...
Haitang seemed to groan softly in pain as she submerged herself again into the cool lake, trying to dispel the burning flame within her. Her body rolled, flattened, and swam, appearing from the surface of the lake like a white fish gracefully moving about. Fish in the distance followed, cautiously swimming beside her naked body.
After a long while, a white spray of water erupted from the lake as Haitang emerged, gliding to the shore. A gentle breeze stirred, and she was already dressed in her coarse cloth attire.
This woman was not particularly beautiful, but there was a hint of rural simplicity between her eyebrows and eyes, making her quite approachable. Her eyes were exceptionally bright, reflecting the white birds and sandy shores of the lake, but now contained a trace of anger.
"Fan Xian, I will kill you!"
Clearly, this attempt to force out the poison had failed again.
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Fan Xian awoke from his meditative state and strolled through the camp. The Northern Qi ambush troops had been slaughtered by the Black Knights, the corpses on the battlefield serving as the best evidence. Messengers had already crossed the Mist Crossing River to express the strongest protests to Northern Qi.
"Some regret," Wang Qinian sighed, following behind him. "We painstakingly calculated the location of their attack, so we could pin Xiao En's death on their prison break attempt. All the evidence was arranged meticulously. Xiao En's death was originally in your plan, but that woman ruined everything."
Fan Xian shook his head, walking to a tree and looking at the mist slowly drifting from the distant valley, he said softly, "Perhaps, I also ruined her plan. Although Xiao En didn't die at the right place, at the right time, at least it let me know what he was hiding in his heart."
"Let's use torture," Wang Qinian began to offer bad suggestions.
Fan Xian glared at him coldly, "Chen Pingping has been using torture for twenty years and couldn't pry anything out. Do you think we can make progress in just two days?"
"Then what do we do? Really hand Xiao En over to the North?" Although Wang Qinian didn't know what Xiao En knew, from the perspective of a Surveillance Bureau official, he was very unwilling to hand over this pottery jar containing secrets to the enemy in the North.
"Hand him over to Northern Qi first. Anyway, there are powerful people who want to kill him there, and powerful people who want to protect him," Fan Xian frowned, wondering if he really had to use that box. But the box wasn't with him, and he didn't know where Uncle Wu Zhu was.
"Don't think about it anymore," Fan Xian shook his head. "Prepare to cross the Mist Crossing River tomorrow. Be careful of that woman named Haitang. If Xiao En is killed within our borders, we will be entirely responsible."
"Should we send the Black Knights to eliminate the target?"
"You've been offering bad suggestions all day," Fan Xian coughed twice, finding that his chest and abdomen were still in pain, he leaned on the tree trunk and said, "If it were a battle between armies, even a Grandmaster would have to flee when faced with the Black Knights in formation. But if we use the Black Knights to search for someone, I'm afraid they'll be silently killed one by one by that girl's short sword."
...
...
"You have a good sense of self-awareness."
A slightly indignant voice came from the mountain path ahead. A woman with slightly damp, long hair and dressed in coarse cloth was staring at Fan Xian.
This place was about ten zhang away from the camp. The Tiger Guards were ordered by Fan Xian to rest after a night of hard work. Wang Qinian glanced at Fan Xian, greatly alarmed, knowing that this was the ninth-rank upper-level expert, Haitang from Northern Qi, who had almost killed Fan Tisi in the morning!
Fan Xian's expression was calm. He waved his hand and said, "Go back."
Wang Qinian didn't say a word, but ran back to the camp, thinking that he had to quickly call up Gao Da and the other silent experts. The horses in the Black Knights' stables were collectively in heat today, not knowing what evil had possessed them.
Fan Xian tilted his head slightly, looking at Haitang, and said softly, "Aren't you afraid that he'll go call for help?"
"Aren't you afraid that I'll immediately kill you? It's not morning now. I believe I can kill Young Master Fan within three moves."
"You can try... if the poison in your body is cleared," Fan Xian's tone was a little flippant.
Haitang bit her lip lightly, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at Fan Xian, a mixture of resentment. After a long while, she burst out two words: "Shameless."
Fan Xian lightly licked his slightly dry lips, squinting at Haitang with a shameless expression. He quickly replied, "Thank you."
"Give me the antidote."
"Why should I?"
"If you don't give it to me, I'll kill you," Haitang said fiercely, but Fan Xian keenly noticed that there was some panic in the girl's eyes.
"If you kill me, you can soak in the North Sea every day," Fan Xian seemed somewhat unrestrained.
Negotiations broke down, neither side was willing to give in, and neither side could proceed to the next stage of mutual benefit. The man and woman stared at each other, like two children having a tantrum, looking at each other under the trees on the mountain path, appearing somewhat comical.
...
...
"Did you kill Xiao En?" Haitang suddenly changed the topic, looking at him and saying, "If you are worried about my presence, I can pretend that I don't know about this. My coming south this time is not to stop you from killing him. In fact, you and I have a common purpose."
Fan Xian shook his head, "I really want to kill Xiao En, but since you want to kill him, I have to protect his life."
"Why?"
"No reason," Fan Xian naturally wouldn't tell the other party that he also wanted to know the secret in Xiao En's heart.
Haitang was furious, and with a clang, she drew her sword. Today's sword had no natural, soft beauty. The sword energy soared into the sky, precisely cutting a tree with a new flower bud next to her in half.
Fan Xian's eyes twitched slightly. Although his face was still calm, he was actually very frightened in his heart. If this country girl really wanted to kill him, there were no Black Knights or Tiger Guards by his side, and he really didn't know what to do.
Suddenly, Haitang's eyebrows twitched, and she walked towards the back of the mountain path, turning her head and saying to Fan Xian, "I don't like dealing with these irrelevant people. Are you coming or not?"
"Are you coming or not?" What kind of invitation was this? Was it the abyss of death, or a pile of sweet candy?
Fan Xian smiled, put his hands behind his back, and followed. As a Surveillance Bureau official, there was really no one as reckless as him. To put it seriously, this was an irresponsible act of not treating his own life as important.
Watching the figures of the man and woman disappear at the end of the mountain path, with several rustling sounds, several figures flew out from the treetops and behind the grass, gathering together. Gao Da, carrying a long knife, frowned as he looked towards the mountain path and asked Wang Qinian, "Lord Wang, we should follow them."
A hint of worry appeared on Wang Qinian's face, "His Lordship is exceptionally brilliant, but he is a bit too fond of women."
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Fan Xian naturally didn't follow Haitang because he was captivated by her beauty. He just knew that the conversation with this woman should not fall into the ears of outsiders, otherwise this Haitang girl would definitely be ashamed and angry, and would rather die than be threatened by him, and would kill him at all costs.
"I can solve this poison," Fan Xian quietly looked at the woman who was leaning against the tree, looking at the slightly damp floral cloth dress on her body. "But I need a promise from you."
"I don't accept your threats."
"It's not a threat." A slightly sad expression appeared on Fan Xian's face. "I am an official of the Qing Kingdom Surveillance Bureau. You, miss, have entered our borders and attempted to assassinate the important prisoner I am escorting, so I must use all means to stop you. Do you think I would feel proud of myself for using such low-down methods?"
A self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips at the appropriate time.
Haitang was slightly startled, and after a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "What do you need me to promise?"
"From here to the northern side of the Mist Crossing River, there should still be a day's journey. I hope you won't make a move during this day."
Haitang quietly looked at him and said, "You clearly know that once I enter the territory of Great Qi, I can no longer make a move."
"Why?" Fan Xian acted surprised.
"Because... I am a citizen of Great Qi. I must consider the people of this country. I cannot disrupt this agreement in my own country. Once it provokes the wrath of the royal family, and the two countries go to war again, the dead and wounded will ultimately be those unarmed civilians." A faint look of worry appeared in Haitang's eyes. "But I don't want Xiao En to return to Northern Qi alive."
Fan Xian listened with a calm face, but he gradually gained a sense of certainty in his heart. It seemed that it was true, as Si Lili said, the ninth-rank upper-level expert in front of him was indeed a country girl in nature, compassionate? This was the good virtue that Fan Xian liked his enemies to possess most.
"Why do you want to kill Xiao En?" Strangely, a hint of disapproval and disgust appeared in Haitang's eyes. "Don't you know that if Xiao En dies, that high-ranking official of yours in the hands of the court will also die?"
Fan Xian was silent. Of course, he wouldn't tell the other party the darkest side of his bones. He smiled slightly, "Isn't he still alive? Even if Xiao En dies, it's your Northern Qi's responsibility. You sent troops to sneak into our borders. Can you clear yourselves of suspicion? As for Young Master Yan, I believe I can bring him back to Qing Kingdom."
He paused, and then asked curiously, "Why do you want to kill Xiao En?" His expression was a little naive, even a little foolish.
Haitang gave him a disgusted look and said, "I don't need to explain it to you."
Fan Xian shrugged, took out a pill from his pocket, and said softly, "The... aphrodisiac, that you are suffering from, was developed by me. You can't force it out with true qi." After saying this, he threw the pill far away.
Haitang's face flushed with anger, then with shame, then with repeated anger. Her face changed constantly. She caught the pill and looked at him coldly, "I didn't agree to you, why are you willing to give me the antidote?"
Fan Xian sighed, turned his body away, and turned his broad back to the woman behind him. He gently supported a new branch, looking at the first green that was about to dye the mountain peaks in the valley, looking at the scattered wildflowers on the distant hillside.