After coming out of the Privy Council Palace, it was time to rent a house, which Xia Fan was most familiar with.
What the receptionist said was true. There was indeed an area also enclosed by walls not far to the east of the Privy Council Palace, and you needed to show your copper badge to enter.
The houses inside are all similar. They are all bungalows with courtyards. There are almost a hundred of them at a glance. Judging from the empty dirt road, the occupancy rate here is not high. Obviously, no alchemist with any status would live here, but would choose to go to a better location in Jinxia City.
After all, the sea is also to the east of the city. The closer you get to this side, the more obvious the smell of firewood is in the air.
However, the price of houses is indeed cheap. One house only costs one tael of silver every three months. Compared with the black shops in Qingshan Town, I don’t know how much cheaper it is.
According to the standards of later generations, this can be regarded as a country villa area.
Xia Fan quickly selected his favorite residence—a house located on the edge of the fence and at the end of a dirt road. It is still an unobtrusive location when entering and exiting, and it can quickly climb over the wall if necessary. Since he decided to bring the fox demon with him, he had to make some sacrifices in terms of convenience. It was always good to be more cautious.
Wei Wushuang chose a house next to Xia Fan. With his family's financial resources, he could live in a restaurant instead of living in a place where he had to pay for food and clothing by himself.
But when he saw Li Ye planning to enter the same house, his expression became extremely exciting.
"Don't you... live separately? The residences here only have one bedroom... "
"Ah, is there any problem? She and I are the same disciples, and we often squeezed into the same blanket when we were wandering." Xia Fan pretended to take it for granted, "Senior brothers and sisters are all like this, not to mention that the bedroom can be completely packed. Get off the other bed.”
Wei Wushuang opened his mouth several times, and finally all that came to his lips was "Brother Xia... I, I envy you so much!"
Walking into the house, Xia Fan winked at the fox demon and said, "Ahem, this is a necessary excuse to cover up."
"So do you really want to?" the latter asked abruptly.
"What?" He was slightly startled.
"You saved my life after all... My body is no different from a human being except for my ears and tail. If you don't mind, I can't do it." At this point, she turned around and raised the corners of her eyes slightly. "I remember you said that my ears are not ugly, right..."
Although she didn't make many expressions, this sideways glance was extremely charming - unlike the pretended seductiveness, her low voice didn't have the meaning of desire, but seemed to go straight to the bottom of her heart, and her words were playing on the heartstrings. .
What's happening here
Is it really okay to drive before it gets dark
Xia Fan felt a massive amount of information suddenly pouring into his head. The battle between heaven and man escalated from a verbal confrontation to a physical fight with fists in a short period of time.
Would it be too hypocritical to decline at this time
They say that monsters and humans are treated equally, now is not the time to prove it——
He thinks he is not that kind of person.
To put it bluntly, this is also a rare opportunity to explore the body structure of demons.
In a few seconds, he felt like he was thinking about it for a century. But in the first few years of the century, the mutual fight of consciousness had turned into a one-sided beating.
"Since you have mentioned this, then I..." Xia Fan was halfway through, when his eyes suddenly caught a dangerous light. He seemed to see the fox demon's fingertips extending, like a sharp weapon. . The cold light reflected by the sharp blade made him swallow back the second half of his sentence instantly, "Then how can I take advantage of others' danger? I can just sleep outside at night."
"Yes, your will is still manageable, but it lacks tempering." Li nodded and retracted his hands. In an instant, her wandering eyes and her attitude of letting others do what she wanted disappeared, as if it was just an illusion.
Xia Fan realized that something was wrong, "Just now... wasn't it that I got distracted?"
"Not entirely, you fell into my spell."
He couldn't help but think of the dream he had in Qingshan Town.
"Illusion..."
"This is also the fox demon's natural magic. It can be used at any time without the help of external objects."
So, this is really a convenient ability - no, Xia Fan suddenly realized that this was not a good time to study spells, "Wait, why are you suddenly using this on me?"
"Because you have become an official alchemist." Li suddenly said seriously, "Since you want to help me find out the whereabouts of Master, sooner or later you will have to deal with high-level alchemists. And their methods are not as clumsy as the candidates from Qingshan Town. Once they cause them If you have doubts, the most direct way is to use weird and unpredictable tricks to induce you to tell the truth."
"In addition, attacking the will is also a common tactic used by alchemists in battles. After all, all alchemy techniques need to be initiated from 'thinking'. Destroying thoughts and disturbing attention can hinder the technique. If you are not strong-willed, you will not be able to do it at the beginning of the game. You will be at a disadvantage.”
It was just an investigation, why did it go directly to actual combat? The purpose of his coming to the Privy Council is to better understand alchemy and analyze the mysteries of the world, so that he will not do such dangerous things!
Even so, Xia Fan still asked unconsciously, "But didn't you deliberately leave a loophole just now so that I could discover the problem?"
"You are considered qualified if you can detect this in the middle of the art." Li nodded, "You must know that the illusion-based Kanshu is not without its shortcomings. When your opponent plots against you, it will naturally be exposed. There are some loopholes. Of course, the sooner you can find the loopholes, the better. If you want to do this, you still need a lot of practice."
"practise… ?"
"Well, I will do this from time to time in the future until your will is as strong as a rock."
puff! Xia Fan almost spit out a mouthful of blood. Who can bear this? He is not the strongest monk. It would be too torture to be forced to help him practice!
"Uh... you haven't thought about it. If an accident happens, wouldn't you and I be in danger?"
"Don't worry, I will control it. If you are completely controlled by the magic, I will release it." Li said unconcernedly, "The magic will interfere with your mind and mistakenly think that I am graceful and charming. Once it is released, these assumptions will disappear. It will disappear and the demonized part will reappear, so what's the danger? You did say that my ears are not ugly... but I can still tell what comforting words are."
Xia Fan was speechless.
Obviously in the "hallucination" just now, the characteristics of the fox demon were not hidden, or in other words, not only were they not hidden, but they became more distinct!
It's just that in this atmosphere, it's hard for him to tell the truth.
When Li was seriously injured, he was in a state of confusion, and the other party would not take anything he said to heart. But it was different now. He was fighting against the pressure of the world, and he was afraid that he would be regarded as a pervert.
Just think of it as twists and turns on the road ahead.
"By the way, it's better for you to sleep in the back room." Li's voice suddenly became a little slow, "After all, setting up a floor bunk in the hall is very... strange, and it may arouse unnecessary suspicion from others. Anyway, it's as you said. , there’s room for two beds inside.”
Xia Fan agreed without hesitation.
After using the remaining dry food in the package to solve the problem of eating in the evening, it was time for the Qingjian disciples to give private lessons.
"Has your master ever told you about the structure of the Privy Council Office?" He has now joined the Shenzhou Privy Council Office, but he knows nothing about the structure of the organization. It would be rude to ask the receptionist, so Li said Become the best person to ask. "For example, who do the privy councils of various states listen to, and who are the big shots in general?"
Li pondered for a moment, "She didn't talk much, and most of it was about the capital. Since the Privy Council became independent, it is no longer under the jurisdiction of the six ministries. No one except the emperor can interfere with the affairs of the palace."
"As far as I know, most local privy councils are divided into four departments, namely the Ministry of Order, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Records. Each of them is responsible for evil spirits, teaching alchemists, coordinating materials, and recording documents and secret orders. The alchemists in charge of each locality There are high and low positions, among which Shang Yuancheng is basically the highest."
It seems that the general framework of the Privy Council is imitated by the six departments of the imperial court, but the difference in background between the two sides is obvious from the naming.
"If I want to inquire about your master's whereabouts, it seems I have to find connections with the Recording Department?"
"No, you have to climb up first." Li objected, "Not to mention secret documents, even daily documents will not be open to an eighth-grade alchemist for inspection. If you ask now, you are just throwing yourself into a trap."
"How high do you want to climb?" Xia Fan asked.
The other party held out three fingers and said, "The lowest level is the third level - that is, one place to guard."
"You mean... you have to climb to the same height as the person who defeated you?"
"In this way you are qualified to know all the secrets of the local Privy Council, and can make inquiries to the Upper Yuan Privy Council."
Xia Fan couldn't help but smacked his lips, "Wouldn't that take more than ten years?"
"Do you think that fighting against the Privy Council is a child's play!" Li's voice suddenly rose, and even his tail stood up, "If it can be accomplished in more than ten years, it will be extremely smooth, even if it takes decades... Even then Master may be gone, but I will never forget this revenge!"
It turns out that my thinking was too simple.
From the moment he agreed to cooperate, was this guy ready to devote half his life...
Xia Fan changed his usual relaxed expression and said, "I understand."
Seeing him like this, the fox demon also calmed down, "Sorry... I shouldn't be so excited, then let's continue talking about the Privy Council House."
"Um."
This conversation lasted for more than an hour. Not long after the sound of bangs at the second watch passed, a burst of shrill screams suddenly pierced the tranquility of the night.
The two looked at each other and closed their mouths in unison.
Soon there were more screams.
During this period, there were also footsteps and yelling.
The sound came from far to near, and for a moment it seemed to come from outside the wall.
But as quickly as it came, it left quickly. This chaotic noise quickly disappeared into the distance and disappeared to the east.
"What happened outside?" Xia Fan frowned.
"I'm going to check on the situation." The fox demon stood up, put on his coat and hat again.
"Pay attention to the wound, and..." He paused, "Come back quickly."
Li glanced at him, turned around and walked out of the hall, disappearing into the night.
Xia Fan actually felt a little uneasy in his heart.
This back view is so consistent with FG who is gone and never comes back.
Should I go with her
But the other party is a demon, has rich experience in night operations, and I am not good at climbing over walls. I am afraid it will be difficult to keep up with the other party.
It's easy to think too much when you sit and wait, so just make a pot of tea first and distract your attention.
Xia Fan went into the kitchen and rummaged for a while, and took out a relatively clean porcelain jar. As soon as he went out, he saw a dark shadow in the hall!
His hand shook and the jar almost fell.
"you… "
The black shadow turned around, and it was Li who had taken off his bamboo hat. "I'm back. You feel like you've seen a ghost."
"It's too fast!"
"Didn't you ask me to come back quickly?" Li rolled his eyes, "As expected, human beings are fickle."
Xia Fan decided to stand up straight and take the beating, "Then... what is going on outside?"
"It's nothing," Li's eyes suddenly became a little erratic, and he replied without interest after a moment, "It's just what you humans love to do most - killing the same kind of people."