Joy of Life

The assassin’s head flipped back, only managing to hang on upside down by that lonely and thin vertebra. A blood red and disgusting throat faced the no longer snowing blue sky.

Without time to take a breath, Fan Xian flipped his hand pulled up the long sword stuck into the snowy ground. Rising to his toes, he curled his body into a ball and retreated quickly backward. After he curled into a ball, the surface area of his body exposed to the air became smaller. The grey-white Overwatch Council robes covered his entire body without any gaps.

The crossbows rang out again and again, like the austere killings on West Lake, but very few landed around Fan Xian’s body. His movements were truly too quick. Even fast crossbows were unable to hit him accurately.

Occasionally, a few bolts landed, but none were able to pierce through.

Fan Xian swept to a position above the city-guarding crossbows. Mobilizing the remnants of the Tyrannical zhenqi in his body, he turned his hand and flipped them over.

How much strength did this need?

The giant city-guarding crossbows rolled in the air and smashed heavily onto the two city-guarding crossbows to the side.

In this short amount of time, Fan Xian flicked the tip of his sword, landing a strike on the spring locks of the crossbow mechanism while it was still in the air. The mechanism was still nocked and stretched to its limits.

The Emperor’s sword Wang Qinian had sent from so far away was indeed a treasured blade rarely seen. The blade passed through, and the spring lock snapped without further reason.

All around them, the killers began to panic. Angrily yelling, they charged toward Fan Xian but had forgotten the problem of the city-guarding crossbows.

A series of heart-stopping creaks rang out from the top of the snowy mountain. With three enormous crashes, the city-guarding crossbows smashed together and immediately tilted in a different direction. While one of the bowstrings had already been snapped by Fan Xian, the completely metal arrow that had stored up power for a long time finally shot out.

But, it wasn’t aimed at the valley. It was aimed at the ground.

The powerful rebound made the enormous city-guarding crossbow jump up and flip half the height of a person. They directly came down on the group of people trying to kill Fan Xian.

After being run over, all that was left was a patch of blurry blood and flesh, broken arms and snapped legs.

The city-guarding crossbows that were smashed into were no longer able to control their bowstrings and mechanisms. With two twangs, they fired. The crossbow bolts flew out randomly without any direction.

Two sharp lights flashed by. One bolt landed on a young tree. How could the trunk of the tree endure such a powerful force? The bark flew off, and the hard wood split open like tofu. A large hole appeared in the middle. Immediately following this, it broke from this point in the tree and crashed down.

Fresh blood followed the terrifying bolt and flowed onto the ground. The three killers, who had been skewered into a meat skewer but were not dead yet, moaned continuously.

The scene was chaotic for a time.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Fan Xian once again secretly entered the snowy woods. Hiding in the tree branches, he breathed heavily and was careful to not let the fresh blood on his back fall down from the trees and startle those killers.

The other party had crossbows. If, at this moment, another group of crossbowmen surrounded the heavily injured Fan Xian, even he wasn’t sure he would be able to survive.

His task was already complete. The denseness of the crossbow bolts in the snowy woods had decreased greatly, and the three leaders were already dead. This further made these ambushers feel a chill in their hearts and panicked. There was no one giving orders, and they no longer had the backing of the three city-guarding crossbows. The pressure on the black carriages in the valley immediately lessened greatly.

Fan Xia hid in the trees and listened to the movements in the woods opposite. He knew the Shadow had already gotten there ahead of him and disturbed the camp on the top of that mountain. The hearts of the ambushers were unsettled. The assassins of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council finally had a chance to demonstrate their abilities.

Naturally, the people of the Overwatch Council knew when an opportunity had come. They didn’t need to wait for the orders of a leader. They had already charged out of the carriages. Pulling out the black hammers and dodging the now sparse rain of bolts, they silently and sinisterly entered the woods.

In the carriages, they had turned their black official robes inside out. Like grey-white spirits, they entered the snowy woods and began to use their methods and resentful anger to kill every life in the woods at all costs.

A long-planned ambush and crossbow fight had finally, under Fan Xian and the Shadow’s, these two aces’, desperate attacks, become a close range massacre in the woods.

There was no one in this world who were better than the assassins of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council at killing. Even the army of the most powerful Qing Kingdom, in the woods in a close range assassination battle, were still not a match for the Sixth Bureau.

Listening to the strange silence in the snowy woods, occasionally a crossbow would sound. Occasionally there would be the sounds of steps in the snow, the sound of metal hammers entering the abdomen, or a wretched cry.

Fan Xian knew that his subordinates had already taken the definite advantage. The revengeful slaughter was being carried out methodically and thoroughly. For the 200 archers who had ambushed the Overwatch Council, after making the Overwatch Council suffer heavy casualties and injuries, it would be impossible for them to survive.

His heart that had long been strung up finally relaxed.

...

...

No survivors, just has Fan Xian had expected. The swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau had attacked ruthlessly and not left a single survivor. Of course, this was not just because the Sixth Bureau had attacked ruthlessly. When the battle was about to end, the remaining 20-something archers had uniformly committed suicide.

Fan Xian stood on the snowy ground and looked coldly at these 20 odd bodies. Looking at the expression on their faces, he found that showed no sorrow or fear. There was only determination and loyalty.

The army of Qing Kingdom was indeed the most powerful martial force in the world. If this kind of discipline and bravery were placed on the battlefield, how terrifying that power would be.

There were 30 Overwatch Council officials in the black carriages in the valley. In the end, only about 20 people were able to enter the snowy woods. Just these 20 people managed to kill over a hundred archers.

In the woods on the two sides of the valley, behind those quiet and dark rocks and trees, there should be a number of bodies whose blood had already frozen solid.

Fan Xian’s emotion’s surged. Coughing a little, he coughed up some blood. Slowly turning his body, he looked at the bloody person on the ground.

He was covered in blood. One eyeball had been punctured by a dagger and looked as ugly as a deflated wineskin. His two arms had been neatly broken. His left hand was a bloody hole, and his right hand had been snapped by the Tyrannical zhenqi.

This was one of three aces from earlier, the one that had attacked Fan Xian from the back who had held onto him without fear even as he was about to die. Unexpected, in the end, he was the only one of the killers who had survived.

Fan Xian walked to his side and slowly raised his foot. Stepping on the person’s face, he stepped a few times to make him wake up.

The bloody person slowly awoke. His spiritless eyes swept around and saw the Overwatch Council secret agents around Fan Xian, as well as the bodies of his brothers scattered through the woods. After a wave of sorrow, he recovered his resolution. Suddenly, a pitiful expression appeared in his eyes, resisting the pain, he said in a trembling voice, “Sir, don’t kill me. I am willing to do anything...”

There came the sound of teeth closing.

Fan Xian’s hand shot out like lightning and stuck his finger into the man’s mouth. With a wrench, the man’s chin was bloodily forced open a notch, unable to fully close again, a few teeth even came out with it.

Fan Xian stretched out his hand and wiped away the blood on the snow beside him. “Don’t think about committing suicide. You are still useful to me...now, your hand is gone and you cannot close your mouth, how will you show your loyalty through death?”

“Help him stop the bleeding. Let him live.”

Fan Xian gave the order to his subordinates beside him. He then slowly walked toward the valley at the bottom of the mountain. As he walked, he coughed blood, and blood flowed down his back.

Hong Changqing followed behind him. He wanted to help hold him up but had his hand thrown off obstinately.

Hong Changqing’s luck was not bad. He had not died today under the rain of crossbow bolts. Only his left shoulder had received a light injury.

However, the other people in the Overwatch Council did not have such good luck. Of the 30 people who had followed Fan Xian back to the capital, almost half had died. The surviving ones had all been injured and were very weak.

All the way to the valley, the Overwatch Council officials along the way slightly inclined their bodies in greeting. This was a show of respect to the Commissioner from the depths of their hearts. Everyone knew, without the Commissioner’s fearless secret attack, every one of the Overwatch Council officials would probably have died in the valley.

Gradually, the Overwatch Council officials gathered behind Fan Xian. Dragging the only survivor, they returned to the valley, to the side of those broken carriages.

...

...

Fan Xian crouched down beside his overturned carriage. His finger pulled at the shattered shaft and occasionally slanted a glance at the dead coachman inside the carriage. His expression was calm. No one knew what he was thinking. He also refused the requests of his Overwatch Council subordinates to treat his wounds.

Why? What was all this for?

The valley was covered with the bodies of provincial soldiers. Which faction was so daring as to carry out an ambush in a valley so close to Jingdou? Who had the power to mobilize so many aces from the military and even moved the city-guarding crossbows here?

The city-guarding crossbows were the second point of suspicion in this incident. The killers needed time to install the crossbows and would also have to make a great deal of noise. Why did the Jingdou garrison, who were responsible for the safety of the areas around Jingdou, not notice anything?

However, what most chilled Fan Xian’s heart was how could the other party have calculated the time of his return to the capital so precisely? From Yingzhou to Weizhou, he had created a diversion. He had the Jiangnan water bandits put out a fake rumor and had traveled straight ahead. If they wanted to kill him, these soldiers could not have been ambushed near Jingdou for too long. How could they have calculated the timing so precisely?

What was even more terrifying was that even though they were closer to Jingdou, Fan Xian had never let down his guard. Every 3 li he would send out a scout. Why had the first scout reported that everything was as normal? Did the scout not discover the unusualness in the valley? Until the Shadow warned him ahead of time...

Countless questions surged into Fan Xian’s mind. There was one set of questions in particular that made his entire body run cold.

Today’s situation had been completely different from the situation at the Hanging Temple.

Today’s situation was a deadlock. The other party had used such a powerful force and such meticulous preparation, they had wanted, without a question, to kill him. If the Eldest Princess had incited Yan Xiaoyi to act, then something major must have happened in Jingdou. Only then would the other party be so unrestrained and dare to look down on the Emperor in such a way...but, if unrest had truly appeared in Jingdou, even if the Palace was unable to send news out.

Fan Xian thought somewhat darkly, What about you? Even if all the people in the world were frozen, but you...must have a way to let me know.

This was a mutually contradictory proposition. If there was no major unrest in Jingdou, then it could not explain why the Eldest Princess and Yan Xiaoyi dared do something so major. If there truly was unrest in Jingdou, why did he not receive a warning earlier?

...

...

“Sir, you should make a decision,” a member of the Qinian Unit with fresh blood drying on his face said quietly beside Fan Xian’s ear. The people in the Qinian Unit had been with Fan Xian the longest, so their words were relatively direct. This person said in a low voice, “Should we retreat back to Weizhou and first establish contact with Jingdou or directly enter Jingdou?”

Fan Xian was silent. Glancing around at his heavily injured subordinates, he knew he had to immediately make a decision.

If there really was great unrest in Jingdou, then he and his group would be going to their deaths in the capital.

He was silent for a long time. He suddenly raised his head. Looking at Jingdou’s city walls that could faintly be seen outside the valley, he coldly and valiantly said, “Light the flares.”

“Yes.”

A rocket flare shot into the sky from the snowy valley carrying with it a shrill cry and a bright light that swallowed the snowy sky and dim day.

This was the Overwatch Council’s first-level danger and request for help signal. The entire Qing Kingdom army and Overwatch Council system used this kind of signal. Fan Xian did not know whether the people who would arrive in a while to receive them would be of the military or the Overwatch Council.

He hoped it was the former.

...

...

After an indeterminable amount of time, the sound of horse hooves clip-clopping as urgently as a rain shower sounded from outside the valley, as did the sound of horses neighing. In a brief moment, a group of about 200 cavalry rode into the mountain valley. The cavalry’s armor was bright and neat, and their weapons were to their side. They appeared very stern, however, they didn’t even have the time to raise a banner.

In Fan Xian’s eyes, not having a banner was a bit strange. Having just gone through a bloody assassination, he wasn’t willing to trust anyone.

The person in the lead was a 30-something-year-old middle-aged man with a stern expression. A short beard floated below his chin. He wore a sword by his waist. There was a glimmer of confusion in his stern expression.

When he saw the bodies and horse corpses around the valley and mountain, the overturned carriages everywhere, and the bolts deep in the cracks of rocks, other than confusion in this general’s expression there was also a boundless shock and faint anger.

The general raised his clenched right fist and said in a high voice, “Take precautions.”

The 200 riders behind him immediately became alert and gazed at everything in the mountain valley.

The man rose with a dark expression into the mountain valley. He rode directly to the side of Fan Xian beside the carriage. Very smoothly, he flipped off his horse. Holding the long sword in his hand, he asked in a low voice, “Are you alright?”

Fan Xian coughed and gazed at him “What do you think?”

“Who did this?” The general’s expression was full of murderous intent as he asked through gritted teeth.

Fan Xian lowered his head and suddenly opened his mouth to say, “I had not thought that the person who came would be you...are there no other generals among the Jingdou garrison? I am surprised to have disturbed the Commander of Defense to come rescue us.”

The person who had come was the second son of the Qin family, the current head of the Jingdou garrison and the most popular figure from the military in the court, Qin Heng.

Qin Heng saw that Fan Xian was still alive and able to talk, so he knew that the enemies must have already been purged. Only now did he relax and sigh. “The Overwatch Council’s first-level request for help. Everyone in Jingdou knew that you were almost back, of course, I guessed it was you...it almost scared me to death. How could I not come?”

He lowered his voice and smiled self-mockingly. “If you died, who knows how many of the Jingdou garrison would die with you.”

Actually, the instant he had seen Qin Heng enter the valley, Fan Xian had relaxed. Since the Qin family was still in control of the power of the Jingdou garrison, that meant the Emperor still had control of the Jingdou army. Nothing should have gone wrong in Jingdou.

But, he still asked, “Is everything fine in Jingdou?”

Qin Heng understood what he was worried and shook his head, “All is quiet.”

Fan Xian lowered his head and said, “Then...this is truly very strange.”

Qin Heng also understood what he meant by this. If all was quiet in Jingdou...then who dared to brave the danger of the Emperor’s rage to go assassinate a royal child?

...

...

Fan Xian loosely recounted today’s events to Qin Heng. Qin Heng listened in fright and said with a frown, “These people truly have the ambition of wild wolves.”

Fan Xian suddenly gazed at him and asked, “You are in charge of the Jingdou garrison. For there to be such powerful soldiers hidden here in a valley so close to Jingdou...how do you explain it?”

“It’s impossible to explain,” Qin Heng said straightforwardly. “This is our problem.”

Fan Xian nodded his head.

Qin Heng said, “Go back. Your injuries need tending to.” He then sighed and said, “These people attacked very ruthlessly. Are all your subordinates dead?”

“No.” Fan Xian coughed and smiled slightly. “My subordinates are all waiting for you.”

From the woods on the two sides of the valley, a dozen Overwatch Council agents slowly walked out. They had handheld crossbows in their hands and were calmly and coldly pointing them at Qin Heng as well as the Jingdou garrison troops who were cleaning up the bodies.

Qin Heng’s expression changed slightly and said, “What? You don’t trust me?”

“Who do you think I can trust right now?” Fan Xian mockingly smiled. “Don’t forget, I almost became a ghost earlier.”

Qin Heng silently shook his head and said helplessly, “If you think pointing these small crossbows at me can make you feel at ease, then do so.” Following this, he furrowed his brows. “How about I take you back to Jingdou first? You might feel much safer that way. The cleanup work here can be given to the Jingdou garrison to do. This is our job anyway.”

This heir of the Qin family spoke calmly and seriously. “If it is really as you said that the military has had a hand in this matter, trust me, the old Qin family will definitely help you get justice.”

Fan Xian shook his head and said, “There is no need. We can go together. I want to keep these bodies.”

Qin Heng knew what kind of rage lay hidden under Fan Xian’s calm expression. He nodded and looked again at the almost dead, but not yet executed killer, and asked, “What about this survivor? The Emperor may want to question him himself.”

Fan Xian expressionlessly said, “All the dead people in this valley are mine. This live one is also mine.”

...

...

For the moment, they could do nothing about the bodies of the provincial soldiers. They only carried out the bodies of the Overwatch Council officials who had died in the line of duty. They also gathered in one place the dead bodies of the killers from the woods on the two sides.

Fan Xian looked at the cold bodies of his subordinates and slightly tilted his head, then he glanced at the bodies of the killers. In a quiet voice, he said, “Look after the bodies of our brothers, as for these people...what is the point of dragging all these bodies? Chop their heads off and bring them back to Jingdou.”

Hong Changqing relayed the order from his side in a high voice.

Qin Heng watched this scene from the side and furrowed his brows slightly. If nothing had gone wrong, these bodies were also good soldiers in the military. Because of conflicts in the court, they had become killers who had tried to kill an imperial envoy of the court, so, naturally, their deaths were not a loss. But Fan Xian’s humiliating treatment of the bodies seemed to make this young general in the military slightly uncomfortable.

Fan Xian completely ignored the feelings of Qin Heng. He carried a glimmer of joking expression as he watched his subordinates chopping heads.

After all the cleanup was done, the rest of the blood and bodies, dead horses and broken carriages would be dealt with by a follow-up staff from the court.

Half of the Jingdou garrison riders dismounted and carefully helped the bodies of the Overwatch Council officials onto the horse. At the same time, they also had the injured Overwatch Council officials mount the horses.

This was all Qin Heng’s decision. He knew that at his juncture, he had to do everything he could to calm Fan Xian’s and the Overwatch Council’s anger.

The Overwatch Council and military always had a close relationship, and their friendship was old. Because of this battle in the little mountain valley, there would certainly now be a wound that would be difficult to ever close and heal.

After Fan Xian had mounted a horse, Qin Heng flipped on the horse and said calmly beside him, “Have you thought about the fact that if it really was the military who wished to harm you...at this moment, I could have you all killed.”

The Overwatch Council officials had already withdrawn their crossbows and were all heavily injured. Qin Heng had 200 cavalry, so he indeed at the confidence to say this.

But Fan Xian did not even glance at him.

Behind the two of them were the horses carrying the bodies of the Overwatch Council officials. Suddenly, the body on one of the horses bounced up.

The corpse was like a spirit as it swept over the distance of three horses and lightly landed behind Qin Heng and sat on his horse, laying close to the back of his chest. Such intimacy...it was like he was his shadow.

Qin Heng was greatly shocked. However, he only had time to half draw the long sword at his waist when he noticed that the person behind him had gently blown a breath of air on the back of his neck—it was very icy cold.

Qin Heng knew, if he were attacked without time to defend—given the terrifying ability of the person behind him and under these circumstances—if the other person wanted to kill him, even if Great Grandmaster Ye Liuyun came, he would not be able to save him.

The shadow behind him was disguised as a normal secret agent. He wore the grey-white clothes with his head lowered. It was as if he were falling asleep.

Qin Heng fell silent. He sheathed his word and glanced at Fan Xian. He did not look at him. Fan Xian’s eyes were narrowed and looking at Jingdou in the distance.