Chapter 1200

Hu Zhongyang felt his head about to split, he opened his eyes and discovered he had actually returned to the dark, lightless prison again; he thought it was a hallucination from drunkenness, he clenched his fist and hammered his head hard, but a painful sound came from his ear; Hu Zhongyang stared and saw that not only himself but also three of his subordinates lay in the cell, he then realized everything before him was real, he grabbed one of them and shouted: "What's wrong? What exactly happened?"

The subordinate said dazedly: "I don't know, I drank too much and woke up here……" Hu Zhongyang shoved him aside, lunged at the prison's iron bars, and roared: "Island Master! I want to see the Island Master!"

Yan Tianlu stood in the courtyard, hearing footsteps behind him he slowly turned around, seeing Yang Yuanqing being escorted by two warriors, he waved his hand, the two warriors withdrew, he personally unlocked Yang Yuanqing's shackles and smiled: "General Yang, you've been wronged, but putting on a show requires going all out; I don't want General Yang to expose his identity because of this."

Yang Yuanqing rubbed his forehead, sighed, and said: "Island Master Yan, your move this time really caught people off guard!"

Yan Tianlu said: "Hu Xiaotian has already been locked up by me in the water dungeon; you just saw him, I have done what you asked me to do, now it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Yang Yuanqing said: "I will convey the Island Master's meaning as soon as possible, but……"

Yan Tianlu's face turned cold: "Nothing but, you just need to send my son out to sea; as soon as I am certain that news of his ship entering the sea reaches me, I will immediately kill Hu Xiaotian!"

Yang Yuanqing said: "Island Master, please stay calm, I have already sent a message by bird; I believe there will be results within three days."

Yan Tianlu coldly said: "You had better not deceive me; if within three days there is no news of my son's safe release, you should worry about your own safety!"

On the highest Qinglong Peak of Python Flood Island, Hu Xiaotian and Xia Zhangming stood before the cliff. The two simultaneously turned their heads, gazing toward the prison's direction, recalling tonight's events; Xia Zhangming also couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, he bit his lip and said: "I never expected Yang Yuanqing to be a traitor!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "It's just each serving his own master; from the moment we left Dongliang Jun, every move of ours has been under his surveillance; he must be using methods like pigeon post to stay in contact with Dakang; fortunately Yan Tianlu knows how to weigh pros and cons, otherwise I would really have suffered a major setback this time."

Xia Zhangming said: "My lord, what do you plan to do?"

Hu Xiaotian narrowed his eyes toward the distance: "Let's first return to Dongliang Jun; once Long Xuan'en learns of my capture, he will surely strike at Dongliang Jun, and after we return to Dongliang Jun, I'll also trouble you to make a trip to Kangdu."

Xia Zhangming said: "But these two Snow Eagles have been flying day and night and are utterly exhausted; previously when I went to Kangdu I rotated riding them, I fear they cannot bear the two of us flying such a long distance."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Then what should we do?"

Xia Zhangming sighed and said: "Under the current circumstances we can only take things step by step." As he spoke, under the moonlight two white streaks of light swiftly approached from afar; the two Snow Eagles slowly landed before them. Xia Zhangming affectionately stroked the feathers of the two Snow Eagles, drawing them into his embrace, as if whispering to them.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the affectionate scene between person and eagle, secretly envying it. When would he ever be able to have such a mount? He couldn't help but think of that flying owl; if the flying owl were willing to follow him, how wonderful that would be.

Xia Zhangming mounted one of the Snow Eagles, had Hu Xiaotian ride the other; the two Snow Eagles spread their wings and took off, one after the other flying toward the bright moon in the sky.

Hu Xiaotian felt the wind whistling in his ears; he lowered his head to look down, but saw Python Flood Island under the moonlight shrinking in his view; he suddenly noticed a black dot rapidly approaching from behind; the Snow Eagles' instinct for danger let them quickly sense this change, and the two Snow Eagles simultaneously let out a cry, suddenly accelerating upward; Hu Xiaotian clung tightly to the saddle and exclaimed: "Damn! Again?"

To shake off the black shadow pursuing from behind, the Snow Eagles wildly climbed and dove in the air; Xia Zhangming panickedly let out a long whistle, trying to calm the Snow Eagles' emotions.

The flying owl swooped down like lightning in the dark night, swiftly arriving beneath Hu Xiaotian's body, spreading its wings and maintaining a distance of about one zhang above or below the Snow Eagles, showing no aggressive move; Hu Xiaotian pressed his lips, suddenly gathered courage, released the saddle, leapt down from the Snow Eagle and landed steadily on the flying owl's back; the flying owl let out a low, deep cry. Like a floating island, it bore Hu Xiaotian's body and rose slowly, flying side by side with Xia Zhangming.

The two Snow Eagles, calmed by Xia Zhangming's soothing, finally settled, yet remained wary as they gazed at this huge-bodied flying owl.

Hu Xiaotian let out a long sigh of relief, patted the flying owl's bald neck and said: "Old brother, you came to see me off?"

The flying owl remained silent, flying quietly.

Hu Xiaotian said: "You're reluctant to part with me? Are you ready to leave together with me?"

The flying owl turned its head, a flash of bright light appearing in its fierce eagle eyes.

Xia Zhangming from the side said: "Congratulations, my lord; this flying owl should have recognized you as its master!"

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in delight: "Really? Really? Then wouldn't it mean I can make it do whatever I want? Fly! Fly forward, throw those two white birds far away, far away!" The flying owl suddenly dove downward; Hu Xiaotian, frightened, hastily clung to its neck, clenched his legs around its body, and shouted: "Don't play! I told you to fly forward! Stop! Stop!"

After hearing "stop", the flying owl climbed upward again; its diving and climbing speeds were clearly faster than the Snow Eagles', Hu Xiaotian felt a thrill even greater than riding a roller coaster; even though this fellow is bold, he now couldn't help but turn pale with fear.

Xia Zhangming closely followed behind, laughing: "My lord! It seems I need to teach you some ways to communicate with birds!"

Liang Da Zhuang hurriedly arrived at the Tongren Hall; recently, Weisa had been here almost every day, and she and Qin Yutong had become inseparable friends. Seeing Liang Da Zhuang panting as he ran over, Weisa said: "Brother Liang, what's up? Has the master returned?"

Liang Da Zhuang shook his head and said: "General Su Yuchi, the commander of Yunyang, has already entered the city, sent a visiting card, and will come to the mansion at noon to pay his respects to the young master."

Weisa furrowed her brows and said: "Tell him the master is ill and not fit to receive guests!"

Liang Da Zhuang said: "I did, but the person who delivered the visiting card said that General Su Yuchi this time is not only here to inquire about the illness, but also brought an oral decree from the Emperor, so no matter what he must see the young master in person."

Weisa bit her lip; Hu Xiaotian had gone to Python Flood Island, and the person now lying in the mansion is essentially a decoy warrior impersonating him; this warrior pretends to be sick lying down, which is normally nothing, but if he actually meets General Su Yuchi face to face, wouldn't that completely expose the ruse?

Qin Yutong from the side said: "General Su Yuchi is very capable, not only skilled in warfare but also shrewd; if he sees Minister Hu, I fear nothing can be concealed."

Liang Da Zhuang said: "What can we do?"

Qin Yutong said: "No problem, I'll go with you and say that Minister Hu's condition has worsened; although he brought an oral decree from the Emperor, he is after all a guest here, we cannot force him to do anything; as long as Minister Hu doesn't speak too much, there should be no giveaway."

Weisa said: "If he doesn't speak, that's fine; although he looks about ninety percent like him, his accent is completely different."

Qin Yutong calmly smiled: "No need to panic, just let him not speak; General Su Yuchi has come a long way under the pretext of inquiring about the illness, claiming to bear an oral decree from the Emperor; if we stubbornly refuse to let him in, who knows what trouble might arise." She turned to Liang Da Zhuang and asked: "How many people did General Su Yuchi bring in total?"

Liang Da Zhuang said: "Not many people; most of their troops are transporting grain in Wuxing Jun, this time only over two hundred followed him here."

Qin Yutong said: "Those two hundred couldn't possibly all come to the mansion; let's go take a look!"

Su Yuchi arrived punctually in front of Hu Xiaotian's mansion; accompanying him were four attendants, plus Dongliang Jun's prefect Li Mingcheng; however, few people know the details of Hu Xiaotian's illness, and Li Mingcheng is also unaware of this matter.

Liang Da Zhuang had long been waiting at the gate; standing there he bowed and said: "I, Liang Da Zhuang, on behalf of my young master, welcome General Su Yuchi and his entourage! My young master is indisposed, confined to bed, unable to personally come out to greet you; I hope General Su Yuchi will make allowances."

Su Yuchi smiled and said: "Minister Hu being ill naturally requires focusing on recuperation; I, Su Yuchi, have come this time merely to represent the Emperor in expressing concern."

Liang Da Zhuang led the group inside; Li Mingcheng, at his side, asked: "Da Zhuang, how is Minister Hu's condition today?"

Liang Da Zhuang furrowed his brows and then feigned a sigh.

Li Mingcheng exclaimed in alarm: "What? Minister Hu……"

Liang Da Zhuang said: "Well, yesterday he had improved considerably, but this morning after getting up, I don't know what happened, his condition suddenly worsened, his mouth is askew and his eyes are slanted; just now we summoned Qin the Divine Doctor from Tongren Hall to treat the young master, but in the short term there should be no improvement."

Su Yuchi said: "Could Minister Hu have suffered a stroke?"

Liang Da Zhuang said: "I don't understand medicine, so I'm not sure what's going on; but my young master is extremely concerned about his dignity, now with his mouth askew and eyes slanted, he naturally doesn't want to meet people in this state; originally the young master meant to see no one, but General Su Yuchi is of noble rank and bears an oral decree from the Emperor, so even if his illness worsens, my young master must give General Su Yuchi face, and if not for the general's sake then at least for the Emperor's—wouldn't you agree?"

Su Yuchi gave a slight smile, thinking to himself: "This servant is indeed sharp-tongued, relying on others' power, daring to sneer at me, the general." Although he felt a bit displeased, Su Yuchi also didn't think it worth arguing with a lowly servant. (To be continued~^~)