Chapter 125 – Who Killed the Four Directions in Kyoto?

A pair of long chopsticks were inserted into the dragon’s eye of the Jiantang bun and peeled away to the sides, revealing the delicious and tantalizing oil soup inside, Fan Xian took a spoon and spooned out the soup, serving it into the porcelain bowl in front of Dabao, and then pinched out the meat filling and put it on top of Dabao’s frijoles.

“Little Xian Xian, eat.” Dabao lowered his head and launched himself at the food, his mouth slurred but unusually resolute, listening to the tone of his voice he was truly worried that Fan Xian would give himself everything and not be able to eat enough.

Fan Xian looked at his great-uncle and smiled, his hands tearing the thin, soft, tender, white bun skin of the receiving bun, dipping it into the seaweed soup to soak it, and casually eating a few bites. Ever since he took over one of the positions in the Supervisory Court, he had enjoyed eating buns at the New Wind Pavilion, and every time he came to eat buns, he would basically bring Dabao with him; he knew that Dabao only liked to eat meat fillings, but didn’t have a penchant for bun skins, so it was fitting for these two brothers to divide and match their work.

Glancing at the happy, sweaty Dabao, for some reason, Fan Xian’s heart soured, not knowing if he would have such an opportunity to hang out with his great-uncle in the future. He liked to stay with Dabao, because only when he faced Dabao would he truly relax, and he could tell the other party all the secrets about himself, his views on the world, without worrying about the other party betraying him.

After today, I’m afraid that it will no longer be difficult to eat buns with Dabao, and it will also be difficult to lie on the bow of the boat together with Dabao, facing the stars in the sky, and talking about how the starry sky in this world of Qingguo and the starry sky in that world are so similar …….

Fan Xian still had a gentle and encouraging smile on his face as he looked at Dabao, but in his heart he sighed, somewhat tasteless. Pulling the hand towel beside the table to wipe away the grease stains on his hands, he turned his head slightly and looked at the two magistracies on the opposite street through the railing of the second floor of the New Wind Pavilion.

Qing Guo Da Lisi as well as the first branch office of the Supervisory Yuan are both across the street from the New Wind Pavilion.

This day the seventh day of the year, just after the end of the year the first day of court officials on duty, this day in addition to the ministries and divisions of each other to go around, each other blessings, each other red envelope outside, in fact, there is nothing too important political matters need to be handled. A Yamen internal, but also basically in the opening of the tea party, from the chief official to the lowest level of the clerks, each holding a teapot, high on melon seeds, chattering gossip, leisurely ruthless. This is the habit of the entire world officialdom, that is, the palace that also know this, after all, is the new year weather.

On duty is very idle, there is nothing to do, very natural, put the natural shift earlier, this time the moment is obviously not yet arrived, the sky that round of hiding in the cold clouds after the sun has not moved to the south of the mid-day, across the street from the Da Lisi Yamen came out of a lot of officials, these officials and the officials and the other ministries of officials in front of the Yamen Hall early to meet, such as birds and beasts in general scattered on the street, I do not know where to go to enjoy the food in Kyoto to go, this first day on duty, the first day on duty, the first day on duty, the first day of the first day on duty. This is the first day of duty, eat wine at noon is not a sin, and may even be a drunkenness, after the afternoon directly back to the house to rest.

Unlike the Da Lisi, the first branch office of the Supervisory Yuan, which is obviously much shabby and gloomy, is still closed, and there is no official who enters to do business, not to mention the idlers who walk around happily, and a depressing atmosphere that makes people feel downcast is emanating from the courtyard. Fan Xian quietly looked at that familiar courtyard, the courtyard where he once had a hand in the world, and knew why.

Nowadays, the Supervisory Yuan is facing the bleak wind and rain, and its position in the court has dropped by thousands of miles, especially in the previous month, many officials of the Supervisory Yuan were arrested by the Ministry of Criminal Affairs and the Da Lisi on trumped-up charges, and it is clear that the Ducha Yuan is leading the cleansing, but the Supervisory Yuan seems to have lost the magic of that year, and it can’t condense its real power anymore to give the strongest counterattacks.

This is not the case, to He Zongwei as the head of the imperial historian system, vaguely overwhelmed Hu Da Daishi, began to lead the entire civilian system, launched an attack on the Supervisory Yuan, I do not know how many officials of the Supervisory Yuan, in the prison ushered in a brutal punishment.

Today’s Qingguo, has long since not been the one with the old cripple.

The stairs came a sound of steady footsteps and self-possessed laughter, about seven or eight officials walked up from downstairs, looking at the dress are some big officials with rank, only these officials did not go up to the elegant room on the third floor, but directly under the proprietor’s leadership came down to the side of the balustrade, ready to cloth up the screen and sit by the balustrade.

New Wind Pavilion in the past is not famous, although in the Da Lisi and the Supervisory Yuan of a opposite, but the officials always think that this place is too low-grade, even if the elegant room is not served by the girl, so they would rather run farther away, until later Fan Xian often come to this column chewing meat buns, hard to raise the reputation of the New Wind Pavilion, the elegant things, from then on there are more than one of these kinds of things.

Most of the officials who came to Xinfeng Pavilion today were officials of Da Lisi, while the guest of honor today was Hou Jichang, who had just been transferred back to Beijing from Jiaozhou. Da Lisi officials know clearly, this once one of the four sons of Fanmen, now has put down the stature, cast to the year with him under the door of the He Da Da Shi, so that there is a straight transfer into the Da Lisi of the beauty of the matter – the world changes, it is really saddening.

Officials for Hou Jichang betrayed Fan Xian, secretly can not help but have some contempt, but on the face but no one is willing to show, today is Hou Jichang into the Da Lisi, naturally, he came to the New Wind Museum treat, in order to give He Da Da Da Shi face, that is, Da Lisi Deputy Secretary are personally come to accompany.

Came to the railing, the officials are ready to sit down, the screen has not yet arrived, it is natural to see the table at the end of the railing, there are only three people on the table, a guard-like person has obviously finished eating, is vigilantly watching the surrounding area, facing the officials of the fat man is bowing his head and chewing something, that facing the officials of the character wearing civilian clothes, raised his head to look at the other end of the street, just a back, but let the hearts of all the people thumped! A sound.

Hou Jichang’s body stiffened at this moment, his hands that were exposed outside of his official clothes trembled uncontrollably, as if the cold wind outside the building had eroded every inch of his skin at this instant.

The rest of the Da Lisi officials had previously only been startled by that slovenly back and had not recognized that person’s identity, so looking at Hou Jichang’s ghastly white face, they couldn’t help but feel incomparably stunned. They followed Hou Jichang’s gaze and looked again, finally understanding what Hou Jichang’s shock was.

After a moment of awkward sullenness, the Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi frowned and gently patted Hou Jichang’s shoulder, softly soothingly saying, “Sit down.”

Hou Jichang sat down soulfully, and after a long time sighed somewhat ashamedly.

If at any time in the past, this table of officials would have to go to that table and respectfully salute Fan Xian, however, now Fan Xian not only did not have any official position, but also the status of a first-class duke was taken away by his majesty to the end, and he became an authentic white body, just a commoner.

This table Da Lisi officials are He Zongwei’s direct line, knowing that the small Lord Fan in the side of the railing, their own pedestrians in the side of the railing, walk naturally can not go, which officials let the people reason? How can an official let the people go? How can the He faction, which is now in the limelight, let a downward dog go?

Now look at Fan Xian’s broken look, these officials although not so stupid to satirize what, but think the heart will also have a secret joy. These days, the Da Lisi is reviewing the old cases of the Supervisory Yuan, and is in the time of scenery, thinking that this is the prosperous place of Kyoto, and His Majesty is pinching the seven inches of little Lord Fan, as long as they do not take the initiative to provoke each other, and I think that Fan Xian will not eat too much to do nothing to make a fool out of himself.

Today I don’t know why, the screen never came up, but the wine and food came up first, although the officials of the Da Lisi were a bit unhappy, but it was not good to clamor for anything in such a scene, losing the face of the officials was a small matter, and it was not something these officials would like to see if they really had to have any exchanges with the silent trio on the table over there.

“Today one is to welcome Hou Taoyuan into the temple, from today onwards, Hou Taoyuan is you and I colleagues one belongs to ……” Da Lisi Deputy Secretary smiled and raised the wine cup in his hand.

Hou Jichang reluctantly smiled and also brought up his wine cup, but his heart was really quite flustered, because he knew Fan Xian, a disciple younger than himself, and today the other party suddenly appeared across the street from the Da Lisi and in the New Wind Pavilion, could it be that he really just liked the buns in this pavilion?

At this thought, his hand trembled again, out of the corner of his eye he subconsciously glanced at the silent trio over the railing, he knew who that fat man facing him was, it was the real elder brother of the County Lord Chen, the somewhat naturally foolish Dabao, he secretly prayed that since Lord Xiao Fan brought this one, he hoped it was not meant to cause trouble.

Da Lisi deputy secretary noticed his difference, some displeased frowned, since the former deputy secretary because of the implication into the old Qin family Kyoto conspiracy after the rebellion, he did in this position smoothly, now even the Supervisory Yuan also have to look at their own face, he really don’t feel that he has what need to be afraid of, not bad, everyone knows that Lord Fan is powerful, but is he still can not be reasonable to come to break the curse?

Lord Deputy Secretary was obviously dissatisfied with Hou Jichang’s performance, glancing at the fat man sitting opposite Fan Xian over at the railing, guessing the identity of the other party, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, releasing a contemptuous smile, his eyes full of mockery. Fan Xian liked to play with his stupid great uncle, this was something that everyone in Kyoto knew about, yet it was also a thing that the officials extremely despised, although this Lord Deputy Secretary didn’t, and didn’t dare to speak out and sarcastically reprimand that party, the expression on his face revealed everything.

“The second thing is to welcome Mr. Guo finally returned from Jiangnan and rejoined the Ducha Academy as the left imperial inspector.”

The moment these words came out, the table was suddenly bustling with activity. The left imperial inspector of the capital inspectorate was a rather important position, that lord surnamed Guo smiled haughtily and lifted his cup of water wine to pay some respect, only when his eyes fell on the end of the railing, just like Hou Ji Chang, his face became rather unnatural.

Guo Zheng, the imperial inspector’s name is Guo Zheng, is the year in Kyoto to rectify Fan Xian that character, now how many years have passed, the people of Kyoto is afraid to have long forgotten this matter, but Guo Zheng believe, Fan Xian will not forget, he will not forget, because in the Jiangnan inner library matter, Guo Zheng is also in Fan Xian’s antagonism.

Before the wine had passed three rounds, the silent trio at the end of the railing had already finished eating first. Fan Xian held Dabao’s hand as he walked towards the stairs, and Fuji Zijing followed in silence. If the three of them were to descend the stairs, they would surely have to pass by the table where the officials were gathered, and unexpectedly, the officials at this table were quiet at the same time, waiting with a hint of nervousness for that young master to hurry up and go away.

Fan Xian did not go away, his people naturally came to the side of this table, smiling at the officials. The Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi saw that the momentum was not right, smiled awkwardly and stood up, bowed his hand and said, “So it’s little Lord Fan, my humble official ……”

As soon as the word subordinate official came out, he realized that something was wrong, the other party was now in a white body, and as a dignified Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi himself, how could he possibly say subordinate official. The deputy secretary of the Da Lisi stopped his mouth, crossed his heart, and said with a forced smile, “Do you want to sit together?”

Fan Xian smiled and shook his head. By this time, Hou Jichang had already stood up in fear and bowed his head to Fan Xian, cold sweat soaking his back. Fan Xian didn’t even look at him, as if he didn’t even exist, it was this disregard that caused everyone around the table to feel a chill.

Fan Xian did not look at Hou Jichang, he looked at Guo Zheng, the new Left Capital Imperial Historian by his side, and said softly, “Three years ago it was curious, I exiled you to Jiangnan, and the whole thing made you uneasy day and night, and then when the Kyoto Rebellion broke out, and you were clearly a person from Xinyang, how come His Majesty did not have a decree to dispose of you.”

“Later I realized that you saw that the momentum was not right, and abandoned my poor mother-in-law, borrowing that bit of old affection from the Duzha Academy to hold onto the thigh of He Zongwei.” Fan Xian laughed, shook his head and sighed: “He Zongwei is a slave of the Three Surnames, and this wallflower naturally learns from him.”

Today’s He Zongwei in the dynasty is what kind of status of the big man, Fan Xian this kind of heart-breaking sentence exports, all the officials on the table can not sit still, Huo Ran stood up, ready to rebuke what.

“I was wrong, He Zongwei is not a slave of three surnames, the several masters he served were all surnamed Li.” Fan Xian shook his head and said, “I should say that he is a loyal dog of the Li family.”

The Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi finally couldn’t help himself and said something with a cold face. Fan Xian was as if he had not heard, but only looked coldly at the trembling Guo Zheng and asked word by word, “You were able to transfer back to Kyoto and take up the position of Left Imperial Secretary, so you must have made great achievements in Jiangnan, and I was wondering if the deaths of those subordinates of mine in Jiangnan had anything to do with you?”

Guo Zheng put his heart across and said in a chilling voice, “This official is under orders to do his job, could it be that little Lord Fan has any opinions?”

“Very well, finally some backbone, this is what an imperial historian should look like.” Fan Xian slowly said, “I know that you are entering the capital today, so I made a special trip to wait for you here today.”

The atmosphere in the New Wind Pavilion suddenly became as quiet as the calm before a storm, so quiet that it was palpitating. Waiting specifically for Guo Zheng, what did this mean? Although up to this point no one still believed that Fan Xian would dare to risk the world and do something degrading to the imperial court in this key place in Kyoto, looking at Fan Xian’s increasingly indifferent face, all of them felt a hint of coldness and fear.

There weren’t many guards who followed these officials into the New Wind Pavilion, after all, no one could have imagined that just across the street from the Da Lisi, something this big would actually happen, sensing that there was something strange about the atmosphere upstairs, several guards rushed up, nervously watching the scene.

Fan Xian smiled.

The Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi awkwardly laughed along.

Guo Zheng smiled very hard.

Then a dish of food directly covered Guo Zheng’s face, and the dish juice and broken porcelain flew in unison, simultaneously bursting open on this imperial historian’s face, turning into countless rays that sprayed out!

At the same time, there was also blood spurting out of Guo Zheng’s face!

Fan Xian withdrew his hand and pressed it onto the back of Guo Zheng’s head, directly into the hard pearwood desktop! Such a hard desktop had pressed in a head made of flesh and blood!

With a click, the hard pearwood desktop showed a few tiny lines, Guo Zheng’s cervical vertebrae were completely broken, and blood seeped out from the gap between his facial bones and the hard pearwood desktop, like black water.

Without even having the time to hum, Lord Guo Zheng, who had just made a great achievement for the court in Jiangnan and had returned to Kyoto to take over as the left imperial inspector of the Ducha Academy, was just like this slapped into the desktop by Fan Xian and turned into a dead man. Everyone looked dumbfounded at the deeply sunken head on the tabletop, and the table full of blood mixed with the dish juice, unable to speak, because no one dared to believe the scene they saw at all, and everyone thought that it was just a hallucination.

Killing in the street! The one who killed was a court official! Killing a left imperial inspector in front of many officials!

This was something that had never happened before in Kyoto, Qing Kingdom, and something that everyone couldn’t imagine, everyone simply couldn’t react, they just looked at this scene as if they were watching a very absurd drama.

Finally an official reacted, he screamed in horror, then his eyes rolled white and he just fainted.

The guards rushed over and attacked Fan Xian, however, only a few muffled sounds were heard, and several more fainted bodies were added to the wooden planks on the second floor of the New Wind Pavilion, while Fan Xian still stood quietly by the table. It was as if he hadn’t made a move at all.

The Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi stretched out his finger and tremblingly pointed at Fan Xian, just like seeing a demon from the underworld suddenly walking under the sunlight, he couldn’t say anything at all, and there was only a pitiful whimpering sound in his throat.

Fan Xian’s eyes were expressionless as he looked at him indifferently and asked, “I’ve heard that in this month, the Da Lisi has tortured my subordinates quite a bit under your authorization, and that three of my subordinates were tortured to death by you in prison?”

The Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi suddenly let out a loud cry and turned around like a rabbit and ran, and judging by the momentum, this lord was ready to flip over the railing and run out of this New Wind Pavilion even if he fell and got seriously injured.

However, since Fan Xian had already started to take action, how could he possibly let him run away, only to hear a gust of wind whipping through the pavilion of the New Wind Pavilion, and then to hear a crunching sound of snapping and a muffled sound of thumping, where the cervical vertebrae of the Deputy Secretary of the Da Lisi broke, and his head was miserably smacked into the table top of the hard pear flower wood.

Blood and water began to flow down the desktop to the ground, the two bodies of the court officials’ heads just like this wedged into the desktop, and it was no longer difficult to disengage, their bodies half-kneeling on the ground, still twitching at the toes of the thick boots they were wearing, and the scene looked very horrible.

Killing two people on the street, the New Wind Pavilion was full of ghosts crying out, but Fan Xian’s face remained unchanged and he turned around. One of the New Wind Pavilion’s staff members came behind the crowd without realizing it, and handed over a steaming towel.

Fan Xian took the towel and carefully wiped his hands, threw the towel to the ground with some disgust, took Dabao’s hand and headed downstairs, and said to the fellow, “You may begin.”

From the time Fan Xian walked to this table, to the time he killed the two courtiers with the most brutal means, to the time he went downstairs and left, he did not bother to look at Hou Jichang.

The pale-faced Hou Jichang trembled his lips as he withdrew his gaze from the stairs and landed on the bodies of those two corpses, looking at the tabletop where those things that he didn’t know whether they were brains or cauliflower were flowing in the blood and water, and endless fear took over his entire body as he finally couldn’t help but bend his body to stop himself from vomiting.

“Send uncle back to the mansion.” Downstairs at the New Wind Pavilion, Fan Xian helped Dabao onto the carriage, said to Fuji Zijing, and then watched the black carriage head towards the southern city. Fan Xian, on the other hand, was single, but he began traveling in the direction of the Imperial City.

Fan Xian was not worried about the safety of that homecoming carriage, as there were swordsmen from the Six Divisions in charge of protection along the way. As he had said on the New Wind Pavilion, to kill was to avenge the ministry of the Supervisory Academy, and although he was no longer the head of the Supervisory Academy today, the truth was that he would always be the head of the Supervisory Academy as long as he wished.

The Shadow had returned to Kyoto and reintegrated the assassins of the six divisions that had been hiding in the darkness, and the arrival of Haitang and especially Wang Thirteen Lang had left the palace with no way to stop Fan Xian from re-connecting with the loyal people in the eight divisions of the Supervisory Yuan. The Supervisory Academy had been in a stormy state, so today would be considered the last time this gloomy courtyard would shine.

This morning, in the name of the head of the Supervisory Yuan, Fan Xian issued a final directive to the Supervisory Yuan’s spikes and assassins located in various places; he didn’t know how many spies and officials would follow him, however, Fan Xian believed that those sons and daughters under his command would certainly not let him down.

The cold winds of late winter blew through the streets of Kyoto, and there was still a while before it was time to enter the palace, so Fan Xian walked along the streets alone, marching toward the palace in the distance. He looked at the streetscape of Kyoto along the way, and breathed in the air of Kyoto greedily, as if he wanted to commit all of this to his memory, and not forget it even after he died.

Not long after Fan Xian left the New Wind Pavilion, a place in the Supervisory Court that had been closed and unopened suddenly came out in full force, with more than a hundred Supervisory Court officials dressed in black official uniforms surging in murderous fury into their old neighbor, and now the most detestable of all their new enemies, the Da Lisi.

It had to be said, Fan Xian picked the seventh day of the lunar month, it was indeed the best time, it was not yet noon, while the officials in the Da Lisi had already gone to dashing around with the officials of the ministries on their own, the Da Lisi Yamen did not have any resistance at all in front of these tiger-like officials of the Supervisory Yuan, which just happened to meet the expectation of Fan Xian, not too many officials of the Kingdom of Qing would bleed because of this turmoil.

Those court officials who were going to die, naturally had a reason to die, all of them were targets that had been carefully selected by Fan Xian, and one place to enter and occupy the Da Lisi was simply to rescue those of his colleagues who had been escorted by the court into the dungeon.

Fan Xian walked through the long street, turned through Shahe Street, bought a string of sugar gourds in the hands of a vendor, ate them with relish, threw a gold leaf with his hand, naturally too lazy to ask for change, he was grateful for the sugar gourds in Kyoto, because back then it was by the sugar gourds in the hands of that child that he didn’t get lost in the Temple of Celebration.

Today at lunchtime, the Minister of the Household is treating guests in the One Stone Residence, he has invited the Minister of Justice’s Minister of the Ministry of Justice and a few close friends, not surprisingly, all of them are stalwarts of He’s lineage. The minister lightly strokes the short beard, in this winter warm pavilion slightly pleased, after three years of hard work, he finally will be the former minister Fan Jian left in the ministry of the shadow of the clean, belonging to the independent kingdom of the Fan family this does not exist, he finally became the real minister of the household department.

Although in order to resist the pressure from the Fan family, he took the initiative and humbly stood to the side of He Daoshi, but he did not feel humiliated, because He Zongwei was originally the door under the middle book of the Daoshi, and stood at the side of He Daoshi, as if standing in front of His Majesty, this is a kind of honor ah.

Originally today this banquet should be in the evening to appear more formal, however, went to the He House to spy on the wind of the gatekeeper inquired clearly, and a year ago after the next court meeting, He Da Da Shi also has to explain, the first seven days of the palace has some things to do, can not personally come to the banquet, so the time will be moved to the midday.

Although slightly disappointed, but also feel relieved that the Secretary of the Household Department, He Daoshi less than, he is the table of officials in the highest position of that person, hear the flattering sound from the ear, the mood of how comfortable?

Especially when you think of just endowed with the will of He Daqushi, the Ministry of the household forcibly intervene, the Kyoto Prefectural Yamen played to death, forcing the hardcore Sun Jingxiu had to resign, and ultimately still can not pay out of the crime of the silver, was solicited into the prison, Shangshu adults will begin to feel like death. What do you take and this official fight? It’s just that you have a good daughter, isn’t it? After your daughter is sold into the church, I will also secretly go to make your daughter want to die.

Wine is on the head, in the Ministry of Household Minister Lord around the four words of lust for death circle, he did not notice in the warm pavilion serving the people of the woman’s eyes flashed a hint of cunning and sinister light.

Of course, Lord Shangshu did not know that the poison in the five grain liquor he drank was enough to make him want to die countless times.

On the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh year of the Qingli calendar, a fire broke out in Yishiju, and the warm pavilion was reduced to a crumbling wall, with the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, and several other key officials of the He faction perishing in the fire, and being killed in the line of duty due to alcohol.

When the fire started, Fan Xian had finished chewing the sugar gourd, carrying a newly bought black cloth umbrella, and walked to the beautiful Tianhe Street. He casually threw the bamboo stick with the residual sugar residue into the clean and exceptionally clean street-side green pool with running water falling by and by and shrugged his shoulders, not blaming himself at all for his action of polluting the environment.

Then he glanced at the black stone monument at the main entrance of the Supervisory Academy that was being dismantled, as well as the fewer and fewer gold characters on that monument, gazed at it for a moment, and shook his head.

A sudden gust of new wind blew by, and snowflakes began to drift down.

The snowflakes fell on the cold and clear doorway of He Residence, Grand Maester He was clean and honest, he hated it when someone gave him a gift, so he kept two vicious dogs at the door of his residence, many people knew that this trick was the first creation of Viscount Chenghai’s residence back in the day, that is, Grand Maester Yan Ruohai, and they couldn’t help but secretly slander and laugh at Grand Maester He’s picking up on the wrong people’s ideas, however, regardless of this, these two vicious dogs, still earned him a lot of clean reputation.

The two dogs were slowly falling snowflakes annoyed nature, desperately barking at the sky, frozen dogs barking snow, which has the slightest effect, the snow is still so slow and firm down.

With two sad cries, two vicious dogs fell to the ground, and a dozen assassins dressed in people’s clothes vigilantly controlled the perimeter of the Qing Jing He Mansion before quietly feeling their way into the mansion.

Fan Xian squinted at the sky and opened his black cloth umbrella, blinding himself to the sky.

The snowflakes accumulated on the black cloth umbrella, melting a bit too quickly to accumulate, making him a bit unhappy. Walking like this, he reached the front of the Imperial City, and instead of going to the main gate to wait for a summons, he walked around the roots of the Imperial City, and, amidst the wary gazes of the forbidden soldiers, walked outside the sliver of rather unremarkable bungalows that were under the door of the Central Secretariat Province.

Fan Xian pushed the door open, dusted the snowflakes off his body and head, carefully placed the black cloth umbrella dripping with snow on the doorway, and smiled at the dumbfounded officials inside the door and said, “It’s been a long time.”

Sitting on the warm kang and carefully scrutinizing all kinds of zhangzhi, Grandmaster He slowly raised his head, glanced at the uninvited guest at the door, and furrowed his brows.