Chapter 132

Even in his previous life when he was involved in medical disputes, Hu Xiaotian had never reached the point of being hated by everyone; to avoid being recognized by ordinary people, he even used a bamboo hat, sneaking into the carriage like a thief. Only after the carriage curtains were lowered did he sigh in relief, taking off the hat: "I'm suffocating!"

Murong Feiyan said: "Has the announcement matter been resolved?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "That old bastard Xu Qinglian would love to see me beaten to death by the masses; I'm sure he'll keep stirring trouble."

"Are you just going to submit and wait for death?"

Hu Xiaotian's eyes flashed with menace, he gritted his teeth, and lightly placed his hand on Murong Feiyan's fragrant shoulder: "Feiyan, tonight help me chop that old dog with one blow—crack!"

"What?" Murong Feiyan was startled by this guy, thinking, "Are you kidding? You're an official, yet you act like a thief?" Looking at Hu Xiaotian, his face already showed a carefree smile; she then realized he was just teasing her, and in anger she raised her dainty fist.

Hu Xiaotian hurriedly said: "Hold on, a gentleman argues but does not fight." He certainly knew the power of Murong Feiyan's fist; she turned her fist into a finger and lightly poked him, instantly making his body go numb and unable to move: "Hey… you actually hit my pressure point… hahaha…"

Murong Feiyan obviously had no intention of letting him off easily; she then struck his laughing waist point, and the carriage filled with Hu Xiaotian's cheerful, manic laughter.

The coachman Liu Kuohai outside initially felt nothing, but after hearing that laughter continue for a long time, he got goosebumps and his skin prickled—just because he was sharing a carriage with a beauty? Why is he so thrilled?

Only when getting out of the carriage did Hu Xiaotian stop laughing; for the first time in his life he realized that laughing is also a physical activity—his face turned red, tears streamed down, his throat felt dry, his abdominal muscles ached. Even his buttocks were pulled tight by the sphincter, excessive tension—this is abuse, outright torture. Hu Xiaotian looked at Murong Feiyan with a grievous expression: "Little girl. Please don't be so sneaky from now on."

Murong Feiyan chuckled, appearing as a lively, beautiful, kind, pure young lady. Hu Xiaotian silently scoffed twice, "Pah, pah pah pah," pretending to be kind? This woman's scheming knows no bottom. He understood that with women one shouldn't be obstinate—as the saying goes, a good man doesn't quarrel with a woman; what breadth of mind does he have? Though his chest isn't as big as yours, he is open-minded; today's suffering is laying the groundwork for future revenge.

Hu Xiaotian moved his waist, placed his hands behind his lower back, and stood tall and straight in the sunlight with an extremely upright posture. The pose was somewhat ungraceful, yet it showed stubbornness and defiance.

Ahead lay a winding little river; green willows lined its banks, their leaves fluttering in the breeze like a maiden's hair dancing. Through the green trees appeared a manor—this was Hu Xiaotian's destination for today: Red Willow Manor.

Outside Red Willow Manor not a single red willow could be seen—quite fitting the name. Hu Xiaotian stepped forward first, crossed the stone arch bridge in front, and arrived at the manor's gate; before he could enter, the gate opened from inside.

A plump, affable Jia Dewang appeared before the gate; today he was no longer dressed as a farmer but wore a khaki-colored silk long robe, holding a folding fan. He closed the fan, bowed deeply, and said: "Sir Hu, your honored presence graces us; we humble folk failed to welcome you properly. Please do not take offense."

Hu Xiaotian knew they had long sensed his arrival; he smiled and nodded: "Jia Dewang, are your injuries healed?"

Jia Dewang gave a half-smile: "The wound's scarred, but the pain remains; Sir, this beating of yours will stay etched in my heart."

Hu Xiaotian sighed: "After all these twists and turns, it's still just holding a grudge?" He strode into Red Willow Manor, with Murong Feiyan and Liu Kuohai following him inside.

Jia Dewang hurried to keep up: "Sir, what brings you here?"

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Is Jia Liu not with you?"

Although Jia Dewang knew Hu Xiaotian had seen through his secret with Jia Liu, he kept his lips sealed, chuckling: "The more you say, Sir, the more confused I become." Seeing Hu Xiaotian suddenly show up, Jia Dewang naturally felt uneasy inside.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Being genuinely foolish isn't scary; it's pretending to be foolish that's dangerous." He handed over the wooden tiger talisman given to him by Zhou Batian to Jia Dewang.

Upon seeing the tiger talisman, Jia Dewang's expression changed instantly; he bowed again to Hu Xiaotian, this time all the way to the ground, and said respectfully: "Sir, please forgive me; this is of great importance, and we dare not be negligent."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I came to see you to discuss some matters."

Jia Dewang made an inviting gesture; Murong Feiyan and Liu Kuohai wanted to follow inside, but he said: "Please stay outside, both of you; I need to speak privately with Sir."

Murong Feiyan distrusted Jia Dewang, coldly asking: "What can't be said openly?"

Hu Xiaotian, however, laughed: "Wait outside, I'll talk to you; some things indeed need to be said in private." He believed Zhou Batian wouldn't harm him; actually, given his current status, he wasn't exactly an important figure. His reason for coming to Red Willow Manor was first, curiosity—he wanted to clarify the relationship between Zhou Batian and these people, and what these Tiger Head Battalion soldiers detained here actually intended to do. Second, he had a premonition that this group were friends, not foes.

Jia Dewang and Hu Xiaotian walked into the inner chambers together; he laughed: "Sir Hu, you're remarkably bold—do you really not worry that I might act against you?"

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing: "Over just ten lashes, you hold a grudge and seek revenge? I don't see you as narrow-minded at all."

Jia Dewang said: "Sir Hu brings my elder brother's tiger talisman; I will naturally treat him as an honored guest." As they spoke, they arrived at the rear courtyard; in the spacious yard sat a white-clothed scholar, quietly seated beneath an osmanthus tree, turning a string of gold‑star small‑leaf purple sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, eyes tightly shut, not pausing despite the visitors' arrival.

Jia Dewang respectfully said: "Scholar Xiao, Sir Hu has arrived." He handed the tiger talisman just given to him by Hu Xiaotian over to the scholar.

The white‑clothed scholar nodded, eyes still closed, and said in the direction Hu Xiaotian came from: "I am Xiao Tianmu; due to illness I cannot come out to greet you, Sir."

Seeing that his eyes never opened, Hu Xiaotian guessed he had an eye ailment, sat on the stone bench beside the scholar, and whispered: "Mr. Xiao, are your eyes inconvenient?"

Xiao Tianmu replied: "I'm blind!" His tone was flat, without any hint of sorrow.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Sorry, I was too abrupt."

Xiao Tianmu, however, smiled: "Nothing to be embarrassed about—I've been blind since I was seven, a full eighteen years now. I can no longer recall what the world originally looked like, but at least I have a pair of ears."

Jia Dewang served Hu Xiaotian a cup of fragrant tea and helped Xiao Tianmu fill his cup with hot water. Xiao Tianmu passed the tiger talisman to Hu Xiaotian: "Is this tiger talisman the one my elder brother gave you?"

Hu Xiaotian gave a noncommittal nod, then recalled that Xiao Tianmu couldn't see his actions, and softly said: "He said you would tell me something."

Xiao Tianmu lifted his teacup, took a sip, and asked: "Sir, what do you want to know from me?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Four months ago, a hundred‑strong unit of Xizhou's Tiger Head Battalion came to Heavenly Wolf Mountain to suppress bandits, but this famed elite force from Xichuan walked into an ambush there, being surrounded by the bandit chief Yan Kui's gang in Sealed Wolf Valley, suffering heavy casualties. According to what I found, only three men escaped the valley, returned to Xizhou, yet ultimately could not escape death—they were executed by the enraged Xizhou Prefect, Sir Li."

Xiao Tianmu's expression remained calm as still water; his breath was steady as usual, his hand holding the teacup firmly, and Hu Xiaotian's words elicited no reaction from him.

Hu Xiaotian said: "The commander of that hundred‑man Tiger Head Battalion was a man named Zhou Mo; according to the later battle report I found, Zhou Mo and the rest of the soldiers all died in Sealed Wolf Valley."

Xiao Tianmu said blandly: "Sir Hu, you must have put in considerable effort before arriving."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I just came to Qingyun to serve as an official, and by chance I discovered some strange things; for me, I only want my term to be peaceful and safe, not to invite trouble."

Xiao Tianmu said: "Sir, did you spend a night comfortably in the Qingyun jail?"

Hu Xiaotian, hearing him ask like that, couldn't help but laugh. That night he was mistakenly arrested by the night‑patrol constables and thrown into the jail, which is precisely why he met Zhou Batian and Jia Dewang. From Xiao Tianmu's questioning he already knew. Certainly it was Jia Dewang who told him this. Hu Xiaotian said: "Unforgettable for a lifetime."

Xiao Tianmu said: "Sir, you came to Qingyun but did not go to the county office to take up your post; instead you chose to hide your identity and go incognito. Such painstaking effort is truly admirable."

Hu Xiaotian said: "A twist of fate. To be frank, I didn't deliberately go to stay in the jail."

Xiao Tianmu said: "Sometimes, the more dangerous a place, the safer it is. In the Battle of Sealing Wolf Valley, casualties were heavy; of the one hundred soldiers of the Tiger Head Camp who escaped, only eleven remained. Subtract the three who fled back to Xizhou, and two more died of their wounds, leaving only six survivors." Saying this, Xiao Tianmu's face was full of pity.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Zhou Batian is Zhou Mo?"

Xiao Tianmu neither denied nor admitted, sighed, and said: "Since you have already guessed it, why didn't you report it to superiors?"

Hu Xiaotian whispered: "Who he is has nothing to do with me; I am the magistrate of Qingyun County, and doing my own duty is enough."

Xiao Tianmu said: "You have just come to Qingyun and seem unfamiliar with the affairs here; the reason the bandits of Heavenly Wolf Mountain are so rampant is actually because they have an insider in Qingyun County."

Hu Xiaotian's heart involuntarily gave a start; he had never considered this before. If what Xiao Tianmu said were true, wouldn't that mean officials and bandits are one family? He pondered for a moment. This group of people, after failing in the suppression of bandits, have been lying low in Qingyun County, secretly investigating; the inside information they hold should be far greater than his own. This person's words cannot be disbelieved, nor can they be fully trusted. He whispered: "Are you also a member of the Tiger Head Camp?"

Today's Third Update, this chapter is an extra chapter for Alliance Leader Jin Muchenchen, Alliance Leader v5, Zhangyu thanks brothers for their support!