The Black Knights headed straight for Jiaozhou, and to avoid attracting attention, they naturally couldn't take the official road. No matter how confident Fan Xian was, no matter how much faith he had in the Black Knights' strength, he couldn't expect to suppress one of the Qing Dynasty's three major naval forces with just over four hundred riders once the chaos began.

So they had to sneak into the city, guns silent.

Looking at the gates of Jiaozhou from afar, Fan Xian dismounted. Following the methods of the Overwatch Council he had learned since childhood, he found a quiet place and let the horse go. The horse was quite intelligent, as if understanding its master's intentions. It didn't linger much and went off into the secluded valley, disappearing in a short while.

It wasn't that Fan Xian was reluctant to kill the horse, but the smell of blood was unnecessary and would only bring trouble. After confirming that the horse wouldn't reveal his whereabouts, he sat down under a tree, dug a small pit next to him, and buried his clothes in the soil.

Then he took out his equipment and gave it a thorough check, confirming that the black dagger, three newly equipped crossbows, and the ever-present drugs and poisons were all there. He applied something to his face, then nodded subconsciously before sighing.

Somewhat unwillingly, he buried the Emperor's Sword given to him by Wang Qinian in the pit. Fan Xian thought to himself, "I wonder when I can use this sword openly."

By the time he left the tree, Supervisor Fan of the Overwatch Council had transformed into an ordinary young man. His face was still handsome, but the distance between his eyebrows had widened, the corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and he had lost some of his heroic spirit, gaining some sincerity. He was a completely different person.

Underneath the coarse cloth clothes was still the close-fitting black night suit. Fortunately, the material was excellent and breathable, so he didn't feel hot.

Walking along a rarely used mountain path towards Jiaozhou City, the sun had long sunk behind the mountains, and a dim twilight enveloped the surroundings. At the last moment before the Jiaozhou city gate, Fan Xian walked to the gate, obediently handed over his travel permit, and answered a few routine questions from the city gate guards, easily entering the city.

The Overwatch Council didn't just make high-quality fake travel permits; they were real. Naturally, no one would find any problems. Moreover, when Fan Xian answered the questions, although he was respectful, there wasn't a hint of panic. Jiaozhou was located by the sea, with many people coming and going. The city gate guards were used to it and didn't pay much attention.

After passing through the city gate, Fan Xian rubbed his eyes and smiled, like a traveler from afar, looking at the surrounding houses and scenery with a curious gaze. However, he didn't dare to be too leisurely. His pace didn't slow down, perfectly playing the role of a busy outsider.

Jiaozhou City was indeed different from ordinary cities. Although it was near the sea, commerce, especially the retail of scattered goods, wasn't developed. The most prosperous avenue running through the city didn't have many shops on either side. Even the ones that did were half-hidden, without signs, making it impossible for outsiders to know what business they were engaged in.

The whole city seemed a bit solemn and calm, lacking the atmosphere of daily life but possessing an air of majesty.

As Fan Xian walked, he observed these details, knowing it was because the Jiaozhou Navy was stationed here. Jiaozhou was far from the Central Plains, truly a place where the mountains were high and the emperor was far away. The navy itself had tens of thousands of soldiers, a terrifyingly large force.

Compared to the massive navy, Jiaozhou's local forces seemed insignificant. The highest official in Jiaozhou City was only a prefect, who still had to be obedient to the navy's admiral.

Moreover, Jiaozhou's economic affairs depended entirely on the navy's favor. The daily needs of the navy's tens of thousands of soldiers, besides the imperial court's allocation, were requisitioned locally. Although this annoyed the people of Jiaozhou, it also brought a kind of deformed prosperity—at least there was no worry about selling goods and food.

For these reasons, Jiaozhou City was like a massive logistical base for the navy, like a delicate young woman next to a strong man, only able to accept and unable to voice many complaints.

With such a large entity as the navy on the side, Jiaozhou City naturally took on a strong military atmosphere. The best areas in the city were requisitioned by the military, the largest mansions were occupied by the navy's senior officers, and the best girls were taken by the navy.

Although the imperial court had clear orders prohibiting garrison commanders from residing within neighboring cities, everyone knew that this rule had long lost its effect. Not only in Jiaozhou, but in all local and border armies, any powerful figure was unwilling to live in the miserable barracks and would buy houses and women in the city.

The Black Knights were an exception among exceptions.

Fan Xian looked up at the brothel with its red lanterns hanging high and couldn't help but smile. Where there were many soldiers, the brothel business would naturally be good. He just didn't know if those navy officers would skip out on their debts. However, according to news from the Overwatch Council, although the Jiaozhou Navy was the emperor of Jiaozhou City, they usually didn't eat the grass nearby.

They used to eat the grass in the southern seas.

……

……

Fan Xian lowered his head and quickly walked past a large mansion. The mansion occupied a vast area, with flying eaves and phoenix sculptures, vermilion-painted doors, and bamboo hidden in the walls, taking up half the street. It was even more ostentatious than the mansions of those high officials in the capital.

Like the brothel in the distance, the mansion was decorated with red lanterns, exuding an atmosphere of joy. The door was pasted with pictures of white-bearded gods. It seemed that some important figure was celebrating a birthday.

In stark contrast to this joyful atmosphere were the soldiers guarding the mansion's entrance. Their faces were dark, and the faint green stains of seawater could be seen under their ears, indicating they had been living at sea for many years. They stared straight ahead, their faces stern, vigilantly watching the passersby in front of the mansion.

Not many pedestrians dared to stroll in front of the mansion, so their main task was to check the guests. Although the guests were superiors from the navy, officials from Jiaozhou City, some wealthy merchants who could stand on the stage, and even a few merchants from Jiangnan, the soldiers still didn't dare to relax, carefully checking the gift boxes to ensure no one dared to bring weapons inside.

Today was the lord's birthday banquet, and they had to ensure everything was foolproof.

Besides the heavily guarded main entrance, Fan Xian circulated his true qi and could already hear that many sentries were also hidden in the secluded corners of the mansion.

He quickly walked past, his head lowered, a strange smile on his lips. He saw clearly the guard strength stationed at the street corners outside the mansion and also drew a map of the surrounding terrain, deeply imprinted in his mind. He had only walked through the vast imperial palace once and remembered all the small paths clearly, let alone a mansion like this.

……

……

Leaving behind the noise and greetings, letting the glaring red of the lanterns disappear into the darkness, Fan Xian pursed his lips. His eyes glanced intentionally or unintentionally at a certain spot under the wall beside the street, saw a familiar secret mark, and turned into it, walking straight to the end of the alley.

It was a dead end.

Fan Xian looked up at the wall opposite the dead end, shook his head, and with a tap of his toes, his whole body rose lightly. He placed his palm on the top of the wall and flipped over.

Silently, Fan Xian, disguised as an ordinary citizen, disappeared into Jiaozhou City again.

—————————————————————

Behind the wall was a small courtyard. The place wasn't very quiet, and he could faintly hear the sounds of the street from several large rooms away. Although the house had six rooms in the front and back, it looked a bit old, indicating that the people living here weren't ordinary, but their lives weren't necessarily easy.

Fan Xian stepped onto the stone steps, pushed open the door, and walked straight to the main seat. He picked up the teapot next to him, sniffed it, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it down.

A somewhat hurried sound of footsteps came from the side. The owner of the footsteps walked into the room, saw an unfamiliar young man sitting there, and was about to ask a question. However, seeing the hand gesture made by the man, he was both surprised and delighted, saying, "Teacher, you've finally arrived."

Fan Xian smiled, put down the teacup, and looked at Hou Jichang's thin face. He couldn't help but say, "You came to Jiaozhou to be an official. I thought you could nourish your shriveled body, but why are you getting thinner?"

After meeting Yang Wanli on the Jiangnan levee, Hou Jichang had spared no effort to come to Jiaozhou to take office. The journey was arduous, and he also had to secretly investigate those shocking matters for Fan Xian. The mental pressure was also great. He had been in Jiaozhou for nearly a month, but he hadn't made any progress. He was deeply afraid of hindering his teacher's important matters and had been unable to sleep for several nights. Now his eyes were sunken, and his cheekbones protruded. He no longer had any semblance of the elegant and unrestrained scholar from Kyoto on a rainy day.

He smiled bitterly and mocked himself, saying, "This student doesn't have the ability of the teacher to laugh at the affairs of the world."

Fan Xian sighed. Although Hou Jichang was the most meticulous, ruthless, and daring of his four disciples, it was clear that a scholar was still a scholar when truly facing the impending bloodshed. Originally, this matter should have been handled by the Overwatch Council, but Fan Xian arranged for Jichang to come here, partly to shake up the officials of Jiaozhou, and partly because he had a selfish motive. After the chaos in Jiaozhou, some would be demoted and some would receive credit... Such a great merit could definitely allow Jichang to obtain an unconventional promotion.

Fan Xian was willing to leave this kind of benefit to his student, but making him suffer some shock was also the price.

"After you arrived in Jiaozhou, have there been any abnormalities?" Fan Xian asked calmly. He didn't ask about the Jiaozhou Navy's smuggling, because he knew that Hou Jichang couldn't possibly find out about these shady things in officialdom in such a short time.

Hou Jichang thought for a moment and said, "Everyone knows that I am your student, so these officials are quite polite to me. Even those officers in the navy are very sensible, but... there's not much understanding. I've only heard some rumors."

Fan Xian nodded. This was the situation he had expected. He thought for a moment and said, "Navy Admiral Chang Kun is holding a birthday banquet today. Didn't he invite you?"

Hou Jichang was stunned and said, "I'm just a small official, but... probably to give you face, this Admiral did give me an invitation, but... you said you would arrive today, so I've been waiting at home and haven't decided whether to go or not."

"Go," Fan Xian said decisively. "You go first."

Letting him go first, the underlying meaning was naturally that Fan Xian would go later.

Hou Jichang frowned and said, "You're just going alone?"

"One person is enough," Fan Xian smiled. "Chang Kun isn't Xiao En. He doesn't deserve me to pay too much attention to him."

After a pause, he added, "Today is his birthday banquet. In the future, his family can celebrate his memorial day on the same day... This can save a lot of trouble."

Hou Jichang was shocked and his mouth turned bitter. He stared blankly at his teacher, knowing that Fan Xian would definitely kill someone at today's banquet, but he didn't know how his teacher planned to kill under the protection of the powerful Jiaozhou Navy. Moreover, a dignified admiral, a first-rank official, couldn't just be assassinated. His Majesty and the teacher... shouldn't make such a foolish mistake. If that birthday banquet turned into a scene of carnage, how would they clean it up?