Chapter 399
Chapter 399: One Strike To Topple The Building
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Fan Xian's first and only time meeting Ye Liuyun was the year he was 12 .
That year he was lying on a precipice with strange colors swirling before his eyes . He was watching the solitary half boat below the precipice, the millions of holes on the beach, and the one hit battle of the strong between the two exceptional people .
One of the people was the Great Grandmaster of the Qing Kingdom and the other was his uncle .
The 12-year-old Fan Xian had only mastered the basics for the Tyrannical Way . His perception was not very insightful, so he could only sigh in admiration for the reputation of that battle but extracted the essence within it . On the contrary, it was in recent years he would occasionally think of a time or scene and then gradually find, within his memories, the marvelous parts, the shocking parts, and the parts from which he could learn .
The more he remembered, the more admiration he felt toward Uncle Wu Zhu and Ye Liuyun's exceptional methods . Sometimes the image of Ye Liuyun on the solitary half boat sailing on the ocean would still rise in his mind and that very strange song would still sound beside his ear .
But he had never, ever thought that this Great Grandmaster of the Qing Kingdom, this major figure that was revered by tens of thousands of people, would be in the top floor of a brothel and become someone he had to face .
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Fan Xian was the person who feared death the most in this world, so for enemies that he might have to face alone, he had once done ample research and analysis .
After much calculation, and weighing up of his strength and background, among these people, the one he should fear most ought to be Dongyi's Sigu Jian, the most unfathomable would be Northern Qi's Ku He, and the most troublesome were, of course, the ones in the Royal Palace .
However, although Sigu Jian was an idiot and could kill him easily, everyone knew that idiots hated going out to strange places .
While the most unfathomable and the one who most enjoyed exploiting others, the Imperial Advisor Ku He, had been personally struck down into the mundane world by his closest Uncle Wu Zhu—a person who could be injured did not feel so scary .
As for the ones in the Qing Royal Palace, they were all related and did not need to be considered for now .
The people Fan Xian truly feared were all at the level of a Great Grandmaster, thus it could be seen that this was not excessive self-confidence, it was just a bit arrogant . However, the topic had come back round again . Given his power, in addition to his blind uncle, they only really needed to consider these people .
Among the Four Great Grandmasters, it was only Ye Liuyun that Fan Xian had not worried about .
For one, his childhood memories were overly deep . He always felt that this elder of the Ye family had a refined and graceful attitude . Spending much of his time traveling, he was a true person with a path . His personality was bright and cheerful, not one that would be involved in the pointless battles of the mortal world .
Second, the state of the Ye family in Jingdou made Fan Xian see clearly that Ye Liuyun was truly a sympathetic person, otherwise, it would be impossible for the Emperor to maintain the balance between the two sides . The Hanging Temple was a dark flame that destroyed the Ye family; such a base method, yet Ye Liuyun could resist returning to the capital . He considered the Ye family's contentment and safety and the continuation of the Ye clan to be more important than anything else .
As long as Ye Liuyun did not stop in Jingdou and impact the balance of the current situation, the Emperor would not truly do anything to the Ye family . This could not be publicly announced . In the place between the imperial power and Ye Liuyun that surpassed martial ability, there was a natural implicit understanding .
Fan Xian could not understand why Ye Liuyun would make a move because of the Junshang Conference matter and charge so determinedly to him and use his life to threaten him .
If this wasn't stupid, then what was it? Even if the Black Knights were called back this time, would the Emperor not know of the connection between the Ye family and the Junshang Conference? Wouldn't this balance still be destroyed?
Since he had come, so be it . Fan Xian had calculated this Great Grandmaster's fate . Only then did he dare to be so mocking and disgracefully acerbic . He knew very clearly, If you are Ye Liuyun, how could you dare to kill me?
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Fan Xian stared at the pair of eyes that were as calm as limpid autumn waters below the bamboo hat as if he wanted to divine the Great Grandmaster's true purpose in suddenly coming to Suzhou .
In the depths of his heart, he was prepared if Ye Liuyun immediately answered his question with one of his own, "Why wouldn't I dare to kill you?" He would immediately coldly toss out his mass murder weapon that walked the jianghu as an explanation .
If you kill me, Uncle Wu Zhu would naturally kill everyone in the Ye family . This was a very simple truth . Ye Liuyun would certainly believe it and furthermore, would not accept it .
"Ah…so that year, you hid on the precipice and secretly watched . "
Unexpectedly, Ye Liuyun did not continue Fan Xian's previous sentence . He only slowly returned the sword in his hand back into its sheath . He looked at that handsome face and sighed .
Fan Xian's heart jumped, but no expression appeared on his face . It was still cold and calm .
"Don't understand?" Ye Liuyun asked .
Fan Xian truly did not understand and nodded his head . The ferociousness and confidence he purposely showed earlier immediately weakened greatly .
Ye Liuyun smiled slightly and said, "If you weren't on the precipice, how could you recite those lines? How could you know I am me? How could you be sure I knew you were you? How could you know I wouldn't dare to kill you?"
It sounded very complicated, so Fan Xian was actually a bit dazed . Fortunately, his enlightenment had come a dozen years earlier than normal people . Having lived twice, his foundational knowledge of logic and such was stronger than most . He turned it over in his head a few time and finally unraveled Ye Liuyun's words .
What Ye Liuyun wanted to express was very simple: In this world, at least today, at least in Jiangnan, there were not many people who could recognize him .
This shocked Fan Xian . Was it true that very few people would be able to recognize the Qing Kingdom's Great Grandmaster?
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He unconsciously loosened his tight grip on the paper fan and a glimmer of mocking rose to the corner of his mouth . "Don't think that if you pretend to be ruthless you can imitate my uncle . Don't think that if you wear a bamboo hat you can imitate bald Ku He . Don't think that if you carry a sword that others will believe you are Sigi Jian . "
"You are Ye Liuyun, whether or not I recognize you, you are still Ye Liuyun . "
Sigu Jian's movements were of utmost importance to the Overwatch Council . It was impossible for Ye Liuyun to imitate him, so this was something that Fan Xian could not understand . Did Ye Liuyun do this because he truly wanted to shed of pretenses of cordiality with the Emperor?
He smiled mockingly and said, "Although Sigu Jian is indeed rather stupid and has been the scapegoat countless times for the Qing Kingdom, your acting is a bit too lacking in effort . "
"Who I am is not important . " Ye Liuyun looked at Fan Xian coldly . "I am just here to remind you . Your visit to Jiangnan has resulted in too many deaths already . "
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at one of the four extraordinary martial art masters left in the world without cowering back at all . He slowly said, "In this world, how could goals be achieved without people dying?"
"What goal do you want to reach?"
"I am an official…my responsibility is to protect the Emperor's interests so that they are not damaged at all . " A strange light flashed through Fan Xian's eyes . He smiled slightly and said, "Other than this, I have no other intentions . "
"Even if it is death?"
"No, I won't die . "
Ye Liuyun became silent . A few moments later he said, "Your…mother was not like this back then . "
Fan Xian did not find it surprising that the other party would bring up his mother, but his face wore a frosty expression as he coldly replied, "Don't use my mother to pressure me . Besides, speaking of killing people, I'm sure you remember very clearly that my mother was no better than me . "
"I am talking about roots and natural disposition . " Ye Liuyun's voice suddenly deepened . "Those who like to kill, how could they hold great power?"
The slightly warm atmosphere earlier from reminiscing about former times immediately froze over and became tense again .
"In Jingdou, you have those people taxing their body and soul to worry for you, for the time being, I will not talk about that . " Ye Liuyun sat upright beside the table, his whole person seemed as tough and unyielding as the pine trees on the Easter Mountain . "When you came to Jiangnan, Jiangnan became troublesome . How many people have died because of your clever hands?"
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and felt an incredible anger in his heart . He lowered his voice and said, "Perhaps if I didn't come to Jiangnan, these people would not have died? The palace treasury bastards would not be bastards and the rotten Ming family would become virtuous?"
He smiled disdainfully . "Elder, earlier I said not to pressure me in my mother's name, now I will add to that, using righteousness also has no effect on me . "
Ye Liuyun's expression did not change . It was impossible to see either joy or anger . He only quietly said, "In the matter of killing Yuan Meng, you drugged the servants in the manor, so it appears you have some kindness . However, these drugged people were all captured by the Suzhou government later and killed to keep them from talking . "
He looked warmly into Fan Xian's eyes and continued to speak, "When you left, you should have guessed that under the pressure of the Overwatch Council those innocent people could only die . You didn't kill the innocent, but the innocent died because of you . "
"I only need to shoulder the responsibilities I need to shoulder . "
Fan Xian's mouth had some teaching from his previous life for a light reply, but great astonishment surged up in his heart .
It was not because of those innocent people dying because of him . Although this did darken his heart slightly, the astonishment came from Ye Liuyun's tone . That tone seemed to faintly hint that…the details of his entry and killings in the manor were completely known to the other person .
Fan Xian stared into Ye Liuyun's eyes . He didn't know just how much this Great Grandmaster knew . If he knew he had already mastered the Sigu Sword, that would be bad…this was one of Fan Xian's secrets . Once it was known by the Emperor in the capital, the entire Overwatch Council would be trampled into the ground because of the incident with the Shadow at the Hanging Temple .
Ye Liuyun could certainly use this to threaten him, but looking at his expression, it seemed like he did not know the details .
Of all the things Ye Liuyun could have brought up, why did he bring up the completely unimportant Yuan Meng?
A severe light flashed through Fan Xian's eyes, and he immediately recovered his calm . He gave up the thought of killing him to stop him talking . Today's situation was not the same as in the past . He had always been the knife, and the people the meat . Today, it was him struggling desperately on the chopping board . If he wanted to kill this man in front of him, it would be essentially impossible to do during Uncle Wu Zhu's recovery period .
Thus, Fan Xian slammed the table and roared in anger, "To succeed in an important matter, one cannot bother about the trivialities! If I didn't strike like lightning and allowed Jiangnan to go on like in the past, how many deaths would the Ming family cause? How many more people would those pirates kill? Will you fill in the deficit in the national treasury?"
Without waiting for Ye Liuyun to reply, that resentful finger of his extended out again . He very daringly and rudely pointed it at Ye Liuyun's nose and cursed, "What about that Junshang Conference? Is it cleaner than me? What is your identity…how could you lower yourself to work for them? You are the Grandmaster of the Qing Kingdom, why do you not stand on my side? Why do you stand on that side?
The last sentence twisted cleverly and pointed straight at his heart .
Ye Liuyun furrowed his brows slightly and slowly said, "The Junshang Conference is not like what you imagine . "
Fan Xian laughed mockingly and said, "Of course I understand . You are a lofty Great Grandmaster but you are still a person, you still need luxuries . Walking the earth and wandering the horizons seems joyful, but if you always scorched and drenched by sun and rain, how could it feel fun at all? If everywhere you went, in each province and land there was someone to receive you, to serve you, to worship you…naturally you will be happy . Other than the Junshang Conference, who else could offer you the entire world?"
Ye Liuyun smiled slightly as he looked at him . It seemed like he didn't expect for this young man to be able to so easily discern his relationship to the Junshang Conference .
The matter was just this simple . Ku He was worshipped by Northern Qi . Sigu Jian was worshipped by Dongyi . The one in the Royal Palace was naturally worshipped by the Qing Kingdom . But what about Ye Liuyun? He walked the earth and did not return home . He blew the wind on the sea and supported the pines on the Eastern Mountain, and he traveled the rivers and lakes . All of this needed someone to manage, someone to look after .
The Great Grandmaster also needed to eat and to live in inns, particularly someone of his status . Surely he didn't like the clichéd fawning and preferred to live in a quiet garden and talk with hermits hidden within the mountain .
A garden needed money, going into the mountain to visit friends required travel expenses . Traveling around the world was actually a very extravagant life . It wouldn't do for a proper Great Grandmaster to be a highway robber .
Fan Xian was done speaking . He smiled coldly and said, "But your disciples' relationship with the Junshang Conference is not so simple…if you want to scoop up people from my hands, it will not be so simple . For your sake, the Junshang Conference has protected these maiden-like hands . Are you going to use these hands to hold up the sky for the Junshang Conference?"
As he spoke, his gaze, with or without intention, landed on Ye Liuyun's hands that were lying on the table .
That pair of hands were as white as jade without a single wrinkle . They did not look like an old person's hands . They looked like a pair of woman's hands that had never seen sunlight and only knew embroidery in a boudoir .
This was from many years ago when Ye Qingmei pushed Wu Zhu to enter the Qing Kingdom's Jindou and his first battle with Ye Liuyun . It was a mark of Ye Liuyun successfully sacrificing his sword and letting go of his hand . After all these years, nothing had changed at all .
Hearing Fan Xian describe his hands as womanly, his eyes, which had been as calm as limpid autumn waters, gradually began to flare up .
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The most important thing in a negotiation was to understand the other person's emotions, even if that person was a loft Great Grandmaster . When Fan Xian first realized that Ye Liuyun was about to show his anger, he immediately changed the topic of conversation and slowly said, "There should still be a while before the Black Knights make their move…if you truly care about your disciples in the garden… shouldn't you give Mr . Zhou to me?"
Ye Liuyun looked at him with a not-quite-there smile and seemed to be mocking him as well as looking at an ignorant child . "Now you are willing to accept my condition?"
Fan Xian slightly lowered his eyelids, but his heart gave a thump . He originally thought that since Ye Liuyun had dragged the account master of the Junshang Conference all the way to Baoyue Brothel, he intended to use Mr . Zhou to exchange for the descendants of the Ye family in the Junshang Conference .
Perhaps the other party never intended to do this?
"I never accept any condition when threatened by others . "
He raised his head . His calm eyes gazed with sincerity at Ye Liuyun's strange appearance . "But, that does not mean I am not willing to come to an agreement with an elder worthy of respect . "
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun finally made an expression . He sighed and said, "Indeed so shameless…"
Fan Xian smiled slightly . "You use martial abilities to threaten people; I use lives to threaten people . If we are talking about being shameless, the difference is not that big . "
Ye Liuyun slowly stood up .
Fan Xian's heart jumped, although his face remained calm . He once again opened that poor fan that had already been warped and drenched in sweat and fanned it randomly .
Ye Liuyun looked at the fan in his hand and a glimmer of amusement flashed through his eyes . He could see that this young man was actually very nervous deep in his heart .
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"Do not think that you understand everything and that you can control everything," Ye Liuyun said . "Otherwise, there will be a day that you will die very unfortunately . "
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