Chapter 1479

The two held their breath, motionless; from the black-clad person's build it was clearly a man. Hu Xiaotian silently wondered, could it be the lover of High Priestess Tongyun? Haha, if true, it would be lively—fasting day, and as the High Priestess she's actually meeting her lover at this time; what gall!

The black-clad man had his face covered, only his eyes showing. He looked around, then approached the door; before he even reached it, the door opened—High Priestess Tongyun had been waiting there all along, and she spotted his silhouette the moment he appeared in the courtyard.

The masked man entered the room; from his breathing and steps Hu Xiaotian could tell his martial arts were not weak. Worried that Yan Nujiao might be discovered, he used voice transmission to tell her: "Don't move; this person's martial arts are strong—if he notices us it won't be good. I'll go listen to what they're saying."

Yan Nujiao nodded and cautioned: "Be careful!"

Hu Xiaotian gave a faint smile and tiptoed to the window.

After the black-clad man entered the room, High Priestess Tongyun closed the door. He pulled the black cloth from his face, revealing a handsome, sharply defined face—it was the Beggar Gang's junior chief, Shangguan Yun Chong, whose arms were both intact.

Tongyun flung herself into his arms, saying: "I've missed you to death!"

Shangguan Yun Chong embraced Tongyun and whispered: "I feel the same." He lowered his head to kiss her lips.

Hu Xiaotian outside heard the sound of a goldfish drinking water and already guessed what the two were doing. He silently laughed: High Priestess Tongyun isn't supposed to be a Spirit Maiden? She should have her six senses pure and be free of worldly emotions—yet it turns out this near-divine High Priestess also has the seven emotions and six desires.

After a long kiss they finally parted. High Priestess Tongyun said: "You shouldn't have come now; these days are fasting days. If someone saw you here, wouldn't that be trouble?"

Shangguan Yun Chong replied: "I know I shouldn't have come, but I can't restrain my longing for you—I can't control my feet."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed: this guy actually uses such hollow sweet talk to deceive women—does he even have humanity? Any morality? He didn't even want to recall how he himself had just sweet-talked Yan Nujiao. Being strict with others and lenient with oneself is simply human nature.

Hearing those words of love, High Priestess Tongyun felt as if she'd been given a love potion. Her mind in turmoil, she whispered: "Yun Chong… I know your feelings for me, I know, I understand…"

Hu Xiaotian smirked inwardly, "You understand nothing—this guy is just sweet-talking you, and yet you're a Spirit Maiden, a High Priestess. He's basically an idiot; no wonder they say women in love have zero IQ—this High Priestess must be in the negatives. But the name she blurted out by accident made Hu Xiaotian pause: Yun Chong? Who is that? Anyway, it's not Li Yuncong. First off, that rules out the Senior Eunuch—could it be Shangguan Yun Chong? Hu Xiaotian also learned from Qiao Fangzheng that the person he previously fought was likely Shangguan Yun Feng, and Ji Feihua had already cut off one of his arms with a light sword; this person is highly skilled in martial arts. Both arms intact—could he really be the true Shangguan Yun Chong?"

But Shangguan Yun Chong is the Beggar Gang's junior chief. What is he doing here? What is his relationship with High Priestess Tongyun? Is it merely that of lovers?

From inside came rustling sounds, and soon a woman's restrained panting could be heard; from his experience Hu Xiaotian could guess what they were doing, and he secretly admired them. They were really bold—doing such a thing inside the temple, all for love—did High Priestess Tongyun even cast aside her faith?

Shangguan Yun Chong said: "I've already found a suitable girl." His voice was unusually calm, able to maintain composure even during intimacy—showing how strong his mindset is.

Tongyun's panting grew more urgent, and she moaned softly: "Don't… talk about it later… huh…"

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, the High Priestess is probably completely under Shangguan Yun Chong's control.

Shangguan Yun Chong said: "You select her as the Spirit Maiden, and then we can control Fire Tree City this way."

Tongyun said: "Yun Chong… I'll listen to you about everything… uh… I'll listen to you…"

Hu Xiaotian felt his heart sink upon hearing this; tonight he had intended to come and meet High Priestess Tongyun face to face, frankly tell her about the Spirit Maiden matter, resolve Little Ou's issue through her, and help her find her family—but now it seems things may change.

After waiting patiently for the couple to finish, once Tongyun's emotions had settled and her voice grew much calmer, she whispered: "But the matter of the Spirit Maiden still needs the city lord and lady's approval; the lady insists her daughter Jia Ou is still alive, so announcing a new Spirit Maiden would likely not gain her consent."

Shangguan Yun Chong said: "You don't need to worry; I'll remove all obstacles."

High Priestess Tongyun instantly understood what he intended, and she sighed helplessly: "But… but if we do this, will the heavens punish us?"

Shangguan Yun Chong cupped her face and said: "The heavens will never punish two people who truly love each other; even if there is blame, I will bear it alone."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, "Con artist! This guy is absolutely a big liar, and yet High Priestess Tongyun believes him—this woman is really stupid." Having heard enough, he returned to Yan Nujiao's side; just as he got back, he saw Shangguan Yun Chong emerge from the room, retie his black mask, and slip away under the cover of night.

High Priestess Tongyun stood outside the door watching Shangguan Yun Chong go, until his silhouette vanished completely, then she finally closed the door again.

Although Yan Nujiao didn't know exactly what had just happened, she could tell her senior sister was meeting her lover at night, so of course she couldn't bring Hu Xiaotian to see her now. The two also quietly retraced their steps, agreeing to meet outside before parting.

Yan Nujiao returned to her room, rested a moment, then lifted her lantern and left the temple through the side gate.

Hu Xiaotian hadn't gone far; he waited by the Clear Moon Pond west of the temple. Seeing Yan Nujiao approach in the distance holding a lotus lantern and wearing a deep blue cloak, he smiled and went to meet her. She whispered, "Let's talk over there," pointing to a stone tower at the southeast corner—a bell tower with no one around at night.

Hu Xiaotian followed her into the stone tower, climbing the stairs; they reached the upper level, where Yan Nujiao extinguished the lotus lantern and stood on the bell tower, overlooking the entire temple grounds—over a hundred thousand devotees still praying devoutly around the temple, their candlelights sparkling like stars.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but chuckle recalling the scene—these devotees were so pious, yet they didn't know that the Spirit Maiden they revered as a deity had just been inside, trysting with her lover, overturning the heavens and earth.

Yan Nujiao asked: "Who was that person just now?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Beggar Gang's junior chief, Shangguan Yun Chong."

"What?" Yan Nujiao exclaimed in surprise.

Hu Xiaotian then recounted everything that had just happened. When he described the scene of Shangguan Yun Chong and Tongyun's tryst, this guy added vivid details and embellishments, making Yan Nujiao's face flush and her heart race. Without realizing it, a pair of jade rabbits had fallen into his grasp—this guy wasn't just all talk; he also followed through, letting Yan Nujiao understand things in greater detail.

Under the clear wind and bright moon atop the bell tower, overlooking the distant candlelights, there was a different kind of thrill; Yan Nujiao merely offered token resistance a few times before she began to respond passionately.

After the passion, Yan Nujiao's hair disheveled, she leaned against Hu Xiaotian's chest and whispered: "You men are all no good; your sweet talk is all lies…"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "If you know it's lies, why do you still listen?"

Yan Nujiao rubbed his chin: "There's no way to avoid being fed your love potion."

Hu Xiaotian grinned mischievously: "What I give you isn't just a love potion."

Yan Nujiao blushed, wrinkling her nose: "Don't say that, it's disgusting!" She rose from Hu Xiaotian's embrace, tidied her hair, re-draped her cloak, and softly asked: "You mean my senior sister is planning to forge a false Spirit Maiden with Shangguan Yun Chong?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I don't think Shangguan Yun Chong's aim is merely to create a Spirit Maiden to replace your senior sister; he wants to use this to control Fire Tree City."

Yan Nujiao said: "The Beggar Gang is just a martial arts sect—why would they do this?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Beggar Gang's situation is not great lately; the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom has been driving beggars out nationwide, greatly affecting the gang. Though the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom used to be the gang's headquarters and base, despite its large forces, facing the kingdom's nationwide crackdown they had no choice but to lay low, so they're likely turning their attention to Redwood River—after all, it's nearest to the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom, and they could temporarily develop it as their stronghold."

Yan Nujiao sighed: "If that's really the case, my senior sister is probably being used—I must warn her."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "Even if you warned her now, it would be useless—put yourself in her shoes: if someone advised you to leave me, claiming I was using you, would you believe them?"

Yan Nujiao bit her lip—she certainly wouldn't believe it—but Hu Xiaotian's words planted a seed of doubt: "Hu Xiaotian, are you using me?"

Hu Xiaotian hehe-laughed: "You're so beautiful, of course I'll use you—not just your body, but your heart as well."

"Get lost, I'm talking serious business!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "How about you come with me back to Dongliang Jun this time?"

At those words Yan Nujiao blushed and said: "But… but my father might not agree…"

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "How about I go to Heavenly Wolf Mountain myself to talk to him?"

Yan Nujiao shook her head: "No, my father has a terrible temper—he wouldn't like you at all; seeing your smooth talk and scheming, nine times out of ten he'd chop off your head."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: "Well then, I'd actually be interested in meeting him."

Yan Nujiao said: "Better not— I don't even know how to introduce you to him."

Thanks to the brothers and sisters for their strong support, Zhangyu will continue to work hard! (To be continued~^~)