ji's reaction, big tears fell and Pan Yun burst into tears in an instant.

At first she just wanted to pretend, but as she was talking, she thought of her second brother who was only fourteen years old. She was still a naughty boy, but he was locked up and dragged away. It was said that they were exiled to Datong to serve as soldiers on the border, and they were the lowest class among the soldiers.

Pan Yun burst into tears.

People passing by on the road couldn't help but stop and look.

Tao Ji was in a panic: "Don't cry, it's just a candied haws, I'll buy it for you."

After saying that, he took out the money and went to buy it.

The uncle selling candied haws also stretched his neck to look over here. When he saw Tao Ji taking out money, he immediately smiled and walked over to him. He also pulled out the biggest and reddest one from the haystack and said, "Master, this one is sweet and has the most sugar." Tao Ji looked at it and was satisfied. After thinking for a while, he pointed to the one on the top and said, "Give me another one."

My junior sisters seemed to like sweet food as well, so they each got a skewer.

Tao Ji turned around with a smile on his face, holding a string of candied haws in one hand, and found that the place where Pan Yun was standing was empty.

His smile froze, his hands and feet suddenly felt cold, and he turned his head to look around. The person who had been crying loudly a moment ago was gone. Looking forward and backward, there was not a single person who looked like Pan Yun on the long street.

"She, she, she," Tao Ji turned around and asked Uncle Tanghulu anxiously, "Where is she?"

Uncle Tanghulu also looked around and his face changed drastically, "Oh no, did he run into a beggar?"

Tao Ji rushed into the clothing store holding a candied haws. There were only a few people in the store, and Pan Yun was nowhere to be found. "Shopkeeper, has the girl who was standing outside with me just now come in?"

The shopkeeper said: "No..."

Without waiting for her to finish, Tao Ji rushed to the street like a gust of wind, looked left and right, chose a direction and rushed forward, his eyes swept over everyone on the side of the road, but still didn't see Pan Yun.

His eyes suddenly turned red, he stamped his feet fiercely, rushed back to the shop, and shouted: "Junior sister, junior sister, come out quickly, I let Pan Yun run away!"

Outside, the Tanghulu uncle was kind enough to promote him, "Everyone, please help look for him. That beetle must not have gone far..."

When Tao Ji heard this, he spat fiercely. How could a beggar like her be beaten?
She just ran away by herself!
Tao Ji glanced at the candied haws in his hand and was so angry that he wanted to throw it away, but when he raised his hand, he felt that it was really innocent and he shouldn't take his anger out on it.

Just when he was in pain, Xuanmiao came out carrying a bag and holding a sword.

Tao Ji looked at her with an aggrieved look on his face, "Junior sister, I, I didn't keep an eye on her and let her run away."

Xuan Miao's face was cold, and she didn't blame Tao Ji. She looked directly at the two candied haws he had, counted the number, and then did the math in her head. After a moment, she said, "The upper hexagram is Kan, and the lower hexagram is Xun, which means water and wind well. Since she ran away on her own initiative, she can't run away. Let's go to the water, south, to the dock, and Kaifeng."

"Yeah!" Tao Ji nodded vigorously and followed Xuan Miao to the dock.

Humph, his junior sister is extremely skilled in the art of fortune telling. If he wants to escape, there is no door or window!

Tao Ji's eyes were blazing with fire, and he walked towards the dock with great momentum.

When he arrived at the dock, he saw dozens of boats, and there were countless boats that had already left the dock and were waiting to enter. He was stunned for a moment, "There are so many boats, which one is she hiding on?"

Xuanmiao frowned, realizing that he couldn't come up with a more detailed answer, so he simply said, "Look around first, and if you can't find it, go straight to Kaifeng Prefecture."

Pan Yun was hiding on a large ship at this time.

Pan Yun was rich, and because she was always sick, not only did her father like to use money to coax her, her eldest and second brothers also liked it, but...

Basically it was copper coins, and the only piece of silver was given to her by her father because she was curious. It was not big, five taels of official silver.

When Tao Ji walked towards the Tanghulu uncle, she stopped crying, and at the moment when everyone's eyes turned to Tao Ji, she slid into the crowd like a fish.

She ran quickly towards the dock. She heard everything while eating noodles. The small boat went to Kaifeng and would leave when it was full, but the big ship was an official ship and had a scheduled trip, leaving once an hour, regardless of whether it was full of people or goods.

There is less than a quarter of an hour left.

She rushed to the shore holding the cat, just as the boatman was untying the ropes and pushing the boat out with all his strength...

Pan Yun said nothing, rushed forward and jumped, landing steadily on the deck.

"Hey, kid, you're really risking your life. You jumped on the boat when it was about to start moving. Where are your parents?"

Pan Yun panted, took out a handful of copper coins from his sleeve and said, "My family is waiting for me in Kaifeng Prefecture."

She paid the fare and walked to the edge and sat down. Not long after the boat sailed out, she saw Xuanmiao and the other man rushing to the dock.

She immediately leaned back, hiding in the shadows and watching them pass by one boat after another.

The black cat meowed, "They are so fast, can you escape?"

Pan Yun also felt that they were incredibly fast, unless they found the direction she left very quickly after she lost it, but she had already covered it up...

Pan Yun: "If they were looking for it, they would look north. They certainly wouldn't have expected that we would go south to Kaifeng first, and then turn north. This would have led to a divergence..."

Pan Jun paused here and frowned, "You are right, they are too fast, and they may be able to guess that I am going to Kaifeng..."

"Little girl, what are you mumbling about?" A kind-looking old lady looked at her worriedly, "You are so young, how dare your parents let you go out alone?"

Pan Yun glanced at her, swept his eyes around the cabin, and said in a low voice: "My mother is dead, my father... went out to do business, and my stepmother is the head of the family. She asked me to come to Damingfu to ask my uncle for money. My uncle owes my family a lot of money."

The old lady obviously didn't expect her to be so honest. She was stunned for a moment before asking, "Well, did you get the money?"

Pan Yun shook her head, her eyes red, and she choked up and said, "No, my uncle only gave me some copper coins and let me go home. I, I didn't get any money, so I didn't dare to go home..."

　After reading the suggestions of fellow readers, I will change the chapter to 3,000 words from today onwards, so today's 6,000-word update is complete. Good night.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)