The Reversal of Heaven Begins with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

"The king of heaven overshadows the tigers of the earth?"

Fan Ruoruo repeated it, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, completely unaware of the meaning of those five words.

"Ah."

Lin Mu nodded: "If he can answer 'The pagoda suppresses the river demon,' then bring him to see me. You will have your own benefits."

Fan Ruoruo was completely confused, and felt that the person in front of her was becoming more and more mysterious and unpredictable.

Fan Sizhe, standing nearby, had long since grown impatient with this cryptic exchange. He put his hands on his hips and snorted, "Tch! Playing tricks and being mysterious! What good can you possibly do for us? I'll..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Mu casually took out a golden, heavy object from his sleeve and tossed it over.

Fan Sizhe caught it subconsciously, and found it to be heavy in his hand. Looking down, he saw that it was a gold ingot of excellent quality.

His previously dismissive expression froze instantly, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened so wide it could almost fit an egg.

Fan Sizhe suddenly looked up at Lin Mu, then looked down at the gold ingot in his hand. He repeated this several times. The anger on his face had long been replaced by great joy. He gripped the gold tightly with his fingers, as if afraid that it would grow wings and fly away.

Lin Mu found his money-grubbing appearance amusing and deliberately asked, "What did you call me just now? Say it again, I didn't hear you clearly."

Fan Sizhe's expression changed instantly, his face plastered with a fawning smile, his back slumped slightly, and his voice became sickeningly sweet:

"Brother! From now on, you are my brother, Fan Sizhe's brother!"

His resolute and eager-to-meet younger brother amused Fan Ruoruo, who temporarily forgot her doubts and couldn't help but sigh, feeling utterly helpless with her money-grubbing brother.

After a while.

Fan Ruoruo and Fan Sizhe left the Lin residence with a belly full of doubts and a gold ingot.

Day two.

At the gates of Kyoto, a dusty carriage, escorted by red-armored knights, slowly drove in.

Fan Xian, here he comes!

As soon as they arrived at the city gate, the carriage was stopped.

Fan Xian lifted the curtain and saw a smiling man bowing with his hands clasped: "Young Master Fan, you must be tired from your journey from Danzhou to the capital."

Fan Xian stared at the person in front of him with some curiosity: "Do I know you?"

The man cupped his hands again and said, "Although Young Master Fan does not know me, I have long admired Young Master Fan and regret that we have never met. How fortunate I am to meet you today."

"Alright, let's find a place to have a good chat another time. I have something to do today, so I'll take my leave now."

"Excuse me, just a moment..."

Wang Qinian chatted with Fan Xian for a while and then sold a map.

After Fan Xian left, his face immediately fell, and he muttered, "That bastard Lin Mu actually stole my book sales business! The Second Prince even ordered a crackdown on piracy. I've lost big time this time!"

After Fan Xian entered the capital, the Eldest Princess, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, Chen Pingping, Emperor Qing, and others began their own schemes.

After his trip to the Qing Kingdom Temple, Fan Xian, who had met the Chicken Leg Girl, arrived at the Fan residence by carriage.

After a brief, uninteresting chat with Aunt Liu, Fan Xian finally had a moment of peace and looked around his new home.

He had just sat down and hadn't even had a chance to drink some hot tea when the courtyard gate was hurriedly pushed open.

"elder brother!"

Fan Ruoruo walked in quickly, her face showing undisguised worry and urgency, with Fan Sizhe still following behind her like a little tail.

"Ruoruo?"

Fan Xian smiled warmly when he saw his sister, but then noticed something was wrong with her expression: "What's wrong? We just met, who upset you? Did someone bully you in the capital?"

He subconsciously thought that his sister might have been wronged in Kyoto.

"No, brother."

Fan Ruoruo shook her head, took a deep breath, and decided to get straight to the point: "Brother, tell me, did you really write 'Dream of the Red Chamber'?"

Fan Xian was slightly taken aback, not expecting his sister to ask this so directly. He smiled and habitually used his usual excuse: "Why are you asking this again? Didn't I tell you before? It was written by Mr. Cao Xueqin, I was just a messenger..."

"elder brother!"

Fan Ruoruo interrupted him, her eyes extremely serious: "Look at me and tell me the truth. This is very important to me."

Fan Xian suppressed his smile, and looking at his sister's unusually serious expression, a hint of doubt arose in his heart.

“I’m just telling the truth.”

Although she already had a guess in her heart, Fan Ruoruo was still shocked when she heard her brother admit it with her own ears.

She took a deep breath and continued, "Then... Brother, do you know someone named Lin Mu?"

"Lin Mu?"

Fan Xian frowned, thought carefully, and shook his head: "Never heard of him. Who is this person?"

Fan Ruoruo's heart raced slightly. She stared intently into Fan Xian's eyes and said, word by word, "He asked me to ask you a question."

"What?"

"The king of heaven overshadows the tigers of earth."

boom--!

These five words exploded in Fan Xian's mind like a thunderclap!

His pupils suddenly contracted, and the composure on his face vanished instantly, replaced by extreme shock and disbelief.

He suddenly stood up from his chair, the movement so forceful that it almost knocked over the teapot on the table.

"What...what did you say?! Say it again!"

His voice even trembled slightly.

How could anyone in this world possibly know this sentence?!

Fan Ruoruo was startled by her brother's strong reaction, but she still repeated, "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger. Brother, what does this mean? Do you know the next line?"

"Pagoda suppresses the river demon!"

Fan Xian blurted it out almost without thinking, his voice dry and urgent.

He grabbed Fan Ruoruo's arm with such force that Ruoruo winced slightly: "Where is he? Where is that Lin Mu?! What does he look like? What else did he say?!"

Fan Xian's mind was in complete chaos.

Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger, Pagoda suppresses the River Demon!

This is a secret code known only to Chinese people on Earth!

How did Lin Mu know this?

[Could it be...could it be that he is also a time traveler (like Qian Li)?]

How did he know I was a time traveler...? Oh right, it's from *Dream of the Red Chamber*. I never expected to run into someone from my hometown!

An incredible idea sprouted wildly in his mind like weeds.

Fan Ruoruo had never seen her brother so distraught, and quickly said, "He is at the Lin residence in the east of the city."

"Brother, calm down."

He also said that if we could answer the questions, he would take us to see him, which would be beneficial.

"benefit?"

Fan Xian released his grip, paced back and forth a couple of steps, his emotions still unsettled.

His biggest secret about arriving here was revealed by a complete stranger.

This feeling filled him with a sense of fear, but more than that, it was a feeling of excitement and curiosity at finding someone like him.

Did he say anything else?

Fan Xian pressed for an answer.

Fan Ruoruo shook her head: "He seems to know a lot of things, but he is vague and only said that knowing too much is of no benefit to me."

Fan Xian pondered for a moment, then his eyes sharpened.

He solemnly instructed, "Ruoruo, you must not mention a word of today's events to any outsiders, especially regarding that code, understand?"

"I understand, brother. So... are we going to see him?"

Fan Ruoruo asked in a low voice.

Fan Xian's eyes flickered, eventually settling into a resolute expression.

"I must see him! I absolutely must see him!"

He said in a deep voice, "But not now. I have just arrived in the capital, and countless eyes are watching me. It would be too conspicuous to rashly visit a person who is on good terms with the Second Prince and is so mysterious."

He needs some time, at least to get a basic understanding of the situation in Kyoto and to make some arrangements.

Chapter 75: Spoilers

At night, the moonlight, as clear as water, spilled onto the bluestone path of the Fan residence.

Fan Xian talked with Fan Jian, his nominal father, for a long time in the study before finally taking his leave.

His heart was filled with turmoil as he learned that glass, sugar, soap, and other similar items already existed in the capital.

His dream of getting rich was shattered.

The key point is that all of these things were made by his legendary mother, Ye Qingmei.

An indescribable sense of absurdity welled up inside me.

Why did you give birth to a child when you already have a mother?

He smiled bitterly to himself, as if fate had played a cruel joke on him.

[Could my mother be a time traveler too? How many time travelers are there in this world? Can't we even have fun anymore?!]

Filled with doubts, Fan Xian returned to his courtyard.

When the night was deep and quiet, Teng Zijing arrived as promised.

The two had a very pleasant conversation and felt as if they had known each other for a long time, thus forging a friendship.

After seeing Teng Zijing off, Fan Xian's gaze grew somber.

He changed into a set of night clothes, blending into the inky darkness, and silently made his way towards the Lin residence in the east of the city.

The walls of the Lin residence were tall, but they meant nothing to Fan Xian.

He nimbly scaled the wall and landed silently.

However, the moment his feet touched the ground, Wu Zhu's keen intuition, honed over many years, suddenly sounded an alarm, making Fan Xian's heart skip a beat.

What's going on? It feels like I'm being watched by someone.

Fan Xian held his breath and looked around, but saw nothing unusual.

Suppressing his unease, he used his movement technique to silently pass by the pavilions and towers.

The deeper he went, the more strange he felt about the mansion.

Just as Fan Xian approached a pavilion with a dim light,

A sharp palm strike came from the side without warning, as fast as lightning and extremely ruthless!

Fan Xian reacted extremely quickly, blocking the attack with his arm.

With a muffled thud, he felt a tremendous force surge through his arm, causing his blood to churn and forcing him to stagger back several steps before he could barely regain his footing.

To my astonishment, I saw a graceful woman standing there in the moonlight.

Her black dress accentuated her snow-white skin and stunning beauty, yet her eyes remained icy cold.

It is indeed Si Lili!

"Who dares to break into the Lin residence at night?"

Her voice was cold and clear, carrying a chilling killing intent.

Since being protected by Lin Mu, Si Lili has long regarded this place as her home and place of refuge, and will not allow anyone to infringe upon it.

"Misunderstanding! I meant no harm!"