Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The snow was still falling as the night gradually grew darker. The Lizheng in the village was making arrangements for this group of officials to rest in various private residences. Fan Xian did not allow Hong Changqing and the swordsmen to stand duty because he knew there was still danger hidden outside.
Although the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau specialized in assassination, they had no good ways of dealing with a long-distance attack. In the large school, there was only himself left lost in thought. Although the fire in the fire basin was burning and there was a great deal of charcoal prepared beside the basin, it felt that the temperature seemed to have dropped.
Silence.
Fan Xian stretched his hands over the fire to warm them. His head was slightly tilted. It was clear he was lost in thought. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and said,
I struck out.
He paused and then summarized,
But, I struck empty air.
The lighting in the school’s large hall changed slightly. The red light from the fire basin cast out Fan Xian’s shadow. The shadow twisted and turned on the ground, then a man in black clothes walked out of that patch of shadow. Very naturally, he sat down beside Fan Xian.
Fan Xian glanced at this deathly pale middle-aged man and handed over the wineskin.
The Shadow silently looked at Fan Xian’s wrist and wineskin in his hand. After thinking a bit, he shook his head. In a sinister voice, he said,
Alcohol will make one’s reaction slower.
What is the name of Yan Xiaoyi’s son?
Fan Xian changed the topic. He took back the wineskin and drank a mouthful, feeling a line of fire burning down from his lips to his midsection.
Don’t know.
The Shadow shook his head.
The nickname you gave him was pretty good.
Fan Xian said,
Don’t’ spend your days so tense. This little arrow brother should still be freezing outside in the snowy night. He wouldn’t dare come close to attack.
The Shadow nodded.
Fan Xian once again handed the wineskin over and said,
Have a drink. I’m not Chen Pingping. Although there are many people under heaven who want to kill me, at least it won’t be that easy.
The Shadow thought about it and accepted the wineskin, taking a few shallow sips from it. A moment later, two spots of color appeared on his deathly pale skin like the clown role in opera. It was very cute.
Fan Xian chuckled and said,
If the two exchanged places, I would never be able to endure the loneliness of the darkness…I’ve long been curious, do you not usually need to eat or drink water?
When he was protecting Chen Pingping or Fan Xian, the Shadow never left their side. It was no wonder Fan Xian had such a question.
The Shadow replied sinisterly,
Naturally, I have my ways.
Fan Xian shook his head and did not say more. He turned the conversation back to what he said previously.
You saw my sword come down on empty air.
Yes, Sir.
The Shadow’s voice did not have any emotion.
That Thirteenth Wang is very powerful.
Fan Xian was silent. Of course he knew Wang Xi was very powerful. He was powerful enough that he could get near the school in a snowy night and yet neither Fan Xian nor the Shadow had sensed anything. He was powerful enough that while the arrow was high in the air, he had moved like a spirit to stand in front of Fan Xian and was powerful enough so that Fan Xian’s sword struck air.
It looked like a simple block with the green banner, but Fan Xian knew the strength that black arrow in the snowy night contained. The further Wang Xi appeared to downplay it, the more it proved his ability.
I can’t see through him.
Fan Xian picked up the iron poker beside his feet and randomly prodded it into the fire basin.
This Thirteenth Wang is indeed very powerful, but he is very good at enduring. Those who can endure must certainly have great plans…
Suddenly his brow rose.
He’s not enduring. He doesn’t care. Wang Xi’s style of conversation shows that he doesn’t care about many things. He doesn’t care about my verbal attack and does care about purposeful humiliation…if he was truly sent by Sigu Jian, why does he care so little? He could not mind, but he can’t not care. To not be able to see someone’s desire, that is a bit of a problem.
Just what did this Thirteenth Wang want?
This question gradually weighed on Fan Xian’s heart. He did not like this condition where there was suddenly an outsider coming in to mess up the situation.
The Shadow suddenly opened his mouth and said,
This person…should be someone from the Sword Hut, but not just from the Sword Hut.
Fan Xian did not really understand, but he trusted the Shadow’s judgement. Sigu Jian’s last disciple was indeed incredibly mysterious.
He sighed and said,
We’ll wait until he kills the little archer and then we’ll see.
The Shadow glanced at him. He knew this was a test of commitment. He knew that Fan Xian was borrowing this knife to kill someone, not to see the quality of the knife, but to see its heart. If the Thirteenth Wang truly was Sigu Jian’s attitude and Yan Xiaozhi’s son died by his hands, Fan Xian could make quite an issue of it. At least, an enormous crack would appear in the connection between Xinyang and Dongyi.
Other people do not know that Thirteenth Wang is Sigu Jian’s last disciple.
The Shadow reminded him.
Fan Xian calmly explained,
If he kills the little archer, then I will have everyone under heaven know that he is Sigu Jian’s last disciple.
The Shadow was quiet for a moment.
Sir is wise…perhaps this kind of benefit is not enough.
Fan Xian understood what he meant. Bringing Sigu Jian into this would make Dongyi angry. Although Fan Xian and the entire Qing Kingdom were used to pushing all the blame onto the head of that idiot Sigu Jian, now Sigu Jian had given a thread of his sincerity to Fan Xian. If this thread of sincerity was only used to stir up trouble in the relationship between Xinyang and Dongyi, it seemed like a waste.
He glanced at the Shadow and faintly said,
On the matter of Dongyi, I’ll listen to you. You are more familiar than me.
Yes, Sir,
the Shadow slowly said.
Also, it will be snowy for the next five days. It will be perfect for an arrow attack, so you need to be careful.
How far are the Black Knights from us?
10 li.
Fan Xian became silent. In such heavy snowfall, to have a bow-wielding ace distantly following the group was truly troublesome. Fortunately, the Black Knights were sweeping the surroundings. It was impossible that the other party had moved a military troop here for his mission.
If they mobilized the army to kill Fan Xian, then they must wipe out the target completely and not leave behind a trace of evidence to be brought to the Palace.
Even the most powerful Qing Kingdom military didn’t have the power to completely massacre 500 Black Knights and not leave a single one alive.
I don’t understand why they would choose to attack me on the way back to the capital. The other party should know that the chances of success were not very good.
Fan Xian furrowed his brows.
Although Yan Xiaoyi’s son is young…he shouldn’t be so arrogant.
Perhaps he has reasons for needing to make a move,
the Shadow slowly said.
I’ll go kill him.
After Fan Xian thought for a moment, he slowly shook his head.
We don’t know whether or not he has other people with him. We can stay together and let that Thirteenth Wang make a move…safety first. For creatures like aces, it is difficult to pull together 10 to 20 of them. If it is only a few people, why should we worry?
The Shadow looked at him strangely and didn’t say anything.
Fan Xian raised his head and gazed at the grey net hanging in the blackness of the rafters of the large hall in the school and sighed in his heart. He didn’t dare to use his own people to carry out the most effective counter-attack during this snowstorm. In these two to three years, the biggest crack in his state of mind was that arrow and bow.
Yan Xiaoyi’s bow and arrow.
Up until now, two years to the day, Fan Xian could still clearly feel the aura of death on that corner building in the Royal Palace. He still felt incomparable fear about the vicious currents on that arrow.
The arrow outside the school earlier had come too suddenly and made little sense. Fan Xian was worried that this situation was a trap to lure himself or the Shadow out into the snowy woods to be slaughtered.
Yan Xiaoyi was also going back to the capital on orders. The Council reports said he was still on the road and had not yet reached the capital, but who knew which road was he on? Was he on the same road back to the capital?
Fan Xian randomly prodded the charcoal fire in the fire basin. His thoughts had long floated to the snowy woods outside the village. The fire in the basin gradually dimmed and went out.
Go, rest early.
Fan Xian sighed in the darkness. Standing, he patted his shoulders and tightened the collar of the fox cape. Pushing open the main doors to the school, the snow and wind outside poured in and forced him to narrow his eyes, but an arrow did not come flying at him. It made him feel slightly disappointed.
The next day, the group of carriages followed Yingzhou to the North, moving in the direction of Jingdou on the official road. Because of last night’s events, the defenses for the entire group of carriages became stricter. The swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau set out three people disguised as merchants braving the snow, hidden in the darkness watching all suspicious figures.
Fan Xian sent out another order. The 500 Black Knights that had protected the head and tail of the group reduced their distance to the group of carriages. The sounds of hooves could faintly be heard, ensuring their safety.
Along the way, there were some figures who carried an aura of the jianghu in the tea houses, restaurants, inns, and outside of relay stations who watched this group of carriages.
The Overwatch Council secret agents were a bit wary. After they reported it to Fan Xian, he only gently nodded and did not have any major reaction.
Just as they were about to leave Yingzhou, a woman with a broken arm was respectfully waiting by the side of the road. Stopping the carriage, she requested to see Fan Xian.
Fan Xian saw her. As he drank his tea, he looked at this rather charming woman with some interest.
The woman knelt between the carriages. With a trace of respect and fear, she said,
Subordinate greets Sir.
Fan Xian nodded and waved his hand.
Guan Wumei, stand and speak.
Yes.
This once famous female bandit of Yingzhou and Xia Qifei’s cousin respectfully stood up. She half bent her body so that her head didn’t hit the top canopy of the carriage.
What have you found?
Fan Xian rubbed between his brows and asked. Although the Overwatch Council’s intelligence network was spread out all under heaven, if they wanted to investigate someone in the marketplace, they couldn’t do as well as the Jiangnan water bandits already deeply entrenched with the public. Regardless of whether it was which inn had taken what guest or which carriage had sent who away, the Jiangnan bandits could find out everything.
Guan Wumei reported on the situation these few days and then said,
We only faintly found someone. They had a large package, but the brothers in the gang couldn’t tail him. They lost track of him the day before yesterday in Fujiapo. Looking at the direction he went in, he should be heading to Jingdou.
Fan Xian was silent for a moment, thinking, It looks that the little archer was indeed very brave and valiant to come kill him.
After speaking a bit more, he had Guan Wumei disembark from the carriage.
The group of carriages restarted their progress. Just as the Shadow had seen in the sky, snow fell endless from the sky the next few days. The snow was sometimes heavy and sometimes weak. It gradually blinded one’s sight and confused one’s heart.
At last, they safely reached the Weizhou upstream of Wei River. This was the last province in the South before entering Jingdou. The territory wasn’t large, but it was very prosperous. However, the court had long set his return date. Fan Xian’s silver chest for his family property was still on Wei River. Traveling slowly toward Jingdou under the protection of the Shazhou Navy, he could not delay.
The next day, he left Weizhou. However, he had already exposed his identity and, moved 100 provincial troops toward Weizhou. Weizhou was terrified that someone would happen to this major figure, so they agreed to all requests.
The larger group traveled north for one day. They left Weizhou’s territory and entered the governance of Jingdou.
Fan Xian stood on the carriage and turned his head to gaze back. He saw on the low mound the silver-masked Jing Ge was watching him.
He nodded his head. Jing Ge mounted his horse, raising his right fist. The 500 Black Knights were like a sharp black knife, slicing through the silence on the mound. Travelling through the hills, they prepared to return to the Black Knights camp 40 li away.
This was an iron-clad rule of the Qing court. The Black Knights were an unequaled personal army the Emperor had personally given to Chen Pingping. In order to ensure the Overwatch Council’s special position and balance, the Black Knights were strictly forbidden from entering the jurisdiction of Jingdou.
One step in and they would be killed without pardon. This was an iron rule of the Black Knights. Fan Xian often thought that through this iron rule. It could clearly be seen that although that Emperor of his was self-confident to the point of narcissism and could even see rebellion as a game, he probably knew deep in his heart that if the nobility of Qing Kingdom rebelled, the cripple could be the most terrifying.
Although the Emperor would not believe that the cripple would rebel, as an Emperor, he ihad to take precautions.
Entering the territory of Jingdou, the official roads became wider, and the mountain woods became less. There were more people walking. The snow and rain gradually lessened, and the accumulated snow gradually melted. Wet mud enveloped the horses’ hooves, making the progress of the entire group appear difficult.
However, the people of the Overwatch Council had already relaxed. In Jingdou, no one would dare carry out a murder in broad daylight.
Although Fan Xian was a careful and cautious person, he was not an exception. Ever since the inception of Qing Kingdom, even though the military occasionally had those of thriving ambition, no one dared make trouble near Jingdou.
A small mountain valley appeared before their eyes. The white snow pressed down on the precious evergreen woods, making the branches of the trees creak. The ice had frozen into dragons.
Fan Xian lifted the thick cloth curtain and looked at this mountain valley. He found that there were not many rocks on the mountain. In the distance, Jingdou’s giant city walls could faintly be seen, stealing one’s breath like a giant beast.
He let a smile break across his face. Jingdou, he had finally come back. The little archer’s illogical arrow had actually made him nervous for so many days. It looked like he still needed to improve the cultivation of his temperament
…
…
Suddenly, Fan Xian’s earlobe trembled. He heard the sound of a sharp knife sliding into flesh and blood in the mountain woods in front. That was the sound of the Shadow attacking. He then heard the sound of a crossbow being wound.
Fan Xian gave a sharp cry and grabbed the coachman in front of him. All the carriages in the group suddenly stopped at this sharp cry.
From on top of the low mountain, a huge crossbow bolt came rushing toward him across the air, carrying with it the cry of wind and thunder. With a crash, it shot into the carriage Fan Xian was in.
The coachman at the front of the carriage gave a wild yell. Fighting free of Fan Xian’s hand, he threw himself in front of Fan Xian.
Although Fan Xian had reacted quickly, that bolt, as long as an arm, still ruthlessly pierced into the coachman’s chest. Blood and organs flew out from the impact, covering the walls.
The bolt punched through the body and nailed the coachman’s body beside Fan Xian. Fan Xian’s expression was dark. He slapped the wall. With a clicking sound, a wooden board immediately lowered inside the cotton curtain, sealing up the entire carriage.
Immediately after, countless horrifying and breath-stopping sounds of crossbows rang out in the valley.
