Chapter 1628: [Trans-space Plan] (Part I)

Hu Xiaotian said: "We cannot rule out that someone wants to do this secretly, stealing the skin behind Emperor Jingde's back, and also keep it hidden from everyone's eyes and ears."

Zong Tang said: "What exactly is the secret behind Emperor Jingde and his consort? Why would someone peel off their skin?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "It must be a heaven-shaking secret."

Zong Tang only felt a chill run down his spine; he didn't even want to stay here for a moment, and whispered: "Let's just leave this place."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, the two covered the coffin, and returned along the earthen tunnel they came from. Zong Tang raised his torch and walked ahead, Hu Xiaotian followed behind him. Zong Tang was the first to crawl back up from the earthen tunnel into the robbery tunnel above. When Hu Xiaotian prepared to follow, the firelight outside suddenly went out. He couldn't help but startle, and whispered: "Senior Brother Zong! Senior Brother Zong!"

Above, no one responded. Hu Xiaotian strained his ears; with his astonishing hearing, he could hear no sound at all.

Dead silence, a deathly silence. Hu Xiaotian slowly climbed up from the earthen tunnel, his six senses alert to any movement around him. With his current cultivation, even the sound of a feather falling within three zhang he could clearly perceive, let alone in this deathly silent earthen tunnel. Upon reaching the entrance, he suddenly felt the air in front stir; the sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out, and a sharp blade of light slashed straight at his face.

Hu Xiaotian fearlessly raised the hilt of his light sword in hand, blocking the opponent's determined strike. While shaking off the opponent's blade, his left hand grabbed the edge of the cave mouth, his body leapt up, his back struck the stone wall of the cave ceiling. In a short time he had already seen the situation clearly, only to see a black-clad masked man holding a narrow long sword right beneath him, the very person who had just launched the attack at him. In the distance there was a blurry silhouette; judging by the outline, it should not be Zong Tang.

In the current situation, Hu Xiaotian had no time to think further; he could only first defeat the opponent, then check on Zong Tang's safety. He lunged downward with a punch aimed at the opponent's face—this was the God-Demon Annihilation Fist, its fist wind icy, completely stirring the air in the dark cavern.

The black-clad man thrust his narrow long sword straight at Hu Xiaotian's lower abdomen. Although Hu Xiaotian's punch seemed mighty, it was merely a feint; he wanted to seize the opportunity to snatch away the opponent's long sword.

From afar came a low, hoarse voice: "Mute, stop!"

Hearing the voice, the black-clad man quickly sheathed his sword and retreated. Hu Xiaotian saw the opponent voluntarily retreat, and did not continue pressing forward; instead he landed on the ground. Following the sound, he looked over and saw that distant figure's arm shake—originally, due to having fainted while in his grasp, Zong Tang lay limp on the ground.

That person lit a match in the darkness, igniting the dry tobacco in his hand, which also illuminated his aged face. His lips moved, and thick smoke puffed from his nostrils. The old man whispered: "If you want him to live, you had better obey!"

Hu Xiaotian hesitated to act, for Zong Tang was under the opponent's control; if he rashly attacked, he might harm Zong Tang's life. He then cracked a smile and said: "We're all after wealth; why fight to the death? Let's sit down and talk calmly." In his heart, however, he suspected the opponent was no ordinary grave robber.

The old man coldly said: "I have planned and waited for so long; I never expected you two to get ahead of me."

Hu Xiaotian's heart gave a start; from his words it was clear he was after that piece of skin behind Empress Dowager Jiang's back. Thus this person's identity was likely Ghost Doctor Fu Luo. Since Zong Tang had told him the secret of this underground robbery tunnel, Hu Xiaotian had believed that Ghost Doctor Fu Luo had only feigned death and was actually still alive in this world.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "How should I address you, senior? Let's get to know each other first."

The old man curled his lip in a cold smile, then drew a willow-leaf saber from his waist, pressing it against Zong Tang's neck; with just a little force, the blade would surely pierce Zong Tang's carotid artery. Hu Xiaotian gazed at that surgical knife, secretly guessing that the opponent was almost certainly Ghost Doctor Fu Luo.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but burst out laughing: "I wondered who you were; it turns out you are the senior Ghost Doctor!"

The old man gave Hu Xiaotian a sinister, gloomy stare that made one's blood run cold, and said in a low voice: "Kid, hand over the map, and I'll let you live."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Map? What map? We only came to rob a tomb, not for any map."

The old man applied a little more force with his willow-leaf saber; the blade had already broken Zong Tang's skin, and a thread of blood flowed down his neck: "I have no patience for your nonsense; hand over what you've stolen."

Hu Xiaotian sighed, threw the hilt of his light sword to the ground, and the old man twitched his white brow, saying lowly: "Not this!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "This is all I have, senior. Actually, we two should have a good talk; we could surely find much common ground. I have admired your Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram before, yet I don't know how you came to understand so much modern medical knowledge. The so-called Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram is merely a human anatomy atlas. Judging from what you have done before, you must be a surgical specialist! I wonder where you learned all that surgical knowledge."

The old man's eyes flashed with surprise, his Adam's apple moved, and he said in a deep voice: "Are you Hu Xiaotian?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed; it seemed his guess was right—standing before him was indeed Ghost Doctor Fu Luo. In this world, perhaps only they could mutually understand each other's medical arts.

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo slowly nodded, withdrawing his willow-leaf saber from Zong Tang's neck. His deep eyes surveyed Hu Xiaotian; perhaps because Hu Xiaotian was completely different from what he had imagined, his expression was full of doubt.

By now, Hu Xiaotian no longer feared admitting his true identity. He turned aside, quietly resumed his original appearance, removed his mask, turned back, and bowed to Ghost Doctor Fu Luo, saying: "Junior Hu Xiaotian pays respects to Senior Ghost Doctor." Since Zong Tang was under the opponent's control, Hu Xiaotian yielded a bit in courtesy, hoping to make the opponent lower his killing intent.

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo looked at Hu Xiaotian and said: "I have seen you, I know you; you are also an unfortunate soul stranded in a foreign land." He sighed, shook his willow-leaf saber toward Hu Xiaotian, and continued: "I thought I would never meet a fellow countryman again in this world; I never expected to encounter you, and coincidentally, we are even in the same profession!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, his heart involuntarily stirred. Ghost Doctor Fu Luo's words amounted to an acknowledgment that they both came from the same world, which is why they used the same medical devices and shared nearly identical medical arts—only he was still young while Ghost Doctor Fu Luo had grown old. They had undergone nearly identical experiences, so Hu Xiaotian could better empathize with the loneliness and solitude Ghost Doctor endured over the long years in this world; if there were no other way, Ghost Doctor Fu Luo would not have chosen to feign death to escape.

Yet everyone in the world believes he is dead; why then has Ghost Doctor Fu Luo come here? All these doubts perhaps need his own explanation.

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo picked up the light sword hilt from the ground, examined it, then tossed it back to Hu Xiaotian: "Your sneaking into the Huangling Digong surely isn't just for sightseeing."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Whether you believe me or not, my main purpose in coming here is mere curiosity; the thing you want is not in my hands."

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo said: "I want to see it with my own eyes."

Hu Xiaotian brought Ghost Doctor Fu Luo back from the earthen tunnel just now to the Huangling Digong. Hearing is believing, seeing is real. Even though they knew they came from the same time-space, Ghost Doctor Fu Luo still could not fully trust Hu Xiaotian; when he finally saw everything clearly, he couldn't help but frown, his face full of disappointment.

Hu Xiaotian had not deceived him; judging from the wound on Empress Dowager Jiang's back, the skin behind the corpse had been peeled off many days ago.

After seeing it, Ghost Doctor Fu Luo couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "It seems I am ultimately too late."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Was the skin behind Emperor Jingde's back peeled off by you?"

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo looked at Hu Xiaotian and nodded, not denying that he had done such a thing.

Hu Xiaotian said: "You should have noticed that his body and head do not belong to the same person, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ghost Doctor Fu Luo started; Hu Xiaotian inferred from his expression that Ghost Doctor had not yet discovered this fact, and he told Ghost Doctor the secret he had just uncovered.

After learning this secret, Ghost Doctor's facial expression became extremely strange; he never imagined that his meticulously planned scheme had been kept in the dark from start to finish, his discouragement indescribable. He slumped onto the stone steps beside him, his whole person seeming to have aged instantly.

Hu Xiaotian came to sit beside him, reached out and lightly patted his shoulder to offer comfort. Although they were meeting for the first time, due to their shared experiences, Hu Xiaotian felt an indescribable sense of closeness toward him.

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo said: "Did you also participate in the Trans-space Plan? Are there any others with you?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, his eyes full of bewilderment: "What Trans-space Plan? I don't even know how I got here myself."

Ghost Doctor Fu Luo listened to his account of past experiences, then let out a long sigh: "It seems you are merely a bumbling intruder who stumbled in by accident. The Trans-space Plan I spoke of is a secret government project aimed at researching spacetime jumps. Our team numbered five; I was the squad medic. During the first trial, something went wrong. Although we all landed, upon arriving in this world we appeared on a battlefield. My five teammates, before they could even grasp the situation, were already shot down by random arrows; I was fortunate to survive."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Is there any way to go back?" (To be continued~^~.)