Chapter 1390

Hu Xiaotian grew more alarmed as he pursued. He first learned the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps from following Xu Lingkong, which the Xu family called the Heavenly Net Mysterious Trace Steps, then he learned the Art of Soaring from Monk Bu Wu. With his lightness skill, few in the world could surpass him, yet after chasing this far he still couldn't catch that strange person; the distance between them remained constant. The strange person leapt and vaulted on the eaves, his steps flowing like clouds and water. Hu Xiaotian realized he seemed to be deliberately luring him somewhere, and a warning rose in his heart: Could the other side have set a trap?

Hu Xiaotian slowed his steps, and the other party slowed at the same time.

Hu Xiaotian's suspicions grew stronger, so he stopped; the other party indeed stopped as well. Hu Xiaotian looked around—aside from the two of them, there was no one else in sight, and Xu Mubai had been left far behind.

Hu Xiaotian quietly sized up his opponent, while his dantian qi sea subtly stirred his inner breath. He realized the person before him was an unprecedentedly powerful adversary, demanding utmost caution.

The other party had his hands behind his back, his deep eyes behind the silver mask fixed on Hu Xiaotian. Moonlight like water enveloped him, casting a faint halo over his body, making him seem like a luminous figure. Though close at hand, Hu Xiaotian felt he might be seeing an illusion. A sudden, intensely familiar feeling welled up inside him; warmth spread from his deepest core throughout his body. He forcibly suppressed his excitement and whispered, "Elder Brother Ji, is that you?"

The other party let out a soft laugh, then extended his snow‑white, slender fingers to slowly lift the mask, revealing a gorgeous face so bewitching it would make any woman jealous—who else could it be but Ji Feihua?

Hu Xiaotian stared at Ji Feihua's face, his heart flooded with myriad feelings; usually articulate, he didn't know what to say.

Ji Feihua turned and continued walking forward; Hu Xiaotian hesitated no longer, silently following behind. Arriving before the Puyun Pagoda, Ji Feihua leapt into the air, his body twisting and rising, landing steadily on the eaves of the nine-story treasure pagoda. Hu Xiaotian quickly followed.

The two stood side by side, gazing at the round moon like a jade disk in the night sky. Ji Feihua softly said, "Tonight's moonlight is beautiful!" His fair, jade-like cheeks stayed calm.

Hu Xiaotian softly said, "The moon rises over the sea, shared by those at the ends of the earth!" His heart still basked in warm affection.

Ji Feihua chuckled and said, "You don't recite poetry; I almost forgot you still have some literary talent."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed his shame, plagiarism, he was plagiarizing. Gazing at Ji Feihua's exquisite profile, he inwardly wondered why he always felt so excited whenever he saw him—he was a eunuch, so his orientation should be no problem; why did he always feel an ambiguous gender feeling when facing him? He respectfully asked, "Elder Brother Ji, did you come specially to invite me to enjoy the moon?"

Ji Feihua softly said, "Are you blaming me for disrupting your drinking gathering?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Elder Brother Ji bringing me here must have your reason."

Ji Feihua gave him a meaningful glance: "You're clever!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "It's Mid-Autumn Festival. We probably shouldn't admire the moon on empty stomachs; how about finding a place to have a couple drinks?"

Ji Feihua, as if performing a magic trick, produced a food box and flung a jar of wine toward Hu Xiaotian, who hastily caught it.

Ji Feihua said, "When I just went to the kitchen of the Dewy Moon Tower, I casually grabbed some food."

Hu Xiaotian broke the mud seal, and the wine aroma immediately filled the air. As he lifted the jar to drink, he recalled the wine came from the Dewy Moon Tower and hesitated slightly. This subtle detail did not escape Ji Feihua's eyes: "What? Are you afraid I poisoned the wine?"

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, "How could you harm me?" He tipped his head back and took a big gulp of wine, passed the jar to Ji Feihua, then pinched a piece of cooked beef from the food box and stuffed it into his mouth.

Ji Feihua raised the wine jar, tipped his head back, and a bright stream of wine flowed into his throat; after several large gulps he set the jar down and softly said, "In this world, no one is worthy of your trust."

Hu Xiaotian, however, nodded and said, "Yes!" His gaze fixed on Ji Feihua, the answer went without saying.

Ji Feihua seemed not to have heard his reply, his eyes quietly fixed on the missing moon, sinking into prolonged contemplation.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Was that letter sent by you?"

"Which letter?" Ji Feihua asked, somewhat puzzled.

Only then did Hu Xiaotian realize the letter he had received upon leaving was unrelated to Ji Feihua; he produced the letter and handed it over.

Ji Feihua read it by moonlight, a faint smile touching his lips as he said, "It seems someone got to you before I could warn you."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Xu Mubai perhaps also heard some rumors; tonight he came well prepared."

Ji Feihua softly sighed, "You are shrewd; it's not easy to trick you. Sometimes feigning capture to let loose is a clever tactic."

Hu Xiaotian caught the implied meaning; Ji Feihua was clearly hinting that the letter was likely sent deliberately by the Xu family, and it seemed unnecessary for them to harm him. Yet Ji Feihua's purpose in bringing him here was certainly not merely to see him—at that moment, before his lips even touched the wine cup, Ji Feihua had already acted; could Xu Mubai and his ilk truly intend to harm him? Hu Xiaotian took the wine jar Ji Feihua passed him, took a sip, and said, "I now seem to pose no threat to the Xu family."

Ji Feihua did not directly answer his question, but softly asked, "Why did you and the Yongyang Princess become enemies?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "She wants the throne, believing I have become a stumbling block on her path forward."

Ji Feihua said, "She and Hong Beimo have always been at odds; why did they suddenly form an alliance?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed, recounted in detail everything that had previously happened in Kangdu; Ji Feihua's expression grew graver the more he listened. After Hu Xiaotian finished, he quietly asked, "Did you bring that light sword?"

Hu Xiaotian had always carried the light sword on his person; he took out the hilt and handed it to Ji Feihua.

Ji Feihua picked up the light sword, examined it closely, then twisted the hilt; a Lan-colored radiance shot from the hilt, orchid-colored light illuminating his face, and he said, "I never imagined there truly existed such a miraculous thing in this world."

Hu Xiaotian said, "This light sword stores energy using sunlight; its power is great, but perhaps due to its great age, its internal structure has largely aged, and the light blade cannot be sustained for long."

Ji Feihua turned off the light sword, tossed it back to Hu Xiaotian, and said, "Whether person or thing, all have flaws."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The true secret must lie hidden in the imperial mausoleum; I believe Hong Beimo chose to cooperate with Qiqi because of the secret in the mausoleum—Qiqi helps him complete the mausoleum, and he helps Qiqi ascend to the throne."

Ji Feihua retorted, "If everything is as you suppose, can you tell me why the Xuantian Guan's Ren Tianqing and the Imperial Guard Commander Mu Rongzhan, among others, all willingly serve Qiqi?"

Hu Xiaotian bit his lip, admitting that Qiqi indeed had some tactics, but Qiqi's personal charm should not be enough to subdue these people; it can be said without exaggeration that each of them is an outstanding talent, a wise individual capable of standing alone. Suddenly recalling Ji Feihua's background, he is a descendant of Chu Yuanhai, the grandson of Chu Fufeng, and Chu Fufeng is precisely the author of The Creation of Heaven and Earth, the teacher of Hong Beimo, and a sworn brother of Long Xuan'en and Xu Lingkong, having extremely close ties with these people.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Right, I have already found the Elixir Cauldron chapter of The Creation of Heaven and Earth."

Ji Feihua smiled indifferently, "Even if you found it, it would be of no use; the so-called Creation of Heaven and Earth is merely a device to divert others' attention. You brushed past the secret, you took a light sword from Long Ling Shengjing, yet overlooked the truly precious thing."

Hu Xiaotian stared in astonishment, "What? You mean that Lan-colored skull?"

Ji Feihua nodded, his gaze turning to the distant night sky; after staring for a long while he said, "Hearing you recount all this, I suddenly understand why they were determined to kill my grandfather back then."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Why?"

Ji Feihua said, "Do you believe there are still people like us existing in the heavens?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded repeatedly, believing—of course he believed, for he himself did not originally belong to this world.

Ji Feihua said: "My grandfather, Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing and these people perhaps came from the same place, or perhaps they are not themselves but their predecessors. After arriving here, they discovered that everything here was not as they imagined; some died, some chose to hide their names and remain living here, and some are constantly thinking of returning."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, recalling the murals he had seen in Long Ling Shengjing; everything likely was as Ji Feihua had analyzed.

Ji Feihua whispered: "Everyone has their own thoughts; among them a disagreement arose. My grandfather foresaw some disaster, so he chose to give up, but his action angered these companions, ultimately leading to the tragedy of our Chu family."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "What disaster?"

Ji Feihua shook her head; he did not know.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, according to that mural, inferring that perhaps Chu Fufeng and Hong Beimo are both descendants of those people who descended upon this world 150 years ago, as Ji Feihua said, after experiencing that battle of the Dakang army, the fortunate survivors who escaped had no choice but to temporarily face reality and live here; they branched out and multiplied, part of them have already adapted to life here and found a sense of belonging in this distant place, while another part constantly thinks of returning; Chu Fufeng should be the leader among them, he led Hong Beimo and others in actively striving to return to their homeland, but he suddenly foresaw a disaster. (To be continued~^~)