The sunlight in the valley seemed to have become a tangible presence, and where it shone, the clouds rippled like emerald waves stirred by oars. Most of the mist had dissipated, but some wisps of it lingered before the precipice, drifting among the sparse green trees.

The small stone cave protruded slightly. The opposite cliff was extremely far away, as was the valley floor below. Even with Fan Xian's keen hearing, he had to listen for a long time to faintly hear the sounds coming from the bottom of the valley. He imagined the Imperial Guards from the capital were down there, searching for their bodies.

The valley floor must be damp and dark. He guessed that after some fruitless searching, they would eventually realize that he and Xiao En hadn't fallen to their deaths. Fan Xian speculated that the Northern Qi might assume they were lucky and search outwards along the valley floor. However, he dared not underestimate Shen Zhong's cunning, and who knew when the man would turn his gaze back to this mirror-like rock face. As for Lang Tao, after just one exchange, Fan Xian knew that Hai Tang's senior brother was indeed one of the world's top experts, with a resolute spirit, not easily fooled.

A mountain breeze stirred, and Xiao En's pale, aged face twitched slightly. The old man had fallen into a semi-conscious state, on the verge of death. The sun outside seemed unable to transmit even a trace of warmth to the body of this old man who had forcibly struggled to the green hills to die.

Fan Xian scratched his head, looking at Xiao En's face, which resembled an orange peel coated in white paste. He thought for a moment, then carefully took out the pill from his belt, the small blue pill.

The pill emitted a faint scent of Ephedra leaves. Half of it had already been cut off with a small knife. Fan Xian crushed the remaining half and stuffed it into Xiao En's mouth. He then took a thin tube from his sleeve and dripped water from the water bag hidden in his clothes onto Xiao En's withered lips.

...

...

After a while, the dying Xiao En awoke. His eyes snapped open, and the bloodshot color that had faded considerably in his pupils reappeared. The old man seemed to have regained some of his former power in this moment before death.

"What medicine did you give me?"

"A small blue pill," Fan Xian smiled, saying, "Something to boost your spirits. But it won't help you regain your former glory."

Naturally, the old man Xiao En didn't understand the joke.

"You took it before you attacked, didn't you?" Xiao En's breathing seemed much stronger, and his spirit gradually shook off its lethargy. If it wasn't a final burst of energy before death, then the drug had stimulated the remaining energy in the old man's body.

Fan Xian didn't answer his question immediately. He reached out and pressed his finger on Xiao En's pulse. He found that the pulse was gradually becoming stronger, but slightly feverish. He knew that the Ephedra pill was starting to take effect, but this primitive stimulant could only boost Xiao En's spirit temporarily and could not save his dying life.

He took a deep breath, quietly looked at Xiao En and said, "Lang Tao and He Daoren... Your leg was broken by me. Even if we join forces, we are no match for them. So I had to take some medicine. But I'm a little curious. Why are there only two experts, instead of a large group of people waiting for you and me?"

Xiao En coughed violently twice. The medicine was having a strong effect at this time. He waved his hand with some difficulty, "After all, they don't want to make things too big. If they can't hide it from that little emperor, there will always be some trouble in the future."

Fan Xian glanced at him, thinking about the reason why the little emperor wanted to keep him alive, which was exactly the same as his own reason, but he didn't continue on that topic.

"You saved me, no more than for the secret in my heart." Xiao En looked at the small birds flying in the valley, a hint of envy flashed in his eyes, "Actually, what is that secret in the end? The little emperor wants to get the help of the Temple and unify the world. What are you trying to do by going to the Temple?"

"Of course, I have my own reasons."

"Can you tell me?"

The two intelligence chiefs from different historical periods were now chatting peacefully like old men and children at the entrance of the village.

"Well, let me tell you a part of it." Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, feeling a little weak. The effect of the Ephedra pill was wearing off, and his spirit was a little tired, "Actually, I don't know if you believe it or not, but I live in this world, most of the time, like a tourist. I want to travel all over the interesting corners of this world, and the Temple... is undoubtedly the place that interests me the most."

"A tourist?" Xiao En stared at Fan Xian's disguised face with a pair of blood-red eyes.

Fan Xian smiled, "Is it strange? The universe is the inn for all things, and time is the passer-by of a hundred generations. Since you and I live in this big inn of the universe, we will naturally want to see clearly what is in each room of the inn."

"Maybe there is a poisonous snake in the last room on the second floor." Xiao En moved back with great difficulty, feeling the life in his body turn into a hot breath, knowing that he was getting closer and closer to death, and subconsciously wanted to sit more comfortably.

"Maybe it's a beautiful woman taking a bath in a wooden barrel." Fan Xian smiled.

Xiao En looked at the young man and shook his head gently, "Curiosity will kill the cat. You actually took the risk to save me because of such an absurd reason, and as a result, you fell into a dead end. Do you regret it now?"

Fan Xian looked back at the unfathomable cliff, sighed, and said nothing.

"Stupid, right?" This was the second time Xiao En said this, smiling all over his face, "For a secret that is not worth a shit, you have buried your own fresh life."

Fan Xian smiled bitterly and replied, "That's right, with death in front of me, any secret is a very unimportant thing."

Xiao En suddenly gave him a strange look and said, "Can I ask you for something?"

Fan Xian's heart trembled. Although this old man was no longer as brave as he used to be, his status was there. All the way north, he had never said a word of request. He asked, "What do you want to say?"

Xiao En's voice was a little strange, "I'm not afraid of death... but after I die, you will be trapped in this cave alone, and I guess you will be extremely hungry in the end, and you will be interested in my body."

Fan Xian was stunned for a moment and then understood what the old guy was afraid of. Feeling a little disgusted, he replied, "With your old arms and legs, if I want to gnaw on your meat, I'm still afraid of breaking my teeth."

Xiao En smiled bitterly and said, "When you are really hungry, what can't you do?"

Fan Xian frowned and said, "You are not afraid of death, but you are afraid of me eating your meat?"

Xiao En stared at him and said, "There are many people in this world who are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of cockroaches." He paused and said, "I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of being eaten by you after death. That feeling is very bad."

The effect of the medicine temporarily replenished Xiao En's energy, so his speech gradually became fluent, and the bleeding cuts on his body had stopped long ago, but the strange red in his pupils became more and more intense, which was not a good sign.

Fan Xian glanced at him, shook his head with a wry smile, "Don't worry, if you die, I will throw you into the valley immediately." He suddenly narrowed his eyes, looked at Xiao En, and asked softly, "Old guy, have you ever eaten human flesh before?"

...

...

The cave suddenly became quiet. Xiao En didn't make a sound for a long time. After a long time, the old man said expressionlessly, "When I went to the Temple that year, the heavy snow blocked the mountain, and there was nothing to eat. I had no choice but to eat human flesh."

Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat. Although he had been digging graves and dissecting corpses since he was a child, he still couldn't help but feel disgusted and wanted to vomit when he thought about really eating human flesh. He subconsciously averted his eyes from Xiao En's dry lips.

Xiao En chuckled strangely and said, "Human flesh is really hard to eat... but Ku He ate it more deliciously than I did back then."

Fan Xian trembled again in his heart. Ku He, the generation master who is now high above and admired by the people, the Northern Qi National Teacher, actually ate human flesh back then?

He immediately understood the key point. Since Xiao En knew where the Temple was, and Ku He was taught by the Temple, then the two of them must have gone to the Temple at the same time. The two great experts had actually been reduced to the point of eating the flesh of their companions. The dangers along the way were conceivable. He just didn't understand why Ku He had to kill Xiao En. Was it just to hide the embarrassing fact that he had eaten human flesh?

"When did you and Ku He go to the Temple?"

Xiao En actually closed his mouth at this time. Fan Xian was like a diner, looking at the Peking duck skin, pancakes, sweet sauce, and scallions that the waiter brought up, and then watching the waiter take them away again. A mouthful of air was stuck in his chest, and he couldn't get it up for a long time. He couldn't help but angrily say, "Seeing that we are both about to die, can you let me die a little happier?"

Xiao En gave him a white look and said sarcastically, "Stupid, right?"

Fan Xian sighed, "This secret is no longer useful for you to save your life, why bother hiding it?"

...

...

"The Temple is in the north."

Very suddenly, without any warning, Xiao En spoke.

"How far north?"

"In the extremely northern snow, go out along the North Prison Pass, and you have to walk for more than three months."

At this time, the sky outside the cave was getting dark. Fan Xian's face remained unchanged, but he was a little nervous in his heart. He knew that he had finally succeeded in half, at least he knew the approximate location of the Temple, and his heart shrank slightly. The mountain wind gradually became stronger, and the Yanshan Mountains in summer were slightly cold. He looked at Xiao En, who was waiting to die with his eyes closed, and started chatting casually like a friend, "Old guy who is about to die, tell me about the scenery of the Temple?"

Xiao En didn't open his eyes, and breathed softly, "It's just a big temple, what's the good scenery? What about you? Which stone did you pop out of, kid?"

Fan Xian yawned weakly and said, "I'm from Danzhou. There's nothing good to see in Danzhou either. There are just two trees planted in the backyard of my house, one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree."