In the autumn of the twelfth year of the Qingli era, the leaves along the official road gradually widened and rounded as they stretched southward, yet also withered and yellowed. The changing scenery along the way, adapting to the climate, vividly depicted the topography of this world.

A carriage traveled steadily along the official road. Fan Xian, who had been missing from this world for over half a year, had finally returned. Those who eagerly wished for his death, or those who hoped for his survival, were unaware of his return.

After enduring hardships and crossing the snowy plains once more, the four of them quietly slipped back into human society, without sending any clear signals to any faction. Haitang and Wang Shisanlang understood the weight in Fan Xian's heart, while Wu Zhu, who still lacked any human warmth, simply sat silently in the back of the carriage. Surely, this man knew nothing of the troubles of the human world, nor would he care about them.

In the county capital of Langya County in Northern Qi, the carriage stopped outside an inn. After a while, Fan Xian left the inn alone and headed towards the most bustling brothel in the city, followed closely by Wu Zhu, his eyes covered by a black cloth. It wasn't Fan Xian's idea to come out with Uncle Wu Zhu, and he didn't quite understand why Wu Zhu was constantly following him, even though he remembered nothing and knew nothing.

Inside a secret room at a branch of the Baoyue House, Fan Xian saw Shi Chanli, Wang Qinian, and Deng Ziyue, who had been waiting for four months. In this current world, under the immense pressure from Emperor Qing and the palace, there were few loyal subordinates who still bravely stood by his side. Besides these three in the secret room, there was only Xia Qifei, struggling to survive in Jiangnan.

Seeing the living Fan Xian, these three loyal subordinates showed disbelief and joy on their faces. The entire world knew that Fan Xian had gone to the Divine Temple, but in reality, everyone, whether friend or foe, believed that Fan Xian would surely die there. Who knew that he could actually return alive!

After a moment of excitement, Fan Xian smiled and asked everyone to sit down. Naturally, there was no time to discuss the not-so-pleasant, and even somewhat incomprehensible, journey to the Divine Temple.

Wang Qinian squatted to the side, puffing on his tobacco pipe. Deng Ziyue placed all the important intelligence from across the land in front of Fan Xian, collected over the past six months. Fan Xian glanced at it, and the worry in his eyes grew increasingly profound.

Shi Chanli glanced at the blind young man next to the secret room, feeling a chill in his heart for some reason. He wondered who this person was, that he could accompany Mentor to such an important place. He swallowed and said, "Our Great Qing's Northern Grand Army broke camp on the third day of the sixth month, and the first contact between the two sides was seven days later."

"Why is Northern Qi so utterly defeated?" Fan Xian's expression turned grave as he asked, "And in Langya County, I haven't sensed much fear among the Northern Qi people."

"Northern Qi retreated three hundred *li* [approximately 150 kilometers]. Strangely, according to the investigation, Shang Shanhu was not on the main battlefield, but chose to defend Song Guo's prefecture city." Deng Ziyue stepped forward and responded, then spread the map on the table, pointing to the battlefield and said in a deep voice, "This position is in the middle of the spine. If our Great Qing border army directly invades the north, Shang Shanhu can take advantage of the situation and strike the abdomen... Although this famous general has chosen a defensive posture, his defense is extremely dangerous."

"This is the prefecture city that Shang Shanhu seized after the last war in the north. It turns out that this chess piece ultimately landed in this place." Fan Xian smiled wryly. He hadn't expected that while he was exploring the Divine Temple in the north, unaware of the passage of time, the situation on this continent had undergone earth-shattering changes. Just as his group was returning south from the snowy plains, the iron cavalry of Southern Qing finally began their Northern Expedition!

"Since His Majesty has made up his mind to launch a northern campaign with the strength of the entire nation, the Northern Grand Army is just the vanguard. Under the encroachment of such an aura of slaughter, even someone as strong as Shang Shanhu can only choose a defensive posture. This is due to the strength of the nation, and has nothing to do with the genius of individual generals."

Deng Ziyue, after all, came from the Supervisory Council. Compared to Shi Chanli, he had a clearer assessment of the war situation between the two major powers in the north and south during this recent period. He looked at Fan Xian worriedly and said, "The Northern Grand Army left Cangzhou, and Northern Qi retreated three hundred *li*. However, the blade ultimately pointed towards a major battle on the wasteland. The Northern Grand Army is currently resting and reorganizing, but troops are being mobilized frequently in Yanjing City. It seems that the second attack is imminent... Although Shang Shanhu has occupied a strategic location by relying on that prefecture city, if Yanjing and the Northern Grand Army jointly attack from the west, Shang Shanhu will probably have to be dragged into a field battle."

"I don't understand war, but I know that if His Majesty is truly determined, no matter how talented Shang Shanhu is, he will ultimately be slowly worn down to his death."

Fan Xian lowered his head, looking at the silent cities on the map, and said slowly, "It's obvious that although Northern Qi has been preparing for this war for many years, they are ultimately not a match for our Southern Qing in terms of military strength. They only hope to wear us down, to be able to wait until Great Qing is exhausted... It seems that Shang Shanhu can endure, but His Majesty is unwilling to play along with him, even though His Majesty would be the ultimate victor in the end."

Deng Ziyue and Shi Chanli glanced at Fan Xian, their eyes full of worry. They were traitors to the Qing Kingdom, but after all, they were Qing people, belonging to the third force in the world. Now that the war between the two sides had begun, their position and identity were indeed somewhat awkward, and they had never known Fan Xian's opinion on the matter, so the forces belonging to Fan Xian had not taken any action for more than a month.

Fan Xian frowned slightly, tapping the location of that unnamed prefecture city with his finger. He thought of Shang Shanhu, who was probably preparing in that prefecture city nominally belonging to the Song Kingdom, and suddenly felt a strong sense of unease. He said, "If I were His Majesty, and I really wanted to seize time and not play along with Shang Shanhu, the simplest way would be to have two strong armies advance together, and then choose one to bypass to the rear of the Song Kingdom. Then Shang Shanhu would no longer be able to hide his blade in its sheath..."

"But if you want to bypass to the rear of the Song Kingdom, that would be equivalent to borrowing a road from Dongyi City. Although Dongyi City is nominally a part of our Great Qing, if the army wants to enter the territory of Dongyi City..." Deng Ziyue looked at Fan Xian and said, "His Highness the Eldest Prince and the Black Riders are not in Dongyi City now, but on the border between the Xiao Liang Kingdom and the Song Kingdom. If our Great Qing army wants to borrow a road, they may face a sudden attack."

This sentence was not clear, because everyone in this secret room knew that Dongyi City now belonged to Fan Xian. In such a war involving the entire world, what kind of attitude Dongyi City would show, and whether Emperor Qing would forcefully send troops to Dongyi City, was ultimately a matter between Emperor Qing and Fan Xian, this pair of father and son.

"If His Majesty didn't send troops to attack Dongyi City at the beginning, it means that he knows I'm not dead, so he won't choose this path in the future." Fan Xian sighed, rubbing his troubled brow, "Let's not talk about these things, it's not something I can handle after all. I only care about how things are in Kyoto and Jiangnan."

Information about these situations was in the files that Deng Ziyue had submitted, but there was too much content, and Fan Xian didn't have time to look at it in detail.

"Jiangnan is stable. The imperial court has withdrawn the new rules for the Neiku [Imperial Treasury] bidding. As you expected, the salt merchants have also joined the Neiku bidding. Fortunately, the Ming family still occupies a portion of the share, but of course, it's much more miserable than in previous years."

"Are Xia Qifei's people okay?"

"After the assassination last year, the imperial court has not taken any further action against Ming Garden. Governor Xue Qing is just suppressing Xia Qifei, but it seems that he won't take direct action."

Fan Xian fell into deep thought. It seemed that Emperor Qing had ultimately kept the promise he made in the palace. After all, the lifeline of the Neiku was in his hands, and if His Majesty wanted eternal glory, he could only take a temporary step back in the face of his threat.

"After Sun Jingxiu was dismissed from his post, it was originally planned to exile him for three thousand *li*, but for some reason, an imperial decree suddenly came down from the palace, pardoning his crime. Sun's daughter was released the night before she was to enter the Jiaofang [official brothel]... Now the Sun family is having a very difficult time, but the He faction's people were killed miserably, so no one is willing to kick them when they're down."

Speaking of this, a hint of a smile appeared on the corner of Deng Ziyue's lips. Although he had not participated in the events in Kyoto, the Supervisory Council's slaughter in Kyoto, with the He faction officials shedding blood, made this abandoned official of the Supervisory Council feel extremely gratified.

"It's just that the people in the Council have withdrawn from the Kyoto area according to your instructions, so they can't help."

Fan Xian nodded, but he felt more and more that things were a bit strange. His Majesty... when did he become such a benevolent monarch? Just to abide by the bet between himself?

"Is the family doing well?" He shook his head, temporarily letting go of the things he couldn't figure out in his heart, and asked Wang Qinian.

Wang Qinian coughed twice, smiling and responding softly, "Better than ever. Everyone in the world is stunned. Princess Chen and Miss Ruoruo go to the palace every day to talk to His Majesty, and the young master and young miss are also very healthy."

The situation in Kyoto had indeed stunned the entire world. Fan Xian was now a traitor to the Qing Kingdom, but Emperor Qing had no intention of punishing the Fan faction. Even those women who should have been implicated now had a status in Southern Qing's Kyoto that was even higher than before the palace assassination.

Fan Xian was stunned when he heard this news.

Deng Ziyue suddenly said at this moment, "The investigation in Yinzhou has revealed the results. The people who attacked Su Wenmao were border troops withdrawn from the Southern Route, disguised as bandits."

A cold light flickered in Fan Xian's eyes, and he quickly asked, "Where are the people?"

"The last thing we found was Su Wenmao's body, covered by the snow at the time." Deng Ziyue slowly closed his eyes and said, "At that time, he was missing an arm. The old members of the Council searched for a long time, but couldn't find it."

"I'm going back to Kyoto." After a long silence, Fan Xian raised his head, looked at the three closest subordinates around him, and smiled very reluctantly. "You guys withdraw to Dongyi City immediately, and don't gather together again in the future, otherwise, if you're caught in one fell swoop, where will I go to cry?"

Hearing that Fan Xian was returning to Southern Qing's Kyoto, Wang Qinian, Deng Ziyue and Shi Chanli were shocked. Wang Qinian had been with Fan Xian for the longest time, knew Fan Xian's thoughts best, and was the least particular about his words. He advised in a hoarse voice, "Although His Majesty hasn't carried out a purge, you also know, my lord, that if you appear in Kyoto, he will kill you at all costs."

"I know."

"Your life now involves that bet, and more importantly, as long as you're alive, His Majesty will be afraid... Your life will affect the lives and deaths of many people."

"I know all of that." Fan Xian lowered his eyes and said, "But Kyoto must be returned to, because things always need to be resolved. Even if I hide in Dongyi City for the rest of my life, I won't be able to resolve them."

There was another deathly silence. A flash of inspiration suddenly passed through Fan Xian's mind, and he stared at Wang Qinian and asked, "We discussed earlier that the Northern Grand Army and Yanjing could clearly wear down Shang Shanhu, but His Majesty's intention is clearly not to endure. Why is that?"

Wang Qinian was silent for a moment and then said, "There's news from the palace that His Majesty's health... seems to have problems."

As soon as these words came out, Deng Ziyue and Shi Chanli's expressions changed drastically. They certainly knew that Emperor Qing's health was the most important thing in this world, but the problem was that one was responsible for the Supervisory Council's old intelligence work, and the other was responsible for the Baoyue House's intelligence system that spread all over the world, but they had never heard any news related to His Majesty's health. Wang Qinian's words were so certain, making them somewhat unable to believe it.

Fan Xian stared into Wang Qinian's eyes, nodded slowly after a long time. He knew where Wang Qinian's news came from. The existence of Hong Zhu was unknown even to Chen Pingping when he was alive, but Fan Xian had entrusted him to Wang Qinian. Clearly, this news came from Hong Zhu.

The secret room was silent for a very long time. The three knew that no one in this world could stop Fan Xian's actions. Shi Chanli smiled with great difficulty and said, "Won't you tell us the story of this trip, my lord? After Grandmaster Ku He, you are the first person to be able to return alive from the Divine Temple."

"It's just a dilapidated temple, what's there to talk about." Fan Xian smiled, knowing that everyone was actually very curious about that illusory place. However, his mood was heavy at this time, and he really had no interest in talking. He just glanced lightly at Uncle Wu Zhu at the entrance of the secret room, wondering when the blind uncle would wake up.

……

……

So, in Langya County, the trio of young powerhouses who entered the Snowy Mountain Divine Temple separated. Wang Shisanlang was going to rush to Dongyi City as quickly as possible to notify His Highness the Eldest Prince and the people in the Sword Cottage, who were guarding Dongyi City alone, about Fan Xian's survival and Fan Xian's arrangements. Haitang's departure was also within Fan Xian's expectations. Now that the world war had begun, although Northern Qi had the strength to fight, the situation was ultimately dangerous. As the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi, Haitang naturally could not stay out of it. She had to rush back to the Imperial Capital, back to the side of the Emperor of Northern Qi. In her capacity as the head of the Qingshan Tianyi Tao, she would help her country resist foreign invaders.

However, at the time of parting, the look in Haitang's tired eyes made Fan Xian feel a little inexplicably sorry. He didn't know how long the Northern Qi side could last in the face of Emperor Qing's strong will and war to unify the world. He also didn't know if the Qing army really broke through the Imperial Capital one day, whether that beautiful palace would be burned to ashes, and whether Haitang, Lili, and his own Emperor's women would be among those flames.

Whether from a personal view of history, character, or any other aspect, Fan Xian could only have one attitude toward the bloody war that was slowly unfolding: he had to stop it. However, he didn't promise Haitang anything, didn't express anything, only remained silent, leading Uncle Wu Zhu, walking alone toward the south.

Autumn, with its unknown depths, the leaves either yellow or red, under the clear sky, Fan Xian and Wu Zhu walked silently south, not knowing how long they walked, but Wu Zhu still hadn't said a word. Fan Xian's mood was very heavy. He didn't know what he could do after returning to Kyoto, but the intuition in the dark, and the news that Emperor Qing might be seriously ill, urged his steps to keep moving.

Su Wenmao, the most successful straight man after Wang Qinian, was dead. That autumn, the old cripple had died a long time ago, and in the earlier years, Ye Qingmei had also died. After experiencing the great joys and sorrows of mankind in the Divine Temple, Fan Xian should have taken life and death more lightly, but for some unknown reason, once he stepped into the world, there were more secular thoughts in people's hearts. Remembering the living and remembering the dead, repaying the living and rewarding the dead, how could he just laugh it off?

It was still a black carriage. Fan Xian sat in the carriage, looking at Uncle Wu Zhu sitting next to the coachman, and wasn't surprised to find that Uncle Wu Zhu's profile was still so delicate, and that black cloth was still so enchanting in the autumn wind. Everything, in fact, was very similar to the scene from Kyoto to Danzhou more than twenty years ago.

What was different was actually Wu Zhu. This peerless powerhouse, who seemed to have lost his soul, didn't say a word, didn't do anything. That cold face couldn't express whether he was curious about everything in this world that was both strange and familiar.

Fan Xian felt a faint sadness, and gently lowered the curtain. Then he smiled with a hint of self-deprecating irony. Back then, Uncle Wu Zhu was just blind, but now it was good, he had become a mute again. What exactly did his mother do back then? What should he do?

The carriage stopped at Nanling County, and didn't go any further. To be precise, the coachman refused to drive any further. Although the Northern Qi Dynasty had been trying to downplay the war in the south, the war wasn't as easy to hide as the scandals of the royal family. Everyone in the world knew what was happening in the central heartland of the continent. Hundreds of millions of people were nervously waiting for the results with indifferent and wary eyes. The coachman naturally didn't want to enter the battlefield.

Taking out silver and buying the carriage, Fan Xian acted as the coachman, taking Uncle Wu Zhu and continuing south. On the way back from the Ice Plains, the abundant heaven and earth vitality had successfully healed Fan Xian's injuries. Although he knew that he still had no way to touch the boundary between mankind and the heavens, he believed that no one in this world, except for the Emperor, could threaten him.

After traveling for another ten days or so, crossing the crude wooden sheds along the official road and the crowds of refugees with numb expressions, the uncle and nephew in the carriage seemed to be traveling in a barren area similar to the far north snowfields.

The population gradually thinned out, and a small snow fell occasionally, but it couldn't cover the desolate taste on both sides of the road. Occasionally, several corpses about to rot could be seen on the roadside, and dilapidated villages burned to ruins could be vaguely seen in the distant mountain valleys.

This was originally a fertile land. Even if it was blown by the north wind from the Northern Sea, the fertile land still supported many people. However, now there was only a vast desolation. Most of the people had retreated to the rear of Northern Qi, and those who had not been able to avoid the war had become the sacrifices of the obsession with unifying the world.

As for those villages that were burned, and the people who were hacked to death by the roadside, Fan Xian didn't investigate deeply whether they were done by the invading Qing army or by the scattered Northern Qi deserters. War was originally mankind's original sin. Where in this world could there be good wars and bad peace?

On the desolate official road, the air was dry and carried the smell of blood, surrounding the black carriage. Fan Xian drove the restless horse with a wooden expression, and didn't look back to see Uncle Wu Zhu's expression.

He knew that the armies of the two countries were now gathering on the Chongping Plain north of Yanjing City in the southwest. After winning, the Southern Qing Northern Grand Army temporarily returned to camp to rest, because they feared Shang Shanhu, who had been quietly stationing troops. The desolation here was relatively safe. However, the traces of the previous battle were already so shocking, and he couldn't imagine what this world would turn into if the Southern Qing iron cavalry broke through the Song State prefecture city where Shang Shanhu was located and went all out to the north. A Shura killing field.

In the whole world, it seemed that only the sound of the carriage crushing the road could be heard. Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, waved his whip, avoided a Qing cavalry squad patrolling across the river, and entered the territory of the Qing Kingdom.

At this moment, Wu Zhu, who had been silent since leaving the Divine Temple, suddenly spoke, "The world outside the temple is not very good."

"The world outside is inherently helpless, but if we work hard, maybe it will get better." A complex smile appeared on the corner of Fan Xian's lips, and he gently waved the whip again.