(The original saying is that weapons are ominous instruments, and sages use them only when absolutely necessary. I wouldn't use such compassionate wording, so I changed it to "only non-sages can use them." I am satisfying myself with the thought that even stories should be crafted with care.)

Yesterday, everyone was very generous and cast a lot of votes. We are getting closer and closer to the top spot on the monthly ticket chart, only a hundred or so votes away. I seem to see Venus shining! Let's keep chasing! Yahoo!)

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This is a world of survival of the fittest. To poke one's head out from the layers of reeds by the North Sea, to have the right to eat first among the wolves on the prairie, they or he need to abandon so-called "fragile emotions." Sages are emotionless, and perfect beings are heartless. Without that, they are not able to transcend.

Silence reigned in the courtyard of the City Lord's mansion. The corpses and bloodstains on the ground had been forced to the base of the walls on both sides by the earlier tremors, as if swept by the hand of a god. The blood had become like a meticulously applied coat of red paint, upon which a few newly fallen green leaves rested.

Using these few green leaves as a boundary, Si Gu Jian and Shadow, this pair of brothers, sat sprawled on the stone steps on either side, wounded and silent, coldly eyeing each other.

At this moment, a dense whistling sound suddenly came from outside the City Lord's mansion, like a dozen catapults launching an attack on the mansion simultaneously, the millstone-sized stones tearing through the air.

Si Gu Jian's expression remained unchanged, and Shadow's expression remained unchanged. Fan Xian, who was walking toward Shadow, also showed no change in his expression, because all three of them clearly heard that what was tearing through the air were not stones, but people. It seemed that the bloodbath in the City Lord's mansion had finally alarmed those experts who were foolishly guarding outside the Sword Hut (Jian Lu).

The Little Emperor of Northern Qi had come to Dongyi City, bringing with him Lang Tao and He Daoren, two ninth-rank experts. As for whether there were any hidden experts from the Heavenly One Dao School (Tian Yi Dao Men) guarding in the shadows, it was unknown. Since yesterday, all the disciples of the Sword Hut had returned from their respective training places and were guarding in front of the Sword Hut, silently awaiting their master's orders.

Added together, there were actually over a dozen ninth-rank experts. Thinking that the entire Qing Kingdom's capital now only had two experts above ninth-rank, one couldn't help but feel a trace of surprise and envy at the special nature of Dongyi City. So many experts arriving simultaneously with such momentum was indeed somewhat shocking.

A gust of wind swept through the area, and Yun Zhilan and Lang Tao led the others, skimming over the blood-soaked ground. Both men frowned and subconsciously looked down at their feet. Then, after clearly seeing the scene in the mansion, they simultaneously found the person they cared about most.

Lang Tao saw His Majesty the Emperor and, discovering that he seemed unharmed, only a little pale, was overjoyed. He led his subordinates to surround the Little Emperor, determined to ensure his safety, while casting wary glances at Fan Xian.

On the other side, Yun Zhilan saw Si Gu Jian, heavily wounded and sprawling at the foot of the stone steps, and his expression changed drastically in shock. He rushed over without a word and knelt down on the ground with a loud thump.

This chief disciple of the Sword Hut couldn't hide the strangeness on his face. It wasn't that he cared about how his master would punish him later. Since he dared to go against his master's wishes and secretly trade with the Northern Qi people, his sword heart had long been prepared. Now, looking at the tragic scene in the City Lord's mansion, looking at the dead City Lord and those mansion experts, he naturally knew who was responsible.

Since his master had personally taken action, it naturally indicated his attitude. What shocked Yun Zhilan was that his master was actually so badly injured!

All the disciples of the Sword Hut knelt beside Si Gu Jian, looking at their master's injuries with shock and anger.

In these people's hearts, the only ones in the world who could be compared to their master were those few Grandmasters. Even though their master had been injured for three years, those who could hurt him were still only the Emperor of Qing and that missing Ye Liuyun.

One of the Sword Hut disciples began to tremble as he bandaged Si Gu Jian's wounds. In his heart, his master was a godlike figure, especially in the art of the sword, he was the absolute number one in the world. But today, he had actually been stabbed twice in the chest. Who was the one who did it?

The door of the backyard of the City Lord's mansion moved slightly. The second disciple of the Sword Hut, supporting Wang Shisanlang, walked in. They were also greatly shocked by what they saw before them. Especially Wang Shisanlang, whose residual poison had not yet cleared, and who had forcibly raised his realm last night, wielding the willow branch to stop the crowd and help Fan Xian enter the Sword Hut. He was exhausted to the extreme. If his second senior brother wasn't supporting him, he feared he wouldn't have been able to reach the City Lord's mansion in time.

Last night, the Sword Hut was full of the warmth of spring, while outside the Sword Hut, swords were drawn and bows were strung. Everyone knew that this thirteenth disciple of the Sword Hut was Fan Xian's friend, and Fan Xian had hijacked the Northern Qi Emperor and broken into the sacred and inviolable Sword Hut. So everyone's hostility was directed at Wang Shisanlang.

If the second disciple of the Sword Hut hadn't coldly protected him, Yun Zhilan, for the sake of the sect's dignity, wouldn't have allowed Lang Tao and the others to act. It was likely that Wang Shisanlang would only be lying in bed today.

Of course, the most crucial reason why Wang Shisanlang could remain safe under the siege of so many experts was still that leaf, that branch. The Sword Saint in the hut had already expressed his attitude, and the disciples in the Sword Hut who had originally sided with Yun Zhilan could only maintain neutrality.

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Wang Shisanlang knelt beside Si Gu Jian, his lips trembling, unable to speak. After entering the City Lord's mansion, he didn't look at Fan Xian once, because his feelings were very complicated. All of this was arranged by his master, so he helped Fan Xian enter the hut, thinking that his master would have a very harmonious conversation with Lord Fan, but he didn't expect that his master would be injured like this!

The Sword Hut disciples all knew the strength of the City Lord's mansion, knew the terror of the sword in their master's hand, so they naturally thought that the one who hurt their master was definitely not someone from the City Lord's mansion, but someone from Southern Qing.

Someone from Fan Xian's side.

Yun Zhilan was the first to stand up, coldly looking at Fan Xian and the man in black beside the stone steps. Gradually, his pupils turned cold, his gaze passing over Fan Xian, looking at the man in black, his eyes turning from cold to fiery.

He knew the man in black, even could be said to be very familiar with him, because four years ago, by the lake in Hangzhou, Jiangnan, Southern Qing, this man in black had risen from the lake and stabbed him with a sword at the side of the small boat, and then the two of them had engaged in a chase and being chased that lasted for months in the Jiangnan area.

Yun Zhilan knew the strength of this man in black. He even always believed that, except for his master, this man in black's swordsmanship was the most fierce and ruthless in the entire world, even more fierce than his own.

Yun Zhilan was already a ninth-rank expert, so he knew how powerful that man in black was. He didn't need to think much, he also knew that, at this moment, in this place, the only one who could hurt his master with a sword was that man in black.

He slowly drew the long sword from his waist and walked step by step towards the stone steps, the distance between each step being so fixed, no more, no less, exactly two feet.

The sword in his hand was three feet long.

The distance between him and Shadow was thirty feet.

"The legendary real master of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, Lord Shadow." Yun Zhilan said coldly as he walked, "This is the first time I have seen your true face."

Yun Zhilan took five steps towards that side, getting closer and closer to the stone steps. The sword intent on his body became more and more intense, and the killing intent became more and more sufficient. No matter what differences this chief disciple of the Sword Hut had with Dongyi City's future and his master, when an external enemy attacked, when the Southern Qing people dared to hurt his master, Yun Zhilan's chest was filled with killing intent. He had to kill the opponent under his sword.

If the opponent was still in perfect condition at this time, Yun Zhilan wouldn't have much confidence. But he knew that even if that man in black might have secretly launched a deadly attack when his master wasn't paying attention, stabbing his master twice, the opponent must have paid a great price for it.

The Sword Hut disciples, deeply influenced by Si Gu Jian's intentions, didn't care about bullying the weak with the strong.

Under the Great Green Tree, the Little Emperor of Northern Qi looked at this scene with a pale face, not knowing whether the Sword Hut and Southern Qing would clash next, not knowing how Fan Xian would handle these matters. In her opinion, even if Si Gu Jian wanted to reach an agreement with Southern Qing, given this Grandmaster's bloodthirsty nature, he wouldn't allow the man in black, called Shadow, to leave alive.

Suddenly, the Little Emperor seemed to recall something, thought of the two words mentioned in Si Gu Jian's previous sentence, and her eyes lit up, a trace of rosy color added to her pale cheeks.

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Fan Xian was kneeling beside Shadow, treating his wounds. Countless bloody cuts, split open by sword energy, were still seeping blood. Fortunately, the Overwatch Council's official uniform did have some effect. Those bloody cuts weren't very deep and didn't need special treatment. With Shadow's strong body, he should be able to stop the bleeding.

The biggest problem was inside Shadow's body. Fan Xian's palm was on his back, slowly channeling a wisp of Heavenly One Dao's natural True Qi, carefully investigating the internal situation. His expression became more and more solemn. After a moment, he took out a medicinal pill from his arms, fed it into Shadow's lips, and then pressed his palms tightly, starting to heal him.

Healing Shisanlang the night before last, a desperate fight with Lang Tao and the others yesterday, and a battle on the bed with the Little Emperor last night, Fan Xian was also exhausted to the extreme. But he knew that if he didn't hurry up at this time, Shadow might die from internal bleeding.

Since the Suspended Temple incident, Shadow had followed Fan Xian for four years, never leaving his side. Although they had a superior-subordinate relationship, and there wasn't much connection to the term "friend," Fan Xian knew that he couldn't live without this person anymore. This was a kind of close feeling that would naturally arise after entrusting one's life for a long time.

Fan Xian lowered his eyes, but he could also hear Yun Zhilan's steady footsteps getting closer and closer. After a moment, he slowly lowered his hands, stood up, and looked at Yun Zhilan and said, "Do you still want to kill me?"

Yun Zhilan was silent for a moment before saying, "Your life and death will be decided by my master, but this person must die."

Fan Xian didn't think much, slowly took off the long robe he was wearing, revealing a pure black set of close-fitting clothes inside, then bent down and pulled out his black dagger from his boot.

He stood in front of Shadow.

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Fan Xian stood out, and the atmosphere in the entire courtyard changed. Today, from beginning to end, he hadn't really taken action. The only thing that was consumed was his spirit, the countless spirits that were forcibly eroded by Si Gu Jian's powerful will. However, at this moment, standing in front of Shadow, Fan Xian's spirit seemed to have recovered into his body in an instant, cold and silent, exceptionally powerful.

Just like facing Yan Xiaoyi back then.

Everyone knew Fan Xian's power. The current Southern Qing power minister was no longer the greenhorn who had just entered the ninth rank when he was an envoy to Northern Qi, but a genuine ninth-rank expert. He had silently killed Yan Xiaoyi, killed Old Man Qin in Kyoto, and drove back Haitang on the grassland. Yesterday, he also miraculously escaped from the siege of several ninth-rank experts twice - in the past history of confrontations with ninth-rank experts, Fan Xian had won every time without exception.

This wasn't the name of a person, or the shadow of a tree, but a real accumulation of confidence. Even facing Yun Zhilan, the chief disciple of the Sword Hut, Fan Xian still didn't have a trace of fear in his heart, but only looked at the other party coldly, the meaning expressed very clearly: if you want to kill my subordinate, you have to let me kill you first.

Fan Xian and Yun Zhilan stood facing each other, but behind Yun Zhilan, more people stood up. There were a total of thirteen disciples in the Sword Hut, all of whom were present today. Only six people stood up, but it was these six people whose fierce sword intent, merging with Yun Zhilan's sword, suddenly struck out, causing Fan Xian's face to turn slightly pale.

There were also several Sword Hut disciples kneeling beside Si Gu Jian, busying themselves, serving him in fear and trepidation, including the third and fourth disciples of the Sword Hut who had ambushed Fan Xian in the Mei Pu villa. There were complex reasons why these two Sword Hut experts didn't stand up, because they knew that Fan Xian and that man in black... both knew Si Gu Jian's swordsmanship.

They didn't tell Yun Zhilan about this, because it was too important. They were preparing to secretly report it to their master, but they didn't expect that so many things had happened in the past two days, and they hadn't found any chance.

They were very shocked in their hearts, constantly guessing what kind of relationship there was between the man in black under the stone steps and their master, and why the other party was able to hurt their master.

Wang Shisanlang didn't stand up either. He didn't look at Fan Xian, his heart was in a mess. He didn't understand what had happened, but he vaguely guessed a trace of secrecy, but couldn't open his mouth to say it.

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Yun Zhilan didn't know all of this. The cold-blooded assassination between him and Shadow in Jiangnan back then was often only a matter of moments. Shadow had held back a trick at that time and hadn't displayed his ultimate skill.

He was just looking at Fan Xian, and then gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

Over there, under the Great Green Tree, Lord Lang Tao, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly tightened his little finger, and the metal chain hanging on his wrist suddenly tightened.

At this moment, a cool hand was placed on Lang Tao's wrist, stopping him from taking action.

Lang Tao frowned slightly, looking at His Majesty who had stopped him, not understanding what he meant, thinking that this was a rare opportunity for Great Qi. Originally, Southern Qing and Si Gu Jian were about to reach an agreement, but at this time, it was Southern Qing who had injured Si Gu Jian. If he helped Yun Zhilan take down or kill Fan Xian, and then killed the man in black who had injured Si Gu Jian, Dongyi City and Southern Qing would completely break apart.

Moreover, as a martial artist, Lang Tao was indeed very curious about who that man in black was. Could he really be the legendary number one assassin in the world, Shadow of the Overwatch Council? Was this assassin really so powerful that he could actually injure Si Gu Jian?

The Little Emperor smiled slightly, looking at the tense scene beside the stone steps, and said softly, "Believe me, they won't fight. Since that's the case, why should we be the bad guys?"

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The atmosphere in the arena made the people involved unable to make the same judgement as the Little Emperor. Faced with the overlapping sword intents of seven ninth-rank experts, even Fan Xian began to feel difficulty in breathing. The cold sweat that had just dried up began to flow down his back again.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little awe. This place, the Sword Hut, was indeed too strange. So many ninth-rank experts, if Southern Qing couldn't reach an agreement with Dongyi City and really sent troops to attack, the marshals leading the army would probably have to face attacks in the dark forever.

The sword intent permeated the air for a moment. Fan Xian knew that if he really fought, he was afraid that it would be difficult for him to get out alive. Suddenly, the corner of his lips curled up, smiling and raising his head, glancing over Yun Zhilan's iron-cut shoulders, looking at Si Gu Jian under the stone steps, and saying, "Our own matter, do we really need outsiders to intervene?"

These words had completely different meanings when they fell into different people's ears. Yun Zhilan thought that Fan Xian was talking about the Northern Qi people, and said coldly, "The Sword Hut disciples are enough, we don't need help from our friends in the north."

Lang Tao smiled slightly under the Great Green Tree and said, "If Lord Fan can survive, I will personally challenge you."

Fan Xian ignored these two experts' replies, just staring fixedly at Si Gu Jian under the stone steps. Because only Si Gu Jian understood the true meaning of his words, this was a war between two brothers, did they really need outsiders to intervene? When Shadow used the Wind and Thunder Sword earlier, Fan Xian was behind the wheelchair, but he only took the Little Emperor away, and didn't join forces with Shadow.

Fan Xian didn't intervene, so could the disciples of your Sword Hut intervene in the grievances between you two brothers? Fan Xian was betting on Si Gu Jian's pride and wildness, betting that Si Gu Jian had left Shadow alive earlier, there must be follow-up articles that could be made.

Since that was the case, how could Si Gu Jian watch his disciples, for the sake of revenge, misunderstand his grand plan.

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Si Gu Jian slightly raised his eyelids, smiled, and sighed regretfully, seemingly regretting that Fan Xian had guessed his thoughts, so he couldn't see Fan Xian's true level.

This Grandmaster looked at the disciples kneeling beside him with disgust, and scolded in a sandy voice, "I'm not dead yet, what are you howling for?" Strangely, as he scolded like this, the disciples beside him became happy and quickly stood up.

Si Gu Jian then raised his left arm and looked at Wang Shisanlang. Wang Shisanlang was very familiar with this action. When he went to Da Dong Mountain, he carried him like this. After returning to Dongyi City, he still carried him like this, so he naturally squatted down.

Si Gu Jian leaned comfortably on the young disciple's broad and solid back, twisted his head, and said, "Return to the hut."

Wang Shisanlang responded in a muffled voice, then stood up with his thin master on his back and walked out of the Sword Hut. It was just that his body was in extremely bad shape, and the senior brothers beside him quickly supported him, leaving together.

Si Gu Jian left like this, without leaving a word, leaving only a ground of shock and eyes. Fan Xian looked at Yun Zhilan, who was close at hand, and said, "Elder Yun, you have disobeyed the Sword Saint several times, do you want to do it one more time."

Yun Zhilan was silent for a long time, looked at Shadow under the stone steps, and said, "Actually, I also want to carry my master, but I have too many things to carry."

"There are some things that you don't need to carry." Fan Xian didn't move, and said with a smile, "Because you can't carry them, you will be crushed, and the things you want to carry will be shattered to pieces, wouldn't that be a tragedy for everyone?"

Yun Zhilan pondered for a long time, and then seriously looked at the blood in the City Lord's mansion and those corpses again, especially the corpse of the City Lord on the side of the stone steps. After a long while, his face calmed down, knowing that his ideas had ultimately fallen into nothing. He didn't know what kind of magic this Lord Fan from Southern Qing had used, not only did his master take action and kill the entire City Lord's mansion, but even after being injured, he didn't have the slightest intention of killing these Southern Qing people.

In the end, this chief disciple of the Sword Hut didn't understand Si Gu Jian. No one in this world could persuade or induce Si Gu Jian to do anything. This Grandmaster did what he wanted to do, all of this was just his own idea.

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The Sword Hut and his team withdrew from the City Lord's mansion, and only the Northern Qi people, Fan Xian, and Shadow were left in the arena. Lang Tao put his hands behind his back, walked out from under the green tree, looked at Fan Xian and said with a smile, "Lord Fan really has good skills, with just one sentence, he was able to force the Sword Hut not to take action. But I am not a Dongyi person, it is rare to have this opportunity today, do you want to spar?"

"People can't be so shameless." At this time, Fan Xian had initially escaped from the dangerous situation of sword intent, and his whole body was relaxed and exhausted. He sat on the stone steps beside Shadow, without raising his head, and said with a smile, "This is a sentence that your emperor gave me today, and I return it to you."

"Lord Fan, I don't know who is more shameless in the world." The curved knife gold chain behind Lang Tao rustled slightly in the wind, matched with his steady voice, making it even more wonderful, "Your sister is a disciple of my Heavenly One Dao School, and has also received the late teacher's will to take charge of the affairs of Green Mountain. Now that Miss Fan has returned to Southern Qing, she is still connected to the sect's lineage. Even if you don't remember the old relationship, you must think of the righteousness of the sect. Last year, in the late autumn, my Green Mountain disciples suffered heavy casualties on the Western Liang Road, do you think I will let it go like this?"

"So you also know that they died on Western Liang Road." Fan Xian raised his head, two cold lights shot over, and said coldly, "Don't say what problems there are with National Preceptor Ku He's will, even if my sister takes over Haitang's position in your Heavenly One Dao School in the future, if your Heavenly One Dao still dares to make trouble in my Southern Qing, I... I will still continue to kill."

As soon as this was said, there was an uproar under the green tree, and Lang Tao's eyebrows also frowned, not knowing why Fan Xian dared to be so tough in the current urgent situation. Although the Sword Hut disciples had left, there were still Northern Qi experts present. Even if Si Gu Jian didn't want to kill Fan Xian or that black-clothed expert for some reason, the Northern Qi people wouldn't have any psychological obstacles if they took action.

This chief disciple of the Heavenly One Dao School didn't know what had happened last night, how could he have imagined that today's Fan Xian was looking at these Northern Qi experts as if he was looking at his subordinates. Your Majesty the Emperor is already my person, how far are you from becoming my people...?

The Little Emperor under the green tree smiled, and said, "My Northern Qi has passed down the country with poetry and books, of course we won't bully the few with the many, Lord Lang Tao, let's go."

As soon as this was said, Fan Xian's eyebrows frowned instead. He looked at the Little Emperor and suddenly said, "Can you come over for a moment?"

It was extremely rude to speak to an emperor in such a tone. However, to the shock of the Northern Qi people, His Majesty was not angry, but said with a smile, "Fan Qing's family has something to say? Let's talk after you have rested."

Fan Xian clearly saw the coldness and slight anger between the Little Emperor's eyebrows, knowing that the other party was an emperor after all, fearing that there would be something wrong in front of the ministers. His previous sentence was indeed a bit too much, so he laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Your Majesty, this subject has important matters to report."

The Little Emperor was silent for a long time, not knowing what kind of struggle he was making in his heart. Today, he saw too many mysterious things that were unrelated to power, and his mind was greatly shaken. At this time, looking at Fan Xian's expression, he thought of the greater shock that his mind had suffered last night.

After a long time, the Little Emperor said coldly, "You all go out, I have something to say with Fan Qing's family."

As soon as this was said, there was another uproar in the hall, especially Lang Tao, who looked back in shock at his Emperor, not knowing what the situation was now. A few days ago, His Majesty had decided to join forces with the Yun Zhilan faction of the Sword Hut to kill Fan Xian in Dongyi City. Yesterday, everyone saw Fan Xian abduct His Majesty into the Sword Hut. The hatred between the two sides should be irreconcilable, but at this time, looking at the expressions of the two people talking, it was completely unlike what everyone imagined.

He Daoren, who had been standing beside the Little Emperor, was also greatly shocked, and looked at Lang Tao suspiciously, waiting for him to speak.

Lang Tao took two deep breaths, waved his hand, and led the others out of the City Lord's mansion. No matter how worried he was that Fan Xian would be detrimental to His Majesty, since His Majesty had issued a golden decree, these ministers could only follow the decree.

The City Lord's mansion returned to calm again. Fan Xian stood up, walked to the Little Emperor's side, quietly looked at him, and suddenly said, "Don't say those things you heard last today, otherwise... I will also say what I know."

The Little Emperor's face changed slightly, and a cold light flashed in his pupils. He didn't expect that Fan Xian would guess his thoughts so quickly, and didn't expect that Fan Xian would use his secrets to threaten him so directly.

The director of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council is Si Gu Jian's youngest brother. There is too much room for this matter to be exploited, and it can even shake the foundation of the Qing Kingdom's court, causing irreconcilable contradictions between the Qing Kingdom's emperor and the Overwatch Council - the Northern Qi's Embroidered Uniform Guard was not eating dry food, and a long time ago, the Little Emperor knew from Wei Hua's mouth that the assassination at the Suspended Temple was always believed by Emperor Qing to have been done by Si Gu Jian's unknown youngest brother.

The Little Emperor took a deep breath. This secret was too important for Northern Qi, it could allow chaos in Qing Kingdom, which would undoubtedly allow Northern Qi to turn over. It's just that... Fan Xian held a secret in his hands that was enough to subvert the entire Northern Qi.

Her face changed for a long time, and finally she said softly, "I know."

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Outside the City Lord's mansion, the expressions of Lang Tao and his men were also changing constantly. They never expected that they would spend a night anxiously outside the Sword Hut, constantly worried about His Majesty's safety, and in the end, His Majesty seemed to have had a very pleasant conversation with Fan Xian.

Lang Tao suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Send an order back to Southern Qing, let Mu Peng come back."

He Daoren's face changed slightly beside him, and he lowered his voice and said, "Does Your Excellency suspect that Fan Xian has poisoned His Majesty?"

"Fan Xian is a master of poison in this world. If he hadn't poisoned him, how could he have easily let His Majesty leave, and why did His Majesty agree to stay and talk to him in secret?" Lang Tao's eyes were full of anger, and he said coldly word by word, "Fan Xian is as poisonous as a snake, and cannot be underestimated."

Lang Tao's wit and reaction were not unpleasant, but he didn't know that Mu Peng had long been imprisoned by Fan Xian in the Seventh Bureau of the Overwatch Council. He didn't know that Fan Xian had indeed poisoned the Little Emperor, but it wasn't the kind of poison that would kill people, but the poison on the heart, once tasted, there was no solution.