Once out of the capital, the sun dimmed, and the convoy passed Li Pavilion without stopping, slowly heading north under the gaze of willows along the road.

The Patrol Division soldiers escorted the envoy eighteen miles out of the capital before turning back, entrusting all the patrol and defense tasks along the way to the Capital Garrison. The envoy's primary mode of transportation was horse-drawn carriages, stretching over a dozen vehicles. Besides carrying people, most of the space was reserved for the ceremonial preparations needed for this northern journey.

Xiao En's shackles remained, and he was confined to the second carriage, with an official from the Supervisory Council in charge of his daily needs. This official wore a constant smile, carefully wiping the notorious prisoner's face with a soft towel, ensuring it wouldn't harm Xiao En's already aged and withered cheeks.

"If I were to capture you and use you to threaten that young man named Fan, would it be effective?" The chains rattled, and Xiao En's aged voice echoed in the carriage, a nonchalant tone naturally leaking from his words, as if he already knew the answer.

The official in charge of his care smiled gently and said sincerely, "Mr. Xiao, since it's my turn to serve you, I've naturally prepared to be subdued by you. However, as a citizen of Qing, I would naturally have to commit suicide by poison to avoid causing trouble for the adults in the Council."

Xiao En closed his eyes, the chilling aura around him gradually receding, and he said softly, "My hair is too long, help me tie it up."

Their conversation seemed to omit something: how could Xiao En, bound by iron shackles, possibly subdue the Supervisory Council official? Perhaps both knew that once they were far from the capital, those thin iron shackles would be utterly insufficient to restrain the terrifying Xiao En's hands and feet.

The official walked to Xiao En's side, took out a comb from a small cabinet, and carefully combed Xiao En's waist-length, snow-white, disheveled hair. His fingers were remarkably steady, without the slightest tremor.

Decades ago, Xiao En was one of the few ninth-rank masters in the world. If he hadn't been imprisoned in the Supervisory Council for the past twenty years, subjected to severe torture, and had his body and spirit weakened by the Council's Third Bureau's poisons, people speculated that he would have long since advanced to the Grand Master realm.

Even so, a sick tiger still possessed remaining might. Just looking at the Supervisory Council's state of high alert when he was released and the natural aura of power he exuded, one could tell that this old man still possessed terrifying strength.

If Xiao En were to suddenly launch an attack at this moment, this middle-aged official would likely have no room for resistance. Yet, he remained steadily smiling, completely composed. Xiao En looked at him with a hint of appreciation, knowing that the other party had likely already resolved to immediately commit suicide by poison if subdued. He only wondered where the poison was hidden on his body.

"Is the Qing Kingdom really so good that it can make you willingly, even joyfully, stay by my side, a devil?" This was something Xiao En had never understood. Qing's officialdom was clearly corrupt, yet the Northern Wei court he had served had collapsed overnight. Although his and General Zhan Qingfeng's capture and loss of power were factors, Qing's combat strength was still illogically formidable.

The middle-aged official respectfully said, "If I die, the Council will take care of my family's future. My child can receive a title after the age of twelve, and I believe Lord Fan will help me look after them. Lord Fan is very rich. My worthless life can be exchanged for so much, it's really worth it."

Xiao En moved his wrist, the chains rattling again, sounding somewhat irritated, "Still these old tricks… What's your name?"

The middle-aged official chuckled and replied, "My name is Wang Qinian."

——————————————————————————

The carriage carrying the notorious prisoner Xiao En was ranked second. Fan Xian lifted the side curtain of his carriage, squinted his eyes to look at that carriage, waved over a Tiger Guard, and asked softly, "How are the arrangements for the people beside the carriage?"

What are Tiger Guards? This requires us to go back to the second conversation between Earl Sinan, Fan Jian, and Dean Chen Pingping outside the imperial palace. In short, when his son was about to leave the country, Secretary Fan finally couldn't resist releasing a small portion of the secret forces he controlled into the envoy.

These Tiger Guards each possessed extremely strong martial skills. Although they were not as good as the Supervisory Council's Sixth Bureau in assassination, nor as good as the Supervisory Council's Fifth Bureau in collective combat power, these Tiger Guards were all carefully selected individuals, and their loyalty to their lord was beyond doubt, possessing an indescribable ruthlessness.

Of course, Fan Xian vaguely guessed that these Tiger Guards were actually managed by his father for the emperor in the palace and might even serve to restrain the Supervisory Council. However, the forces restraining the Supervisory Council were clearly not limited to the Tiger Guards. This time, Earl Sinan's ability to send these seven Tiger Guards to accompany his son northward must have been approved by the palace.

The leader of the Tiger Guards, named Gao Da, followed the lead carriage. He respectfully replied, "Young master, rest assured. Although there are no people from the Sixth Bureau, we can guarantee safety."

Because these Tiger Guards were nominally Fan Shangshu's private armed forces, he addressed Fan Xian as "young master" instead of "sir," but Fan Xian still felt a little strange and smiled.

The Capital Garrison soldiers around them guarded this strange envoy, slowly advancing north. The soldiers in iron armor were somewhat silent, after all, this was just an easy assignment. However, those generals who knew the inside story felt somewhat uncomfortable, their silence representing a kind of humiliation.

For more than a decade, the current emperor had led the Qing army in eastward and westward conquests, never suffering a defeat, which had long accustomed the Qing army to victory. Last year's war, defined as a "border conflict," was still a victory for Qing. However, no one could have imagined that Qing, as the victor, would be forced to make significant concessions due to some very bastardly matter—handing over Xiao En to the north!

The rumors Fan Xian had spread in the capital had already flown to every corner of the world like winged creatures, so these generals also knew about the Eldest Princess's treacherous role in this matter. The military's dissatisfaction with the royal family seemed to be concentrated on that beautiful and crazy royal woman.

This was also a question that Fan Xian still couldn't figure out—although the Eldest Princess was crazy, she wasn't stupid. By selling Yan Gongzi, the head of Qing's northern spy network, to Northern Qi, what benefits could she possibly gain? If it was just to have Zhuang Mohan come to the capital to humiliate him, Fan Xian definitely didn't believe it. He didn't think he held such an important position.

If the Eldest Princess was seeking foreign aid from Northern Qi for the future struggle for imperial power, wouldn't that offend most of the military forces? No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like a losing proposition.

The envoy's convoy had been traveling north for half a day, the sun gradually setting behind the mountains, and the light becoming dimmer. The convoy began to rest briefly beside a large forest. The adjutant of the envoy came to ask for instructions, saying that, according to the rules, the envoy should stop for the night at the post station three miles ahead.

Fan Xian shook his head after thinking for a while, and ordered them to pause here for now and discuss it later. He then got out of the carriage, stretched out his numb limbs from sitting for a long time, and casually walked towards the rear.

The leader of the Tiger Guards silently followed him, his hand resting on his long saber. Fan Xian lowered his eyes and noticed that the Tiger Guard's saber was strangely long. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Isn't it inconvenient to draw it?" Under Wu Zhu's tutelage, he especially valued reaction speed in combat, knowing that the longer the weapon, the slower the weapon owner's reaction.

The Tiger Guard leader, Gao Da, raised his long saber with a snap and calmly presented it to Fan Xian, explaining, "There is a mechanism, so drawing the saber can be accelerated. Because this subordinate is mainly responsible for covering assassinations, all seven Tiger Guards in this group use extended sabers, only seeking to broaden the range of damage."

Fan Xian nodded, indicating that he should not follow him any further. At this time, he had reached the side of the second carriage, gently twitched his nose, and seemed to be able to faintly smell the bloody and icy aura coming from the carriage. He couldn't help but smile slightly, thinking that Wang Qinian and that old monster would probably go crazy if they stayed together all the way.

Sure enough, as soon as he saw Fan Xian get into the carriage, Wang Qinian stood at the carriage door with a painful expression and said, "Sir, when can I rest?"

"Wait two more days," Fan Xian said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile. "Has Xiao En made any unusual moves?"

Wang Qinian shook his head and calmly told the young Master Fan everything Xiao En had done in the past half-day. Fan Xian listened calmly, knowing that Wang Qinian's words would definitely fall into Xiao En's ears, but he wasn't worried about anything. After a long while, he said softly, "I'll go in and take a look."

"It's dangerous." Wang Qinian shook his head in disapproval. "A sick tiger is still a tiger. Although Xiao En is not as good as he used to be, he was once an absolute powerhouse above the ninth rank. If you are accidentally captured and threatened, what will we do?"

Fan Xian replied, "Don't worry, Xiao En is not a fool. We are only a dozen miles from the capital. If he wants to make a move at this time, he is courting death." He of course knew Xiao En's terrifying strength. What did a powerhouse above the ninth rank mean? Just thinking about Yan Xiaoyi's arrow that seemed to come from beyond the sky when he sneaked into the palace that night, he could understand.

"And we will be traveling together for a long time. Am I not going to see him at all?" Fan Xian smiled.

……

……

In the dark carriage, the icy Xiao En had a gloomy face, his white hair already tied up. Fan Xian, holding a small box in his arms, lifted the curtain with a smiling face and said, "Mr. Xiao, it's a long journey to Shangjing in Northern Qi. Let's have some food and water first."

Xiao En slowly opened his eyes, a cold gleam flashed and disappeared, and he said with a smile, "Thank you, Lord Fan."

Fan Xian didn't seem to fear Xiao En's methods at all. With a smile on his face, he opened the food box and carefully fed the pastries in the box into the old man's still somewhat dry lips, and then fed him some water.

After a moment of silence, Xiao En suddenly opened his mouth and said, "These poisons are useless."