In the days that followed, Xu Fan always felt a little uncomfortable living like this.
On one hand, Xianglan was like she’d caught some kind of paranoia—every few days she would ask him questions related to Ji Hanyue. He even started to wonder whether it was his imagination, because he kept feeling like Xianglan had a pretty big grudge against his master.
On the other hand, there was an indescribable strange feeling—Xu Fan always felt like someone was secretly watching him.
That eerie sensation of being spied upon didn’t show up often, but it was especially obvious whenever he was alone—particularly when he was bathing.
Xu Fan couldn’t find the reason, and he couldn’t be bothered to create trouble for himself. Every day, he stuck to one principle: go with the flow and lie flat. His biggest tasks were eating and sleeping.
When he had nothing to do, he liked strolling around the city, hoping to run into some blind old bastard who would come provoke him—so he could pull off a cool “play the pig to eat the tiger” move and shock everyone.
But for some reason—maybe because Chiba City had honest, simple folk, or for some other reason—after all this time, Xu Fan still hadn’t encountered a single troublemaker with no sense at all. At most, he would occasionally hear rumors about certain cultivators who liked committing evil deeds mysteriously disappearing in the city.
And so, in this lukewarm, uneventful way, half a year passed.
It had to be said: Xu Fan might be a determined person, but even he couldn’t withstand Xianglan constantly whispering in his ear every few days. Especially after she found a few more distant relatives who had supposedly been “crippled” by Ji Hanyue back then, Xu Fan began to see the matter in a new light.
Looking at the several cultivators in front of him—raggedly dressed, missing arms or legs—Xu Fan thought to himself, “Even if Xianglan is telling the truth, all it proves is that these people must’ve had rotten character when they were young. Otherwise, master—someone so good-tempered—wouldn’t have beaten them into this state…”
That’s right.
After his own reasoning and analysis, Xu Fan still stood firmly on Ji Hanyue’s side.
There were mainly two reasons. The first was his unwavering trust in Ji Hanyue’s character.
As for the second reason… it was a little hard to explain.
It was that several times, when Xu Fan was almost swayed and was about to follow along with Xianglan’s slander against Ji Hanyue, an extremely ominous premonition would suddenly rise in his heart—as though if he truly said those things, something horrifying would happen.
Luckily, Xu Fan’s problem was with his cognition, not his intelligence.
When he linked it to the fact that master had reached the Half-God Realm—something he had never achieved in his previous lives—Xu Fan guessed that Ji Hanyue might have awakened some kind of divine power beyond his imagination. Maybe she could even sense his every move from far away.
So Xu Fan very wisely started playing dumb.
Xianglan: Your master is a bad person.
Xu Fan: The weather’s nice today. Perfect for sleeping.
Xianglan: Xu Fan, are you even listening to me?
Xu Fan: Of course I am!
Xianglan: Then what did I just say?
Xu Fan: (Repeats) Xu Fan, are you even listening to me?
Xianglan: ???
…
If nothing unexpected happened, perhaps his final destination would be to live out the rest of his life peacefully in this small Chiba City.
Unfortunately, it seemed someone didn’t want Xu Fan to live such a calm and stable life.
The previously quiet Xu residence courtyard suddenly gained several uninvited guests today.
Xu Fan stood up from the rocking chair with a helpless expression.
He looked over the gloomy man in front of him dressed in a chief eunuch’s uniform, and immediately guessed seven or eight parts of their purpose, leaving him even more resigned.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the chief eunuch He Jin smiled and went straight to the point, “Xu Fan, although you are a commoner, you should still have heard something about court affairs.”
“Recently, rumors have been spreading everywhere throughout the court. The Directorate of Astronomy’s celestial predictions even directly stated that the former eldest princess may return one day. His Majesty has been deeply worried over this—so much so that he no longer has the mind to oversee and manage major affairs of state.”
“But fortunately, several lords at court have well-informed sources. They once said that the eldest princess Ji Hanyue must have fled into the Supreme Void Immortal Mountain for refuge back then. That is why I came specifically, hoping you can contribute your strength to the court.”
Xu Fan felt a headache coming on.
He had the system, so he knew the “eldest princess Ji Hanyue” He Jin spoke of was in fact his cold beauty of a master. But that didn’t mean he had any interest in this matter.
He had finally enjoyed some peaceful days—he didn’t want to go back to that miserable cultivation life, and he definitely didn’t want to betray his master and play some undercover game.
Thinking this, Xu Fan deliberately tried to refuse He Jin’s request, “Lord He, you overpraise this commoner!”
“I have long since severed all ties with the sect master, and she no longer acknowledges me as her disciple. Going back to the Supreme Void Immortal Mountain to help the court investigate the eldest princess’s whereabouts is nothing but a wild fantasy!”
“As I am now, I’m just an ordinary Golden Core Realm cultivator. I really can’t be of any help to the court.”
But He Jin merely snorted coldly at that. His shadowy eyes lifted as he stared down at Xu Fan, “Xu Fan, since you live within the Frozen Moon Empire’s territory, you are a citizen of the Frozen Moon Empire. Sharing His Majesty’s burdens is your duty!”
His words were sharp and vicious, leaving no face at all. He spoke with arrogant superiority, “As for how you do it, and what you do—those are things you filthy commoners should worry about. I only want a result!”
After saying that, a trace of killing intent suddenly leaked from He Jin’s body, his slanted eyes rolling up to show white, “Let me make this clear first. If you do this well, I will naturally reward you heavily. But if you don’t…”
In the next instant, several tall guards behind He Jin all snorted coldly in unison, and multiple waves of powerful cultivation aura—belonging exclusively to the Nascent Soul Realm—erupted at once!
Xu Fan’s expression shifted slightly in surprise.
Nascent Soul Realm?
Peak experts of the Mortal Path—existences who could establish their own sect and become a sect master elsewhere—were merely a few insignificant guards of the Frozen Moon Empire here?
If mere guards had such cultivation, then as chief eunuch, He Jin’s cultivation must be even higher. It seemed the Frozen Moon Empire’s foundation really was unfathomably deep.
Xu Fan pondered silently, but he wasn’t frightened. He only said calmly, “Lord He, this matter truly puts me in a difficult position…”
But before he could finish, He Jin’s expression instantly turned impatient, his tone filled with threat, “Enough!”
“Xu Fan, do you think I’m negotiating with you? If not for Xianglan begging on your behalf, I originally intended to give you a chance to voluntarily serve His Majesty. But who would’ve thought you’d be so ungrateful—forcing me to take action personally!”
Yet Xu Fan didn’t care about He Jin’s threats at all—because his mind was completely locked onto the name He Jin had just mentioned, a name he knew far too well.
Xianglan? Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Xianglan.
Xu Fan fell silent. He turned his head and saw the guilty, evasive expression on Xianglan’s face. Then he remembered all her abnormal behavior in recent days and instantly understood the truth. A bitter look surfaced within his usually calm expression. He let out a long sigh, “Xianglan? Do you even know what you’re doing?”
Xianglan pressed her lips together and avoided Xu Fan’s gaze, but her words were full of apology, “I’m sorry, Xu Fan… but don’t blame me. I did this for our small family…”
Xu Fan was silent.
He believed he had a good temper. Toward those close to him, he had always been tolerant. As long as they didn’t commit a fundamental wrong, he could let things go.
But unfortunately, Xianglan’s betrayal this time was exactly a fundamental wrong.
And that made Xu Fan completely disappointed in her. Even the distorted cognition altered by the toxin quietly began to waver at this moment.
Xu Fan gave a self-mocking laugh, then lay back down on the rocking chair and said slowly, “Lord He, before I get angry, you’d better take Xianglan and leave. I don’t want to see her anymore.”
“As for master’s matter, you should give up. In this life, I, Xu Fan, will never do anything that betrays master!”
Hearing that, Xianglan panicked, “Xu Fan! Even at a time like this, you’re still so stubborn!”
“The sect master already doesn’t acknowledge you anymore. Why are you still clinging to this? Do you really want to miss the sky-high fortune Lord He is offering you?”
But to Xianglan’s shock, Xu Fan no longer had the gentle warmth he used to. There was only coldness mixed with disgust and loathing, “For the sake of old times, I won’t strike you—but you must leave this place!”
“And as for whether my master is good or bad… you don’t get to judge that. You’re not qualified!”
As soon as these words fell, a faint ripple of cultivation fluctuation quietly spread through the air behind Xu Fan—but no one present noticed it at all.
Xianglan stomped her foot, her face turning furious and flustered, as if she wanted to say something more.
But Xu Fan, lying in the rocking chair, couldn’t be bothered to pay her any attention. He simply closed his eyes.
Of course, he wasn’t resigning himself to fate.
He was considering which method left behind from his previous six lives would be the fastest and cleanest way to kill.
After all, he was a lazy person—he always hated cleaning up a mess.
When He Jin saw this, he assumed Xu Fan had gone mad and was babbling nonsense. He sneered coldly, “Still so stubborn at a time like this?”
“Fine. I’ll forcibly wipe your memories clean and implant some puppet consciousness instead. The result will be the same!”
As He Jin spoke, a flickering white orb condensed in his palm—one that could twist and shatter a person’s consciousness. The guards behind him wore savage grins as they closed in on Xu Fan step by step!
But at this critical moment, a clear, cold voice filled with terrifying killing intent suddenly rang out—like an ancient ice blade, carrying a dreadful aura that seemed ready to slice the entire courtyard into countless pieces as it swept toward He Jin and the others!
“Touch him if you dare?”