fifth form

Chapter 3241 Han Yan's Turmoil

"Dr. Han was executed?"

"Oh dear, yes, I couldn't understand what they were saying either, but the gist of it was that Han Yan was a spy for the Celestial Court!"

Zhang Xuezhou was refining elixirs at Shanglin Garden, and the person in charge of transporting the medicinal materials was Han Yan.

When the medicinal herbs were delivered for the second time, the person in charge of the delivery had changed to Guo Sheren.

It wasn't until he asked a few more questions that Zhang Xuezhou learned of Han Yan's death.

The news of his death came too suddenly. After all, Han Yan had been in high spirits a few days ago when he was transporting medicinal herbs, and he had repeatedly winked at Zhang Xuezhou, hoping to benefit from this large-scale alchemy.

"Since spies from the Celestial Court are so hard to catch, how was Han Yan identified and executed so quickly?"

Zhang Xuezhou had known for a long time that Han Yan had some problems, but he didn't expect Han Yan to die so quickly.

This group of people followed the new emperor for at least ten years, not to mention risking their lives, while Han Yan accompanied the new emperor for at least twenty years.

The fact that Han Yan was executed so quickly means that his case has become an ironclad one, one that even the new capital would find difficult to help with.

Zhang Xuezhou felt some regret over Han Yan's death, but he was more concerned about why Han Yan died, how he was caught red-handed, and how he was executed without even a little resistance.

“I don’t understand either. It seems that the royal family has a system for identification. When the Prince of Jiangdu entered Chang’an, he discovered Han Yan’s unusual behavior. After reporting to the Empress Dowager and investigating further, they found out about Han Yan’s problem.” Guo Sheren scratched his head and said, “You said Han Yan had a bright future, so why would he join the Celestial Court?”

Among the new talents introduced by the new emperor, Wei Qing was thrust into the limelight and sent to the military region, while Zhang Xuezhou willingly degenerated and retreated step by step.

After Zhang Xuezhou, it was Han Yan's turn.

Han Yan not only carried out the private mission of investigating the Empress Dowager, but also had the authority to mobilize the Imperial Guards. He was highly regarded by the new emperor and was expected to become a well-rounded talent who was skilled in both literature and martial arts.

If Han Yan were to persevere for another ten years or so, and if he were to prove himself even more, there would be no problem for him to become one of the Nine Ministers, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to become one of the Three Dukes in the future.

Guo Sheren clearly couldn't understand why Han Yan would make such a choice.

"Did the King of Jiangdu discover something strange about Han Yan upon entering Chang'an?"

Zhang Xuezhou's eyelids twitched.

If Zhang Xuezhou could detect that Han Yan was problematic simply by observing, he could only think of 'luck'.

If it is determined through the "Fate Eye" that Han Yan is practicing fortune-telling techniques and deliberately infiltrating the new emperor's side, such behavior must be punished.

Zhang Xuezhou was wary of the Prince of Huainan, but he didn't expect that someone in the Prince of Jiangdu's group would be able to observe the flow of fortune.

"If the King of Jiangdu has such abilities, how come he didn't discover that Master Dong was causing trouble?"

Zhang Xuezhou had questions in his mind.

Zhang Xuezhou had practiced the art of manipulation for a long time and had met with the King of Jiangdu several times, but the King of Jiangdu had never mentioned it.

Han Yan's misstep undoubtedly made Zhang Xuezhou more cautious, and he didn't even want to go back to Chang'an.

His skill level is already extremely high, but his physical strength is without foundation. If he cannot use his initial advantage to break through his opponent, Zhang Xuezhou will easily get bogged down and be slowly devoured by his opponent.

Of course, he also has a delaying tactic: using his skill in fasting to starve his opponent's true form and break the stalemate.

Zhang Xuezhou's skill in tactical maneuvers was neither particularly good nor particularly bad.

He clearly did not want any clashes in magical abilities, and there was no benefit for him to engage in a contest of magical abilities in Chang'an.

He needed to place his hopes on the new emperor, and he also needed the Empress Dowager to help Huo Qubing cultivate. As for defeating other imperial relatives who were cultivating cultivation techniques, it would only trigger an investigation and yield no results. After all, Zhang Xuezhou had not achieved any cultivation evolution even after defeating the Gaozu Emperor's cultivation technique, so he did not think that defeating some minor Karami would be of any use.

"What a pity about Han Yan. Which immortal master did he pledge allegiance to?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I don't know," Guo Sheren said. "Anyway, he suffered a lot. After his head was chopped off, it was carried away by a dog that came from who-knows-where. He wasn't even left with a complete body!"

"What a tragedy!"

Zhang Xuezhou sighed.

Han Yan shouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state. If his luck is turbulent and he is heading towards misfortune, then his situation is quite normal.

Zhang Xuezhou felt a pang of sympathy, sensing that his fate might be even worse after his luck ran out.

For example, Emperor Jing could not find peace after his death, the King of Liang's body was transformed into the Yellow Springs after his defeat, the Empress Dowager suffered torment before her death, and even Huang Daoxian had to shed a layer of skin to survive.

Zhang Xuezhou had witnessed the defeats of many powerful cultivators who focused on cultivating their destiny, and he found it hard to imagine what his own fate would be.

"Does this mean I'll really have to jump to another dimension and sever my connection to destiny in the future?"

A thought crossed his mind.

Although the giant tree contract had influenced his heart to be drawn to the light, Zhang Xuezhou had absolutely no intention of seeking survival in a foreign land where he knew no one. Moreover, he was very young, unlike the old cultivators like Donghua and Dijun, who had been around for many years. He still cherished the two worlds that were connected to him.

"I must inform Master Dong and inquire about the relevant details while I'm at it!"

Having figured it out in his mind, Zhang Xuezhou stopped thinking about it.

He opened his medicine chest to check the medicinal herbs that Guo Sheren had brought to replenish the supplies, then glanced at the exhausted Wei Qing and the others. "Commander Wei, my alchemy hasn't been going smoothly these past two days. I'm going out for a walk to get some fresh air. You all should take this opportunity to rest as well, and I'll continue alchemy when I get back!"

"Lord Dongfang should take a rest!"

Wei Qing was very resilient; he only needed a short rest to be fully alert and ready to work again, but Zhang Xuezhou seemed tireless.

After spending a week refining pills with Zhang Xuezhou, Wei Qing had already lost weight.

His eyes showed obvious fatigue, but also a sharp, piercing light.

Assisting in alchemy is tiring, but gathering medicinal energy near the alchemy room is also a form of cultivation. Moreover, after the new emperor left, Zhang Xuezhou would occasionally have Wei Qing and the others test the pills, and everyone actually consumed a batch of free pills.

Some pills were of poor quality, but Zhang Xuezhou used high-grade materials to refine them, so even the defective pills had some use.

If possible, Wei Qing would like to persevere a little longer, but since Zhang Xuezhou has chosen to rest, he will cooperate.

"Where is Lord Dongfang going to relax?"

When Wei Qing saw Zhang Xuezhou walk away, he couldn't help but call out and ask again.

He was a beat slow in asking the question, and by the time he finished speaking, Zhang Xuezhou was nowhere to be seen.

"Lord Dongfang is truly skilled at flying; I couldn't even see him clearly before he disappeared!"

Wei Qing rubbed his eyes, feeling his energy and spirit dissipating. He sat down heavily on the ground. Just as he was about to close his eyes for a moment, he heard the rapid sound of galloping horses.

When Wei Qing opened his eyes, he saw the new emperor hurriedly riding towards him.

"Where is Dongfang Shuo? Is Dongfang Shuo still alive?"

The new emperor leaped down, and when his gaze swept toward the half-open side hall door, his heart skipped a beat. He then quickly questioned Wei Qing.

"Lord Dongfang said he's getting bored with alchemy and needs to go for a walk. He'll continue alchemy when he gets back!"

Wei Qing stared wide-eyed, his somewhat numb mind responding to the new emperor's words, his eyelids involuntarily closing.

"I went out for a walk to clear my head. What about you two? Did you hear Dongfang Shuo say he wasn't feeling well?"

"no!"

"Commander-in-Chief, Lord Dongfang was still riding the wind when he left, and his body showed no abnormalities!"

The two generals who had been transferred from the secret Shanglin Garden to help responded in unison, and the new emperor only breathed a sigh of relief when Guo Sheren, who was delivering the goods, echoed them.

“Commander-in-Chief, Dongfang Shuo seems to be in very good health. You don’t need to worry about his health,” Guo Sheren said cautiously.

"You do not understand!"

The new emperor waved his hand, indicating that Guo Sheren did not understand the matter.

After a long pause, he couldn't help but sigh again.

"Han Yan left me with a sentence before he died. He said, 'Is it a capital crime for those who practice magic arts? The world is so big, what's wrong with letting us practice a little magic arts? We have no chance of becoming emperors, and in the end, we will still be working for His Majesty.' I was unable to answer Han Yan's question. The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. The Qin emperor did not allow people outside the royal family to practice magic arts, so we continued to follow the rules!"

"Uh?"

"Guozi, do you think it's necessary to continue this kind of rule?"

"Commander-in-Chief, what is the art of manipulation?"

Guo Sheren asked blankly, clearly not understanding the art of manipulation.

This made the new emperor sigh, feeling as if he were talking to a brick wall.

The Qin system was a Legalist system, with many strict and harsh rules.

The new emperor did not think it was necessary to prohibit people outside the royal family from practicing cultivation techniques. As Han Yan said, no matter how much others practiced, they would only be getting a small taste of the benefits.

The new emperor's cultivation speed was extremely fast, and he did not feel that he had suffered any negative impact.

Compared to some members of the royal family who have accomplished nothing, or ambitious princes, the new emperor did not think that the nature of the ministers' practice of cultivation was worse.

If the imperial court had a group of cultivators skilled in magic, why would he be so afraid of the Prince of Huainan using magic to suppress him?

As long as several cultivators disregard the collapse of their physical strength and use a series of attacks to hold back the King of Huainan, and then use the time of the struggle to break through his physical body, no matter how powerful the King of Huainan's magic is, it will be of no use.

Han Yan's dying question made the new emperor think repeatedly. He felt that each era has its own system, and although the Qin system may have been correct a hundred years ago, it was no longer suitable for the present day.

Blindly copying everything will only lead to more harm than good.

The new emperor argued vehemently in Changxin Palace, but he could neither save Han Yan, whose body had been severed, nor save Han Yan's life, which had already been beheaded.

Ultimately, the Han dynasty was ruled by him, and the new emperor felt that this rule could be abolished.

He also wanted to create several exemplary models, and Zhang Xuezhou, who had been exposed to sports techniques, was undoubtedly among those selected by the new emperor.