I don't want to say anything. A faint sense of disappointment is beginning to creep in. Am I not a petty bourgeois?
…
…
In the back garden of the Ye manor, Ye Wan's pupils constricted slightly as he stared unblinkingly at the green-clothed servant. He had not thought that after he had exposed his location, the other party would have the courage to turn around and face him directly instead of choosing to leap over the wall and leave at the first opportunity.
Fan Xian calmly turned around. There was only calmness in his eyes. There was not a glimmer of any other emotion. He looked at the unfamiliar young general in front of him and immediately identified the other party's identity. There were only two men in the Ye family, old and young, who could come to Ye Ling'er's little garden without being announced. Since the other party was not Ye Zhong, then it was General Ye Wan, who had risen to prominence this year and received the respect of countless Qing soldiers.
If this had been a year ago or even longer ago, Fan Xian and Ye Wan, the two most valiant young men in the Qing Kingdom, might have developed a feeling of mutual appreciation and uncontrollably affection. It would be just like how Fan Xian and the Great Prince had at first had a grudge. In the end, they grew closer because of their personalities.
However, it was impossible now. Presently, Fan Xian was a traitor of the Qing Kingdom and an unpardonable criminal. Ye Wan was a rising star general and the Emperor's most trusted figure of the younger generation. Most importantly, Fan Xian had experienced a long journey through the snowy plains. He seemed to have seen everything in the world lightly. There was only calmness and indifference in his eyes.
This kind of calmness and indifference represented powerful confidence. In Ye Wan's eyes, it was a powerful disdain. The glimmer of dissatisfaction and anger hidden in his heart for a number of days immediately took over his entire body. This anger did not make his judgment deviate at all. It only made him even more calm.
"Fan Xian is here!" Ye Wan roared. Although he very much hoped to have a fair battle with Fan Xian, he would not make such a mistake. For the Qing court, Fan Xian was like a fishbone that could not be swallowed. Being able to capture him or kill him was what Ye Wan wanted to do the most.
The Emperor had once said that if this person did not die, it would be difficult for the Emperor's heart to rest. As an official, Ye Wan had to suppress his pride. Thus, after he let out a roar to inform the soldiers outside the garden, he immediately chose to retreat. Using such a weak stance, he blocked Fan Xian's path of retreat. He did not mind using such a humiliating method to buy more time.
As long as the soldiers arrived and Jingdou sounded the alarm, Ye Wan did not believe Fan Xian could escape. Fan Xian also understood this. When Ye Wan opened his mouth coldly, he had already leapt forward.
Fan Xian pounced forward like a streak of smoke. Although it was gentle, the gentle shadow carried a heart-chilling Tyranny. It tore through the cold autumn air and the peace of the garden.
The powerful and Tyrannical aura that pounced toward him made Ye Wan, who had retreated three steps, narrow his eyes. It was as if he felt the wind in front of him piercing his bones like an icy knife. His heart was shocked, but his expression remained calm and unchanging. Without time to draw his knife, his hands crossed in front of him. His left fist and right palm intersected. In a very short time, he valiantly formed a hand bridge and sealed the front.
Once the hand bridge appeared, it was like a metal chain crossing a river. A murderous and powerful aura rose spontaneously and blocked in front of Fan Xian's punch. It made the Tyrannical punch like a floating log on the river. Although it came with ferocious momentum, it did not give off the feeling that it could shatter the metal chain.
Fan Xian was in midair, but his eyes had already narrowed. He had practiced the Ye family's Coffin-Breaker technique for many years and was very familiar with the Ye family's martial arts. However, Ye Wan had retreated three steps and appeared weak. Unexpectedly, the hand bridge formed and a thick wall appeared in the air.
Such a powerful and exquisite hand seal was definitely not part of the Coffin-Breaker technique. Was it Ye Liuyun's sanshou? Had this young general learned the ultimate skill left behind by a Great Grandmaster?
Fan Xian's heart trembled slightly, but his hands did not slow down at all. The aura emanating from the hand bridge in front of him was too powerful. He knew that his Tyrannical punch might not be able to break through the other party's defense. The power of Flowing Cloud Sanshou lay in the impermanence of its true form. Once the other party's hand bridge sealed his own, the following changing counterattack would probably be faster than his.
More importantly, Flowing Cloud Sanshou's counterattack was like the floating clouds on the horizon. It was difficult for anyone to catch its true form. Even if Fan Xian was not afraid, if he was actually sealed by Flowing Cloud Sanshou, he would probably not be able to retreat for a moment. It was clear that Ye Wan wanted to capture or kill him. He would not mind delaying him and then joining forces with others to attack.
…
…
With a whoosh, like a magic trick, a black, delicate crossbow bolt suddenly shot out from Fan Xian's sleeve. It surpassed the speed of his fist and shot into Ye Wan's hand bridge with a thud.
This move was very sinister. Fan Xian had always been a sinister person. However, this thud clearly had a problem. The delicate poisoned crossbow bolt seemed to have shot into wood. It only left a small red dot on Ye Wan's callused but still pure white hands before it fell down dejectedly.
After Ye Liuyun's sanshou had been practiced to the extreme, he could catch Sigu Jian's ruthless strike. His nephew, Ye Wan, clearly did not have such a realm. Faced with Fan Xian's sinister crossbow bolt, he appeared unusually valiant.
After the black light, there was a streak of bright light. With a hiss, Fan Xian's tightly clenched fist suddenly opened. A black dagger stabbed down viciously.
Ye Wan's expression remained calm. He did not move at all. His two hands, one fist and one palm, became soft in front of the black dagger. They turned into two balls of clouds in the sky and gently stuck to the side of Fan Xian's black dagger. It made it seem as if Fan Xian's thousands of Tyrannical forces had plunged into a swamp of cotton and did not raise a single ripple.
No matter how strong he was, this was Fan Xian's first time encountering the Ye family's true bright moon, great river, and cool breeze. He was unable to advance an inch.
…
…
Fan Xian's right foot stomped heavily on the stone floor between the two of them. With a crack, the stone floor shattered like a spiderweb. His expression did not change. The index finger of his right hand curled cleverly. Using a small trick, the black dagger followed the tip of his finger and drew a sharp arc.
The two of them were already very close. Ye Wan had nowhere to retreat. Fan Xian had to break out. Both of them had raised their cultivation to the peak in an instant.
The black dagger, which carried a mournful force, slashed down. Ye Wan's hands suddenly turned into two old trees. The leafless branches opened up one by one and swiftly collided with the black dagger dozens of times. However, not a single wound was left on his withered fingers.
In this instant, the corners of Fan Xian's lips twitched. He smiled slightly. There was only calmness in his smile, as well as the confidence this calmness represented, as well as the power this confidence represented. The black dagger at the tip of his finger slashed down dozens of times. They were all blocked, but he used the momentum to pull the dagger back. His left hand, which had been hanging calmly by his waist, clenched tightly into a fist. He did not give it any exquisite angle or incorporate any technique taught by a Great Grandmaster. He only smashed it forward viciously.
With a muffled bang, Fan Xian's left fist smashed viciously into the hand bridge that Ye Wan had rearranged in an instant.
The battle between the two powerful young men had already progressed to a contest of martial cultivation foundations. Fan Xian abandoned all external emotions and techniques. Completely unreasonable, he forcefully fought the zhenqi in his body against Ye Wan's.
The fist and palm collided without any hindrance.
Ye Wan's expression darkened slightly and then paled in an instant. His left foot stepped behind him and his hands blocked in front of him. His entire body formed a beautiful arrow-shaped figure. His back foot was like a nail nailed firmly into the rock. His two hands were like a metal plate, blocking any attack that came charging at him.
Fan Xian's body remained relaxed and casual. It was as if he had thrown out a punch without thinking in his anger. His two feet were still in place, and his body was still not in a proper shape.
A powerful ripple spread out from the bodies of the two people in the garden. With a whoosh, the autumn wind kicked up, sending up countless pieces of rock and fallen leaves.
Fan Xian's eyes lit up as he stared at Ye Wan's dark and stern face, which was close at hand. It seemed that he had not expected the zhenqi in Ye Wan's body to be so powerful. After consecutively sealing his two hidden attacks, Ye Wan was still able to block the Tyrannical punch he had been accumulating power for a long time.
Just how did Ye Wan train such powerful and solid zhenqi in his body? Had this person been training his spirit and willpower without sleep when he had been exiled to Nanzhao? Thinking of this, Fan Xian faintly felt some admiration for him. However, the sound of footsteps came from outside the garden. Fan Xian did not want to waste any more time.
Fan Xian was slightly startled. He did not know that across from him, the shock in Ye Wan's heart was even more difficult to express. Ye Wan knew how powerful he was, but faced with Fan Xian's seemingly casual punch, he had the inauspicious thought that his hand bridge would be destroyed. The reason he had this thought was purely because Ye Wan was in the field and could clearly feel Fan Xian's strength, which was even more powerful and Tyrannical than the legends.
In this moment, Ye Wan finally understood where Sir Fan junior's reputation had come from. He also finally understood why the Emperor had ordered him to take three steps back the moment he saw Fan Xian.
If Ye Wan had not taken three steps back earlier and set up his hand bridge first, given Fan Xian's ability to react to situations, his strength, and the ruthlessness of his attacks, he would probably have destroyed Ye Wan's state of mind with three consecutive attacks in an instant. He would not have given Ye Wan the opportunity to use the Flowing Cloud Release Hands.
Was he truly not as good as him? Although Ye Wan's expression remained steady and calm, his heart was filled with a powerful impulse to carry out a final battle with the other party.
…
…
Fan Xian did not give Ye Wan this opportunity. Although it was impossible for him to kill the other party in one move, he decided to leave an unforgettable impression on him and leave behind a satisfactory ending for this first encounter between the two of them that was destined to be passed down to future generations.
Thus, Fan Xian's eyes grew brighter and brighter. The clothes on his body began to rustle and tremble in the autumn wind. A faint but endless yuanqi moved along the autumn wind, through the holes in his clothes, and along every inch of his skin. It began to pour endlessly into his body.
Fan Xian closed his eyes, hiding the unusual bright light in them. With a muffled grunt, his left arm swelled up. His fist, which had lost all its momentum, spat out all of its strength.
…
…
The dam made of sand and stone blocked thousands of li of the vast river water. The river water rose higher and higher, and the force of the water increased. Suddenly, the heavens were not on their side. It rained heavily. Countless raindrops scattered into the river. In an instant, a breach appeared in the dam.
A large hall that was about to collapse was held up by countless thick and straight logs, barely holding up the existence of the palace. However, the earth began to shake. An energy that had not been there before but had suddenly appeared shook the earth and shook the foundations of the logs, causing them to fall one by one. The hall lost its support and collapsed with a bang.
From the beginning, he had used the Ye family's Flowing Cloud Sanshou and the Sealing Hand Gesture to form a hand bridge to successfully block Fan Xian's three consecutive attacks. Ye Wan did not feel any pride, even if he was facing the powerful Fan Xian. That was because he knew best how powerful he was. However, he suddenly felt that the bridge his two hands had formed had been destroyed. His body, the hall, was about to collapse.
So, Fan Xian's power was above the legends and above his own judgment.
A gust of autumn wind brushed past. The withered leaves that had been blown about by the two people's strength began to dance again. Amidst the dancing leaves, Fan Xian's unusually steady fist broke through the Ye family's Flowing Cloud Sanshou's hand bridge like breaking dry weeds and smashing viciously into Ye Wan's right chest.
The autumn wind rose again, and the leaves flew again. There was no trace of Fan Xian in the back garden of the Ye family. There was only a pale-faced Ye Wan holding his chest and forcefully swallowing the mouthful of fresh blood that had surged to his lips.
The bodyguards had finally charged into the garden, but they did not see any trace of the enemy. They only saw that the usually undefeated General Ye seemed to have lost.
From the moment Ye Wan saw the green-clothed servant to the moment the bodyguards charged into the garden, only 10 seconds had passed. In these 10 seconds, the two important figures who would influence the future of the Qing Kingdom had met for the first time in their lives and determined a victor.
Ye Wan held his chest and forcefully calmed the almost boiling zhenqi in his body. Killing intent quickly returned to his eyes. In an icy voice, he said, "Inform the Palace that Fan Xian has returned."
With these words, the bodyguards finally knew who had defeated the general they saw as a god of death. Shocked expressions appeared on everyone's faces.
Ye Wan slowly turned around and looked with narrowed eyes at the high wall that Fan Xian had jumped out from earlier. His emotions were unusually complicated. It was an emotion of anger and dissatisfaction. In the earlier battle, as an official, his first thought was to keep the other party here. Thus, from the beginning, he had adopted a defensive stance. His aura had fallen to a disadvantage, so he was dissatisfied in his heart. If the scene had been changed, perhaps it would have been much better.
Fan Xian's last punch had been able to easily break through the bridge of his hand. Although it was impossible for Fan Xian's Tyrannical zhenqi to have much destructive power after breaking through the Flowing Cloud Release, being defeated and injured by the other party was an undeniable reality. In particular, the powerful zhenqi that had surged out of the punch at the end made Ye Wan understand one reality. He was indeed not a match for Fan Xian.
Ye Wan never underestimated his enemies, particularly someone as famous as Fan Xian. However, he had not thought that the strength Fan Xian had demonstrated was more powerful than the legends, military intelligence, and his own predictions.
A cough rang out. Ye Wan used the corner of his sleeve to wipe away the blood at the side of his lips. His eyes were icy cold and unusually angry. The reason for his anger was because why was life so unfair? Ever since he was young, he had traveled between the yellow sand and the Barbarians in the South. His diligence in cultivation was second to no one else in the world. That was why he had his current superior ninth-level strength. However, it did not seem to be enough for Fan Xian.
This was impossible. Fan Xian had not lived much longer than him. How could he have cultivated to such a realm? A genius? Could having a genius surpass his diligence?
…
…
Fan Xian did not know of the anger of the young general in the Ye manor behind him. Even if he knew, he probably would not understand. He knew better than anyone that he was not a genius in martial cultivation. It was just that his luck was good. Furthermore, he was more diligent and diligent than anyone else.
When all was said and done, he and Ye Wan walked the same path. However, from the moment Fan Xian was born, he had begun to cultivate the Tyrannical martial method. From the first day he was alive, he began to fear death. No one in the world could compare to this kind of pressure and feeling. Thus, it created his strange realm.
He had defeated Ye Wan but was unable to kill him. There was not a glimmer of pride in Fan Xian's heart. His confidence, based on his powerful strength, had already allowed him to transcend certain boundaries. In today's battle, he had used his strength to break through. It appeared simple, but it was a return to simplicity and a wonderful choice.
He lowered his head and shook off the gradually rising commotion in Jingdou. Silently, he returned to the inn. He then saw the silent Uncle Wu Zhu. He was not looking at the scenery by the window. Instead, he had his head lowered as if thinking about something.
When humans thought, God laughed. If Wu Zhu began to think, who would laugh? Fan Xian gently coughed and coughed up the bloody phlegm that had come out of his injury from Ye Wan's hand bridge earlier. Looking at Uncle Wu Zhu, he said, "He knows I've returned. I will enter the Palace tonight."
Although he knew there was not much meaning in saying these words, for some reason, Fan Xian was still used to telling Uncle Wu Zhu everything he did. It was just like that day and night in front of the snowy temple when he coughed up blood and talked.
As expected, Wu Zhu did not have any reaction. He only lowered his head.
Fan Xian's head also gradually lowered.
The night gradually darkened. There was no light in the room in the inn. There was only darkness and two people.
…
…
At the first glimmer of dawn the next day, the room in the inn was already empty. The unlit candles still maintained their delicate appearance. There were no sticky tears shed to mourn in advance the revenge that was about to begin and end.
Not long after midnight, Fan Xian changed into a eunuch's clothes and slipped into the darkness of Jingdou. Before he left the inn, he gave Uncle Wu Zhu one last deep glance. He did not try to wake him or invite him to join in the conflict of human emotions.
Wu Zhu also did not seem to mind his departure. He just waited alone until daybreak. The moment the sky brightened, rain began to fall in Jingdou in the depths of autumn and the beginning of winter. The icy rainwater pattered against the transparent glass windows and blossomed into flower after flower on the surface.
It was rain, not snow, but it appeared particularly cold. The cold rain did not grow heavier. It only fell in strands, striking against the tiles of the private residences in Jingdou. In the small stone alleys and beside the little bridges and flowing water, a rich, slow, and beautiful melody rang out.
All of the private residences in Jingdou bathed in the cold rain had windows. Ever since the palace treasury had revived, the price of glass in the court had plummeted. Most of these windows were made of glass.
Thus, when the cold rain fell on the world, it would blossom into flowers of different sizes on the glass.
Wu Zhu, covered by a black cloth, sat quietly by the window, looking at the rain blooming on the glass. After a long silence, he suddenly extended a finger and gently touched the glass. It seemed that he wanted to touch the beautiful flower outside the window but was helplessly separated by the glass.
"This is glass." Wu Zhu suddenly broke the silence. Alone, he looked out the window. Without a trace of emotion, he said, "I made it."
Wu Zhu sat for a long time. Then he stood up and silently looked out the window. It seemed that he remembered that it was time for him to go shopping, so he turned and pushed open the door to leave the room. He walked down the stairs and out of the inn into the icy rain.
There were many spots of dirt on his clothes. They were marks left by a Jingdou urchin in an alley yesterday afternoon. He had been in a heavy mood all night and had not noticed this.
No one would go shopping in the rain. Perhaps there were couples who liked to play around, holding umbrellas and walking in the rain, but there was no such thing in this world. Scholars held umbrellas and sang poems in the rain. Wu Zhu walked in the rain, covered in black cloth and clothed in plain clothes. Who knew how many people who were hiding from the rain looked at him in amazement.
The icy rain soaked through Wu Zhu's clothes and swallowed up the dirty spots of mud. He walked silently and alone in the rain, passing through the streets and alleys of Jingdou. He allowed the rain to soak his forever black and beautiful hair, as well as the black cloth that had been covered by thousands of years of wind and frost.
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