As soon as they left the capital, the sun dimmed. The carriages passed by the pavilion without stopping, and the willow trees on the main road sent them off as they slowly made their way north.
The officers and soldiers of the city patrol escorted the diplomatic mission 18 miles out of the capital before returning, handing over the task of keeping an eye on the defenses along the way to the capital garrison. The diplomatic mission's primary means of transportation were carriages, and there were more than ten of them. Aside from carrying people, most of the space was reserved for ceremonial preparations for the trip north.
Xiao En's shackles had not been removed, and he was locked up in the second carriage. There was also an official from the Overwatch Council in charge of his daily life. The official smiled, and carefully wiped the face of this serious criminal with a towel. The towel was very soft, and it did not hurt Xiao En's old and withered face.
"If I capture you and use you to threaten that young man named Fan, would it have any effect?" The chains clanked, and Xiao En's old voice rang out in the carriage. But his words revealed a sense of carelessness, as if he had already guessed the answer.
The official in charge of his daily life smiled warmly and said sincerely, "Mister Xiao, since it is my turn to serve you, naturally I am prepared to be restrained by you. But as a citizen of the Kingdom of Qing, when the time comes, I will have to commit suicide by poison, so as not to make things difficult for the people of the Council."
Xiao En closed his eyes, and the cold aura around him gradually faded. "My hair is too long," he said quietly. "Help me tie it up."
The conversation between the two seemed to have missed something. Xiao En was currently restrained by the chains, so how could he restrain this official of the Overwatch Council? Perhaps both of them knew that once they left the capital, these thin chains would not be able to restrain the terrifying Xiao En forever.
The official walked to Xiao En's side and took out a comb from a small cupboard. He carefully combed Xiao En's snow-white hair, which reached his waist. His fingers were strangely steady, and did not tremble in the slightest.
Decades ago, Xiao En had been one of the few ninth-level masters in the world. If he had not been imprisoned in the Overwatch Council for 20 years, suffering great torture, and having his body and spirit damaged by the poisons of the Third Bureau, people would have guessed that he would have long ago become a grandmaster.
Even so, Bing Hu still had some power. Just by looking at the Overwatch Council's expression as if they were facing a great enemy when he came out of prison, as well as the power that naturally seeped out of his body, one could tell that this old man still possessed terrifying power.
If Xiao En were to suddenly launch an attack at this moment, this middle-aged official probably wouldn't even have the slightest room to resist. However, he still maintained a steady smile, his expression calm and composed. Xiao En glanced at him appreciatively. He knew that Xiao En had most likely already made up his mind. Once he was subdued, he would immediately commit suicide by ingesting poison. He just didn't know where the poison was hidden on his body.
"Is the Qing Kingdom really so good that you would willingly and even happily guard me, a demon, by my side?" This was something that Xiao En had always been puzzled about. The bureaucracy of the Qing Kingdom was clearly corrupt, and yet the Northern Wei Kingdom that he had once served had fallen apart overnight. Although part of this was because he and Zhan Qingfeng had been captured and lost their power, the Qing Kingdom's military strength was still so tyrannical that it was somewhat illogical.
The middle-aged official respectfully said, "If I die, the Council will take care of my family's future. When my child turns 12, he can receive honors, and I believe that Sir Fan junior will help me take care of him. Sir Fan junior is very rich. My life can be exchanged for so many things. It is truly worth it."
Xiao En flexed his wrists, and the sound of chains rang out again. He was a little annoyed. "Still the same old tricks … what is your name?"
The middle-aged official laughed and replied, "My name is Wang Qinian."
— — —
Xiao En's carriage was the second in line. Fan Xian lifted the curtain of the driver's side and squinted at the carriage. He waved his hand to call over a Tiger Guard, and quietly asked, "How are the people next to the carriage?"
What were the Tiger Guards? This was back to the second conversation between Count Sinan and Director Chen Pingping outside the palace. In short, Minister Fan could not help but allocate a small portion of his secret power to the diplomatic mission just as his son was about to leave the country.
These Tiger Guards were all extremely powerful. Although they could not compare to the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council in terms of killing, and could not compare to the Fifth Bureau in terms of collective fighting power, these Tiger Guards were all carefully selected individuals. There was no need to doubt their loyalty to their master, and there was an indescribable fierceness about them.
Of course, Fan Xian could vaguely guess that these Tiger Guards were actually controlled by his father on behalf of the Emperor. Perhaps they also served to keep the Overwatch Council in check. But the power that kept the Overwatch Council in check was clearly not limited to the Tiger Guards. For Count Sinan to send these seven Tiger Guards to accompany his son north, he must have received permission from the palace.
Beside the first carriage was the leader of the Tiger Guards, surnamed Gao Da. He respectfully replied, "Rest assured, young master. Although there are no people from the Sixth Bureau, we can guarantee our safety."
Because these Tiger Guards were nominally Minister Fan's private armed forces, he addressed Fan Xian as young master rather than sir. But Fan Xian still felt it was a little strange, and he smiled.
The soldiers of the Jingdou Garrison surrounded and protected this strange diplomatic mission as they slowly advanced north. The armored soldiers were a little silent. After all, this was an idle mission. But the generals who knew the inside story were a little uncomfortable. Their silence represented a kind of humiliation.
For more than a decade, the reigning Emperor had led the armies of the Kingdom of Qing on expeditions to the east and to the west. They had never suffered a single defeat, and the Kingdom of Qing's army had long since become accustomed to victory. Last year, in what was defined as "an impulsive border" war, the Kingdom of Qing was still the victor. But no one could have imagined that the victorious Kingdom of Qing would be forced to make such a huge concession because of some very despicable matter — sending Xiao En back north with both hands!
The rumors that Fan Xian had spread throughout the capital had long since spread to every corner of the world. So these generals also knew of the sinister role that the Eldest Princess had played in this matter. The military's dissatisfaction with the royal family seemed to be concentrated on that beautiful and crazy royal woman.
This was something that Fan Xian still had no way of figuring out. Although the Eldest Princess was crazy, she was not stupid. What benefit did she gain from selling Mister Yan, the head of Qing's northern spies, to Northern Qi? If it was just to have Zhuang Mohan come to the capital to humiliate him, Fan Xian certainly did not believe that he had such an important position.
If the Eldest Princess was seeking outside help from Northern Qi for the sake of the future struggle for the throne, wouldn't this offend the majority of the military? No matter how he looked at it, this was a deal that did not make up for the losses.
The diplomatic mission's carriages had already traveled north for half a day. The sun gradually sank into the mountains, and the light grew dimmer. The carriages began to rest by the edge of a large forest. The deputy commander of the diplomatic mission came to ask for instructions. According to the rules, the diplomatic mission should stop for the night at a relay station three miles ahead.
Fan Xian thought for a while and then shook his head. He ordered that they stop there for now and that they would discuss it later. He then got out of the carriage, stretched the numbness that came with being immobile for so long, and strolled to the rear.
The leader of the Tiger Guards, hand on his long knife, silently followed behind him. Fan Xian looked down and noticed that the Tiger Guard's knife was strangely long. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Will it be inconvenient to draw it?" Under Wu Zhu's guidance, he paid particular attention to reaction speed in battle. He knew that the longer the weapon, the slower the weapon's owner's reaction would be.
The leader of the Tiger Guards, Gao Da, raised his long knife and calmly presented it to Fan Xian. He explained, "There's a mechanism, so we can draw the knife faster. Because I'm mainly responsible for covering and intercepting, the seven Tiger Guards in this party all use long knives. We just want to increase the killing range."
Fan Xian nodded, indicating that he should not follow. By now, he had already reached the side of the second carriage. He gently twitched his nose, as if he could faintly smell the scent of blood and ice coming from the carriage. He couldn't help but smile, thinking that if Wang Qinian and that old freak continued to stay together, they would eventually go crazy.
Sure enough, as soon as he saw Fan Xian enter the carriage, Wang Qinian stood at the door of the carriage with a pained expression. "Sir, when can I rest?"
"Wait for another two days." Fan Xian smiled and patted his shoulder. "Has Xiao En made any strange moves?"
Wang Qinian shook his head and calmly recounted Xiao En's every move for the past half an hour to Sir Fan. Fan Xian listened calmly. He knew that Wang Qinian's words would certainly fall into Xiao En's ears, but he was not worried. After a while, he quietly said, "I'll go in and take a look."
"It's dangerous." Wang Qinian shook his head disapprovingly. "A sick tiger is still a tiger. Although Xiao En is not as strong as he was, he was once a ninth-level fighter. If you're not careful and he captures you, what should we do?"
Fan Xian replied, "Don't worry. Xiao En is not an idiot. We're only a few miles from the capital. If he tries anything strange at this time, he'll be seeking his own death." Of course, he knew of Xiao En's terrifying power. What did a ninth-level fighter mean? He only had to think of the time when he had snuck into the palace at night, and Yan Xiaoyi's arrow, which seemed to come from beyond the heavens, to understand.
"And we'll be traveling together for a long time. Am I not going to see him?" Fan Xian laughed.
...
...
In the gloomy carriage, Xiao En's face was gloomy. His white hair had long since been tied up. Fan Xian held the small box he was carrying. He lifted the curtain and entered with a smile. "Mr. Xiao, we're going to Northern Qi's Shangjing. It's a long way. Let's get some food and water first. "
Xiao En slowly opened his eyes, and a cold light flashed in them. He smiled. "Thank you for your hard work, Sir Fan."
Fan Xian did not seem to fear Xiao En's methods at all. With a face full of smiles, he opened the lunchbox and carefully fed the desserts to the old man's still somewhat dry lips. Then he fed him some water.
After a moment of silence, Xiao En suddenly said, "These poisons are useless."
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