Chapter 1180

When Yan Nujiao saw Hu Xiaotian's face, she could hardly hide the disappointment in her beautiful eyes, sighing inwardly, How could he possibly be here? He ought to be peacefully serving as lord of Dongliang Jun, how could he end up on this isolated island in the vast sea? Have I been possessed? Why do I constantly think of him?

Hu Xiaotian did not avoid Yan Nujiao's gaze, staring straight at her, deliberately putting on a seductive look; Yan Nujiao secretly blamed this pirate for his rudeness, unable to help frowning.

Yan Boguang didn't even notice Hu Xiaotian, facing the cold wind he sneezed three times in a row: 'This damned weather, how can it compare to our warm Xichuan?'

Lu Qingyuan chuckled and said, 'What Master Yan says is true; at sea the wind is high and the waves rough, half the year is like this.'

Yan Boguang shrank his neck and said, 'Let's go, let's hurry to the Crystal Palace.'

Lu Qingyuan had Yang Yuan and Hu Xiaotian lead the way ahead; Yang Yuan was obviously frozen and had caught a cold, sneezing continuously along the way. Hu Xiaotian had never been to the Crystal Palace either, walking beside Yang Yuan, paying attention to the surrounding road terrain, silently memorizing it in his mind.

After leaving Tingtao Yuan and walking north for over two li, they entered Flying Dragon Peak, one of the five peaks of Mangjiao Island; although the peak is not high, the road is rugged and steep, difficult to traverse, and with such strong wind, each step becomes extraordinarily difficult.

Just as they entered the mountain path, they heard a shout from behind: 'Sixth Master! Stop!'

Lu Qingyuan stopped, turned around, and saw a warrior hurrying over; he asked softly, 'What's the matter?'

The warrior clasped his fists and said, 'Sixth Master, Fourth Master has suddenly fallen ill; please come and help.'

Lu Qingyuan said, 'I'm still accompanying the guests.'

Yan Boguang laughed, 'Second Chief, you don't need to worry about us; saving lives is more important.'

Lu Qingyuan helplessly nodded, then cupped his fists to the Yan siblings and said, 'Sorry. I must take my leave first; you two enjoy yourselves freely, and if there is any shortcoming in our hospitality, please tell me directly—I will certainly not let them off.' After saying that, he also instructed Yang Yuan and Hu Xiaotian, 'Master Yan and Miss Yan are the island lord's closest kin, honored guests of our Mangjiao Island; remember that. You must attend to them well, without the slightest neglect.'

Hu Xiaotian and Yang Yuan nodded repeatedly.

After Lu Qingyuan left, Yang Yuan continued to lead the way ahead; he had Hu Xiaotian stay behind to guard, mainly because the mountain path was steep and slippery, to prevent the guests from falling.

Yan Nujiao whispered, 'Brother, I really don't understand why you insist on going to the Crystal Palace.'

Yan Boguang laughed and asked Yang Yuan, 'I heard your island has a treasure called the Seven-Colored Blood Crystal Stone located in the Crystal Palace?'

Hu Xiaotian, hearing his question, couldn't help but want to laugh; this guy is indeed eyeing Mangjiao Island's treasure, but such behavior is really too obvious.

Yang Yuan said, 'Reporting to Master Yan, the Seven-Colored Blood Crystal Stone was indeed discovered in the Crystal Palace, but now there is none left in the crystal cave; the island lord has already stored it away.'

Yan Boguang gave an 'oh'.

Yan Nujiao bit her lip. This second brother is really thoughtless. This time coming to Mangjiao Island, one purpose was to deliver a letter to their uncle; another was that he wanted to ask their uncle for that piece of Seven-Colored Blood Crystal Stone. However, after arriving at Mangjiao Island, although their uncle welcomed them warmly, he never mentioned giving them the stone, and Yan Boguang, out of face, didn't directly bring it up. Today's trip to propose going to the Crystal Palace is meant to hint indirectly, letting their uncle understand what he wants.

The road ahead became increasingly rugged; Yan Nujiao momentarily failed to notice, her foot slipped, she cried out and fell backward; fortunately Hu Xiaotian promptly reached out and grabbed her arm, softly reminding, 'Be careful!'

Hearing his voice, Yan Nujiao's heart was greatly stirred; if she hadn't seen his appearance, just from the voice she would surely think Hu Xiaotian was right beside her.

Yang Yuan and Yan Boguang ahead heard the commotion and turned around; Yan Boguang said, 'Sister, be more careful!'

Yan Nujiao nodded, her pretty face slightly red as she pulled her arm free from Hu Xiaotian's big hand, whispering, 'Thank you!'

Seeing her peach-blossom cheeks flushed with shyness, Hu Xiaotian felt his heart heat up, yet he continued to act as if nothing had happened, releasing her arm and continuing to follow silently behind.

After walking for half an hour they finally reached the mid-slope of Flying Dragon Peak; at the mid-slope, where trees conceal the area, there is a cave entrance—this is the Crystal Palace everyone speaks of; the four guards at the door all come from Flying Fish Cave and are very familiar with Yang Yuan; Yang Yuan stepped forward and told them the purpose of this trip, and the guards immediately let them pass.

After entering the cave they escaped the piercing cold wind outside, immediately feeling much warmer; Yang Yuan took a torch and handed another to Hu Xiaotian, the two taking turns lighting the way front and back; at first the cave mouth was narrow, allowing only one person to pass, they walked along the winding path for over a li, after which the entrance began to widen; in the torchlight the cavern walls sparkled, Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw the walls covered in crystals—this was actually a natural crystal cave.

Yang Yuan introduced, 'From here onward, everything ahead is crystal.'

Yan Boguang said, 'The Crystal Palace is nothing special; what's there to see in this dark place?' Meanwhile Yan Nujiao discreetly tugged his sleeve, reminding him not to speak improperly, as they are guests and rash talk is never good.

After passing the bend ahead, they suddenly felt their vision brighten as light poured in from above; Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw that the upper part was also covered in crystal, many places lacking rock cover, the crystal exposed to the open sky, so daylight filtered through the crystal into the cavern, as if the cavern roof had opened crystal skylights.

Yang Yuan said, 'Because it's overcast today, the view is greatly diminished; if it were sunny, sunlight would pour down from above, magnificent and colorful.' He pointed ahead and said, 'This is the Pillar Holding Up the Sky!'

Everyone looked ahead and saw a crystal pillar as thick as a person's embrace standing straight up; Yan Boguang couldn't help laughing at the sight.

Yang Yuan also laughed, glancing at Hu Xiaotian with an expression that clearly said 'this can be understood but not spoken'.

Although they hadn't spoken, Yan Nujiao could guess what they were thinking; her cheeks flushed crimson, she instinctively glanced at Hu Xiaotian, only to see him grin and reveal a row of neat white teeth; she felt this pirate's smile so familiar, her heart fluttered again, she silently blamed herself: why does she constantly think of him? She hurriedly lowered her head and rushed forward.

As Yan Boguang passed the crystal pillar, he deliberately reached out to touch it, hoping for luck; Hu Xiaotian saw this and smirked inwardly, thinking such totem worship probably stems from this mindset.

Yang Yuan was very familiar with the terrain here and the surrounding scenery, explaining as they walked; most of his descriptions were based on shape plus his own imagination, and his eloquence was decent, making his talk somewhat interesting.

However, Yan Boguang had little interest in this; what he cared most about was where the Seven-Colored Blood Crystal Stone was found.

Yang Yuan said, 'The Crystal Palace is divided into two parts; what we can see is only a small portion; ahead lies the Crystal Garden.'

As they spoke they arrived at the Crystal Garden; ahead it became especially wide, the ground and walls covered with crystals of various forms, clusters and bunches, from afar resembling a hundred flowers in bloom; above the Crystal Garden's cavern ceiling there is a crystal slab about five zhang in diameter, light passing through it illuminates the garden as brightly as daytime; of course, since it's overcast outside, the interior light is also diminished; one can imagine that if it were sunny, sunlight would stream in through the crystal, refracting among the crystal clusters, making this garden splendid beyond compare.

While Yan Nujiao toured the Crystal Garden, taking the moment when only Hu Xiaotian was beside her, she whispered, 'Where are you from?'

Hu Xiaotian did not answer directly: 'My humble origins are not worth mentioning.'

Yan Boguang's voice interrupted their conversation; he wanted to move on, but Yang Yuan said the area ahead was already a forbidden zone of Mangjiao Island.

Yan Nujiao sighed inwardly, stepped forward and said, 'Brother, you don't need to make things difficult for them; forget it, anyway we've already seen most of it.'

Yan Boguang felt unwilling, but since his sister said that, he couldn't insist; he shook his head and said, 'I thought the Crystal Palace would be something remarkable, but it's just a broken cave; if I had known Mangjiao Island was like this, I wouldn't have come.'

Yan Nujiao furrowed her brows slightly; this brother is really thoughtless.

As Yan Boguang's words faded, a melodious piano sound came from within the cave, the notes tinkling like a mountain stream, extremely pleasing to the ear.

Upon hearing the music, Yan Boguang's face darkened; he glared at Yang Yuan and said, 'You said this is a forbidden zone, so why is there music coming out?'

'Uh… this… I don't know either…' Yang Yuan also didn't know how to explain.

Yan Boguang has always been arrogant and overbearing; moreover, the lord of Mangjiao Island is his uncle, whom he regards as no different from his own family; he shoved Yang Yuan aside and strode forward.

Yan Nujiao's attempt to stop him came too late; she could only follow after him; Yang Yuan and Hu Xiaotian could only trail behind; actually Hu Xiaotian was also quite curious—since it's a forbidden zone, why would someone be playing music inside? Running here to play piano, he must be a pretentious show-off.

Yan Boguang strode into the front cavern and saw that it was even more spacious and bright than the Crystal Garden; natural crystals were visible everywhere, looking from afar like a crystal forest, or as if the site were filled with crystal swords and blades; on a crystal platform in the front right, a white-clad man sat upright, spotless, playing the zither, with two lovely white-clad women behind him.

Yang Yuan stared at that man, blinking in surprise, because he had never seen him before; he stammered: 'You… you are…' (To be continued… ^~^).