Chapter 196: You Die, I Live
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was impossible for Xiao En to have gotten too far away. Twenty years of suffering in prison had already dealt irreparable damage to his body, which was then forced to fight Fan Xian's poison for the past few days. After reopening his meridians with great difficulty and making a daunting escape, he still had to waste more stamina to kill three very determined dogs.
He tightly clutched a branch, his chest heaving intensely. Slightly out of breath, he mocked himself for getting old.
As the moonlight illuminated the forest, Xiao En could clearly see seven figures with long blades behind their backs. They were moving very cautiously towards his hiding spot. Xiao En was in fact quite shocked. Since being let out of prison, this was his first time seeing the envoy's Tiger Guards. He didn't know when the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council managed to obtain such a powerful force.
What worried him even more was that youth named Fan Xian. Xiao En understood early on that Fan Xian was determined to kill him, which was why the youth had intentionally created this opening.
Across the mountain next to the forest was Wudu River. Xiao En's closest secret disciple had dispatched a team to wait for him at Northern Qi's border.
A cold light gleamed in Xiao En's eyes as he decided to take a gamble. It had been two hours since he escaped from the camp and engaged in this game of cat and mouse. Far in the distance, the sky was beginning to brighten, and a milky white mist, unique to the great lake, began to rise in the forest.
The forest shrouded in white mist provided Xiao En with the perfect opportunity. He silently slid down the tree. Flat on his stomach like a pond loach, he began to crawl bravely in the opposite direction—toward the seven Tiger Guards. Crawling on the ground brought back a familiar feeling – a feeling from long ago. It was the life-or-death feeling from when he was still a lowly spy in Northern Wei.
Suppressing his heavy breaths to the utmost and reinforcing his declining stamina with his pure zhenqi, Xiao En was going to "brush past" those seven powerful Tiger Guards under the cover of the mist. While it looked ridiculous, as long as he could get out of the forest and safely back north, Xiao En didn't care.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
Three serpent-like bolts that seemed as though they had eyes flew toward Xiao En's position with lightning speed. But Xiao En's body seemed to have some special senses. Before the bolts got close, he had already moved several centimeters to the left and avoided being pierced.
But in doing so, he was exposed. Seven long blades came down, forming a most terrifying lattice of death.
There was a muffled grunt. Xiao En had disappeared from where he was. The true strength of a powerful master was unleashed at this moment. A wave of crackling sound filled the air. In this brief moment, the old man had moved outside of the matrix of blades. He leaned forward, dispersed the surrounding thick mist, and delivered two palm strikes against the blades!
Two Tiger Guards were sent flying, crashing through two small trees.
Letting out a ferocious roar, Gao Da, his two hands gripping the hilt of his blade, chopped down at that ghostly figure.
The slash rang through the air, but Xiao En was expressionless. His eyes shined dimly behind his wild white hair. He clapped his hands together and disappeared into the mist, dodging Gao Da's unblockable blow. Xiao En then struck out with his palm. The wind created by his strike forced Gao Da to come to a halt.
In the blink of an eye, the blades of the remaining four Tiger Guards once again enveloped Xiao En.
With a sharp cry, Xiao En stomped the ground hard, splashing up the mud. Then, with swift work of his fingers, he sent countless slivers of wood—each as thin and sharp as a needle—in all directions!
Hearing something tearing through the air, the four Tiger Guards raised their blades to shield themselves, especially their eyes, from the unknown weapon. Even so, they felt the pain as those slivers of wood embedded in their hands.
Gao Da flashed powerfully and the wind from his swing blew away the wooden spines. With both hands on his hilt, he looked up to see Xiao En's shadow slipping into the mist, almost to the edge of the forest.
There was a great rustling noise as all of the leaves on a freshly-grown branch were blown away by a powerful force. Fan Xian, dressed in all black, crashed through like a rock. He rose to the highest point using all of his zhenqi in an attempt to catch Xiao En!
Fan Xian had been hiding. He had fired those three bolts. Now that he was presented with such a perfect opportunity, how could he let it slip by?
In a flash, he and Xiao En crashed together. Fan Xian aimed his gleaming black dagger into the old man's throat.
But in that moment, Fan Xian suddenly found Xiao En's eyes to be perfectly calm.
All of Xiao En's focus was on Fan Xian; he too had been waiting for this moment. Another sharp cry rang out from the old man's dry lips. Maneuvering swiftly, he grabbed Fan Xian's attacking arm with one hand and, with the other, he jabbed at Fan Xian's eyes like a serpent.
The pair crashed hard against a tree, but even that seemed to be within Xiao En's calculations. He intentionally jutted his elbow back a bit and used the impact to further accelerate his strike.
The old man's fingers were dry and terrifying. But Fan Xian's eyes flashed.
In the thick mist, two hands of different skin colors twisted together like they were wringing a towel. Xiao En sensed a strange feeling, as if he did not know how Fan Xian extended his other hand.
Fan Xian had predicted his enemy's move; it was the excellent result of training under Wu Zhu's stick.
As scary as Xiao En was, he wasn't as scary as Wu Zhu. Fan Xian grunted as he locked onto Xiao En's wrist with his right hand. He then started to attack the old man with his powerful zhenqi. Swinging out his free hand, there was a flash which pierced the mist.
It was a blade!
Xiao En suppressed Fan Xian's wrist and attempted to knee the youth in the abdomen. Pressing down his right thumb, a dark gleam could faintly be seen. It brushed past Fan Xian's neck.
As soon as Xiao En's thumb moved, Fan Xian twisted his body. Using his inexhaustible strength, he avoided Xiao En's knee. But he felt something cold on his left shoulder. Fan Xian knew he had been scratched by Xiao En's hidden blade.
With both their hands locked together, they appeared to be in a hopeless situation. But with the pain in his shoulder, Fan Xian grunted. A sharp blade projected out of the bottom of his dagger and cut off one of Xiao En's fingers!
The pain from losing a finger made the old man loosen his grip. Fan Xian silently pressed down. His dark, gleaming dagger… pierced deeply into Xiao En's left shoulder!
At that moment, the two were still in freefall. Xiao En was silent, as though he hadn't been stabbed at all. But he did open his mouth, as if he was about to express his pain.
A thin needle launched out of the old man's mouth towards Fan Xian's face!
Fan Xian stomped down with his left foot onto Xiao En's knee. With the crunching of broken bone, Fan Xian managed to gain a few centimeters of height and the needle hit his chest. Feeling the dull pain, he twisted his left wrist, turning his dual-bladed dagger into a pinwheel, aimed after Xiao En's wrist.
With a slap, Xiao En let go. His pure strength was enough to shock away Fan Xian's right hand.
While Fan Xian's right arm appeared to weakly fall back, the hand swiped Fan Xian's hair line… and bounced right back with lightning speed! Between his fingers was a needle which jabbed delicately into Xiao En's neck!
Xiao En's body stiffened and Fan Xian felt his chest getting stuffy. The two finally crashed to the ground, shaking up layers of fallen leaves and mud. The smell of decay was punishing.
A long blade came down and there was the sound of flesh being cut. The mist gathered again. Gao Da stared at Sir Fan, who was splattered with blood. But Xiao En was nowhere to be seen.
While the silent struggle between Fan Xian and Xiao En seemed to have taken a long time, in reality it all took place while they were falling from the top of a tree. In that short moment, the two duelists, under the cover of the night, silently carried out one of the most ferocious battles that the world had ever seen. The maneuvers they executed, though they seemed normal, actually represented the quintessence of Northern Wei's deadliest killing techniques and Fan Xian's own fatal practice, which he had been training since he was a child.
While certainly not graceful, the results were unquestionable. Had it been another strong warrior fighting either of them, there surely would have been a chill in this misty night.
It was a fight to the death between two ninth-ranked assassins. It was a rare occurrence in this world.
"Xiao En is finished."
Fan Xian coughed twice. With his hand in a thin glove, he removed the needle which almost killed him from the Council's specially-made clothes. After making sure the poison which had gotten into the flesh wound on his shoulder wasn't potent, Fan Xian reloaded his crossbow in silence.
Chapter 197: Startling Developments in the Meadow
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xiao En knew he was finished. After hitting the ground, he relied on his decades of experience; he covered himself with rotten tree leaves, hiding his scent and quietly escaping the forest.
Since Fan Xian and the seven other Tiger Guards had followed him through the reeds along the lakeside into the forest, he had definitely left them some kind of trace. Xiao En covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his coughing. 20 years of life in prison had damaged his circulatory system. Falling that high from a tree, he realized with some sorrow that his brain reacted more slowly than his body.
If this were 20 years ago, he believed he could have calmly killed Fan Xian in the process of falling. Even if there were seven expert swordsmen under the tree, as long as he retained his familiarity with the mists of the Northern Sea, Xiao En still strongly believed he could easily escape.
But... old age comes to all of us eventually.
He had no way to stop up the bleeding wounds on his shoulder. Fan Xian's strange dagger had left two strange puncture marks, and the blood flowed from them incessantly. Xiao En could feel his body weaken, and a smile seemed to flash in his eyes as if he had seen through something. He tore off a strip of clothing and wrapped it around his hand, pressing it onto the bloody wounds.
His kneecap had shattered to pieces, and the pain stimulated his mind, allowing the ageing spymaster to continue making his way through the thick mists.
After he had fallen from the tree, Gao Da, leader of the Tiger Guards, had slashed at his belly with a blade as white as snow. Although he had quickly evaded it, he still could not stop the sliced flesh from opening up, and his black robes were being soaked with blood.
Although Xiao En had suffered many wounds to his body, the one that had made him feel powerless to resist was still the needle in his neck. He did not dare to pull it out, unsure of what the consequence would be. He could feel the blood slowly congealing in his body, and his pace slowed as he tried to move forward.
His aged and withered hands could still firmly pull mushrooms up from under the tree. He chewed them and swallowed. These were hongshan mushrooms, which could enrich the blood and counteract poison. This was Aishan Forest, a place he had been familiar with decades ago, so he had chosen this place to make his escape. To his surprise, he was still not out of the grasp of that young man's tricks.
Dawn slowly arrived, and the thick mists had still not dispersed. Bright rays of light saturated the fog, bringing about a feeling of holy purity.
The blood finally began to drip from the old man's body, spilling to the muddy ground. Though the sound was subtle, he knew clearly that that young man was stalking him like a hidden tiger, and could emerge at any moment. He just didn't understand why he hadn't already made his move.
But Xiao En knew... he was finished.
It was unclear what strength had stubbornly supported this old man, tormented for 20 years and now ridden with wounds, as he made his way through the mists of Aishan Forest, climbing to the summit of a hill. Walking across the broad and slightly wet meadow, he finally saw Northern Qi territory.
The village of Wuduhe shined under the sunlight in the distance. Xiao En sighed. Rather disappointed and powerless, he sat down, using his hands to move his right leg with its shattered kneecap to the left-hand side. He coughed.
The shine came from the reflection off the village's colored glass tiles. Although this was the countryside, where glass was of little use, many years ago Xiao En had learned that there had once been a glassmaker's workshop not far from the village. After it had been destroyed, the people of the village took the glass fragments and arranged them upon the roofs of their houses.
No matter when or where they were, in a dark world, people always wanted to create a little light for themselves.
Xiao En was the same. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the shining glass tiles, thinking back to over 20 years ago. The small village seemed to have hardly changed.
In the fields outside the village, a battle had long since ended. The troops who had come to rescue Xiao En had been completely massacred. Around 200 Black Knights, like a lifeless black wall, stood on one side of the field. A handful of them had charged into the bloody fray, seen their still-living enemy, and drawn their blades. The endless spluttering sound had echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Those young men in the bloodbath in the meadow were Shang Shanhu's men, were they not?"
Xiao En narrowed his eyes and looked at the scenery. He felt a sudden tiredness, and coughed again. He already completely understood Fan Xian's plans. Although the handsome young man lacked experience, he had the boldness and courage to make a move. He had chased him all the way to Wuduhe. Naturally, he wanted him dead along with the pitiful Northern Qi solders in the meadow below.
A slender dagger quietly came forth. Its surface was cold enough to make the old man's neck break out in goose pimples.
"You aren't as strong as I thought." Fan Xian's calm voice came from behind him.
Xiao En pursed his withered lips and laughed bitterly. "I'm not as strong as I thought either."
"With all your experience, it shouldn't have been hard to tell this was a trap. Why did you still try to escape?" All the while that he had been chasing him throughout the night, this was something that Fan Xian could not understand.
Xiao En didn't respond, remaining silent. He didn't tell the young man that because of Wang Qinian's careless words, he had thought of a young woman and of a temple.
"Why don't you make your move?" Xiao En was strangely cold. He looked at the unusually quiet village in front of him. "You and I are both in this line of work. You should know that the longer things are drawn out, the more variables may arise."
"I just got the sudden feeling that I seem to have made a mistake." Fan Xian drew his dagger tighter, a slight frustration appearing in his eyes, framed by black cloth. "I presumed that the Eldest Princess would have dispatched someone to receive you. I didn't expect it would only be men from Northern Qi."
"I don't know who this 'Eldest Princess' is." Xiao En seemed to have long since lost any regard for his life or death. He took a deep breath of the fresh meadow air. He hadn't smelled such a natural aroma in many years. In the Overwatch Council's prison, all he could smell was iron and straw. After so many years, he hated the smell. Loathed it. Tired of it.
Fan Xian suddenly felt that something was strange. His eyes fixed like knives onto the back of the old man's white head.
"I remind you again that since you wish to kill me, and have chosen to do so at the border, then it is best to do it quickly, and leave me with the bodies of those soldiers who wished to free me," said Xiao En coldly. "Otherwise the Northern Qi welcoming party will arrive, and if you wish to kill me, you will have to consider the life of that colleague of yours."
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. This plan to kill Xiao En on the border was risky. To be exact, it risked Yan Bingyun's life. Since the Northern Qi general Shang Shanhu had dispatched people to receive the escaped Xiao En, in the chaos of battle, Xiao En had died – this was reasoning that the young Emperor of Northern Qi could, and had to, accept. The important part was the fact that the diplomatic mission had relied on the military might of the Kingdom of Qing the entire time. But what made Fan Xian unusually disappointed was that Yan Xiaoyi's army had not appeared on the battlefield as he had expected. If he could not secretly kill the Eldest Princess, then what sense was there in killing Xiao En?
Unsure what he was thinking, Fan Xian gripped his dagger tighter, until his knuckles went white.
"Why do you always presume that I am still a tiger?" Xiao En did not turn his head, nor did he lower it to look down at the blade. He smiled as he talked to himself. "I am but a frail, toothless tiger. I just know some things that others do not, so I am still able to struggle on whilst at death's door to this day. In the Kingdom of Qing, I was a prisoner. In fact, having returned to the north, I will still be a prisoner in Northern Qi. Naturally I want to fight. When you live to my age, you fear nothing... but I fear not having freedom."
"Perhaps I understand now why Director Chen wanted to send you back, and then have me kill you." Fan Xian seemed not to have paid any attention to Xiao En's warning, and still appeared to be talking at length. "This is a test. Mr. Xiao, you said that my talents were great and my strength was formidable, but that I had never faced real strength alone. You may be the first truly strong person who I have fought by myself in my entire life."
Xiao En shook his head. He still sat cross-legged facing the village. "No. I am not strong anymore. All I have done on our journey is scare people. As for Chen Pingping..." He smiled, his face filled with both bitter resentment and deep joy. "In truth... he knows nothing. He only knows that he cannot kill me, so he has no choice but to imprison me. And yet he does not know why he cannot kill me, nor what he can learn from me. He boasts of his plots stretching throughout the entire land, but in truth, he is a pitiful, confused fool!"
The old man's speech was agitated. He coughed. His wound had opened again, and fresh blood spilled out, falling on the meadow.
The grass trembled slightly in the breeze.
"Just what are your secrets?" Fan Xian's face did not change, but he quietly changed his bearing. "What do you know?"
"I was imprisoned for 20 years, and I said nothing. Even Chen Pingping lost all patience and sent me to be your prey in your test of maturity," jeered Xiao En. "And you think I'll tell a naïve child like you?"
"If you don't even fear death, then why are you afraid to tell me your secrets?"
"There are things in this world much more terrifying than death."
Fan Xian sighed. He could tell that the seven swordsmen behind him had already retreated to a safe place nearby. He smiled, and turned his head to the right to look at the orderly line of Black Knights in the distance. Everything seemed to have worked out.
Suddenly, without warning, he placed a foot on the meadow, and his body slid leftward. A poison needle left his hand and flew into the underbrush!
He was already in midair, like he was dancing through it. The slender dagger in his hand was like a pitch-black viper, and he stuck it out, perfectly straight. It made a humming sound in the air. It had been imbued with all of the powerful zhenqi in his body!
The seven Tiger Guards had already secretly taken up positions on the favorable terrain. Fan Xian suddenly mounted a sneak attack. The seven swordsmen, acting together in silent understanding, attacked the underbrush, stirring up great drifts of snow, dazzling the eyes!
Such power and such a sudden movement. No matter whom the ambusher was - even if it was the enigmatic Eunuch Hong of the Qing Palace, perhaps battered and exhausted; they would have to pay with their flesh!
Chapter 198: Haitang Duoduo
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
But events have a way of exceeding one's expectations. As this thundering offensive began, a fair and gentle hand emerged from the underbrush!
Like a beautiful young girl catching a firefly, the index finger and thumb were together, with the poison needle that Fan Xian had launched held between them.
Then the figure flew from the underbrush. Seemingly somewhat afraid of Fan Xian, it pressed on, nimbly moving backward but easily rotating, avoiding the black dagger that tore through the air like a gust of wind.
The seven swordsmen's blades whirled like snow in the wind, leaving no place uncovered. The figure flew upward, dancing lightly between the seven blades like snowflakes. Finally, the figure's foot touched on the blade with the greatest momentum, and it suddenly swiftly withdrew 15 meters away, standing calmly on the grass.
Gao Da groaned, sheathed his blade and turned back, standing with the six other Tiger Guards in front of Fan Xian and Xiao En, afraid that this master would erupt in fury.
It was a woman with a flower-patterned cloth tied around her head, carrying baskets on her elbows. Inside the baskets were a few fresh mushrooms.
To be exact, this was a village girl.
But who would have thought that she could have broken Fan Xian's poison needle, avoiding its thrust with her entire body, as well as being able to float away in retreat from seven blades surrounding her like a flurry of snow... This was no ordinary village woman.
Out of the corner of his eye, Fan Xian noticed that when the northern spymaster Xiao En, who did not blink in the face of death, had seen this woman, his eyes had trembled for a moment. Fan Xian was somewhat surprised. Just who was this female master hidden in the underbrush?
He walked forward. The seven Tiger Guards moved out of his way. Gao Da lowered his head and retreated, his hands gripping his saber tightly, guarding Xiao En from behind. If anything happened, he would separate Xiao En's head from his shoulders.
"Madam, who are you?" Fan Xian asked calmly, looking at this woman, his face betraying a hint of fascination.
The woman lifted her head. There was nothing strange about her face. Neither could she be considered particularly beautiful, but there was a strange brightness in her eyes, as if they reflected completely the meadow and the dawn's light in the blue sky. They were clear, bright, and incomparably pure.
Fan Xian was briefly dumbfounded. He cupped his hands in salute. "I am a member of the Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing, escorting a prisoner into the Kingdom of Qi by order of the Emperor. I am not sure why you are here, madam. I apologize greatly for any offense we have caused, and ask you not to be angry with us."
This enigmatic woman was more ferocious than Fan Xian. Fan Xian was a man with a gentle exterior and a deep inner darkness, so he could not help but smile and say a few words he didn't truly believe. He knew what she had come to do, and she knew that he knew that. But he still spoke grandly and sincerely.
The young woman smiled. Though her cheeks were not beautiful, her smile animated them, and the crude flower-patterned cloth she wore upon her head began to seem familiar. She lowered her head and looked at the needle between her fingers. After a moment, she spoke. "Master Fan, I did not expect your weapon to be a needle."
Since she had already called him by his family name, Fan Xian found it hard to put on an act again. All he could do was rub his nose and force a smile. "Am I that recognizable? Or has my reputation spread all the way to the north?"
"Surely all the land will have heard of an immortal poet... For this immortal poet to suddenly become a Commissioner of the Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing is an even more absurd and shocking matter. There's not a soul alive who hasn't heard of you."
The young woman held up the needle in her hand, looking up carefully at the sky. Her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and she looked at the slender needle on the blue sky backdrop, as if it were one of the flying blades that the immortals walked on in legend.
"Ah. It is only a normal sewing needle." The young woman seemed rather surprised at her discovery. The back end of the poison needle had a hole bored through it.
Fan Xian forced a smile. His little sister had prepared it for him; of course it was only a sewing needle. "Madam," he suddenly asked, concerned, "must we still chat idly? Mister Xiao has lost a lot of blood, and I fear it would not be appropriate."
Xiao En smiled.
The young woman laughed. "Were you not planning to kill him?"
Fan Xian laughed gently. "No, it was a rebel army of Northern Qi who intended to free him, thereby voiding the peace agreement between our two countries. During the battle, Master Xiao En fled in the crossfire."
The village girl giggled, pointing her middle finger at Fan Xian's nose, looking much like those peasant women from farming villages. "Not only are you a fine poet, Master Fan, but you can even lie without changing your expression. You truly are worthy of being called a Tianmai, like the legends of old."
"I don't deserve such praise," said Fan Xian, his face unchanged, still gently looking her in the eye. "You are the Tianmai of legend. I am simply hardworking and lucky."
The village girl's expression changed slightly. She seemed to look at Fan Xian with much more interest. There was a deep silence.
Suddenly, an early-rising bird flew into the nearby meadow with a caw. It seemed to have smelled a strange and bloody scent, and immediately took off, shocked. She smiled self-effacingly and introduced herself. "My name is Duoduo."
"Haitang Duoduo?"
"Correct."
Haitang was an outstanding member of the youngest generation of Northern Qi, a disciple of the grandmaster Ku He, and very possibly a legendary Tianmai being. In the Overwatch Council, Yan Ruohai had warned Fan Xian of her. At the time, Fan Xian had not expected that person to be a woman... and yet, sure enough – to his surprise – she was.
Seemingly not reacting, Fan Xian's face was calm. "Miss Haitang, could it be that you have come to take Master Xiao back?" Now he knew her identity clearly, but he was still hiding his shock well. He turned his head back to look Xiao En, who was still surveying the meadow below with rapt attention. "I didn't expect to meet you so soon."
Haitang was clearly one of the most remarkable people in the world, but she still acted like she was a simple country girl. She smiled. "Call me Duoduo, please. It's more pleasing to the ear."
At that moment, Xiao En suddenly spoke. "Neither of you are Tianmai," he hissed. "You're just a pair of bickering brats."
Fan Xian felt ashamed. Although he knew that the old man did not have the strength of his former days, he didn't seem too bad off by the look of it. He and this "country girl" were putting on an act, and it was really rather unnecessary.
At that moment, Haitang moved closer to the decrepit Xiao En, who sat cross-legged in the meadow. "By order of my master, I have come to escort you to Shangjing, Master Xiao."
Fan Xian frowned. His hands dropped down by his sides. "We have yet to cross the border, Haitang... Miss Duoduo, I fear you are acting prematurely."
He shook his head and waved his hand. The six Tiger Guards behind him immediately moved into attack formation, pointing their arrows at her. And behind them, Gao Da's sturdy arms prepared his lightning-like blade, ready to behead Xiao En.
A strange smile flashed in Haitang's eyes. Her fingers loosened, and the needle fell silently into the underbrush. The corners of the simple clothing she was wearing fluttered in the dawn breeze. "Master Fan," she said calmly, "don't tell me you're planning to commit murder right in front of me."
Fan Xian laughed. He thought for a moment, and then looked into her eyes. He knew that she had not come to stop him from killing... Perhaps she had come to watch him kill. He didn't know what kinds of secrets Xiao En held that could make Ku He, the Imperial Advisor, break his long-held principle of non-interference, and dispatch this girl who clearly had the strength of a ninth-level master to serve as a murderer.
In this world, there are times where one needs to make tough decisions in a very short span of time. Fan Xian had expended a great amount of effort to entice Xiao En into this deadlock and create this chance to kill him - but in an instant, he not only had to renounce his former plans, but had to do the very opposite of them!
Undoubtedly, this was absurd. It was a nonsensical choice. Any normal person would be saddened by such a hindrance to their plans.
But Fan Xian was brave enough to let things be. Since this plan had not been successful in ensnaring Yan Xiaoyi, then whether or not Xiao En was killed was no longer so important. Besides, he had developed quite an interest in the old spymaster. So he gave a strange smile and pounced on Haitang. At the same time, he signaled to the seven Tiger Guards to protect Xiao En and take him in the direction of the Black Knights.
Ching, ching, ching, ching... In total, the sound of seven clashes rang out in an orderly fashion. On the meadow, even the light dawn breeze seemed to have been cut to pieces by that slender, black, poison-coated dagger. The fragments of zhenqi were like countless shattered blades, flying all around the flower-patterned cloth tied around Haitang's head.
Fan Xian was thoroughly pleased with his seven blows. Although they had pursued Xiao En throughout the night and his body was already rather fatigued, facing someone who was absolutely outstanding among her generation - particularly the kind of person he had naturally detested when reading novels in his past life - Fan Xian had finally roused all of the hidden potential within him to deliver some dazzling blows.
Like seven black lotuses, Haitang's hairline... burst forth, then lifelessly and faintly disappeared.
Haitang smiled, holding a simple dagger in her hand. The side of the blade had fragments of grass on it, leaving droplets of green fluid that congealed into spots.
A moment earlier, every vicious, lightning-fast thrust that Fan Xian had made had all been gently parried by the girl's dagger. Its point quivered, looking delicate and powerless in the wind, yet like countless clear breezes, it had bound itself to Fan Xian's slender dagger, and in the end, had turned the powerful zhenqi Fan Xian had channeled into it into a slight breeze.
Chapter 199: Shamelessness Against Virtue
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There was a look of surprise in Fan Xian's eyes. He sighed in admiration. "You are indeed a worthy disciple of Grandmaster Ku He, with the strength of a ninth-level master, if you were so easily able to dispel my attack." His facial expression was affected, but his words had a hint of truth; Fan Xian knew full well that under Wu Zhu's forceful guidance, he had still not truly faced an opponent like Haitang.
He took a step back, his face filled with resolve, slipping his poison-laced dagger into his boot. He held out his right hand in invitation. "In combat, madam, I am no match for you. I ask for your guidance in martial arts."
Haitang was somewhat taken aback, and slowly slipped her blade back into its scabbard. The blade she carried with her was not particularly long, so the scabbard hidden on her person in her country-girl clothing - rather at odds with her identity - was not easily to find at first.
Fan Xian cupped his hands in salute and planted the edge of his foot on the ground. Without another word, he became a gray dragon, charging directly at the young woman.
Haitang looked into his clear, bright eyes. Since she had finished her apprenticeship, she had fought with countless northern masters, but she had never come across a style which took such headstrong and brave risks as Fan Xian's. Did he really not know that such a reckless dash would only require her to turn her body slightly to gain complete control of the situation?
Originally, her world-renowned teacher had not given her any other task, and had warned her repeatedly not to be distracted. But when Haitang looked at this handsome young man who looked at her the way he did, she still could not stop her eyes from sparkling. If she killed him right at that moment, she thought, it seemed like it wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Then, with a slight turn of her heel, she shifted her center of gravity backward two inches.
In a flash, Fan Xian had already arrived in front of her, and extended an inelegant fist, aimed straight for the bulging chest underneath her clothing.
When his fist was only three inches from Haitang's body, like a willow branch snapped in half by the wind, her whole body moved backward remarkably, pivoting on her heel in a semicircle. A moment later, like a gust of wind, her whole body floated behind Fan Xian, and she softly raised her right fist to strike Fan Xian in the back of the head.
It seemed like a simple move, but in light of Fan Xian's speed and the short space of time, it looked incredible.
The effortless strike was like swatting a housefly. The blow was so casual, so... inevitable. To an onlooker, it seemed only natural that the gentle blow would strike the back of Fan Xian's head, and prove that the "immortal poet" was very much mortal indeed.
Unfortunately, she had misestimated the speed of Fan Xian's reactions, his valiant physical control, and the powerful zhenqi within the young man's body.
Fan Xian gave a grunt. The foot in front of him had already been planted deeply into the soft mud of the meadow! If any normal person had wanted to stop while charging forward at such a speed, perhaps their right knee would shatter to pieces under the force. But Fan Xian, making use of powerful opposing force, suddenly stopped the momentum of his body.
His head did not turn. With a whoosh, he withdrew the dagger from his boot and thrust it insidiously underneath his armpit!
Its black point travelled forth, looking unreal. The palm that carried it forward was like the breath of a fairy!
Haitang frowned. She had not expected the young man to be so shameless! But she was also not frenetic in the slightest. Flicking out a flinger striking a flint onto the side of the viper-like, black dagger, her palm naturally lifted up, and her sleeve made a ripping sound. Although she had avoided the danger of it going through her palm, she still had no way to parry Fan Xian's blow, filled with his concentrated and powerful zhenqi.
The basket that had been hanging on the crook of her left elbow just happened to be upturned.
The dagger entered the bamboo basket, and with a chaotic crashing sound, it broke into fragments.
A faint fragrance along with a white mist swiftly dissipated in the air between the two. Haitang frowned once more, held her breath, and touched the tip of her foot to the ground, about to make a temporary retreat. To her surprise, through the white mist came three silent crossbow bolts. By the time she realized, they were already a foot away from her!
If she were an ordinary ninth-level master, after her energy had become somewhat disordered, holding her breath tightly, she would inevitably feel the gloom building in her chest, and suddenly meeting with Fan Xian's crossbow trick, it would be hard to avoid a feeling of terror. But Haitang was a Tianmai of legend; with a mere flick of her hand, she tore the patterned cloth tied around her head and held it flat before her cheeks, motionless in the wind like a sheet of iron.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! The three crossbow bolts seemed to hit this iron sheet, shattering into pieces, and the patterned cloth in Haitang's hands was also powerlessly torn apart.
So far, she had defended against all of Fan Xian's sneak attacks. Haitang slowly drew the short blade from her clothing, her face expressionless. With a toss of her hand, the blade was like lightning, slicing through the faint mist, following a strange trajectory, and suddenly heading straight for Fan Xian's face.
Fan Xian interlocked his hands, swiftly releasing the powerful zhenqi in his body. With a clap, he caught the dagger between his hands. He felt a searing pain in his palms, and knew that his opponent's pure zhenqi was still coursing into the blade, incomparably sharp.
A silhouette floated forth. Haitang's figure was like a flying blade, not slowing even slightly; she drew close to Fan Xian, calmly gripped her sword hilt, and turned gently.
The point of the blade was incomparably sharp, and it cut into Fan Xian's palm.
Fan Xian groaned, circulating his zhenqi into his palms, giving Haitang's blade no chance to reverse. Haitang frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat astonished at the powerful zhenqi being forced through her blade, but she made no extraneous movements, and automatically pulled it out, thrusting it back toward Fan Xian's face.
It was a simple move, and an involuntary movement, yet it gave Fan Xian an idea he could not avoid. His palms aching, the blade he had grasped had already disappeared, and a moment later was heading straight for his brow.
Haitang gave a low groan! Her face seemed filled with anger, and her whole body floated.
In her underbelly was the black dagger that Fan Xian had somehow pulled from nowhere.
Two young, powerful warriors. One stood in the meadow, one flew through the air. Fan Xian's biting blade had sent Haitang's highest-quality sword backwards. She moved around Fan Xian quickly in a circle, the clothes on her body blossoming like flowers, dazzling to the eye.
A hand emerged from the flowers and hit Fan Xian in the chest.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes slightly. It was a glancing blow. His right palm filled with powerful zhenqi, he struck Haitang softly in the chest in the midst of those flowers.
Haitang retreated once more, pulling out her blade. There was a clanging sound as the wind rushed past their palms and their blades clashed again and again.
A moment later, Haitang lowered her head, grasping her sword in her right hand, and slid backwards. The cloth covering her hair had already been cut to pieces, and now her black heart spilled forth. Although she was still wearing simple clothing, the power of her blade was as beautiful as the mythological fairy Xuan Nü. She was no longer a rustic country girl.
On the other side, Fan Xian looked at her, his hand gripping the dagger, trembling slightly. A feeling of defeat came over him; a feeling that his style was not enough to match this woman, that even the powerful zhenqi that he had always taken great pride in seemed weak in the face of this tranquil and accommodating woman's pure zhenqi, and that he was completely at a disadvantage.
In truth, Haitang felt somewhat astonished. Since she had finished her apprenticeship, she had come across countless masters. Fan Xian was clearly not the strongest, and his power was, at most, just on the threshold of the ninth level - but Fan Xian was certainly the one who had most put her in a difficult situation.
Fan Xian was simply not willing to show weakness before her. Such was his innate stubbornness. Haitang was an exceptionally powerful upper ninth-level master. If he were facing Yan Xiaoyi, perhaps he would have already retreated. But facing this girl, he valiantly and stupidly chose to fight on.
Fortunately, his manner of fighting was without any sense of shame; it was very different from battling any ordinary powerful fighter.
Haitang looked at his handsome and valiant face, and suddenly revealed a hint of loathing. "Among the younger generation, Master Fan, you may be considered an expert. But your style is so shameless. Have you no sense of honor?"
She was right. Earlier, Fan Xian had called for a contest of martial arts, and yet he had used a dagger in a sneak attack, and finally had used some kind of poison arrow. He had employed low blows and all sorts of dirty tricks. Haitang had never faced such a dishonorable opponent.
Fan Xian panted, trying to calm the disorderly breathing in his chest. He laughed forcibly. "I have never been an expert in martial arts; of course I cannot comply with some sort of custom. I am a Commissioner of the Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing - an official. You are a subject of Northern Qi. Now you trespass the national borders and stand on the territory of my country, and I must capture and punish you. What does it matter what methods I use?"
Haitang was silent, seemingly approving of this explanation.
She slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The exceptionally natural and pure energy began to strengthen around her. The dewdrops of the meadow seemed to be excited, and fell from the blades of grass, turning to faint vapor.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, knowing that the palm that head struck her breast and the thrust at her private areas had made this nymph angry.
Like a gust of wind and a ray of light, the spring dawn breeze drifted gently across the meadow. Haitang's blade followed the breeze, the light, and the shadows, heading completely naturally toward Fan Xian. This was her second attack, and it seemed gentler than the first, but Fan Xian knew that it was more dangerous.
His feet felt somewhat numb. The repercussions of a night of fierce battle were finally showing, and facing this upper ninth-level master, he knew that he could not fight on without any regard for consequences; he did not have the strength.
So Fan Xian relinquished his dagger, withdrew his hands, and narrowed his eyes, not advancing any further. He felt every inch of his body in contact with the air around him, and relying on this incredible sensitivity he moved to dodge her seemingly godlike blade.
Many years before, he had done the same. At the time, it was Wu Zhu's staff he was dodging.
Now, he was doing it again, but his opponent held a blade.
Wu Zhu could hit him, but Haitang... was not Wu Zhu. She was an upper ninth-level master, but still was nowhere near Wu Zhu.
Chapter 200: Untitled
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In Haitang's hand, the blade was like the wind, twirling around Fan Xian. He jumped and leaped and crouched and fell prone, assuming all kinds of strange and comical positions. Between each pose, he used all of his formidable physical control to string the postures together.
The blade stuck into the mud just by his left year, the grass by the little finger of his right hand, and fell onto a dewdrop next to his throat.
He was impossible to hit.
A strange look slowly filled Haitang's eyes. She had been training since childhood, and her innate skills were outstanding. She had a natural confidence with the blade, and save for the four grandmasters, she considered none her equal. This young Fan Xian, no matter how one considered him, was not her equal... But then why, with him being in such a difficult situation, was her blade still not enough? Every time she tried to stab him, his body seemed to have anticipated it, and at the moment of greatest danger, shifted by inches!
The sweat on Fan Xian's brow dripped onto the meadow. Things were getting too dangerous. At a number of points, he had come close to impalement. Although her speed and accuracy with the blade was not quite that of Wu Zhu, it was still remarkable. He felt some regret, and felt that he shouldn't try to evade her but instead face her head-on as recklessly as before, overwhelming her calmness with his intrepidness.
But as things stood, there was no other way.
At a life-or-death moment, Fan Xian rolled across the dew-moistened meadow, battered and exhausted as he dodged. He would have no chance to complain about Wu Zhu's quality of teaching if such a talented fighter was still unable to harm him.
With a whoosh, a black arrow broke through the air, headed toward Haitang's face. At that moment, Haitang's attention was completely focused on Fan Xian. She turned her body slightly, allowing the arrow to whistle past her cheek.
Following after it were two more—three more arrows!
A densely packed and deadly hail of arrows missed Fan Xian, who was rolling around on the floor like a puppy, dodging toward Haitang.
Haitang sighed and brandished her blade in a circle, sweeping away one arrow after another. Her wrist began to feel numb, and could not help but become somewhat startled; how could the puny bows of the cavalry let forth such a powerful volley?
Shortly after, a blade flew forth with unstoppable force - it belonged to Tiger Guard Gao Da! The point of the blade stuck into the mud just in front of Haitang, forcing her to step back.
The sound of horses' hooves rumbled like thunder. The Black Knights had finally dashed to the meadow from outside the village. Hundreds of hooves restlessly galloped. They seemed to bring an air of terror to the meadow. Immediately, with their faces covered, the Black Knights drew their bows, aiming at the powerful master who was dressed in the clothing of a village girl.
"You're lucky." Haitang floated lightly away, retreating a distance from the terrifying cavalry. She softly ran her fingers through her hair as she spoke to the distant Fan Xian, who was struggling to get up.
Fan Xian laughed bitterly, not saying a word as he watched the distant village girl wave goodbye.
The meadow fell silent. Ordered to do so, the Black Knights dismounted their horses one by one and chanted all at once. "Commissioner, it is an honor."
Fan Xian turned around and saw the chilling cavalry. He finally calmed down somewhat and spoke rather wearily. "This place is poisonous. Be careful that your horses are not harmed."
Returning to the camp, an imperial physician who had followed them saw to Fan Xian's wounds, bandaging him liberally. Fan Xian's face was grave and stern as he entered the camp. He told his subordinates that today they would rest, and tomorrow they would enter the village of Wuduhe.
"Who was it?" Fan Xian was not in a good mood. He looked at Wang Qinian coldly.
Wang Qinian bowed. "The person who opened the carriage door was someone from Xinyang. The spy in the Council also had some connection to Xinyang. As for outside the village of Wuduhe, the army responsible for receiving him were in disguise, but we discovered that they were private forces of the Northern Qi general Lü Jing. Lü Jing first served in the army of Shang Shanhu a decade ago, and since then he has risen quickly through the ranks.
Fan Xian nodded. The wound on his shoulder had begun to ache. He frowned. "Xiao En is connected to Shang Shanhu, I could guess that. So it's only normal that Lü Jing came. As for Xinyang... Xiao En was able to leave prison thanks to Xinyang's tricks. But if they knew we were going to arrive safely in Shangjing, I don't see why they arranged an attempt to set him free?"
His head ached, and he could not understand just what the secret agreement between the Eldest Princess and Northern Qi entailed.
"It's very clear. The Eldest Princess and Shang Shanhu both hope that Xiao En does not fall into the hands of the royal family of Northern Qi," Wang Qinian conjectured. "It seems that the royal family of Northern Qi wants Xiao En's secrets, but not Xiao En himself."
"In that case, if Xiao En arrived safely in Northern Qi, perhaps he would die of old age in prison instead of wielding power. No wonder he was so desperate to escape." Fan Xian frowned as he talked to himself. "It seems that the young Emperor of Northern Qi is no fool. Perhaps he also understands the connection between Shang Shanhu and Xiao En."
"But... what kind of secrets could make the royal family of Northern Qi so nervous? Why did Ku He dispatch Haitang to silence him? Why was Chen Pingping willing to let him go free? Why was he not willing to have him killed?"
"I feel like such an idiot." Fan Xian looked at the wounded Xiao En and propped his chin on his hand in thought. This was how things were. Before he had fought Xiao En, his enemy had been a tiger. After they had fought, he had found that he was merely a paper tiger. His mother had taught Chen Pingping well.
"I definitely wanted to kill you," he continued. "And in the end, after all that work, at the crucial moment, I became your bodyguard." The way things had developed was truly absurd. Xiao En's aged voice rang out. "Many things in life are thus. If they were not absurd, then they would not be true."
Fan Xian laughed. "But the lure of killing you is still strong."
"Haitang is a student of Ku He. When that bald fool Ku He speaks, everyone in Northern Qi listens," said Xiao En calmly. "Since she knows that I am alive, then you can't plant me among those corpses outside the village. If you were to kill me now, then it is doubtful that Master Yan would make it out alive."
"Then what secrets are you hiding?" Fan Xian looked at him quietly. "Something that would make Ku He go to the trouble of killing you."
"It's a few old stories and nothing more."
"When we were in the meadow, speaking of your secrets, that was when she appeared, ready to kill you." Fan Xian looked at him coldly. "The secret indeed seems to be a great one, if it could cause such chaos to the tranquility of an upper ninth-level master."
Xiao En laughed at him. "Why do you presume that she was not preparing to kill you?"
"There is no enmity between her and me. Why would she want to kill me?" Fan Xian looked into Xiao En's bloodshot eyes as if he were trying to divine the secret long hidden behind them.
"You're wrong." Xiao En laughed gently. The cold air of fear that had surrounded him when he had first left the prison of the Overwatch Council had long since disappeared.
"It seems that Ku He does not want you to return to Northern Qi alive."
"Correct. The reason I knew that you had laid a trap and yet still dared to escape was because I knew that, ultimately, whether it was the royal family of Northern Qi or even this Eldest Princess - who I have never met - no one would let me die so easily. The Eldest Princess you speak of would perhaps wish to use my death as part of some agreement with Shang Shanhu. After all, she is too young, and knows nothing of the secrets of the past...
"More importantly," Xiao En continued, "Ku He wants to shut me up, so he rushed to kill me before I crossed over the border... You are quite a remarkable person. No doubt you will wonder what sort of secrets could provoke him to kill me. Since this is the case, you had no choice to turn from my assassin into my protector."
Fan Xian was silent.
"You set a trap, I sprung it, and ultimately I lost. But I have one last thing to rely on. All I can do is play that last card, which will stop you from killing me. Tomorrow we cross the border, and you will have no more chances to make your move. So now... it is up to you." Xiao En's face did not change. Although the old fox did not have his former strength, it seemed his calculating mind could still see clearly through men's hearts.
"I'm interested in that card of yours; more so than anyone else. I'll admit that's enough to spare you for now." Fan Xian did not seem discouraged in the slightest. Instead, he smiled to himself. "But you haven't escaped. When we get to Shangjing, Shang Shanhu has no way to save you. You will still be locked up by the royal family of Northern Qi, tormented until you die of old age or reveal your secrets."
There was a sudden flash of fear in Xiao En's eyes. After his serious injuries today, it seemed that he had been weakened.
"So what kind of secret is it?" Fan Xian continued his questioning from the meadow. "Since you don't fear death, why won't you talk? Don't tell me that there are things worse than death, I don't believe that nonsense."
Xiao En seemed to have finally discovered the coldness deep in Fan Xian's heart. He smiled, his mouth shut tight.
Fan Xian suddenly closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He extended his hand like a gust of wind, and softly took hold of the needle in Xiao En's neck. It had not been removed since it had been stuck into one of Xiao En's meridians when they were in Aishan Forest. As the needle slowly left his body, the old man suddenly groaned, a pained expression on his face. All at once, blood suddenly began to leave the many wounds, large and small, on his body!
"This needle can stop the flow of your blood vessels, but in truth it can also help you staunch bleeding. After pulling it out, by the time I count to about 20, you'll have died from blood loss." Fan Xian spoke calmly as he fingered the needle. "This is the only way you can keep yourself alive, so proceed carefully."
The blood dripped from Xiao En's body, soaking his clothing and dripping onto his chair. His face became increasingly pale, and the old-man odor that hung around him became increasingly thick. It seemed to slowly morph into the stench of death.
But his mouth remained closed.
Drip. Drip. Some time passed. Fan Xian frowned. His finger flew like lightning, sticking the needle into another of Xiao En's acupoints, helping him to staunch the bleeding. Then he carefully smeared knockout drops under the nose of the semi-conscious Xiao En.
Chapter 201: Haitang's Lust
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.
Chapter 202: Prelude to Psychological Warfare
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Haitang gave a seemingly pained sigh and sank once more to the bottom of the lake, trying to put out the blazing fire inside her. Her body writhed and calmed, roving from place to place. Looking at her from the surface of the lake, she looked like a beautiful and incessantly moving white fish. In the distance, fish followed behind her, carefully swimming up beside her naked body.
Some time later, white froth churned on the lake surface, and Haitang burst forth, swimming to the lakeside. A cool breeze swept past her. She put on her simple clothes.
She was not a particularly pretty girl, but there was a faint sense of rural character to her appearance that was quite endearing. Her eyes were unusually bright and clear, contrasting with the white birds and sandy islets of the lake. At that moment, they were filled with a hint of fury.
"Fan Xian, I will kill you!"
Clearly, her attempts to dispel the poison had failed.
Fan Xian awoke from his meditation and strolled around the camp. The ambushing Northern Qi troops had already been almost completely massacred by the Black Knights. The corpses on the battlefield were the clearest proof of this. An envoy had passed through Wuduhe to express the strongest possible protest to Northern Qi.
"It is rather regrettable," said Wang Qinian with a sigh, following behind him. "With some difficulty, we accurately calculated the point where the enemy attacked. We can attribute his death to their attempt to free him. All kinds of evidence has been prepared appropriately. But your plan for Xiao En's death has been unexpectedly disrupted by that woman."
Fan Xian shook his head and strolled underneath a tree, looking at the slowly drifting fog in the distant mountains. "Perhaps I have also disrupted her plans. Though Xiao En did not die in that exact spot at that exact moment, it may yet still be a good thing. At least it has allowed me to learn what he is hiding."
"Use torture, then." Wang Qinian had begun to come out with rotten ideas.
Fan Xian glared at him. "Chen Pingping tortured him for 20 years and got nothing out of him. Do you think we can make any kind of progress within two days?"
"Then what do we do? Are we really going to give Xiao En to the north?" Although he did not know what it was that Xiao En knew, from the position of an official of the Overwatch Council, Wang Qinian was very much unwilling to deliver Xiao En and his secrets into the hands of their northern enemy.
"Give him to the north. In any case, there are powerful people there who want him dead. There are also powerful people who want to protect him." Fan Xian frowned. Did he really want to make use of that box? But the box wasn't with him, and he had no idea where Wu Zhu was.
"Don't think too much about it." Fan Xian shook his head. "Tomorrow we get ready to pass through Wuduhe. We must watch out for Haitang. If she kills Xiao En within our borders, then the responsibility will be entirely ours."
"Do you want to dispatch the Black Knights to get rid of her?"
"Your ideas are terrible today." Fan Xian coughed and found that his chest still ached. He leaned against the trunk of the tree. "If it were a fight between two armies, coming across a line of Black Knights, they'd have no choice but to flee even if it were a grandmaster. But if we use the Black Knights to assassinate her, I fear they'd all be silently snuffed out by her blade."
"You know yourself quite well."
From the mountain road ahead of them came an angry voice and a woman wearing simple clothing, her long hair somewhat wet. She stared at Fan Xian.
They were some meters away from the camp. The Tiger Guards, tired by working through the night, had been ordered by Fan Xian to rest. Wang Qinian glanced at Fan Xian, shocked. He knew that this was the upper ninth-level master who had almost killed Commissioner Fan - Haitang of Northern Qi!
Fan Xian's face was calm. He waved a hand. "You came back."
Wang Qinian, not giving a damn, ran frenetically back to the camp, trying desperately to call for Gao Da and the other swordsmen. The Black Knights' horses had all gone into heat, and they were unsure what had gotten into them.
Fan Xian cocked his head slightly as he looked at Haitang. "Aren't you worried that he's gone to call for help?"
"Aren't you worried that I'm just about to kill you? It's not the same as this morning. I reckon I'll have your head off your shoulders within three rounds."
"You can try... if the poison has been cleansed from your body." Fan Xian's intonation was somewhat frivolous.
Haitang bit her lip as she looked at Fan Xian, her bright eyes full of resentment. After a long while, she spoke a single word. "Shameless."
Fan Xian softly licked his own dry lips, narrowing his eyes as he looked back at her. His face was shameless and his reply was quick. "Thank you."
"Give me the antidote."
"Why should I?"
"If you don't, I'll kill you." Haitang spoke viciously, but fan Xian could see in her eyes that she was slightly flustered.
"Kill me, and you'll be bathing in the waters of the northern sea every day." Fan Xian appeared to be completely unrestrained.
The negotiations had broken down, with neither side willing to concede, and neither able to take the next step toward mutual benefit. The young man and woman stared at each other like a pair of angry young children. As they stood under the trees of the mountain road, glaring at each other, the whole scene looked rather amusing.
"Have you killed Xiao En?" Haitang suddenly changed the subject, looking at him as she talked. "If you have misgivings about me, I presume you are unaware. My journey south was not to prevent you from killing him. In fact, we have the same goal."
Fan Xian shook his head. "I really would like to kill Xiao En, but as you want to kill him, then I must protect him."
"Why?"
"Oh, nothing." Fan Xian wasn't going to tell her that he really wanted to know what Xiao En's secret was.
Haitang was angry now. She withdrew her sword, and with none of the natural gracefulness she had shown before, she soared upward and chopped a tree sapling in half.
The corner of Fan Xian's eye twitched. Though his face remained calm, deep down he was aghast. If she really wanted to kill him, with no Black Knights or Tiger Guards by his side, he was unsure as to what he should do.
Suddenly Haitang's brow twitched and she ran up the mountain road, looking back to call to Fan Xian. "I don't want anything to do with these servants. Are you coming or not?"
"Am I coming?" What kind of invitation was this? Was this a fight to the death or a tea party?
With a smile, Fan Xian clasped his hands behind his back and followed behind her. As an official of the Overwatch Council, there was no one else more willing to cause trouble than him. In terms of seriousness, this was the irresponsible behavior of someone who held his own life to be of no importance.
Watching the shadows of the young man and woman disappear down the end of the mountain road, there was a rustling sound as a number of figures flew from the tree branches. As they converged in one place, Gao Da drew his long blade and frowned, looking at the mountain road. "Master Wang, we should follow them," he said to Wang Qinian.
Anxiousness showed on Wang Qinian's face. "The Master is exceptionally wise and excessively horny."
Of course, Fan Xian had not followed Haitang because he was entranced by her beauty. But he knew that what she was about to say was not to be heard by others. Otherwise, she would fly into a rage out of humiliation, would no longer accept his threats, and would likely kill him.
"I can cure the poison." Fan Xian looked calmly at the girl as she leant against a tree, seeing the wet clothing that clung to her body. "But I need you to promise me something."
"I'm not listening to your threats."
"It's not a threat." There was a slight look of distress on Fan Xian's face. "I am an official of the Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing. As you have crossed our border in an attempt to murder a criminal under my escort, then I must use every method I can to stop you. Do you think I am particularly pleased about using such underhanded tactics?"
His lips curled into a self-deprecating smile.
Haitang was somewhat surprised. After a moment of silence, she suddenly spoke. "What do you need me to promise?"
"It is about a day's travel from here to the north side of Wuduhe. I hope that you will not make your move during that time."
Haitang looked at him calmly. "You must know that if you are to enter Qi territory, I cannot move against you."
"Why?" Fan Xian seemed rather surprised.
"Because... I am a citizen of Qi. I must think of the common people of this nation. I cannot break this agreement within the borders of my own country. If I were to provoke the anger of the royal family, then the two countries might declare war once more. Those who suffered and died, in the end, would be the unarmed and defenseless common people." A look of worry floated across Haitang's eyes. "But I cannot allow Xiao En to return to Northern Qi alive."
Fan Xian listened, his face calm, his heart gradually sobering. It seemed to be just as Si Lili had said. Did this upper ninth-level master before him really have the character of a village girl, bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind? Such was the fine moral character of Fan Xian's most beloved enemy.
"Why do you want to kill Xiao En?" Strangely, there was a hint of disapproval and loathing in Haitang's eyes. "You do know that if Xiao En dies, then your official who fell into the hands of the royal court must die too?"
Fan Xian was silent. Of course, he could not tell her his darkest secrets. He smiled. "Has he not already been killed? Even if Xiao En were to die, that would be the responsibility of Northern Qi. You dispatched troops to sneak across the border. How can you wash your hands of this? As for Master Yan, I believe I can still bring him back to the Kingdom of Qing."
He waited a moment, then asked with curiosity, "Why is it that you want to kill Xiao En?" His face was naive, even a little stupid.
Haitang looked at him with loathing. "I don't have to explain why to you."
Fan Xian shrugged, and took out a pill from his breast pocket. "The... aphrodisiac you were administered was one of my own creation. It cannot be dispelled with zhenqi." Having said this, he threw the pill far.
Haitang's face was filled with anger, and then shame, before returning to anger once more. It seemed to fluctuate. She caught the pill and looked at him coldly. "I didn't answer you. Why were you willing to give me the antidote?"
Fan Xian sighed and turned away, turning his back to her. Leaning against a sapling, he looked at the green valleys of the mountain range, and the wildflowers on the distant hillsides.
Chapter 203: In A Word, Heart
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Last night the rain was sparse and the winds were fierce. Though I slept soundly all night I was still not sober upon waking. I asked the maid who opened the curtains how the flowering apple trees were. She said they were the same as before. Does she not know? Does she not know? Their green leaves should be blooming, the red flowers withered away." Under the tree, Fan Xian quietly recited, his voice gentle, unsure whether he spoke of people or things. This was the first time that the immortal poet Fan Xian had recited poetry since that night in the palace. [1]
Haitang calmly looked over his slender, even emaciated body, and gradually relaxed the grip on her sword.
"If you want to fight, then I shall fight." Fan Xian suddenly turned around, looking at Haitang with a smile on his face and a look of determination. "But one day, I would like to see, even without these sobering methods, whether I can protect Xiao En's life from your hand, Haitang."
Sobering methods? Naturally, that meant sobering one up from one's lust.
Haitang's face remained calm. It was unclear what she was thinking. It seemed she hadn't expected Fan Xian to recite such poetry while still showing all of the integrity and courage that a man should have. She was a paragon of her generation, and yet she had fallen by Fan Xian's hand. She had not expected him to face her alone with such courage. At that moment, she discovered that she did not truly understand this young man before her, and she could not help but frown.
But it seemed that what interested her was something else. "I heard that you were no longer composing poetry, Master Fan," she said calmly. "What has made you so elegant today?"
"Looking at the pines one thinks of winter. Looking at chrysanthemums one thinks of autumn. Looking at the flowering apple trees..." Fan Xian just managed to stop himself from saying the word "spring" [2]. He smiled and narrowed his eyes at Haitang. "I have finished writing verse as it is of no use to the nation or to the people. I have some reputation as a poet in the Kingdom of Qing, yet I have been impatient to speak in verse. That poem was written some years ago after a storm. Today, after seeing your delicate appearance, I could not stop myself from reciting it. I hope you do not think it absurd."
Haitang lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at Fan Xian. Suddenly, she smiled. "I shall take no notice of your pretension and your attempts to weaken my resolve. I simply feel that what you said before had merit. You are an official of the Kingdom of Qing, and you have the freedom to employ whatever method you choose, so I do not begrudge you for it. As for whether or not your poem was a good one, such things have never made any sense to me, and so I do not understand its meaning. But... flowering apple trees should not get soaked by the rain. If water accumulates in their planting pots, then they will rot. So when their green leaves bloom and their red flowers wilt... perhaps the branches are rotten and weak."
Having said this, she turned around, and soon afterward she disappeared into the quiet mountain woods. All that was left was a faint aroma, the call of birds, and an embarrassed Fan Xian.
"Lady of the flowers, how can you leave?" Fan Xian gave a sigh, as if he had lost something. "I was just about to tell you a story of a girl who picked mushrooms." [3]
Haitang walked confidently and at ease, and so did Fan Xian as he made his way back. He patted his buttocks and held his hands behind his back, walking slowly back along the moss-covered mountain road. A few steps down the road, he caught sight of the seven Tiger Guards turning a corner in the road, looking ready to face some great enemy, and Wang Qinian leading a group of officials from the Overwatch Council, hidden in the underbrush, getting ready to strike.
Seeing the Commissioner making his way back so peacefully, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Overwatch Council officials hidden in the underbrush stood up, all covered in wet grass and leaves. It looked rather comical.
"Master, is it finished?" Wang Qinian frowned as he followed behind Fan Xian. "Our reports say that Haitang is an upper ninth-level master, and in Northern Qi they say that she is a Tianmai. Yet she looks so ordinary... Did she not lay a hand on you, sir?"
"Lay a hand on me?" Fan Xian heard the dirty meaning in Wang Qinian's words and scolded him. "If she had laid a hand on me, would I still be able to return so free and at ease?"
He suddenly stopped walking and looked at Wang Qinian with suspicion. "You have always been skilled in surveillance. I presume that your hearing is good."
"That is correct, sir." Wang Qinian was unsure what he meant.
"So did you hear what I said to her?" Fan Xian smiled, but it was a menacing smile.
Wang Qinian did not dare hid it. "I heard some of it."
"What did you hear?"
Wang Qinian looked anxious. "I heard some lines of wonderful poetry, and talk of medicine."
"Do not reveal a thing," Fan Xian warned him. "If the news ever gets out that I drugged Haitang with an aphrodisiac, then I will no doubt offend the people of Northern Qi. And Haitang might not be able to show her face in public."
"Yes sir," said Wang Qinian respectfully. "You are quite remarkable indeed sir, to have made such a terrifying and powerful fighter flee with just a few words."
Fan Xian paid no attention to his flattery. He simply stood a while in thought. The day's events seemed simple, but had been quite mentally taxing. He had made sure to emphasize to her his status as an official, to show her that this was not merely some roadside fight, so that she did not fly into a rage as a result of the aphrodisiac coursing through her body and forget the things she had to be mindful of.
And as for that poem - As in a Dream by Li Qingzhao - Fan Xian had had it prepared as a tactic to make her heart ache ever since Yan Ruohai told him of this strange northern girl named Haitang. He had even prepared Han Wo's Lazily Arising: "At midnight last night rains fell, and now comes a cold spell. Are the flowering apple trees still standing? I lie on my side and look out at the curtains."
But that poem was even more intimate than Li Qingzhao's, so he dared not make use of it that day. He smiled to himself. He was careful to say he saw her as delicate, so the feeling must likely have made that girl, touched by his aphrodisiac, feel quite happy. Since childhood, she had been a disciple of a grandmaster, and was worshipped by the idiotic commoners as a Tianmai. After finishing her apprenticeship, she had been without equal, a hero among women. But as a woman, she still wanted to be seen by others as delicate - a woman, even a queen, is still a woman.
Perhaps Fan Xian was not the most capable in the land when it came to seeing through others' thoughts, but he certainly knew how women thought. That was because in a world where men treated women as inferior, no man wanted to consider what any woman wanted by treating her as his equal.
Fan Xian wanted to, because he loved any woman who presented herself well, so he could leave his mark on them while still letting them enjoy it.
He took a pill from his pocket, the same kind that he had given to Haitang, and swallowed it. "What kind of drug is that?" asked Wang Qinian, curious. Fan Xian handed one to him. "Pills made from dried orange peel. It clears and dispels internal heat. I always keep them on me."
There was no antidote to Fan Xian's aphrodisiac. One could only soak in cold water and wait a day for it to pass. The aphrodisiac Haitang had been dosed with was real, but the reason she had been unable to dispel it was in large part due to the reeds surrounding the northern sea. Every spring, the reeds would sprout with white-haired catkins that fell into the waters, reacting with the drug that Fan Xian had administered and strengthening it, making her body itch all the more and presume that the remaining drug was impossible to purge.
And it was because of this that Haitang had quietly accepted Fan Xian's offer of peace in exchange for the antidote.
Thinking on all this, Fan Xian could not help but shake his head and sigh. He truly was lucky. But he didn't know when his luck could turn.
That day, the diplomatic mission had stopped in a valley next to the lake. Broken-legged and expressionless, Xiao En stayed in his carriage. He knew that he was facing imprisonment at the hands of the royal family of Northern Qi. The Zhan family had always been fanatical, and they would make things difficult for him until they found out where the temple was. And Ku He, wanting to prevent such a thing from happening, would no doubt use all his power to have him killed. As for Shang Shanhu... the old man suddenly felt tired of all the fighting and scheming. If he were to die by Fan Xian's hand in the morning, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad way to go.
The envoy sent over the border had yet to return. Perhaps he was exchanging angry words around a table with Northern Qi officials. If that were the case, then the Kingdom of Qing had already gathered up the corpses outside Wuduhe. They were the greatest proof of the Northern Qi army's attempt to trespass over the border and their futile attempt to set Xiao En free.
All across the land, when it came to power, Qing was on the attack, and all other nations were on the defense. Fan Xian's diplomatic mission could not help but express their anger, and taking advantage of the opportunity, they expressed it in the strongest possible terms. After some time, the Northern Qi officials receiving the Qing envoy finally managed to pacify his anger.
The secret agreement and the overt agreement had begun their next phase.
The diplomatic mission's carriages all formed into a line and rolled slowly along the edge of the northern sea, entering into another valley. Fan Xian sat in his carriage, looking over the vast lake and watching the mists float gradually past, with his face expressionless, but his mind preoccupied.
The carriage trampled over the meadows, leaving deep tracks and churning up fresh mud. Its wheels turned with great effort to prevent it from being stuck in the morass.
Before they entered the village, Fan Xian entered Si Lili's carriage one last time. They looked at each other in silence, and after a long time, Fan Xian finally spoke. "After we enter Northern Qi, it will be difficult for me to see you."
Si Lili nodded. She appeared calm. "Thank you for all your hard work throughout this journey."
Looking at her gentle face and the smooth curves of her body, Fan Xian cocked his head slightly to one side, as if he were about to say something. Ultimately, he left the carriage, still unable to bring himself to speak a word.
The meadow outside Wuduhe was still stained with the bloody marks of the previous day's battle. Deep in the underbrush below the hillock still lay a number of overlooked severed limbs and discarded weapons.
Fan Xian leaned on the window in the carriage. He looked at the scarred land. He thought back to the terrifying strength the Black Knights had shown the previous day, and felt somewhat worried. The corpses had been sent back to Northern Qi. The compensation that was to be demanded for this incident was not what currently bothered Fan Xian.
The convoy entered the village, not stopping for even a moment. The villagers stared dumbstruck as they slowly rolled along the stone road, continuing on to the northeast. The curtain of the carriage was still open. This was Fan Xian's habit: he liked sitting in the carriage and watching the people and the scenery go past, and he didn't want his eyes to be covered by a length of black cloth.
[1] Fan Xian recites from As in a Dream by Southern Song female poet Li Qingzhao. The characters of Haitang's name are also those for the name of the tree known as the Chinese flowering apple tree.
[2] As well as Haitang's name meaning "flowering apple tree", the word "spring" can also mean "lust" in Chinese.
[3] "The Girl Who Picked Mushrooms" is a Chinese children's song.