Chapter 1305

Xi Yan had no intention of coming down; she raised the Night Pearl to shine on the dragon's head and whispered, "Besides the dragon's eyes, there are seven small holes nearby."

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "It's just a hole; who doesn't have one? Stop being so curious..." Before he finished, Xi Yan kicked him on the head: "Shut up, you shameless bastard!"

Hu Xiaotian looked innocent and said, "What did I say? When did you become so interested in holes?"

Xi Yan said, "The arrangement of these seven small holes is a bit odd; they should be the Big Dipper."

Hu Xiaotian said, "What's with all the mysteries? Are you enjoying stepping on me?"

Xi Yan said, "Why would I lie to you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Even if there are seven holes, where would you find seven Night Pearls? Do you have a bead string? Pull it apart and try..." As he said that, his head buzzed—Xi Yan, annoyed at his teasing, kicked him lightly on the back of the head.

Hu Xiaotian, however, was completely unaware; after a while, he patted Xi Yan's calf.

Xi Yan spat, "If you dare take advantage of me again, I'll chop off those dog paws of yours!"

Hu Xiaotian patted her again, then pulled out a string of something from his right hand and waved it: "Is it about this big?"

Xi Yan lowered her gaze and saw that what Hu Xiaotian was waving was a string of purple crystal beads—seven purple crystals in total. Though it didn't look like a valuable ornament, it happened to be exactly seven crystals. She reached out, took the string from Hu Xiaotian's hand, and inserted the first crystal into the hole on the dragon's head; it fit perfectly, neither too big nor too small.

Hu Xiaotian said, "How is it?"

Xi Yan thought he already knew how to open the secret chamber and was just pretending not to tell her; she snorted, "Liar, you're a liar—you clearly know how to open it, yet you won't tell me."

Hu Xiaotian was also greatly surprised; he never expected that the bead string he found in the Yun Temple scroll of Ling Jiazi would actually be useful here. He didn't explain to Xi Yan, thinking to himself, Could it be that besides the secret chamber opened by Qiqi, there are other mysteries hidden within the Dragon Spirit Victory?

Xi Yan had already deftly inserted all seven crystals into the holes. The seven crystals fit perfectly, but after they were in, there was no reaction for a while. She couldn't help but tap the dragon's head, yet still there was no movement at all.

Hu Xiaotian reminded her, "Try pressing the dragon's eye."

Xi Yan pressed it, but still no response; Hu Xiaotian said, "Press harder!"

Xi Yan said, "Enough talk—if it doesn't work, you try!"

Hu Xiaotian quickly nodded, "Come down. I'll step on you!"

Xi Yan snorted, "Dream on—I'm not letting you up."

Hu Xiaotian protested, "Why should I be down there? Why should I let you ride me?"

Xi Yan lifted her foot to kick his head again, but at that moment one of the crystals on top lit up. Hu Xiaotian tilted his head back, and both stared curiously at the change above. They saw the seven crystals light up one after another. Hu Xiaotian patted Xi Yan's ankle and said, "Come down first—be careful of mechanisms above; if there are hidden arrows, they might hit your face. You wouldn't fear death, but disfigurement would be troublesome."

Hearing that, Xi Yan indeed felt a bit uneasy; she jumped down from his shoulder, and they retreated to the corner. She put away the Night Pearl she had been using for light. Looking again, the seven purple crystals were now fully lit, like seven stars hanging from the vaulted ceiling.

They also forgot to tease, both gazing upward at the scene. They watched for a short while until their necks ached, still seeing no further reaction—just as they were about to lose patience, the solitary eye of the dragon carving lit up. Light flowed between the dragon's eye and the crystals, first connecting the seven crystals, then they slowly shifted, finally aligning into a straight line.

Hu Xiaotian stared fixedly at the sight, wondering if this was the seven-star conjunction. When the seven crystals and the dragon's eye were perfectly aligned in a straight line, the dragon's mouth slowly opened, revealing a three-foot-square secret door.

Hu Xiaotian and Xi Yan exchanged a glance; Xi Yan said, "You already knew?"

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile and said, "By my conscience, I'm discovering this for the first time too."

Xi Yan said, "Squat down!" Obviously she wanted to step on Hu Xiaotian's shoulders again to climb up, but Hu Xiaotian had already moved first, leaping into the upper opening, supporting himself with hands and feet against the walls, and looking upward, unsure how long this stone passage was.

Xi Yan said, "Be careful!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Wait down there; I'll go up and check."

Xi Yan answered, but as Hu Xiaotian had just climbed a short distance, she quickly followed his steps and jumped up after him.

Hu Xiaotian looked down, seeing Xi Yan below by the light of the Night Pearl, and smiled, "Does it feel good down there?" He knew, however, that Xi Yan certainly didn't trust him; she was probably worried he might tamper with something.

Xi Yan knew this guy very well; the more pleased he was, the less she could indulge him, otherwise he'd get conceited. She whispered, "Watch out for mechanisms above."

Hu Xiaotian had reached the edge of the opening; he grabbed the rim with both hands, pulled himself up, then reached down and pulled Xi Yan up. This vertical shaft, straight up and down, was about two zhang high. The previous two times he and Qiqi had come here, they thought the Dragon Spirit Victory had only one secret chamber, but they hadn't expected hidden mechanisms—there was another secret chamber above. Actually, even if they had known, they couldn't have opened it; only by accidentally obtaining that bead string in the Yun Temple could they open the secret door. Qiqi probably didn't know this secret either. If this bead string is a relic of Ling Jiazi, then what kind of miraculous woman was Qiqi's mother, the former crown princess?

News of Ji Feihua's appearance reached Hong Beimo's ears immediately. Leaving the Hall of Nurturing Heart, he had intended to go to Lingxiao Palace, but due to Li Yan's sudden death he had to change his plans and came to Zilan Palace. Seeing Mu Rongzhan leading a few palace guards already arrived, Mu Rongzhan made a preliminary examination of Li Yan's corpse, then slowly rose to his feet.

Hong Beimo approached the corpse; aside from Mu Rongzhan, everyone else sensibly withdrew from the courtyard.

Mu Rongzhan said nothing; his silver pupils flickered with a cold light, his pale face wearing an unusually solemn expression.

Their gazes met for a moment, neither speaking; Hong Beimo squatted down to examine Li Yan's body.

Mu Rongzhan said, "The killer's martial arts are superb!"

Hong Beimo let go of Li Yan's limp arm, stood up, and saw that Li Yan's bones throughout his body had been shattered; from the state of death it appeared he was killed by a single punch. Such formidable martial arts are rare in the world. Hong Beimo asked Mu Rongzhan, "What do you think, Commander Mu?"

Mu Rongzhan shook his head and called out, "Bring those two in!"

Li Yan's two attendants were brought in; they were still shaken, and upon facing Mu Rongzhan and Hong Beimo they fell to their knees with a thud.

Hong Beimo said, "You needn't be so frightened; get up and tell us what happened."

One of them trembled, "Sir Hong, we were following Eunuch Li on his routine inspection; he took a lantern to check the well, but suddenly a person appeared on the roof of Zilan Palace—we saw it clearly, it… it was actually Ji Feihua…"

Mu Rongzhan had already questioned them earlier, so he showed no surprise. Hong Beimo, steady as ever, heard this and his expression remained unmoved; he said flatly, "Nonsense—Ji Feihua is dead; how could she appear here?"

The two eunuchs glanced at each other, steeled their courage, and said, "We dare guarantee it with our heads—we didn't mistake him; he flew down from the roof and killed Eunuch Li with a single punch."

Hong Beimo's face darkened: "Nonsense! Li Yan's martial arts are far superior to yours; if he fled, he'd outrun you easily. Why would Ji Feihua kill only Li Yan and spare you?" His question was quite reasonable.

The two young eunuchs kowtowed like pounding garlic: "Sir Hong, we absolutely speak no falsehood."

Hong Beimo said, "Enough—you must not tell anyone else about this; go!"

The two eunuchs, hearing they could finally leave, felt relieved; after they departed, Hong Beimo turned to Mu Rongzhan and asked, "What do you think, Commander Mu?"

Mu Rongzhan said, "They probably wouldn't dare lie; at the time, after seeing Ji Feihua, the three of them turned and fled, but Ji Feihua singled out Li Yan, pursued him, and killed him with a single blow."

Hong Beimo said, "You mean Ji Feihua deliberately spared those two eunuchs' lives so they could spread the word that she was alive?"

Mu Rongzhan said nothing, merely nodding slowly.

Hong Beimo chuckled, "He's already dead—how could he show up here?"

Mu Rongzhan said, "Back then he merely jumped from Miaoxiang Peak—no one saw him alive or dead. On what basis do you make such a firm judgment, Mr. Hong?"

Hong Beimo said, "Even if he managed to survive by luck, his martial arts couldn't recover so quickly." He stared into Mu Rongzhan's eyes and added, "This matter must never be publicized, lest it cause turmoil in the palace; if the Emperor finds out, he will surely lose sleep and appetite."

Mu Rongzhan whispered, "You mean we should also keep it from the Emperor?"

Hong Beimo said, "Before I see him with my own eyes, I won't believe he has returned to the palace; I think there's an eighty to ninety percent chance someone is using his name to cause trouble."

Mu Rongzhan said, "There's no wall that doesn't let the wind through; sooner or later the Emperor will learn of this."

Hong Beimo said, "You needn't worry excessively; I'll handle this matter. You only need to tighten security inside the palace, so as not to give anyone an opportunity."

Mu Rongzhan furrowed his brow, seemingly not agreeing with Hong Beimo's arrangement.

Hong Beimo noticed his resistance, and said in a low voice: "Has Commander Mu Rong been to Miaoxiang Peak lately?"

Mu Rongzhan exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this: "The Emperor has already declared that place a forbidden zone; how could I defy the imperial edict?"

Hong Beimo said calmly: "But last night someone personally saw you go there."

"What?"

Hong Beimo said with deep meaning: "I would rather believe that what they saw was a master of disguise!" (To be continued.)