After hiding the pill, Fan Xian twitched his nose. He didn't know why, but his mind began to race, and the domineering zhenqi within his body began to circulate rapidly along his uniquely wide meridians. It seemed that every pore on his body had opened, greedily absorbing the primordial energy of heaven and earth, whether it existed or not.

The faint smell of ephedra leaves excited Fan Xian.

He took the modified Tiger Guard long saber from the table, a weapon that was now unrecognizable. He weighed its heavy feel in his hand, and then carefully bound the blade to his back with cloth straps, ensuring the most convenient angle for drawing it. As for the slender black dagger on his leg, it seemed to have become a part of his body over the years, requiring no special attention.

With a creak, the door opened, and Wang Qinian walked in. He bowed to Fan Xian and whispered something in his ear. Fan Xian nodded, glancing at the remaining tools on the table, signaling him to start.

Wang Qinian smiled wryly, "My skills are far inferior to yours, sir."

Fan Xian retorted, "You've never seen me in disguise, how do you know my skills are worse? You were a wanted criminal by many nations, surely you know how to disguise yourself?"

"Isn't that gentleman sitting in the next room your handiwork, sir?" Wang Qinian offered a light flattery. "Hey, that skill is unknown to others, but in my humble opinion, you are a celestial being descended from the heavens."

"Nonsense." Fan Xian sat down on the stool and laughed, "Which clay statue in those wild deity temples around Kyoto is better-looking than me?"

One had a thick skin, the other even thicker. The two joked for a few sentences, effectively dispelling the last trace of tension in Fan Xian's heart. Wang Qinian, as his closest subordinate, had not played a significant role except for the tracking in Cangzhou City and the recent intelligence liaison. Fortunately, he had the skill of being a comedic foil, which could make Fan Xian feel more relaxed.

Wang Qinian picked up a small knife and began to scrape at Fan Xian's eyebrows. Then, he took a pinch of wet ash paste that had been mixed with water from the table and began to apply it to Fan Xian's face. He felt that the adhesion and color were still somewhat different from the lord commissioner's skin, and he couldn't help but frown, "Corn flour would be better."

Fan Xian sighed, "Where can I find it? I did sneak into the home of an official the other day and took some makeup powder and rouge. The effect is not bad."

—————————————————————

In a large mansion in the south of the city, torches were held high in an extremely wide courtyard, and more than a dozen black-clad figures, covered from head to toe, waited in silence. On the other side of the courtyard, a middle-aged man was deep in thought in a grand master's chair. His right hand gently stroked the smooth, black armrest, and his feet, seemingly casual, were actually firmly planted on the bluestone bricks like a mountain.

This was Shang Shanhu, the great general who had resisted the barbarians in the north of Qi for seven years. He was one of the few famous generals in the world today, the strongest in the Qi military, and the one with the highest prestige.

After a long while, Shang Shanhu slowly opened his tiger eyes, and two piercing cold rays looked at the kneeling man in front of him. He said quietly, "Since the palace won't leave me a way out, then I won't sit still and wait for death. Be careful on this trip. Although those people in the south want to do me a favor, who knows what they are really thinking."

His voice was not actually loud, but it was extremely rich and deep, like the tolling of a bell. One could imagine the powerful internal strength of this generation's famous general.

Kneeling in front of him was Tan Wu, who had been spending his days in depression in Shangjing City. He was the fierce general in the army who had been subdued by Gao Da with one move in front of the delegation. He cupped his fist and saluted, "General, the southerners are cunning, you must be careful."

Shang Shanhu said, "I know what I'm doing." He had entered the palace for the last time today, but the young emperor still had not given him a clear answer. The empress dowager insisted on imprisoning Xiao En. Shang Shanhu was worried about his foster father's safety, and he was forced to prepare to do this lawless thing.

"The descendants of the Zhan family will indeed not let go of any opportunity." Shang Shanhu smiled bitterly. If his foster father did not know that secret, the young emperor would surely sell him this favor. However, although that young emperor was somewhat effeminate, he still retained the heroic spirit left behind by General Zhan Qingfeng in his bones. He would not let go of the opportunity to strengthen the country in a short period of time, and even lead the army south to unify the world.

Therefore, it was impossible for his foster father Xiao En to come out of that prison alive. Thinking of his foster father's miserable experiences over the past few decades, this generation's famous general, who had been recalled to Shangjing, also felt saddened.

"Go." He waved his hand gently, and then returned to the backyard, where his wife was rushing to prepare gifts for the empress dowager's birthday in the next few days.

"Yes." Tan Wu knelt on one knee and obeyed the order.

—————————————————————

In a residential area outside Chongwu Gate in Shangjing City, there was an inconspicuous small courtyard. Dense and narrow streets and alleys intertwined in this residential area. Even the old residents of Shangjing would be in danger of getting lost, and dozens of feet away from that courtyard, some common northern trees were planted. The trees were tall and straight like swords, and the slightly white bark was very obvious in the dark night. Fortunately, it was already the beginning of summer, and the rainfall this year was abundant, so the branches and leaves were particularly lush.

Fan Xian carefully adjusted his zhenqi, forcefully controlling his heart and blood, so that his body, cloaked in black, would merge with the surrounding environment, ensuring that no one could detect him. His eyes, through the palm-sized leaves, looked at the residence in front of him to the right below, calmly waiting for Shang Shanhu's rescue operation to begin.

Xiao En was imprisoned in that small courtyard. This was the news that the Fourth Division of the Supervising Department had spent a lot of effort to find out. However, tonight, only Shang Shanhu's death squads were taking action. Yan Bingyun's children had all returned to the darkness. He just didn't know if the Xinyang side would send any experts to help.

Rescuing a prisoner in Shangjing, Shang Shanhu was committing a capital crime. Regardless of whether he succeeded or not, the relationship between the Qi royal family and the military would fall into a state of rupture. Thinking of this, Fan Xian, who was clinging to a tree branch like a koala, couldn't help but feel admiration for a certain noble in the south.

Although the Eldest Princess was a crazy woman, she was indeed a very powerful crazy woman. From the day she betrayed Yan Bingyun, it seemed that she had calculated all the subsequent changes. No matter how the changes occurred, the Qing court would gain great benefits. This woman was really not simple.

……

……

The night gradually deepened. The courtyard below the tall trees was still quiet. An infant was crying on the distant riverbank, and an old horse in the nearby carriage house was chewing on dry grass weakly. The stars in the sky had hidden themselves in the clouds, and the leaves beside him were rubbing their bodies self-pityingly in the night breeze. This night seemed to be the same as every night in Shangjing City, with no unusual things.

Without warning, Fan Xian's eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened, and he looked down at the courtyard.

The jailbreak had begun!

A carriage slowly drove to the door of the small courtyard. At the same time, a small cart covered with gray cloth was also quietly pushed to the back wall of the small courtyard. The defenses in the small courtyard did not seem to have detected anything unusual, but Fan Xian, who was overlooking the world from the tall tree, clearly saw these measures.

A middle-aged man got out of the carriage, and at the same time, Fan Xian noticed that several black shadows had disappeared around the small courtyard.

"Who!" The Jinyi Guard responsible for guarding Xiao En was extremely vigilant. He revealed half of his body from the wall and aimed a heavy crossbow at the middle-aged man standing at the door of the small courtyard.

The middle-aged man was Tan Wu, whom Fan Xian had met once. He smiled and was about to speak when two black lights suddenly flashed, and two deadly crossbow bolts, one on the left and one on the right, fiercely pierced through the Jinyi Guard's throat, and blood splattered!

It looked as if two iron bars had been added to the Jinyi Guard's neck, which looked extremely bloody!

……

……

"Attack!" Tan Wu issued the order in a low voice, and what responded to him was a loud noise. A strong man got out of the carriage. He was about eight feet tall, holding a large iron hammer. He strode to the door of the small courtyard, and the muscles in his right arm bulged, actually smashing down at the door of the small courtyard. Judging from the power of his strike, the wooden door of the small courtyard should immediately become countless pieces of wood.

With a loud bang, the ears of everyone in the field were deafened!

Sure enough, many pieces of wood splattered, but the door... did not break! It turned out that there was a layer of steel plate sandwiched in the wooden door! Fan Xian, who was high up in the tree, was slightly startled. The place where the Qi Jinyi Guard imprisoned important criminals was indeed not so simple.

In an instant, the Jinyi Guards in the courtyard had reacted and began to concentrate their manpower at the courtyard entrance. As the strong man's hammer fell, even the door made of steel plate began to creak and tremble, as if it could not withstand a few more hammers!

A shout of killing rang out, and a dozen black-clad men climbed over the wall and fought with the Jinyi Guards inside. These black-clad men had good martial arts skills, but the most powerful thing was the meaning of bloodthirsty killing contained in their moves. Every move was a combination of wind and thunder, and they were desperate. Where were these Jinyi Guards, who had been guarding the prosperous land of Shangjing for many years, the opponents of these soldiers in the army? Blood smeared the night, and they were immediately defeated.

Fan Xian watched all of this indifferently in the tree, knowing that the reason why Shang Shanhu's subordinates wanted to smash the door open was because Xiao En's legs had been crippled and he could not walk at all. He watched the strong man desperately hammering the steel door like a coolie, and couldn't help but say in his heart, "Smash the wall." But he seemed to have forgotten that Xiao En's legs had been broken by his order.