FVN Chapter 626 We took it! What do you want?
Chapter 626 We took it! What do you want?
Chen Fan did not answer, but simply took another step forward.
When he took this step, he had completely removed the disguise of the Fixed Word Technique, revealing his true face.
With a pale face, no beard, and indifferent eyes, he was none other than Chen Fan, the Gold Medal Attendant!
"Chen Fan." Zhao Yu cried out the name in a trembling voice, her face turning even more ashen in an instant than if she had swallowed a fly.
He never expected that the person who had just been fighting with him for that fragment at the auction house was actually the old eunuch he hated so much.
The onlookers were in an uproar.
"Chen Fan? The one who's number one in both alchemy and formations, the one who killed Li Jiuyuan?"
"So it was him. No wonder he dared to challenge the Fourth Prince. He's a Gold Medal Attendant, a high-ranking official of the third rank. In terms of rank, he's not much lower than the Fourth Prince."
"That's not all. I heard he twisted Li Jiuyuan's head off in the Boundless Sea and used it as a ball, and also wiped out Black Reef Island. Song Tianren was made a fool of by him for more than half a month, and he's still searching for him all over the Boundless Sea."
"This is going to be interesting. The Fourth Prince has run into this jinx; I wonder who will back down first."
……
Duan Wuliang snapped out of his shock, his face so dark it was almost dripping with gloom. He stepped forward, blocking Zhao Yu's path, and stared at Chen Fan, coldly saying, "Chen Fan, although you are a top-ranking retainer, you cannot be so disrespectful. The Fourth Prince is the Emperor's own son. Aren't you afraid that by publicly contradicting him, people will say you are disrespectful to the royal family?"
Chen Fan finally glanced at him.
That gaze was calm and indifferent, devoid of any murderous intent, yet it sent a chill down Duan Wuliang's spine. It was as if he were being watched by a ferocious beast lurking in the shadows; every hair on his body stood on end.
"When we were killing Li Jiuyuan in the Boundless Sea, someone also stood in our way like this," Chen Fan said calmly, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself. "Later, we twisted his head off and hung it on the flagpole of Demon Abyss Island to dry for three days."
Duan Wuliang's face turned pale instantly.
He opened his mouth several times as if to say something, but found his throat so dry that he couldn't make a sound.
Who is Li Jiuyuan?
A demonic cultivator in the early stages of the Nascent Soul realm, an old demon who had roamed the Boundless Sea for hundreds of years and whom even the Eastern Sea Army couldn't subdue. If Chen Fan could take down such a person, what is a mere Nascent Soul cultivator at the Great Perfection stage?
Zhao Yu's expression turned even uglier.
He stared intently at Chen Fan, his fingers turning slightly white from gripping the folding fan so tightly. He desperately wanted to order Chen Fan arrested in public, but reason told him that wouldn't work.
While the status of a Gold Medal Attendant is certainly prestigious, what's more important is that Chen Fan has the support of the First Prince Zhao Yan. If he were to fight Chen Fan in public, Zhao Yan would surely seize the opportunity to make a scene, and if the matter were to escalate to the Emperor, Chen Fan might not be the one to suffer.
Moreover, the few people he brought with him might not be a match for Chen Fan. Duan Wuliang was only at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, and his four guards were only at the early Nascent Soul stage, while this eunuch in front of him had even killed Li Jiuyuan, who was at the early Nascent Soul stage, in the Boundless Sea.
Just as the stalemate was at hand, a steady footstep came from the street corner.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people walking towards them. Leading them was a middle-aged man dressed in a plain brocade robe, with a dignified face and an air of righteous authority. He was at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
The eldest prince, Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan had obviously also received the news and rushed over.
He led Han Cen, Ouyang Ye, and several attendants through the crowd and stood directly beside Chen Fan.
He glanced at Zhao Yu first, his gaze carrying an undisguised disdain, then turned to Chen Fan and said in a low voice, "Lord Chen, I'm late."
Chen Fan cupped his hands slightly and said, "Your Highness need not worry, my family is fine."
When Zhao Yu saw Zhao Yan arrive, his expression darkened even further. He knew that it was impossible to take the fragment back from Chen Fan today, especially with the First Prince present in person. If he continued to argue, he would only humiliate himself.
"Big Brother's connections are certainly impressive," Zhao Yu sneered, his voice full of sarcasm. "What, does everyone in the capital have to protect you, Chen Gongfeng? Even at the auction, you need Big Brother to cover your losses when you're bidding against someone?"
Zhao Yan looked at him, his gaze calm and devoid of any emotion: "Fourth Prince, the rules of the auction house are that the highest bidder wins. It's perfectly reasonable and legal for Consort Chen to win the treasure with his own wealth. Why should I, the Prince, have to cover for him? But you, as a prince, sent people to intercept the Consort Chen in the street. If this gets back to Father Emperor, what do you think he will say?"
Zhao Yu's face suddenly flushed red, and although her lips moved several times, she couldn't utter a single word.
Zhao Yan stopped looking at him and turned to Chen Fan, saying, "Chen, come back to the manor with me. I'll handle this mess tonight."
Chen Fan nodded, cupped his hands in greeting to Zhao Yan, and then strode toward the street corner.
The onlookers automatically parted to make way, watching the slender, bluish-gray figure slowly disappear around the street corner.
Zhao Yu stood there, staring intently at Chen Fan's receding figure. His otherwise decent face was distorted in the light and shadow of the lamp.
The folding fan in his hand had somehow been broken in two, the broken fan ribs piercing his palm, from which a few streaks of bright red blood seeped out.
Duan Wuliang cautiously approached and lowered his voice, saying, "Your Highness...should I send someone to keep an eye on him?"
Zhao Yu did not answer, but instead slammed the broken folding fan in his hand to the ground and turned to walk towards the imperial carriage.
As night deepened, the spirit lanterns on Zhuque Avenue remained lit.
The onlookers gradually dispersed, and the entrance to Jubao Tower returned to its usual hustle and bustle.
Those who witnessed this standoff shared a common impression!
That old eunuch is not someone to be trifled with.
Duan Wuliang watched Zhao Yu's figure disappear into the jade carriage, then turned to look in the direction Chen Fan had left. A complex emotion flashed in his triangular eyes, a mixture of fear and a hint of inexplicable resentment.
As the fourth prince's top retainer, he always acted arrogantly in the capital. Even the silver-ranked retainers had to bow and pay their respects to him.
But today, he didn't dare to utter a single breath in front of Chen Fan. He was publicly compared to a demonic cultivator from Demon Abyss Island, and he didn't even have the confidence to refute it.
He couldn't swallow this insult.
But so what?
Chen Fan is a top-ranking official, a third-rank official personally appointed by the emperor, and the most trusted confidant of the eldest prince, Zhao Yan.
In terms of status and backing, he is no less than Duan Wuliang.
In terms of strength, they are worlds apart.
He could only endure it.
Duan Wuliang took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, turned around and quickly caught up with Zhao Yu's jade carriage, disappearing into the night.
……
The next morning, Chen Fan went to the Hall of Offerings to receive his assignment as usual.
When the fat deacon saw him, his attitude was even more respectful than last time. He even changed the tea to fourth-grade spiritual tea and bent over so much that he almost folded his back when he spoke.
The scene at the entrance of Jubao Tower last night has obviously spread throughout the Hall of Offerings. Everyone knows that this Chen Gongfeng is not only the First Prince's confidant, but also a ruthless person who dares to confront even the Fourth Prince in public.