The moment the two stepped onto the stone bridge, there were scoldings and a woman's scream from behind.
Xia Fan looked back and saw a swaying torch below the attic in the distance. These sudden light spots spread out and quickly surrounded the attic.
A battle of this scale is unlikely to be caused by personal grudges.
Fang Xiandao showed a rare anxious look, "Since they can find this place, I'm afraid Wanjing Tower won't let them go. We have to go back immediately!"
"Let's leave here first."
Xia Fan quickened his pace, almost running all the way, and soon arrived at the south end of the brothel.
There is only an old warehouse here, because no one lives in it, and there is no fire around it. If most people don't light a torch, they will have trouble moving here. Xia Fan and Fang Xiandao are both Qi sensers. Although their night vision abilities are not as exaggerated as those of the fox demon, they can barely distinguish the ground and debris. Soon, the two of them followed the moss-covered stone road and found a place. Locked wooden door.
Judging from the marks on the iron chain, this door has not been opened for a long time.
"This should be what the note said."
Xia Fan nodded, "Let me do it."
Of course, a rotten wooden board couldn't stop the alchemist. He didn't even use any spells and just used his shoulder to knock a big hole out of the wooden door.
Outside is a dark alley.
No wonder the brothel would seal this entrance and exit—about a dozen years ago, this area was still facing the street, but with population expansion and housing construction, this area has gradually been filled with messy bungalows.
"follow me."
Suddenly someone whispered.
I saw a figure in a black robe jumping from the roof and running quickly into a narrow gap in the alley.
"Who?" Fang Xiandao was stunned, with a look of hesitation on his face, obviously not knowing whether to follow or not.
Xia Fan had already heard the other party's voice, "Follow her!"
The two of them also squeezed into the narrow gap. After walking for about ten meters, the surrounding area became much brighter. Judging from the style of the surrounding houses, they were in another residential area. There were also sparse voices in the distance.
The man in black took off his hood in front of them and revealed his face.
As expected, it was Yan Qing, the "web weaver".
"It's actually you—" Fang Xiandao said in surprise, "Is it the Privy Council who wants to arrest us?"
"The Privy Council didn't want to arrest you at first, but when things have reached this point, it has become difficult to explain." Yan Qing said in a deep voice.
"What do you mean?" Xia Fan asked.
"Let's talk as we walk. Time is running out, and you must leave the city immediately. The Privy Council has not yet been able to fully take over the functions of the six departments, and it will take time to close the city gates."
"No." He said decisively, "Li and the others are still in Wanjing Tower."
"Don't worry, they have already left first. I heard that you have also arranged response personnel outside the city. This is a safe choice." At this point, Yan Qing paused slightly, and his tone changed slightly, "But it's also a disguised form. It proves that the second prince’s concerns are correct.”
"Did you tell them to leave?"
"Exactly." Yan Qing clapped her hands, and a fat cat suddenly appeared from her feet, and climbed up on Xia Fan's shoulders in two or three times, "Li said to let this cat spirit follow me, so that you won't be suspicious. .”
Gungun opened his mouth and meowed, as if to prove that she was not lying.
"Okay..." Xia Fan took steps to keep up with him, "What happened in the Privy Council Palace?"
"To make a long story short, His Highness found the examiner of the Qingshan Town Scholarship Examination and obtained conclusive evidence from him that Ning Wanjun had contacted you in advance." Yan Qing said expressionlessly, "As for the third princess, the Privy Council Office had only She was listed as an observation target and has not been actually targeted, but we all know that she will never easily accept the status quo of the crown prince ascending the throne."
"So you killed the border general who was loyal to her?" At this point, Xia Fan simply stopped hiding her.
"The guards holding the border by the throat do not obey the orders of the Privy Council. This is also a helpless choice. Only by opening up the border can the armies of Gao and Xu enter Daqi smoothly. As for who this person is loyal to, it is not the point."
"It sounds like you will kill anyone who hinders the Privy Council's plan."
"Is there any problem with this?" Yan Qing said lightly, "Changes have been like this since ancient times, and it is inevitable to affect innocent people - not to mention that Ba Xingtian is not an innocent person. He should understand that once he goes to the battlefield, Sooner or later there will be such a day."
"Let's put this issue aside for now." Fang Xiandao saw that the atmosphere was not right and quickly interjected, "You said that the Privy Council originally didn't want to arrest us. What do you mean?"
"Although Ning Wanjun is hostile to the royal family, her threat level is not high. Even if Xia Fan has pledged allegiance to the princess, His Highness the Second Prince still hopes to try to win her over." Yan Qing kept walking and said quickly, "But the premise is that Xia Fan will stay in Shangyuan City and never see Ning Wanjun again. Because he sent a team of alchemists to Wanjing Tower."
Xia Fan suddenly understood what she wanted to say.
"-However, Li must not be trapped in Shangyuan City!"
Yan Qing looked back at him and said, "Yes, to be honest, I don't care whether you can return to Jinxia or not, but Li is different. If the alchemist keeps her in custody, her identity as a fox demon cannot be hidden for long. You also know that, What would happen if a demon so close to the human world was caught by the Privy Council. So I got ahead of the alchemists and asked them to withdraw from Wanjing Tower."
"Then the second prince found out that he had missed the point, and now his suspicion was confirmed." Xia Fan rubbed his forehead, "That's why there was the arrest of the brothel - he thought I had turned against him."
"As far as I'm concerned, he didn't seem to have wronged you." Yan Qing's tone was a little depressed, "What Ning Wanjun did was just for revenge. You should understand that there is no way forward for following her. If it hadn't been for Li's repeated demands, we must I want you to leave Shangyuan, so I think it’s not a bad thing to keep you here.”
"So you think everything the Privy Council did was right?"
"At least it can unite the six countries to jointly defend against external threats."
"What about Li? Has Li hindered this plan?" Xia Fan asked bluntly, "Or do you mean that as long as we have this level of righteousness, any behavior can be tolerated?"
Yan Qing fell into silence.
"Actually, you also know that this is definitely not the right thing to do, otherwise you would not risk betrayal to help Li escape."
"... I just don't want my friend's blood to be lost here." She said after a long time.
"What if the Privy Council insists on taking her life?" Xia Fan said bluntly, "Will you still stand by the second prince?"
"I..." Qing Jian rarely started, but there was no follow-up.
Her hesitation showed that she was shaken.
Just as Xia Fan was about to swing the hoe a few more times, a large flickering fire suddenly appeared in the alley.
There is a group of people coming this way!
Yan Qing suddenly stopped and waved his hand towards the wall, "You hide and don't make any noise!"
After that, she took a few steps forward alone, "Who is over there!?"
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Yan? Everyone, stop." With a chuckle, a pretty figure walked out of the alley, "What, have you found any traces of the target?"
Upon hearing this slightly familiar voice, a corresponding image suddenly appeared in Xia Fan's mind.
The third rank of the Privy Council Guards, "She Ying" Yu Linglong.