Chapter 1645

Ji Feihua said: "The greatest purpose of keeping this child is to use her as medicine; every seven days, he would draw two large bowls of blood from her body, mix it with other medicines and drink it; for five whole years it never stopped!"

Hu Xiaotian only then understood why Ji Feihua hated Liu Yuzhang so much; Liu Yuzhang had done such a heinous act, and even if he were killed, it would be just deserts.

Ji Feihua said: "For five years, this child's body remained weak; to her, every day in the palace was a nightmare. She had thought of ending it all, but her heart was filled with hatred for the Dakang Long clan; she wanted to avenge her family someday, and it was that vengeful resolve that kept her alive. She began to observe everyone's every move, began to study and ponder the intrigues of court, began to flatter and fawn, seeking a powerful patron, and finally she found one."

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, it must be Quan De'an; Ji Feihua's martial arts were personally transmitted by Quan De'an, so she must have used his power to escape that terrible nightmare of Liu Yuzhang.

Ji Feihua looked at Hu Xiaotian, her eyes full of inquiry; she was waiting for his answer, to see if he could guess who it was.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Could it be Quan De'an?"

Ji Feihua shook her head.

Hu Xiaotian's mind flashed: "Ling Jiazi!"

Ji Feihua sighed softly: "It seems you know quite a lot; indeed, it's Ling Jiazi. By a chance encounter, this child met the then crown princess, Ling Jiazi, who was just pregnant, so she took her in to serve by her side. Although Liu Yuzhang was unwilling, he dared not defy the crown princess's wishes; the child didn't know what had happened, but from then on Liu Yuzhang never dared to seek her out again, nor did he dare mention even a word about the secret of her origins."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If he dared to expose this, it would bring him no benefit at all."

Ji Feihua, however, shook her head and said: "It's not that simple; the child didn't understand back then, but looking back now, everything was arranged by Ling Jiazi. After going to the crown princess's place, she spent the happiest period of her life; the crown princess not only taught her music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also had Quan De'an teach her martial arts."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Later, her martial arts far surpassed Quan De'an's."

Ji Feihua chuckled, took a step forward, and gazed far to the south; her thoughts instantly returned to the past: "Her martial arts came from a book that Ling Jiazi gave her; she didn't think it was anything special at the time, only remembering that as Ling Jiazi's delivery approached, she grew increasingly anxious, and she once said that if she ever died, she hoped this child would treat her daughter kindly."

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, Ling Jiazi was indeed extraordinary; she knew the child's gender even before it was born.

Ji Feihua said: "The child agreed, and not long after she was transferred back to the palace. Later, hearing that Ling Jiazi had died in difficult childbirth, she discovered that the book Ling Jiazi had given her was actually a martial arts manual."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; it turned out that Ji Feihua's rise was inseparably linked to these people.

Ji Feihua said: "When Liu Yuzhang died, I personally examined the body and was certain he was dead; but later I had people dig up his grave in the eunuchs' tomb, only to find the corpse missing. That was when I realized Liu Yuzhang had used the 'golden cicada shedding its shell' ploy to escape right under my nose."

Hu Xiaotian sighed from the bottom of his heart; it turned out the one who had been kept in the dark all along was himself.

Ji Feihua said: "Don't sigh; Liu Yuzhang even fooled me, let alone you. After all, back then you regarded him as an elder in your heart; I killed him, so you must hate me, right?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded without hiding anything: "Back then I hated you to the bone, even contemplated killing you to avenge Eunuch Liu."

Ji Feihua couldn't help laughing, she clasped her hands behind her back and said: "From the moment you entered the palace I noticed you; I know exactly what tricks Quan De'an likes to play. I always thought the Jinling Xu family had done me a favor, and I always distinguish gratitude from grudge; I never thought of exterminating your Hu family root and branch. If I truly had that intention, how could I have spared your father and son?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "It seems we still have some affinity."

Ji Feihua couldn't help giving him a white look; this guy's cheek is really getting thicker and thicker.

Ji Feihua said: "My reason for acting against Hu Buwei was not because of his ties to Xichuan, but because I wanted to use him to stir the old lady of the Jinling Xu family; under those circumstances, if Xu Laotai were willing to speak up for the Hu family, I would surely show leniency, for at that time I believed the Chu clan owed the Xu clan a great debt of gratitude."

Hu Xiaotian said: "And now?"

Ji Feihua sighed: "Everything is a matter of cause and effect; without Xu Laotai's scheming, how could the Chu clan have ended up in such a miserable state? Worldly affairs are unpredictable; I once thought I could control everything, yet I never imagined that Hong Beimo, Mu Rongzhan, and Li Yuncong would join forces to ambush me, and Hong Beimo's martial arts surpassed my imagination."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Few in the world could escape alive from their three-way joint attack."

Ji Feihua smiled lightly: "Had it not been for that setback, I would not have discovered some of my own secrets."

As Hu Xiaotian leaned in to listen what secret it was, Ji Feihua stopped speaking and suddenly changed the subject: "You just told me that Da Yong rose to power by relying on the Heaven's Chosen One; that seems quite plausible."

Hu Xiaotian said: "That blue skull must belong to the earliest Heaven's Chosen One; perhaps it contains much information inside." As he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Ji Feihua's eyes, obviously hoping she would reveal more.

Ji Feihua said: "Although I can obtain some information from it, it's not complete." She easily saw the doubt on Hu Xiaotian's face and couldn't help laughing: "You don't need to stare at me like that; I am certainly not the Heaven's Chosen One you speak of!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "But you can read the information left in the skull; only a Heaven's Chosen One should have that ability."

Ji Feihua said: "I also don't know why this happened; if I were the Heaven's Chosen One you speak of, Hong Beimo and the others wouldn't be treating me this way. I think I merely possess the bloodline of the Heaven's Chosen One."

This explanation is reasonable; just as among mixed-blood individuals there are those who are half-blood, quarter-blood, or eighth-blood, it seems Ji Feihua is merely one such mixed-blood, not the offspring of two Heaven's Chosen Ones combined; moreover, Hu Xiaotian has seen Ji Feihua bleed more than once, and her blood is red.

Hu Xiaotian said: "To expose this secret, we must find the Heaven's Chosen One who is still alive in this world."

Ji Feihua said: "Even if there truly is a Heaven's Chosen One in this world, by now he would be nearly two hundred years old; do you really believe there could be someone that long-lived?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Anything is possible."

Ji Feihua said: "According to your theory, you also resemble a Heaven's Chosen One."

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile: "That skull buckled onto my head elicits no response; what kind of Heaven's Chosen One am I?" He understood deep down, just as he had not laid bare everything to Ji Feihua, she likewise kept things hidden from him; the information she gained from the blue skull must be considerable, otherwise she would not have so cheerfully handed it over to him to deliver to Hu Buwei. This does not mean Ji Feihua bears him ill will; rather, she still does not fully trust him. Or perhaps the skull's information hides a tremendous secret, and Ji Feihua has her reservations.

At that moment the sky was overcast with dark clouds, looking like it would snow again; Hu Xiaotian said: "Let's head back, Elder Brother Ji; care to join me for a drink in the city?" He had thought Ji Feihua would refuse, but unexpectedly she happily nodded: "Sure!"

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua had just entered Yongdu when they saw Zhangming Xia rushing over with a panicked expression.

Seeing Xia Zhangming's expression, Hu Xiaotian sensed trouble; he approached him and whispered: "What's the matter?"

Xia Zhangming glanced toward Ji Feihua, who had already stepped aside; he lowered his voice: "Miss Qin has encountered trouble."

Hu Xiaotian blinked: "What?" In his mind Qin Yutong was exceptionally clever, capable of handling any situation, so the chance of her mishap should be small. Yet Xia Zhangming would not lie to him; as for following Qin Yutong's movements, that had been his idea.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Just what happened?"

Xia Zhangming then gave a brief account: he had been ordered to shadow Qin Yutong, dispatching Black Kiss Birds to track her whereabouts; he saw Qin Yutong today visit Fan Mingyu and Fan Ling'er, father and daughter of the Shen Nong Society, but on her way back from there she was seized by a group of men; the Black Kiss Birds followed them all the way and discovered they had taken Qin Yutong to the Sword Palace.

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian could not help but angrily exclaim: "That Qiu Xian-guang has the gall to abduct someone in broad daylight!" He also felt puzzled; according to his understanding, Qin Yutong's martial arts should not be weak, so how could she be overcome so easily? Could it be that her abductors are top-tier masters?

Hu Xiaotian suppressed the urge to rush straight to the Sword Palace to demand Qiu Xian-guang return the person; instead he had Xia Zhangming quickly investigate the situation there, while he himself returned to Ji Feihua's side.

Ji Feihua calmly asked: "Are you running into trouble?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and told her what had happened.

Ji Feihua furrowed her brows and whispered: "Qin Yutong? Could she not be the favored disciple of Ren Tianqing from the Xuantian Pavilion?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "It's her!"

Ji Feihua said: "Although the Sword Palace is not insignificant in power, they actually dare to challenge the Xuantian Pavilion and openly abduct his disciple?" Ren Tianqing is not only highly skilled in medicine, his martial arts have long reached the grandmaster level; even Ji Feihua back then felt a degree of apprehension toward him. (To be continued~^~.)