Niao Ni
Chapter 236 Fan Xian Also Trails
The Embroidered Uniform Guard were stationed around to guard the area, and relevant government officials were also conducting patrols in the surrounding civilian houses, so there was no unusual activity around this T-shaped alley. The stone wall behind the courtyard had also been temporarily sealed with new materials. In short, the Garrison Command had to restore the area to its original state as much as possible in a very short period of time.
The Imperial Palace didn't want to reveal this matter at this time. After all, Tan Wu and others died heroically, making it difficult to frame Shang Shanhu. Moreover, the attitude of the military had to be considered, so they planned to suppress the matter for a while.
The birds chirped in the morning. The Embroidered Uniform Guard looked up at the sky, which hadn't yet turned white, and thought that the birds were early risers. Did they also know what had happened here?
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Fan Xian, who had sneaked under the tree, wiped a drop of cold sweat from his forehead. He cursed the sleepless, startled birds in his heart, carefully concealed his figure in the darkness before dawn, and followed the Embroidered Uniform Guard's wounded team towards the northern city.
There were no pedestrians on the long street, nor the swishing sound of street sweepers from his previous life. He leapt over the two-story buildings along the street, confident that no one would notice his trail.
The stretcher team had moved far away from the small courtyard and entered another courtyard. He didn't know if it was the Northern Garrison Command or the Thirteenth Office. The wounded were placed in separate rooms to await treatment, and some doctors covered in blood were busily moving in and out.
Fan Xian went around to the back and waited behind a few bamboo baskets at the corner of the wall.
Not long after, a few muffled groans came from a room in a secluded corner. The sound was very small, but it clearly reached his ears. After a few breaths, a person climbed down from the wall. His movements were somewhat slow. After landing on the ground, he carefully adjusted his clothes and confirmed his waist token before walking towards West Street.
Fan Xian watched the man wearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard's uniform. Although the man's hat was tightly worn, a few strands of gray hair still flew out. As he walked slowly, the gray hair trembled slightly in the night wind, appearing terribly desolate.
Watching the man walk further and further away, a cold glint appeared in Fan Xian's eyes, which were exposed outside his deep hat. He noticed that the other party's walking movements were a little strange, and he knew that the old comrade's legs hadn't fully recovered after being smashed by him.
He followed. The two walked along the quiet long street towards the west. Although there were still people guarding at various intersections, Xiao En, wearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard's uniform and having killed and stolen the token in the side room, managed to break through several checkpoints with surprise but without danger.
And Fan Xian was like a ghost disappearing in the darkness, following from a distance, easily breaking through several checkpoints.
On the way, Xiao En rested in an ordinary person's home.
Behind him, Fan Xian also rested on the roof of another ordinary person's home.
Then the two got up again, one after the other, and before the sky became fully bright, they slipped out of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's great net and arrived at the West City Gate.
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After the city gate opened, the vegetable farmers, who had been waiting outside the gate for half an hour, handed over the passage documents issued by the village elders and poured in. Xiao En took advantage of the chaos and slipped out of the tall city gate. After a while, this old man who had survived the disaster had struggled to the foot of Yan Mountain on the west side of Shangjing City, near that chaotic forest.
Fan Xian followed from a distance, his extremely sharp eyes fixed on the old comrade's direction of travel. After a while, Xiao En came out from the other side of the mountain forest, wearing a tattered piece of clothing. The corner of the clothing still had the black stove ash that villagers often get on it. He didn't know where he had picked up so much dry firewood, and carried it on his back like a small mountain.
At this time, the sun had risen from the east, shining on the quiet mountain forest, instantly dispelling the thin mist, and the air was incomparably clear.
Everyone who saw the old man would think that he was a diligent old farmer who got up early to collect firewood, and would not associate him with the infamous spy chief who shook the world twenty years ago.
Fan Xian stood quietly on the tree, coldly watching Xiao En move forward slowly with a hunched back, but a chill rose in his heart. Xiao En was old after all. Not only was his body not as good as before, but even his mind was a little slow. The morning dew was heavy, who would choose to come out to collect firewood at this time? Real old farmers only enter the mountains to collect firewood in the evening.
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The outside of the city was quiet, and the inside of the city was also quiet.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard's secret agent reported: "The Nan Qing envoy is very quiet. It is said that Lord Lin Wen arranged for two courtesans to accompany Envoy Fan Zheng yesterday, and he didn't sleep much all night."
"Are you sure Fan Xian is in the envoy?" Shen Zhong had already taken off his official uniform and put on the rich man's clothes. He was holding a donkey burger in his right hand and putting it into his mouth, chewing with his mouth full of oil.
"Yes, sir." The scout replied respectfully, "Some brothers know what Fan Xian looks like and have been watching outside the courtyard."
Shen Zhong was slightly stunned and threw the oily donkey burger on the table. His eyes were a little sunken, and he looked particularly listless. He had been tossing around all night, and no one was made of iron. Suddenly he smiled and said, "That's not the kind of guy who's willing to be honest. Has He Daoren already gone?"
"Yes." The scout suddenly cheered up and said, "Lord Lang Tao has also gone."
Shen Zhong slowly closed his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long while, he whispered to himself, "Since these southern barbarians want us to think that Fan Xian is still in the envoy, wouldn't they be suffering a loss themselves if we killed Fan Xian at this time?"
He opened his eyes, his eyes as ruthless and unfeeling as an eagle's, and said, "These southern barbarians have learned to scheme in the past ten years. I'm afraid their cleverness will be mistaken by their cleverness."
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After staring all night, Fan Xian felt a little tired, but the tyrannical true energy in his body was extremely abundant, so he could barely support himself. Looking at the old man who was having difficulty walking on the forest path in the distance, he couldn't help but feel a little admiration. He was already in his seventies or eighties and had suffered decades of torment, but he still played the jailbreak trick so thoroughly. He didn't know where the old guy got the mental strength to support him.
Fan Xian didn't move because he always felt some unknown danger waiting for him, and Xiao En's departure from the city seemed too smooth. Suddenly, his heart moved, and he thought of a certain possibility. He narrowed his eyes slightly, slid down the tree, and retreated in the opposite direction. He disappeared in an instant, not knowing where he went.
The sun moved westward inch by inch, and Xiao En moved westward inch by inch. The west was the Western Paradise, possibly death, possibly the Pure Land.
The envoy and the Xinyang side naturally wouldn't report all their plans to Shang Shanhu, and Xiao En also had his own backup plan. The mountain road went up and up, and at the end, there was a mountain ridge covered with shallow grass near the cliff. To the left was a stone road passing through the Shangjing military camp's horse farm. The meeting point agreed upon by Shang Shanhu and Xiao En was here.
The faint red light in Xiao En's pupils had dimmed a lot. He slightly tilted his shoulder, letting the small mountain of slightly damp firewood on his body fall to the ground. He patted his butt and sat down. Since no one was coming to meet him, this plan must have been detected by the Qi court. He didn't need to think to know that someone must be waiting for him here.
Just like the daze on the meadow by the Mist Ferry River, Xiao En felt tired again. He didn't want to walk anymore.
"Come out."
His slightly dry lips opened and closed, spitting out a few words.
As soon as the words fell, the shallow grass trembled, and a swordsman wearing black clothes walked slowly from the end of the mountain road. This swordsman had an extremely high forehead, a very pale complexion, and a slight sense of vicissitudes between his eyebrows and eyes. He was about forty years old. His right hand was extremely steadily resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist. The knuckles of his fingers protruded, and the whole person was like a cold sword.
"He Daoren?" Xiao En's eyes narrowed slightly, and two cold beams shot out.
This swordsman was He Daoren, one of the few ninth-rank experts in Northern Qi. Cheng Jushu, the eighth-rank expert who was dissected and killed by Fan Xian in Niulan Street a year and a half ago, was his apprentice.
He Daoren had a pale face and wore black clothes, which made him look like incompatible snow and charcoal. He held the hilt of the sword extremely respectfully, raised it upside down, and cupped his fists in a salute, saying, "Junior greets Mr. Xiao."
In Northern Qi, everyone except Ku He could only treat Xiao En with the etiquette of a junior.
"I didn't expect the young swordsman of those years to have become the Embroidered Uniform Guard's most powerful swordsman." Xiao En coughed twice and remained sitting on the ground, gently hammering his knee.
"Many years have passed." He Daoren looked at Xiao En, with a sincere respect on his face. "I am not the Embroidered Uniform Guard's dog. I am a disciple of the Empress Dowager. I have come here today to ask Mr. Xiao to rest in peace."
Xiao En said softly, "You must know that this world will ultimately belong to His Majesty."
He Daoren knew what the old man meant. The Emperor didn't want to kill Xiao En. He blindly stood on the Empress Dowager's side, which would undoubtedly offend the young Emperor. He smiled slightly and looked around, "I thought I would see that young and talented Nan Qing man named Fan here today."
Xiao En coughed twice again and said, "I didn't expect this old man to be a fish bait before his death after running rampant for a lifetime."
"Senior doesn't need to be sad. Since the man named Fan retreated knowingly, consider him lucky."
With a clang, He Daoren drew his sword from its sheath and charged forward like a flying bird. His wrist, elbow, and shoulder formed a straight line, stabbing straight at Xiao En's heart!