Chapter 1015

The two were escorted by several warriors to a room in the northwest corner of the Grand Marshal's residence; judging by the furnishings, it had probably been a kitchen before, left vacant for a long time, with dust piled on the stove. They were shoved inside, and, fearing they might escape, the warriors bound the two back-to-back with a rope. The rope was specially made, twisted from ox sinews; even a martial arts expert could not easily break free.

Liang Yinghao strained to break free, but even with all his strength he could not snap the rope, and he let out a sigh.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "What's there to sigh about? Can a mere rope hold us?" Having learned Tendon Changing Bone Shifting from Bu Wu, he could freely alter his physique and covertly channel his inner energy; in a moment he wriggled free of the rope and quickly helped Liang Yinghao undo his bonds.

The two listened intently; outside, many warriors were stationed, and if they swaggered out, it would surely cause a commotion.

Liang Yinghao pointed to the chimney by the stove; compared to the wall, it was clearly much weaker. He took off his shoe, retrieved a concealed tool from inside, assembled several pieces into a small shovel. Liang Yinghao was most skilled at boring through walls; seeing him wave his hands like flying, in an instant he had scraped away the wall plaster, exposing the blue bricks inside, pried them out, and pulled the bricks away one by one. Soon he had dug a large hole in the chimney big enough for one person to pass through, at which point Liang Yinghao stopped, having made hardly any sound the whole time.

Hu Xiaotian stood by the door listening for movement; if any warrior entered at that moment he would surely kill them without mercy, but fortunately the few warriors guarding outside were lucky and did not notice what was happening inside.

After Liang Yinghao opened the hole, he poked his head in to have a look, then waved at Hu Xiaotian, signaling him to go first.

The two entered the chimney one after another, using hands and feet to climb to the outlet. Hu Xiaotian was the first to poke his head out of the chimney, looked around, and saw the four warriors stationed before the door still standing like wooden posts, completely unaware that the two prisoners inside had already escaped.

The two tiptoed onto the roof, taking advantage of the moment when no one was patrolling. They slid down from the back of the house, and Liang Yinghao said, "Let's go!"

Hu Xiaotian, however, shook his head and said, "No time; I want to see what tricks Li Tianheng has up his sleeve."

Liang Yinghao exclaimed in astonishment, "Does the master really intend to go back?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "I have my own plan. You figure out how to get away yourself, then quickly notify our people to leave the relay station first, find a place to hide temporarily, and in two hours we'll meet at the entrance of Zhong Xiang Lou."

Liang Yinghao still wanted to persuade him to leave before being discovered, but Hu Xiaotian had already gone; Liang Yinghao dared not linger and hurriedly blended into the crowd.

At this moment the birthday banquet had already begun, and the servants responsible for serving dishes were coming and going. Hu Xiaotian hid around the corner, using the "change of appearance" technique Bu Wu had taught him; in a short while his features shifted, becoming a thin man with sunken cheeks and an unsavory look. When a servant carrying dishes walked by, Hu Xiaotian lunged forward, struck him in the back of the neck with a palm, seized the tray with one hand, and dragged him into a nearby room. He stripped the servant of his clothes and put them on himself, then tore a strip from his own clothing to bind the servant's hands and feet, gagged his mouth, picked up the tray, and swaggered into the serving line.

Laughter rang out from the banquet hall; evidently the crowd had emerged from the earlier oppressive atmosphere. Most of those who had come to congratulate Li Tianheng on his birthday did not wish for Xichuan to return to Dakang, and since Li Tianheng had made such a decision, to them it was actually good news.

After Hu Xiaotian had served the dishes, he looked up and saw Prince Long Yefang already rise from his seat, say something to Li Tianheng, and slip out quietly through a side door. Hu Xiaotian glanced around, then followed silently, keeping a distance behind the prince.

After Prince Long Yefang left the banquet hall, he waved his hand; the two warriors escorting him halted their steps, and the prince alone proceeded through the Xi Pian Men toward the rear courtyard of the Marshal's residence.

Hu Xiaotian, seeing the scene before him, could not help but feel secretly astonished: Prince Long Yefang did not seem to be leaving; was he going to the privy? But the two warriors guarding the privy should have remained outside to protect him. At that moment, the two warriors had already turned back.

Hu Xiaotian hastily hid behind a thicket of trees, waited for the two to pass, then silently climbed up into a large tree. When he saw that no one was paying attention around, he slid down the trunk and hurriedly followed the prince's footsteps.

The Xi Pian Men was unguarded; by then Prince Long Yefang had already walked far away and entered straight into a three-story small pavilion in the rear courtyard.

Wearing the Marshal's residence servant's garb aroused little suspicion; Hu Xiaotian swaggered up to the small pavilion, went around to its northwest corner, confirmed that no one was about, quietly drew a breath, and used the Golden Spider Eight Steps to climb the wall. With his current inner energy, the Golden Spider Eight Steps had been perfected to the point of second nature—scaling walls and walking on them was as easy as walking on level ground. Upon reaching the third floor, he listened closely and heard a faint rustling inside. He moistened a bit of window paper with his saliva, pried out a small hole, placed his eye to it, and peered within.

But there he saw Prince Long Yefang already inside the room, apparently very familiar with the surroundings. He stretched his arms, removed his cap and belt, shook his head, and a cascade of black hair fell over his shoulders. Then he took off his outer robe, took from a nearby rack a prepared scholar's robe and put it on, then grabbed the skin at his neck with both hands and tore it open, pulling off the human-skin mask he had used for disguise. As he turned, his face happened to be oriented toward where Hu Xiaotian was peeking.

Hu Xiaotian could see clearly that there was no Prince Long Yefang in the room at all; it was simply a beautiful young woman, her features like a painting, her bearing graceful and elegant—who else could it be but Xi Yan?

A tingling sensation ran across Hu Xiaotian's scalp; no wonder he had felt something off. This Prince Long Yefang was actually Xi Yan in disguise. All along Xi Yan had spared no effort for the affairs of the Li clan of Xichuan, running hither and thither, yet he did not know what kind of relationship she had with Li Tianheng.

After Xi Yan had finished changing her clothes and turned to leave, she suddenly heard a faint rattling of the lattice window behind her; a human figure lunged toward her. Xi Yan flipped her wrist, drew a Phoenix Feather Flying Dagger, and shot it straight at the intruder.

Hu Xiaotian's body flickered aside to dodge the dagger's strike; the Phoenix Feather Flying Dagger let out a "da!" as it buried itself three-tenths of its length into the nearby wooden pillar, the exposed part trembling incessantly.

Only then did Xi Yan see that the comer was Hu Xiaotian; the second dagger she had been readying to launch stayed poised but unreleased, her fierce, icy gaze instantly melting into myriad tenderness as she cooed, "You little brat! You actually tailed me!"

Hu Xiaotian walked over with a half-smile, reached out and picked up the prince's python robe, and clicked his tongue in admiration: "Truly lifelike! I wonder what benefits Li Tianheng has given you to make you work so hard for him—even to the point of betraying the man you once swore heaven and earth with!"

Xi Yan replied, "When have I ever betrayed you? It's you who doesn't know the times; who else is there to blame?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "To help Li Tianheng establish himself as king, you've certainly been racking your brains and scheming painstakingly."

Xi Yan walked over slowly, cooing, "Although I've been helping him, I never intended to harm you."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Li Tianheng has drawn a clear line with Dakang; as a Dakang imperial envoy, my situation has become extremely precarious. If you still harbor any affection for me in your heart, why didn't you warn me earlier so I could have made preparations?"

Xi Yan said, "Even now you're talking to me about feelings; if you truly cherish the affection we swore under heaven and earth, why did you agree to become Dakang's prince consort?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "The circumstances forced my hand; I had no choice."

Xi Yan bit her cherry lips, a glimmer of tears appearing in her lovely eyes, and coquettishly scolded, "You heartless, gutless wretch—after I swore heaven and earth with you, all you give me in the end are these four words."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Any other plots? Go ahead and speak plainly."

Xi Yan let out a soft sigh and said, "In your heart I have always been bad, always harming you; don't you understand my feelings by now? The one I cherish most deep down has always been you!" As she spoke, she seemed moved, and two crystal tears slid down her jade‑white cheeks—truly a sight of pear blossoms in rain, evoking pity.

"May I hug you?" Xi Yan lunged into his embrace; Hu Xiaotian's eyes were sharp, and even as he sensed the cold glint hidden in her right hand, he seized her fair wrist in a grip—sure enough, he saw a silver ring set on her middle finger, its tip flashing with a needle point.

Xi Yan snapped, "You're hurting me!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Now I finally understand what a 'wasp‑tail needle' is—are you trying to kill me with a single prick?"

Xi Yan replied, "I never wanted you dead; even if I prick you, it will merely make you fall into a obedient sleep."

Hu Xiaotian's face showed distrust; this demoness was full of tricks, her scheming endless. Fortunately he had always been on guard against her, or he would truly have fallen into her snare. Carefully he hooked off the poison needle from her finger; Xi Yan gazed at him up close, the corner of her mouth curling into a faint smile: "You little fox, actually I already knew just now that they couldn't hold you."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Where is the prince?"

Xi Yan shook her head and said, "How would I know?"

Hu Xiaotian shoved her hard against the wall, her delicate frame pressed to the surface; he reached out, pulled the Phoenix Feather Flying Dagger from the pillar, and held it to her jade‑white throat. Xi Yan's smile grew sweeter, she lifted her perfectly curved chin and breathed like an orchid: "I just don't believe you'd really bring yourself to kill me."

Hu Xiaotian flung his hand, driving the dagger hard into Xi Yan's cheek; facing the sudden thrust, she did not blink an eye, seeming utterly confident in him, and she whispered softly, "Just as I knew you couldn't bear to."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although I can't bear to kill you, I could strip you naked, shave your head bald, and turn you into a bare‑headed nun!"

Xi Yan said, "If you become a monk, then would you like me to accompany you as a nun?" (To be continued~^~)