Chapter 107 The Final Encounter in the Illusory Dream Palace
The squad stopped in front of the door, then scattered to both sides with a "whoosh".
A fully armed general suddenly appeared at the end of the column. He pulled on the reins and slowly walked towards Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao stared at him coldly, "State your name."
"This humble general, Fan Kun, is General Yang Song's deputy." The general bowed to Yang Xiaoyi and said, "I have come here to welcome the general on the orders of Your Highness and Mr. Lu Qi."
Upon seeing this, Jia Ding hurriedly stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting, "I am Jia Ding, greetings to General Fan." After speaking, he turned to look at Yang Xiao, but seeing that she still had an unapproachable demeanor, he immediately stared coldly at Fan Kun with his spear held high.
"I don't see any intention of welcoming you." Yang Xiao snorted lightly, twirled the gun in her hand, and looked up at Fan Kun. "Could it be that Xiao Yan is afraid that my intentions are not pure, so he specially sent troops to guard against me?"
"This..." Fan Kun and Jia Ding exchanged a glance, then clasped their hands and nodded to Yang Xiao, saying, "It is my fault for being impolite. The troops I brought were only for the sake of honor and had no intention of offending you. Please do not blame me, General."
"To blame me..." Yang Xiao looked up at Fan Kun, who was imposing yet courteous, and couldn't help but sigh with a smile, "He's just a surrendered general, how dare I talk to the general about blaming him?"
Fan Kun frowned as he looked at Yang Xiao, a sense of familiarity washing over him. It was as if he had seen this kind of aura many years ago, only now it was someone else.
He pondered for a long time, then sighed and stepped aside to make way for Yang Xiao. "General, come with me."
The streets of Chang'an were bustling with unparalleled prosperity, as if the turmoil of the world had nothing to do with this place. All kinds of goods were displayed on the shops, but Yang Xiao had no interest in them.
She kept urging her horse forward, following Fan Kun, her mind filled with the scene of meeting Xiao Yan soon. She breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief, and unconsciously tightened her grip on the reins.
Fan Kun walked forward, glancing back at Yang Xiao every now and then. Seeing her staring intently at the ground, memories of the past flooded his mind.
He sighed deeply, frowned as he looked at the tense Yang Xiao, and softly called out, "General Yang?"
Yang Xiao then came to her senses, tugged at the reins, and found that Fan Kun had been waiting for her for quite some time. She tilted her head slightly towards Fan Kun, "What is it, General Fan?"
"It's nothing." Fan Kun looked at Yang Xiao as if she were an old friend, then lowered his eyes and sighed softly. He spurred his horse forward slowly, "You and my general really look alike."
"What?" Yang Xiao was taken aback and took two steps forward, holding the reins.
Fan Kun smiled and looked ahead. "General Yang Song is a young and talented man, full of vigor and ambition. He can handle anything. Even when his wife passed away and the family fell into decline, it did not break him."
He held the reins with emotion, “But later, when His Highness murdered the emperor and summoned him to the palace, he was wary of everything, distrusted everyone, and his words were full of sharp wit, even to the point of being… unable to distinguish friend from foe.” He gave a bitter smile and looked back at Yang Xiao, “How similar you are to him now.”
"And now?" Yang Xiao glanced at Fan Kun. "Has he found his own place?"
Fan Kun nodded. "Of course. He already has a target in the palace, so naturally he's much more unrestrained than before." He turned to Yang Xiao inquiringly, "So, General, you..."
“I know you mean well,” Yang Xiao smiled and nodded to Fan Kun. “My brother has served by Xiao Yan’s side for five years, so he naturally has his own views on the current situation. What he is doing now is the result of his careful consideration and deliberation.” She sighed softly. “I trust his judgment, and I trust his actions even more.”
Fan Kun frowned slightly, looking intently at Yang Xiao, waiting for her to continue.
“So, I want to use my own experience to carefully choose my own path in this officialdom,” Yang Xiao looked back and calmly gazed into Fan Kun’s eyes, “just like my brother did back then.”
“I understand.” Fan Kun nodded with a light smile, then looked up at Yang Xiao sincerely. “Then I can only hope… General, you won’t put too much pressure on yourself. After all, there’s still the Chixiao Prefecture in Chang’an.”
Yang Xiao was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled with relief, "Chixiao Mansion..." She turned to look at Fan Kun, her previous wariness gone, "By the way, why did you choose such a name?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Kun smiled and scratched his head. "Kun means prison. This name means to break free from shackles, and it also serves as a reminder not to fight like a trapped beast."
“This name is concise yet profound,” Yang Xiao nodded approvingly, then smiled gently, “It reminds me of an old friend.”
"Oh?" Fan Kun looked at Yang Xiao with great interest. "May I ask who you are?"
"Just someone who does his best and constantly surpasses himself." She smiled at Fan Kun, "But this person is always sleepy."
Upon hearing this, Fan Kun couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. "I was quite troubled by this name when I was a child, but I couldn't disobey my parents' orders, and with General Yang protecting me, I didn't suffer any losses."
"So...you and your brother grew up together?"
“Yes,” Fan Kun nodded to Yang Xiao with emotion, “So General,” he said, his eyes still showing some worry, “you have enough support in the palace, and I hope that your spirit… will never be suppressed.”
A warm feeling washed over Yang Xiao. She smiled and looked into Fan Kun's sincere eyes, then nodded at him.
"Thank you, I appreciate your kind words."
Chi Lian kept moving forward, and the magnificent palace gradually unfolded before Yang Xiao's eyes. She held the reins and looked at the surrounding scenery, but she saw that there were winding roads beside the houses. Fan Kun ignored the winding roads around him and led her straight forward.
"This road isn't difficult to travel, there aren't even any turns." Yang Xiao frowned as she looked ahead. "Could it be that Xiao Yan's story about setting up an array in Chang'an was all just empty talk?"
“Not so,” Fan Kun chuckled and shook his head. “Your Highness did indeed set up the Chang’an Formation, but you can’t just demolish and rebuild all the houses according to the Bagua diagram.” He raised his hand and gestured along the winding road. “What Your Highness intended was simply to connect the buildings together and then supplement them with military formations, so that Chang’an would be easy to defend and difficult to attack, and impervious to all poisons.”
Yang Xiao pondered for a while, then nodded approvingly, "It seems that Xiao Yan is indeed a genius of formations."
"It's not just His Highness Xiao; Lord Lu Qi also put in a lot of effort for this formation," Fan Kun sighed with emotion. "This formation has been modified again and again to reach its current state. I heard that this formation was extremely complex back then, and in the end, its form was discarded while its essence was preserved, which is how this city was built." He looked at the road in front of him with emotion, "This city within a formation can be considered the essence of the formations that His Highness usually attacks."
"Lu Qi..." Yang Xiao's attention was still only on Lu Qi. She chuckled softly and looked up at Fan Kun, "Will he be here later?"
“Of course.” Fan Kun nodded. “You’ve forgotten, it was Mr. Lu Qi who sent me to pick you up.”
Yang Xiao held the reins and looked ahead with a carefree expression. "Now that you mention it, I'm really eager to meet these two talented people."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Fan Kun smiled and said, "General, we've arrived."
"So fast." Yang Xiao chuckled and dismounted, handing the reins to the soldier who had rushed over. Then he looked up at the hall before him, "The Tenglong Hall?"
“Hmm.” Fan Kun stood beside Yang Xiao and nodded. “Her Highness usually gathers her ministers to discuss state affairs in this hall; if she wants to handle official business alone, she prefers to stay in Zhu Yang Hall.”
Yang Xiao ignored him, only looking up at the plaque under the eaves. Before the little eunuch could come out and reply, Yang Xiao strode into the hall.
"Your Highness, General Fan is leading Yang..."
Before he finished speaking, a "snap" was heard and the curtain was lifted. The officials in the hall turned around and unconsciously made way for him.
The female general, dressed in a maroon battle robe, swiftly burst through the door and walked straight to the center of the hall, seemingly fearless.
This was the first time Xiao Yan had looked at Yang Xiao so closely.
The image of Yang Xiao, who once rode a horse with a spear across her body, flashed through Xiao Yan's mind. As if waking from a dream, she sat in the main seat. Yang Xiao, whom she had only known through rumors before, was now standing alive and well in front of her.
Energetic, skilled in both literature and martial arts, lively and agile, heroic and imposing... the silhouettes in my memory suddenly came to life, merging with the person in front of me.
She looked up into Yang Xiao's wary yet resolute eyes and felt a sudden resonance in her heart, causing her to tremble slightly. Persistence, agility, fearlessness… all these qualities were identical to her own, but the spirit that permeated Yang Xiao's soul was completely different from her own.
Those were things she could only dream of but never attain in her life—loyalty and justice.
Xiao Yan couldn't help but stand up and look into Yang Xiao's clear and firm eyes, which were as bright as sunlight, dazzling and unparalleled, yet also filled her heart with darkness from which she had nowhere to escape.
"Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me!" The little eunuch kneeling before the palace, realizing the enormity of his mistake, kowtowed repeatedly to Xiao Yan, his voice trembling like a leaf, "I truly know nothing about this person..."
Xiao Yan didn't even glance at the little eunuch. He simply raised his hand and waved it gently, and the man immediately shut up and ran away to the side.
"Why don't you kneel before His Highness!"
Before Yang Xiao could adjust to the various things in the hall, she heard someone behind her shouting sternly.
She closed her eyes briefly, and without turning her head, said, "You are neither the emperor nor my parents, so why are you kneeling?"
"You!" Xiao Yun, standing behind her, pointed at Yang Xiao and said angrily, "I want to see if your knees are harder than my fists!"
"Xiao Yun!"
Before Xiao Yan could even utter a sound, Xiao Yun rushed to Yang Xiao's side.
Upon hearing the sound, Yang Xiao turned her head and suddenly raised her hand to catch Xiao Yun's fist. However, she also dodged the attack and raised her arm to strike Xiao Yun's back. The sudden force sent the burly Xiao Yun crashing to the ground.
"You bitch!" Xiao Yun braced herself on the ground, turned around and glared at Yang Xiao with gritted teeth, then suddenly pushed herself up and attacked Yang Xiao again.
"Xiao Yun! Stop!" Xiao Yan stood up angrily and walked towards the two of them.
Seeing that Xiao Yan had expressed his opinion, Yang Song rushed forward like an arrow released from a bow.
But it was too late. Xiao Yun grabbed her wrist tightly, but instead of attacking her vitals, he launched a premeditated attack on Yang Xiao's back.
The wounds from the more than thirty blows had not yet fully healed. The powerful force of the blows caused Yang Xiao to groan in pain, release Xiao Yun, and fall forward involuntarily.
"Yang Xiao!" Xiao Yan hurriedly ran towards Yang Xiao, while Yang Song, who was standing to the side, had already pinned Xiao Yun against the wall and grabbed his neck tightly.
The farce just now came to an end, leaving Yang Xiao kneeling on the ground, panting heavily, letting the excruciating pain spread from her back throughout her body.
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