The humid air mixed with the stench of blood began to ferment outside the prison cell at the end of the tunnel. A man and a woman who had been feigning affection in bed just a month ago had long swapped their roles. Fan Xian frowned slightly at the woman's miserable state. He had initially thought he would have some wonderful affair with this woman, like in a Ming or Qing dynasty novel, or perhaps take her home like Bai Letian. Who knew the story would end so abruptly before it even began? But there was no need to lament. Since she wanted to kill him, showing superfluous sympathy, as Teacher Fei Jie had said, would be extremely irresponsible to himself and those around him.

Facing those two venomous gazes, Fan Xian explained gently and calmly, "I believe that life is something you should control yourself if you can. That's why I gave you the poison. You should know that your death is of no benefit to me, so there's no need to look at me like that. I still pity you, but I won't feel guilty. The heads of my three guards were smashed into rotten watermelons by your people. Who will feel guilty for their deaths?"

He waved his hand. "Maybe you won't believe me, but I once hated this God. I thought I was doing good deeds all my life, but ended up with the most miserable ending. If hate were useful, this God would probably have been riddled with millions of holes by my hatred. So I later realized that when you still have the ability to control your body, you must be grateful that you still have days to live."

Si Lili remained silent, only gently raising her hands, covered in wounds, to keep them from touching the rough straw.

"Miss Si, think more positively. Nothing in this world is more important than your own life," Fan Xian said calmly. "You are a Qing country person, but you work for Northern Qi, willing to give up so much. It shouldn't be for money, but for revenge or something. I don't know if those rumors about you in Kyoto are true, but if you want to do something, you must ensure you live. And if you want to live now, you must pay a price."

Si Lili suddenly raised her head. The light in her eyes, though dim, was like the will-o'-the-wisps in a grave, refusing to be extinguished. After a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "How can you guarantee I can live?"

Fan Xian perked up and squatted down, saying, "I could come to the Heavenly Prison to interrogate you the moment you arrived in Kyoto today. You should be able to guess my status in the Overwatch Council."

Si Lili shook her head weakly. "Do you think I would believe you?"

"This has nothing to do with belief," Fan Xian said gently. "This is inherently a gamble, except you are more passive now, because you have no choice between life and death."

Si Lili's eyes wandered helplessly, seeming somewhat tempted. She turned her face and looked at Fan Xian's clean, handsome face. For some reason, she thought of their entanglement on the pleasure boat that night. A surge of unreasonable hatred welled up in her heart. She lunged forward like a madwoman, spitting a mouthful of saliva at Fan Xian's face.

Fan Xian dodged to the side, very surprised. It was clear this woman's defenses were about to crumble, so how could she suddenly change her face? He had no idea that, whether in his past life or this one, regardless of profession, a woman's thoughts were always like fine needles at the bottom of the sea, or shifting sands in the mountains, difficult to touch and impossible to grasp.

Fan Xian felt slightly annoyed. His eyebrows, as delicate as early willow leaves, furrowed tightly, and his expression changed constantly, not knowing what he was thinking. He thought of the suicide of the military advisor last night, and then thought of the one in Wuzhou, who was probably already dead. He knew the other side was ruthless and quick. If he wanted to catch the person who really wanted to deal with him, it seemed only Si Lili's mouth could provide the answer. If the confession came too late, the person who contacted Si Lili might also die or leave. Torture seemed insufficient to break this Northern Qi female spy's nerves in a short time. Unfortunately, what Fan Xian needed now was time. Otherwise, what would he fear even if he had to endure for a few days?

It seemed he couldn't get anything out of her mouth. Fan Xian seemed somewhat disappointed. He stood up from in front of the bars, as if preparing to leave with Wang Qinian. Suddenly... he took a deep breath and frowned, standing back in front of the prison cell, coldly looking at the woman through the bars. Wang Qinian looked at him in surprise.

Fan Xian's voice rang out softly, "Tell me who did it, and I swear in the name of my ancestors in this world that I will definitely let you go."

The answer was deathly silence, but Fan Xian refused to give up. A pair of gradually softening eyes gazed at Si Lili's face, gazing at Si Lili's bloody hands held up in front of her chest.

The dampness in the Heavenly Prison had a moldy smell, and the bars and time separating Fan Xian and Si Lili seemed to have started to mold as well. He didn’t know how long had passed, Si Lili was still biting her lower lip, not speaking, obviously she was also going through some extremely painful struggles in the depths of her heart. The bottle of poison that Fan Xian threw to her was a celadon bottle, at this time it was lying quietly under her hands, on the dry grass, seemingly emitting some very strange smell.

...

...

After a long time, Fan Xian sighed, seemingly giving up. Before leaving, he said one last sentence to Si Lili: "The way you're holding up your hands... is very much like a cute puppy."

Later, Wang Qinian always felt that Master Fan was a bit neurotic, able to joke with an enemy country's spy in that situation. Fan Xian himself didn't feel that way. He was purely speaking subconsciously at the time. Of course, he didn't know what effect his casual remark would immediately have, or what it would bring him in the future.

Si Lili was slightly startled when she heard him say she was like a cute puppy.

Unexpectedly, the next thing was a chuckle from the female spy. After a burst of laughter, her expression changed, not knowing what she was thinking. She only felt that her spirit was incredibly relaxed at this time. It seemed that after this laugh, she had unloaded all her burdens. Her entire soul began to shrink timidly in her body, cautiously praying for survival. Her body was like being soaked in warm hot water, very comfortable, and she sincerely began to miss the good things in life.

So she slowly raised her head, her somewhat pale lips parted slightly, and she said three words: "Wu Xiansheng." ("Mr. Wu").

Fan Xian heard clearly, "Wu Xiansheng" ("Mr. Wu"). After a moment of shock, he turned to look at Wang Qinian. Wang Qinian nodded, indicating he had heard of the name. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, and a faint excitement surged in his heart. He reached into the bars and, under Si Lili's puzzled gaze, retrieved the small porcelain bottle containing the poison from the dry grass. He said "Thank you" to her and then turned to leave.

Si Lili seemed to understand something. Her blood-covered hands tightly gripped the bars, and she cried out hatefully at the departing figure, "Don't forget, you swore in the name of your ancestors!"

After the heavy iron door closed silently, the Overwatch Council's prison returned to calm and darkness. The prisoners here generally went to the underworld after only a few days, so there weren't many prisoners left. Therefore, the faint sounds of crying that came from the deepest part of the tunnel at this time were very clear and very desolate.

...

...

A while later, the jailer respectfully pushed a wheelchair out of the secret chamber. Chen Pingping was sitting in the wheelchair, resting with his eyes closed. He suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "What do you think of the Director I chose?"

He was naturally asking about Fan Xian.

The jailer thought for a moment: "Ruthless, he only occupies half of it."

"Which half?"

"His hands may be ruthless, but deep down, he's still a gentle little man."

Chen Pingping smiled, a trace of relief appearing on his old face: "That's good, that's good. A gentle heart with ruthless methods is always better than a ruthless heart with rotten methods. At least he got the information from Si Lili by mistake."

The jailer asked calmly: "How should Si Lili be dealt with?"

Chen Pingping thought for a moment and said faintly: "Observe her for a while. If she can be developed into one of our people, try it. If not, naturally kill her."

"No need to explain to that Director Fan?"

"I'm preparing to hand this council over to him, but since he doesn't have the ability yet, there's no need to know too much."

"Yes." The jailer responded and added: "Unit One is ready to depart."

Chen Pingping coughed twice. At this time, all the civil and military officials in the court thought he was still staying in the palace. No one would have thought that he had come to the Heavenly Prison alone. After finally coughing a little better, he signaled the jailer to push him out and said after thinking for a while, "Since that Wu Xiansheng has already forced Fang Daren the Military Advisor to his death, it is estimated that he has already left Kyoto by this time. I'm afraid it's too late."

The jailer shrugged. He was the organizer responsible for Unit Seven's affairs back then and had always looked down on Unit One's efficiency. There was nothing fun in investigating cases, so he wasn't very concerned about whether he could catch that Wu Xiansheng. He just looked at the long tunnel above his head and said with some headache, "Councilor, please don't come to eavesdrop again next time. It's really difficult to carry this wheelchair up."

Chen Pingping smiled. He came here today from the palace because he wanted to see what the son of his old friend was like now, and whether he had the ability to take over everything he had prepared for him. Regarding the assassination on Niulan Street, he and Wu Zhu didn't take it to heart. It was just a small matter. If Fan Xian died just like that, there would naturally be no need to worry too much. The qualities that Fan Xian showed in handling this event were more important.

This was a small test.

——————————————————————————

Fan Xian didn't know these things. He hurriedly left the Heavenly Prison with Wang Qinian. From Wang Qinian's mouth, he learned that Wu Xiansheng was a famous strategist in Kyoto, but he had always hovered between the Second Prince and the Crown Prince and seemed to have no obvious inclination. But according to rumors, many things behind the scenes in the officialdom had the terrifying figure of this middle-aged man.

Fan Xian's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his handsome face was slightly heavy. He knew that the other party was an old fox and would definitely think of cutting off all the clues. At this time, he might have already learned to run and was living in seclusion in some mountain. The so-called strategist liked to do this kind of thing the most. After seven or eight years, when things had faded, they would trot out again and continue to spread a belly of bad ideas.

"How can we be sure that what Si Lili said is true?" Wang Qinian asked him for instructions.

Fan Xian replied calmly: "It's very simple. If that Wu Boan is still in Kyoto, then it's not him. If he has already run away, then it's him."

A very simple judgment, perhaps closest to the truth of the matter. Too many things in this world are complicated by humans' stupid heads.

Wang Qinian said nervously again: "Then, do we really have to let Si Lili go? Sir, you don't have this authority yet, but you swore before..." Although the people of the Overwatch Council had never respected ghosts and gods, they had immense respect for the existence of ancestors.

Fan Xian did not answer him, only thinking in his heart that his ancestors in this world... didn't seem to have much to do with him. He knew that it was inconvenient for him to come forward at this time, so he asked Wang Qinian to notify Unit One. Mu Tie knew his identity and should believe what Wang Qinian said. When the two parted, Fan Xian's chin pointed very discreetly to the darkness at the corner of the street, confirming the name Wu Boan with that person.

After arranging these things, Fan Xian leisurely returned to the Fan residence, climbed over the wall, and quietly lay on the bed, waiting for tomorrow's news. When Wang Qinian entered the Overwatch Council, he was extremely surprised to find that his colleagues in Unit One were already fully armed and ready to go, he couldn't help but be surprised. Mu Tie smiled slightly at him.

That night, nothing happened in Kyoto. After Fan Xian returned to the Fan residence, he greeted everyone and entered a secret room that he had asked his father for. He carefully took out a well-sealed small leather bag from his arms and poured the small celadon bottle out of the leather bag. This bottle used celadon sand craftsmanship, and the air eyes were larger than ordinary porcelain, so it was enough to hold some light fragrance. Previously, in order to make Si Lili relax her guard, Fan Xian had indeed spent a lot of effort. He took out a pottery jar from the corner of the wall, opened the lid, and a burst of fragrance almost made him dizzy himself.

Putting the small celadon bottle back into the pottery jar, Fan Xian returned to the bedroom, wrapped his legs in a thin silk quilt, and fell asleep somewhat uneasily. The next day, Wang Qinian came to report, and said with some shame that Wu Boan had already left Kyoto. He had expected this for a long time and was not very disappointed.

...

...

There was a manor about eighteen miles away from Kyoto, and you could see the snow-capped peaks of the Cangshan Mountains in the distance. Even though it was early summer, the manor was still very cool, and the grape trellises had already spread their leaves, a pleasing sight of verdant green.

Wu Boan, whom Fan Xian had painstakingly asked about, was now sitting leisurely on the grape trellis, looking at the young man opposite him and saying with a hint of blame, "You shouldn't have come."

The young man opposite him was Lin Gong, the second son of the Prime Minister's family. He looked at Wu Boan and said very politely, "Since Mr. Wu has to be forced to leave Kyoto, your nephew naturally has to come and see you off."