Joy of Life

Fan Xian furrowed his brows. He looked at the person in the shadow. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Why are you so happy? Although we rarely see each other, I’m not used to it.”

The knife-wielding man in the shadow bent his body forward slightly. He said with a smile, “I have always been a frivolous person. I hope you will forgive me.”

“Frivolous?” Fan Xian frowned. “No wonder you caused such a big mess back then when all you wanted to do was have fun. The Palace has singled you out to get rid of.”

The knife-wielding man’s face started and he said solemnly, “It’s all thanks to the Minister that I am able to live.”

Fan Xian didn’t say anything more. He was thinking about another matter, another person.

In one strike on Dong Mountain, a hundred Tiger Guards had died. The Emperor had used the sword in Sigu Jian’s hand to clean out the Tiger Guards with unusual cold-bloodedness and heartlessness. He also wiped away the greatest support Fan Jian had hidden within the royal family. It was precisely this attitude and determination that forced Fan Jian to retreat early from Jingdou.

Minister Fan had grown up with the Emperor and had been in the court for many years. He had even helped the Li royal family train the Tiger Guards, so he had his secrets.

The black-clothed knife-wielding man in front of Fan Xian was one of them. In the past, this man had once been a Tiger Guard. Later, he had feigned his death and became one of Fan Jian’s direct subordinates in the darkness. He secretly helped the Fan manor do unseemly things, including keeping an eye on the limbs the Palace extended outward.

During the Jingdou rebellion, Fan Xian took a great risk in taking action against Qingyu Hall. Fan Jian watched coldly from behind him and helped him tidy up the mess. The people who took action were the Fan manor’s secret power led by the black-clothed knife-wielding man. It was not until now that Fan Xian truly came into contact with this final strength of his father’s.

“You also know about what happened on Dong Mountain.” Fan Xian looked at him. “How many Tiger Guards are still alive?”

“There are still 21 under the Minister’s control,” the black-clothed man said. “If all the Great Grandmasters are dead, then we are still of some use.”

Fan Xian had only interacted with Gao Da and the other six wooden Tiger Guards. For a moment, he was truly thrown by the man’s way of talking. Smiling bitterly, he said, “Putting this aside for now and going back to what we were talking about earlier, is father not worried that someone in the court will guess something if he suddenly raises so much silver?”

The black-clothed man did not reply to the question. Instead, like him, he asked, “It seems that young master has also grown more daring recently. The Minister sent a message. You’ve actually begun to pull together the money and even stretched out a hand toward the Sun and Xiong families. Are you not afraid that the court will sense something?”

With these words, Fan Xian sank into silence. The black-clothed man did not continue questioning him. In the three years after the Jingdou rebellion, Fan Xian had been carefully conducting business in the darkness. He did not seek acknowledgment, only seamlessness. The progress was very slow.

Fan Xian had no choice but to do it this way. His father, far away in Danzhou, seemed to approve of his caution. After all, with the Emperor present, no one dared take a risk to provoke anything. If anything was revealed, it could only be a fiery and bloody end. It seemed that Fan Xian and Fan Jian had simultaneously decided to hasten their pace. Fan Xian knew his father had increased his pace because he knew that this heart was gradually drifting in that direction.

The black-clothed man’s following words also confirmed Fan Xian’s guess.

“If the young master is doing anything in the future, don’t forget me,” the black-clothed man said. “I am interested in fighting my way into the Royal Palace.”

The corners of Fan Xian’s lips twitched up. “What I am interested in is if you’re planning to avenge your family or colleagues that died on Dong Mountain?”

“Is there a difference?”

“There is not a difference for your or for those Tiger Guards hidden in the darkness. The Emperor has never viewed you like people, so it is normal that you do not see him as a ruler,” Fan Xian said in a quiet voice with his eyelids slightly shuttered. “But, to say such a thing in front of me, are you not afraid that I will kill you? You should be aware of the relationship between me and the Emperor.”

The black-clothed man calmly said, “I am more aware of the relationship between you and the Minister.”

“It’s conflicting,” Fan Xian said with a smile and a sigh. “You are a group of powerful knife-men, but you are also a group of very dangerous people. Even I am not sure I can control you. That is why I think it would be best for you to stay by my father’s side, including those Tiger Guards in the darkness at your side. The same applies to everyone. Don’t try to participate in my business.”

Disappointment flashed through the black-clothed man’s eyes.

“Only father can control you, but I need to have everything within my grasp. That is why I cannot use you,” Fan Xian said calmly, gradually restraining his smile. “I have my own power. You only have one task, which is to ensure my father’s protection at all costs. As long as you can do that, I have no worries. Perhaps I can achieve you and your brother’s goal.”

The black-clothed man fell silent.

The silence lasted a long time. Fan Xian took a drink from the cold tea at his side and unconsciously drew up his two legs, holding them as he sat in the chair. Although this posture was not pretty, it gave him a sense of security.

Suddenly, he thought of the Second Prince. Looking at the black-clothed knife-wielding man in front of him, he also thought of Gao Da and the innocent people who sacrificed themselves because of the Emperor’s schemes. He even thought of Chen Pingping and Jing Ge, who had once slit Qin Heng’s throat outside the palace doors in Jingdou.

It had been some time since he saw Jing Ge. A light flashed through Fan Xian’s eyes. He thought of how Chen Pingping had secretly done so much and pulled back so many people from the brink of death while his father had actually secretly been doing much the same.

The two old comrades had not communicated with each other, but they had chosen similar methods. Perhaps they both knew that only people who had experienced life and death would have the courage to stand in this world and resist all the pressure put upon them. Only those who had lived through a life-and-death situation would be able to still stand up bravely and proudly under the glorious light of imperial power.

This was probably the problem of determination Sigu Jian had spoken of. It had nothing to do with the level of one’s martial realm. Only these kind of people were truly able to do great things, such as the black-clothed man in front of him and the silver mask-wearing Jing Ge.

“Go back and say that I will do my best to quickly resolve the issue of money. But, it is an exceedingly difficult matter to change the paper of the money houses to the nutrients that Fish Guts needs,” Fan Xian said carefully as he looked at the black-clothed man. “I am worried that there are spies from the Palace at my side. That is why for my visit to Weizhou this time I sought out Guan Wumei as a shadow. If the internal court, Ministry of Justice, or Imperial Censorate senses anything, they will only guess to this level. You must also be careful and not let anyone see you.”

“The problem is that you came to see Guan Wumei for the sake of pulling together money for Fish Guts.” The black-clothed man furrowed his brows, something he rarely did. “What if the other party investigates from this direction?”

“You and I are like the coast of a precipice, forever a one-way connection. Even if someone investigates, at most, they will find me and go no further. As for the movement of the money, the first portion on the books will be taken care of by the old officials of the Ministry of Revenue father left in Jiangnan. As for the exchange of the latter portion…” Fan Xian lowered his head slightly. It was as if he thought the matter was somewhat difficult. Slowly, he said, “I can deal with a portion of it. Then, it will depend on Dongyi. If there are foreign goods, it will be much faster.”

“I will take my leave.” Although the black-clothed man felt Fan Xian had not finished what he should have said, he knew he had to go. Raising his hands in a salute, he said, “During these three years, there has been one thing I’ve been curious about.”

Fan Xian raised his eyes and looked at him. With a smile, he asked, “What is it?”

“Why is it called Fish Guts?”

After a long silence, Fan Xian said, “Fish Guts is a sword used by Zhuan Zhu. It is a sword that is hidden within the guts of a fish. This sword could be hidden forever in the fish’s abdomen and never see the light of day. Once it breaks through, it will certainly pierce into someone’s chest.”

“You are a Fish Guts. Jing Ge was once also a Fish Guts. The Shadow at my side is also a Fish Guts,” Fan Xian said. “However, all of you are beginning to see the light of day. Only my Fish Guts are still hidden.”

…

…

Fan Xian stayed for a night in Weizhou and discussed the matter of gathering the silver with Guan Wumei. Xia Qifei was in Hangzhou. There was no way he would be able to make it over in time. He could only remind the master of the new Ming family through Guan Wumei’s mouth about the important responsibility of this matter. The next day, the Lingnan Xiong family and Quanzhou Sun family’s representatives arrived in Weizhou. Fan Xian only took a glance from the shadows and confirmed the possible attitude of the two wealthy merchant families before relaxing.

The excuse of the new Ming family was practical. Although there had been no news from the North, the Sun and Xiong families would not think Xia Qifei was lying to them because there was no benefit to that at all.

The most important thing to consider in mutual lending and borrowing between merchants was the other’s ability to repay. In the eyes of the Sun and Xiong families, even if the Northern Qi court began to attack the Ming family’s Northern smuggling business because of the Dongyi incident, no matter what, it was impossible that they would not be able to pay back the money. Behind the Ming family was Sir Fan junior and the promise of endless goods from the palace treasury. It would always be a golden nest.

After confirming they would be able to get the silver, Fan Xian secretly had Guan Wumei tell Xia Qifei to invite Yang Jimei to a banquet at Hua Garden. He was the leading salt merchant in Jiangnan. Presumably, he had a lot of silver hidden in his manor. It wouldn’t be too difficult for Xia Qifei to borrow money from him.

If Yang Jimei could not pull together enough by himself, he would mobilize the other salt merchants in Jiangnan to help. It had to be said that after Fan Xian spent two or three years in Jiangnan, he had indeed hammered out a firm foundation. As long as he did not appear to touch the foundation of the court, it was completely within his power to gather the power of the Jiangnan market. Such a power was truly startling. Not everyone would be able to gather so much silver in such little time.

These things took Fan Xian an entire day. At dusk, he left Weizhou and disappeared into the blood-colored horizon. From then onward, not only did his subordinates in Jiangnan not know where he had gone, but even his confidants in the Overwatch Council and Qinian Unit lost all traces of him.

A young ninth-level ace who had been subsumed in the Overwatch Council his entire life purpose put on a disguise and headed out. It was completely within his ability to avoid everyone’s attention. Just like that, Fan Xian disappeared.

…

…

After an interminable number of days, when spring had reached its peak in the heart of the mainland, a travel-worn figure appeared outside a hollow by a large mountain at the boundary between Northern Qi and Dongyi.

The place was isolated, but the transport did not lag behind because it was a transfer point for an old merchant road from many years ago. However, it had been abandoned long ago and disappeared from maps, as well as from people’s hearts.

Looking from outside the mountain, the place was absolutely silent except the occasional dog bark and chicken cry as farmers walked on the raised streets. The night was gradually growing dark. The farmers that occasionally appeared seemed to not need a drop of light to be able to see the muddy fields beneath their feet.

The figure quietly slipped by these farmers and headed into the mountain.

The path into the mountain appeared to be snaking in and out like fish guts wound round and round. The travel-worn figure headed into the mountain. After walking for an indeterminable time, his clothing was covered in dew. His cloth shoes snapped dry branches as he finally climbed to the middle of the mountain. There had been an overgrown mountain village in front of his eyes. With a turn of his head, there were spots of lantern light and country estates all over the mountain. Countless buildings emanated a fresh scent and appeared like magic in the mountain valley.

The figure threw down the bamboo stick in his hand and looked at the lights in the heart of the mountain beneath his feet. For some reason, he felt moved. His eyes almost grew wet.

He knew how much effort and money he had put into this sight hidden behind a farm in Peach Blossom Springs. He knew countless people had worked hard for this, like the farmers he had met in front of the mountain.