Chapter Sixteen: The Noble Person

  Fan Xian was startled, thinking that the sacred and quiet place would suddenly produce such a loud shout. He looked up to find that there was actually someone inside the Qing Temple, blocking his way. It was a middle-aged man with deep-set eyes, a nose like an eagle's beak, and an aura of evil.

  Looking at the other person staring at him, Fan Xian felt somewhat displeased in his heart. He thought to himself that he had read about the imperial city's rules and regulations in the classics, and this Qing Temple was a place where everyone could come. You hide behind the door and scare people, but you still put on such an eagle-snatching-rabbit posture, which is really despicable.

  Who the hell wants to be a grandfather?

  Fan Xian furrowed his brow and said: "Your Excellency's voice is so loud, aren't you afraid of deafening people?"

  Who would have thought that the middle-aged man's expression was extremely serious, and he pushed him away with a low voice, saying: "Hurry up and leave, there is someone in the temple who is praying for blessings, do not disturb." The person's dress was clearly that of a wealthy family attendant, but his tone of speech was full of official flavor.

  Fan Xian, however, did not notice this. Since he was a child and followed Fei teacher to dig graves, he had formed a mild cleanliness habit. Looking at the hand getting closer and closer to him, his eyebrows furrowed, and with a twist of his hands, he grasped the other's wrist.

  A light crackling sound.

  Two people stared at each other in surprise, finding that their techniques were extremely similar, as if two snakes entwined together, unable to be pulled apart.

  "Hiss." The middle-aged man let out a soft hiss, his eyes gleaming with intensity. A dark energy surged forth from his wrist like a great river, pouring into Fan Xian's body.

  Fan Xian hummed, never expecting to run into such a master out of nowhere. A scorching heat rose from his back as the tyrannical true energy that had been quiet for many years suddenly reacted and burst forth from his dantian, colliding head-on with the opponent's attack.

  A faint humming noise, the dust on the stone steps was blown up by two dark and powerful collisions, forming a very strange gray ball, which quickly dissipated.

  The two people were shaken apart for several steps. The middle-aged man covered his mouth and coughed twice, while Fan Xian's face was expressionless, as if nothing was wrong.

  The middle-aged man gave him a cold glance and said, "At such a young age, you already have such an overbearing aura, whose son are you?"

  "Why must you care who I am? I just want to enter the temple and pray for blessings, what right do you have to stop me?" Fan Xian looked at him coldly.

  "There is a noble person in the temple, young man, wait for a moment." The middle-aged man felt that the other party's technique was similar to his own, thinking that the other party might be from which Kyoto family, and had an old relationship with himself, so he gradually dispersed the killing intent in his heart.

  Fan Xian's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement: "There is no provision in the Qing national law that requires queuing for temple fairs."

  The middle-aged man frowned, finding the young man quite annoying. With a flick of his sleeve, he entered the temple and left Fan Xian standing outside.

  Fan Xian opened his mouth to speak, but felt a wave of dizziness in his chest, and his throat was sweet. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and covered his mouth. Earlier, when the dark energy clashed, fortunately, at the critical moment, his right index finger silently tapped the opponent's pulse gate - relying on his own understanding of human anatomy being more profound than these martial arts masters, otherwise he might have been injured even more severely.

  At this time, he looked at the heavy wooden door again, and his eyes had a hint of fear, no longer daring to try to push the seemingly immovable door.

  ……

  ……

  Fan Xian coughed twice, and his handsome face took on a few more stern expressions. Since he couldn't beat the opponent, he naturally had to retreat and wait for another day to fight again. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he found that the wooden door behind him opened again. The middle-aged master who had injured himself stood at the door and said coldly: "The old master ordered that the young man go to the side hall to pray for blessings, do not enter the main hall."

  "After saying that, he added another sentence: 'Don't enter the main hall, did you hear me?'"

  Fan Xian turned around, took a glance at the middle-aged man, and then looked at the seemingly unfathomable Sen Senqing Temple. He furrowed his brow, swept his sleeves, and stepped over the high threshold, walking towards the side hall without looking back.

  Watching the young man suffer this setback, he still didn't rush or become flustered or timid or retreat, and still persisted in his original goal. A hint of admiration flashed across the eyes of the middle-aged master.

  The middle-aged man closed the temple door, frowned and looked around, thinking that these little rabbits actually let that young man walk to the temple door, and he must practice well when he goes back tonight.

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  Qing Miao is a quiet place, the Qing people are a very practical nation - ordinary people usually go to Dongshan Temple in the west of Kyoto to pray for blessings and send their children to worship the goddess of childbirth and those who look like local deities.

  But the people of Kyoto revered and feared heaven, and the emperor was exactly what is called the Son of Heaven, so the Kyoto Imperial Palace became a place for the imperial family to worship heaven. Although on ordinary days, the palace remained open to the citizens of Kyoto, there were also no citizens who liked this oppressive atmosphere.

  The main hall of Qingmiao Temple is a building similar to the Temple of Heaven. The two-layered eaves are staggered and very beautiful.

  A middle-aged man stood respectfully outside the main hall, looking at the nobleman admiring the colorful paintings on the wall with his hands behind his back, and said in a low voice: "According to Master's intention, let that young man go to the side hall."

  The nobleman was about forty years old, his face couldn't be described as heroic, but his eyebrows and eyes had a hint of a domineering air that seemed to defy the heavens, only it was somewhat tempered by an almost imperceptible weariness.

  "Who is this young man, a member of which family, that he can exchange blows with you?" The nobleman asked with a smile.

  The middle-aged man with such a strong martial art, but in front of him, really just like an attendant, honestly replied: "I don't know, I just reported to the master earlier that his route is similar to...the route of our family's guards."

  The nobleman slightly sensed something was off: "Huh? Could it be Li Zhi's family's young son?"

  The middle-aged man smiled wryly and said, "Although I'm usually too lazy to deal with people, the Crown Prince of Jing is someone I know."

  "Ah." The nobleman let out another soft "ah", and began to turn his head to look at the wall paintings. He had too many things to consider every day, and it was rare for him to have such a leisurely moment, so he didn't want to be disturbed by these small matters. Earlier, when he allowed that young man to enter the side hall to pray for good fortune, it was simply because he genuinely thought it would be a good thing if the country could produce more talented young men.

  The middle-aged man stood quietly outside the hall, his eyes occasionally glancing towards the side hall.

  ……

  ……

  After a long while, a commotion was heard outside the palace. The nobleman suddenly frowned and said: "Why isn't the girl resting in the back, what is she doing running to the side of the palace?"

  The middle-aged man was slightly startled and concentrated all his energy to listen to the sound from that direction, then looked up with a hint of embarrassment and said: "The young mistress has gone to the side hall."

  The nobleman frowned and said: "Nonsense......" He suddenly thought of something, his face changed slightly: "You go take a look, also... bring that young man to me."

  "Yes." The middle-aged man took the order and was about to leave when a bird cry suddenly came from outside the temple, followed by the sound of the temple door being pushed open. A flustered-looking person rushed in and handed him a letter sealed with red wax.