Chapter 318 (1/2)

The snoas still falling when Fan Sizhe finally finished pushi+ng thehard, pain was everywhere, and he felt he couldn't possible straighten his back ever again The sweat on his face evaporated and turned white as it

”Wipe it off and then change into dry clothes Otherwise, you'll freeze” Haitang handed him a stack of neatly folded clothes

Fan Sizhe shook his head bitterly and walked inside to change A moment later he

came out and yelled, ”There isn't even a place to hat do I do about the shed, ”It's the s your brother ”

Fan Sizhe couldn't help but shake his head again and ”My brother sent me north… but not for you to torturecut and polished,” Haitang replied with a placid expression ”I re in the Royal Palace and Fan Xian said soht made a lot of sense”

”What did he say?” Fan Sizhe asked curiously

”'When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility upon a , his sinews and bones with toil, his body with hunger, and subject him to extreme poverty Heaven will fill his journey with setbacks and troubles so as to stihen his nature This will eventually fill his incompetence and prepare him for the task'”

Actually, when Fan Xian had recited Mencius' words, he was thinking of the shore of the North Sea, and the reeds in the Haitang Spring However, Fan Sizhe and Haitang could not know a person's true thoughts When Fan Sizhe heard this passage, he only felt a gust of cold air on his head and asked in a treht?”

Haitang sht”

As she spoke, a person outside added, very respectfully, ”Second Young Master, tonight, I a you to dinner”

Fan Sizhe was surprised the person joined the conversation so naturally He turned around and saw that it ang Qinian Suddenly seeing someone from home made him think of all the hardshi+ps he had endured recently, and how he ht be able to leave this place Fan Sizhe becaely and rushed to the outside of the fence

”You're cohtly threw out this coh the wind and snow and buried itself in Fan Sizhe's ears; it made him shi+ver and filled him with endless disappointment

Only when he reached the fence did he turn around and yell cruelly, ”I ca tohad already returned to the chaise lounge and said expressionlessly, ”How easy do you think it is to turn 1000 liang into 10,000 liang? I think Fan Xian has pushed you too hard Don't forget, yourQinian gave Fan Sizhe a look to reer Miss Duoduo Even Sir Fan wasn't able to protect hi with her—what chance did he have?

Fan Sizhe sneered angrily and pushed open the gate

wang Qinian s now”

Haitang gazed at him and suddenly quieted down Half a , are you really in such a rush for hi Qinian's heart skipped and he could not understand how she could know about Commissioner Fan's plan He wasn't sure howthere was between Fan Xian and Haitang; he could only s?”

Of course Haitang was very knowledgeable about the plans concerning Fan Sizhe She s more; she simply advised, ”TheQinian had his servants fetch a hat and cloak for Fan Sizhe to wear It was to partially block the wind and snow and was partially to conceal his appearance He then saluted Haitang again and readied himself to leave this piece of land next to the Royal Palace

”Have you read thein the chair She s Qinian pausedweakly and said, ”I have business at hand, forgivePlease write a feords for me in your letter, ask that Mr Co chuckled and thought that this Honglu Te Qinian, was indeed an interesting person

The noises outside the yard quieted Haitang closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep Today, the snow and hirled around each other in Shangjing; each sound pulled at the soul and the cold threatened with every passing howl The peasant girl slept soundly in this cold and cruel environment; there was even the trace of a s cultivation, she did not care about the cold seeping into her body On the contrary, it was easier for her to be closer with the environ or the cold severity of winter

Snow drifted down piece by piece, dancing in the sky Under the eaves, the girl wearing the flowered coat slept comfortably

After an indeter slowed opened her eyes Her eyes, bright beyond co ice near the eaves Involuntarily, a thread of joy and satisfaction flashed through them

”Master, you have come”

The stone path on the banks of the Yuquan River outside of the yard had long been covered in a thick layer of snow At this moment, a person approached slowly across the snow The wind and snow seemed to have vanished in an instant and the only sound that could be heard was the person's footsteps

The person wore no shoes and walked with bare feet on the snow, determined and sincere In barely a moment, they had reached the front of the yard and extended a hand to lightly push open the gate They approached the eaves and reached out a hand to gently stroke the delighted Haitang's head ”I'm here to visit you”

One of the Four Great Grandmasters, the one as viewed by the people as a God—Imperial Advisor Ku He!

If Fan Xian were to see this he would definitely ridicule Ku He's normal appearance He couldn't co as Ye Liuyun Especially after he took off his hat and revealed his big, bald head He see—he was only a very si and bare feet announced his identity as an asceticfro bowed deeply towards the teacher in utmost respect, and then invited this most extraordinary person into the rooround, her face full of naivety like a little girl's It was only in front of this Great Grand submitted so naturally

Ku He's face was clear, with very thin lips, and extreaze was very distant with a trace of tender love as he looked at his last disciple He shtly and said, ”I have coed and she asked in alarm, ”Did you find Sir Xiao En's body?”

Ku He slowly put down the tea cup in his hand With the hint of a smile in his eyes, he said, ”I found the bones of my old friend in a cave on a precipice”

”A precipice in Xi Mountain?”

After Ku He had returned froo out Souessed that this Great Grandainst in that terrifying final battle in a place no one knew Souessed Ye Liuyun So Kingdoht that Ku He and Wu Zhu would both suffer heavy injuries

After Ku He recovered and rejoined the world, his first priority was to carefully investigate Xiao En's h this Great Grandreements between the Emperor and his mother, Tianyi Dao took orders from the temple and rarely interfered with politics, and so could not say much However, for this Great Grandmaster, for whoreat importance on the life and death of Xiao En

The precipice of the Xi Mountain had been searched multiple times They did not find a body anywhere on the hest thorn in the side of Northern Qi If that oldShanhu, as under house arrest, could beco, since senior brother disciple Lang Tiao swore that Xiao En could not have survived after being stabbed by a scimitar, she believed hiement of his first disciple

Untold a the mountain and they left no stone unturned, yet they still did not find a trace of either Xiao En or that mysterious person Northern Qi could not understand how there could be someone in this world who could scale the secko

Finally, Irily stopped searching They didn't expect for this Great Grandmaster to put aside his status and personally search Who kne much effort it took for Ku He to finally, in this snow and wind, find Xiao En's body in a cave on the precipice?

Haitang stared at her teacher in surprise and only then noticed tiny wounds on both of his ankles Concerned, she asked, ”How did you get down from the precipice?” She didn't have time to ask about Xiao En, her focus was on Ku He's body After all, her teacher was getting on in age and had been injured not long ago

Ku He gently shook his head He s down, but not i as there was a rope Only, I had not expected for the person Lang Tiao forced down the cliff to… escape so easily”