Tianlan Kingdom.
Fang Xuan sat in the side hall, a small stove burning before him.
He held a teacup, sipping slowly and methodically.
Chen Fan stood beside him.
But for some reason... he swallowed nervously.
His gaze flickered toward Fang Xuan from time to time before he quickly looked away, looking like he had something to say but didn't dare.
Fang Xuan didn't bother acknowledging him.
The tea was decent; it was warm and left a sweet aftertaste.
He currently had a mortal body and couldn't drink anything cold, or his stomach would protest...
"That... uh, Brother Xuan."
Chen Fan finally couldn't help but speak, his voice carrying a cautious, probing tone, "Are you really now..."
Halfway through the sentence, he swallowed his words.
Was it inappropriate to ask? What if Brother Xuan got angry?
Fang Xuan simply sniffed and said, "Can you make the fire bigger? I'm cold."
Chen Fan blanked for a moment before nodding quickly. "Right, right. Of course, Brother Xuan."
Fang Xuan sighed silently in his heart.
His Senior Sister had already left.
She had dumped him here alone, saying she was going to find a solution.
If this were the past and his Senior Sister dared to run off alone, he would have at least made her cry... begging him to go slower.
He sniffed again; he seemed to have caught a bit of a cold.
He looked down at himself.
Wrapped in thick furs, roasting by a fire, and drinking hot tea, yet he still felt cold.
A dignified cultivator of the sixth level of Tribulation Crossing was now inferior to a commoner...
...
It was still broad daylight, making it hard to endure.
He suddenly stood up.
Chen Fan was startled. "Brother Xuan?"
"Let's go. We're going for a drink," Fang Xuan said.
Chen Fan's expression changed, and he quickly waved his hands. "That... uh, Immortal Ning instructed me not to let you wander around, and especially not to let you drink..."
Fang Xuan ignored him and walked straight out.
"I'm drinking."
Chen Fan looked at his back and struggled for several seconds.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he could only follow.
...
Inside a restaurant.
On the most bustling street of the capital of Tianlan Kingdom stood an exquisitely decorated restaurant.
The two sat at a window seat on the second floor with a few small dishes and a jar of warmed wine before them.
Chen Fan took a sip of wine, his face flushing as he relaxed completely.
"Hahaha! Brother Xuan, this is good wine!" He raised his wine cup, laughing like a complete idiot.
Fang Xuan said nothing.
He just held his wine cup, staring blankly out the window.
The streets were crowded with carriages and horses, the cries of street vendors rose and fell, children chased each other playfully, and women hurried past with vegetable baskets.
It was very lively, but he had no interest in it.
"Your place... doesn't seem very peaceful either," he suddenly spoke, his gaze still fixed outside.
Chen Fan was stunned. "Huh?"
Just as the words left his mouth—
A cold glint shot toward them from outside the window.
Fang Xuan didn't even turn his head.
He merely leaned his body slightly to the side, his right hand emerging from his sleeve.
That fair and slender hand traced a gentle arc through the air.
Squelch—
The assassin’s body remained leaning forward, but a jet of blood already sprayed from his throat.
His right hand had directly crushed the assassin’s throat bone.
The movement was clean and efficient.
Chen Fan snapped out of his drunken state and finally came to his senses.
Even though Brother Xuan had lost his cultivation, his skill at killing didn't seem to have diminished in the slightest.
Fang Xuan withdrew his hand, carefully wiping away the bloodstains that had splashed onto it.
He couldn't let his Senior Sister's hand get dirty.
"What level?" he asked.
He couldn't perceive anything now and had to rely on his eyes.
Chen Fan blanked, only then remembering that Brother Xuan couldn't sense spiritual energy anymore, just like how he used to be without spirit roots.
At that moment, a sinister laugh came from the doorway.
A burly man in black martial attire, carrying a gleaming long saber, strode inside.
His gaze swept over the corpse on the floor before landing on Chen Fan, a flash of greed appearing in his eyes.
He licked his lips. "Do you think... you can still leave now? Hahaha."
Fang Xuan didn't move.
He just looked at the man, his gaze as calm as if he were looking at an ant.
"Brother Xuan, there are two..."
He was about to say that there were only two in the Qi Refining Realm and he could handle it himself without troubling Brother Xuan.
However, before he could finish, Fang Xuan had already unwound the bandages on his right hand.
The fair hand gave a light flick in the air.
Whoosh—
Several invisible wind blades instantly swept through the building.
The speed was so fast they were impossible to see.
Boom!
The sinister grin on the burly man's face hadn't even faded before his entire body was sliced into fragments.
The entire restaurant also collapsed halfway under that casual strike.
Chen Fan stood with his mouth slightly agape. "No... Brother Xuan, there were only two..."
Fang Xuan stood amidst the ruins, his clothes not even touched by a drop of blood.
A puff of cold mist escaped his mouth. "I know there's one more."
He turned his head, his gaze falling on a certain corner outside the window.
There, a hidden figure jolted violently.
Before he could even think, his body uncontrollably tumbled out of his hiding spot and fell to his knees with a thud.
"Lord, spare me! Lord, spare me!" He kowtowed desperately, his forehead slamming against the ground with loud thuds.
Fang Xuan's eyes turned cold.
So he was trying to lower his guard... in this manner.
The momentum in his right hand surged steadily, shattering the floorboards beneath his feet...
"A pointless scheme," he said flatly.
The man gritted his teeth and suddenly lunged from the ground, turning into a black shadow that pounced toward him!
Fang Xuan's right hand made a grasping motion in the air.
He knew it; it was indeed a trap...
Boom!
Another half of the restaurant was reduced to powder.
Chen Fan was shaken and stumbled, nearly falling over.
He steadied himself by grabbing a pillar and looked at the mess before him, finally finding the chance to finish his sentence. "Two... two in the Qi Refining Realm."
His voice was very weak.
Now that things had turned out like this, Brother Xuan wouldn't blame him for not finishing his sentence, right?
But he really couldn't get a word in.
"Brother Xuan, what I wanted to say was there were two in the Qi Refining Realm... I could have handled it myself..."
Fang Xuan turned his head and looked at Chen Fan.
Then he spoke, his voice very calm, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Chen Fan scratched his head.
"I... I was just about to say it, but then you acted."
Fang Xuan: "..."
He looked at the ruins before him, then at the two corpses on the ground that had been reduced to rubble, and finally, his gaze landed on Chen Fan’s innocent face.
He could only turn around and head downstairs.
After a couple of steps, he stopped.
"Where's the fire?"
Chen Fan hurried over. "Fire? What fire?"
Fang Xuan was expressionless. "The fire I was roasting by just now. That small stove. You made it disappear."
Chen Fan: "..."
He looked at the ruins around them and then at Fang Xuan’s calm face, suddenly feeling like... he was being scammed.
But he didn't dare speak up.
"That... uh, Brother Xuan, how about we find another place to roast by the fire?"
He asked cautiously.
Fang Xuan didn't say anything and continued walking out.
Chen Fan hurried to catch up.
After a few more steps, Fang Xuan suddenly stopped again.
Chen Fan stumbled, nearly bumping into him.
"Brother Xuan?"
Fang Xuan turned back and glanced at him.
"Next time you speak, be faster."
Chen Fan blanked for a moment, then scratched his head. "Right, right. Definitely, definitely..."
Fang Xuan withdrew his gaze and kept walking.
Chen Fan followed behind, scratching his head again.
That look just now... why did it seem a bit aggrieved?
It must be an illusion. It definitely was.
How could Brother Xuan ever look aggrieved?
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