February 24.

It's more than half past 6 o'clock in the morning.

Hong Fan woke up from a deep slumber and heard the sound of rain pouring outside the window.

Since the extermination of the river blockade ghosts, his cultivation has become more and more profound, and he can distinguish more subtle sounds.

The sound of rain falling on the atrium was even and muffled, with the smell of earth.

The sound of rain hitting the green tiles is crisp and solid, like moisture on the face.

Recently outside the window.

The water gathered on the eaves faded away from the identity of the rain and hit the stone floor like a flying spring.

As soon as Hong Fan closed his eyes, a vague smell of blood wafted from his nose, and he remembered the thirty-five corpses in Duanjiazhuang.

He knew that he could no longer sleep, so he simply got up and stood in the courtyard to get drenched in the rain.

Tilt your head, open your eyes, and think.

The dark clouds are as thick as a city, and a ray of light shines through the middle.

It's like the sky is cracking.

The rain washed his body, and he came to a conclusion.

[It's not that you kill too much, but you don't kill enough.] 】

Hong Fan's heart was clear for a while.

At this time, Aunt Liu walked into the courtyard along the rain corridor with breakfast—Jinhai's army returned in early February.

Seeing the young master in the rain, she didn't say anything, just put down the dinner plate and silently prepared clean clothes.

Hong Fan went back to his room to change his clothes and finished breakfast.

Immediately, Shen Hong came to report, saying that Lu Yunshi was here.

The meeting is in the inner study.

The two sat down as the host and guest.

"After the first month, the situation in Xijing was reversed."

As soon as Lu Yunshi sat down, he began to speak.

"The Fubo Gang is the arm of the Liu family, since Gu Yishi led the team to level their helm, our state department is equivalent to sitting on Jin Ziming's side."

"Coupled with the fact that the Governor's Mansion has obtained the real account book, many of the irons of the Liu family and the Shen family have begun to waver."

"Yesterday, I also heard that someone saw the head of the political envoy entering and leaving the governor's palace in the middle of the night......"

He drank a few cups of tea and talked a lot.

Hong Fan only replied with three words in the end.

"What a coincidence."

There was silence in the hall.

Lu Yunshi hesitated.

However, when he saw the Mid-Autumn Festival moon appreciation picture hanging on the wall, he was determined again.

"Hong Fan, there is a sentence I don't know whether to say or not."

Lu Yunshi's tone was solemn.

"You've all come, and you've asked, so you really want to talk."

Hong Fan replied.

Lu Yunshi was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then drank the tea violently.

"Five days ago, I met Ao Zhixian in the Shen Family's Wuxuan Garden."

He let the conversation out.

There was a click.

It was Hong Fan who crushed the teacup in his hand.

"Could it be the same?"

He asked, looking up.

"By no means."

Lu Yunshi replied in a deep voice.

"She assumes the name of Shen Zhiyin, but not only her appearance, but her demeanor and voice are all a person-obviously she still recognizes me, but she insists that it is the first time she has come to Xijing, and she is Shen Tiexin's cousin."

Hong Fan sat up straight.

"Have you talked to the state department?"

He asked.

"I told Mr. Jian on February 20 and said that I would report it to the officer."

Lu Yunshi did not hide it.

"But now it's twenty-four!"

"Master Yun, I'm grateful!"

After hearing this, Hong Fan got up and bowed to Lu Yunshi.

And not only for the news.

He knew that the Lu family was in the middle of the road and was often ridiculed in the family circle.

Don't talk about how to get an invitation.

Just to participate in the Shen family's three-day banquet, the top gathering of the nobles in Xijing, Lu Yunshi didn't know how much embarrassment he had to endure.

Regarding the news of Ao Zhixian, it is not difficult to confirm the truth or falsehood.

Only in the evening, Hong Fan got confirmation from several channels.

First, the rest of the Shen family, including Shen Yubo and others, have never mentioned that they have such a beautiful cousin for so many years.

Second, the Shen family has no in-laws in Hongyi City.

Third, Dahua is not married with the same surname, since he is a cousin, how can he have the surname Shen?

Too straightforward arrogance is exactly Shen Tiexin's style.

After dinner, the rain stopped.

Spring has come and gone, and the temperature has plummeted.

Hong Fan sat alone in the room for a long time.

The brown wooden floor was soaked blue by the moonlight, and it looked as if it was frozen, and there was a kind of bitter cold.

He didn't know why Ao Zhixian didn't leave Xijing with his father.

But it doesn't matter.

This is an opportunity not to be missed.

······

The next day, February 25.

Hong Fan went to the Zhangwu Academy to meet Jian Siyuan and asked about Ao Zhixian, but did not receive a reply.

It's not that the state doesn't care about his attitude.

In the afternoon, Gu Taining later found Hong Fan to explain.

"This is an extraordinary situation, I hope you don't worry, there must be an explanation in the ministry......"

Hong Fan didn't say much.

He himself is a person who is good at doing things, and he can understand the hardships of the above.

But this is the only thing, Hong Fan can't sit and wait.

A few days later.

Asahi Prefecture martial arts field.

I don't know how many times the thunder sounded.

The long knife flashed, cutting through the wind.

Hong Fan has only done two things in the past few days, one is to think, and the other is to practice knives.

The progress of his cultivation allowed him to push his steps further to the limit.

Especially precision.

A scoop of water was splashed ten meters away, and now Hong Fan can cut off the designated water droplets with a single sword.

At noon, Peach came to call the young master for dinner.

Hong Fan cleaned his face, walked out of the martial arts arena, and passed by the gate of the side courtyard.

The smashed doors and windows have been restored to their original appearance.

The Soul Sword is enshrined in the house.

As usual, he put on three sticks of incense and observed a moment of silence.

Freshly killed anchovy for lunch.

Hong Fan chewed wax and ate it heavily, and his heart did not stop for a moment.

For a few days, he thought about everything.

But to kill Ao Zhixian, there is a threshold that cannot be bypassed no matter what.

The ancestor of the Shen family, the grandmaster of the land list, Shen Maya.

For Hong Fan, heaven and man are absolute power, with the ability to flip the table.

There's only one way to deal with it.

It is to have the support of another celestial.

······

February 29.

The spring equinox has passed, and it is five days away.

Xijing, Hai Shi (9 p.m.).

Hong Fan was led by the porter and walked into the Xu family's private house.

Xu Guinian is a native of Guzhou, living alone here, and the size of the old mansion is only similar to that of Asahi Mansion.

Of course, the location is much better.

This was the first time Hong Fan had seen him privately.

In the outer study, Xu Guinian was dressed in the official uniform of the admiral, and his high bun was tied with an iron hairpin, which was majestic and profound.

If it's just a meeting with subordinates, it's too formal.

Hong Fan bowed and saluted, and then went inside, and saw that there was another person at the table.

It turned out that Xu Guinian was meeting guests.

The guest was an old man, who looked to be in his seventies, dressed comfortably and plainly.

His hair and beard are gray, but his body bones are strong, and he holds the tea cup firmly in one hand, without the slightest feeling of old age.

"Sit here."

Xu Guinian stretched out his hand and pointed to the empty seat diagonally opposite.

"His name is Hong Fan, he came to Xijing last summer, and now he is the most effective cavalry under Gu Taining."

He said to the old man, but did not introduce the other party to Hong Fan.

"Xu Gong is too worried, how can he not know the reputation of the Star Lord of the Sand World?"

The old man laughed.

"But I didn't expect Xu Gong to be willing to see him at this time, it can be seen that the weight is very high."

He added.

"It's not that I'm serious, it's that this kid really stands out."

Xu Guinian replied, poured a cup of tea for Hong Fan, and pushed it over the table.

"When Jin Ziming concocted Wang Mincai's case earlier, I didn't want to be used as a gunman, so I decided on a strategy after careful consideration."

"Unexpectedly, I heard later that there was a rider who wanted to distinguish all the tricks, and he was exactly the same as me."

"Since then, I've looked at him differently."

(End of chapter)