The meeting room of the Overwatch Council inevitably fell into an awkward silence. No one had expected that Lord Fan, the Secretary, would make his first appearance at the Council in such a way. It was completely out of sync with the Council's usual atmosphere of grimness and death. After a long while, someone finally couldn't help but chuckle.

Fan Xian smiled, clasped his hands in front of him, and walked inside. He only recognized Yan Ruohai among the seven powerful figures here. The rest were all unfamiliar faces. Fortunately, Teacher Fei Jie had been by his side all day, otherwise he would have been truly afraid to face these heads of the most sinister and terrifying secret agents in the entire Qing Kingdom, or rather, the entire world, alone.

At the end of the long table, an old man was sitting in a wheelchair, his eyes clear and cold, yet he looked at Fan Xian with great gentleness. For no reason, Fan Xian sighed inwardly and walked forward slowly. He had recognized the other party long ago. After all, he had seen him when he first came to this world sixteen years ago. In these sixteen years, the old cripple's face seemed to have changed little.

Chen Pingping looked at the young man approaching him, a strange and satisfied look appearing on his face. Fan Xian had already walked to his side. Chen Pingping opened his arms and said softly, "Child, come here."

Fan Xian slowly lowered himself, gently resting his head on the old man's shoulder, throwing his body into the other's not-so-broad embrace, giving him a gentle hug.

Chen Pingping was very thin, and the contact between their bodies was somewhat gentle, but Fan Xian felt very warm.

The old and the young man embraced each other like this, as if those heads of Qing Kingdom's secret agents around them did not exist. Let them be presumptuous for this moment. After a long while, the two slowly separated, and Fan Xian respectfully saluted, "Finally, I have met you."

Chen Pingping suddenly let out two extremely sharp laughs, his laughter filled with extreme joy.

Except for Fei Jie, the seven secret agent heads who did not know the inside story remained politely silent, but deep down they were shocked. No one knew what kind of relationship this Secretary had with the always reclusive Director.

Today was Fan Xian's first day formally entering the Overwatch Council as Secretary, so the members of all eight bureaus were waiting here. After a brief self-introduction, Fan Xian quietly sat on the chair to Chen Pingping's left, while Fei Jie sat to Chen Pingping's right.

"He is Fan Xian." Chen Pingping looked at his subordinates and said softly, "The future Secretary of the Overwatch Council, your colleague. Please give him your support."

Director Chen had never been so solemn when introducing new personnel as he was today, nor had he ever said so much. The seven leaders knew the weight of these words, stood up, and formally saluted Fan Xian without saying much.

From the time Fei Jie began teaching Fan Xian at the age of five, Fan Xian knew that he would definitely have some stories to tell with that special service organization feared by the world and avoided by the people. Especially after learning about his mother's relationship with this institution, he knew even more that he would one day have some wonderful relationship with this institution.

When he was a child, he had already learned a lot about the organizational structure and work flow of the Overwatch Council from Fei Jie's mouth. After entering the capital, he had been involved in many incidents and had cooperated with the Overwatch Council many times. Moreover, he had independently formed the Qi Nian team outside the Council. Today, after formally listening to this explanation, his understanding of the Overwatch Council was naturally even deeper.

The Overwatch Council was a special service organization directly under His Majesty the Emperor, with power outside the Six Ministries and not restricted by the Qing laws, only acting according to imperial decrees. It was divided into eight bureaus in total. The First Bureau was specifically responsible for monitoring the officials in the capital, planting many spies in various key departments. It was the most important department of the Overwatch Council. The previous head was Zhu Ge, who had secretly sided with the Eldest Princess and had died a few months ago. The Second Bureau was responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence from various sources and making suggestions for His Majesty and the military to make plans.

The Third Bureau was the department that Fan Xian felt most close to, because his teacher, Fei Jie, had been the head of the Third Bureau before his retirement. The Third Bureau was specifically responsible for developing medicines and various unorthodox weapons. The tranquilizers, poisons, and aphrodisiacs that Fan Xian was currently carrying were basically the results of the Third Bureau's research and development.

The Fourth Bureau was Yan Ruohai's department, specifically responsible for monitoring officials in various prefectures and counties outside the capital, as well as investigating relevant intelligence. Its scope of power extended far beyond the borders, including parts of Northern Qi and Dongyi City. If judged solely by authority, it was the most powerful department after the First Bureau.

The Fifth Bureau of the Overwatch Council had always been stationed outside the capital, established by the Emperor's personal decree, specifically responsible for protecting Chen Pingping's safety with Black Knights. When necessary, they could also carry out long-distance cavalry raids. Capturing Xiao En, the top spy leader of the enemy country, deep in Northern Wei that year was the Fifth Bureau's most glorious achievement. It could be said that this department was the most powerful force in the Overwatch Council.

The Sixth Bureau was the most obscure and terrifying department. Even Fan Xian, who had been in the capital for so long, had not had much contact with them, because the Sixth Bureau was specifically responsible for handling assassinations. Of course, conversely, the Sixth Bureau was also responsible for protecting the people designated by His Majesty.

The Seventh Bureau was specifically responsible for torturing and imprisoning enemies. This was a more professional existence than the Thirteen Departments of the Ministry of Justice. The inconspicuous warden that Fan Xian had seen in the Overwatch Council's prison was the former head of the Seventh Bureau.

The Eighth Bureau, ah, the Eighth Bureau. Fan Xian wanted to laugh when he saw that middle-aged official. This was probably the department of the Overwatch Council that he had the most dealings with, wasn't it? The Danbo Bookstore had not given the Eighth Bureau any less tribute. Although there were relationships that could be used, Shopkeeper Qi Ye still carefully paid tribute to the Eighth Bureau on a monthly basis. In Fan Xian's feeling, this department was somewhat like the old yamen in his previous life, only with more power and independence.

After a brief introduction, these seven big heads of the Overwatch Council did not need Fan Xian's self-introduction, because Fan Xian's resume was too clear, too obvious, and too glorious. Everyone in the entire Qing Kingdom knew about it, let alone these seven secret agent heads who were as cunning as foxes, as ruthless as wolves, and as fierce as tigers.

Among these seven leaders, Fan Xian only knew Yan Ruohai, but he was more interested in the heads of the Sixth and Third Bureaus, because the head of the Sixth Bureau, who was in charge of assassinations, added the word "Dai" (代, meaning substitute) before his self-introduction. Fan Xian was a little curious, where was the most powerful assassin in the Qing Kingdom?

As for why he was curious about the head of the Third Bureau, it was because Fei Jie was interjecting with boring remarks on the side. This head, surnamed Leng, was actually the chief disciple of Fei Jie's junior brother. By that reckoning, Fan Xian should call him Senior Brother.

After the meeting ended, Head Leng of the Third Bureau and Yan Ruohai of the Fourth Bureau stayed behind. Fan Xian and Senior Brother Leng huddled together and chattered for a while. When they talked about poisons and hidden weapons, they couldn't help but become animated. Yan Ruohai watched from the side, feeling a little creeped out. He then remembered that this Secretary was Fei Lao's closed disciple and a little monster who had grown up with poisons. It was better not to get too close in the future.

Seeing that the two were talking happily, Fei Jie frowned and said, "What kind of person is Xiao En? He has already calculated these things. I estimate that after the mission enters Northern Qi, he will demand to stop at Wudu River for a month. Under the protection of Northern Qing, he will confirm that there are no residual poisons in his body before going to the capital to exchange hostages. I can't even formulate this kind of poison that can last for a month and take effect at regular intervals. What's the use of you two chattering for so long?"

Fan Xian and this senior brother, whom he had just met, looked at each other, sighed sadly, and bid farewell with their hands clasped, knowing that Fei Jie was right.

Chen Pingping clapped his hands gently, gathering the attention of the few people still in the room, and said softly, "There are four tasks for this trip to Northern Qi."

Fan Xian sat down and listened very carefully.

"First, ensure that Yan Bingyun returns to the country safely and takes over the position of the First Bureau. Second, after the prisoner exchange is completed and the two countries' agreement is successful, immediately kill Xiao En." Chen Pingping said as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing, "Third, execute Project Red Sleeve. The detailed content of this project will be in the files given to you later. Fourth, on the basis of completing the first three tasks, integrate the spy network in Northern Qi to ensure that the intelligence work will not be delayed due to Yan Bingyun's departure."

Four tasks, each one more difficult than the last. Fan Xian's expression was relatively calm, but his heart was faintly excited and uneasy. Chen Pingping turned to Yan Ruohai expressionlessly and said, "Prepare the relevant information, and then you give him an explanation before Fan Xian leaves."

Yan Ruohai nodded and left the room.

At this time, only Fan Xian, Chen Pingping, and Fei Jie were "left" in the room. After a long silence, Chen Pingping's hands gently smoothed the wrinkles on the blanket on his lap, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at Fan Xian and said, "I believe that after you saw the name outside the institution, you should know a lot of things."

"Uncle Wu Zhu has said some things." Fan Xian smiled and looked at the old cripple in front of him, a very complex feeling湧起in his heart. Although a large part of his life had been arranged by him, he didn't know why, Fan Xian couldn't feel the resistance that ordinary people would have. Instead, he had a very strange trust, as if this most terrifying official in Qing Kingdom was worthy of his trust.

This was intuition, and Fan Xian had always believed in and respected his intuition.

"Lao Wu?" Chen Pingping closed his eyes, frowned, and seemed to be lost in some kind of memory. He suddenly said, "Has his memory improved at all?"

Fan Xian said softly, "Maybe he remembers what he should remember, and forgets what he doesn't want to remember."

Fei Jie coughed twice and glared at his student, thinking that it was really unnecessary and offensive to say such mysterious things in front of Director Chen.