Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A bitter smell entered his nostrils, and Xiao En was gradually roused. He fixed Fan Xian with an indescribable expression and spoke with some difficulty.
I believe Chen Pingping would be very disappointed in you. If you want to kill me, kill me. If you want to let me go, then let me go. With all this back-and-forth, how will you be able to achieve greatness in the future?
Fan Xian’s face was blank.
Other people presume I will kill you, so I will not. What do I have to fear in going back and forth? As long as I end up with the information I want, I’m happy to torment you over and over.
Though he said it, his eyes still slowly drooped. He knew that the old man was using his curiosity, and he knew full well that he had a secret that even the royal family of Northern Qi and a grandmaster had an interest him. If he killed him at that moment, it would not be done willingly.
He hadn’t expected that the plot to murder Xiao En was to get rid of such an incredible secret. Nor had he expected such a remarkable young woman. But Fan Xian was not put out in the slightest. He had learned since his youth how to adapt to changes to one’s plans.
Some time passed. He suddenly smiled.
If I arrested Zhuang Mohan to threaten you, would you come out with your secret?
Xiao En slowly raised his head. There was a hint of shock in his lifeless eyes. He seemed not to have imagined that the young man knew about the brotherhood between himself and the literary master Zhuang Mohan.
Of course, for an old snake like you; someone who only lives for himself. I reckon you don’t care about Zhuang Mohan at all, even though he’s done so much for you.
Fan Xian kept up his smile, pressuring the old man. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.
So I hope that you will have the chance to tell me your secret soon. Otherwise… if I figure out the secret of the temple by myself, I will murder Zhuang Mohan personally!
The temple? The temple!
With these two successive blows, a hoarse sound came from Xiao En’s throat. He lifted his weakened arm and pointed at Fan Xian. His eyes were filled with shock. It seemed like he wanted to know how the young man knew that the secret he was keeping was linked to the temple!
Fan Xian satisfied Xiao En’s curiosity.
My conclusion comes from my confidence in Cheng Pingping. You say that Chen Pingping knows nothing of the secret you are keeping. Then it is simple. I believe that in all the land, the only things that Chen Pingping does not know about are affairs of the temple.
Since your secret is that great, I will make sure that you are not killed by Haitang.
Fan Xian’s voice carried a hint of mockery. He couldn’t help but think about his uncle with his cloth-bound eyes. If Wu Zhu’s memories returned one day, would going to the temple not be like returning home?
These were just his own thoughts. But at that moment, he still couldn’t try to kill Xiao En again. One reason was because Haitang was close by, and so it would be hard to use the surprise attack outside the village as a pretext. The other reason was because of his mother. Fan Xian very much wanted to know where the temple was. And that damned Wu Zhu seemed like he would never return.
After leaving the carriage, rather exhausted, Fan Xian gathered up the rest of the incense he used to knock people out, and arranged for the imperial physician who was with the diplomatic mission to go into Xiao En’s carriage and treat his wounds. He closed his eyes for a long while, and then summoned Gao Da and made a gesture. Some time later, he heard two groans come from the carriage, and the faint smell of blood.
Fan Xian went back into the carriage, and spoke calmly to a sinister-faced Xiao En.
Since you dared to escape, and I still do not wish to kill you, then the price will be your legs. I am not Chen Pingping, and your so-called secret is not entirely indispensable to me. If you wish to threaten me with your suicide, please go ahead.
But you must be feeling a lot of emotions about this homecoming. I presume you will not have the courage to kill yourself anymore.
He smiled and left the carriage.
Xiao En looked at the blood that seeped out onto the broken bones below his knees, and a faint worry showed in his eyes. He knew that this young man of the Overwatch Council would become a terrifying character in the south.
Fan Xian looked at the camp in the noonday light. His own plan was certainly not perfect by any means, and had unexpectedly brought about this absurd result. He had taken advantage of the opportunity provided by Xiao En’s terror, and with the help of knockout drops, he had confirmed that the old man’s secret involved the temple. Otherwise, this plot would not seem to be worthy of the intractable hatred and desire for revenge of that natural blade-master Haitang.
In the distance, the sound of horses’ uncomfortable whinnying echoed through the Black Knights’ camp. Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked toward it. He knew that his poison on the meadow had begun to take effect. He waved a hand to summon a Tiger Guard, and asked him to relay an order to the Black Knights.
If they have mares, that’s the best way to deal with it. If that’s not possible, then wash them all thoroughly with fresh water.
The Tiger Guard took the message. Fan Xian smiled, turned, and entered Si Lili’s carriage. Somewhat weakened, he sat on a chair. It was strange, facing this woman, knowing that last year she was one of the plotters who had wanted him dead. But he still felt quite relaxed. It seemed that he had gotten used to the faint aroma of the carriage, which had become like a kind of calming drug to him.
Si Lili took off his blood-soaked clothes for him and gently washed him in warm water. The warm towel slipped over his nude and well-proportioned body.
Have you ever met Haitang?
asked Fan Xian suddenly, his eyes closed.
Si Lili frowned slightly, seemingly trying to remember life in the royal palace of Northern Qi.
Ku He’s female disciple.
Si Lili had a sudden realization.
You mean Duoduo?
Fan Xian frowned.
I came across her today.
He told her everything that had happened that day.
At first I thought she was some kind of magical being. The way she spoke and moved didn’t look like some powerful master at all. She looked just like some kind of village girl.
Duoduo is no ordinary woman.
Si Lili looked at him with slight worry in her eyes.
Since childhood, she was obsessed with martial arts. She had no interest in poetry or painting or calligraphy at all. In Ku He’s priory, she started a vegetable garden, and the only thing she did apart from practicing martial arts every day was tend to her plants.
Fan Xian was somewhat stunned. That kind of behavior wasn’t completely unlike Prince Jing. He could guess why Haitang had lived that sort of life. Ku He’s school of martial arts sought to unite man and heaven, and placed particular emphasis on closeness to nature. Since Haitang had been such a talent, it was only natural that she hid herself away in her vegetable garden. It seemed that her country-girl act was perhaps not that much of an act.
Be careful. She is dangerous.
Si Lili teased Fan Xian, drying him with a towel.
I reckon you were lucky to come back today at all.
That was indeed the case, but Fan Xian still raised his eyebrows and smiled strangely.
Although my martial art practice is not as good as hers, it was a real battle… I think she came out of it worse than I did.
Si Lili smiled at him.
If we cross the Northern Qi border and Haitang comes to kill you, I can’t speak for you.
Fan Xian laughed and shook his head.
If she dares to attack me when we cross the border, I’ll take off my clothes and let her kill me quick. If she doesn’t fear provoking a war between our two countries.
He suddenly looked at Si Lili’s delicate figure and thought back to that night on the pleasure boat, and the drug that he had used. He couldn’t help but think of Haitang, wherever she was. It was as if he could still feel the coldness of her dagger on his neck.
He shivered. Si Lili presumed he was cold, and hurriedly covered him with a robe.
Only Fan Xian knew. He was somewhat scared of Haitang and her blade. If those seven Tiger Guards and the Black Knights hadn’t arrived in time, then he may well have died by her hand. Right now, he couldn’t put up a fight against an upper ninth-level master. Yan Xiaoyi shot him down from the top of the palace wall with one arrow. Although he had made progress since then, he still couldn’t match Haitang.
This business was all rather odd. Fan Xian had fought two battles from night to dawn, showing more courage than he had ever been able to before. He much preferred assassinations to fighting all-out with military force.
Some time later, Fan Xian sighed, silently posing a question to the heavens.
That damned Wu Zhu. He hasn’t followed me. Does he not know how to contact me at all? Give me the box, give me the box!
In the distance, in the reeds by the lakeside along the national border, in that cold, deep water, a head suddenly appeared. The lake water cascaded down her hair. It was Haitang, disciple of a grandmaster, considered to be a Tianmai by the people of Northern Qi. She exposed her bare upper body, a look of anger floating across her face.
She had already withstood the poison for an hour. She was surprised it still hadn’t been purged from her system. Her insides burned incessantly as if they were on fire. Even ice-cold lake water couldn’t dispel the thoughts of lust in her heart.
Haitang bit her bottom lip, giving a slight sigh of ecstasy. Finally, she understood what had happened. The hatred flashed in her eyes.
That shameless Fan Xian!
she cursed in a low voice.
Fan Xian had not used poison, but an aphrodisiac. A top-quality aphrodisiac would do no harm to the human body. Haitang had used zhenqi to withstand the poison, which had instead made the drug circulate through her body that much faster. No wonder that in the cold spring lake, her heart soared and her body felt hot all over.
Haitang sighed, and thought of what Fan Xian had said. He was an official, but he also considered himself a fighter. He was a ninth-level master, and yet he used such underhanded tactics.
But there were still many things she did not understand. When the poison was released, she had held her breath. Could it be that when they were fighting later, in a moment of inattention, she had inhaled… the remaining drug? She suddenly lifted her right hand and frowned as she examined it closely. In between her thumb and index finger, she saw a small scar. The scar did not ache. It must have been created by the poison needle from before.
Haitang had always thought highly of herself, and had never given any thought to any of the poisons throughout the land. So she grasped at it with her hand, unaware of how complicated Fan Xian’s methods for administering poison were. First he used the needle to inject poison into a wound, then he had used an aerosolized version of the drug to cover her body, circulating it into her body through the wound!
First injecting poison into the skin through a needle, then using an aphrodisiac to confuse her will. The lust tired out her body, and all of her anger was directed toward Fan Xian.
