Niao Ni
Chapter 542: A Son Over the Wall
A chorus of battle cries echoed from all directions of the alleyway as countless figures surged toward Fan Xian, who stood alone within. The human tide crashed forward, yet it was as if a mighty river had met an unyielding boulder. Water splashed in all directions, and the *chi chi chi chi* sound of sharp blades piercing flesh cut through the air, assaulting the ears. Then, the four men at the very front crumpled like felled trees.
They clutched at their throats as crimson blood gurgled forth, staining their hands.
A slender, black dagger materialized in Fan Xian's hand, its dull, gleaming edge bearing a few drops of darkening blood.
The deaths of a mere handful of men did little to deter the onslaught. Without even a moment's hesitation, the government soldiers swarmed over Fan Xian once more.
The black light flashed again, but this time, Fan Xian malevolently aimed lower. He no longer sought a swift kill, no longer attempted to slash at the soldiers' throats. Instead, with impossible speed and venomous precision, he sliced at the thighs and lower abdomens of those surrounding him.
Several men simultaneously gained gaping, bloody wounds. The exposed flesh spewed scarlet blood that quickly turned black, releasing a faint, fetid odor.
The alley reverberated with piercing screams of agony. Though not immediately fatal, the poison coating Fan Xian's black dagger inflicted excruciating torment. The rising and falling cries finally brought some awareness to the government soldiers encircling Fan Xian, reminding these men wielding spears and blades of the legendary power and ruthlessness of the young Lord Fan.
The human tide faltered.
Seizing the opportunity, Fan Xian moved like a wraith toward the rear of the surrounding crowd. Like a shadow, like the wind, he brushed against their bodies, occasionally extending a devilish hand to lightly flick at their earlobes, fingers, armpits—their most vulnerable points.
Each touch left behind a scream and a fallen, injured soldier.
In that instant, Fan Xian chose subtle tactics, the most energy-efficient, *zhenqi*-conserving method of combat. Amidst the surging crowd, this approach was most suitable. Each strike no longer aimed to fell the soldier beside him but to elicit a cry of pain, to make them jump and thrash, becoming like a forest of leaping trees, concealing him—the cunning beast—as he retreated toward the rear of the encirclement in the fading twilight.
A general overseeing the encirclement from a short distance watched the commotion with a flicker of coldness and fear in his eyes.
He had never imagined that anyone could transform themselves into a wandering spirit, able to move through a crowd of pursuers under the watchful gaze of many, leaving behind the scent of blood and taking away vibrant lives, yet appearing so relaxed and at ease—like passing through a field of flowers, untouched by a single petal.
Fan Xian bore not a single wound, yet he had already killed or injured over twenty men, forcing a breakthrough of ten *zhang* within the chaotic encirclement!
"Stop him!" The general, watching the commotion draw closer, his pupils constricting, roared in a hoarse voice, "Slay the rebel!"
The clicking of crossbow mechanisms cocking rang out in a brief chorus. Though faint amidst the surrounding clamor, it was terrifyingly distinct.
Fan Xian, amidst the throng, pinching a dagger between three fingers, gently caressing the soldiers' muscles, paused his right hand the moment he heard the crossbows being armed outside the encirclement.
His ears had accurately captured a familiar sound, causing his heart to clench and his right hand to falter. It plunged into the chest of a cowering bailiff lunging forward, forgetting to withdraw it.
Crossbows were strictly forbidden within the capital—except for the Overwatch Council, which had been granted special permission years ago. Hearing the sound, Fan Xian knew that Princess Li had, through the Qin or Ye families, deployed military forces into the capital in secret. He had no time to consider the Thirteen City Gates Office’s involvement but instinctively felt a chill. The deadly danger of the mountain valley ambush had left a deep impression.
This chain of thought lasted but a moment. In the next, he stamped down with his foot, heavily striking the hard stone paving, creating a thunderous boom!
With a single stomp, the square, hard stone slab cracked in the middle, its four corners lifting to impale the onrushing soldiers!
As he weaved and surged through the encirclement, he appeared relaxed and carefree, but in reality, he was moving with exceptional speed and precise control. Hence, he needed such a forceful, overbearing stomp to halt his body’s high-speed movement.
The stone slab cracked, and his body became incredibly still in an instant.
This shift between two extreme states even caused the surrounding air to emit a tearing sound.
The surrounding government soldiers, who had been following his undulating movements like a wave, failed to keep pace and stumbled forward, leaving a three-*chi* gap in front of Fan Xian.
*Dud dud*, the sound of wind being cut rang out. Bolts plunged into the ground. Dozens of sinister crossbow bolts sprouted from beneath Fan Xian's feet like growing crops, narrowly missing his body.
Meanwhile, his right hand remained thrust forward, the corpse of the bailiff still impaled on his dagger. The sudden deceleration flung the corpse forward, the flesh scraping against the sharp black blade. With a tearing sound, half the body was ripped open, slamming heavily onto the ground, splattering blood!
The government soldiers behind Fan Xian were unable to stop their momentum, crashing directly into his suddenly still form!
He swung his elbow back.
Two muffled thuds echoed. Two figures flew into the air, shattering in the twilight sky… tracing countless awe-inspiring arcs.
Before the next volley of crossbow bolts could arrive, Fan Xian glanced at the general at the alley's entrance and, defying everyone's expectations, tapped his toes on the ground and soared into the air in the opposite direction, along with the two "shattered figures" he had just launched.
The general, catching Fan Xian's cold gaze from afar, couldn't help but shiver. He gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Send in the Wolf Camp! Don't let him escape!"
In the air, shattered bone and flesh crashed to the ground with a *pat pat* sound.
Then, with the *whoosh whoosh* of air being sliced, a dozen military experts leaped onto the eaves, pursuing Fan Xian, who was dashing across the rooftops in the distance. Soon after, the elites of the Capital Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice led their subordinates in relentless pursuit along the ground.
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"I want him dead."
Within the Guangxin Palace of the Imperial Palace, Princess Li, having returned behind layers of gauze curtains, uttered those words with an expressionless face. The "he" in her words naturally referred to Fan Xian, currently fighting a guerrilla war against her in the capital. As long as Fan Xian lived, it was extremely difficult for Princess Li to show a smile.
"It seems there's a problem with Chen Garden," the eunuch beside the Princess said in a low voice. "Most importantly, the intelligence transmission from Dongshan Road seems to be having problems. It's been three days; the last message was three days ago."
A strange flush suddenly appeared on Li Yunrui's coldly beautiful face. The flush resembled a sunset glow, quickly vanishing like the evening breeze, leaving behind only the final paleness before nightfall.
The corners of her lips curled slightly. She said softly, "I only want Fan Xian dead. Ignore the Overwatch Council."
"Yes, Your Highness." The eunuch bowed respectfully, then raised his head, revealing himself to be none other than Eunuch Hou, one of Emperor Qing's trusted eunuchs, ranked alongside Eunuch Yao!
Princess Li smiled as she looked at Eunuch Hou's face, and said, "You set the fire in the East Palace very well. I want to see how you set the last fire in this capital."
During the Battle of Dongshan, Eunuch Hong had died without knowing his fate. Eunuch Yao had surely died alongside Emperor Qing. Now, the most senior, most powerful eunuch, most trusted by the Empress Dowager in the palace, was this Eunuch Hou. In the past, Fan's Manor and Lady Liu had spent much to ingratiate themselves with him, but who would have thought that all that money had been wasted? From the beginning, he had been Princess Li's man.
Emperor Qing and Fan Xian had been guessing who had set the fire in the East Palace, but they had never thought of Eunuch Hou.
Eunuch Hou bowed respectfully and said, "This servant will ask the Empress Dowager to issue an edict, but this servant's words alone do not carry much weight. At most, the Empress Dowager can issue an edict to the Imperial Guards to join the search…" He carefully glanced at Princess Li, "But Your Highness is also clear that all the forces we can mobilize have already been mobilized. The Imperial Guards were also present in Yangcong Alley earlier, but they did not move at all. The First Prince clearly has other plans."
Princess Li said calmly, "We cannot command the Imperial Guards."
Eunuch Hou tentatively said, "Although a major incident occurred in the Hall of Supreme Harmony today, and more than forty ministers have been arrested, the Empress Dowager's intentions have not changed. Now that it has been determined that His Highness the Crown Prince will inherit the throne… Do you think we can move the First Prince's position?"
"You want me to talk to the Empress Dowager?" Princess Li said mockingly, "Don't even think about it. Now the Capital Garrison Command is in my hands, the Thirteen City Gates Office is still wavering, and the armies of the Qin and Ye families are only a few days' journey from the capital… If even the commander of the Imperial Guards is replaced, how can my mother feel at ease?"
"As long as Consort Ning is honest in the Hanguang Palace, the Imperial Guards belong to Prince He." Princess Li said coldly, "The Empress Dowager must seek some balance; otherwise, wouldn't she worry that I would destroy this imperial city in the future?"
Eunuch Hou felt a chill in his heart and dared not speak further.
"Fan Xian is ill," Princess Li continued, smiling. "I have a hold on his illness, so he cannot leave the capital. He can only endure in the capital. I want to see how he endures when those dozens of ministers can't hold on any longer, the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Ministry of Rites can't hold on any longer, and the Crown Prince is formally enthroned. How can this assassin of the Emperor possibly endure then?"
Eunuch Hou glanced at Princess Li with awe and said cautiously, "It's a pity that when the Empress Dowager issued the edict, the concubine carrying the young Lord Fan's bloodline somehow escaped."
"Not escaped." Princess Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, "Someone is protecting him… but I am curious whether that person who has lost his master can protect himself now."
"Your Highness is brilliant."
"There's nothing to calculate. You should prepare yourself; perhaps… in a few days, I will leave the palace." Princess Li said with a smile, but she didn't know why she chose to leave the palace.
Eunuch Hou smiled flatteringly and said, "Then this servant will return to the Hanguang Palace now."
"Go," Princess Li said, "Make mother's heart more determined."
"Yes."
Eunuch Hou obeyed and left, passing through the deathly silent palace, listening to the faint wailing that reached his ears, and returned to the Hanguang Palace. He said a few words in front of the Empress Dowager, looking at the old Empress Dowager's white hair, dejected expression, and exhausted spirit. The eunuch sighed in his heart, thinking that the Empress Dowager was also a very powerful person in the past, but now she could only focus on maintaining the peace of the court, and could not muster too much courage. He had followed Princess Li many years ago, which was a very wise choice.
In the Guangxin Palace.
After Eunuch Hou left, Princess Li lowered her eyes slightly and softly instructed her confidants a few words, seemingly to send a message somewhere outside the palace. A few words could be vaguely heard, which should be related to the situation outside the capital.
Then she sat in silence and solitude for a while, clapped her hands, and palace maids respectfully surrounded and guarded a man and a woman, who walked in from the rear of the Guangxin Palace and sat beside her.
Princess Li smiled slightly and said softly to her daughter, whose eyebrows and eyes were not similar to her own, "Chen'er, Mother has found Fan Xian."
Lin Wan'er lowered her head slightly, gently biting her lower lip, and was not shocked by this sentence at all, even without raising her head.
Princess Li's brows furrowed slightly, seeming to feel a trace of inexplicable anger at her daughter's emotional reaction. She said in a low voice, "Fan Xian is a rat, but if he really cares about you, then he will naturally come to the palace."
Lin Wan'er suddenly raised her head, her eyes, which were usually exceptionally gentle and rippling, were full of coldness and indifference. She looked at her mother, her eyes like two knives cutting at her mother's heart, and said word by word, "You took me out of the Hanguang Palace… I thought you still had some maternal affection, but it turned out… that you were using your own daughter as bait."
Lin Wan'er said calmly, "But that's right. Uncle has said many times that you are a madwoman, and you cannot be judged by ordinary standards… Don't worry, I won't hate you."
She smiled softly, appearing very calm: "For a madwoman like you, hatred is a superfluous emotion."
"Is that so?" Li Yunrui slowly closed her eyes, "I gave birth to you, so you naturally have no right to hate me… Isn't that bitch Si Si living well outside now? Why does your Fan Manor only protect her, and not you? If you want to hate, hate your husband and your parents-in-law."
Lin Wan'er's legs trembled slightly, and said, "You've misunderstood. Perhaps everyone just didn't expect that you would attack your own daughter."
A sound of metal collision came from under her legs, as if she was shackled with fetters!
……
……
Li Yunrui said calmly, "If Fan Xian dies, everything will be easy."
"Is that so? It's a pity that you will never be able to kill him. Since he was able to return alive from Da Dong Mountain, he will definitely live well." A trace of confident light appeared on Lin Wan'er's face.
Princess Li frowned: "Some people's life and death are not controlled by themselves. I have never worried about my good son-in-law, even though he has lived so gloriously in the world these two years, I still don't worry."
She glanced at her daughter, and then looked at Da Bao, who was sitting beside her daughter, shrinking his shoulders in fear, and whose mouth was subconsciously shaking. A trace of disgust flashed in her eyes.
"I know my son-in-law too well." Li Yunrui said coldly, "As long as you and Da Bao are here, what choice does he have other than death?"
"Oh, I didn't expect Mother to think that An Zhi… would be so sentimental." Lin Wan'er calmly stared at her mother's eyes, "I am his wife, and I don't expect him to be so foolish as to give up his life because of your methods. I don't know where you got your confidence from."
"You don't understand, no one understands." Princess Li said calmly, "Fan Xian may be a hypocritical person to the core, but he is extremely passionate about some people around him."
She paused, and said with a smile: "I will not underestimate him, I will be prepared for him to really turn the tables. A few days later, he may have a chance to turn this palace upside down… so I will take you and Da Bao out of the palace and let him drill into this bucket himself."
Lin Wan'er quietly looked at her: "It seems that Mother has already controlled the Thirteen City Gates Office, and the Qin and Ye families' armies can enter the capital at any time."
Princess Li was slightly startled, and then smiled: "My daughter, you are indeed a bit like me, you see things very accurately."
Lin Wan'er slowly lowered her head. She knew very well that Fan Xian would definitely find a way to go deep into the imperial palace, use the First Prince's Imperial Guards and his internal connections in the palace to turn the world upside down in one fell swoop, but she did not expect that her mother did not care about the gains and losses of the imperial palace at all, but instead intended to let all the hostile forces fall into the deep palace, and then counterattack with heavy troops.
"What exactly do you want?" Lin Wan'er suddenly raised her head and said with a hint of mockery: "It makes no difference to you whether Crown Prince or Second Brother becomes the Emperor, but what exactly do you want?"
"What do I want?" Princess Li suddenly squinted her eyes and stared at a certain wall in the Guangxin Palace, and said after a long silence, "I want the world to know that in this world, some women can do some extraordinary things without men."
She turned back and looked at her daughter, and said quietly: "It's nothing to not have a man. After Fan Xian dies, you are still a high-ranking princess, so you don't need to start mourning in advance."
"I don't know what will happen to me after my man dies, whether I will be unbearably sad."
Lin Wan'er suddenly smiled, holding her elder brother's soft left hand beside her, and looked down, without even looking at her mother, "But I know that Mother, you… really went crazy after losing your man, so keep these teachings for yourself."
"Presumptuous!" Princess Li's beautiful face turned cold, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"Isn't it?" Lin Wan'er said calmly and mockingly: "Uncle wanted to strangle you on that wall? Uncle is now killed by you, are you feeling both happy and aggrieved in your heart, wishing you could scratch your face?"
"I'm not someone who doesn't know anything." Lin Wan'er said mockingly, "It's just that I hate these things very much. So, Mother… you are essentially a pitiful person who can't live without a man, why bother pretending?"
……
……
After a moment of silence, Princess Li suddenly said coldly, "You are my daughter after all, and you haven't brought any benefits. Just by angering me, will I kill you?"
"But I must admit that your words are very lethal." She suddenly sighed, gently stroking her daughter's slightly thin cheeks, and said, "I haven't spent enough time with you, so I didn't realize that my good daughter is also such a powerful character."
Lin Wan'er quietly stared at her eyes, and said after a long while: "I am a person without power, so I only have words to use. Maybe you will succeed, but you can't make me admire you in the slightest."
She was very calm and very proud and confident, her lips tightly closed.
Suddenly, Da Bao whispered beside her, "Sister, you're hurting my hand."
Princess Li smiled and then said softly: "Good daughter, don't be so angry, I will let Fan Xian die in front of you, then you will be even more angry."
She gently patted Lin Wan'er's cold cheeks.
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Fan Xian found himself trapped in a sea of people's war. Even if 80% of the people in Kyoto thought he was wronged, there were still 20% of the people who really regarded him as an unforgivable traitor who assassinated the Emperor, colluded with foreign countries, and was a crazy traitor who sold the country.
There were too many people in Kyoto, and even if it was only 20%, it was enough to form a terrifying force.
Looking at those people who were beating gongs and drums and shouting for government yamen and soldiers to come and arrest him, Fan Xian, running through the streets and alleys, couldn't help but want to curse after smiling bitterly, wishing he could take a loudspeaker and ask the people of Qing Kingdom who used to regard him as a poet immortal.
If I were really a bastard, what would I do back in Kyoto?
Moreover, he did not expect that although his Overwatch Council was closely watched by the Inner Court, those spies from the First Bureau would always deliberately create some trouble to help him, but even so, he still had not escaped the pursuit of Princess Li's forces.
Those dozen or so military experts were really a headache. What was even more troublesome were the yamen and criminal officers of the Kyoto Prefecture. These people had been mingling in Kyoto for many years and had close relationships with the people. Under their unremitting pursuit, even a strong person like Fan Xian could not maintain more than a quarter of an hour of lurking.
Fan Xian leaned against a courtyard wall, squinting at the night sky that was getting darker and darker, and saw the bright moon in the sky, and couldn't help frowning, and began to curse God and the unusually good environmental protection work of this Qing Kingdom.
Under the clear light of the moon, facing the most numerous and strictest search for wanted criminals in the history of Kyoto, Fan Xian was confident that he could disappear into the sea of houses.
The slightly cool courtyard wall seeped into his heart and lungs, making his mood slightly calmer, and also making him cough a few times. His injuries had not healed, and he had forcibly mobilized overbearing *zhenqi*. Even with an iron body, he felt a trace of fatigue.
The sound of soldiers and horses and shouts came from the street not far away. It should be that another enthusiastic patriotic citizen was pointing out Fan Xian's escape route to the government.
If it was just escaping, Fan Xian had enough confidence that he could even fight a guerrilla war with Princess Li's forces in Kyoto for half a month, and he was confident that he would not be caught, and he could even slowly assassinate those important enemies one by one, like a spring dream with no trace.
However… his wife and family members were under house arrest in the palace and outside the palace. He had scruples and had to rush to find a peaceful place, contact his forces, obtain valuable information, and follow the right path of cunning.
But at the moment, Princess Li's relentless pursuit clearly made it impossible for him to find a stable temporary residence.
Fan Xian's heart was not without suspicion about the exposure of his whereabouts, but he was too busy and hurried along the way to consider these things.
The voices outside were getting closer, and there were also the sounds of horses. Fan Xian looked back at the dead corner of the alley, hooked the wall with his left hand, and mobilized his *zhenqi*, digging down a few pieces of gravel, and flicked them at the wall in the dead corner.
With a *pa pa* light sound, there were a few inconspicuous marks on the wall in the dead corner, as if someone had climbed over there.
Fan Xian bent his fingers, and his whole body floated up like a big bird, and turned over the side of the courtyard wall.
He had investigated clearly that behind this courtyard wall was a good mansion, and the furnishings looked like a bureaucratic family. He decided to gamble, to see if he could find a trusted acquaintance, and even if he couldn't find one, he would try to hide for a while.
After turning over the courtyard wall, passing through the rockery and flowing water, going up to the second floor, and entering a room full of bookish atmosphere. The sound of soldiers and horses outside the courtyard became louder and louder. Fan Xian had no time to think, turned around the bookshelf, and put a black dagger on someone's neck.
His luck was naturally not that good. It was impossible for him to find a trusted acquaintance in the vast sea of people in Kyoto. But his luck was not that bad either. He thought this was a study, and the person inside was naturally the owner of the house, but he did not expect that under the black dagger was a pitiful girl!
This was not a study, but a boudoir.