Chapter 1299

Mu Rongzhan's hidden moves were endless, but before Bu Wu's absolute strength they had lost room to execute; that punch Bu Wu had just thrown had already dealt him heavy damage.

Hu Xiaotian could already tell this Mu Rongzhan was definitely an impostor; seeing Bu Wu gradually approach the Mu Rongzhan who had just climbed up from the ground, Hu Xiaotian bit his lip, suddenly burst from the darkness, and threw a punch at Bu Wu's back. Hu Xiaotian had studied martial arts under Bu Wu, so he feared being recognized; now clad in black and masked, he used the God‑Demon World‑Destroying Fist taught by the Illusory Soaring Sect.

Bu Wu originally wanted to kill Mu Rongzhan with one punch, but suddenly felt an invisible pressure approaching from behind; this pressure was extremely strong, unprecedented in his life. Given Bu Wu's current strength, he also dared not be overconfident, so he only let Mu Rongzhan go and turned to deal with the sneak attack.

Bu Wu threw a punch forward; Hu Xiaotian, in order to rescue Mu Rongzhan, also exerted all his strength, and with his surprise attack on an unprepared opponent, he completely seized the initiative.

Their fists collided, both bodies jolted; Bu Wu's eyes flashed with astonishment—he never expected that hidden talents lurked in the palace, and someone's inner strength could match his own.

Mu Rongzhan seized the opportunity and fled far away; Bu Wu snorted coldly, 'Take another punch!' He swung his fist, preparing to attack.

Hu Xiaotian, however, turned and fled toward Lingxiao Palace; Bu Wu hesitated slightly, watching Mu Rongzhan's retreating back, could only suppress the urge to pursue him and instead followed Hu Xiaotian's silhouette.

Hu Xiaotian leapt into Lingxiao Palace, only to see Bu Wu soaring into the air, actually using the Art of Soaring to pursue him; although Hu Xiaotian also knew the Art of Soaring, he dared not use it, resorting instead to Bu Wu's secret technique. To avoid having his identity exposed, he had to employ the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps, shifting and moving with agility; in terms of footwork's marvel, the Art of Soaring naturally cannot compare to the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps.

Bu Wu chased for a distance but then stopped, because he worried the other side might have accomplices. If he used the tactic of luring the tiger away from the mountain, and someone else then dealt with Long Tingzhen, that would be troublesome; Hu Xiaotian's true aim was to draw his attention, giving Mu Rongzhan ample time to escape. Arriving before the waterfall, he saw Bu Wu halt, inwardly relieved. Seeing that Mu Rongzhan should have already jumped down from here, Hu Xiaotian waved at Bu Wu and dove into the Jade Pool with a standard high-diving posture.

As Hu Xiaotian surfaced, he saw a figure not far away, arms spread in the water, seemingly unresponsive. He hurried over, lifted the person from the bottom to the surface, first made sure no warriors were patrolling nearby, then looked at the face. Sure enough, it was Mu Rongzhan, except his head of white hair had turned black—because he had lost his head covering during the fall, revealing his natural hair color.

When Hu Xiaotian reached out to help, he already realized this Mu Rongzhan was an impostor; he carefully examined the back of Mu Rongzhan's ear and indeed saw a faint seam. He reached out, peeled off the skin mask on his face, and before him appeared a breathtakingly beautiful visage—Xi Yan.

Hu Xiaotian had actually thought of her when she flung the white snake; now it was fully confirmed, his heart both excited and worried—excited at reuniting with Xi Yan after a long separation, yet worried because she had taken Bu Wu's punch, not knowing how severe her injury was.

Hu Xiaotian brought Xi Yan back through the water cave to the secret passage.

Realizing this place was no longer a secret, Hu Xiaotian dared not linger, embracing Xi Yan as he went to Zilan Palace. Since Hu Xiaotian left Kangdu, Qiqi had also moved out of the palace, leaving Zilan Palace idle; usually only two palace maids were responsible for cleaning and guarding here, while the sleeping quarters, the palace maids normally dared not approach. Hu Xiaotian brought Xi Yan into the sleeping quarters, laid her on the bed, and was about to examine her injuries when he heard Xi Yan say: 'What do you intend to do?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed helplessly; it turned out she had already awakened.

Hu Xiaotian whispered: 'We have bowed to heaven and earth; whatever I do to you is perfectly proper.'

Xi Yan, hearing his teasing, not only did not get angry but felt secretly delighted; her chest still ached sharply, she struggled to sit up, caught her breath, and asked: 'Where is this? What exactly just happened?'

Hu Xiaotian then briefly told her what had happened, whispering: 'Many people know about the underground passage below; I expect Hong Beimo will soon send people to search, so I dare not linger there. Zilan Palace is currently idle and can serve as a temporary hiding place.'

Xi Yan asked: 'Who is that old monk? How can his martial arts be so formidable? Poor my little white, he was killed by a single punch from him.'

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said: 'He is called Bu Wu, a monk of Tianlong Temple, considered a top-tier master; you just narrowly escaped being killed by him.' Gazing at Xi Yan's pallid face, he whispered: 'How are your injuries?'

After his reminder, Xi Yan again felt sharp pain in her chest; she shook her head and said: 'It's fine, I have a holy medicine for healing wounds.' She took a jade bottle from her waist, poured out a pill and swallowed it. Although she had long been reunited with Hu Xiaotian and had much to say, Bu Wu's punch had shaken her badly; she was utterly weak, lacking even the strength to speak.

Seeing her like this, Hu Xiaotian's pity welled up; he reached out and grasped her right hand, whispering: 'Sleep, I will guard you.'

Xi Yan nodded and actually fell asleep.

In the darkness, Hu Xiaotian held her hand, silently acting as her guardian; it seemed that infiltrating the palace was not just him—Xi Yan, why had she come? How long had she been here?

With Hu Xiaotian guarding her side, Xi Yan slept especially soundly; that night no major palace guard search occurred. Until dawn approached, Xi Yan woke from her dream, confident that Hu Xiaotian remained by her side and had not left, then she smiled faintly; Hu Xiaotian slowly opened his eyes and whispered: 'Awake?'

Xi Yan nodded: 'I'm much better.'

Hu Xiaotian saw that although she looked a bit wan, her spirit was still decent; he estimated Bu Wu's punch had not caused her serious internal injury, and he relaxed a bit, saying softly: 'Inside Zilan Palace there are only two palace maids responsible for cleaning and guarding; they probably don't come every day to clean.'

Xi Yan said: 'Then let's kill them; we can just disguise ourselves as them.'

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed: 'Indeed, a demoness is a demoness—she kills at the drop of a hat. The ordinary palace maids of Zilan Palace have offended her nothing, yet she prepares to kill to impersonate others.' He shook his head: 'No need; I already have an identity, currently serving as a eunuch in the Cangshuge.'

Xi Yan gave him a sideways glance: 'Who would have thought someone could become addicted to being a eunuch?'

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, suddenly recalling that he had not returned all night; Li Yuncong might be wondering a lot. Last night's discovery of his was closely tied to Li Yuncong, so he must inform him of Bu Wu's affairs on Mount Piaomiao. Hu Xiaotian said: 'I need to go out for a while; you wait here, recuperate, and anyway no one will come shortly.' Given Xi Yan's lightness skill, those two palace maids should not notice her traces.

Xi Yan said: 'That's fine!'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'I estimate Qiqi will return in a couple of days; you had best not lay hands on her attendants.'

Xi Yan laughed: 'How sweetly you call her—Qiqi is your fiancée, right? Good! Since you said that, I will spare their lives; when Qiqi comes, I will kill her and then impersonate her, okay?'

Hu Xiaotian gazed at her smiling, flower-like face, yet his heart gave a chill; could Xi Yan have come this time to assassinate Qiqi? This girl, from the Wuxian Sect, ruthless and cruel, might really do such a thing.

After bidding farewell to Xi Yan, Hu Xiaotian slipped out of the sleeping quarters unnoticed, especially went to the outer palace maids' rooms to listen; the two maids were still soundly asleep. Hu Xiaotian donned Xiao Dezhi's mask, finished his disguise, left Zilan Palace, and swaggered toward the Cangshuge.

On the way he encountered many palace guards on routine patrol; as he was about to reach the Cangshuge, he also ran into Mu Rongzhan, and Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but glance at him a second time. Xi Yan's disguise technique was truly superb; if not for the flaw revealed when he struck, he would really have thought last night's appearance was Mu Rongzhan.

Mu Rongzhan seemed in no good mood, his white brows deeply knotted, face grim; a guard beside him reported something, Hu Xiaotian listened closely, but the guard made no mention of Mount Piaomiao, indicating Bu Wu had not publicized this matter. In fact, Bu Wu's very existence is a secret, and moreover Long Tingzhen is hidden in Lingxiao Palace; everyone harbors ulterior motives.

Arriving at the Cangshuge, he unexpectedly met Yuan Fu, who said to Hu Xiaotian: 'Xiao Dezhi, where have you been all night? Li Yuncong is angry, he sent me to organize the storehouse; you're lucky.'

Hu Xiaotian worried that speaking would expose a flaw, he cracked his mouth into a smile, gave him a bow, and then walked heavily toward Li Yuncong's room.

Li Yuncong heard the knock, lazily said: "Come in."

Hu Xiaotian pushed the door and entered, then closed it with a backhand, smiling narrowly said: "Little Dezi pays respects to Eunuch Li."

Li Yuncong narrowed his one eye at him, speaking in a strange tone: "Not returning all night, I suppose you must have gained quite a bit."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The gains are plentiful!"

Li Yuncong immediately perked up, his body leaning forward slightly: "Quickly tell us."

The first piece of news shocked Li Yuncong greatly; he exclaimed in disbelief: "What? Long Tingzhen isn't dead? He even acquired martial arts? What exactly is Hong Beimo up to? Does the Emperor know about this?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "You've always stayed in the palace; you should know this better than I."

Li Yuncong said: "He should know; without the Emperor's approval, he wouldn't do this, kid, you're in trouble—looks like the Emperor is going to move against the Yongyang Princess." Long Tingzhen is surely preparing to replace the Yongyang Princess's power; Long Xuan'en doesn't even care about the Yongyang Princess, so how could he care about Hu Xiaotian, this so-called future prince consort?

Second chapter uploaded, please give a recommendation! (To be continued~^~)