Yesterday, I made another embarrassing mistake. When I was writing, I was probably possessed. There were so many Li Hongchengs, yet I didn't notice. It was like my eyes were blind. Really, I can't explain it. Sorry, sorry. I didn't write much today because it's close to the end of the year. I've been so busy, I'm feeling a bit panicked.
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It was still early in the New Year. Normally, the red firecrackers would still be dancing on the snowy ground. The slightly pungent smell of firecrackers would still be wonderful in the streets and behind the residences. Everything exuded a lively and festive atmosphere. For the officials and people of Jingdou, the Spring Festival of the 12th year of the Qing calendar was not going well. Not only was it not going well, it was also somewhat gloomy.
Yesterday was the seventh day of the New Year, the first day each government opened. On this day, an official of the He faction in Jingdou was tragically assassinated. The fresh blood woke countless people from their slightly intoxicated state of mind. Martial law had begun near the Royal Palace. It was said that the court had finally found out who the evil people who dared to assassinate officials in the most virtuous place in Jingdou were and had launched a killing operation near the Royal Palace.
It was said that many people had died. It seemed that Sir Fan junior, who had been stripped of his position by the Emperor, was also involved. There were also rumors that there were many Northern Qi and Dongyi people among the sinister assassins.
Countless soldiers walked the streets and alleys of Jingdou. The Overwatch Council, the 13 yamens of the Ministry of Justice, the internal court, the Supreme Court, the 13 city gate guards, and the Jingdou Garrison were all activated. Cold and heavy footsteps echoed through the snowy Jingdou. They searched everywhere for the assassins who had luckily escaped the net. The city gates leading out of Jingdou were tightly sealed.
Under such a situation, no matter how terrifying the assassin, it would be difficult for them to easily escape Jingdou.
A group formed by the Overwatch Council and internal court had long surrounded Fan manor. There were many soldiers carrying out lockdown work outside the manor. They had already searched Fan manor three times and still did not find any trace of Fan Xian.
Another search team led by Yan Bingyun rushed to the west of the city immediately after the chaos in the square in front of the Royal Palace. They went to the most secret contact point of the Qinian Unit. It was the small courtyard that Wang Qinian had spent 120 taels of silver to buy. This little courtyard had always been the Qinian Unit's secret. Looking at the heavy blow the old subordinates of the Overwatch Council in Xiliang Road had suffered, one could imagine that the Emperor must have planted spies at Fan Xian's side and found the meeting place of the Qinian Unit.
However, this little courtyard was as lonely as before. Paper and brush were on the table. The ink in the inkstone had long frozen into black ridges. The bucket by the well outside tilted weakly. No one knew how long it had been since someone had come. Fan Xian was not here either.
Yan Bingyun stood at the entrance of the courtyard and frowned slightly. He thought to himself, 'Where is the Headmaster hiding now?' Although Sir Yan junior was the recognized Director of the Overwatch Council by the Qing court, like most of the officials in the Council, he still unconsciously placed Fan Xian in the position of the head of the Overwatch Council.
Jingdou had long been under martial law. The Jingdou government had long mobilized the various officials and commoners who could make decisions. It had turned into a large net spread across the streets and alleys. Everyone knew how many secret spots the Overwatch Council had hidden in Jingdou. Additionally, with Fan Xian's ability to appear and disappear unpredictably, no one dared to hope that this kind of pursuit would actually be able to catch him. However, the situation today was different. First of all, the Overwatch Council's secret spots were no longer a secret to the court. Most importantly, Yan Bingyun already knew earlier that Fan Xian was heavily injured and had long lost his former bravery. If there was no one to receive him, it would be difficult for him to recover from his injuries and he would not be able to escape far.
However, where exactly was Fan Xian? The pursuit had already gone on for half a day. Under the powerful mobilization, the entire Jingdou had been turned upside down. The 13 city gate guards guarded each of the city gates tightly. All of the officials in the Qing court were certain that Fan Xian could not have left the city.
Yan Bingyun's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. Taking in a warm breath, he patted his tired face and did his best to calm the rising and falling emotions in his heart and make it harder for others to notice. Gently waving his hand, he had the Overwatch Council officials continue to disperse.
The pursuit continued until late into the night. The manors of the officials who had some relationship with Fan Xian in the past were also searched. Even King Jing's manor and Duke Liu's manor were not missed. Still, no one found Fan Xian's whereabouts. Everyone felt a chill. If this major figure had truly survived this time, escaped Jingdou alive, and truly betrayed the Qing Kingdom, who knew what kind of changes it would bring to the world?
Yan Bingyun returned to Zicheng Jue's manor with his tired body. He did not go greet his father. Instead, he went straight to his room and ate a few mouthfuls of the hot food the cook had brought over. From his wife's hands, he took a hot towel and forcefully wiped his eyes. He then sat in a chair in a daze.
"What is it?" Shen Wan 'er asked quietly as she looked at the worry between his brows.
A slightly bitter smile floated onto Yan Bingyun's usually frosty face. After a moment of silence, he said, "Speaking of which, I really admire him. I heard that before he charged out of the square, he had already been knocked unconscious by His Majesty. It is impossible for him to recover in a short amount of time. Also, in order to attract the pursuit of those aces, he forcibly separated himself from the group of assassins. Heavily injured and alone, why can't we find him?"
"What about the other assassins?" Shen Wan 'er furrowed her brows slightly and asked.
"We didn't capture a single one alive. We only killed a few. They were all aces ranked among the best in the world …" Yan Bingyun sighed.
At the time, he had not been in the square in front of the Royal Palace. It was clear that although the Emperor trusted him, the Emperor did not want the Overwatch Council to interfere in the ambush to kill Fan Xian. He also knew that if it wasn't for the mysterious, god-like assassin, Fan Xian and the others would probably have died long ago. How could they have taken advantage of the chaos to charge out?
After saying this, Yan Bingyun noticed that his wife's expression was slightly strange. He paused slightly and asked, "What is it?"
Shen Wan 'er was silent for a long time. She then forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. It's just that I went to pay my respects to father at dusk. It seems that he wasn't there."
Yan Bingyun's body froze slightly. He didn't move for a long time. Although his father, Yan Ruohai, had long stepped down from his position as head of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, he was, in reality, a very powerful figure. As his son, he knew this. The problem was that he knew his father was the most traditional of Overwatch Council officials. His loyalty was more to Chen Pingping and Fan Xian than to the Emperor.
"He probably went out for a walk." Yan Bingyun pulled up the corners of his lips and smiled with some difficulty. He didn't say anything more. In the early autumn, Principal Chen had been tortured to death by a thousand cuts. Yan Bingyun had always been worried that his father would have some sort of violent reaction. However, what surprised him was that other than getting drunk that night, his father had returned to his normal self. All day long, he only attended to the fake mountain garden.
Yan Bingyun knew that the Emperor didn't make things difficult for his father because of his loyalty. Now, the Emperor and Fan Xian had officially broken off relations and fought their way from inside the Palace to outside. Fan Xian was going to avenge Director Chen. Given his father's abilities, he would certainly know of this matter. If he knew of this, what would he do?
"Stay in the room and don't see anyone." Yan Bingyun's brows furrowed slightly. He told his wife in a low voice, "I'll go see father."
He didn't walk far to the west and was about to pass the strangely large fake mountain in front of the corridor. Yan Bingyun came to his father's room and respectfully entered. The hair at the temples of First-Rank Viscount Yan Ruohai had long turned white. He didn't seem to find his son's arrival strange. Straightforwardly, he said, "He didn't come to the manor. He isn't stupid enough to walk right into your trap."
Yan Bingyun was silent for a long time. He then said, "This is Council business. I cannot be biased."
Yan Ruohai glanced at him and said, "You know best whether or not someone can be hidden in the manor."
Yan Bingyun bowed in greeting and took his leave. When he passed by the strangely large fake mountain in front of the corridor, he stopped in a daze. His eyes looked at the slightly dried moss and remaining snow on the fake mountain. Suddenly, he thought of some of the strange rules of his family when he was young. He kept feeling as if he had missed something or missed something.
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Fortunately, it was winter, so the dark room was not very humid. However, it was still dark. The meridians in his body were riddled with holes, and those red-hot iron wires were still running through them. The endless pain was like tens of thousands of needles piercing into his brain, making him want to howl in pain from time to time. This kind of pain and injury made it impossible for him to move the mountain and sea of qi behind his back. He couldn't even move the small circulation of qi. Wanting to use the natural zhenqi of Tianyi Dao to repair his meridians had become an extravagant hope.
He could only rely on time to slowly nurture it, or place his hopes on that magical booklet. From this seemingly empty Heaven and Earth, he could absorb the precious vitality and slowly fill up his empty Qi Sea. However, the yuanqi in the air was very thin. If he relied on this speed to recover, he would probably still be a cripple after 20 or 30 years.
Fan Xian half leaned against the wall of the secret room covered in a wool blanket and used his powerful state of mind to control his breathing. His instincts made his breathing at this moment a bit hurried and loud. However, it was the dead of night and he was deeply surrounded, so he had to be careful.
His body had already been bandaged up. Extremely expensive and effective medicines were being used without any regard for money. On the ground beside him, there was a lot of food and water used to replenish his spirit. Although the secret room was small, the things prepared inside were extremely complete.
His cracked sternum began to ache again. His brows furrowed as he thought of the Emperor's powerful and unstoppable fist and the sound of the gunshot. From the earlier panic in front of the Royal Palace to the court's strict and effective search, he confirmed that the Emperor had not died to the gunshot. This reality did not make him feel too disappointed. He only began to calculate what path he should take in the future.
When the muffled sound of the attack from the heavens punched a deep hole in the Royal Palace, Fan Xian had already woken up. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the east of the Royal Palace. He was the first of the tens of thousands of people above and below the palace walls to react and clearly determine the location of the shooter. In this world, he was the most familiar with that sound and understood that chest the best.
Three years ago, Uncle Wu Zhu left Jingdou and went to the distant Temple of Ice and Snow to search for the ultimate answer to who he was. From that day on, the chest left Fan Xian's side. Fan Xian had always thought that Uncle Wu Zhu had taken the chest with him, so he did not have a trace of regret. He knew that the enemy Uncle Wu Zhu was about to face was even more unfathomable, cold, and emotionless than the Emperor.
He had not thought that the chest was still in Jingdou. It was just not by his side. Just as the Emperor had confirmed before he fainted, Fan Xian also knew that the person who used the chest was certainly not Uncle Wu Zhu. If Uncle Wu Zhu had truly returned, regardless of whether or not he would use the chest, he would certainly see the tens of thousands of Qing elite soldiers as scarecrows. He would still coldly hold the metal drill in his hand and kill his way directly into the Royal Palace.
Who was the one who fired the gun? Fan Xian guessed for a long time, but he still could not think of it. Even though he thought of a few people, he did not believe it. He could only be sure that the shooter had a very close relationship with him. Otherwise, Uncle Wu Zhu would not put his life in the other party's hands.
The attack from the heavens was not part of Fan Xian's plan. The exit he had originally planned was still in the Royal Palace. He had not thought that people from Northern Qi and Dongyi would come and close the last gap in using the Emperor's intentions. Even more terrifyingly, he had not thought that the powerful sword qi he had comprehended not long ago would be broken by the Emperor's finger. His Meridians were in chaos. He was like a cripple and had no way of getting close to the exit.
However, this was also good. At least Hong Zhu did not have to take such a large risk.
When Fan Xian and his group took advantage of the chaos to kill their way out of the square in front of the Royal Palace, they still encountered great obstacles. Although there was the existence of the Attack from Outer Space, which could inflict divine punishment, and although the Third Prince stood on the palace walls and tried to use his thin and weak shoulders to help Fan Xian find a way out, the Emperor's edict had long been given. How could the tens of thousands of soldiers just watch as these foreign assassins escaped?
Fan Xian did not know the specifics of their escape because he once again fell unconscious. When he woke up, this group of people had already become rabbits being chased. They were all powerful warriors of the present age, but they were either injured or dead. There were only five people left running for their lives in Jingdou. No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible for them to escape.
Fan Xian knew that he was a burden, so he left with unusual coldness and valiance. He arranged to meet Haitang and the others at their usual place. A disciple of the Sword Hut paid the price of his life to send him to the edge of this manor. Then, Fan Xian took advantage of the chaos to sneak in and finally found an opportunity to rest.
Of the four ninth-level disciples of the Sword Hut, one had fallen in the rain of arrows. In the escape afterward, two more had died for Fan Xian's survival. In particular, the seventh disciple, who had killed a dozen Qing aces with his sword and still died to a crossbow, had died in the instant Fan Xian turned the corner of the alley. Fan Xian could see his eyes.
Thinking of the light shining out of those eyes, Fan Xian's heart was incomparably heavy. He knew that his debts were even greater than before. If he could survive this time, he could not hide. He would certainly have to do many things to repay his debts.
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As Fan Xian thought deeply, he adjusted his breathing. The secret room was deathly silent and dark. Presently, his zhenqi had all dissipated, and his eyesight was not as good as usual. He felt around for the water beside him. When his fingers had just touched the canteen, he froze.
He raised his head and looked calmly at the dark walls of the secret room. It was as if he could feel that there was a pair of eyes quietly watching him from outside the wall.
The well-maintained mechanism had a lot of oil on it. When the door to the secret room was opened, there was not a single sound. It was like a soundless pantomime. Faint light seeped in from outside the secret room and illuminated the pale-faced but calm Fan Xian inside.
Fan Xian looked calmly outside. The dim light made the familiar figure outside the secret room appear dark.
"I thought that if you found out, you would use a hammer to break it," Fan Xian looked at Yan Bingyun and said with a slight smile.
Standing behind the fake mountain and looking calmly at Fan Xian in the secret room, Yan Bingyun's heart was a mix of emotions. With just one glance, he knew that Fan Xian had no power to resist. He was silent for a moment and then said, "Don't forget, I grew up in this garden. Although, from a young age, my father strictly forbade me from climbing this fake mountain, as you know, children are always curious. How could I not climb?"
"This fake mountain is too big. When I first entered your house, I felt it was strange. I told your father a few times, but he never believed me." Fan Xian coughed and smiled gently. "As expected, if I can find the problem here, of course, you can also find it."
Fan Xian was hiding in the fake mountain in Viscount Chenghai's manor. No matter how stormy the Jingdou was, he was hiding in Yan Bingyun's home. Who would have thought of this? If Yan Bingyun had not been carried away on a whim and tried to open the room where he played hide-and-seek in his childhood, presumably, Fan Xian would have been able to safely pass through this most tense moment with Yan Ruohai's help.
"Father doesn't know that I know the secret of this fake mountain," Yan Bingyun said with his head slightly lowered. Yan Bingyun lowered his head slightly and said, "Otherwise, he would definitely choose a more suitable place for you to hide."
"Alright." Fan Xian sighed tiredly. "I knew that my luck in this life was inhumanly good. There would always be a time when my luck would be bad. So, it's in this fake mountain."
Yan Bingyun was silent for a long time. He then said, "Earlier, I told father that this is Council business and cannot be personal, particularly for you. For the sake of the Qing court, I cannot let you go to Northern Qi."
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