Chapter 1493

The sun had set and the moon rose; Zhan Peng's surgery had been underway for three full hours. Long Xi Yue and everyone else were waiting outside. At that moment, Xiao Ou followed Qiao Fangzheng over and came to Long Xi Yue's side, taking her hand and saying, "Sister, my mother sent me to ask how Uncle Zhan is doing." Ga Nuo also remained in the Butterfly Garden and had not left, though she herself was injured and could not wait outside.

Translation: Sunset, moonrise, Exhibit Peng's surgery had already been going on for three full hours; Long Xi Yue and everyone else were waiting outside. At this moment, Xiao Ou followed Qiao Fangzheng over and came to Long Xi Yue's side, Xiao Ou took her hand and said, "Sister, my mother sent me to ask how Uncle Zhan is doing?" Ga Nuo also stayed in the Butterfly Garden and hadn't left, though she herself was injured and couldn't wait outside.

We need to ensure we keep the meaning exactly. Let's produce a concise translation.

We decided to translate the name as Zhan Peng, so we refer to Zhan Peng's surgery, and the term 'Uncle Zhan' for his uncle.

Now produce: "The sun set and the moon rose; Zhan Peng's surgery had already been underway for three full hours. Long Xi Yue and everyone else were waiting outside. At this moment, Xiao Ou followed Qiao Fangzheng over and came to Long Xi Yue's side, Xiao Ou took her hand and said, 'Sister, my mother sent me to ask how Uncle Zhan is doing?' Ga Nuo also remained in the Butterfly Garden and hadn't left, though she herself was injured and couldn't wait outside."

Zhan Peng's surgery had already been underway for three full hours.

Long Xi Yue and everyone else were waiting outside.

At this moment, Xiao Ou followed Qiao Fangzheng over and came to Long Xi Yue's side.

Xiao Ou took her hand and said, 'Sister, my mother sent me to ask how Uncle Zhan is doing?'

Ga Nuo also remained in the Butterfly Garden and hadn't left, though she herself was injured and couldn't wait outside.

Long Xi Yue whispered, "It should be fine; I believe a virtuous person will have heavenly favor."

Translation: Long Xi Yue whispered, "He should be fine; believe that a virtuous person will have heavenly favor."

a virtuous person will have heavenly favor.

Thus: Long Xi Yue whispered, "He should be fine; believe that a virtuous person will have heavenly favor."

Long Xi Yue said softly, "It should be fine; I believe a virtuous person naturally enjoys heavenly favor."

Qiao Fangzheng said to Long Xi Yue, "Your Highness, please step aside so we can talk."

Translation: Qiao Fangzheng said to Long Xi Yue, "Your Highness, please step aside for a talk."

Long Xi Yue had Xia Changming accompany Xiao Ou back first, then she and Qiao Fangzheng went to a secluded spot, where she whispered, "Senior, what are your orders?"

Translation: Long Xi Yue had Xia Zhangming accompany Xiao Ou back first, then she and Qiao Fangzheng went to a secluded spot, where she whispered, "Senior, what are your orders?"

Qiao Fangzheng said, "Zhan Peng was likely injured by my disobedient disciple."

Translation: Qiao Fangzheng said, "Zhan Peng was likely injured by my disobedient disciple."

Long Xi Yue sighed softly and said, "He spared Zhan Peng's life only to give Xiao Tian a warning."

Translation: Long Xi Yue sighed softly, "He spared Zhan Peng's life only to give Xiao Tian a warning."

Qiao Fangzheng said, "I never expected his martial arts to progress so quickly; his sword qi projection has already reached the point where he can release and retract it at will."

Translation: Qiao Fangzheng said, "I didn't expect his martial arts to progress so quickly; his sword qi projection has already reached the point of effortless control."

Long Xi Yue said, "That means dealing with him will be even more difficult for you, then."

Translation: Long Xi Yue said, "Then doesn't that mean dealing with him will be even more difficult?"

Qiao Fangzheng said, "Your Highness, I have an idea; I don't know if you are willing."

Translation: Qiao Fangzheng said, "Your Highness, I have an idea; I don't know if you're willing."

Long Xi Yue smiled and said, "Senior, just speak your mind; if it is within my ability, I will certainly do my utmost."

Translation: Long Xi Yue smiled, "Just speak your mind, Senior; I will do everything I can if it's within my ability."

Qiao Fangzheng said, "I have never admired anyone in my life, but Hu Xiaotian is an exception; his martial skill and scheming are outstanding among the younger generation, and even my disobedient disciple may not be his match." He only formed this idea today after Hu Xiaotian used the Spirit Maiden affair to turn the tables, shifting from a passive to an active stance.

Translation: Qiao Fangzheng said, "I have never admired anyone in my life, but Hu Xiaotian qualifies; his martial prowess and scheming are outstanding among the younger generation, and even my disobedient disciple might not be his match." Qiao Fangzheng only formed this idea after today, when Hu Xiaotian used the Spirit Maiden affair to turn the tide, changing from passive to active.

Hu Xiaotian used the Spirit Maiden affair to turn the tide.

Long Xi Yue felt naturally pleased hearing his praise of Hu Xiaotian, but she wondered why Qiao Fangzheng, who rarely shows his feelings, would suddenly say such a thing.

Translation: Long Xi Yue felt naturally happy hearing him praise Hu Xiaotian, but she wondered why Qiao Fangzheng, who rarely shows his inner joy, would suddenly say such a thing.

Qiao Fangzheng said, "I am merely worried that one day Hu Xiaotian might unleash a massacre against the Beggars' Sect."

Translation: Qiao Fangzheng said, "I'm merely worried that one day Hu Xiaotian might unleash a massacre against the Beggars' Sect."

Long Xi Yue then understood Qiao Fangzheng's purpose in seeking a private consultation with her. He also knew that Hu Xiaotian regarded Zhan Peng as a brother and would surely seek revenge for him. The Beggars' Sect's Young Chief, Shangguan Yun Chong, had injured Zhan Peng to this extent, and Hu Xiaotian would certainly not let it go; he might therefore unleash a massacre against the Beggars' Sect's members. Although Qiao Fangzheng likewise harbored hatred for the Beggars' Sect Chief, Shangguan Tianhuo and his son, he, as an elder of the Beggars' Sect, still felt affection for his fellow disciples and could not bear to see the sect members implicated.

Translation: Long Xi Yue only now understood Qiao Fangzheng's intention in seeking a private consultation with her; he also knew that Hu Xiaotian regarded Zhan Peng as a brother, so he would surely seek revenge for Zhan Peng. The Beggars' Sect's Young Chief, Shangguan Yun Chong, had injured Zhan Peng to this extent; Hu Xiaotian would certainly not let it go, and might therefore unleash a massacre against the Beggars' Sect's members. Although Qiao Fangzheng likewise harbored hatred for the Beggars' Sect Chief, Shangguan Tianhuo and his son, he, as an elder of the Beggars' Sect, still felt affection for his fellow disciples, and naturally could not bear to see the sect members implicated.

The Beggars' Sect's Young Chief, Shangguan Yun Chong, had injured Zhan Peng to this extent.

Hu Xiaotian would certainly not let it go.

and might therefore unleash a massacre against the Beggars' Sect's members.

Although Qiao Fangzheng likewise harbored hatred for the Beggars' Sect Chief, Shangguan Tianhuo and his son.

but he, as an elder of the Beggars' Sect, still felt affection for his fellow disciples.

and naturally could not bear to see the sect members implicated.

Long Xi Yue said, "Senior, rest assured; Xiaotian is broad-minded and will not take out his anger over Elder Brother Zhan's matter on others, and I will also persuade him from the side."

Qiao Fangzhen slowly nodded and said, "The princess is kind-hearted and sympathetic to the suffering of others; for Hu Xiaotian to obtain a wife like her is truly his blessing."

Long Xi Yue, somewhat shy, said, "Senior, you flatter me to death."

Qiao Fangzhen said, "Princess, I still have an idea."

Long Xi Yue said, "Senior, if you have something to say, just speak plainly."

Qiao Fangzhen said, "I intend to take you as my disciple. I just don't know if I am worthy enough."

Upon hearing this, Long Xi Yue was overjoyed and said, "Master, please accept my bow!" Her desire to learn martial arts was especially strong, for only with self-defense ability could she prevent Hu Xiaotian from worrying so much about her.

Qiao Fangzhen stopped her, saying, "You must not bow to me; I do not want a third party to know about my taking you as a disciple."

Long Xi Yue nodded and said, "Master, rest assured; the disciple will faithfully follow your teachings."

Senior Eunuch watched the entire procedure, and Hu Xiaotian's almost divine medical skill left her in awe. Hu Xiaotian spent a full three hours before reconnecting Zhan Peng's arm and the other fractured parts of his body. Senior Eunuch took out a bottle of trauma medicine and quietly handed it to Yan Nujiao, gesturing for her to give it to Hu Xiaotian. Yan Nujiao was overjoyed. This clearly shows the master has changed her opinion of Hu Xiaotian, perhaps she will no longer oppose his association with herself.

This bottle of trauma medicine is the Golden Trauma Medicine specially prepared by Senior Eunuch; it can promote wound healing.

After finishing the surgery, Hu Xiaotian applied the trauma medicine given by Senior Eunuch to Zhan Peng.

Senior Eunuch waved at Yan Nujiao, signaling her to go out and rest.

After bandaging Zhan Peng, Hu Xiaotian covered him with a blanket, feeling utterly exhausted. A hand reached over and handed him a cup of tea. Hu Xiaotian looked up in surprise to see it was Senior Eunuch. He could not fathom that Senior Eunuch would show concern for him, leaving him somewhat flabbergasted.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian hesitate to take the tea she offered, Senior Eunuch rolled her eyes and said in a sarcastic tone, "Are you afraid I'll poison you?"

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, took the teacup from Senior Eunuch's hand, and drank it all in one gulp.

Senior Eunuch said, "You're not afraid I'll poison you?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "What's there to fear? Life is but a short hundred years; we all die eventually. Moreover, given your status, Senior Eunuch, you wouldn't resort to such means against a junior."

Senior Eunuch gave a sinister chuckle, "That's not necessarily true; if one truly wants to kill someone, why bother with the means? Furthermore, Hu Xiaotian, you are now famous throughout the world; if I killed you, I too would become renowned."

Hu Xiaotian said, "At your age, don't you see through these illusory things?"

Senior Eunuch sighed, scrutinizing Hu Xiaotian, and asked, "What exactly is your relationship with the Ghost Doctor Fu Wen?"

Hu Xiaotian caught the confusion deep in Senior Eunuch's eyes; she must have discerned something from the surgery just now, perhaps because she is acquainted with the Ghost Doctor Fu Wen, and thus would naturally link him to Fu Wen. He had intended to answer truthfully, but upon reaching his lips he changed his mind and deliberately said, "Saying there is a connection is actually no connection; saying there is no connection yet there is somewhat a connection."

Senior Eunuch gave him a sideways glance and said, "Stop beating around the bush; can't you speak plainly?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "He died over ten years ago; I have never met him."

Senior Eunuch did not believe his words, snorted, and said, "Never having met him, where then did you learn this medical skill?"

Hu Xiaotian glanced around, then deliberately lowered his voice and said, "I once stayed in the Dakang imperial palace for a period of time; by a chance occurrence, I obtained a book."

Senior Eunuch's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be the Ten Thousand Phenomena Atlas?"

Hu Xiaotian secretly rejoiced; although Senior Eunuch is an old hand in the jianghu, she could not help falling into his trap, step by step lured by his prompting. He feigned astonishment and said, "You… you how do you know?"

Senior Eunuch's face filled with arrogance; she gave him a disdainful glance and said, "I have roamed the jianghu for decades, seen all kinds of storms; do you think you can deceive me?"

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, "Deceive? Do I even need to deceive you? I threw out a tiny bait, and you came running eagerly; I really don't know how you've spent these decades in the jianghu."

Actually, it's not that Senior Eunuch is simple-minded; it's that this fellow is too crafty. Senior Eunuch said, "Where did you obtain this Ten Thousand Phenomena Atlas?"

In this short while Hu Xiaotian's mind had already spun countless circles; if we were to say where he first heard of the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram, it was from Li Yuncong, who had once told him its origins—looking back now this seems a conspiracy, for Ghost Doctor Fu Wen originally left the diagram in the Dakang imperial palace's Cangshuge, in fact burying a clue, and it is precisely because of this clue that later Gong Wuxin's theft from his own post occurred; Ghost Doctor Fu Wen's true purpose was the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing, of course this is all Hu Xiaotian's speculation, and as for what role Meng Zizai and Ren Tianqing play in this, he still does not know.

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "It's a long story!" He then told the story he had prepared to Ying Popo; it contained truth and falsehood, of course mostly false. He had never actually found any Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram in the Cangshuge; the genuine diagram had long been stolen by Gong Wuxin, and the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing was also lost. According to Li Yuncong's speculation, both items should now be on Liu Yuzhang, who faked his death to slip out of the palace. Hu Xiaotian said nothing about this, instead blaming the loss of the diagram on Meng Zizai. He had a hunch that Ying Popo and Meng Zizai, etc., must have some connection.

Ying Popo frowned upon hearing this and said, "You mean Meng Zizai borrowed and read the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "I also heard this from the Senior Eunuch of the Cangshuge; right after Meng Zizai finished borrowing it, the original Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram was lost, and along with it a scripture went missing as well."

"What scripture?" Ying Popo obviously grew tense.

Hu Xiaotian said, "It seems to be called something like Banruo…" He made a show of pondering deeply.

"Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded vigorously and said, "Bravo! Ying Popo, you truly are well-informed and know everything."

Ying Popo's face, however, showed a doubtful look: "Since you say both items are lost, where did you learn the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram from?"

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing: "You really are clever all your life but muddled for a moment—anything has a copy! You've never been to the palace's Cangshuge; to be safe, important documents, historical texts, and classics are all duplicated and stored, and what I looked at was a copy."

Ying Popo said, "Just by looking at a copy you can be this formidable; your medical skill rivals that of Ghost Doctor Fu Wen from back then—do you think I'm that easy to fool?"

From her words, Hu Xiaotian gathered that Ying Popo must have seen Ghost Doctor Fu Wen back in the day; she is Yan Nujiao's master, and Yan Nujiao gets along well with Meng Zizai, so it's not hard to infer that Ying Popo and Meng Zizai may have known each other long ago. Hu Xiaotian's fabrication of these stories is also malicious. As the saying goes, "An innocent man incurs guilt by carrying a jade." He wants Ying Popo to mistakenly believe that Meng Zizai has obtained both the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram and the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing in his hands. Although Hu Xiaotian does not know what will happen, in any case this matter is certainly no good for Meng Zizai. (To be continued~^~)