Joy of Life

Having left Cangzhou, the diplomatic mission was escorted for a distance by the Black Knights, slowly and steadily making their way north. Northern Qi was not truly to the north of the Kingdom of Qing, but rather to its northeast. Between the two countries lay a great number of powerless vassal states. On the eastern shore lay the largest city in the land and its most prosperous seaport – the City of Dongyi.

The route the diplomatic mission had chosen did not go through the vassal states, because the more cities the route passed through, the harder it was to be on guard. Of course, the implementation of this secret agreement between the two countries could not pass through the City of Dongyi either. If the once-demented Sigu Sword were to descend into madness, then it could provoke a war between all three states; who would want to be responsible for that result?

So the diplomatic mission crossed north of the wastelands, then made its way eastward around a great lake. Although the route was much longer, it was also much quieter. Save for a few horse thieves, there was unlikely to be anyone strong enough to cause them harm.

The journey was quiet. Xiao En was quiet, as was Si Lili. Even Fan Xian, the most important person on the diplomatic mission, kept quiet. Each person had their own reason for their silence.

Fan Xian withdrew the fine needle from Xiao En’s hand, carefully looking over the old man’s always-weary face. Xiao En suddenly opened his eyes. The cold light in his gaze hit Fan Xian’s face as if it had taken physical form. He smiled. “The younger generation are brazen, not caring who sees them.”

“I have a question,” said Xiao En, slowly closing his eyes. “Why do you bind my elbow with cloth? I can guess that it makes my veins more prominent. But is it really necessary that you go to such trouble to pour this poison into my veins?”

“It is.” Fan Xian smiled. An intravenous injection, of course, was a much faster method of administering poison than putting it in food. No one in this world knew methods for intravenous injection, but that didn’t mean that Fan Xian didn’t. For the fearsome Xiao En, normal poisons had had no effect, and his zhenqi was formidable indeed. Only intravenous injection could have any effect. Xiao En frowned, and after some time, he suddenly spoke. “This method seems somewhat familiar, and I will admit that it is indeed effective... it is a shame that I have gotten so old that I have forgotten who it was.”

Fan Xian’s heart skipped a beat, but his face showed no response. He smiled. “Think back in your own time, Mr. Xiao.”

“Those riders in the distance are Chen Pingping’s minions, correct?” Xiao En suddenly spoke.

Fan Xian was taken aback. There were no windows in the carriage, and he was separated by a thick layer of steel. For him to be able to know that the distant Black Knights encircled them was truly rather remarkable. “They are the Black Knights,” he replied gently. “The descendants of the ones who made that daring dash years ago.” He was referring to Chen Pingping’s leadership of the Black Knights years before, when they had kidnapped Xiao En from his son’s wedding and brought him back to the Kingdom of Qing.

It had been Xiao En’s greatest humiliation, and had left him incurably wounded.

“When are you preparing to kill me?” Xiao En spoke casually again, without a hint of emotion in his voice.

It was a sudden change in questioning, suggesting some kind of hypnosis. An ordinary person might perhaps have unthinkingly fallen into the trap – but Fan Xian was no ordinary person. “What?” he said, somewhat astonished.

Xiao En smiled, a faint redness in his narrowed eyes. “I think Chen Pingping does not want me to return to the north.”

Fan Xian shook his head. “I am not in the habit of thinking about my superiors’ motives. I simply wish to do my job.”

“You are a fine young man.” Xiao En looked at him calmly and slowly moved his wrist, placing his heavy iron chain onto the table.

“What makes you say so, Mr. Xiao?”

“We have travelled for many days, and although you spend much of your time in that young woman’s carriage, you do not allow your fondness for her to blind you to your duty.” Xiao En spoke indifferently. “Most importantly, you have not ceased practicing every day, morning and evening. Your willpower is far greater than mine, even in my youth.”

Fan Xian smiled. “I work to compensate for my limited skill. I know that my strength is not great and my innate gifts are not enough. Naturally, I must practice.”

Xiao En shook his head. “Your innate gifts are very good and your powers are strong. But you have never challenged true strength by yourself, so you have had no way to rouse the true strength of the zhenqi within you.”

Fan Xian looked calmly at the old man’s withered smile. His eyes were deep as wells. He couldn’t help but think – what if the old man was the first truly powerful person that he could challenge alone?

Having left Cangzhou, the diplomatic mission was under the jurisdiction of the northern army. Their camp was 50 kilometers away from this stretch of grassland. Fan Xian did not wish to cross paths with the ninth-level master Yan Xiaoyi. The mission took a roundabout route, and in any case, they were under the escort of the Black Knights, so he presumed that no one would dare try anything. Over the past few days, scouts from bands of mountain outlaws had tried to discreetly spy on them, but the Black Knights, watching from afar and leading from the front, had scared them back into the mountains, from which they did not dare to emerge for months.

Xiao En was still quiet. Si Lili was also quiet, and gradually looked increasingly thin and pallid.

Fan Xian looked coldly at the two escorted prisoners, unsure what he was feeling. Over their days together, for some reason, he had developed pity for Si Lili. Firstly, he pitied her lot in life, and secondly, he pitied her fate. But Fan Xian trusted his own willpower. He would not save a little only to lose a lot. If something really happened between himself and Si Lili, then it would cause great problems for the Overwatch Council’s plans in Northern Qi.

He didn’t know how the young Emperor of Northern Qi knew that Si Lili was still a virgin. But if he were to discover that Si Lili had already lost her virginity, then Operation Red Sleeve would be of no use at all.

But Fan Xian did not much want to look at Si Lili’s somewhat frustrated face. It seemed that the grasp she had on him was not that strong, so he did not go back into her carriage, and instead spent more time in Xiao En’s carriage, gaining news and gossip about the past years from the seemingly-silent old man, insider details from around the country. On one hand, he truly learned much from the once-terrifying spymaster; on the other hand, Fan Xian did not want to give Xiao En too much time to arrange things in secret.

As the journey carried on and the air outside got colder, the conversations between the shadowy figures of the old man and the young man gradually turned from the old Kingdom of Northern Wei to current affairs.

“No one can truly unite the land,” said Xiao En casually, looking at him. Over the days, he had gradually warmed to Fan Xian’s conversations with him. This young official Fan Xian was a fine conversation partner.

“The Emperor of Qing once had two opportunities. One was after the Third Northern Expedition.” Fan Xian frowned. “The strength of the Qing army at the time was enough to head north and eliminate Northern Qi.”

Xiao En shook his head. “At that time I was already in prison, and had not heard such news. But hearing your explanations over the past few days, I think there could only have been two reasons why the Emperor at the time suddenly halted his advance. One reason is problems in the internal politics of the royal court. The other was that he met with powerful resistance that made him decide that hastily heading northward was a risky idea.”

Fan Xian thought for a moment. At that point, the incident with the Ye family had yet to erupt. The royal court was entirely under the control of the Emperor and his mother; by all logic there should not have been any internal strife. As for external enemies... he frowned. Could there really have been anything in the world with the strength to stop the advance of the powerful Kingdom of Qing?

“The temple.” Xiao En seemed to have guessed what Fan Xian was thinking, and gave him an answer.

Fan Xian shook his head. “An illusory target would not be enough to stop men’s ambitions or lust for power. For an Emperor, the lure of uniting the land and making the four seas as one would be too great.”

Xiao En smiled in agreement. “With many years of war between north and south, even if Qing to the south were to defeat Qi, if they wanted to truly stabilize the situation and wipe out all remaining power, it would have taken over a decade. What’s more, do not forget the City of Dongyi... the place in the world with the highest concentration of ninth-level masters. Although their power is not enough to defend themselves and expand into new territory, if they make alliances, they can still cause chaos under the leadership of that idiot Sigu Sword.”

“A triangle is most stable, and the three nations are like a three-legged vessel. It is truly the most stable infrastructure.” Fan Xian nodded. “Even if the three powers have their own strengths and weaknesses, if any wanted to break the equilibrium, then they would be the one to suffer the greatest loss.”

“The royal court of the Kingdom of Qing is the same.” Xiao En looked at him with a smile that was not a smile. “The Emperor, the officials, and that one you said was mad, but is in fact treacherous: the eldest princess. They form a triangle, as you say. Whoever wishes to break the balance will come to harm.”

Over the past few days, Fan Xian had not refrained from discussing matters of the Qing court. There were no secrets. If that old man did not die after reaching Northern Qi, he had plenty of ways to find out.

Fan Xian’s temples began to ache. For some reason, he began to remember Si Lili’s gentle touch. “If everyone were smart enough, then they would keep the balance as it is.”

“Impossible.” Fan Xian looked at him. “Because you moved first, your opponent must react. I wager that the capital has already become a complete mess. In bringing me to the north, you were lucky to miss such chaos. It’s rather a pity.”

Fan Xian was shocked. Then he listened intently as Xiao En began to give a dispassionate analysis of the situation in the capital.