A vast expanse of white, a truly clean land, the world above and below filled with melting snow. Its depth unknown, its extent unknown. The snowfield stretched to the horizon, and at the horizon, a towering snow peak rose abruptly, piercing the clouds like a sword plunged upside down into the sky. This snow mountain was incredibly high, inspiring awe and fear, discouraging approach.

Fan Xian looked down and found his bare feet standing in the snow, yet strangely he felt no icy pain. Instead, he clearly felt the sensation of each individual snowflake. He was somewhat surprised, squinting his eyes as he gazed at the tall mountain directly in front of the snowfield, only to have his eyes stung by the light reflected from the icy snow on the mountain's face.

The world was bright, as if there were nine suns in the snowy clouds. Fan Xian didn't know how long he had been walking in this snowfield. Five days? Six days? He hadn't slept, but the day never seemed to darken. It was as if this accursed place had no distinction between day and night.

"When I first came here, it was night all the time at the beginning. Later, the sky opened its eyes and turned to day."

A voice rang in Fan Xian's ears. He turned his head and saw a face he hadn't seen in a long time. That aged face had an unhealthy flush, clearly a consequence of taking Ephedra pills. Fan Xian tilted his head, looking at Xiao En strangely, wondering if he wasn't dead. How could he appear before him again, speaking so clearly?

He felt somewhat strange, but subconsciously a mental force prevented him from pondering this bizarre question. Instead, he asked directly, "Is the temple in that snow mountain?"

"Yes, that is the holy land of the human world, a place that mortals cannot touch." Xiao En sighed, and then his face turned into countless fragments of light, falling onto the snow and disappearing forever.

Fan Xian squatted down, frantically digging through the snow with his reddened hands, as if trying to retrieve the dead Xiao En to ask him more questions. After digging for a long time, the snow pit grew deeper and deeper, but he found no trace of him. Instead, next to the deepening snow pit, he saw a shadow.

A man in hemp clothing wearing a bamboo hat was sitting beside the snow pit, his eyes clear as the sea, quietly watching the great snow mountain.

"Where did your shoes go? Where did my shoes go?" Fan Xian jumped out of the snow pit, glanced at his bare and reddened feet, and then at the barefoot man in hemp clothing. His gaze passed through the bamboo hat and saw the man's bald head. Smiling, he said, "I know you are Ku He. You also came to the temple in the past. You and Xiao En both ate human flesh."

Sitting on the snow, Ku He smiled and said, "The temple is not sacred. It's just an abandoned temple."

"But everyone knows that you have endless reverence for the temple, having knelt on the bluestone steps in front of the temple for months, only to be granted extraordinary skills by the heavens."

"But you know the truth is not like that." Ku He turned his head and calmly looked at Fan Xian, saying, "What invincible power exists in this world?"

After saying this, Ku He disappeared, as if he had never appeared. In an instant, in the place where Ku He had vanished, the short Sword Saint Grandmaster suddenly appeared, staring with wide eyes and shouting angrily at Fan Xian, "Where are my ashes? Where are my ashes?"

Fan Xian was startled, finally realizing that he seemed to have forgotten something. He seemed to have promised Si Gu Jian that if he were to go to the temple, he would bring his ashes and scatter them on the stone steps of the temple, so that he could see what kind of remarkable figures were in that temple.

Fan Xian was extremely distressed, saying, "That mountain is so tall and so cold, I can't even get close to it. Even if I bring your ashes, it won't be of any use."

"That's an excuse!" Si Gu Jian roared furiously, "That's just an excuse!"

Then Si Gu Jian thrust his sword over, stirring up a flurry of snowflakes, filling the world with a breathtaking and irresistible beauty. Fan Xian's face turned pale. He exerted all his strength, desperately treading on the soft snowfield with his bare feet, rushing towards that snow mountain that seemed impossible to conquer.

Then he saw a black dot slowly and steadily ascending the snow mountain. Fan Xian was overjoyed and shouted loudly, "Uncle Wu Zhu, wait for me."

Wu Zhu, covered in black cloth, seemed not to have heard any sound at all. He continued to walk towards the mountain, coldly and steadfastly. But the sword behind Fan Xian had already arrived. The sword flower was only one, but in an instant, it bloomed into countless petals. Each petal of the sword flower cut off a piece of flesh from Fan Xian's chest and abdomen.

Endless pain caused Fan Xian to scream miserably. He fell to the ground, the blood from his body flowing onto the snow, immediately freezing into deep red blood flowers, like precious and murderous agates.

Fan Xian watched Uncle Wu Zhu walk towards the great snow mountain, that snow mountain still so tall and cold. He felt the unbearable pain coming from his heart, and the despair and fear filling his mind.

Then he woke up.

Fan Xian groaned and struggled to sit up from the bed, his entire body covered in sweat, soaking all of his underwear. Subconsciously, he touched his chest, finding that other than some soreness, he hadn't actually been cut into countless pieces.

It was already night. It seemed that after waking up in the evening earlier, he had quietly looked at the top of the bed and then fallen asleep again. He just didn't know why he had such a nightmare. Those supreme figures who had once spread their splendor across this world appeared one by one in his dream, telling him about the story of that snow mountain, then advising him, encouraging him, and abandoning him.

Fan Xian breathed heavily, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and stared blankly at the quilt on his body, thinking about the great snow mountain in the dream, still shuddering. He knew what the great snow mountain in the dream represented in the real world, and he also knew that the man was actually more powerful and colder than that great snow mountain. However, with the snow mountain in front of him, he always had to climb it.

……

……

Inside the Imperial Study of the palace, His Majesty the Emperor slowly opened his eyes, waking up. He looked at the lamplight on the desk around him and realized that it was already night. His eyes were somewhat cold and strange because he had had a dream. He dreamed that he was standing on a lonely snow mountain, enjoying the worship and reverence of countless people in the snowfield below the mountain. However, there was no one by his side, as lonely as that snow mountain.

Those people were almost frozen into zombies. Being worshipped by such beings, perhaps there wasn't much pleasure to be derived. The Emperor slowly closed his eyes, thinking of those eyes that looked at him coldly in the dream, the eyes of those familiar partners. He remained silent for a long time.

"I want to scald my face," the Emperor said.

Eunuch Yao, who had been waiting by his side, bowed and responded, opening the door to the Imperial Study. Before leaving, he whispered, "Lord Ye Zhong has been waiting in the front hall."

The Emperor said nothing, waving his hand with some annoyance, and the door to the Imperial Study was closed. Although His Majesty the Qing Emperor had his own palace in the harem, over the years he had been diligent in his government affairs and, with his extraordinary energy, had become accustomed to staying up late in the Imperial Study to review memorials. The necessary bedding was well arranged here, so he rarely returned to the palace to rest, but often spent the night in the Imperial Study.

If it were said that a large part of Qing Emperor's life was spent in the Imperial Study, it wouldn't be an exaggeration. On ordinary nights, inside this quiet study, besides the Emperor, only his most trusted eunuch could enter. After Hong Gonggong died and Hong Zhu lost power, the only person who could stay in the Imperial Study at night was Eunuch Yao.

However, today there was also a woman in this quiet Imperial Study. This young lady had a natural sense of calm between her eyebrows that could not be dispelled. Her face was delicate and pretty, and she was wearing a thin fur-trimmed shirt, sitting quietly on a round stool opposite the soft couch. A box was placed at her feet.

The Emperor glanced at the woman and said gently, "You haven't rested much these past two days. Go to the harem to rest later."

Fan Ruoruo calmly performed a salute, saying nothing. Ever since she was brought into the palace at noon the day before yesterday to treat His Majesty's injuries, her movements had been greatly restricted. Although no one had explicitly said anything, she knew that she had to stay in the palace.

Over these two days, His Majesty the Emperor had kept her by his side, even when he was handling affairs in the Imperial Study and when subordinates were reporting information related to the Fan residence. Fan Ruoruo listened quietly by the side, and His Majesty the Emperor didn't seem to avoid her much.

The Emperor glanced at her indifferently, easily seeing the deep worry in the calmness between the woman's eyebrows. He knew what she was worried about. What was very strange was that these two days the Emperor kept the Fan family's young lady by his side not only to suppress Fan Xian, nor only because Fan Ruoruo had to treat his injuries, but also because the Emperor felt that this niece's refreshing and indifferent temperament was very much to his liking, and when chatting with her casually, whether it was about astronomy, geography, or the various scenery of the world, Fan Ruoruo could always add a word or two.

"Don't worry about anything." The Emperor coughed lightly. Although Fan Ruoruo had miraculously recovered and removed most of the iron filings and steel pellets from his body, the destructive power of Chen Pingping's wheelchair double-barreled attack was too great after all. No one knew that his injuries were actually extremely serious.

The Qing Emperor was a Grandmaster, so he was able to survive. If it were anyone else, they would have died under Chen Pingping's double-barreled guns long ago.

"Anzhi… your elder brother, has some misunderstandings about me. After these misunderstandings are cleared up in the future, it will be fine." For some reason, His Majesty the Emperor didn't seem to want to see the Fan family's young lady worried, and against his nature, he explained in a soft voice.

And this was indeed the Emperor's sincere words. In his view, Anzhi had always been a person who valued loyalty and righteousness. Chen Pingping's tragic death would inevitably make him unable to figure things out for a while, unable to come to terms with it. In the future, if Fan Xian knew about the great evils that Chen Pingping had planted against the Li imperial family, and had repeatedly poisoned Fan Xian so many times, Fan Xian would naturally understand.

"What Your Majesty says is true," Fan Ruoruo replied with her head lowered.

The Emperor's expression became somewhat gloomy. He didn't like the tone in which the Fan family's young lady was speaking at this time. After a long time, he didn't get angry, but slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Anzhi has been sleeping for a day and a night. It seems that he has worked very hard on this journey."

Fan Ruoruo raised her head, gently biting her lower lip, looking at His Majesty the Emperor, whom she could never fathom, and didn't know how to respond at all. Her elder brother was now sleeping soundly on the couch in the mansion, but he probably wasn't sleeping peacefully. What kind of emotions did His Majesty's words represent?

"Tell me about your situation when you were studying in Qingshan. I have never set foot on the territory of Northern Qi, and this has always been my regret." The Emperor naturally changed the topic. For some reason, he was really going along with Fan Ruoruo's wishes, knowing that discussing matters in the capital and matters in the Fan residence would make this young lady feel chilled.

"Of course, before long, I will be able to go to Qingshan to see it with my own eyes." The Emperor smiled slightly.

Fan Ruoruo respectfully replied, "The scenery on Qingshan is extremely beautiful, and the fellow disciples of the Heavenly One School also treated me very well."

"After all, you are a citizen of my Great Qing. Although I don't know what tricks Fan Xian used back then to force Ku He, that bald donkey, to accept you as his closed disciple, those Northern Qi people must have felt uncomfortable looking at you." The Emperor smoothed the white hair at his temples and said casually.

Fan Ruoruo smiled naturally and said, "Your Majesty's eyes are like torches. The situation was indeed like that at the beginning, but later, the teacher issued a decree, and when Senior Sister Haitang returned to the mountain, it naturally got better."

"Speaking of that woman Haitang, how did Anzhi deal with her in the end?" A trace of emotion flashed in the Emperor's eyes as he asked calmly.

Fan Ruoruo could clearly feel that His Majesty the Emperor was not using this matter to inquire about anything, but was simply very curious about this story of a man and a woman that was widely circulated throughout the world. She stared blankly at His Majesty the Emperor's slightly pale face, suddenly thinking that these matters were all related to her elder brother, and her elder brother would definitely not discuss the details of these matters with His Majesty.

Was this a conversation about family matters? Fan Ruoruo suddenly understood that His Majesty the Emperor was just old, just lonely, just lonely, just a father, but he had never received the treatment of a father. So he kept himself in this palace, wanting to talk to himself more, wanting to know more about the ordinary things of the world, wanting to know more about things related to his elder brother.

……

……

The Emperor's casual chat with his youngest daughter continued in this calm and strange manner. It was obvious that His Majesty the Emperor's mood had improved, and a rare gentle expression began to appear on his slightly pale face.

The door of the Imperial Study was pushed open, and Eunuch Yao led two young eunuchs in, carrying bronze basins. The basins contained steaming hot water. The Emperor took the hot towel from Eunuch Yao's hand, used the corner of his eye to signal Fan Ruoruo to continue speaking, and then covered his face with the rolling towel, vigorously wiping his eye sockets a few times.

Beneath the towel, the Qing Emperor slowly closed his eyes. No one could see his expression at this moment, and no one knew that in the previous moment, he had suddenly thought of yesterday's autumn rain, after which he had brought Li Chengping back to the palace. Xiao San’er’s hand, which he was holding, had been trembling, and the look in his eyes was full of fear.

It was very much like Chengqian many years ago.

A surge of extremely cold anger suddenly arose in the Emperor's heart. He tore off the towel from his face and threw it on the ground. After taking a few deep breaths, he suppressed his temper and looked at Eunuch Yao, saying, "Why did it take so long?"

Eunuch Yao knelt down, answering in a trembling voice, "There was an important matter to report from the inner court earlier, so it was delayed for a while."

"Speak."

"The informants that the inner court placed outside the Fan residence…" At this point, Eunuch Yao subconsciously glanced at the Fan family's young lady, who was staring blankly at him, and then quickly lowered his head, "A total of fourteen people were all killed."

The Emperor's face suddenly became as condensed and icy as ice. He slowly sat up straight on the couch, looking at Eunuch Yao without saying a word.

Fan Ruoruo, who was sitting to the side, suddenly heard this news, and her face gradually turned white, unable to let go. These past two days, she had been staying in the Imperial Study, staying by His Majesty the Emperor's side. Naturally, she knew that yesterday afternoon, her elder brother had already returned to the capital and had already returned to the mansion. Although the inner court and the military had relaxed their suppression of the Fan residence on the surface, they had still left countless informants outside the mansion to monitor it.

Those informants were all dead? What was her brother thinking in his heart? Didn't he know that His Majesty let him sleep peacefully in the mansion, waiting for him to wake up and enter the palace to plead guilty? But he insisted on killing all the people that His Majesty had sent out? Was he not afraid of angering His Majesty?

The color of frost on His Majesty the Emperor's face slowly melted at this moment. The corners of his lips were slightly raised, and he smiled with a hint of sarcasm, saying calmly, "Continue to send people over. My country has hundreds of millions of people. Could he kill them all by himself?"

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The main gate of the Fan residence was wide open, and the lights were hung high, illuminating half of this street in the southern city clearly, as if it were daytime. Lord Fan Xian of Danbo, covered in blood, walked out of the shadows that the lights could not reach. Under the horrified gazes of those people in official uniforms on the street who had revealed their identities, he slowly walked to the entrance of his own mansion.

He sat down on the long bench right in front of the main gate of the Fan residence, threw the Great Wei Son of Heaven Sword, which was stained with blood, at his feet, and reached out to rub his hands a few times in the basin of hot water that a servant handed him. The clear water in the basin immediately turned into bloody water.

……

……

(I remembered something I forgot to say, which is that the two guns in Chen Pingping's wheelchair came from an old movie called "Lone Wolf." That scene has always remained deeply in my memory. I am still sick and very uncomfortable. The work of asking everyone for monthly tickets continues. Now we are considered to be in the top three, so we have to work even harder, but unfortunately, I can't work hard these past two days…)