Chapter 618: 618
A clear and bright moon shone down on Dongyi, forming layers of shadows on the endless buildings . The light was not very brilliant . Combined with the slightly salty sea wind wafting across the harbor, it filled the air with an alluring scent . It was as if someone had thrown a dried salted plum into a glass of clear Wu Liangye . It floated in the clear glass, hiding the burning killing intent dangerously under the light fragrance .
The back door of a two-story private residence opened slightly . Two human shadows stacked on top of each other passed through the door . Immediately, the people behind the door shut it tightly . At the same time, a secret signal came from outside the residence to signal safety so no one followed .
This was a secret stronghold the Qing Kingdom's Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau had established . The man responsible for this stronghold was the owner of a book and art store . He had been waiting all night . He didn't expect that he would end up waiting for an injured person . After he opened the door, he nervously held the dagger in his hand . He stood without moving behind the back door . Carefully, he watched for movements around the stronghold . It was imperative that if things went wrong, he would be able to sound the alarm at the first instant .
The moonlight spilling into the courtyard suddenly dimmed . The owner raised his eyes nervously but didn't see anything strange . He also didn't notice a shadow floating in through the gap between the doors on the second floor of the residence .
Inside the room, Fan Xian placed Thirteenth Wang on the bed . He stared at his pale face closely for a moment . He then lifted his lip and looked at the coating of his tongue . He also turned his ear to listen to his pulse and the sounds of his breathing . His brows slowly pulled together .
It had to be a terrifying poison to be able to disperse all of the zhenqi from the powerful Thirteenth Wang and have his entire body become soft and weak . There was not enough time . Fan Xian couldn't precisely deduce what kind of drug the first disciple of the Sword Hut, Yun Zhilan, had given Thirteenth Wang . He did have a rough idea as to the major components and effects of the drug .
He thought for a moment and then took out a little bag that never left his side from inside his clothing . Choosing a light brown pill from inside, he crushed it between two of his fingers and stuffed it between Thirteenth Wang's lips . Bringing over half a pitcher of cold water from the table, he forcefully poured it down his throat .
The cold water splashed across the front of Thirteenth Wang's clothes . This strong warrior, who had killed the Left Virtuous Prince of the Western Hu and had been able to kill his way out of the imperial tent, did not react . He had already fainted .
A sliver of coldness flashed across Fan Xian's eyes . Pressing together his dried lips, he splayed his palm across Thirteenth Wang's chest and pressed and stroked . His hands moved like water . Pushing slightly with his zhenqi, he helped Thirteenth Wang swallow the medicine .
After doing this, only then did Fan Xian relax slightly . Silently, he sat by Thirteenth Wang's side and waited for the medicine to start having an effect .
He glanced at the shadow beside the door, silently and without words . It was as if he was thinking about an important problem .
The medicine gradually came into effect . Beads of sweat began to seep out of Thirteenth Wang's forehead . Fan Xian knew that the time had come . Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he closed his eyes and used the natural and pure Tianyi Dao zhenqi to help him counter the poison and see his injuries .
In Jiangnan, all of the meridians in Fan Xian's body had been shattered . He had relied completely on Haitang Duoduo using Tianyi Dao's martial methods to help him recover his meridians . Thirteenth Wang had already been deeply poisoned . His meridians were in a mess . Fan Xian could faintly feel that his meridians were perforated with thousands of tiny wounds . At least, it was much easier to treat than Fan Xian's previous situation .
The medicine would not be able to completely remove all of the poison in Thirteenth Wang's body . Along with Fan Xian's healing zhenqi, it would have a result . After Fei Jie left, Xiao En died, and Dongyi's master of poison disappeared without a trace, Fan Xian was the foremost expert in using and countering poisons . Although the poison Yun Zhilan had used was powerful, it couldn't stump him .
Outside the room door, the Shadow silently stood guard over the countering of the poison . He coldly watched Thirteenth Wang, whose face grew redder and redder, thinking about something only he knew .
After an indeterminable amount of time, Thirteenth Wang finally opened his eyes and woke up . In the moment he woke up, he didn't look at Fan Xian, who had labored to rescue him . Instead, he looked directly at the middle-aged man in the shadow of the door with a sharp and chilling light .
Thirteenth Wang didn't know who the man was . He only knew that he was about 40 and he had met him once in a coincidental situation in Qingzhou . He knew he was Fan Xian's trusted aide . Thirteenth Wang had originally thought that this unfathomable middle-aged man was a secret agent of the Overwatch Council . However, before he had fainted on Fan Xian's back, he had clearly seen, in the moonlight, this man's attack toward his fourth brother disciple .
Sigu Sword! The secret of the Sword Hut was never taught to outsiders . Only the 13 true disciples of the Sword Hut cold practice the Sigu Sword .
He stared at the Shadow and asked in a very raspy voice, "Who exactly are you?" Thirteenth Wang was weak, but his gaze was cautious and complicated .
Fan Xian slowly took his hands back from Thirteenth Wang's back . He had burned through too much of his zhenqi . The sweat on his body was flowing like syrup and had covered his face . He heard Thirteenth Wang ask this question with shock and nervousness . His brows furrowed slightly . He had not thought that right after Thirteenth Wang had escaped from death's door, he would return to the Sword Hut's side and develop a powerful enmity and focus toward the Shadow .
The Shadow lowered his head slightly and focused his gaze on the tip of his toes, completely ignoring Thirteenth Wang's question . It was hard to tell if he felt unamused, bored, or that it was beneath his dignity .
He was Sigu Jian's younger brother . Naturally, he felt rather absurd to be questioned like this by Sigu Jian's youngest disciple . In the entire world, no more than four people knew of his true identity . Before he had Fan Xian's permission, the Shadow would not allow anyone to know his connection to the Sword Hut .
Following the Shadow's forced action tonight, this massive secret would probably draw the guesses of many people .
Fan Xian moved from the back of the bed and sat by Thirteenth Wang's side with his head down . Burying his head between his shoulders, he appeared particularly tired . The sweat on his body gave off waves of an unpleasant smell .
Thirteenth Wang didn't give him his thanks . He only stared fixedly at the Shadow like a tiger . It seemed that if the Shadow did not give him an answer, even though he was weak and had just been controlled by his brothers of the Sword Hut through sinister means, he would still attack the Shadow in the name of the Sword Hut .
Fan Xian kept his head down and raised the index finger of his right hand to sniff at it gently . His fingertip carried the sweat forced from Thirteenth Wang's body . It felt slightly oily . He immediately deduced the ingredients in this poison . His heart thudded . Murderous intent blazed in his eyes . He said, "What a powerful poison . Thirteen, your big brother truly loves you . "
Hearing these words, Thirteenth Wang fell silent . After all, two aces from the Qing Kingdom had rescued him tonight from the hands of his own brothers .
Fan Xian suddenly waved his hand and said with exhaustion, "This poison is too powerful . I don't have the medicine I need on hand . It is impossible to clean out all the poison just by forcing it out with zhenqi . You'll have to rest for at least a few days to recover . If you have any questions, ask them tomorrow after you've woken up . "
Thirteenth Wang coughed forcefully . It seemed he wasn't satisfied, but he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier . He then fell toward the bed .
Fan Xian flipped his hand and pulled out the thin needle in Thirteenth Wang's neck . Shaking his head, he rose from the side of the bed . He picked up the half-pot of cold tea and drank it, which triggered another round of sweating . He felt completely exhausted .
He pushed open the door and went out . He sat in the shadows beneath the eaves of the room . The Shadow came to sit at his side .
After a moment of silence, Fan Xian said, "Earlier, it was fortunate that you came . Otherwise, I'm sure if I would have returned alive . "
Thinking about the four ninth-level aces from the Sword Hut and the seemingly relaxed but actually dangerous place, Fan Xian's heart filled with delayed fear and coldness . The heroes of the world should indeed not be underestimated . Although he was not afraid of people, fighting alone and being surrounded by several ninth-level aces was terrifying . It was particularly so since he couldn't bear to throw down Thirteenth Wang . If the Shadow had not suddenly appeared in that patch of moonlight, it was unclear what conclusion he would have faced .
After parting at the stall that sold Pacific saury, the order Fan Xian had given the Shadow was to contact the spies the Overwatch Council concealed in Dongyi . Alone, he had gone to the plum garden . He had not thought that the Shadow would be able to complete his task so quickly and return to his side to save his life .
"Before dealing with the affairs of the Sixth Bureau, I am first a shadow," the Shadow said coldly at his side .
Fan Xian was silent for a moment . He knew what the Shadow's words meant . Previously, he had been Chen Pingping's shadow, so he never left Chen Pingping's side . Later, Chen Pingping ordered him to protect Fan Xian, so he had become his shadow that never left his side .
Even though Fan Xian had given him greater responsibilities and had the Shadow deal with affairs of the Council, the Shadow still felt a strong sense of unease after leaving his side for a short period of time . He chose to find Fan Xian as quickly as possible . His style of doing things was secretly following by Fan Xian's side, protecting him at all times .
The sea wind blew over, making the sweat on Fan Xian's body even colder . It forced him to shiver . He was a powerful warrior above the ninth-level and had long become unaffected by the cold and heat . However, he shivered now, which was enough to prove the current coldness in his heart .
The coldness was because of the internal collapse of the Sword Hut . Yun Zhilan had acted against Thirteenth Wang ruthlessly . Furthermore, so many aces of the Sword Hut had stood on his side . Had the near-death Sigu Jian already lost control of the Sword Hut?
The coldness was also because of the earlier dangerous situation . His sweating was not just from forcing the poison out of Thirteenth Wang's body . It was also because of the four terrifying swords . Fan Xian's spirit had not yet settled .
Yet, there was still an even more terrifying matter . This matter pressed down on his heart and made it difficult for him to breathe . The terror took over his entire body .
It was clear that the Shadow knew what he was afraid of right, so he also appeared dignified in a way never seen before . Sitting by his side, he didn't say a word .
The present scene made Fan Xian think of his first trip down Jiangnan . Under the eaves outside the Shazhou Inn, he and this best assassin in the world had sat knee to knee . Although their conversation had not been cheerful, he had scooped up a lot of benefits . Now, they sat side by side again . The two people's moods were both heavy .
"Why didn't you kill that Sword Hut ace earlier?" Fan Xian's voice had become dry because of his nervousness .
"He had four ninth-level aces . For us to be able to pass through with one move relied on an extraordinary surprise and using sword intent to intimidate their state of mind," the Shadow closed his eyes and solemnly said . "I was still only able to heavily injure one person . You didn't really hurt the third disciple . If the they came to their senses, we might have been able to escape . We still wouldn't have been able to kill them all . "
"I have to admit that my stupid brother is the best at teaching disciples . "
The Shadow's words related a truth known to the world . Of the four Great Grandmasters, Ye Liuyun did not take disciples, the Qing Emperor roughly had Fan Xian, while Ku He's Tianyi Dao had many disciples . The only one who had cultivated countless aces was Sigu Jian . Directly under the Sword Hut were 12 ninth-level disciples . This was an astonishing number .
After Fan Xian was silent for a long time, he suddenly said, "During these three years, I've been careful . Once I use Sigu Sword, the person dies . I have never let a living person see me use the moves of Sigu Sword . "
"My sword has never left anyone alive . " The Shadow coldly stated a fact . Once this top assassin struck, no one had ever survived .
"What about Yun Zhilan?" Fan Xian asked . Three years ago in Jiangnan, the Shadow had led the Sixth Bureau swordsmen in pursuit of the Sword Hut disciples led by Yun Zhilan all over the world . He had forced the dark power of Dongyi out of Suzhou and Hangzhou, performing a great service for Fan Xian's ordering of Jiangnan .
"When I hunted Yun Zhilan, I wasn't using my original sword," the Shadow replied after a moment of silence .
Fan Xian gently nodded his head . Even when the Shadow had been by the side of the fishing boat on West Lake under the Hangzhou building and had launched a surprise attack against Yun Zhilan, he had only been able to heavily injure him . It seemed the Shadow was also worried that he wouldn't be able to kill Yun Zhilan . He had held back so he didn't expose his identity .
"In this entire world, only the five tonight, no six, if Thirteenth Wang is included, then seven people can possibly know of this secret . " Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a bit . He then said, "The problem is that we are unable to silence these people . Say, when do you think Sigu Jian will guess that you are his younger brother who survived by a fluke?"
The Shadow was silent for a long time and then slowly said, "Perhaps he knew the Shadow of the Overwatch Council was me a long time ago . "
After hearing this, Fan Xian sank into a helpless calm . He knew the matter he was most afraid of might become a reality because of this visit to Dongyi .
He raised his head to look at the bright moon and then lowered it . Indistinctly, he mumbled, "If Sigu Jian could keep our secret for us, wouldn't that be great?"
The Shadow glanced at him and didn't say anything, but he couldn't hold back his amusement .
Fan Xian suddenly let out a long sigh . Looking at the Shadow, he smiled slightly and asked, "How did it feel to assassinate the Emperor in the Hanging Temple?"
The Shadow thought for a moment then said, "It felt pretty good . "
Fan Xian shrugged and didn't say anything more .
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