Chapter 112

Hu Xiaotian made everyone stay in their rooms, not allowed to go out casually, he pretended to be mystical while searching back and forth; when he arrived at Wan Ting Chang's house, he deliberately caused trouble for an hour, making Wan Ting Chang suffer terribly.

Hu Xiaotian finally arrived at the courtyard where Le Yao lived. Normally, if a stranger entered a widow's door in the dead of night, he would surely be suspected, but now no one would doubt Hu Xiaotian's true motives—what a cunning fellow! After laying all that groundwork, the real main event is here.

Knocking on the widow's door, digging up graves—this is a deed that both gods and men resent, but Hu Xiaotian doesn't see it that way. He believes knocking on the widow's door is to save the young widow from a sea of fire; the entire Wan family, high and low, is utterly wicked, and what he's doing is a great deed of carrying out heaven's justice.

When Hu Xiaotian was about to go in, he saw two people coming out from inside the courtyard; one of them he recognized—it was Madam Wan, accompanied by her personal maid. After Madam Wan went out, she apparently said something to the maid, then looked up and saw Hu Xiaotian and Hu Chang Chun walking toward her; Madam Wan appeared somewhat flustered, her gaze darting, not daring to meet Hu Xiaotian's eyes.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Madam Wan, where are you going at this late hour?"

Wan Chang Chun, standing aside, secretly laughed inside; people like Hu Xiaotian are rare nowadays—he's seen guests acting as hosts, but never seen someone seize the host's role to this extent. This is the Wan household, and yet you dare to manage the mistress's affairs!

So far, the only one in the Wan family who truly trusts Hu Xiaotian is Master Wan himself. After hearing that the second son's head had been drilled with a hole, Madam Wan fainted twice; she and the eldest son, Wan Tingchang, share the same view, thinking Hu Xiaotian is a swindler of the martial world. However, Wan Boping is the head of the family; he chose to trust Hu Xiaotian, so everyone else can only obey.

Madam Wan said coldly, "This is the Wan household; I can go wherever I want. Do I still have to report to you, an outsider?"

Hu Xiaotian grinned and said, "Madam Wan, didn't Wan Yuanwai tell you what I'm staying here to do tonight?"

Madam Wan pondered for a moment but said nothing.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Master Wan asked me to summon the soul of the Second Young Master; it's a task entrusted to me, and Madam Wan surely knows about it. The soul is a spiritual entity; ordinary people must not disturb it. I have repeatedly urged everyone to stay in their rooms after dark and not wander about—why don't you listen? If the Second Young Master's soul is disturbed, causing him to fall into an eternal sleep, can you bear the responsibility?" This move of Hu Xiaotian's was extremely clever; he placed such a big hat on Madam Wan. Only by striking first could he shock her into not doubting his motives.

Although Madam Wan was unwilling in her heart, Hu Xiaotian's words left her with no rebuttal. She let out a cold snort and walked away.

Watching Madam Wan and her servant depart, Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "If the Second Young Master's soul were really disturbed, that would be a major disaster." He then suddenly pointed to the southeast and whispered, "Which way did they go?"

Wan Chang Chun looked in the direction he indicated. Seeing nothing, he blinked hard, but still saw nothing.

Hu Xiaotian quickly walked toward the courtyard where Le Yao lived; Wan Chang Chun hurried after him, reminding him, "Mr. Hu, this is where the Third Young Mistress resides as a widow."

Hu Xiaotian said, "So what? Is the Second Young Master's life more important, or idle gossip?"

This...

Hu Xiaotian said, "You stand guard outside. No one is allowed to enter, lest we disturb the Second Young Master's soul; otherwise I will interrogate you!"

"Uh… this…" Wan Chang Chun felt this was highly improper, yet he dared not object.

Hu Xiaotian secretly gloated, thinking back to how yesterday he had hidden in the Wan family pond like a thief for most of the day, fearing discovery of his whereabouts. He never imagined that today coming and going from the Wan mansion would be as easy as a stroll in an idle garden, under the pretense of soul summoning; even entering the young widow's courtyard at midnight would be open and aboveboard, and he himself began to admire his own audacity.

Hu Xiaotian entered the courtyard and specially instructed Wan Chang Chun to close the gate. Wan Chang Chun had no idea what scheme this guy was hatching; although he thought it improper for him to enter the Third Young Mistress's courtyard alone at this hour, the old master had ordered that wherever Hu Xiaotian went to summon souls, he should be facilitated, and besides, Wan Chang Chun could not bear the blame if the soul were disturbed. Privately, Wan Chang Chun believed that Hu Xiaotian's method of drilling a hole in the young master's head to cure him was pure fantasy; at his age he had never heard of such absurdity, and the old master, desperate for a cure, had only been swayed by him.

Before leaving, Hu Xiaotian again instructed Wan Chang Chun to watch for any red, yellow, or green light flying out of the courtyard, and if any appeared, to call him immediately.

Now Hu Xiaotian has completely shed the burden of his rigorous scholarly doctor persona; this guy is acting like a charlatan. Arriving at Le Yao's courtyard, he saw her room lit, the window paper he had punctured last night still not patched. He peered through the small hole and saw Le Yao sitting blankly at the table, gazing at the flickering candle flame. Before her lay a tray holding a bowl of medicine and a seven-foot length of white silk.

Le Yao sighed, finally made up her mind, lifted the bowl of medicine, and tremblingly brought it to her lips.

Hu Xiaotian muttered "Oh no," not stopping to think, rushed to the door, and shoved it open with his shoulder; the door wasn't bolted from inside, so he stumbled forward, overexerted, and plunged straight into the room, losing his balance and crashing to the floor.

Le Yao was startled by him; the medicine bowl clanged to the floor, the liquid hissed upon contact with the ground, and a large amount of vapor spread, actually corroding a patch of the blue bricks—one can imagine that if this medicine were swallowed, it would surely rip the intestines apart.

Le Yao's face drained of color; looking at the man sprawled on the floor, she was astonished to realize he was the one she had encountered in the pond the previous night, and whispered, "It's you…"

Hu Xiaotian somewhat embarrassedly climbed to his feet; he had intended to stride in nonchalantly, but ended up meeting her in such a sorry state: "It's me!" he said while straightening his clothes.

Le Yao asked, "Why have you come back again?" Feeling somewhat guilty, she went to the door, cracked it open a slit, and peered outside.

Hu Xiaotian secretly chuckled, but upon seeing the white silk on the table and the poison on the floor, his smile faded; if he had arrived a moment later, this lovely young widow would surely have perished.

Hu Xiaotian sat down at the table with an air of nonchalance, picked up the white silk, and asked, "What is this?"

Le Yao, flustered, came before him and urged, "You had better leave; if anyone finds you in my room, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash away the suspicion."

Hu Xiaotian raised the white silk in his hand and said, "You're not afraid of death, yet you fear gossip?"

Le Yao, summoning courage from somewhere, snatched the white silk away: "This is none of your business!"

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Le Yao's gorgeous visage, feeling both affection and pity; this guy realized he had no resistance to beautiful women, and he sighed, "I never meant to interfere with you, but I am the sort who dislikes owing favors; you rescued me from peril last night, and I am indebted to you greatly. If I do not repay it, my Conscience will never rest." At that moment Hu Xiaotian touched his Conscience and asked himself, if the young widow Le Yao were not this stunningly beautiful, he probably would not have such Conscience.

Le Yao replied calmly, "You don't owe me anything; I never knew you before, and you shouldn't dwell on yesterday's events—just pretend we never met."

Hu Xiaotian said, "A debt is a debt; how can something that has happened be pretended as if it never did? That's self-deception."

Le Yao gazed at Hu Xiaotian's bright, spirited eyes, and suddenly her heart felt a tangle of turmoil; her long black lashes trembled anxiously as they drooped.

Hu Xiaotian said, "No one has the right to treat life lightly."

"My life is mine; I can choose to live or die…" Le Yao said, pausing there, her limpid eyes welling with rippling tears; now that is the only right she has.

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "Your life is not yours; your parents gave you life and raised you, not so you would grow up to treat life lightly. Even if they are gone, their souls surely watch you from heaven—how could you bear to make them grieve?"

Le Yao burst into tears at this, shook her head, and said, "Nobody in this world cares about me; my life has no meaning."

"I care!" Hu Xiaotian lowly growled.

Le Yao was shocked by his words, and Hu Xiaotian himself felt a bit embarrassed by his own statement, as if they weren't yet that close. This guy hastily added, "You are my benefactor; to repay a drop of kindness with a spring, I will surely help you escape your suffering."

Le Yao's pale face was suffused with a blush; she bit her cherry lips and slowly shook her head, saying, "It's too late—the Second Young Master's life hangs by a thread; if he dies, the Wan family will certainly not let the matter rest." Her gaze fell on the white silk in her hand: "If I die, it will be settled once and for all; no one will ever know what really happened."

Hu Xiaotian then understood why Le Yao was resolved to die; Wan Ting Sheng was at death's door, and Le Yao surely believed his condition was connected to them, even thinking that his blow had reduced Wan Ting Sheng to this state. Afterwards, the two of them dragged Wan Ting Sheng away from here, temporarily avoiding suspicion, but Le Yao thought that as long as the Wan family investigated, the truth would eventually leak out—like paper cannot contain fire.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Was this poison and white silk sent by Madam Wan?"

Le Yao said nothing, two lines of pearl tears rolling down; Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed, the Wan family truly had no decent people—men lustful, women vicious. He whispered, "Rest assured, Wan Ting Sheng won't die so easily."

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