The eavesdropping equipment in Baoyue House was truly extraordinary. Just by looking at this well-hidden setup, one could tell that the brothel's owner not only hoped to amass wealth through fleshly business but also meticulously gathered secrets from the intimate moments and pillow talk of Kyoto's dignitaries – secrets they would never openly proclaim in daylight. If not for Fan Xian's meticulousness, it would have been difficult to discover the peculiarity of the handrail next to the toilet.

Sang Wen looked at him with a strange expression, then bit her lip and knelt straight down before Fan Xian.

Fan Xian smiled gently but didn't stop her. He had already checked the room thoroughly and was certain that no one could overhear their conversation. As for why Sang Wen knelt, he knew the reason but wouldn't voice it. He sat down on a chair, casually pulled a light blanket over Yan'er, who was asleep on the couch, and said in a low voice, "I'll ask, you answer."

Sang Wen understood. With a hopeful expression on her face, she rose from the ground and stood cautiously before Fan Xian, but glanced behind him. Fan Xian shook his head, initially not wanting to waste time explaining, but realizing that he needed to reassure her, he said, "She won't wake up for a while, and she can't possibly eavesdrop. Don't worry."

Only then did Sang Wen nod.

Fan Xian didn't ask useless questions like whether Sang Wen's original Tian Chang Chamber had closed down or what methods Baoyue House had used to snatch her away. Instead, he asked directly, "Do you have a contract in Baoyue House's possession?"

Sang Wen was overjoyed, knowing that this Lord Fan was willing to help her escape her predicament. She said anxiously, "Yes, but they forced..."

Before she could finish, Fan Xian continued, "What instructions did the people in the house give you when you were assigned to serve me today?" Given Sang Wen's status, the young master Chen that Fan Xian was impersonating certainly wouldn't be qualified to have her sing.

Sang Wen now fully trusted Fan Xian, because in her eyes, only this most popular Supervisor of the Imperial Censorate in Kyoto could help her escape this unfathomable house and avenge the downfall of Tian Chang Chamber. She said without hesitation, "I overheard that the people in the house suspect that you are an expert from the Ministry of Justice's Thirteenth Department, investigating the murder case from a few days ago, so they sent Yan'er, their top courtesan."

Fan Xian smiled wryly, thinking that he had disguised himself well, but Baoyue House somehow sensed something, only they guessed the wrong direction. Sang Wen looked at his expression and explained, "The attendant beside you has an official aura. That feeling is terrifying."

This was naturally referring to Deng Ziyue.

Fan Xian waved his hand and changed the subject. "I want to know, who do you guess is the real owner of this Baoyue House?" He used the word "guess" because even within the Imperial Censorate, there were people helping to conceal the truth, so Sang Wen couldn't possibly know the brothel's true owner. However, she spent a long time in the house and must have noticed some clues.

Although Sang Wen didn't understand why the dignified Supervisor of the Imperial Censorate would be interested in this, she tried her best to recall, saying with some uncertainty, "It should be related to the Shangshu Lane. The owner of Baoyue House is always very secretive when they come, but the carriage rarely changes. Although there's no family emblem on the carriage, in the past month or two, fallen leaves from the pagoda trees have been visible on the carriage roof. This type of tree is a Northern Qi species, and only planted on both sides of Shangshu Lane in the entire capital, so I dare say the carriage came from Shangshu Lane."

Fan Xian glanced at her. Sang Wen understood and immediately explained, "I also lived in Shangshu Lane for many years when I was young, so I know about this."

Fan Xian continued, "What's the surname of the head madam in this house?"

"It should be Yuan."

The young lady spoke quickly, steadily, and rapidly. Fan Xian looked at her with great appreciation and said, "You have a meticulous mind. You can come and work in my courtyard."

The residents of Shangshu Lane were not mere ministers, but a group of founding dukes who had been ennobled at the beginning of the dynasty, holding high positions and power. However, His Majesty's governance was extremely strict, so these dukes were generally quite well-behaved.

As for that Madam Yuan, Fan Xian smiled wryly, naturally thinking of Hong Cheng's subordinate, Madam Yuan Meng.

Having obtained this useful information, Fan Xian was already very satisfied with the night's results, so he was in the mood to chat with Sang Wen. He learned from the conversation that Baoyue House indeed had a powerful backing. The house only opened in early summer, but it quickly swept away several rival businesses in Kyoto that dared to compete, using extremely bloody methods. Otherwise, Sang Wen wouldn't have been forced to enter the house.

"In a couple of days, I'll send someone to redeem you." Fan Xian wasn't feeling sympathetic, but believed in the principle of equal exchange, and he felt uncomfortable with the songstress being in such a sinister brothel. Wan'er also liked this woman. In a few days, he would have someone from his courtyard take a visiting card to Baoyue House to demand her release. The owner of Baoyue House should give him that face.

Sang Wen was overjoyed! She felt insecure in Baoyue House and had even watched girls snatched from other places being beaten to death by the house's thugs. She was constantly thinking of ways to escape, but although she had met Fan Xian once and received a gift of a poem, she never thought of seeking him out. After all, the difference in their status was too great. Unexpectedly, she had the chance to meet the Poet Immortal again today and received this promise. With Supervisor Fan's position in the court, this matter was naturally settled. Thinking of this, Sang Wen was overwhelmed with emotions and knelt down gracefully, sobbing.

Fan Xian had already accepted one bow from her and didn't want to accept a second, so he reached out to help her up.

...

...

Just then, an extremely angry roar rang out from outside the courtyard!

"I'll kill you!"

Following the angry shout of a middle-aged man, the door was shattered into pieces, and a figure arrived with the force of a thunderbolt. A palm containing immense power was printed on Fan Xian's chest!

"No!" Sang Wen fell to the ground in shock, recognizing the man's appearance and cried out with indescribable shock and worry.

...

...

The force of the palm rushed towards his face like a knife. Fan Xian stood sideways, neither facing the attacker nor turning his head, simply extending his ordinary right hand from his sleeve and casually pushing it out.

His palm seemed slow, but it was an illusion created by extreme stability. By the time his palm was extended, the attacker's Thunder Palm had only just struck.

A delicate and steady palm arrived first, lightly striking the calloused, thick palm. Just... a light pat.

A light pat, yet it produced a deafening boom!

The attacker who had arrived with the force of thunder was fast to come, but even faster to fly away. He was directly blasted away by Fan Xian's seemingly casual palm, like a flying stone launched by a catapult!

The wooden door that had already been shattered was hit again, and the warrior's momentum didn't stop! He crashed directly into the courtyard door, smashing the thick wooden door to pieces and falling straight into the water, creating a large splash!

Fan Xian stood quietly in the hall with his hands behind his back, perfectly calm, as if he hadn't even moved.

Sang Wen watched the scene before her and let out another incredulous exclamation. She looked at Fan Xian with utter shock. Heavens! How could such a gentle and amiable man possess such powerful and domineering True Qi!

But she didn't have time to savor Fan Xian's palm strike. Holding up her skirt and with tears on her face, she rushed towards the edge of the Lean Lake, wondering if the man was dead or alive after receiving Fan Xian's palm.

Fan Xian brushed some mud off his hand, knowing that the man had been lurking in the grass outside the courtyard. He frowned slightly and said somewhat inexplicably, "These Sword Kings are indeed reckless."

Since Sang Wen was quite famous in Kyoto, she naturally had some devoted admirers. Although these Jianghu people couldn't match the methods of Baoyue House, they still tried their best to protect Sang Wen from being defiled. The warrior earlier must have been waiting outside the courtyard for a long time. After the music ended, he hadn't seen Sang Wen leave the courtyard and became anxious. Unable to see clearly through the window, he mistakenly thought that Fan Xian's act of helping her was an act of molestation, so he couldn't help but attack to protect her.

Fan Xian knew that this situation couldn't be concealed from anyone. He smiled wryly and walked out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. At this time, Deng Ziyue had already stood protectively beside him with a murderous look on his face, while Shi Chanli was probably still in a drunken stupor. He looked sideways at the second leader of the Qing Nian team he had personally selected and nodded with some satisfaction.

He was not only satisfied with Deng Ziyue's reaction speed but also with his own palm strike earlier.

It was only after that palm strike that he realized that his journey from Danzhou to Kyoto, his arduous training in Cang Mountain, and his mission to Northern Qi were all extremely rare opportunities. The pressure on the mission, the entanglement with Xiao En, the fight on Yanshan Cliff outside Shangjing, and his seemingly casual but actually meaningful interactions with Haitang had finally allowed the nameless cultivation technique he practiced to gradually align with his unique meridians. And his martial arts cultivation had reached a very stable and terrifying level.

If it had been before, he was afraid that this palm would have shattered the opponent's entire right arm, but it wouldn't have had such a domineering aftereffect. Thinking of this, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel grateful to the deceased Xiao En and Haitang. Of course, he was most grateful to the old cripple for creating such a good opportunity for him.

Uncle Wu Zhu didn't need to be thanked, he was one of his own.

The waves on the lake had not yet settled, and the large man was lying face down in the water, his life or death unknown. Due to the thick darkness of the night, even with the lights on the lakeside, the color of the blood in the lake couldn't be seen clearly.

In a very short time, Baoyue House reacted. Sounds of joy rang out again from various courtyards, and a middle-aged woman with a fast gait, but with a fearful expression, welcomed Fan Xian and apologized repeatedly, "Our protection was inadequate, we startled Young Master Chen, we deserve to die."

Her face was fearful, her words expressed that she deserved to die, but in her eyes was a probing and chilling expression.