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"I just don't understand how you're still holding on." At this moment, there was no one else in this room at Sword Hut (Jian Lu), it was very quiet. Fan Xian sat on the chair beside the bed and said softly to the gaunt old man on the bed, "Why are you enduring so much suffering?"

Fan Xian still had some apprehension towards this Grandmaster, otherwise, with the acerbic nature beneath his gentle facade, the words he would say now would be even more unpleasant. But even though Si Gu Jian was at the end of his rope, he was still very afraid that the gaunt old man on the bed would suddenly turn into a great sword and slash at him with violent rage.

Si Gu Jian lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. His breathing was not rapid, but it was exceptionally deep and drawn out, sounding like a broken bellows, constantly giving the impression that the flame in the furnace was about to extinguish.

This was precisely what Fan Xian couldn't understand. Clearly, on Mount Dong, Si Gu Jian had taken a palm strike of Scattered Hands from Ye Liu Yun, and a Kingly Fist from His Majesty, extinguishing his life force long ago, yet he didn't know what method he had used to linger on for three years.

However, a month ago, after being stabbed twice by Shadow's Thunderous Sword, this Grandmaster finally couldn't hold on any longer. The true qi in his meridians dissipated completely, turning him into a withered tree on the bed. Fan Xian could clearly sense the pain and price Si Gu Jian had paid to forcibly extend his life, so he didn't quite understand why, now that an agreement had been reached, the other party was still relying on that pure life-saving true qi in his body to hold on.

Si Gu Jian's body was already extremely thin, and fighting with the underworld in this month had taken too much of a toll, causing him to lose nearly twenty pounds. All the flesh on his body had dried up, and his skin was almost sticking to his bones, looking very terrifying.

A "Heh heh" sound came from the bed, like laughter. Si Gu Jian's voice was hoarse and extremely low, "There's no logic to life and death. I don't want to die yet, so I want to live."

Fan Xian quietly watched him, and after confirming that the other party was in a state of quadriplegia, he couldn't help but sigh, stand up, and say, "In theory, your disciples made me suffer many times in the past, and many of the hundred Tiger Guards you killed on Mount Dong were loyal subordinates that I wanted to protect. But I don't know why, watching you about to die, I don't have much joy in getting my revenge."

"Because... you... know, those Tiger Guards were killed by your emperor father using the sword in my hand." Si Gu Jian's breathing gradually calmed down, and his speech became more steady. Only those two eyes deeply sunken in their sockets could no longer gather the sword light that once dominated the world, they were somewhat indifferent and scattered.

Fan Xian paused for a moment, then very respectfully asked, "I really want to know, how exactly did you survive these past few years?"

Si Gu Jian remained silent. Fan Xian walked forward, stood by the bed, gently lifted his quilt, and very carefully pulled open the soft light clothes covering the Grandmaster, looking at the large wound on his chest and abdomen, he didn't speak for a long time.

This was a very rude and disrespectful action. There was no one else in the Sword Hut (Jian Lu) room to see it, but Fan Xian still felt that this action was very rude and inappropriate, so he only glanced at it twice, then very carefully pulled Si Gu Jian's clothes back on.

The dying Grandmaster could only be looked at by Fan Xian like he was examining a corpse. Si Gu Jian's heart should have been filled with anger, but strangely, Si Gu Jian's expression did not change at all, he just looked at the roof beams, wondering what he was thinking.

Fan Xian sat back in his chair and began to carefully recall the wound he had seen earlier. The reason he was interested in Si Gu Jian's wound was because he really didn't know how this Grandmaster had extended his life for three years, because he knew that the real cause of Si Gu Jian's death was still the fist that His Majesty the Emperor had slammed into him.

Even if he was a Grandmaster, how could he survive with his abdominal meridians shattered and his internal organs completely rotten?

In the City Lord's mansion, when Shadow assassinated Si Gu Jian, Fan Xian had caught a glimpse of the Grandmaster's strange wound on his abdomen.

The wound had a terrifying blue color, and this blue glow was a color that Fan Xian was very familiar with, the color of deadly poison. Fan Xian sat in the chair, silent for a long time, then suddenly said, "How long did Mister Fei stay in Dong Yi City?"

Si Gu Jian smiled with great difficulty, and after a long while said softly, "Actually, you are a little more clever than you think you are."

Fan Xian sat woodenly in the chair and said, "Using poison to sever the meridians, and dead, rotten flesh, not everyone can do this kind of profound technique of using poison."

He sighed and gently rubbed his temples, "I heard Mister Fei mention this realm once when I was a child, but I never thought that someone could actually do it. There are three poison Grandmasters in the world. Xiao En is dead. I know that the one in your Dong Yi City was just hyped up by you... Although he has some skill, the only one who can really use poison to help you live a few more years, besides Mister Fei, who else could it be?"

"And he kept telling me that he was going to sea, not from Quanzhou, but from Dong Yi City." Fan Xian said softly, as if talking to himself, "He treated you once back then, and now it's not too surprising to treat you again."

"Yes." Si Gu Jian's body was stiff on the bed, unable to move at all, he said coldly, "Fei Jie stayed in the Sword Hut (Jian Lu) for a year and a half, and then he went to sea."

A sense of bewilderment suddenly arose in Fan Xian's heart. When he saw Si Gu Jian's injury at the City Lord's mansion, he had already had doubts. He thought that Mister Fei was still secretly hiding in the Sword Hut (Jian Lu), but he didn't expect that Mister Fei had already left.

After he was reborn into this world, besides his grandmother and Uncle Wu Zhu, Mister Fei was the first elder he met, the first person who wholeheartedly loved him. Although he was a weirdo - Fan Xian and Fei Jie didn't spend much time together, the two masters and disciples were exceptionally close, a kind of closeness forged from corpses and poison.

Mister Fei had really gone to sea. He was afraid that he would never return to this continent in his life. Fan Xian suddenly felt a chill in his heart. A faint sadness surged up as he thought that his father, Chen Ping Ping, and even the old emperor might all leave him one by one, leaving him alone in this world. This was a kind of sorrow that was truly difficult to bear.

"Fei Jie and Ye Liu Yun went to sea together." Si Gu Jian revealed another secret.

Fan Xian was silent for a long time. After Mount Dong, Ye Liu Yun only recuperated for two months, then, like the previous decades, no one knew his whereabouts, not even Ye Zhong and Ye Ling Er. However, the citizens of Qing were accustomed to this Grandmaster's wandering lifestyle, and no one paid too much attention.

Going to sea? To a new continent? Fan Xian smiled bitterly with some difficulty in suppressing his emotions: "Everyone is leaving so decisively."

"Ye Liu Yun was stabbed by me on the mountain, and he will never be able to return to his original level." Si Gu Jian lay on the bed, saying calmly, without any pride or violence, "Fei Jie went to sea with him, he can take care of his injuries. Ye Liu Yun's hands can protect Fei Jie. These two old things are living freely."

Fan Xian stood up, silent for a moment, then looked at him and said, "The negotiations between my Great Qing and Dong Yi City are still continuing. You also know that this matter cannot be settled in a very short time. The kings and nobles of those vassal states will definitely still resist. You are about to die, and you can't control these problems. I may use some harsh measures when the time comes."

"That has nothing to do with me." Si Gu Jian's thin body was buried under the quilt, looking very pitiful, "You're telling me this, cough... cough... are you about to leave?"

"I need to go back to Kyoto temporarily, and then come back to handle the follow-up matters." Fan Xian nodded and walked towards the outside of the house. When his foot suddenly stepped on the threshold, he suddenly said, "What exactly did Chen Ping Ping ask Fei Jie to bring you?"

Si Gu Jian seemed to be asleep, and did not answer at all.

Fan Xian turned around at the threshold, his eyes full of worry, and continued to ask, "Ku He wants to extend Chen Ping Ping's life, and Chen Ping Ping wants to extend your life. Why are you old guys enduring so much hardship? Sometimes, I really can't believe that old Director would choose such a path. This is too inconsistent with his aesthetic."

"I was also very surprised." Si Gu Jian laughed very badly, "That old black dog has always been loyal to the Qing Emperor, why would he help me protect my life? Isn't he afraid of what I did at the Suspended Temple?"

Fan Xian did not speak, thinking somewhat dimly in his heart that what the old cripple was thinking was just to exploit human nature. What a tragic and painful plan that was.

"Three years ago, before the rebellion in Kyoto, Director was poisoned." Fan Xian suddenly lowered his head and said, "That person was from your Dong Yi City."

After saying this, he walked away from the room, and walked out of this lifeless but murderous room. He stood next to the big pit in the middle of Sword Hut (Jian Lu), looked up at the sky, and was silent for a long time without speaking. At this time, white clouds were floating in the sky, and the round, bright sun was at the end of that long cloud, looking like a burning brush, drawing dazzling pictures in the blue sky.

Burning itself and illuminating others, the universe is inherently dark, but it cannot tolerate a trace of darkness in its eyes, desperately burning the fuel from the beginning of time, wanting to illuminate all the darkness hidden behind the stars.

Fan Xian stood beside the sword pit, took a deep breath, and the two major Zhoutian cycles in his body slowly revolved. The true qi of the Heavenly One Dao protected his heart and veins, and he raised his tyrannical true power to the extreme realm. The true qi in his body was full and turbulent, causing his clothes to rustle in the windless environment.

Seemingly endless true qi flowed along his arms towards his steady palms, and was slowly released.

Not everyone knows this kind of true qi circulation method. It was a useless method that Fan Xian came up with to climb cliffs back then, but he has practiced it for twenty years, and it is already extremely proficient. The true qi is released, moving according to the will, very naturally. Who would have thought that an interesting idea back then would have such an effect many years later.

Fan Xian stood beside the sword mound, his arms spread out on both sides.

The countless sword branches in the pit began to jingle, as if feeling the call of this true qi, and trembled non-stop.

A simple-style sword was the first to be unable to withstand this power. The tip of the sword cried out, broke free from the yellow earth at the bottom of the Sword Hut (Jian Lu) pit, as well as the rotten paper strips and garbage that Si Gu Jian had thrown in, flew up, and flew into Fan Xian's hand.

Fan Xian quietly looked at the sword in his hand, comparing it with his habitually used Great Wei Son of Heaven Sword, and found that it was indeed unremarkable. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and say, "It's also fate."

In the dark room, on the bed, the dying Grandmaster Si Gu Jian smiled and muttered to himself, "It still won't work."

Fan Xian looked at the sword in his hand and sighed, "It's still far away."

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In the night, three carriages were heading west at the fastest speed. These carriages carried Qing's distinguished guests. Under the current situation, no one dared to stop these carriages for inspection within the territory controlled by the entire Dong Yi City, so the speed of the carriages was extremely fast.

Moreover, the color of these carriages was black.

Mu Feng Er carefully poured a basin of hot water and placed it in front of the Director's Lord, fearing that he would spill the water when the carriage was moving.

Fan Xian's daily life can really be considered luxurious. He didn't know where these Supervisory Council officials got the hot water from. He picked up the hot towel from the basin and vigorously wiped his tired face, and asked, "Is there any new news from Kyoto?"

"Everything is as usual." Mu Feng Er glanced at the Director and responded softly. In fact, he didn't know why the Director was in such a hurry to return to Kyoto. Although it was true that the negotiations with Dong Yi City were troublesome, and the Director also needed to return to Kyoto to submit the details of the negotiations to His Majesty for decision, why did he have to make the time so tight? He even had to risk traveling at night. Fortunately, there were no mountain roads near Dong Yi City, otherwise, if the carriage overturned, who could bear the responsibility? The Emperor might even execute all the Supervisory Council officials who were traveling with him.

Hearing Mu Feng Er's answer, Fan Xian's mood relaxed a lot. It was now the tenth year of Qingli, and he had officially entered the Supervisory Council for five or six years. To be more precise, from the day he was born, he had been cultivated by Chen Ping Ping to prepare for taking over the Supervisory Council. When he was five years old, in addition to following Mister Fei Jie to learn about poisonous substances, most of his time was spent learning the Supervisory Council's regulations and organizational planning. Today, Fan Xian had firmly grasped this terrifying institution of the Supervisory Council, and had his own judgment on the loyalty and ability of his subordinates.

The black carriages moved silently in the black night. Although the oil lamps in the carriages were windproof and shake-proof, the light was still somewhat erratic. Fan Xian rubbed his sore eyes, raised his head, and suddenly said calmly, "Little Feng Er, you are a distant nephew of Mu Tie, right?"

Mu Feng Er was stunned, thinking that the Director had already known about this matter, but he still respectfully replied, "He is my cousin, but... not within three generations."

"If someone wants to kill Mu Tie, what would you do?"

Mu Feng Er was startled, and stared blankly at Fan Xian, unable to say a word for a long time.

Fan Xian smiled and said, "It's just an example, how about this, if Mu Tie has a feud with me, and he wants to use his death to arouse your hatred for me... would you kill me because of this?"

Mu Feng Er shook his head repeatedly, not daring to say a word.

Fan Xian shook his head somewhat boredly, sighed, and lowered his head again, thinking to himself, how could there be such stubborn people in this world?

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When Fan Xian was traveling in the dark, returning to Kyoto to explain the affairs of Dong Yi to His Majesty in detail, the Emperor of Northern Qi had already returned to the quiet Shangjing City. The palace eaves intertwined with black and green were still so beautiful. Although she had been away from the palace for some time, with the strong suppression of the Empress Dowager and the cooperation of trusted officials in the court, no one had noticed anything unusual.

In comparison, the Northern Qi royal family, which the Southern Qing court had always believed to be at odds with each other, was actually as united as an iron plate, far more so than the Southern Qing.

The Emperor of Northern Qi stared blankly at the black night outside the palace, glanced back at the beautiful woman who was reading a book behind her, and suddenly asked, "You only stayed in the room with Fan Xian for half an hour. Is he so horny, or are you so full of lust that you can't restrain yourself?"

Since returning to the palace, the little Emperor's favor for Consort Li Li had not weakened, but the sharpness in her words was somewhat unstoppable. Si Li Li had grown up with her since childhood, and of course knew what kind of person she was. She had endured for more than half a month without explaining, but today she smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I know you are jealous, you don't need to show it so obviously."

The little Emperor's face had become somewhat ugly when Fan Xian said those words that day. Hearing Si Li Li's words today, she couldn't help but snort coldly.

Si Li Li stood up, walked behind her, rested her cheek on her thin shoulder, wrapped her arms around her, gently stroking her lower abdomen, and said softly, "Fan Xian's words are very simple. If you are pregnant, of course only I can be pregnant. No matter who of us is pregnant, we always have to tell him, the father."

The little Emperor fell silent, then suddenly said, "I wonder if that pretty boy is having a good time in Dong Yi City."

Si Li Li did not answer this sentence, but was thinking that Little Lord Fan was the most dashing man in the world, but having caused so much trouble, he was afraid that he would become the most troubled man in the world if he was caught in the middle.

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The most troubled man in the world finally rushed back to Kyoto with great difficulty. The black carriages passed through the double inspections of the Kyoto Garrison and the Thirteen City Gates Division extremely quickly, and arrived at the city gate of the Imperial Palace.

Fan Xian took a deep breath, jumped out of the carriage, and did not look at the officials who were full of joy and surrounded him, but thought in his heart that this time, he must ask His Majesty for an official position when he entered the palace!