My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

When Liu Hou, who was suppressing Bai Dizi, saw the phantom, his heart was filled with shock. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the old sword on Wei Qing's back fly out.

The sword was drawn, radiating boundless killing intent.

Influenced by the murderous intent, Bai Dizi became increasingly violent, and his tyrannical power permeated every corner of the Cultivation Pavilion.

The phantom swayed between the killing intent emanating from Han Xin's sword and the violent power released by the White Emperor's son, like a small boat in a storm at sea.

Finally, the phantom could no longer hold on and was crushed by the two forces.

Empress Lü in the palace was flushed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were full of doubt: "Could I have guessed wrong? Is the one imprisoned in the jail really Han Xin?"

Why would the White Emperor's son leave the palace and go to the Cultivation Pavilion? Could it really be just because the Cultivation Pavilion has abundant spiritual energy? That doesn't make sense.

At the same time, the old man imprisoned in the jail also suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood after drawing Han Xin's sword.

His right sleeve was torn, and his arm was covered in wounds from the backlash of forcibly using a Heaven-Rank weapon. He cursed and muttered, "Damn it, four hundred years have passed, and this broken sword still won't listen to me."

Bang! The door of Xiuxin Pavilion opened, and Wei Qing was thrown out by a gust of cold wind, just like someone who had eaten for free and hadn't paid.

Cao Ying, who hunted year-round, often stayed up all night. He was chatting with the old doctor when he suddenly heard a noise inside.

Turning his head to look at the door, he saw that Wei Qing seemed to have been thrown out of the Cultivation Pavilion by something, and was moving like a corpse.

Startled, Cao Ying rushed to Wei Qing's side and gave him a life-saving pill.

Then he bent down and put his ear close to Wei Qing's heart.

After a long while, she finally faintly heard a heartbeat, and Cao Ying, who was almost stunned, came back to her senses.

"He's not dead! Wei Qing is not dead! Quick, quick, old doctor!"

When the old doctor saw Wei Qing's complexion, his heart skipped a beat. It wasn't until he took Wei Qing's pulse and made a simple diagnosis that he realized it was a false alarm.

The old physician turned to Cao Ying and explained, "Lord Pingyang, there's no need to worry. This student has only suffered severe blood and qi loss, leading to a coma and apparent death. Fortunately, he is physically strong and his life is not in danger. If nothing unexpected happens, he should recover fully after resting in bed for a while."

Hearing that Wei Qing would be alright, Cao Ying's tense heart finally relaxed. She turned to look at the Cultivation Pavilion: "Severe loss of vital energy? Is there really something sinister in the Cultivation Pavilion? But why did the other party only drain Wei Qing's vital energy and not kill him, but instead throw him out?"

Do ghosts know how to control themselves? Impossible. If ghosts knew how to control themselves, they wouldn't be ghosts!

..........

Regarding cameos by characters from other books... I think we shouldn't overthink it.

This book is an original work, not a fan fiction based on another book.

The characters may be similar to those in other books, but they won't be forced into the story without any development (except for Consort Han, whose situation is rather special and serves as foreshadowing; even without foreshadowing, given her relationship with Wei Qing, it would be natural for them to be close).

If I write about characters like Princess Yangxin, Liu Che, Chen Ajiao, Lü Zhi, Liu Bang, Han Xin, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei, would that be considered cameo appearances in other books?

The most objectionable aspect of cameo appearances, in my opinion, is the direct borrowing of characters from other books without any background or backstory, forcibly linking them together. This leaves readers unfamiliar with the original work completely confused.

Conversely, if the characters are reimagined and their backstories and deeds are fleshed out, so that even readers who have only read the book find the characters relatable and three-dimensional, I believe readers would not truly object.

Chapter Fourteen: Han Fei's Visit

Cao Ying carefully lifted Wei Qing onto his mount and said, "Since you say Wei Qing is alright, does that mean he just needs to take some pills to replenish his qi and blood?"

"Yes, it's best to rest for a while longer."

The old doctor had only heard some legends about Xiuxin Pavilion and had never actually seen the so-called ghosts, so he didn't say much.

Once Cao Ying was certain that there would be no problems with Wei Qing, she asked the old doctor to leave.

News of Wei Qing's serious injury spread like wildfire after daybreak.

Apart from the command department, other departments are also discussing this matter extensively.

The main hope was that something would happen to Wei Qing, so that their challenge to the Han army would be null and void.

However, reality was destined to disappoint them. Wei Qing only lay in bed for a day and a night before waking up.

Although I am still very weak, at least I will be alright.

When Wei Qing woke up, his eyes still showed lingering fear. Before he passed out, he clearly realized that the other party really wanted to kill him, or to be more precise, wanted to eat him.

It was only at the crucial moment that someone intervened and stopped him, thus saving him from certain death.

Damn it, they say that if you disagree, you'll draw your sword. I haven't even said a word yet, and they already want to tear me apart.

This White Emperor's son is indeed not someone to be trifled with.

When the meatball next to him saw that the boss had woken up, it immediately took out a bunch of food, pushed it next to Wei Qing and said, "Boss, have some nourishment."

Wei Qing was so weak that he had no strength left. If someone came to cause trouble at this time, he would really be at their mercy.

Fortunately, he's currently staying in Cao Ying's dorm room, so for now no one's coming to cause trouble. After that... well, who knows who'll be causing trouble for whom.

Is Cao Ying here?

"woke up?"

Hearing Wei Qing's call, Cao Ying pushed open the door and entered. Seeing that Wei Qing's complexion had recovered somewhat, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened in the Cultivation Pavilion? While you were unconscious, I checked all the information about the Cultivation Pavilion and found that the ghost's background seemed to be quite significant, supposedly related to His Majesty. Oh, I forgot to ask, why did you insist on entering the Cultivation Pavilion?"

"The Imperial Academy gave me the Cultivation Pavilion."

What do you need that lousy place for?

Cao Ying couldn't understand at all that even if the Cultivation Pavilion gathered the spiritual energy of Chang'an, you still needed to be alive to live there.

Wei Qing felt something was off. The other party was the White Emperor's son, not some wandering ghost. It shouldn't easily choose to devour people. Otherwise, Prime Minister Xiao wouldn't have allowed it to stay in the Imperial Academy. "There is someone I want to see below the Cultivation Pavilion. By the way, go and check for me whether anyone other than me has entered the Cultivation Pavilion and had their blood essence drained in the last two hundred years."

Cao Ying pulled up a chair, crossed her legs, and said with some curiosity, "I've already investigated. There have been cases of people being killed after breaking into the Cultivation Pavilion, but there has never been a case like yours, where your life force was drained."

Wei Qing was also puzzled: "Could it be that I have a very strong talent? Is the other party trying to possess my body and return to life?"

Cao Ying became interested: "Can ghosts possess corpses and return to life?"

Wei Qing shrugged and said, "I don't know. I don't understand ghosts, so how would I know what their habits are? The Imperial Academy should have people studying this stuff, right?"

"dong dong dong"

As Cao Ying and Wei Qing were chatting, there was a knock on the door. A maidservant said softly, "Master, a distinguished guest has come to visit, claiming to be a student of Master Xu!"

"Oh? Please, invite him in quickly!"

Cao Ying was about to get up to greet them when she realized they had already arrived.

"The fortune teller, Consort Han, pays her respects to Marquis Pingyang."

The person who arrived was none other than Han Fei, a direct disciple of Master Xu!

When Cao Ying saw Han Fei's age, her first reaction was, "She's so young!"

She looks to be only eleven or twelve years old, right?

I had heard that Master Xu's personal disciples were quite young, but when I saw them in person, I still couldn't accept it for a while.

However, even though Cao Ying is like a husky, a husky knows when to let loose and when to rein it in a little.

Xu Shenxiang was someone even her great-grandfather dared not underestimate, so naturally she had to show some respect to her personal disciple.

Cao Ying returned the greeting and said, "I dare not accept that, but I wonder what brings you here today, Divine Physician?"

Han Fei looked at Wei Qing lying on the bed with her bright, intelligent eyes, and said with a cheerful smile, "A few days ago, Senior Brother Su said that Young Master Wei had visited him, which can be considered a coincidence. I also heard that Young Master Wei was attacked by a ghost at Xiuxin Pavilion, so I came here to visit you. I have a few words that I would like to talk to Young Master Wei alone, is that alright? It is related to that sword."

Following Han Fei's gaze, Wei Qing looked at the worn-out sword of Han Xin hanging on the wall, nodded, and said to Cao Ying, "Brother Cao, let me have a private talk with this divine physiognomist."

Cao Ying sensed that there seemed to be some secret inside, and not wanting to stay and eavesdrop, she made up an excuse and left with Rouqiu.

After Cao Ying left, Consort Han suddenly abandoned her previous airs, walked to the bedside, placed her hands on the bed, bent over, and pressed her face almost against Wei Qing's face, as if she wanted to see every hair on Wei Qing's body.

"His eyes were like cold stars, and his eyebrows were as sharp as knives. He was indeed tall, handsome and extraordinary. It's a blessing to have such a brother."

Brother? What the heck?

I have a younger sister surnamed Han? I've never heard of her.

Seeing Wei Qing's strange expression, Consort Han explained, "Brother, please don't be offended. I'm just a little excited to finally see the person I've been longing for."

Hey, hey, hey, this is starting to sound weird.

What does it mean to yearn for something day and night? Let me make this clear first, I don't do anything like that!

"Why...why do you call me elder brother?"

"Brother, you should know the origin of that sword, right? And do you know my origin?"

Consort Han removed her hands from the bed, placed her right hand on her chest, and introduced herself: "My name is Consort Han. I am the Marquis of Huaiyin, and also the original owner of your sword, and your only daughter."

Got it. If I really become Han Xin's apprentice, then this is my junior sister?

No wonder they were so enthusiastic.

It turns out that it really is possible to build connections.

However... your father was imprisoned under the Xiuxin Pavilion, yet you openly appeared in Chang'an Royal City. Aren't you afraid of being targeted by the Han Dynasty?

Although I wanted to complain like that, I thought about it again and realized that I was also tricked into going to Chang'an, the capital city, with Han Xin's sword.

"That...the note at the entrance of the Imperial Academy, was it sent by Junior Sister Divine Physiognomy?"

Forget everything else, let's get this relationship under control first. With a divine physiognomist helping us, we can walk around the Imperial Academy with impunity!

Consort Han nodded and smiled, "Yes, Prime Minister Xiao wanted to reform the Imperial Academy, so he came to me. I anticipated the questions that Lü Kuang and the others would ask, and then asked Prime Minister Xiao to help me solve them. Finally, I wrote the answers on a piece of paper and had Ying Bo deliver them to my senior brother."

Chapter Fifteen: Reform is Not a Dinner Party

"Was it you who fueled the fire that made things so big that day?"

"It was Prime Minister Xiao's suggestion that led to the stage being set up by me, but... in the end, it was my senior brother's might that made those old geezers crawl on the ground with their teeth knocked out!"

As Han Fei spoke, she clenched her little fist and waved it fiercely, as if she wished she could go over and beat those annoying guys black and blue.

If Consort Han and Prime Minister Xiao had only set up a stage, and Wei Qing didn't intend to go on stage, then that stage would have been a waste.

Prime Minister Xiao? Reforming the Imperial Academy?

Wei Qing never expected that this pillar of the Han Dynasty, who had almost completely faded out of the Imperial Academy, would actually plan to reform the Imperial Academy.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why so many nobles have recently launched attacks against the command department.