Deng Ziyue was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself, "In this heavy rain, instead of waiting in the office for subordinates to pay their respects, instead of feasting at Xin Feng Pavilion, instead of returning to his residence to enjoy the warmth of the brazier and clear tea, he insists on braving the downpour to go to the Yan residence. I wonder what's on the lord's mind."

"I'll go get a carriage," he said to Fan Xian in a low voice, preparing to walk towards a place across the street.

Fan Xian shook his head, pulled the hood of his raincoat over his head, and without fear of the pouring rain, walked into the rain-soaked long street, letting the rain beat against his gray-black clothes.

The official uniform of the Overwatch Council was ordinary, but there were special styles, such as this raincoat worn when investigating cases in rainy weather—the sleeves were wide but not long, made entirely of waterproof material, with an attached hood in the back. The style was somewhat peculiar, like a trench coat yet also a cape, so that the rain would fall smoothly off the clothing.

In the past, when Scholar Shu first saw this type of clothing from the Overwatch Council in Kyoto, he was so moved by its elegance that he gave it the nickname "Lotus Robe," referring to the way raindrops roll off lotus leaves like pearls. But after all, the style of this raincoat was a bit strange and out of sync with current aesthetic tastes. So even with such a beautiful name as "Lotus Robe," it never spread among the common people; only officials and spies of the Overwatch Council wore this kind of clothing.

Therefore, nowadays, in Kyoto on rainy days, as soon as people see someone wearing this black-gray Lotus Robe, they know it's someone from the Overwatch Council on duty, and they avoid them as if they were ghosts.

As Fan Xian stepped into the rain, the Qi Nian squad naturally dared not be negligent. Just like that moonlit night, they split into several positions, guarding him at a respectful distance, as they walked forward on the desolate, sparsely populated rainy street. The rain pounded on their clothes, and their long boots splashed through the puddles, tap-tap-tap-tap!

These few figures in the misty rain somehow possessed a silent, deadly aura.

The Xin Feng Pavilion owner, bowing to see off his guests, looked up slightly at this scene, thinking to himself, "This Magistrate Fan is truly a remarkable person. He and his subordinates have managed to bring out the beauty and quality of this strange clothing."

———————————————————————

The Yan residence was not far away. After walking in the rain for a short while, turning into a small alley, and then emerging and standing to the right, one could see the not-so-spacious gate. Thinking of the father and son who resided within, who controlled all the court's foreign intelligence activities, even Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a bit more solemn.

Yan Ruohai, as a veteran official who had been in charge of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council for ten years, was deeply favored by the Emperor and highly valued by Chen Pingping. Even the ministers of the Six Ministries in the court didn't dare to be too arrogant in front of him. And because the Overwatch Council had initially set official ranks extremely low, the Emperor had essentially been using the means of bestowing honors and titles to forcibly raise the political status of the Overwatch Council officials to facilitate their operations.

For example, Yan Ruohai had been a Second-Class Baron a few years ago. And last year, when Yan Bingyun was betrayed to Northern Qi by the Eldest Princess, the Emperor, in order to appease these loyal ministers in the Overwatch Council, directly raised Yan Ruohai's title to a Third-Class Earl. Considering that even Fan Xian's father, Fan Jian, was only a First-Class Earl, even though he was the Minister of Revenue, one could understand how generously the Emperor treated the officials of the Overwatch Council.

However, the Yan residence hadn't replaced its signboard with a new one. The small characters under the words "Yan Residence" still read "Quiet Clarity Baron Residence" instead of "Quiet Clarity Earl Residence," and the characters were black instead of gold, appearing extremely low-key. But Fan Xian knew that, except for hereditary ministers ennobled as Dukes, only ministers who had been granted residences by the Emperor were qualified to write their title in front of their residences. Therefore, it was clear that the Emperor had also bestowed this residence upon the Yan family, so it was impossible to truly be low-key.

Standing at the gate where the rain hadn't stopped, the gatekeeper had already seen him arrive. As soon as he saw the raincoats worn by this group, he knew they were officials from the Overwatch Council, but he didn't know whether they were the master's colleagues or the young master's friends. He quickly descended the steps, shielding himself from the rain with his hand, and welcomed Fan Xian and his group.

Fan Xian lifted the hood of his raincoat, revealing his slightly damp hair, and asked, "Is Xiao Yan home?"

The gatekeeper was just about to say that the master was not home when he heard the other party's words and realized that he was looking for the young master. Taking another look at the fair-skinned face, he quickly guessed who he was and respectfully said, "The young master is at home. May I ask if you are Magistrate Fan?"

Fan Xian nodded, took off his raincoat, and placed it over his forearm. The gatekeeper quickly took it, raised a paper umbrella with his left hand, and said, "Please come in, sir."

This was a clever man, who knew that the young master had returned from the north and had a close relationship with this Magistrate Fan. So he took it upon himself to not report first, but directly welcomed him inside. Fan Xian also had this idea, smiled at the gatekeeper, and naturally walked into the residence. After all, his official rank was above that of the Yan father and son, so there was no need to be polite in this situation.

This was his first time at the Yan residence, so he couldn't help but be curious about the environment. But as he walked along with the gatekeeper's umbrella, he didn't see anything particularly remarkable, only that the abundant rain nourished the unusually large rockery in the courtyard, making the moss on it appear vibrantly green as if it had regained its youth.

After going around the rockery, they reached the inner courtyard of the Yan residence. Fan Xian smiled slightly as he looked at the two figures listening to the rain under the distant veranda. He waved his hand, signaling everyone not to follow him, and he slowly stepped on the puddles on the stone slabs, trying not to make a sound as he approached the scenic corridor.

The scenic corridor was entirely in the rain, the stone steps by the pillars were wet, and even the ground under the corridor was slightly damp. But the two figures under the corridor remained unmoved, sitting in two chairs, staring blankly at the autumn rain scene.

One of them was naturally the recently returned Young Master Xiao Yan, and the other was the runaway Miss Shen. The two sat in their chairs, not speaking and not looking at each other, but directing their gazes into the rain, as if hoping that the beaded curtain woven by the ceaseless rain could reflect their gazes back and project them into each other's eyes.

Fan Xian smiled bitterly, discovering that Yan Bingyun's face was still covered in frost, but his eyes contained more tenderness than usual. And the Miss Shen beside him seemed to have emerged from the grief of her family's destruction, with a hint of shyness on her face, but a bit more lostness in her eyes.

But the fact that this pair of star-crossed lovers were not speaking, not looking at each other, and acting as if the other didn't exist made the scene truly strange.

And what Fan Xian found even stranger was that Miss Shen was wearing the clothes of a servant girl, and her feet were locked with shackles, dragging a long iron chain. The end of the chain was inside the room. It looked like Yan Bingyun had locked her up!

……

……

After quietly watching for a while, Fan Xian sighed inwardly, knowing that Yan Bingyun's mood must not be as relaxed as it seemed on the surface, otherwise he wouldn't have failed to notice him standing behind them for so long.

So he coughed lightly twice.

Yan Bingyun turned around and saw that hateful, gentle smiling face. Fury surged in his eyes. He didn't know if he was angry at being disturbed, or wanted to find fault with Fan Xian for having been forced to accept a female prisoner.

When Miss Shen saw Fan Xian, she didn't know how to face him. Her expression dimmed, and she rose from her chair, gave a slight bow, and went into the room, the clanging of her iron chains echoing through the rainy corridor.

———————————————————————————

Yan Bingyun didn't seem surprised that Fan Xian would break into his residence. After inviting him to sit down, there was no strange expression on his face. But Fan Xian was a little surprised by the coldness of the Yan residence. He sat in the chair that Miss Shen had left, feeling the remaining warmth under his buttocks. He couldn't help but feel a slight ripple in his heart, and he forcibly suppressed his inappropriate thoughts and said, "I thought that after you finally returned to Kyoto after so much hardship, there would be many officials congratulating you. I never imagined that on this rainy day, it would just be you and Miss Shen looking at each other, unable to speak."

Yan Bingyun seriously retorted, "First, I wasn't looking at her. And I suspect she wouldn't deign to look at me either. Second, it's the sky that's crying, not me."

Fan Xian shrugged and said nothing.

Yan Bingyun continued, "My father has never liked dealing with officials in the court, and I'm not as famous as Magistrate Fan in Kyoto, so the residence will naturally be a bit cold."

Fan Xian shook his head. "I know that before you went to Northern Qi, you were a famous young master in Kyoto. Now that you've returned home, you will definitely be promoted again. How could those who want to curry favor with the Yan family not come to your door? Even if your family is the head of the Overwatch Council and not in the same system as the court officials, I don't think anyone would pass up this great opportunity."

Yan Bingyun was expressionless. "My father raised three dogs and always keeps them chained at the door, so no one dares to come to the residence."

Fan Xian was taken aback and touched his slightly damp hair, saying, "How come I didn't see them when I entered the residence?"

Yan Bingyun said, "Today there's a heavy rain keeping guests away. Those big black dogs have been tired for so many days, so I'll let them rest for a bit."

Fan Xian was speechless.

……

……

"I wonder what important matter brings you here today, sir."

It was clear that Young Master Yan was trying to distance himself from Magistrate Fan. This must have been due to his family's teachings. But Fan Xian didn't care about that and directly took out the cylindrical tube from his arms, opened it, took out the scroll, and threw it into his arms.

Yan Bingyun picked it up and squinted to look it over briefly. His expression was a bit unnatural as he said, "You really trust your subordinates, sir. But this is all the work of the First Bureau. Showing it to me is already a violation of the regulations."

Fan Xian looked at him with a smile and said, "Don't think that just because you're about to take over your father's position, you can hide from me every day… You call me 'sir,' so it's clear that even though I'm in the First Bureau and you're in the Fourth Bureau, I'm still a magistrate, even if it's just nominally. If you really push me too far, I'll issue an order and transfer you directly to the First Bureau, demote you, and you won't have any way to argue… So don't talk so much nonsense. It's more appropriate to help me look at this intelligence."

Yan Bingyun flew into a rage and said, "How can you drag people into your muddy waters! If you continue to use your official authority to suppress me, I'll go find the Director to reason with him!"

Fan Xian waved his hand, looked at the rain outside the corridor, and mocked, "Go ahead and reason. In the end, I'll really scoop you up into the First Bureau as a registrar. Don't regret it then."

Yan Bingyun swallowed the anger in his chest, pointed at the intelligence, and said in a cold voice, "What do you want to know?"

"A big topic," Fan Xian said softly with a smile, standing up and walking in front of him. He looked at that cold face with a hint of beauty and said, word by word, "I want you to find out if there's any relationship between the Second Prince and the Cui family."

There was a deathly silence in the corridor.

Yan Bingyun's face didn't show any shock or fear. He pointed to the tube of paper and said, "I knew from the moment you left Shangjing that you would definitely deal with the Cui family. You didn't hide that from me, sir. But… the Second Prince? There's never been any hint that he's related to the Xinyang faction." He naturally knew that Fan Xian was dealing with the Cui family because of the Eldest Princess, and that he was investigating the relationship between the Cui family and the Second Prince in order to target the Eldest Princess. So he was a little strange as to why he would involve the Second Prince.

"Intuition," Fan Xian said calmly. "I haven't hidden anything from you regarding the matter of dealing with Xinyang, because you and I have a natural alliance possibility in this matter. As for suspecting the Second Prince, it's because I found that during the half year I was in Northern Qi, he was too quiet in Qing… And I've only recently gradually learned from the First Bureau that this Second Prince, who seems unassuming, actually has such a large power base in the court, and so many officials are on very friendly terms with him."

The reason Fan Xian thought the Second Prince was unusually quiet was because he viewed things from the perspective of his previous life. In the struggle for imperial power, the Crown Prince, with his innate advantage, could basically guarantee his future as long as he didn't do anything. And that's exactly what the Crown Prince had been doing for the past year or so, without the Eldest Princess's secret influence. But the Second Prince was different. If he wanted to ascend the throne in the future, he would definitely have to do something. A quiet dog might bite, but a quiet prince would never be able to seize power.

Yan Bingyun looked at him strangely. "It seems that you've decided to get involved in the princes' struggle, sir."

Fan Xian shook his head with a smile. "No, I'm just making preparations, in case I'm harmed by their struggle in the future and end up without a house to live in."

Yan Bingyun was silent for a moment, seemingly calculating the impact of this matter. After all, as ministers, no one wouldn't care about the future direction of the court, especially young and promising ministers like Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun.

"Sir… are you on the Crown Prince's side?" Yan Bingyun suddenly raised his head, stared directly into Fan Xian's eyes somewhat impolitely, and asked a question that seemed a little foolish, too direct, and left no room for maneuvering.

Fan Xian was slightly stunned, but a smile gradually spread across his face. He shook his head and said, "No."

Yan Bingyun was silent for a moment, then gradually smiled as well. "So you are… the Emperor's man."

Fan Xian said nothing, knowing that the other party would definitely help him. Yan Bingyun had been locked up for a year and had long been bored out of his mind. Now that he had returned to Kyoto and was still recuperating, he was giving him such a "fun" and "exciting" thing to do. He wasn't afraid that he wouldn't take the bait.

……

……

Yan Bingyun looked over the file again in great detail, shook his head, and said, "The First Bureau's investigations in Kyoto aren't as good as they used to be, but they're still not bad. But this kind of big-picture thing can't be approached solely from the intelligence in Kyoto. Intelligence needs to be cross-referenced. These materials are already finished products and aren't of much value. I know Mu Tie is very capable when it comes to individual cases, but he can't control such a big picture at all. If… if you trust me, sir, I'll handle this matter altogether."

Trust? Fan Xian looked at his lowered head, at the silver threads mixed in the eyebrows of this young man who was only a few years older than him, narrowed his eyes, and said, "I trust you." Trust was such a simple thing, decided purely by the heart.

"How much time will it take?"

Yan Bingyun raised his head, his words calm but radiating a sense of confidence. "I'll return to the Fourth Bureau next month, and I'll give you the information before the end of the month."

Fan Xian nodded. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Yan Bingyun shook his head. "If this matter gets blown out of proportion, I don't want to be the scapegoat."

"Don't worry, I like sheep the most," Fan Xian laughed heartily, happy not only that the two of them seemed to have found their tacit understanding in Shangjing, and were starting to plan things together again, but even happier that he knew that if Yan Bingyun really started investigating this matter, then on his future career path, Young Master Yan could only follow Magistrate Fan.

It was necessary to investigate the relationship between the Second Prince and Xinyang, but it was even more important to bring Xiao Yan into his own team.

"By the way," Yan Bingyun suddenly frowned and said, "I want to… ask you for a troop of soldiers, sir."

Fan Xian asked curiously, "You've been recuperating all this time, are you secretly investigating something as well? As for asking for soldiers, there are so many elite soldiers under Yan Ruohai’s command at the Fourth Bureau. Do you need to ask me?"

The rain outside the corridor was falling even harder, pattering against the stone ground, as if trying to punch out countless pockmarks. And the trees in the courtyard, after drinking their fill of water, were now drooping their leaves, fearing the violence of the heavy rain. A trace of melancholy and worry flashed across Yan Bingyun's brow as he said, "There's a series of murders in the south, spanning several prefectures. The Thirteen Offices of the Ministry of Justice have lost many people and haven't caught the murderer, so the case was transferred to the Council by imperial decree."

Fan Xian nodded. He was a man of vast knowledge and strong memory, and he remembered receiving a secret report from the Council when he and Yan Bingyun were in Shangjing, but he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

Yan Bingyun said with some confusion, "This is within the authority of the Fourth Bureau, but I didn't expect that after the Fourth Bureau took over, thirteen secret agents died in succession, and they couldn't find a trace of the murderer. Moreover, the manner of death was extremely tragic. According to reports, this murderer is clearly a powerful martial arts practitioner, but there's no way to confirm what level he is. However, judging by his ability to silently kill so many investigating officials, he's probably at least above the ninth rank."

Fan Xian also began to take an interest in this matter. In today's peaceful world, as long as a martial arts practitioner possessed a strength above the ninth rank, they could obtain the strong solicitation and enthusiastic welcome of the officialdom, no matter which country they were in. Even the military, for certain reasons, had changed their attitude and began to vigorously absorb such experts.

However, there weren't many experts above the ninth rank in the entire world. And Dongyi City, relying on its immense wealth and the fact that Si Gu Jian welcomed guests to his hermitage, had the largest number of experts above the ninth rank in the world.

Therefore, an expert above the ninth rank could, like the Ye family, become a member of the military force protecting Qing, or like He Daoren of Northern Qi, become an assassin on the court's payroll. Even if he loved freedom, he could at least go to Dongyi City, occasionally helping the Dongyi City merchant groups as a behind-the-scenes powerhouse, and sparring with his fellow cultivators at Si Gu Jian's Sword Hermitage in his spare time… These were all choices that were both rich and noble, and had Jianghu status.

Serial killing? Was he planning to rape or rob? A ninth-rank expert definitely wouldn't need to do such things.

"Maybe he's a perverted killer," Fan Xian sighed, “… just enjoying the thrill of killing."

Yan Bingyun frowned, seemingly not expecting that there would be such a person in the world. Of course, he didn't fully understand the meaning of "perverted." He said, "The Fourth Bureau has suffered too many losses, so the court needs to send a powerful martial artist to the south to investigate. But as you know, there aren't many experts above the ninth rank. The official ranks of the few in Kyoto are all above my father, so the Fourth Bureau can't ask. The Emperor wouldn't agree either, so I'm preparing to borrow troops from you, sir."

Fan Xian asked curiously, "There aren't any experts like that in the First Bureau either… Even the guards at home are only at most at the seventh rank, which is already considered amazing."

Yan Bingyun curled his lips, smiled, and said, "What I want to borrow is… Gao Da! And the six long swords under his command!"

Fan Xian looked at his scheming look, wishing he could slap him. He sneered coldly and said, "You and I, brothers, have the same wish. I also wanted to keep Gao Da by my side and asked the old man for him as soon as possible. And the result?" He spread his hands. "Just like you, it was just wishful thinking. How can we borrow people from the palace so easily?"

"This, I don't care," Yan Bingyun said with a smile. "If Gao Da is transferred under your command in the future, sir, please lend him to me at the Fourth Bureau for a few days."

Fan Xian was stunned. Looking at the rare smile on his face, his heart skipped a beat. He knew that the Yan family had special channels in Kyoto. Could it be that he had heard something? Could it be that Gao Da's seven swords were really going to be his? Thinking of this good thing, he couldn't help but feel happy and agreed, "I appreciate your kind words. If there really is such a day, it's okay to let you use him."

After talking about official business, Fan Xian glanced at the quiet room and began to tease him. "How have you been doing with Miss Shen lately?"

As soon as Yan Bingyun mentioned this matter, he immediately turned into an ice cube again and said coldly, "Please show some respect, sir."

"Respect my ass!" Fan Xian cursed. "You're tying her up with an iron chain, that's letting her respect herself. But you're just like that killer in the south I mentioned earlier… perverted."

—————————————————————————

The rain continued to fall, and the atmosphere wasn't very harmonious. Under the same roof, Fan Xian was gleefully showing off his claws, and Yan Bingyun was so angry that he couldn't speak. He could guess that the word "perverted" wasn't a good word, and he was so angry that he slapped the chair and said in pain, "If you hadn't left her in the delegation in the first place, would I have been bothered to this extent?"

"It's not a long-term solution for you to dress her up as a servant girl. Besides, I don't think you need to lock her up with an iron chain. With you in this residence, I guess Miss Shen wouldn't be willing to go anywhere else," Fan Xian continued to stimulate him with a smile.

"Then what do you suggest, sir?" Yan Bingyun said with a sneer. "That Great Princess of Northern Qi is quite capable. After staying in Kyoto for only a few days, she was actually able to order the First Prince to come to the residence and put pressure on me to treat Miss Shen well. She's Shen Chong's daughter, a wanted criminal in Qi. Now, I can't kill her, and I can't let her go. What can I do?"

A faint sob came from the room.

Fan Xian withdrew his gaze from the door and realized that the First Prince actually knew about this matter as well. He frowned and said seriously, "If it's really inconvenient, I'll take Miss Shen back to my residence."

Yan Bingyun suddenly raised his head. Fan Xian remained powerfully silent. After a long time, Yan Bingyun slowly nodded.

……

……

After the group left the Yan residence, there was now a carriage that had been sent from the Fan residence. Fan Xian no longer had the elegant mood to take a stroll in the rain. He sat in the carriage, turned his head to look at Miss Shen, who was full of fear and unease, and comforted her with a smile, "Miss Shen, don't worry. Just stay for a few days. After things have calmed down, I'll send you back to the Yan residence."

He was investigating the Second Prince based on the open and aboveboard reason of his mortal feud with the Eldest Princess, and also based on a hidden reason that he would never declare. The matter was too big. If he didn't have something in his hands, he wouldn't dare to fully trust Yan Bingyun. Trust, while it was a matter of intuition and judgment, was, when it wasn't enough, more of a relationship of intertwined interests. The only thing that made Fan Xian satisfied was that with Miss Shen in the residence, he believed that Yan Bingyun would often come to the residence to talk to him.

Yan Bingyun was deeply influenced by the atmosphere of the Overwatch Council. Although he was secretly annoyed by Fan Xian taking Miss Shen away, he didn't have too much resistance. After all, Miss Shen was also a time bomb for his Yan residence. Although it hadn't exploded yet, it was already causing constant arguments between him and his father. Now that Fan Xian had taken her back to his residence, on the one hand, it was a kind of exchange between the two parties to seek a balance of trust, and on the other hand, it was to temporarily calm things down.

Fan Xian looked at the rainy street outside the window and sighed. Thinking of a year ago, when he had opened that box on a rainy night, thinking of that night of madness, and then thinking of his own gloomy and dull state today, he realized that before he had time to change this world, this world had already profoundly changed him.

As the carriage reached Dengshi Lane, the rain lessened and the crowds increased. The speed of the carriage slowed down, and it seemed a bit congested ahead, so it couldn't move temporarily. On the long street that could only accommodate three carriages side by side, a carriage overtook from behind and lined up alongside the Fan residence's carriage. A plump arm with a goose-yellow sleeve reached over and lifted the curtain of Fan Xian's carriage, calling out in surprise, "Master!"

Fan Xian had already noticed and raised his hand to signal Deng Ziyue, who had drawn his knife beside the carriage, to stop. He looked over in surprise, somewhat surprised that the other party still remembered his identity as his master after not seeing him for half a year.

Ye Ling'er in the carriage, with her bright eyes, looked at Fan Xian and Miss Shen in the carriage in surprise, covered her mouth, and said, "As expected of Ling'er's master… which sister have you tricked this time?"

Fan Xian said irritably, "Knowing that I'm your master, you should speak with more respect. You're about to become the Second Prince's concubine, what are you doing wandering around outside in this heavy rain?"

Nowadays, Fan Xian had begun to suspect the true role the Second Prince played in the Niulan Street assassination incident. That banquet was hosted by the Second Prince. Although it was later found that Si Lili had reported the news to the Eldest Princess, and the scribe planted by the Eldest Princess in the Prime Minister's residence had secretly planned this with Wan'er's second brother, Fan Xian had never let his guard down against the Second Prince. Because the chance encounter with the Crown Prince after returning from the summer retreat by the lake was arranged by the Second Prince, and someone who was used to using his mind to scheme against others probably couldn't be very upright.

Everyone thought that the Eldest Princess supported the Crown Prince, and Fan Xian included, hadn't escaped this idea at first. But now, looking at it carefully, with the Eldest Princess's perverted desire for power, what meaning would supporting a legitimate Crown Prince have for her?

When Fan Xian and Li Hongcheng, the Heir Apparent of the Jingwang Manor, had a meal at Yi Shi Ju, they unexpectedly discovered that the behind-the-scenes boss of Yi Shi Ju was the Cui family, and the Cui family's backers were the Xinyang faction. When a few beads were strung together, although it didn't prove anything, and it didn't even explain anything, he firmly believed in his intuition that the Second Prince's silence was very abnormal, and that he definitely had a powerful force supporting him in the palace.

And if the Second Prince was really on the same line as the Eldest Princess, then Fan Xian would have to say to him, "Sorry."

……

……

Although he had already begun to investigate the Second Prince, Fan Xian didn't have much resistance towards the girl in front of him, the girl who would become the Second Prince's concubine next spring. He even concealed his expressions very well on the surface. His first meeting with Ye Ling'er hadn't been pleasant, and later, she had even fought with him using small tricks and the Great Splitting Coffin technique. But after she married and often came to the residence to play with Wan'er, and after a few contacts, Fan Xian actually admired this beautiful little girl with eyes as clear as emerald, because she had a free and easy spirit that was different from the general daughters of noble families.

However, he couldn't stand Ye Ling'er always calling him "Master" in front of Wan'er, and calling Wan'er "Sister," making him seem like he was from the older generation.

Ye Ling'er in the carriage said excitedly, "Master, why didn't you come to play with me after you came back?"

"Master, where are you going?"

"Master…"

Fan Xian rubbed his temples, listening to the series of words, smiled wryly, and sighed in absentmindedness, "Wukong, you're naughty again."