Chapter 108: The Overwatch Council

"Did Chen Pingping find all of this?"

"Hmm."

"Only half a day's time... is he that powerful?"

"Don't underestimate the Overwatch Council."

Fan Jian glanced at Fan Xian and said: "According to Chen Pingping, the Overwatch Council had long suspected that there was a problem with the Drunken Immortal House. The reason they kept them was because the war in the Northern Frontier was still ongoing, and the Overwatch Council wanted to pass some false information through the Drunken Immortal House."

"But no one expected that these Northern Qi secret agents would be so crazy as to assassinate you in broad daylight!"

Fan Xian shook his head: "I haven't been in the capital for long and haven't made a name for myself yet. Northern Qi couldn't have assassinated me without any reason."

Fan Jian sighed: "Of course I know this, so I guess there must be someone in the capital colluding with Northern Qi. As for the purpose, naturally, it's not wanting you to take over the Inner Treasury."

"But the financial power of the Inner Treasury involves a wide range of interests. Both inside and outside the court, and even members of the royal family, have reasons to take action."

"Without more evidence, even Father can't find out who exactly is colluding with Northern Qi..."

Fan Xian pretended to be deep in thought, then looked up and said: "Since you have no clue, then I'll do it myself!"

"You will?"

Fan Jian frowned, shook his head, and said: "I know you have three Ninth-Rank experts by your side, but in the capital, Ninth-Rank is not invincible."

This was true; the Tiger Guards by Fan Jian's side were the best example.

The average strength of these Tiger Guards was only Eighth-Rank, but they had a set of battle tactics for seven people to surround and attack.

In the original work, seven Tiger Guards could go head-to-head with the Ninth-Rank expert Haitang Duoduo, which showed their strength.

However, Fan Xian's reliance wasn't those three guards.

Cultivating them was just to make things easier to do in the future. His true reliance was actually Lin Yu and the chat group, as well as himself, who was now at the third level of Qi Cultivation!

Fan Xian smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Father, I have a plan in mind."

Fan Jian looked at him deeply, then said: "Since this matter involves Northern Qi, it is a state affair. Father cannot intervene in the subsequent investigation on the surface and can only help in secret."

"If you really want to investigate, find a time to go see Chen Pingping!"

Fan Xian was waiting for these words, so he immediately bowed with a smile and turned to leave the study.

"My lord, Fang Da is clearly in our hands. As long as we turn him, we can ask for the culprit behind the scenes at any time. Why do you want to hide such important news from the old master?"

Hearing Nie Kang's confusion, Fan Xian glanced at him and shook his head: "My father is an upright and stubborn person, almost foolishly loyal. Although the people under him obey him, they are ultimately the Emperor's personal army."

"For this kind of thing, naturally, I can't discuss it with him; I still have to go find Chen Pingping..."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Lin Yu and said softly: "Brother, I have already sent Fu Hao and Brother Wu to capture the escaping Si Lili overnight. Uncle Wu Zhu is following behind them to provide support. For tomorrow's trip to the Overwatch Council, I'll have to trouble you to accompany me!"

"No problem."

Lin Yu smiled: "It just so happens that I also want to see the famous Chen Pingping."

Early the next morning, before dawn, Fan Xian and Lin Yu arrived at the Overwatch Council.

At this time, the entire capital was still shrouded in darkness, a large area of ink-like darkness dotted with some brilliant lights, among which the Liujing River, which operated at night, was the most prosperous, and Wanong Lane was slightly secondary.

And the darkest place in the darkness was the Overwatch Council, which all the officials of the capital feared like a tiger.

The Overwatch Council was directly under the command of the Emperor and belonged to the secret service agency most trusted by the Emperor, so although its rank was low, its power was extremely great.

In the early hours of the morning, there were already many figures moving about in the Overwatch Council.

Seeing Fan Xian and Lin Yu coming, these people cast vigilant gazes.

But after seeing the waist token Fan Xian showed, they all withdrew their gazes one after another and continued to busy themselves with their own affairs.

This waist token was given to him by Fan Xian's master, Fei Jie, back then. The holder of the waist token was a Tisi of the Overwatch Council.

The so-called Tisi was a special position independent of the various departments of the Overwatch Council, only needing to take orders from the Director, and was on the same level as the heads of the eight departments.

The reason it could have such a transcendent status was because this Tisi position was originally prepared by Ye Qingmei for Wu Zhu back then.

Wu Zhu was both the servant who had followed Ye Qingmei the longest and an existence comparable to a Grandmaster. Whether from the perspective of relationship or strength, it was impossible to treat him casually.

Since Wu Zhu's disappearance, the Tisi position had been vacant for many years.

It wasn't until Fan Xian came last time that the Overwatch Council learned that there was a Tisi official above them.

Relying on this Tisi waist token, the two walked unimpeded into this complex of buildings built of bluestone and limestone.

When walking to a dark passage, Lin Yu suddenly stopped and glanced at the shadow in the corner.

Fan Xian also noticed the breath in the shadow and said indifferently: "Come out!"

"..."

After a silent pause, a man in black wearing a mask walked out of the shadow.

Lin Yu looked him up and down and said with great interest: "Are you Shadow?"

Shadow didn't answer, just looked at Fan Xian calmly and said: "Follow me; the Director is waiting for you."

Fan Xian raised his eyebrows and asked curiously: "He knew I would come?"

Shadow glanced at him and said: "The Director thought you would come last night..."

Fan Xian was dumbfounded, then smiled and said: "Then that's my fault for wronging the Director by waiting for me all night."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and walked toward the corridor.

Shadow blocked him and glanced at Lin Yu behind him: "You can go, but he can't."

"..."

Fan Xian frowned and was about to speak when he saw Lin Yu step forward and walk past him on his own.

And Shadow turned a blind eye to Lin Yu's behavior, still staring at the air behind Fan Xian, as if there were still a person standing there.

Fan Xian smiled secretly in his heart, then said with a light smile: "Alright, then I'll go by myself."

After saying this, he stepped forward again. This time Shadow didn't block him, but instead took the initiative to lead the way in front.

Walking in the long corridor, Fan Xian looked around curiously and found that there were seven or eight candlesticks embedded at equal intervals on the left side, while on the right side was a black brick wall without any gaps, with only slanted grooves opened at the very top of the wall for ventilation.

Walking to the middle section, Shadow suddenly stopped, raised his hand to pat the wall, and pressed a certain black stone brick.

The next second, the black brick wall beside him opened silently, revealing a slightly bright gap.

Shadow turned around, looked at Fan Xian with a calm expression, and said: "Go."

Walking into the secret room, Shadow behind him immediately pressed another stone brick, just like that, closing the secret door.

Lin Yu didn't care, but instead looked around with great interest.

The layout of the entire secret room was extremely monotonous. Except for a table and a chair, there was no decoration at all. It was clear at a glance that this was not a place for daily work, but a secret room specially activated by Chen Pingping to meet with Fan Xian.

Behind the desk, an old man with a fair face and no beard was lying on a wheelchair, covered with a blanket and sleeping soundly.

Fan Xian stood in front of the desk, looking at the old man in black official uniform with a complicated expression.

Ever since he heard about Chen Pingping's past and future deeds, he had always wanted to see this biggest supporter of Ye Qingmei.

Fan Xian had thought about the scene of their first meeting, but he never thought it would be like this.

A dim secret room, a tightly closed secret door, a sleeping old man with no ability to resist...

Such an undefended scene showed how much trust he had in Fan Xian deep in his heart.

This trust might not be without reservation, but it had a sense of banter like "it wouldn't be bad to die at your hands."

If it were the previous Fan Xian, he would definitely not be able to understand, but the current Fan Xian had already known his fate, so he could better understand the unusual care this old man had for him.

After hesitating for a moment, Fan Xian said softly: "Director... Director!"

Following Fan Xian's soft call, the old man on the wheelchair slowly woke up, first looking at Fan Xian blankly, and then his eyes gradually returned to clarity.

"You're here?"

Chen Pingping slightly curled the corners of his mouth and smiled gently: "Why didn't you light the lamp?"

Fan Xian was silent for a moment and said softly: "My cultivation technique is special; I can see at night."

Although he said so, he still picked up the fire starter on the desk and lit the candlestick.

"Ceng!"

The firelight flared up, illuminating the secret room and also revealing the other person behind Fan Xian.

The moment he saw the young man in white, Chen Pingping's pupils shrank.

But the next second, he calmed down, sighed, and said: "Shadow is a capable subordinate of mine. After you take over the Overwatch Council in the future, he will also work for you, so... don't kill him."

Lin Yu smiled: "Don't worry, he's not dead."

"That's good."

Chen Pingping nodded while looking at Lin Yu and suddenly said: "You must be Young Master Lin!"

Lin Yu raised his eyebrows and said with great interest: "Director is indeed all-seeing. Lin only arrived in the capital yesterday, yet I still couldn't escape the eyes of the Overwatch Council..."

"Young Master is joking!"

Chen Pingping shook his head and said softly: "The Overwatch Council is ordered by the Emperor to monitor the world. All the major powers and civil and military officials in the capital have eyes and ears of my Overwatch Council in their residences. Everyone knows this, and the Fan residence is no exception."

"Plus, Fan Xian hosted a banquet yesterday to entertain you without any concealment."

"If the Overwatch Council couldn't even find out about this, it might as well just close down!"

Speaking of this, Chen Pingping paused, glanced at Lin Yu, and said: "It's just that Young Master has extraordinary means, which is admirable. With the Overwatch Council's control over the inside and outside of the capital, we could only find out about the Fan residence."

"As for Young Master's identity and background, when you entered the capital, and when you got to know Fan Xian."

"There is actually no clue about these important pieces of information..."

Lin Yu smiled: "Is there really no clue, or did Director not investigate at all?"

Chen Pingping was startled upon hearing this, then smiled lightly: "True, I was busy with official business yesterday, so the Overwatch Council didn't specifically investigate, but Fan Xian once admitted in the residence that you are his old friend from Danzhou. This matter shouldn't be wrong, right?"

Lin Yu said frankly: "That's right."

The smile on Chen Pingping's face faded, his right hand rubbed the armrest of the wheelchair, and he said calmly: "Then it's strange..."

"Except for the time spent with Wu Zhu, the Overwatch Council would report every move Fan Xian made in Danzhou to me."

"But in these pieces of information, there is no news about you at all!"

"I am very puzzled... Young Master Lin, who exactly are you?"

(End of chapter)