Chapter 1304

Hong Beimo said in a low voice, "I'm afraid this matter can't be kept hidden any longer; the Emperor should make a swift decision."

Long Xuan'en said: "You want me to make him crown prince?"

Hong Beimo said: "It's not necessary to make him crown prince, but it's time to make his news public." Since the matter has already been exposed, it will eventually be spread; better to say it ourselves than let others say it, which is also a way to turn passive into active.

Long Xuan'en nodded and said: "It's not that I don't want to make him crown prince, but I must consider Qiqi's feelings."

Hong Beimo respectfully said: "Since Dakang's founding, there has never been a precedent of a woman holding power."

Long Xuan'en said: "She is proud and haughty, and indeed possesses extraordinary talent, only unfortunate to be born a daughter."

Hong Beimo secretly sneered in his heart; he had long seen through Long Xuan'en's cold-hearted, ruthless nature—this person lives only for himself. If he could achieve immortality, why would he need to pass the throne to another? Hong Beimo's saying this is merely to create the appearance of discord between himself and Qiqi.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at his reflection in the mirror and clicked his tongue in amazement. As it turned out, Xi Yan had prepared in advance—not only did she have a mask of Mu Rongzhan, but she also had one of Ji Feihua. It seemed she indeed came prepared; perhaps she even had masks of Long Xuan'en and Hong Beimo in her hand. Fortunately, this master of disguise was not his enemy. Hu Xiaotian suddenly thought: if Xi Yan impersonated him, or even Qiqi, wouldn't that cause him great trouble?

Hu Xiaotian imitated Ji Feihua's gait and took a few steps—truly embodying both form and spirit. Xi Yan clicked her tongue in praise: "Indeed, you are born to be a eunuch."

Hu Xiaotian thought of a problem: Xi Yan probably never interacted with Ji Feihua, so how did she make this mask? He whispered: "Did you make this mask?"

Xi Yan shook her head and said: "I've never seen him, so how would I know his appearance? These masks were all given to me by others."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Any other masks? Bring them all out so we can see them. We're this close—why hide anything?"

Xi Yan was about to say he was greedy beyond measure, but Hu Xiaotian suddenly made a hushing gesture, pointed upward, and dragged her hand as they leapt onto the beam. Only then did Xi Yan hear voices outside; she couldn't help but silently praise. Unexpectedly, Hu Xiaotian's martial arts had improved so rapidly—recalling how she once chased him until he fled with his head in his hands, it seemed unlikely he'd ever return to that state.

Three eunuchs walked in from outside, and one of them said: "You wait outside; I'll go in alone."

Hu Xiaotian found the voice somewhat familiar; after thinking, it should have been Li Yan, the former left and right hand of Ji Feihua. The palace door rustled softly as a eunuch carrying a lantern entered. Hu Xiaotian glanced covertly—the entrant was indeed Li Yan, who had betrayed Ji Feihua. Having been heavily relied upon by the Emperor, his status did not fall but rose; he had once been sent by Long Xuan'en to stay by Qiqi's side to protect her, which was actually a form of covert surveillance. Now Li Yan held the prestigious post of Supervisor of the Directorate of Rites, his position in the palace extremely prominent.

Li Yan raised the lantern to look inside. Seeing nothing unusual, he then withdrew, likely because last night's incident had prompted him to inspect various suspicious spots.

Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan exchanged a glance, and he sent a mental transmission: "I'll go scare him!"

Xi Yan said: "You're not planning to stay here?" If Hu Xiaotian took action in Zilan Palace, it would inevitably trigger a search, and they would surely be unable to continue hiding here.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "The palace is so vast; there will always be a place for us to hide." He leaned close to Xi Yan's ear and whispered a few sentences; she nodded.

After Li Yan came out, he again raised the lantern and went to the well mouth, shining it downward. Unbeknownst to him, Hu Xiaotian observed his every move, deducing from his actions that Li Yan had likely been sent by Hong Beimo to investigate, and he probably already knew about the secret passage.

The two subordinates beside Li Yan said: "Supervisor, what are we looking for?"

Li Yan said: "Just a routine patrol." He peered down from the well mouth for a while, had no intention of descending, turned around preparing to leave, but then noticed a shadow appear in the courtyard. Following the shadow upward, he saw a person standing silently on the roof of Zilan Palace, eyes coldly fixed on him. By moonlight, Li Yan made out the person's appearance and was instantly terrified out of his wits—the figure on the roof was unmistakably Ji Feihua.

This Ji Feihua was naturally Hu Xiaotian in disguise. His appearance was truly abrupt, and Ji Feihua's status among the palace eunuchs was deeply entrenched—one could say that since Dakang's founding, no eunuch had surpassed his standing. His arrogance and ruthlessness had long become an imprint in the hearts of these palace folk.

Upon seeing Ji Feihua appear in the moonlight, the few people's first reaction was actually to turn and flee. Hu Xiaotian leapt into the air and swooped down; dealing with Li Yan, this sort of traitorous wretch, required no mercy. Hu Xiaotian's descending move was the Art of Soaring; if Bu Wu saw it, he would surely guess his identity, but these eunuchs would not have such discernment.

Hu Xiaotian's target was Li Yan; he had no intention of slaughtering everyone, letting the other two eunuchs go, and eliminating Li Yan was the best outcome.

Li Yan's martial arts were not weak originally, but upon seeing Ji Feihua appear, overwhelming fear drained his fighting spirit—he should have been the fastest runner, flinging his two subordinates far behind, yet he felt a mighty pressure like Mount Tai bearing down from behind. In his flustered state, he turned to look, only to see Ji Feihua already within less than a zhang of him, looming above and launching a punch downward.

Li Yan turned ashen with fright; helplessly, he raised his fist to try to block the attack. Hu Xiaotian's God-Demon World-Destroying Fist was hardly something he could withstand; a single punch struck his right fist, shaking him so that he cried out and flew backward, his body slamming into the palace wall. Even then, the punch's tremendous force was not spent, blasting a large hole through the wall, and his body shot out through the opening.

The two minor eunuchs didn't even bother with Li Yan, fleeing for their lives while screaming: "Save me! Save me!"

Hu Xiaotian had no intention of chasing those two; he let them go out to spread the word—the bigger the commotion, the better. He worried Li Yan might not die, so he went outside, only to see Li Yan lying amidst a pile of rubble, already breathless. Hu Xiaotian's all-out punch had shattered every bone in his body, ruptured his internal organs—a death scene too gruesome to behold.

Confirming Li Yan was dead, Hu Xiaotian turned and left; Xi Yan also slipped out from the shadows. She had not heeded Hu Xiaotian's words to leave first and hide, but instead watched from the darkness as he delivered that earth-shaking punch. Although she had mentally prepared for his current martial prowess, she still could not help being stunned.

Seeing Xi Yan emerge, Hu Xiaotian glared at her, obviously blaming her for not obeying his orders and failing to follow the plan. He pointed at the well mouth and said: "Come on, down we go!"

The two jumped down the well mouth into the secret passage. Hu Xiaotian let Xi Yan go first; after she had taken a few steps, she heard a collapsing sound from behind—it was Hu Xiaotian's punch smashing the entrance of the passage, causing it to cave in and seal the opening to prevent pursuers from arriving.

Xi Yan, however, sneered at Hu Xiaotian's behavior—wasn't this like shouting "no silver here" while burying three hundred taels?

Hu Xiaotian, on the other hand, believed the passage had already been exposed and thus held no value.

Xi Yan asked: "Where are we going?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Piaomiao Mountain!"

"Are you crazy?" Xi Yan exclaimed, eyes wide. Hu Xiaotian had no time to explain; he anticipated that the news of Ji Feihua's reappearance in the palace would surely shake the entire capital Kangdu, possibly triggering a heaven‑and‑earth‑upending search operation soon. He needed to destroy this passage first, and creating some trouble was also beneficial.

Xi Yan originally thought Hu Xiaotian truly intended to return to Lingxiao Palace, believing this fellow was seeking victory through danger—the more perilous the place, the safer it seemed. Yet after entering Yaochi, Hu Xiaotian led her in swimming to the head of the water‑absorbing giant dragon, then slipped in through the dragon's left ear.

Qiqi had previously brought him here twice to this Dragon Spirit Wonderland; Hu Xiaotian was already very familiar with the route, and Xi Yan had not expected there to be a separate cavern within. After resurfacing, seeing the vast stone cavern before them, she could not help but marvel at the ingenuity of the underwater design.

Because they lacked the Night Pearl in Qiqi's hand, Hu Xiaotian could not temporarily enter the interior of the Dragon Spirit Wonderland; however, this underwater space was sufficient for the two of them to hide temporarily.

Xi Yan's equipment was very complete; the wetsuit she wore was specially made, with excellent waterproof and thermal insulation. Even after following Hu Xiaotian in swimming in the icy water for so long, she felt not the slightest chill.

Although Hu Xiaotian did not wear a wetsuit, his inner energy was profound. After surfacing, he circulated his qi, and in a short while white mist rose all around him, already dispelling the moisture from his clothes. While he cultivated, Xi Yan did not disturb him; instead, she walked a circuit around the stone chamber, pacing it out— the chamber was ten zhang long and ten zhang wide. Using the light from the Night Pearl in her hand, she discovered the stone carvings on the cave ceiling, and her keen wit quickly revealed the secret of the dragon carving overhead.

By now Hu Xiaotian had dried his clothes and approached her. Xi Yan asked: "Is the key to opening the secret chamber that dragon carving?"

Hu Xiaotian also did not conceal anything, telling her how to enter the interior of the Dragon Spirit Wonderland. Xi Yan glanced at the Night Pearl in her hand, and Hu Xiaotian said: "It's not that simple; a hair's breadth off can lead to a thousand‑li error. The Night Pearl she holds is specially made; if any pearl could open the chamber, the ancients would not have gone to such trouble to design it."

Xi Yan, however, acted very willfully, insisting that Hu Xiaotian squat down so she could step on his shoulder to look at that dragon carving. Hu Xiaotian could not refuse; he could only squat, letting Xi Yan step on his shoulder and hoist her up.

Xi Yan placed the Night Pearl in her hand against the dragon carving's eye sockets—it was indeed noticeably smaller.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Hey! Give it up!" He had already entered the secret chamber twice; he had no particular curiosity about the Dragon Spirit Wonderland—coming here was merely to lay low for a while.

First update uploaded—on the homepage there is a link; the 2015 Forbes Year-End Gala has officially opened. Click through and you'll find the annual popularity writer ranking; each reader gets one vote. Brothers and sisters, click in, find Zhangyu, click on the bald one, and vote for Zhangyu! (To be continued.)