Chapter 1413

Su Yujin angrily said: "Where are you going?" Her hands fluttered, countless ice needles shot downward. However she did not pursue relentlessly; she turned her body, flew down to Murong Feiyan's side, coldly glanced at her, grabbed Murong Feiyan's arm, and brought her climbing up the cliff.

Murong Feiyan followed Su Yujin to the cliff top, timidly saying: "Master!"

Su Yujin snorted coldly, turned and walked toward the Pure Mystic Temple.

All the fellow disciples could see that the junior sister most favored by the Master, Rong Feiyan, had surely ruined the Master's important affair this time; otherwise, why would the Master be so angry?

Murong Feiyan hesitated a moment, then followed Su Yujin's steps; master and disciple, one after another, arrived at Su Yujin's cultivation stone chamber, which is also the highest point of the Pure Mystic Temple. Standing on the platform outside the stone chamber and looking down, the entire Sandalwood Azure Mountain lay before her eyes. Murong Feiyan stood with head lowered beside Su Yujin, silent.

Su Yujin's gaze fell on her face, she sighed and said: "Didn't you say you don't remember anything at all?"

Murong Feiyan bit her cherry lip: "Disciple is useless, letting the bandit escape."

Su Yujin gave a heh heh cold laugh and said: "At this point, do you still want to hide it from me? I already knew when you came to the Pure Mystic Temple looking for someone earlier; don't think that being in seclusion means I know nothing about what's happening outside. Do you think Hu Xiaotian's disappearance has something to do with me?"

Murong Feiyan whispered: "Disciple has long forgotten that person!"

Su Yujin raised her head to look at the half-moon in the sky, pondering, and said: "How could forgetting be so easy? As your master, I know you have never been able to let go of the past."

Murong Feiyan now understood that everything she had just done could not have been hidden from her master's eyes, and whispered: "Disciple acknowledges her guilt!"

Su Yujin said: "What crime is there? If you want to go back, you may leave anytime; I will not make things difficult for you."

Murong Feiyan suddenly knelt down. Crystal tears slid down her lovely face.

Su Yujin reached out her hand, affectionately stroked her head, and murmured: "This Hu Xiaotian really does have some skill!"

After Hu Xiaotian fell a certain distance, his body lunged toward the cliff again. At his altitude the night mist was thin, allowing him to clearly see the opposite cliff face. Looking down, the mountain stream was still a hundred zhang below, and he heard the rush of the stream. Hu Xiaotian did not choose to slide down the cliff; first he confirmed that Su Yujin had not followed, and that Murong Feiyan should be unharmed. He took a moment to rest, then leapt again. He flew over the ravine, landed on the opposite cliff, and then climbed up the cliff wall all the way.

Hu Xiaotian climbed onto the cliff and looked toward the opposite Pure Mystic Temple, seeing that no one remained on the iron-chain bridge. He guessed that Su Yujin, leading her disciples, had retreated back into the temple and temporarily given up the pursuit. The moon was high, frost covered the ground, bathing the entire Sandalwood Azure Mountain in bright daylight. Although Hu Xiaotian had reached the cliff opposite the Pure Mystic Temple, the two sides were not far apart. He did not want to stir up trouble; although he felt some concern for Murong Feiyan, he thought Su Yujin would not be too harsh on her. Better to leave first. Let tomorrow bring clarity naturally.

Thinking of his appointment with Ji Feihua, Hu Xiaotian hurriedly turned and headed toward their agreed meeting place. Before he arrived, the mountain wind carried a tempting aroma of roasted meat from afar. Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw a faint flicker of firelight at their rendezvous spot.

Hu Xiaotian secretly delighted, he quickly came to the meeting place, only to see a bonfire already lit on the open ground before a large boulder, with Ji Feihua sitting by the fire roasting two mountain birds. Apparently she had anticipated his arrival; she lifted her head, smiled at Hu Xiaotian, and said: "You arrived later than I expected!"

Hu Xiaotian cheerfully sat beside her, and Ji Feihua handed him a roasted mountain bird, saying: "Eat while hot; you must be starving after these days."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, not standing on ceremony with her, took the mountain bird and ate heartily; although this this roasted mountain bird had no seasoning, its flavor was indescribably delicious—apparently when one is extremely hungry, any food becomes extraordinarily tasty.

Ji Feihua also ate half, then passed the remaining half to Hu Xiaotian, who hesitated a bit but still took it and ate it all.

Ji Feihua smiled as she watched him wolf down his food, feeling an indescribable warmth and happiness; she had never imagined that her own happiness could be founded on another's joy.

Hu Xiaotian caught her gaze, gentler than starlight, a look that had never appeared in his memory on Ji Feihua's face; he let out a belch, and Ji Feihua pointed to the right-side woods: "There's a small stream over there; go drink some water and wash your face."

Only then did Hu Xiaotian realize he had not washed up for several days; Ji Feihua was the same. He smiled, turned and entered the woods, where he indeed found a small stream with clear, icy water, and said turning back: "I'm going to take a bath—don't peek!"

Ji Feihua, hearing his words from outside the woods, couldn't help but let out a knowing smile, undid her hair bun, her damp black hair flowing down like a waterfall over her shoulders; her gaze fell on the leather sack on the ground, she opened it and lifted out the Lan-colored transparent Skull emitting light, her eyes fixed on the Skull's dark eye sockets, feeling as if an invisible force within those sockets was drawing her gaze in.

Where Ji Feihua's hands touched the Skull, the area began to glow brighter; she wanted to set the Skull down, but her consciousness could hardly control her movements. The Lan-colored light spread from the Skull to her hands and arms, she could see the image of her arm bones, feeling as if her whole self were about to be sucked into those dark eye sockets when a concerned voice from behind called: "Feihua!"

Hu Xiaotian's appearance promptly pulled Ji Feihua back to reality; she exhaled deeply, fine sweat already beading on her forehead, and somewhat apprehensively set the Skull down.

Hu Xiaotian, bare-chested, walked over holding his outer garment: "Are you alright?"

Ji Feihua shook her head, re-secured the Skull in the leather sack, glanced at Hu Xiaotian, and suddenly realized that perhaps, while in the ice cave, Hu Xiaotian had already seen through her secret.

Hu Xiaotian sat beside her, using a branch to hold up his outer garment and roast it by the fire.

Ji Feihua asked: "How did you escape?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed: "Hard to sum up in a word; that Su Yujin is really troublesome, like sticky candy—once it's on you, it's hard to shake off."

Ji Feihua smiled: "Based solely on martial skill she might not be able to defeat you, but this person's methods are endless; it's best to avoid getting entangled with her."

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, afraid it might not be up to him; Su Yujin had broken the suspension bridge, and he had rushed to save Murong Feiyan without regard for his own safety—she must have witnessed it all, possibly guessing his identity. Thinking of Murong Feiyan again, he couldn't help but worry: if Su Yujin saw through what was between them, Murong Feiyan's situation upon returning might be dire.

Ji Feihua saw he had something on his mind, asked after it, then lightly smiled and said: "You needn't worry; Su Yujin should not make things difficult for her."

Hu Xiaotian, not knowing why she was so certain, said softly: "But I still feel uneasy."

Ji Feihua said: "Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs; Su Yujin would not lay a hand on her own daughter, would she?"

Hu Xiaotian gasped in shock at her words: "What?"

Ji Feihua whispered: "At first I didn't understand either why Su Yujin would take her as a disciple, but after clashing with Su Yujin I recalled something: years ago Murong Rongzhan had fallen in love with a woman from the Wuxian Sect; they later became husband and wife. That woman later plotted against the Dakang Emperor, and Murong Rongzhan, upholding righteousness over kin, personally killed his wife. Thus they became estranged father and daughter, and I had always thought his wife was dead—now it seems this Su Yujin is his wife."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Have you seen her appearance? How can you be certain?"

Ji Feihua said: "Do you still remember what Murong Rongzhan looks like?"

Hu Xiaotian immediately recalled Murong Rongzhan's albino patient-like face.

Ji Feihua said: "Murong Rongzhan was not born like that; he became this way after contracting the netherworld cold poison. His wife was also poisoned at the same time—take a look at Su Yujin's appearance; isn't it somewhat similar to Murong Rongzhan's?"

Hu Xiaotian thought and indeed it was so: Su Yujin also had a full head of white hair, though her appearance was not as horrifying as Murong Rongzhan's, and her pupils were still normal black. If Ji Feihua's speculation is correct, then Su Yujin is Murong Feiyan's birth mother; a mother would naturally not harm her own daughter, and Hu Xiaotian finally felt a bit relieved.

Ji Feihua's gaze fell on that Skull: "What do you plan to do with this Skull?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I originally planned to trade it for a princely title, but since this thing is so important, if it fell into the hands of ill-intentioned people the consequences would be unthinkable. Frankly, I don't know how to dispose of it either; Feihua, why don't you give me an idea?"

Ji Feihua had now accepted Hu Xiaotian's calling her from "Elder Brother Ji" to "Feihua"; in fact both already understood each other, only the final layer of paper remained unbroken. She said: "An innocent man incurs no guilt, but he who holds a jade is guilty. This Skull, though precious, cannot by itself reveal its true profundities; even if it were given to Hu Buwei, he could not fathom its secrets."

Hu Xiaotian said: "You mean this Skull only works and glows for a fated person?"

Ji Feihua glared at him; surely when she wore this Skull on her head, this rascal had already looked her over from head to foot.

Hu Xiaotian grinned: "You are the fated one; I wear it and feel nothing at all. When I saw Su Yujin, she also wore this thing on her head, yet her body did not glow either." (To be continued~^~)