Chapter 1298

Li Yuncong said: "Speak less, do more. Xiao Dezi is merely acquainted with Yuan Fu; his contact with the outside world is not extensive. We will have Yuan Fu sent away for a while; the rest you handle yourself."

Hu Xiaotian gave a hehe laugh: "Thank you, Lord Li." He pinched his voice to speak; actually the eunuch's tone is roughly similar, Hu Xiaotian mastered the yin-yang weird tone very well.

Li Yuncong said: "What are your plans?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "First, investigate the situation here, then talk."

Night fell, Hu Xiaotian entered the secret passage from beneath the Wen Sheng statue in the Cangshuge; this secret passage, known to many, is no longer really a secret, but fortunately this passage connects Zilan Palace, the Si Yuan Ju, Cangshuge, and Yaochi.

Hu Xiaotian sneaked into Yaochi via the passage; after Long Xuan'en successfully reclaimed the throne, the guards on Piaomiao Mountain had obviously relaxed; Hu Xiaotian came to the waterfall area of Piaomiao Mountain, followed the cliff upward, this cliff face was smooth as a mirror, straight up and down, Hu Xiaotian used his top-notch climbing technique, hands and feet together, performed Golden Spider Eight Steps to climb to the summit of Piaomiao Peak.

Approaching midnight, the entire Lingxiao Palace was shrouded in night; under the moonlight, one could see that Lingxiao Palace had been restored, the main hall majestic, red bricks and green tiles reflecting a cold light, like a solitary giant; north of Lingxiao Palace is the Yun Temple; going from the waterfall to Lingxiao Palace just passes here.

Hu Xiaotian had once entered the Yun Temple; that time he came with Long Xi Yue to pay respects to her mother; just don't know if the Yun Temple still looks the same now; Hu Xiaotian silently climbed over the wall, there was no one on duty in the Yun Temple, Hu Xiaotian was familiar with the route, he came to the main hall, he remembered seeing a portrait of Qiqi's birth mother here; since he came, he might as well take it along and give it to Qiqi as a gift when they meet.

Hu Xiaotian found Ling Jiazi's portrait, took it down from the wall and rolled it up; while packing the scroll, he felt something rolling inside, his heart skipped, could there be a secret hidden in the scroll? Hu Xiaotian used a dagger to split the scroll open; the scroll was indeed hollow, inside lay a string of purple crystal bead bracelet; the author of this painting was Long Xuan'en, naturally the one who stored the crystal bead bracelet inside was him; this string of bracelet is a female accessory, it can be inferred that it should have been Ling Jiazi's ornament; the old emperor storing this bracelet here might be a memorial.

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed. That old dog Long Xuan'en even doesn't let his daughter-in-law go, really not a good thing; his mind inevitably produced a guess: what is the relationship between Long Xuan'en and Qiqi? Could Qiqi be his flesh and blood?

Carrying his confusion, Hu Xiaotian left the Yun Temple silently under the moonlight; arriving outside Lingxiao Palace, just as he was about to enter, suddenly he heard a terrified scream from the southwest corner; Hu Xiaotian's heart sank. He looked around, soon heard chaotic footsteps; two warriors stumbled out from inside Lingxiao Palace, one covered in blood, his right arm missing.

The two shouted in terror: "Save me……"

Before they could flee far, a black shadow shot out from within Lingxiao Palace like a ghost; hands clenched into claws in the moonlight, body plunged down from midair, raising both claws to deeply pierce into those two people's skulls.

The two stood there, their bodies constantly twitching; soon they breathed their last; the black shadow pulled his bloody hands out of the two skulls, slowly turned his face, moonlight illuminated his pallid face, his eyes dead and lifeless; this person was actually Long Tingzhen; Hu Xiaotian sucked in a cold breath, wasn't he said to be dead? Unexpectedly this guy still lives in this world; no wonder Hong Beimo comes here repeatedly, it's because of him; the old emperor shouldn't be unaware of Long Tingzhen's matter; Hu Xiaotian secretly startled, if so, Qiqi's situation is dangerous.

But he remembered that Long Tingzhen's martial arts were mediocre in the past; why did he become so formidable in a short time? Could he have had some extraordinary encounter?

At this moment a figure floated out from within Lingxiao Palace; that person came to the corpse, inserted five fingers into the still-bleeding brain hole, and clicked his tongue praising: "Not bad, not bad! Not in vain my teaching to you."

Hu Xiaotian heard that the person's voice sounded somewhat familiar; when that person turned his face, he almost exclaimed in surprise; that person was actually the evil monk Bu Wu from Tianlong Temple; what surprised him even more was that Bu Wu's previously blind eyes now shone brightly; previously he didn't even have eyeballs, now he suddenly possessed a pair of eyes.

Hu Xiaotian and Bu Wu could be considered master and disciple in practice; since they parted at Tianlong Temple last time, they have not met again; Hu Xiaotian originally thought Bu Wu had already left Kangdu, but he didn't expect that he not only didn't leave, but instead hid in the imperial palace; recalling Bu Wu's superb martial arts, Hu Xiaotian secretly guarded himself; even if his martial arts have improved considerably since leaving Tianlong Temple, in actual combat he might not necessarily defeat Bu Wu; previously when Bu Wu was blind he was already that formidable; now that he has regained his eyes, his martial arts must have reached a higher level.

Gazing at Bu Wu's eyes, Hu Xiaotian secretly wondered: what kind of person could make Bu Wu, like dead wood meeting spring, regain sight? He thought he was unparalleled in medical skills in this era, but didn't expect that someone in this world could actually perform eyeball transplantation; could it be Hong Beimo's doing? If it really was him, where does this person come from? How terrifying will he be?

Long Tingzhen whispered: "How long must I stay here? Mr. Hong said he would help me ascend to the crown prince position, yet why has he not taken any action?"

Bu Wu gave a strange, grating laugh: "These matters I don't concern myself with; go ask him."

Long Tingzhen said: "In my current state, what difference is there between me and a prisoner?"

Bu Wu said: "Go take a medicinal bath."

Long Tingzhen sighed, turned and walked into the palace.

After Long Tingzhen left, Bu Wu's gaze returned to the two corpses; he said softly: "Dust to dust, earth to earth; the donor has been here for a while, why does he dare not show himself to meet?"

Hu Xiaotian's heart jumped; he thought he had exposed himself, but he saw Bu Wu's gaze directed to his front right.

In the darkness, a white-haired man slowly stepped forward—he was none other than the Chief Guard of the Imperial Guard, Mu Rongzhan.

Only then did Hu Xiaotian realize Bu Wu had not noticed him; he also hadn't noticed Mu Rongzhan's appearance. Within the Dakang imperial palace, hidden talents abound—one truly cannot afford to be careless.

Mu Rongzhan's pale eyes fixed on Bu Wu; he said nothing, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword.

Hu Xiaotian knew Mu Rongzhan's martial skill was not weak, but compared to Bu Wu he might not be a match.

Bu Wu sneered, "Chief Guard Mu Rongzhan, don't you realize this Misty Peak is an imperial forbidden zone? Without the Emperor's decree, no one may trespass. As the Chief Guard of the Imperial Guard, you know the law yet break it—what punishment do you deserve?"

Mu Rongzhan remained silent, staring coldly at Bu Wu.

Bu Wu said, "If you don't speak now, you may never get another chance." He stood there, his voluminous black monk's robe billowing without wind, inflated by his rapidly surging powerful internal energy; a fierce killing intent quickly spread, enveloping everything within ten zhang, causing plants to shiver. Under Bu Wu's overwhelming killing intent, Mu Rongzhan's aura was completely suppressed.

Though Hu Xiaotian was somewhat farther away, he still felt an invisible pressure. He had thought that even if Mu Rongzhan wasn't a match for Bu Wu, their abilities should be comparable, but looking at them now, the gap in their cultivation was enormous.

Mu Rongzhan had already begun to act; he suddenly drew his waist sword, and as he pulled the blade, his left hand moved first—using the sword motion as a cover, his true killing strike was a pellet shot from his left hand.

Bu Wu struck with an empty palm; an invisible palm imprint in the air sliced the pellet, which burst with a pop! into countless gleaming green phosphorescent flames that ignited on contact. Mu Rongzhan drew his right-hand sword, squeezed the hilt to trigger a mechanism, and the blade transformed into dozens of icy, sharp flying blades that shot toward Bu Wu.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement; in his impression, Mu Rongzhan didn't seem to have so many tricks—unexpectedly, Mu Rongzhan concealed his skills well and was actually a master of concealed weapons.

Bu Wu stood still, letting the flying blades come; when they struck his protective aura, they tinkled and fell to the ground, leaving him unharmed.

After Mu Rongzhan unleashed two consecutive concealed attacks, he immediately fled toward the distance, knowing he could not match Bu Wu's strength and daring not to engage head-on.

Bu Wu's body suddenly moved, arriving first despite acting later, he cut off Mu Rongzhan's escape route, raised his withered fist, and threw a punch at him.

Mu Rongzhan shook both hands, and a silver light shot out—it was a white snake lunging at Bu Wu's fist.

When Hu Xiaotian saw the white snake clearly, his heart sank; he had seen an identical white snake before, back in Yongdu when he and Qiqi teamed up to deal with the three chief disciples of the Variegated Gate—how could it end up in Mu Rongzhan's hands?

Before Hu Xiaotian could think further, the white snake had already approached Bu Wu; this snake was lethally toxic—any bite to the skin meant certain death—but Bu Wu paid it no heed; before the snake could reach him, the force of his fist shattered it into a mist of blood.

The fist's momentum did not wane; Mu Rongzhan kept shifting his stance, but could not escape the punch's enveloping force—his chest was struck by the invisible blow, his body flew like a kite with its string cut, landing five zhang away on the ground.

Bu Wu took a step forward, only to see Mu Rongzhan, enduring the pain, wave his arm; thousands of floating golden specks approached him—turning out to be a single golden little insect.

Bu Wu snorted coldly, "Even a grain-of-rice pearl dares to glow." He unleashed two successive punches; the mighty fist winds kicked up two gales before him, sweeping the golden poisonous insect clean away.

I got drunk, slept a day, just got up to type, striving to post another First Update tonight! (To be continued~^~)