Chapter 1092

Hu Xiaotian watched Ji Feihua's lonely silhouette in the night wind; in his mind, the always strong and perfect Ji Feihua showed such helplessness and sorrow before him for the first time, and he couldn't help feeling a sense of shared suffering—after all, he too had been used by Hu Buwei, and if it weren't for his mother's death, he probably still wouldn't have truly awakened.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Brother Ji, what are you planning to do from now on?"

Ji Feihua picked up the wine jug, gulped down several big mouthfuls with his head raised, then without looking back threw the jug at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian caught it; there wasn't much left in the jug, and he drank the remainder.

Ji Feihua said, "The Xu family's influence spreads across the world; Elder Lady Xu lives in comfort in Gold Hill City, and the Xu mansion in Gold Hill is not only the richest in the world but also the place with the most complex mechanisms. Elder Lady Xu hasn't appeared publicly in years—no one knows whether she is dead or alive, or even if she is in Gold Hill City."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Do you want to deal with the Xu family?"

Ji Feihua shook his head and said, "I have already been defeated; a defeated general cannot speak of bravery. In most people's eyes, I am already dead, and with my current strength how could I shake the deeply rooted Xu family?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I think your strength seems to have recovered."

Ji Feihua turned his head, and for some reason he laughed; this smile put flowers to shame and made the stars in the sky lose their luster. Hu Xiaotian couldn't help staring, dumbfounded—this guy always considered himself straight, yet he never expected to be bewitched by a man's beauty; to be precise, he should be a eunuch, Ji Feihua is a eunuch, and even as a eunuch he is the most beautiful eunuch.

Ji Feihua sensed something from Hu Xiaotian's suddenly scorching gaze. Calmly he said, "My martial arts aren't that easy to restore; perhaps only my escapism skills have recovered a bit."

Hearing that his internal energy still hadn't recovered, Hu Xiaotian unexpectedly felt some worry; Ji Feihua had made so many enemies, and if he encountered a strong foe in his current state, wouldn't that be trouble? Suddenly a previously unheard-of courage rose in his heart: "Brother Ji, why don't you stay in Dongliang Jun? As long as I'm here, no one will dare to move you."

Ji Feihua chuckled and said, "When have I, Ji Feihua, ever needed someone's protection?"

Hu Xiaotian felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Brother Ji, I... I didn't mean that. I mean brothers united in heart, their profit cuts through gold!"

Ji Feihua smiled and said, "Little whiskers, but I'll remember what you said tonight; if one day I truly am in trouble, will you come to rescue me?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded firmly and said, "Will!"

Ji Feihua said, "If you can gain a foothold on the Yong River, perhaps in the future you will have a place in the world."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Brother Ji, do you think I deserve a place?"

Ji Feihua couldn't help laughing. He shook his head and said, "Although I know you have some ability, you always manage to surprise me." He took a ledger from his sleeve and threw it to Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian hastily caught it and asked curiously, "What?"

Ji Feihua said, "This ledger records some court affairs, as well as the subordinates I secretly cultivated in the past; some of them have already met with misfortune." Speaking thus, his expression darkened. After he fell from power, Hong Beimo ordered the Heaven's Secret Bureau to conduct a large-scale manhunt and suppression throughout Dakang, and the organization Ji Feihua had painstakingly built suffered heavy losses. Yet many escaped, and Ji Feihua said, "These people are rare talents; if you can make use of them, they will surely lay the foundation for your great undertaking. As for the officials listed above, many of them have weaknesses; with your intelligence, you should understand how to exploit them."

Hu Xiaotian was secretly moved. The gift Ji Feihua gave him was priceless. He whispered, "Brother Ji, this gift is too heavy; I dare not accept it."

Ji Feihua said, "Just take it if I tell you to; what's with all the nonsense?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Brother Ji, why don't you stay and take charge? I will do my utmost to assist you in achieving great things."

Ji Feihua glared at Hu Xiaotian and said, "What nonsense are you talking? Are you giving me alms or pitying me?"

Facing Da Yong's 30,000-strong army, Hu Xiaotian remained calm and composed, but before Ji Feihua he became somewhat flustered and said embarrassedly, "I didn't mean that!"

Ji Feihua laughed again, this smile melting ice and snow; Hu Xiaotian even dared not look at him, afraid of being intoxicated by his smile, possibly even altering his sexual orientation.

Ji Feihua said, "I know you're reluctant."

"I..."

"I wouldn't want it either, Little whiskers, whether you believe it or not, I have never had the ambition to conquer the world." Ji Feihua's gaze followed the stars in the sky: "The sole motivation for my existence in this world is revenge; when I was closest to success, I fell short, and now I don't even know who my true enemy is."

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, Ji Feihua wasn't telling the truth; he must know who the enemy is—Elder Lady Xu undoubtedly is the chief architect of the Chu family tragedy, and if Long Xuan'en personally killed Chu Fufeng and Chu Yuanhai father and son, then Elder Lady Xu is the mastermind behind this tragedy.

Ji Feihua said, "A eunuch can never command respect! Little whiskers, you and I are different—you're a fake eunuch! A real man!" As he spoke those words, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Brother Ji, when did you find out my true identity?"

Ji Feihua didn't answer his boring question, and softly said, "Cherish what you have hard-earned; Zhao Wusheng is someone who can be put to great use—his parents died at the hands of Zhao Dengyun, and he has always been a trump card I kept hidden in the Yong River Navy; I never intended to expose him unless absolutely necessary."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, feeling that Zhao Wusheng's last-minute siding with Ji Feihua must have played a role; he had wanted to ask for clarification, but recalling Ji Feihua's temper, if he didn't want to speak, there was no way Hu Xiaotian could get an answer, so perhaps he could only wait until later to learn the truth from Zhao Wusheng.

Ji Feihua said, "I heard you and Qiqi are already engaged?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It's the Emperor's scheme."

Ji Feihua said, "That girl Qiqi is ambitious; if you can tame this wild horse, she can accompany you galloping a thousand miles, but if you fail to break her, you'll only end up battered all over."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "I still have a few tricks when it comes to women."

Ji Feihua glared at him and said, "Don't boast! Women aren't that easy to handle; haven't you also stumbled plenty in their hands?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "That's me letting them have their way!" This statement was nothing short of shameless.

Below, lights flickered, but soldiers began their night patrol; the person on duty at the opposite watchtower seemed to have noticed something and shouted loudly, "Who goes there?"

Ji Feihua took a step forward and came close to Hu Xiaotian; the place where they stood was extremely narrow, and Hu Xiaotian, worried he might fall, instinctively put his arms around him—only to discover Ji Feihua's waist was slender enough to be encircled in one hand.

The person on the watchtower raised a torch to look, saw nothing unusual, and muttered, "Really, what the hell!"

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua were within earshot, their breaths audible; Hu Xiaotian gazed at Ji Feihua's flawlessly beautiful face, and a thought suddenly arose in his heart: how wonderful it would be if Ji Feihua were a woman.

Ji Feihua said, "I'm leaving!" He tried to pull away from Hu Xiaotian's embrace, but Hu Xiaotian had no intention of letting go; with one arm he held Ji Feihua's body, with the other he took off his great cloak and draped it over Ji Feihua's shoulders, whispering, "You're dressed too thinly."

Ji Feihua felt a pang in his chest at those words—never in his life had anyone shown concern for him. He was a strong one, always towering above others in public. Who would care for him, who would think he also needed care? Ji Feihua knew it was time to leave; whenever he sensed he couldn't help revealing weakness, he had to go, and his weakness only surfaced in front of one person—Hu Xiaotian.

"I'm leaving!" Ji Feihua did not reject Hu Xiaotian's kindness, draped on the great cloak, and left his embrace.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Where are you going?"

Ji Feihua said, "To investigate some matters from the past! No need to look for me; once the fleet reaches Lower Sand Harbor, I will depart."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, then suddenly said something that embarrassed even himself: "I will miss you!"

Ji Feihua leapt into the air and silently slid down along the sail.

Hu Xiaotian did not chase after his footsteps, gripping tightly the ledger Ji Feihua had given him; this ledger should be extremely important to Ji Feihua—when he initially controlled the court and awed the officials, he relied on the ** and the leverage within it; now he has given this ledger to me, proving that Ji Feihua has abandoned any plan to make a comeback—could his goal be only revenge, with no ambition to conquer the world? Since he has seen through Elder Lady Xu's true intentions, he should know who the true culprit behind the Chu family tragedy is, and given Ji Feihua's nature, he will certainly not let the Xu family of Gold Hill off the hook.

In Hu Xiaotian's impression, Ji Feihua has always been a decisive and ruthless person; perhaps, as he himself said, his martial arts have not recovered, and without full confidence, how could he dare to take the risk of revenge?

At dawn, Lower Sand Harbor was shrouded in a thin morning mist; the smell of gunpowder in the air had not yet been blown away by the river wind, and the damaged warships that had not yet sunk had been towed to Lower Sand Harbor. The dock was crowded with soldiers sorting spoils, and looking downstream along the Yong River, a large open space about two li from Lower Sand Harbor was filled with corpses hauled from the river, thick and dense, numbering in the thousands.

Hu Xiaotian slowly disembarked from the warship, gazing at the group of soldiers who had already gone ashore, trying to find that familiar silhouette among them; in the moving crowd he could no longer tell where that person was, and he silently sighed in his heart: today we part, when will we meet again?

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