Chapter 1439: 【Night Exploration】(Part 1)

Coming to the bedside of Tianxiang Kingdom's King Yang Longjing, I saw Yang Longjing, with the help of palace attendants, beginning to take small amounts of liquid food. Hu Xiaotian checked his wound; the recovery was satisfactory. Actually, people of this era generally have excellent physiques, and postoperative complications are rare. Hu Xiaotian summarized a conclusion: environment, environment has a huge influence on the human body.

Yang Longjing, also a grateful person, looked at Hu Xiaotian and said: "Master Hu, thank you this time; I, the king, will keep your favor in my heart."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Your Majesty need not be polite; my coming here to treat your wounds may be a fate predestined in the dark. Please rest assured, I believe you will soon fully recover."

Yang Longjing said: "Once I recover, I will certainly accompany Master Hu for a hearty drink."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and patted his shoulder: "Your Majesty need not be anxious; I believe that day will come soon."

Seeing that both patients' conditions had stabilized, Hu Xiaotian suggested returning to Verdant Garden. The palace now treated Hu Xiaotian with utmost respect, and naturally agreed to his request. Before Hu Xiaotian's departure, Zhou Desheng handed him a jade dragon tablet, saying: "Master Hu, this is the dragon tablet the Empress Dowager ordered us to give you; with it you may freely enter and leave the palace." Issuing a travel permit to an outsider counts as the first time the Tianxiang Kingdom's palace has ever done so.

Hu Xiaotian received the tablet, and Zhou Desheng added: "I hope Master Hu stays in contact with us these two days; if the Empress Dowager's and the king's conditions change, we can then ask for your help."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Rest assured, their conditions are stable and will not change; only Sir Zhou had better strengthen precautions to avoid accidents."

Zhou Desheng said: "Master Hu, rest assured, we have increased personnel for defense. Moreover, Celestial Master Su will remain in the palace these two days."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; with Su Yujin's martial skill, she could stay here and should be able to control the situation. It appears the relationship between Su Yujin and Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao is anything but ordinary, seeming even closer than that of Hu Buwei and Long Xuanjiao.

Hu Xiaotian went outside. He saw Hu Buwei alone, standing dazed at a corner of the white marble railing. Hu Xiaotian had Zhan Peng wait ahead, then slowly approached Hu Buwei from behind and deliberately coughed.

Hu Buwei did not turn back, already knowing who had come, and whispered softly: "The Empress Dowager no longer remembers me!"

Hu Xiaotian stepped forward to Hu Buwei's side, observing his expression.

Hu Buwei still did not look at him. He whispered: "What did you do to her?"

Hearing this, Hu Xiaotian felt anger rise. Hu Buwei was indeed a schemer; full of his own plots, he assumed everyone else was the same. It is true that Hu Xiaotian single-handedly planned Yang Longjing's affair, which he admits, but everything has its unexpected turns. During the rescue, Yang Longjing's injury was outside the plan. Looking back, Hu Xiaotian realizes his intervention this time also carries great risk; if Yang Longjing dies, all previous effort would be wasted. No one knows Hu Xiaotian's own psychology better than himself: when he faces a patient, the deep‑seated instinct to save lives and heal wounds without seeking reward, hidden in his subconscious, is awakened. During his rescue of Yang Longjing, he had no complicated thoughts, nor did he consider whether Yang Longjing's life or death conflicted with his own interests; at that moment he only thought of saving the person, perhaps this is the benevolent heart of a healer.

The same applies to Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao. The healer's benevolent heart had long merged into his blood. Such a mindset Hu Buwei naturally could not understand, and few in the world could. Hu Xiaotian said: "Do not always imagine others to be like you, Master Lan; please take good care of yourself."

Hu Buwei frowned at Hu Xiaotian's words "Master Lan", wondering if it meant severing ties completely. Watching Hu Xiaotian's retreating back, he suddenly felt an inexplicable irritation, clenched his fists and slammed them hard against the railing.

Hu Xiaotian had not forgotten his appointment with Murong Feiyan; that evening, at Xu Hour, he arrived punctually at the Flowing Flower River Jade Wave Bridge, but after waiting half an hour, Murong Feiyan still did not appear—it seemed she had indeed stood him up.

After losing all hope, Hu Xiaotian returned to the manor, went to Verdant Garden, and asked Zhao Wusheng; learning that no one had come from the palace, he inferred that Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao and her son's condition should be stable.

Zhao Wusheng accompanied him toward the manor, reporting the latest news he had just received: the Tianxiang Kingdom had already agreed to let foreign guests depart freely, and now the harbor and all major gates had reopened, though inspections were much stricter than before.

Hu Xiaotian snorted: "They only start being strict now; those people have already fled, nowhere to be found."

Liang Yinghao and Xia Zhangming, hearing the news, came out to greet him; Xia Zhangming said: "My lord, when are we going back?"

Hu Xiaotian joked: "I thought you had already forgotten Shu in your happiness."

Xia Zhangming's face turned red; lately his feelings for Xiao Rou had been growing daily, he thought he kept it secret, but he hadn't expected Hu Xiaotian to notice, and feeling embarrassed he said: "My lord, please don't tease me."

Hu Xiaotian summoned everyone to his study; Zhan Peng arrived first.

Liang Yinghao said: "My lord, I heard you saved the Tianxiang Kingdom's king and empress dowager; they owe you a great favor, and will surely marry Princess Yingyue to you."

Xia Zhangming and Zhao Wusheng also echoed, saying that as long as they receive affirmative news from Hu Xiaotian, they will prepare to congratulate him together.

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "This has not yet been settled."

Zhao Wusheng said: "My lord, why not put forward conditions? I imagine they could not refuse."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Both are lying in bed; I cannot bring up conditions now, lest they think I am petty."

Liang Yinghao said: "Why be polite with them? My lord, are you not afraid they will renege after recovering?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "They seem to have no need for that, and the matter has come to this point—the princess no longer has any initial use value for them. Moreover, they said whoever saves Yang Longjing becomes the Tianxiang Kingdom's prince consort; although the kingdom is small, the court's announced decisions cannot be lightly changed, or how could they convince the people?"

Zhan Peng also nodded: "I see the empress dowager and their monarch are very grateful to my lord; they should not renege."

Zhao Wusheng laughed: "In that case, we should congratulate my lord in advance!"

Xia Zhangming said: "Should we make preparations in advance, so that when the Tianxiang Kingdom announces the prince consort we can take the princess and leave together?"

Hu Xiaotian, however, shook his head: "For now we cannot leave, and even if we could, we would not choose to return by the original route."

Everyone stared at Hu Xiaotian, not understanding what he meant.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I still have one important matter unfinished; I must finish it before I can leave." The important matter he referred to was rescuing his maternal grandfather; he has not yet disclosed the details to anyone. According to Hu Xiaotian's plan, rescuing Xu Lingkong is fraught with danger and requires penetrating the core of the Beggar Sect. He cannot let these loyal followers accompany him on such a risky venture, nor can he allow Long Xi Yue to share life‑and‑death with him. The ideal plan is to split forces: after becoming the Tianxiang Kingdom's prince consort, a few subordinates will escort Long Xi Yue by boat along the waterway back to Dongliang Jun, while he and Ji Feihua go together to Sword‑Washing Mountain Villa to rescue his grandfather; relying on their martial arts, even a dragon's pool and tiger's den would not prevent them from escaping unharmed. As for Murong Feiyan, this encounter has never given him a chance to be frank with her; her nature is inherently independent, and whether she will be willing to follow him north remains unknown.

Hu Xiaotian returned to his room, closed the door, and the candlelight flickered once before suddenly going out.

Hu Xiaotian startled, immediately realizing someone was in the room; few could deceive his perception at such close range, and he had already guessed who it was, smiling: "You have worked hard."

His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and he saw a familiar silhouette leaning by the window—who else could it be but Ji Feihua?

Ji Feihua calmly replied: "It's not really hardship; this trip also brought some unexpected gains."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Must we speak in the dark?"

Ji Feihua stretched out her arm, opened the window, and moonlight streamed in silently from outside, instantly filling the whole room; a beautiful halo enveloped her, making her appear ever more mysterious and causing Hu Xiaotian to feel a sense of being both real and illusory.

Hu Xiaotian sincerely sighed: "You are truly beautiful!"

Ji Feihua chuckled: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; I will not comment on your sight." She gazed toward the window: "Locking oneself in a room on such a lovely moonlit night is surely a regret."

Hu Xiaotian understood her meaning: "Where do you want to go? I'll go with you!"

Ji Feihua said: "Anywhere?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Anywhere!"

Ji Feihua whispered: "Although it's a lie, I believe it!" As soon as she finished speaking, her body lunged toward the window.

Hu Xiaotian did not expect her to say she would leave and just go; her earlier remark was clearly a hint to him, so he followed her, leaping out after her; their silhouettes, one ahead of the other, flew side by side like two birds beneath the moonlight.

Hu Xiaotian did not know where Ji Feihua was headed; he could only follow her, soaring above the eaves. It was now approaching Zi Hour, and Piaoxiang City remained under curfew, but because the rescued king had been returned to the palace, the city patrols were noticeably less frequent than the previous two days, and there were no longer large‑scale manhunts in the city.

In fact, with Ji Feihua's and Hu Xiaotian's skills, how could ordinary city guards detect their traces?

Hu Xiaotian followed her for a distance, realizing Ji Feihua was likely heading to Remaining Blessing Treasure Villa; arriving at a large tree outside the villa's rear courtyard, he sent a mental transmission to her: "What are you doing here?" (To be continued~^~)