Chapter 1350

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Two dragons playing with pearl, one dragon playing with water—this must be a feng shui arrangement."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Within the ear passage of the water‑playing long dragon lies a secret passage; the book I gave you was obtained from the hidden chamber inside, and that chamber is called Long Ling Shengjing."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Among my ancestors, there were once two who attained great fame and distinction."

Hu Xiaotian also had some knowledge of this: the Zhuge family had one who served Taizong Longyin Kong, Zhuge Xiaolian, skilled in mechanical design, a direct disciple of the great Mohist Mo Wu-shang; another was the famed Soldier Saint Zhuge Yun Chun, who followed Mingzong Longyuan, rendered meritorious service in restoring the Mingzong state, not only inheriting his ancestors' mechanical design but also being a master of military strategy, deeply trusted by Mingzong, later revered by soldiers and honored as the Soldier Saint.

Qiqi, when Hu Xiaotian first came to Dongliang Jun, had once given him a copy of the Soldier Saint's Battle Diagrams; Hu Xiaotian later passed it on to Zhuge Guanqi. Recalling this, Hu Xiaotian suddenly realized that his relationship with Qiqi had been most harmonious before he left Kangdu. From that situation, Qiqi should have developed feelings for him, yet during the time he was away, something unknown must have changed in this little girl, or perhaps her inner ambition overcame all restraint and took the upper hand.

Zhuge Guanqi said: "The achievements of those two ancestors are beyond my reach."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Zhuge brother, why be so modest? We stand on the shoulders of our predecessors; we live in a different era, see a different world—why cling to comparing ourselves with them? Just do well in the present; no need to overthink."

Zhuge Guanqi hehe laughed: "My lord's realm is beyond my comparison."

Hu Xiaotian said: "So-called realm merely means seeing more or less; it's not that my realm is higher, nor that I know more, but that many things just happened to come my way." He continued his previous statement: "In Long Ling Shengjing I discovered some murals depicting a war that has never been recorded in Dakang's history."

Zhuge Guanqi, hearing this, was startled: "When did it happen?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "One hundred fifty years ago, during the reign of Mingzong."

Zhuge Guanqi's eyes suddenly brightened.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Strangely, Dakang's historical records do not mention this fierce battle that took place at Qixia Lake in Kangdu; instead they briefly note—In the seventeenth year of Jiafeng, at Qixia Lake in Kangdu, heavenly fireballs fell, sparking heavenly fire. The blaze spread thirty li, reducing everything it touched to rubble, with countless casualties..."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Eleven thousand dead, the wounded uncountable."

Hu Xiaotian looked somewhat surprised at Zhuge Guanqi.

Zhuge Guanqi said: "I once heard my father say that this matter is a secret orally transmitted by our ancestors; back then it was a war between heaven and humanity. Demons descended to slaughter the populace; Mingzong dispatched General Zong Hua Ji leading thirty thousand elite troops to battle the demons, paying a heavy price before repelling them. Afterwards, on the battlefield ruins they built Qixia Mountain, erected a stele to suppress demons. They also dug the Jade Pool in the imperial palace, piled up the Misty Peaks, two dragons locking heaven, one dragon diving earth—the feng shui of those Misty Peaks is actually a 'confined' character that locks heaven and traps earth." He paused here, then sighed: "All along this has been a secret kept within the Zhuge family, never passed outside. No one has ever verified its truth; if not for my lord bringing it up, I might not have told my descendants until my deathbed."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Brother Zhuge, do you believe such a battle actually occurred?"

Zhuge Guanqi said: "There are many legends about immortals and demons in this world, but who has ever actually witnessed them? I used to think our ancestors' oral transmission was true; perhaps there were errors, eventually evolving into today's tale."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What is carved on the murals is exactly that war; Long Ling Shengjing should have been built by your ancestor, and everything within should be what he left behind."

Zhuge Guanqi secretly thought: This ancestor of his, called the Soldier Saint, with his intellect and insight would never fabricate a ludicrous story to deceive descendants; the ancestral oral account matches exactly what Hu Xiaotian described in the murals, indicating that such a war likely occurred 150 years ago. Yet he still disbelieves the claim of demon descent, and in a low voice asked: "What else is there in Long Ling Shengjing?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "A large, transparent blue skull—I think that must be the demon you spoke of."

Although Zhuge Guanqi is widely read and exceptionally wise, his understanding is nonetheless limited by his era; he cannot imagine what a large, transparent blue skull could be. He half‑believed, half‑doubted: "Perhaps it is artificially carved?"

Hu Xiaotian knew he would find it hard to accept this fact; he drew his light sword from his waist, twisted it in front of Zhuge Guanqi, accompanied by a crisp click, a four‑foot‑long blue‑white light blade shot out from the hilt.

Zhuge Guanqi stared at the sight before him, dumbfounded; he had never seen anything like it.

Hu Xiaotian placed an empty bowl on the ground, the light sword glided slowly across its middle; the bowl split cleanly in two, the cut even and neat. After the demonstration, he turned off the sword, re‑hung the hilt at his waist, and said softly: "This is a light sword; it gathers energy from the sun and moon, and its blade can cut through anything."

Zhuge Guanqi exclaimed in astonishment: "In this world there actually exists such an overbearing weapon!"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "This weapon does not belong to this world at all."

Zhuge Guanqi had already guessed that Hu Xiaotian's light sword came from Long Ling Shengjing; he probed: "My lord, are you saying this weapon is a relic left by the demons of that time?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Brother Zhuge, actually there are no immortals or demons in this world; the immortals and demons you speak of are merely humans like us, only living elsewhere." He pointed at the sun outside the window: "Just like the sun—it is actually far larger than the world we inhabit, but because it is distant it appears only the size of a basin; the stars we see each night are each a world, and on those worlds there may live beings similar to or different from us."

Although Zhuge Guanqi is erudite, when Hu Xiaotian first imparted this way of thinking he still found it hard to accept; yet subconsciously he felt Hu Xiaotian made sense, and he whispered: "My lord, are you saying that outsiders came to Dakang back then?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "They can fly and burrow, they can travel ten thousand li in a day, their physiques are far stronger than ours, perhaps their lifespans are also much longer; this light sword is merely one of their weapons."

Zhuge Guanqi nodded, he began to understand why the demon war of that time caused Dakang to suffer such a heavy price. If a demon legion had descended upon the world, even if all the nations' armies were united they could not withstand it.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Hong Beimo should have mastered the demons' secrets of that time, possessing many lethal weapons; earlier, the Yongjiang navy training at Yunze to intimidate the court, he seemed confident of defeating the navy."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "I have long heard that Hong Beimo excels in mechanical arts; it turns out he is a descendant of the demons." Zhuge Guanqi suddenly understood why Hu Xiaotian decisively rejected the plan to march on Kangdu immediately and even abandoned the idea of expanding toward the Yunze vicinity—the real reason was his wariness of Hong Beimo. If Hong Beimo truly possessed a lethal weapon as powerful as the light sword, he could certainly organize a fearsome army; such a force sweeping the nations would not be difficult.

Zhuge Guanqi said: "I have one question: if Hong Beimo possesses such great power, why did he not reveal his true strength earlier?"

Hu Xiaotian narrowed his eyes: "Perhaps he does not wish to intervene in the nations' struggles; perhaps his greatest desire is simply to complete the imperial mausoleum."

"Is there something extremely important hidden inside the imperial mausoleum?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

Zhuge Guanqi sighed: "In that case, maintaining the status quo is the wise course."

Hu Xiaotian, however, shook his head: "Zhuge brother, without concealment, since returning from Kangdu I have been uneasy, always feeling that something major will occur; Hong Beimo is unfathomable, and if he completes the imperial mausoleum, it could be an unforeseen catastrophe for all under heaven."

Zhuge Guanqi remained silent for a moment, then said: "My lord, are you worried that the fierce battle of the seventeenth year of Jiafeng will happen again?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I obtained the missing 'Dan Ding' chapter of the Qiankun Kaiwu from the old emperor; I intended to use it to lure Hong Beimo into cooperation, but in the end he still betrayed me."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Perhaps he already possessed this part, so what you hold has lost its allure for him."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Although I gave him only two pages, I had previously copied the whole thing; these five pages are precisely the missing Dan Ding chapter of the Qiankun Kaiwu. I have little study in this area, and many of the texts are too abstruse for me; Brother Zhuge, if you have time to look, perhaps you can discern some subtleties." Hu Xiaotian then handed the Dan Ding chapter to Zhuge Guanqi.

Zhuge Guanqi secretly felt moved; Hu Xiaotian's trust in him was abundant, sharing these secrets without reservation—such trust is more precious than any wealth or status one could give him.

Hu Xiaotian indeed has his own talent in judging people; Zhuge Guanqi is no ordinary man, for him fame and profit are not important; to have him wholeheartedly serve one, one must give him full trust—this is the principle of 'employ without suspicion, trust those you employ,' which Hu Xiaotian has always upheld in his use of personnel.

Zhuge Guanqi said: "My lord, the thunderous heavenly thunder you previously forged is of immense power; if you possessed a hundred such thunder cannons, I believe the realm could be pacified."

Hu Xiaotian, however, sighed: "The thunderous heavenly thunder may be a formidable weapon against ordinary foes, but against Hong Beimo it might have little effect." (To be continued~^~)