That night, in the Fang family mansion.
"Old Master, Master Qianyan is here." Someone announced outside the study.
"The door is unlocked," Fang Jiuzhang replied, "Just come in."
The door was pushed open and Qian Yan walked into the room. Then she raised her eyebrows in surprise and noticed that not only Fang Jiuzhang, but also the old lady Fang Yu, the chief disciple Fang Yanni and Fang Xiandao were all in the room. The four of them sat in a circle, seemingly waiting for her to appear.
Qian Yan turned his attention to Fang Xiandao.
The latter responded with a "he doesn't know anything" look.
It's probably related to Fang's Logistics. The demand for ice ship transportation has increased sharply recently, and many living dead have been transferred to other places. Due to her special status, the head of the Fang family has never looked for her, but it seems that this situation will not last forever.
She neither rejects nor likes using energy or spells in exchange for rewards. After all, she has to spend part of her time on the dock, which leaves less time for research. She had never been short of time in the past, and it didn't matter if she wasted a little. But since Jin Xia came, new things have emerged one after another, and she feels that the long years have become interesting again.
But Qian Yan knew in her heart that the courtesy given to her by successive heads of the Fang family was just a kind of inheritance from generation to generation. In the dense forest of Lingshan, she rarely went out, basically squatting at Fang's house and eating and drinking for free. Now when her help was needed, she had no intention of refusing even if there would be a delay.
"I wonder what you mean by calling me here?" Qian Yan sat down at the other end of the circle. Even though they now have more money on hand, the Fang family has not changed their previous habit of sitting on the floor. At most, they just added a blanket to the area where they often stay.
"That's right." Fang Jiuzhang seemed a little hesitant. He did not answer immediately, but pondered for a while, "Do you know that Xia Fan is going to the West Pole soon?"
"I heard Qian Zhi mention it. What's wrong?" Qian Yan was confused, why did he suddenly mention this? In her memory, Xiji was a vassal state, with titles that were more scary than the last. In fact, her family wealth could be counted on one hand.
"" Fang Jiuzhang fell into silence again.
"Old man." Fang Yu nudged him with her elbow, "Don't be in a daze."
"old man!"
It wasn't until the old lady let out a dissatisfied snort that Fang Jiuzhang muttered helplessly, "Isn't it that I can't bear to part with Qian Yan? Okay, I said yes." He looked at Qian Yan and sighed, "You want to go to the West Pole with them? What?"
Fang Xiandao and Fang Yanni were both stunned.
Even Qian Yan, who always dealt with things calmly, looked surprised. What's the problem? "Why should I go? He didn't send an invitation to the Fang family, right? What's more, even if he invited me, I have no reason to agree."
Unless Xia Fan begs for himself sincerely.
"Old Master, why are you asking this?" Fang Xiandao coughed twice, "Isn't Master Qianyan the patron saint of our Fang family?"
"You brat, you think I want it." Fang Jiuzhang turned around, fumbled around, and placed a copper box in the center of the crowd.
The box looked to have been aged for a while, with all the edges and corners polished to a light golden color, and the rest of the box was covered with gray-green copper spots. It would not be an exaggeration to call it an antique.
"What is this?" Qian Yan asked confused.
"It has been passed down from the Fang family since ancient times. The caretakers are the family heads of the past generations, but the things inside are left to you."
"No way," Fang Xiandao muttered, "Qianyan is older than you, and she is also older than most of the family heads. But it has been passed down for so long, and the person involved doesn't know about it? What kind of inheritance is this?"
"Could it be that you put the treasure in the box into your pocket and pawned it secretly, so you haven't been able to take it out?" Fang Yanni glanced at her master suspiciously.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Fang Jiuzhang puffed his beard and glared, "Of course there is a reason for this! Anyway, please open Qianyan first and take a look."
Qian Yan reached for the copper box, gently opened the lid and then it fell.
Apparently it does not result in increased protection at a cost.
There was actually a golden coin lying inside.
But soon she noticed something different about this ancient coin. It was nearly half the size of a palm, and felt solid and heavy when held in her hand. At the same time, there were circles of complicated sculptures engraved on the sides, and in the center was a mountain peak. On the back is a sea ship. The most special thing is that the carving is neither the language of the Six Kingdoms nor the secret language of the Privy Council. Its strokes are like sharpening with a knife and an axe, but there are some shadows of Xiji characters in the arrangement.
Thinking back to Fang Jiuzhang's question, Qian Yan suddenly had an incredible thought in his mind, "Did this thing come from the west?"
"Yes, and it's related to your life experience."
"What are you talking about?" The two disciples took a breath together, "Wasn't Qian Yan born in Lingzhou? And the family of the living dead has always existed, right?"
"Nonsense! I didn't say she was from Xiji!" The old man said with his arms crossed, "But the living dead should have their own families before awakening. Qianyan couldn't just pop out of the cracks in the rocks." At this point He looked at the other person, "Do you still remember your biological father and mother?"
the answer is negative.
She has a complete memory from childhood to adulthood, which lasts for nearly two hundred years. Although she has forgotten many less important things in the middle, she can be said to be coherent from beginning to end. But she had no impression of being alone.
"Are they from Xiji?"
"We don't know that either." Fang Yu replied, "I used hexagrams to deduce it, but the part about you was completely distorted, as if it was interfered with by some kind of magic."
"Then why did you give this box to Lord Qianyan only today?" Fang Yanni asked, "Shouldn't we tell her about her life experience as soon as possible?"
"This is the ancestral teaching." Fang Jiuzhang sighed, "The ancestors told me that it must be preserved well, but the timing of handing it over to Qian Yan must be extremely cautious. It cannot be handed over when the Fang family is unstable, nor should it be handed over to Qian Yan. Hand it over when it is possible to endanger Qianyan's life. If it is unnecessary or unexpected, it can be passed on."
"I understand. As long as she doesn't tell anyone, Qianyan will always stay in the Fang family and be the guardian of the Fang family." Fang Xiandao shrugged, "The ancestors thought so well. It's a pity that she hid it for so long that she will never The Privy Council since then has forgotten this threat."
"This is the way of survival for aristocratic families. One more trump card means more ability to protect oneself." Fang Jiuzhang didn't mean to cover up or defend. Only Fang Yanni sat there with a shocked look on her face.
"Then don't you need this trump card now?"
"Why are you so ugly?" The old man said dissatisfied, "I don't want to keep hiding Qian Yan. Besides, you and Yan Ni are both beneficiaries. This is why I called you two here."
"Actually, he just wanted to find someone to share his guilt with." Fang Yu glanced at him sideways, "Qianyan is the most special one among the living dead. It's unclear whether she is the earliest one. Maybe her life experience and the entire life The branches of the dead are all closely related, so something like this is passed down from above. Now that the Fang family has established a firm foothold in Jinxia, and the war with the Privy Council has just ended, they can finally live a good life. What a coincidence, Xia Fan Going to the West Pole, the old man and I were wondering if this was the right opportunity mentioned in the ancestral teachings.”
With the help of the logistics industry, the Fang family is prospering; and if they go with Xia Fan, they will have reliable backup even if the West Pole is far away. It can be said that both conditions are met.
"As for whether to go or not, the choice is yours." Fang Jiuzhang looked at Qian Yan with a look of reluctance in his eyes. Although she was older than everyone in the room, in the eyes of the head of the Fang family, she was still like his own child. And it’s the kind that never grows up.
Qian Yan stared at the coins in his hand and didn't answer for a long time.
Five days later, Jinxia City Harbor Terminal.
The sailing warship, renamed "White Sands", was ready to sail.
A long isolation line was put up at the dock to prevent the news of Xia Fan from going to the West Pole from spreading among the people. As the actual head of the Secretariat, his reputation is second only to Her Royal Highness the Third Princess, and he is often regarded as Ning Wanjun's spokesperson. Because of this, it is the common view of the General Affairs Bureau that his whereabouts will not be announced for the time being.
Most of the people who came to see me off were old acquaintances.
In addition to the officials of Jinxia City, the elf high priest, the evil horse witch and the Penglai monk all appeared at the dock. After Xia Fan and Li said goodbye to everyone one by one, they boarded the White Sand along the high gangway.
"Don't you go say hello to Qianzhi?" He walked to the stern and saw Qianyan leaning on the corner of the fence, looking in the direction of the dock. "She was asking me just now if I had seen you."
"No, lest everyone be sad." Qian Yan stroked her hair that had been blown away by the sea breeze by her ears, "It's not a farewell anyway, so why waste your tears on such a farewell."
Even so, he could feel a bit of depression in Qian Yan's tone.
No matter how many separations I have experienced in my life, I still cannot face the next one calmly.
Xia Fan smiled and did not persuade her again.
He turned to look at Philin Carter. The acting captain of the White Sands was not only the Jinxia Navy's first trip, but also the last training for all the crew. When the ship arrived at the Holy Wing Islands, he promised that Philin would be free, and the trainee ship Captain Wu Yue will also become the official captain.
"Let's go now."
"Yes, Your Excellency." Feilin clenched his fist on his chest, then rang the bell on the poop deck, and the sound of tinkling tinkling kept ringing for a while. "I declare that the White Sands is at hand!"
"White Sands, now!"
"immediately!"
Deputies quickly diffused his instructions.
With a muffled buzzing sound, the hull of the ship shook. It was the squeezing sound of the keel being subjected to external thrust. Without the protection of the elves' golden vines, such a force would be enough to cause small deformations in the hull's transverse and longitudinal beams, which would accumulate until they completely crack.
It still looks like a classical sailing battleship from the outside, but after some modifications by the Mechanical Engineering Bureau, considerable changes have taken place inside.
Under the combined action of the sails and the propeller of the planetarium, the huge body of the White Sands slowly left the port and sailed towards the endless sea under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Volume 6 Dragon Wings