Fan Xian furrowed his brows. He looked at the person in the shadows and hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth to ask, "Why are you so happy? Although we don't see each other often, I'm still not used to it. "
The knifeman in the black shadow bowed slightly and said with a smile, "I have always been such a frivolous person. Please forgive me, Sir Fan junior."
"Frivolous?" Fan Xian furrowed his brows and said, "No wonder you caused such a big mess back then because of your playfulness. The Palace named you to be eliminated."
The bladesman's expression turned grave, and he said seriously, "It is all thanks to Lord Minister that I am still alive today."
Fan Xian didn't say anything more. Instead, he thought of other things, other people.
In the battle of Dong Mountain, over a hundred Tiger Guards had all died. The Emperor had used the sword in Sigu Jian's hand to cold-bloodedly and mercilessly purge the Tiger Guards. He had also swept away the greatest support Fan Jian had hidden within the royal family. It was precisely because of this attitude and resolve that Fan Jian had no choice but to retreat from the dangerous Jingdou early.
Minister Fan had grown up with the Emperor and had operated in court for many years. He had even secretly helped the Li royal family train the Tiger Guards for a long time. Naturally, he had some hidden cards.
The black-clad bladesman before Fan Xian was one of them. This black-clothed knife-man had once been a subordinate of the Tiger Guards. However, he later faked his death and became Fan Jian's direct subordinate in the darkness. He secretly did things for the Fan manor that could not see the light of day, including monitoring the tentacles that extended out of the Palace.
During the Jingdou rebellion, Fan Xian had taken a great risk to attack Qingyu Hall. Fan Jian had watched from behind with cold eyes and helped him clean up the mess. At that time, the ones who had acted were the secret forces of the Fan manor, led by the black-clothed knife-man. It was not until that day that Fan Xian truly came into contact with his father's last batch of power.
"You also know about what happened on Dong Mountain." Fan Xian looked at the bladesman and asked, "How many Tiger Guards are still alive in this world?"
"There are still twenty-one subordinates under the Minister." The black-clothed bladesman said with a smile, "If all the great grandmasters are dead, we will still be of some use."
In the past, Fan Xian had only interacted with Gao Da and the seven wooden-faced Tiger Guards. For a moment, he was not used to the black-clothed knife-wielding man's tone of speech. He smiled bitterly and said, "Let's not talk about this for now. Back to what happened earlier. Suddenly bringing up so much silver, father, are you not worried that someone in court will guess something?"
The black-clothed swordsman didn't answer this question. Instead, he chuckled and asked, "Young Master, you seem to have grown a lot bolder recently. When the Minister sent the news, you really began to prepare to transfer money. You even didn't hesitate to reach out to the Sun family and the Xiong family. Aren't you afraid that the imperial court will notice something?"
The moment this was said, Fan Xian sank into silence. The black-clad bladesman did not continue asking. In the three years after the Jingdou rebellion, the business Fan Xian secretly carried out in Yu Chang had been done very carefully. He did not seek to be meritorious. Instead, he sought to be seamless. The progress was truly too slow.
However, Fan Xian had no choice but to do this. Furthermore, his father, who was far away in Danzhou, seemed to agree with his caution. After all, with the Emperor on the throne, no one dared to take the risk of stirring up trouble. If things got out, it would only be a scene of blood and fire.
However, it seemed that Fan Xian and Fan Jian, father and son, had both begun to increase their pace. Fan Xian knew that his father had increased his pace because he knew that his heart was beginning to gradually drift in that direction.
The black-clothed swordsman's next words confirmed Fan Xian's guess.
"If young master wants to do something in the future, don't forget about me," the black-clothed swordsman said with a smile. "I am also very interested in killing my way into the Royal Palace."
The corners of Fan Xian's mouth twitched slightly. "What I am interested in is, are you planning to avenge your family or those colleagues who died on Dong Mountain?"
"Is there a difference?"
"There is indeed no difference. For you and those Tiger Guards hiding in the dark, the Emperor has never seen you as people. It is normal for you not to see him as a ruler." Fan Xian lowered his eyelids slightly and quietly said, "But, if you say this in front of me, are you not afraid that I will actually kill you? You should know the relationship between the Emperor and me. "
The black-clothed swordsman calmly said, "I know the relationship between you and the Minister even better."
"Very contradictory." Fan Xian smiled and sighed. "You are a group of powerful swordsmen, but you are also a group of dangerous people. Even I don't know if I can control you. Thus, I think it would be best for you to stay by father's side, including the dark Tiger Guards at your side. Don't try to get involved in my matters."
A faint disappointment flashed through the black-clothed swordsman's eyes.
"Only Father can control you, and I want to control everything in my own hands, so I can't use you." Fan Xian gradually withdrew his smile and calmly said, "I have my own power. You only have one thing. You must ensure father's safety. As long as you can do this and let me have no worries, perhaps I can achieve your and your brothers' goal."
The black-clothed swordsman fell silent.
The silence lasted for a long time. Fan Xian took a sip of the cold tea at his side and unconsciously drew up his legs. Hugging his knees, he sat on the chair. This posture was not very beautiful, but it gave him a sense of security.
It was in this instant that he thought of the Second Prince. Looking at the black-clothed swordsman in front of him, he also thought of Gao Da and the innocent people who had bled and died because of the Emperor's schemes. He even thought of Chen Pingping and Jing Ge, who had slit Qin Heng's throat in front of the Royal Palace in Jingdou.
It had been a while since he had seen Jing Ge. A glimmer of light flashed through Fan Xian's eyes. He thought of how Chen Pingping had done so many things in secret and pulled back many people from the brink of death. His father had actually done similar things in secret these years.
These two old comrades-in-arms had not communicated much, but they both chose the same method. They probably both knew that only people who had truly experienced life and death would have the courage to stand in this world and resist all the pressure placed on them. Only people who had survived life and death could stand bravely, even proudly, and ruthlessly under the light of imperial power.
This was probably the problem of will that Sigu Jian spoke of. It had nothing to do with the level of one's cultivation. Only such people could truly do great things, such as the black-clothed swordsman in front of him and the silver-masked Jing Ge.
"Go back and talk. I will resolve the problem of silver as soon as possible. However, to turn the paper in the money house into the nutrients that Fish Intestines needs is a very difficult matter." Fan Xian looked at the black-clothed swordsman and said cautiously, "I am worried that there are spies from the Palace at my side. That is why I sought out Guan Wumei to be my shadow on this trip to Weizhou. If the internal court, the Ministry of Justice, or the Imperial Censorate find something, they will only suspect this much. You have to be careful and not be targeted."
"The problem is, young master, you came to see Guan Wumei to raise money for Fish Intestines." The black-clothed swordsman furrowed his brows. "What if the other party investigates from this side?"
"You and I are like the other side of a cliff, forever a one-way connection. Even if someone wants to investigate, at most, they will find me and not be able to investigate further. As for the direction of the flow of silver, the first part of the process in the accounts will be handled by the old officials of the Ministry of Revenue my father left in Jiangnan. As for the latter part of the conversion …" Fan Xian lowered his head slightly. It seemed that he also felt this matter was difficult. Slowly, he said, "I can handle a portion. Then, it will depend on how things are in Dongyi. If there are goods coming in from overseas, it should be able to speed things up."
"Then, I will leave." Although the black-clothed swordsman felt that Fan Xian had not finished what he should have said, he knew he had to leave. Raising his hands in greeting, he said, "However, during these three years, I have always been curious about something."
Fan Xian raised his eyes to look at him and smiled. "What is it?"
"Why is it called Fish Intestines?"
After a long silence, Fan Xian said, "Fish Intestines is a sword used by a person called Zhuan Zhu. It is a sword hidden in the belly of a fish. This sword may forever be hidden in the belly of the fish and never see the light of day. Once it breaks out of the belly, it will certainly pierce into someone's chest."
"You are a handful of Fish Intestines. Jing Ge was once a handful of Fish Intestines. The Shadow beside me is also a handful of Fish Intestines," Fan Xian said with a slight smile. "However, you are all beginning to see the light of day. Only my Fish Intestines are still hidden."
… …
Fan Xian stayed in Weizhou for a night and discussed the matter of gathering silver with Guan Wumei. Xia Qifei was in Suzhou and would not be able to rush over no matter what. He could only use Guan Wumei's mouth to remind the master of the new Ming family of the importance of this matter. The next day, the representatives sent out by the Lingnan Xiong family and Quanzhou Sun family arrived in Weizhou. Fan Xian only watched from the shadows. After confirming the possible attitudes of these two giants, he relaxed.
The new Ming family's excuse was indeed very practical. Although there was still no news from the North, the Sun and Xiong families would not believe that Xia Qifei would lie to them on this matter because there was no benefit to such a lie.
When merchants lent money to each other, the key was still to consider the other party's ability to repay. In the eyes of the Sun and Xiong families, even if the Northern Qi court began to vigorously attack the Ming family's smuggling to the North because of the Dongyi matter, Sir Fan junior was still behind the Ming family. With the endless supply of goods from the palace treasury as a guarantee, it would always be a golden nest. No matter what, it was impossible for them to not be able to repay the money.
After confirming that this sum of silver would arrive, Fan Xian secretly had Guan Wumei notify Xia Qifei to have him invite Yang Jimei to a banquet in Hua Garden. Presumably, the leading salt merchant in Jiangnan had a lot of silver hidden in his manor. It would not be too difficult for Xia Qifei to borrow silver from him.
If Yang Jimei could not raise it by himself, he would mobilize the Jiangnan salt merchants to help. It had to be said that Fan Xian had endured in Jiangnan for two or three years and had indeed laid down a solid foundation. As long as he did not, on the surface, touch the foundation of the court, he had the ability to gather the power of the Jiangnan business world. This power was truly astonishing. To be able to raise so much silver in such a short time was not something anyone could do.
These matters took up an entire day for Fan Xian. At dusk, he left Weizhou and disappeared into the color of blood. From that day onwards, not only did his subordinates in Jiangnan not know where he had gone, even his trusted aides in the Overwatch Council and Qinian Unit had completely lost track of him.
A young ninth-level ace who had immersed himself in the Overwatch Council for a lifetime purposely put on a disguise and went on the road. He had the ability to avoid everyone's gaze. Just like this, Fan Xian disappeared.
…
…
After an indeterminable number of days, when the feeling of spring in the heart of the land had reached its peak, a travel-worn figure appeared outside a large col on the border between Northern Qi and Dongyi.
This place was very remote, but the traffic was not behind because this was a transfer point on an old trade route many years ago. However, it had been abandoned for a long time and had long disappeared from the map. It had also disappeared from many people's hearts.
Looking from the outside of the mountain, the place was quiet. Occasionally, there was the sound of dogs barking and chickens crying. There were farmers walking along the road. It was already late at night, but the occasional farmer that appeared did not seem to need a light to see the slightly wet and muddy fields beneath his feet.
The figure quietly brushed past these farmers and headed into the mountain.
The path toward the mountain seemed to twist and turn like a fish intestine winding back and forth. The travel-worn figure walked straight into the mountain. After walking for an indeterminable amount of time, his clothes dripped with dew and his cloth shoes broke dead branches. Finally, he climbed halfway up the mountain. What had been an overgrown mountain village in front of him turned his head and saw the flickering lights and manors all over the mountain. Countless buildings emanating a fresh smell appeared in the mountain valley like a miracle.
The figure threw down the bamboo stick in his hand and looked at the lights in the belly of the mountain. For some reason, he felt very moved in his heart, to the point that his eyes were almost moist.
He knew that this scene hidden behind the farm, hidden in the peach blossom spring, had used up a great deal of his energy and money. He didn't know how many people had paid for it.
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