The distance between the two sides was quite far, but they could clearly see each other's expressions from afar. Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, confirmed the other party's departure, and couldn't help but shake his head, a wave of uncontrollable fatigue washing over him. After being chased by the Xihu wolves for three days, both sides had reached their limits. Since the other party had given up, he naturally felt no disappointment, only relief.

This chase, waited for three days and lasted for three days, seemed more like a child's game, not very dangerous, even without drawing swords or shooting arrows. But in reality, both sides were clear about what this chase represented and what kind of dangers were hidden within.

Fan Xian and his party ventured deep into the grasslands, leaving in a carefree manner. Although they hadn't truly fought, they had left a deep, dark shadow in the hearts of the Xihu people. Many years ago, Qing Kingdom's largest border expansion was also carried out under the secret leadership of the Overwatch Council. That person named Chen Pingping, to this day, remains a legendary figure on the grasslands, treated like a demon. Fan Xian's trip to Xihu this time was a continuation of the Overwatch Council's excellent tradition, arrogantly inspecting the territory after taking over.

This was a heavy spiritual blow to the people of the grasslands. The Xihu royal court intended to unify the grasslands and contend with Qing Kingdom, but they couldn't stop this group from penetrating deep into the grasslands. This would likely give them a clearer assessment of their own strength and make the Xihu tribes, who had been incredibly successful in the past two years, more cautious about launching military campaigns.

Subida, the Xihu Chanyu, fruitlessly chased for three days and was forced to return in frustration. This seemed helpless and sorrowful, but in Fan Xian's eyes, it had other meanings. This master of the grasslands retreated so decisively, with the courage to give up and the ability to suppress the warlike nature of the Hu cavalry, was truly an anomaly on the grasslands.

If this person truly unified the grasslands with Haitang's help, he might truly become a major threat to Qing Kingdom.

Fan Xian blinked, his long eyelashes covered in dust. He looked like a native, manipulating the strong men of the grasslands in the palm of his hand, but he wasn't very happy, instead seeming somewhat lonely and helpless.

"Let's go." He tugged on the reins, heading towards the meadow below in the setting sun, his steed frolicking beneath him.

……

……

Although it seemed that the royal court's pursuers had retreated, the Black Knights still didn't dare to relax. Who knew if those ruthless Xihu people would create a false impression and then attack from the rear. On the grasslands, the Hu people had the help of eagles, completely negating the effectiveness of Fan Xian's spyglass.

Because of this, the group escaping the grasslands still didn't dare to slow down, forcibly supporting their exhausted bodies and urging their horses, soaked in medicinal sweat, eastward. It wasn't until seven days later, when the group entered the Red Mountain Pass, that they truly felt relieved.

The Red Mountain is a particularly strange terrain in the east of the grasslands, completely formed by the natural accumulation of earth and stone. After countless years of being blown by the northern winds, it has been cut into isolated peaks, all of which are ochre red, looking like imperial edicts in the imperial study, awe-inspiring and full of murderous intent.

The road into the pass was below these Red Mountains, a winding path like a sheep's intestine. Fan Xian walked at the front of the group, took the leather bag handed over by Jing Ge, took a sip of water, moistened his sore throat, and said in a hoarse voice, "Settle things here, and when we get back to the capital, I'm going to lie down for two months."

A rustling sound came from the Red Mountain, as if someone had stepped on the sand and stones on the mountain. Jing Ge couldn't help but frown. Fan Xian knew what he was thinking and laughed, but because of his throat, the laughter sounded particularly unpleasant—the Qing Kingdom's Western Expeditionary Army, ambushing in the Red Mountain Pass, seemed to be exhausted to the extreme, actually allowing his group to catch such an obvious sound.

The sound of hooves rang out from the valley ahead. Li Hongcheng, the Prince, covered in dust, led the Dingzhou army to meet them. Li Hongcheng spurred his horse, came to Fan Xian's side, looked at Fan Xian's disheveled appearance, and couldn't help but shake his head, saying, "I said long ago, Subida is a formidable figure, how could he be provoked into falling for your tricks?"

Fan Xian glanced at him and said, "At least I led him out for six days. Six days is enough time to do some things."

"Is it necessary to be so careful just to kill those Northern Qi people in the royal court?" Li Hongcheng glanced at him disapprovingly, confirmed that the kid was unharmed, and then felt relieved. He continued, "Have you fought with the Xihu people?"

"No, just moved my feet a little."

The two sides' forces merged into one, and their momentum suddenly increased. Before long, they drove out of the Red Mountain Pass, which contained thousands of years of wind and sand. In order to cover up the news and prevent anyone from reporting to the Xihu royal court, the Qing Kingdom's elite troops, a total of eight thousand, who had been ambushing in the Red Mountain Pass were all relatives of the General's Mansion and frontline soldiers from Qingzhou City, and no major deployments were made through Dingzhou.

"We waited here for seven days, but didn't get anything. Shouldn't your Overwatch Council give us some explanation?" Li Hongcheng pursed his blistered lips.

"Spare me." Fan Xian lightly spurred his horse, every part of his body aching. He glared at him, thinking that the ambush at the Red Mountain Pass was just a preparation. Who could determine how great the Chanyu's jealousy was? Moreover, it was still several days away from Qingzhou. Not hurrying back, but arguing endlessly here, was really a very risky thing.

What he was really concerned about was the situation in Dingzhou City: "Did you take action?"

"I left before the action. All your subordinates are being coordinated by the Governor-General's Office. I issued a military order, so rest assured." Li Hongcheng looked at him and said, "Although I don't know the specific situation, intelligence has been coming in for days. The operation should be going smoothly. The Northern Qi spies in Dingzhou have basically been wiped out by your subordinates."

Fan Xian nodded, not saying anything more. Through this battle, the grasslands were plunged back into chaos. Most importantly, one branch of the Overwatch Council entered the grasslands, and the other was scattered in Xiliang Road, successfully sweeping away the spies planted by the Northern Qi people in this vast battlefield. The ruthless methods launched by Ku He before his death, the great situation that the Northern Qi emperor and Haitang had woven for two years, had become a bubble because of his even more ruthless and shameless response.

……

……

Four days later, nearly ten thousand Qing Kingdom elite troops finally withdrew from the grasslands and entered Qingzhou City. This group of troops didn't engage in a single battle with the Xihu cavalry, completely serving as the backdrop for the Overwatch Council's actions. Naturally, their morale wasn't as high as when they had set out, and coupled with the fact that they had spent too long in the Red Mountain Pass, they looked more like defeated soldiers.

The morale of the Black Knights was no better. If it weren't for the need to save face for Fan Xian, these people would have probably collapsed and fallen asleep immediately.

As soon as they entered Qingzhou City, Fan Xian immediately ordered the Black Knights to rest. Jing Ge obeyed and left, but they couldn't immediately take a bath and eat. First, they had to take care of the hundreds of specially trained steeds of the Overwatch Council. The medicinal power in these horses' bodies had begun to backfire, and they were about to collapse. If they weren't treated quickly, they would gradually die.

These hundreds of intelligent warhorses were the lifesavers of the Black Knights, and no one wanted to see them end up in a tragic situation. But everyone knew that after this long-distance run, these black horses would never be able to regain their original vigor, and they couldn't help but feel a little saddened.

Fan Xian followed the army of the Western Camp, welcoming the suspicious gazes cast from both sides of the road in Qingzhou City. Those soldiers and merchants guessed the identity of this young man, and naturally also guessed that the imperial court must have carried out a major operation on the grasslands. But seeing the tired and listless appearance of the Dingzhou army, everyone thought that the imperial court's actions on the grasslands had failed, and the gazes cast were a little strange.

As soon as Fan Xian and Li Hongcheng entered the Qingzhou military yamen, Ye Ling'er, who had received the news, rushed back from the city wall, burst into the back room, and pushed open the door, angrily saying, "Do you think you're a god? You actually dared to venture deep into the grasslands with so few people. Aren't you afraid the Hu people would swallow you alive!"

Ye Ling'er had her reasons to be angry, because although Fan Xian hadn't lost anything on this trip deep into the grasslands, he had actually taken a great risk. Not cherishing his own life like this made Ye Ling'er angry. What would happen to Lin Wan'er if Fan Xian died on the grasslands? What would happen to the two children?

As Lin Wan'er's close friend, she had full reason to give Fan Xian the most severe criticism for his reckless actions. Of course, she was angry for another reason, which was that Fan Xian had come to Qingzhou City but hadn't come to see her. He had even kept such a big thing from her.

Fan Xian was stunned, looking at the eldest daughter of the Ye family who had burst in, with a hint of mist in his eyes. His gaze subconsciously shifted from the light armor on her body to that familiar, beautiful face. He felt a slight warmth in his heart, knowing that she was indeed concerned about his safety, but…

"Looking at you, you seem to want to swallow me alive even more than the Hu people." He said with a distressed face, "Your Highness, Hongcheng and I aren't wearing any clothes. You don't need to be so anxious, do you?"

After entering the Qingzhou military yamen, Fan Xian and Li Hongcheng, covered in wind and sand, aching all over, and extremely tired, relied on their power and status to have two large tubs of hot water prepared in the yamen as soon as possible. They were currently enjoying the soak, but unexpectedly, a woman had barged in, and this woman's identity was so special.

Ye Ling'er had grown up in the Dingzhou army since she was a child, and her temperament was uninhibited, very different from ordinary women. Hearing Fan Xian's words, she realized that Fan Xian and Li Hongcheng were naked, shrunk in the large wooden tubs. Especially these two, their faces even wore deliberately exposed shy expressions, which was very hateful.

Instead of feeling ashamed or annoyed, she just spat on the ground and turned away in a carefree manner.

……

……

The assassination of the Left Sage Prince and the incident at the royal court on the grasslands would inevitably plunge them into chaos. As the Qing Kingdom's chief military figure stationed in Xiliang Road, Li Hongcheng had to quickly report this matter to the capital and return to Dingzhou to sit in the camp and deploy military forces to cope with the latest changes in the situation on the grasslands. So, the next day, he left Qingzhou.

But Fan Xian stayed, not because the scenery in Qingzhou was good, not because of Ye Ling'er, but because he wouldn't truly feel relieved until a few people returned.

After several days, the Central Plains merchant group that Fan Xian had mingled with finally returned to Qingzhou City, covered in dust. Calculating the time, the traveling speed of this merchant group was really fast. The road that the merchant group took on the return trip was not the same as the road that Fan Xian had withdrawn on, and they had missed that thrilling chase.

Seeing this merchant group return safely, Fan Xian felt a little relieved. He had been very worried that because of the Overwatch Council's actions, these merchants from the Central Plains would become targets of the Hu people's revenge. Unexpectedly, even in their anger, the Hu people were still able to refrain from taking action against the merchant group. It seemed that Haitang's education on the grasslands in the past two years, and the Chanyu's decision on the future, had influenced many people.

Then, a lonely shepherd who had lost his cattle and sheep and couldn't survive on the grasslands also entered Qingzhou City. But no one knew that in the past six months, this lonely shepherd had played the role of a mute servant who was accustomed to slouching.

Shadow had also returned safely, and Fan Xian felt much more relieved. Only Wang Shisanlang had not been heard from, and he didn't know what the situation was, which made him very worried. The scheme on this trip to the grasslands was very ambitious. Although the Overwatch Council was accustomed to using insidious methods to deal with all enemies, any method required powerful executors.

Now, Fan Xian himself was a powerful expert, and he also had Shadow under his command. If it weren't for these extremely terrifying assassins, he wouldn't have been able to achieve the Overwatch Council's established goals, even if he had lured away Haitang and the Chanyu.

The Northern Qi people at the royal court were dealt with by Shadow, and the Left Sage Prince, who had to die, required another strong person. Fan Xian had been troubled by this. There were only a dozen or so top experts in the world. It wasn't until a long time later that he tentatively extended an invitation to Wang Shisanlang through Baoyuelou.

After the incident at Great East Mountain, Wang Shisanlang had been serving the seriously injured and dying Si Gu Jian at the Jianlu in Dongyi City. However, Si Gu Jian had miraculously dragged on without dying, so Shisanlang had never appeared in people's sight again. Although Fan Xian and Wang Shisanlang had made an agreement two years ago, he didn't know if this agreement was still valid now, so this invitation was just a test.

And Wang Shisanlang didn't reply to this invitation with a single word. He directly left Dongyi City, came to Qing Kingdom's capital, and found Fan Xian.

Fan Xian, Shadow, Wang Shisanlang, the three top experts ventured deep into the grasslands, each performing their duties. If judged by the execution power represented by the top experts, the current Overwatch Council was even more terrifying than when Chen Pingping was in power.

It was also because of Wang Shisanlang's arrival that Fan Xian had made up his mind to enter the grasslands. Because this person's identity was too special, Fan Xian didn't want to arouse too much suspicion from the palace, so he deliberately concealed his identity along the way, just bringing him into the merchant group and then separating.

He still didn't understand why Wang Shisanlang was willing to continue the agreement from that year, even though Si Gu Jian had been turned into a cripple and an idiot by the emperor. He didn't have time to think about these things anymore. He only hoped that Wang Shisanlang would be able to return safely after assassinating the Xihu Left Sage Prince.

Several days later, Fan Xian finally waited for the news he had been longing for. To be precise, everyone knew about Wang Shisanlang's return. Because unlike Shadow's quiet return, the return of the thirteenth disciple of the Jianlu shocked the entire Qingzhou City.

On that day, the scorching sun hung high in the sky, illuminating Qingzhou City, and the biting autumn wind was completely devoid of temper. The bluestone bricks at the city gate seemed to be smoking, and a bloody figure walked into the city gate of Qingzhou City.

The soldiers of Qingzhou City looked at the bloody figure vigilantly, surrounding him with spears in their hands. Enveloped by the coldness and murderous intent emanating from the bloody figure, they felt fear in their hearts.

This person was wearing a Hu people's leather jacket. If a leather jacket with more than thirty cuts could still be considered a leather jacket, countless blood seeped out of the holes in the leather jacket, congealing, spreading, and covering his entire body.

No one knew how long this bloody figure had walked on the grasslands. The blood and wounds had already begun to fester, and flies and mosquitoes were flying around him, looking unusually miserable.

The Qingzhou garrison didn't know who this person was, but they only knew that someone who could walk out of the grasslands with such serious injuries was definitely not an ordinary person.

That person opened his eyes, his lips covered in blood blisters, and said to the soldiers surrounding him, "Tell Fan Xian, I have done what I promised him."

Having received the message, Fan Xian rushed over, supported him, and looked at the wounds on his body, his heart filled with coldness. In this operation on the grasslands, he was responsible for luring out the Chanyu and Haitang. Haitang would ultimately not kill him, and Shadow's silent actions didn't involve much risk. The truly most difficult part was Wang Shisanlang's assassination of the Left Sage Prince.

Fan Xian didn't know how Wang Shisanlang had killed the powerful Left Sage Prince in the continuous Hu camps, but he only knew that the other party had perfectly fulfilled what he had promised him.

He carried the unconscious Wang Shisanlang back to the military yamen, and in silence he began to treat the wounds of this brave warrior. Ye Ling'er handed him needles and knives behind him, her face full of shock and curiosity, wondering who this Overwatch Council official who had been slashed more than thirty times was? How could he still be alive like this?

……

……

(Would you hate me if I said I was sick again? Well, I am sick again. I'm just groaning and complaining, I don't mean anything else... I'm unhappy, I'm just unhappy for no reason, it's so uncomfortable.)