Before dawn, all is darkness. The fire crackled, with occasional sparks leaping out, drawing fleeting red traces in the air. These traces reflected in Haitang's eyes, appearing strangely.

She stood up, looked at Fan Xian, and said softly, "What exactly do you want to do?" Or rather, what had Fan Xian done during these three days?

"I haven't done anything." Fan Xian turned his back to her, his figure appearing exceptionally straight. "I just wanted to keep you for three days."

Haitang's pupils contracted slightly. She had been tricked out by Fan Xian for three days, and the experts from the royal court had followed the Chanyu Subida behind them for three days as well. Indeed, Fan Xian didn't need to do anything himself, but something must have gone wrong at the royal court.

This woman was someone who could take things in stride. She looked at Fan Xian quietly, then turned and walked towards the direction of the tribe. Her pace wasn't particularly hurried, but her speed was extremely fast, like an elf in the grassland, covering three *zhang* in an instant.

"It's too late for you to go back." Fan Xian turned around, looking at her quietly. "You and the Emperor of Northern Qi deceived me once, set me up a few times. Those people from the Central Plains in the royal court are all people from Northern Qi, yet you're still deceiving me... These people working in the royal court are very dangerous to my Great Qing, I must get rid of them."

Haitang stopped, knowing that Fan Xian was telling the truth. If anything had changed in the royal court during these three days, even if she rushed back now, it would be too late. "The Crescent Sea is heavily guarded. Since you didn't act personally, who did?"

Before Fan Xian could answer, an extremely sinister image seeped into her mind. She hadn't forgotten that the Supervisory Council had the number one assassin in the world. With the Chanyu not at the royal court and most of the experts out, who could resist that assassin? The Shadow of the Supervisory Council never failed in his missions.

Whether it was Haitang or the Chanyu, they wouldn't give the Shadow any chance to strike if they stayed at the royal court. At this thought, Haitang finally understood why Fan Xian had revealed his whereabouts, luring her to find him, and luring the Chanyu to follow them.

"Your heart is indeed getting harder and harder." She turned around, looking at Fan Xian, not particularly angry, but with a sense of loneliness. "Is there anyone in this world that you're unwilling to use?"

Fan Xian had used Haitang, but didn't feel any guilt, as the two sides were on opposing sides at this point.

"I am not a heartless person." Fan Xian looked at her a few *zhang* away, and said faintly. Then, he stretched out his arms and lunged towards Haitang. The domineering *zhenqi* in his body bloomed to the extreme in an instant, shaking the air of the night grassland into chaos, like a tornado sweeping over.

Haitang looked at the man approaching like a god, her eyes lit up. She stretched out her hands from inside her thin leather robe and drew a semicircle around herself, stabilizing the changes in the surrounding air currents in a flash of lightning.

One moment it was tender affection and farewell sorrow, the next moment it was a sudden storm. Fan Xian was like a god of death under the moonlight, throwing a punch with the grass clippings and sparks around him, the force of the punch like thunder.

Haitang Duo Duo swayed, disappearing before this storm. The next moment, she appeared in front of Fan Xian, in the eye of the storm, using her fingers as a sword, stabbing diagonally, as if to pick off the moon in the sky, stabbing directly at Fan Xian's throat with extreme ease.

...

...

The Crescent Sea reflected the moon in the sky, very beautiful, clear and quiet. The people around the sea were asleep, and only the early rising maids began to walk towards the sea, preparing to fetch water for the nobles to wash up.

A maid looked at the hunchbacked mute servant and smiled, taking out a piece of flatbread from her arms and handing it over. This mute servant had been picked up from the grassland by the Da Dang Hu four months ago. He was somewhat disabled, but he was very strong, making him very convenient for doing rough work. However, because this person couldn't speak and was a slave, he was often bullied by the young nobles around the royal court, looking quite pitiful.

If it weren't for these kind-hearted Hu women who provided some help every day, this mute servant probably wouldn't have survived for a few days.

The mute servant took the flatbread from the Hu woman, smiled obsequiously, and made a *he he* sound in his throat, as if to express his gratitude. The Hu woman giggled a few times, almost breaking the serenity of the Crescent Sea before dawn.

The mute servant walked towards the meadow behind the Crescent Sea. Every day at dawn, he had to pick up sheep manure. The people at the royal court were already accustomed to this scene.

But today, this mute servant walked past the meadow, past the dense sheep manure, still hunching over, but didn't even look at the sheep manure. On weekdays, he would be happy to encounter so much sheep manure, but today he didn't need to be happy, because he didn't need to pick up sheep manure anymore.

Walking into a patch of tall grass, the mute servant slowly drew a sharp iron rod from his arms and stabbed it into the soil. With a shake of his right palm, a *puchi* sound was heard. This iron rod, stained with blood, was actually shaken into the soil for several *chi*, and no trace of it could be found!

The mute servant pursed his dry lips, closed his eyes and recalled the process of the action, confirming that there were no omissions, before raising his steps again, still hunching over, and slowly moving towards the depths of the grassland, not knowing when he would be able to walk back to the Central Plains.

The area around Crescent Sea was peaceful, and no one noticed that a mute servant had left the place where he had lived for four months. The guards around the king's tent seemed strict, but in reality, they seemed a bit lifeless, especially the tents where those Central Plains people, who were highly valued by the Chanyu, lived, were particularly silent. Those tents housed key individuals responsible for communicating with Qingzhou City and Dingzhou City.

Wei Wucheng's body was soft and he couldn't say anything. He couldn't even move his fingers, but his teeth were chattering non-stop, making a *ka ta ka ta* sound. He looked at the dead people around him and felt a chill rising from the depths of his heart.

He was responsible for the accounts and trade of the royal court, but he knew that these colleagues around him were all powerful figures from Da Qi. Without these people helping the Chanyu, the power on the grassland would not have been able to wage a tug-of-war with the Qing Kingdom's iron cavalry for more than a year, and would not have gained so many benefits from it.

But these people were all dead, and only he survived.

He remembered the scene earlier, and fear surfaced in his heart, making him want to scream, but he couldn't make a sound.

That Shadow, that god of death, had subdued him like a ghost, and then easily and slowly slaughtered everyone in the tent, without letting anyone make a sound, without letting anyone react in the slightest.

Wei Wucheng didn't know who that person was, didn't know why the other party didn't kill him. Chatting also guarantees life, which is an unexpected benefit. He was just plunged into endless fear, his pupils shrinking nervously, feeling that this darkness seemed impossible to transform into light.

...

...

A finger picking the moon, that fingertip was so slender, so ordinary, yet it seemed to contain the radiance of heaven and earth, breaking through the wind and intent in an instant, picking at Fan Xian's throat. At this time, his fist had already struck into empty air, brushing against Haitang's right shoulder, and blasted into the grass, exploding a large cloud of soil and grass clippings.

Borrowing the power of heaven and earth to do natural things, no school was more powerful than the Heavenly One Path. At this time, the moonlight was gradually disappearing, and the vision on the grassland was blurred, but Haitang's slide and attack seemed to be able to subtly detect every wisp of wind and every grain of grass clippings on the grassland, escaping over with extreme beauty.

Fan Xian had learned the inner *xinfa* of the Heavenly One Path from this girl, but his cultivation of borrowing momentum was far from Haitang's level.

His eyes narrowed, and with a flick of his left finger, a small knife spun twice on his fingertip, shook off the sheath tip, and a cold light suddenly appeared. A Moon-Slicing strike slashed towards the raised fingertip a few inches away from his throat.

With the cultivation realms of the two of them, whether it was a finger or a move, as long as it came into contact with the other party's body, the *zhenqi* would enter through the bridge and severely injure the other party. Therefore, Fan Xian wanted to block that overly light finger, so light that it couldn't be grasped.

However, in order to hide his identity, he didn't carry a sleeve crossbow on his body, nor a black dagger in his boots. Where did this knife come from?

The small blade was about to slash at Haitang's finger. At this moment, it seemed that all movements had slowed down, seeing this small knife clearly. It was the gift that Haitang had given to Fan Xian's young son earlier!

Haitang's eyes lit up even more, with an indescribable taste in that light. Her finger didn't retract, didn't respond in any way, and still pointed towards Fan Xian's throat, as if she didn't see the knife.

Fan Xian sighed in his heart, and his left hand loosened slightly, the blade light retracted.

However, unexpectedly, he didn't care about Haitang's finger pointing towards his throat, but instead slapped directly towards Haitang's chest.

Fan Xian retracted his knife, Haitang retracted her finger, Fan Xian lowered his palm, and Haitang defended. These were four very simple movements, but to do them so cleanly, to give up so decisively, perhaps only these two young people in the world would have such a wonderful scene when fighting.

However, Fan Xian ultimately took the lead, and his palm had already been printed on Haitang's chest.

Haitang's eyes became brighter and brighter, and the hand protecting her body didn't pay attention to this palm at all. Instead, her fingers scattered slightly, like the autumn grass floating in the night wind on the grassland, each of them resting on Fan Xian's arm, imprisoning his right arm.

In the four moments of lightning and flint, Fan Xian and Haitang Duo Duo each had a chance to kill the other party, and this opportunity was even deliberately left out by the other party, but they couldn't do it.

The key is the heart. This was the first time the two met on the shores of the North Sea. Fan Xian used aphrodisiacs and erotic poetry to stir her heart, and Haitang responded with indifference. The continuation of the heart war that had lasted for several years between the two great figures of the younger generation in Northern Qi and Southern Qing.

What seemed to be moving was the hand, but what was actually moving was the heart.

Haitang bet that the knife Fan Xian slashed at her finger wouldn't be able to be slashed, and Fan Xian abandoned the knife.

Fan Xian bet that the finger Haitang pointed at his throat wouldn't be able to be pointed, and Haitang retracted her finger.

Haitang bet that Fan Xian wouldn't be able to exert strength in the palm attacking her chest, so she bound his right arm.

Neither was willing to, so why bother doing it?

...

...

Fan Xian had a strange smile on his face as he looked at Haitang in front of him. Although the two knew that this fight would probably only be in vain, he still made his move.

Haitang supported her fingers, spitting out the pure *zhenqi* of the Heavenly One Path, blocking the forward rush of the domineering *zhenqi* in Fan Xian's right arm, causing the palm he had printed on her chest to have no effect.

Fan Xian still made his move, without any threat, without any *zhenqi*, moving outside Haitang's clothes.

The place where his palm was printed was wonderful, soft, and gentle.

So this move was very ecstasy.

Haitang was very angry, and her heart was slightly disturbed.

Fan Xian's left hand, which had abandoned the knife, silently brushed up in the moment when the other party's heart was slightly disturbed, brushed against Haitang's ear, and with a light flick of his little fingertip, a gold needle was inserted into the acupoint under Haitang's ear.

He wanted to tie Haitang back to the Central Plains. He wanted to prevent Ku He's setup from tormenting this poor girl's mind, so he racked his brains and risked everything to capture the other party.

It was this needle.

——————————————————————

The generation's pride, the Holy Maiden Haitang Duo Duo of Northern Qi, finally lost, lost on this quiet grassland, lost to Fan Xian.

In the fourth year of Qingli, Haitang Duo Duo had never been defeated in dozens of battles, big and small, since she left the mountain. Her reputation was unmatched for a time, until a poet immortal and a young expert appeared in Qing Kingdom. From that time on, people in the world were very eager to discuss, if Haitang Duo Duo met Fan Xian, who would win?

On the shores of the North Sea, Haitang first met Fan Xian. At that time, Fan Xian was not Haitang's opponent at all, but only barely dodged with the *shenfa* personally taught by Uncle Wu Zhu, relying on poison needles and poison smoke, supporting himself on the meadow. But Fan Xian didn't lose, because he relied on his shamelessness and ruthlessness to successfully force Haitang back. Can you remember, the spring was strong in the North Sea.

After that, Haitang and Fan Xian had never really fought each other, but both knew that if it was just a martial arts competition, Fan Xian would never be Haitang's opponent. But if they fought for their lives, with Fan Xian's ruthlessness, even if Haitang could kill Fan Xian, she would probably have to pay a great price.

Of course, after that, the two became friends, and the whole world began to spread this scandal story. Everyone knew that the two couldn't fight, and some people couldn't help but be disappointed. If these disappointed people knew what happened on the grassland today, they would be very excited.

Haitang Duo Duo finally lost to Little Fan. To be precise, she lost to Fan Xian's further shamelessness and insidiousness.

The gold needle trembled under Haitang's crystal clear ear. Fan Xian's fingers lightly held the needle, his face was very solemn, and he kept injecting *zhenqi* into Haitang's meridians with this fine needle. His right hand had already escaped Haitang's control, and he tapped quickly on the girl's body, making sure to completely control her.

Having healed the injuries in his body with the *zhenqi* of the Heavenly One Path in Jiangnan, Fan Xian knew the recovery ability of the Heavenly One Path's *zhenqi* better than anyone else. A gold needle piercing the acupoint could only make Haitang's body stiff for a moment. To truly subdue her without hurting her, he could only rely on his domineering *zhenqi* to forcibly seal the pass of her body's meridians.

However... Fan Xian's hand with the strong wind gradually slowed down, his eyes were very solemn, even with a hint of sadness.

Finally, he stopped his finger, and his left hand slowly left the gold needle.

With a crisp *pa* sound, the gold needle under Haitang's ear broke inch by inch!

Such a soft and delicate gold needle, and it was inserted into the vital acupoint under the ear, was actually shattered by the *zhenqi* in her body. What a powerful rebound.

With a *pu* sound, Haitang spat out a mouthful of blood, and her face suddenly turned pale, but her pupils were still bright. She looked quietly at Fan Xian with a sad face in front of her, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and said, "I have injured my internal organs, I am not your opponent, you can try to keep me."

Fan Xian was silent. He knew what had happened in Haitang's body earlier. When he forcibly sealed the meridians with his domineering *zhenqi*, the pure *zhenqi* of the Heavenly One Path in Haitang's body began to fight back, even recklessly fighting back regardless of life and death, forcibly impacting every place where his finger fell.

If Fan Xian forcibly continued, he would at most expend a lot of *zhenqi*, and he could also subdue Haitang, but Haitang's decisive posture of reversing her *zhenqi* would cause her meridians to rupture and become a disabled person.

After a moment of silence, Fan Xian lowered his head and said sadly, "Even if it means death... you are unwilling to follow me?"

...

...

Haitang looked at him calmly, blood dripping from her lips, and slowly said, "If my heart was not disturbed, how could you have subdued me? If your heart was not disturbed, how could you have let go of the great opportunity to capture me in one fell swoop and disrupt the Western Hu? I don't want to die, but I know, you won't let me die."

Fan Xian was silent for a moment, and said, "Thank you."

He was thanking Haitang for her trust in him, thanking her for knowing his heart, his feelings. Although the two had never stated it explicitly, they already knew each other's hearts, just like the night on the grassland, the moon at the edge of the night line, very clear, hard to forget.

After saying thank you, Fan Xian looked at Haitang and said word by word, "Do you really want to stay in the Western Hu and become an enemy on the battlefield with me?"

"I have my persistence, you have your persistence, don't you?" On Haitang's ordinary face, a strange brilliance bloomed, with two parts of stubbornness, three parts of self-confidence, and five parts of persistence.

Fan Xian gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "This is Ku He's arrangement. What kind of person are you? Why do you obediently listen to his arrangement?"

This was Fan Xian's most angry point. What he hated most in this life was being controlled by those terrifying old monsters. He firmly believed that life must be free, which was more important than anything else in the grassland and Northern Qi.

Haitang looked at him quietly, as if looking at a child, and said, "If I listen to you and leave the grassland, wouldn't I also be listening to your arrangement?"

Fan Xian was stunned, knowing what the other party meant.

"The grassland cannot be chaotic, I must stay." Haitang looked at him and said, "I don't know what you did in these three days, maybe it's too late for me to stop you, but I want to find a way to stop the turmoil on the grassland."

Fan Xian was quiet for a while, shook his head, and said, "Like a fire burning across the prairie, who can stop it?"

Haitang looked at him.

Fan Xian smiled wryly and said, "Last night, the Zuo Xian Wang should have been assassinated."

A look of shock flashed in Haitang's eyes. She had been on the grassland for two years, so of course she knew what kind of turmoil the death of the Zuo Xian Wang would bring. If Fan Xian deliberately left any traces when he took action, the grassland, which had just been peaceful for more than a year, would once again fall into endless warfare due to revenge and power struggles.

"How could you kill him?" Haitang stared at Fan Xian's eyes, biting her lower lip. The Zuo and You Xian Wang possessed extremely strong strength on the grassland. Chanyu Subida had the support of Haitang, Northern Qi, and more than ten thousand iron cavalry from the northern tribes, and only then could he barely suppress these two Xian Wang.

In the past two years, the Zuo and You Xian Wang had been extremely wary of the royal court, and their defense forces were extremely strong. Haitang frowned slightly, unable to imagine who in Qing Kingdom could sneak deep into the grassland and assassinate the Zuo Xian Wang.

The Shadow of the Supervisory Council might have this kind of strength, but he should have gone to the royal court to deal with Northern Qi's support for the grassland royal court.

The sound of hurried hooves faintly came from afar. It seemed that the cavalry from the royal court chasing Fan Xian could no longer hold back.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, glanced over there, and said softly, "I said three days ago that neither Ku He nor the little emperor of Northern Qi trust me. This was originally a huge mistake. No matter how the world will go in the future, I must grasp the initiative to deal with these matters in my own hands, because... I possess a more powerful force than you."

He looked at Haitang and said, "Shi San Lang entered the grassland with the caravan. When I stayed to wait for you, he followed the subordinates of the Zuo Xian Wang who returned from the royal court... I believe in his courage and strength. If even this number one warrior in the world can't kill the Zuo Xian Wang, then I can only say that my luck is not good."

"Come back with me."

Haitang was silent.

Fan Xian shook his head self-deprecatingly and helplessly, and then whistled towards the endless darkness behind him. From the depths of the silent grassland, there was a gradual sound of hooves, like a herd of wild horses, free and unrestrained.

...

...

(In the fourth volume, Fan Xian and Haitang met for the first time. That chapter was called "Heart War Prequel". Today is "Heart War Postquel". It can be regarded as a return. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, I wish you all a happy holiday. Continue to ask you for monthly tickets. There is still a gap of more than three hundred tickets ahead. Bite again, bite again...)