Chapter 1655

Hu Xiaotian's mind was a haze of mist; even though he recognized Qin Yutong, he could not be certain whether she would be hostile to him, and he wondered if the situation before him was a plot between Ren Tianqing and Qin Yutong—no wonder his suspicions ran deep, after all Ren Tianqing was Qin Yutong's master, and just now that mysterious woman had displayed myriad transformations.

The woman wearing the silver mask giggled and said, "Didn't I tell you? How could your master bear to harm you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Qin Yutong, what exactly is going on?" Perhaps only Qin Yutong understood what had happened here; he still harbored another thought, hoping to judge her involvement by watching her expression change.

Qin Yutong seemed not to have heard his question at all, even too lazy to glance at him, still staring at the silver‑masked woman and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you are the owner of Meizhuang!"

The silver‑masked woman blinked slightly, her dark eyes fixed on Qin Yutong as she said, "Who I am has nothing to do with you."

Hu Xiaotian secretly admired Qin Yutong's cleverness; she must have realized the current situation, and even if she tried to explain, he might not believe her, so she simply refused to answer his question and instead exposed the woman's identity, thereby proving her own innocence from the side.

Upon hearing the title "owner of Meizhuang," Hu Xiaotian felt a flicker of familiarity; after thinking carefully, he seemed to recall that Ji Feihua's ledger mentioned this name, noting that the owner of Meizhuang was Zhou Ruiyuan's red‑petal confidante, and Zhou Ruiyuan's wife's death seemed related to this woman; if Ren Tianqing's earlier words were correct, then Qin Yutong's true identity was Zhou Ruiyuan's daughter, making the owner of Meizhuang the enemy who killed her mother.

Even facing the enemy who killed her mother, Qin Yutong's expression showed no trace of agitation. She whispered, "What merit do I have that the Wuxian Sect master would personally act against me?"

Hearing this, Hu Xiaotian's heart jumped again—the owner of Meizhuang is the Wuxian Sect master, who is none other than Xi Yan's master; no wonder she could impersonate Xi Yan so perfectly.

The woman gave a cold laugh and said, "You really think you're that important?" She lightly waved her hand; from beneath her feet a tiny emerald‑transparent spider swiftly climbed along its silk toward the web, her icy eyes turning to Hu Xiaotian as she said, "If you want her to live, hand over the *Ten Thousand Forms of Heaven and Man*!" By doing so she admitted she was the owner of Meizhuang.

Hu Xiaotian watched the tiny spider rapidly approach Qin Yutong, thinking to himself that the lovelier the poisonous creature, the more potent its venom; he must quickly rescue Qin Yutong from danger. First he needed to make Qin Yutong understand the situation—perhaps she still did not know her hypocritical master had betrayed her—so he said, "My apologies, my apologies, so you are the owner of Meizhuang."

The owner of Meizhuang snorted coldly and said, "You know me?"

Hu Xiaotian grinned and said, "Naturally I've heard of you; the owner of Meizhuang is infamous—seducing others' husbands, destroying families, wanton and promiscuous, everyone can have her. Such a famous figure, how could I not know?" He deliberately provoked her.

The owner of Meizhuang saw through his scheme and could not help but giggle, saying, "It sounds like you do know something about me." Her pair of orchid‑colored eyes actually flashed a hint of allure.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Ren Tianqing is also your old lover, isn't he? One of you in the light, the other in the dark, utterly devoid of heavenly conscience, committing every evil, even using your own disciple—you two are a pair of wolf‑hearted dog‑lungs; together you're a perfect match, truly a perfect pair!" His words were not only meant to anger the owner of Meizhuang, but also to tell Qin Yutong that the true betrayer who set this trap for her was her master, Ren Tianqing, the head of Xuantian Guan.

The owner of Meizhuang nodded and said, "In your eyes perhaps only Qin Yutong counts as a chaste and heroic woman; I will let you see what her true nature is." One after another, emerald spiders crawled along the silk toward the web; from afar the silk linking the web turned emerald‑transparent, and the green hue painted by the spiders rapidly approached Qin Yutong at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Qin Yutong sighed softly and said, "When your master passed down the *Creation Heart Classic* to you, I doubt he intended it for you to do evil."

Hearing this, the owner of Meizhuang started, her eyes filled with astonished light: "You… you are who?"

Qin Yutong said, "I knew I wasn't mistaken—through Ren Tianqing I can indeed find you!" Her robes suddenly ignited.

Seeing the scene before him, Hu Xiaotian gasped, but Qin Yutong appeared like a phoenix reborn from fire; beneath her burning robes she wore a deep‑blue tight‑fitting warrior outfit, the flames igniting the silk, she flowed like water escaping the earth, easily breaking free from the web's bonds.

Hu Xiaotian reacted instantly, raising his light sword and slashing toward the owner of Meizhuang; the blade's energy surged to its maximum in an instant, his inner force poured into it, and the combined force sent a blade of light two zhang long sweeping toward the owner of Meizhuang in midair.

Facing Hu Xiaotian's heaven‑shattering assault, the owner of Meizhuang did not dare be careless; her body turned into a puff of black smoke while a cluster of golden light in her hand scattered toward Hu Xiaotian.

Although Hu Xiaotian's light sword was swift, it still did not wound the owner of Meizhuang; it only cut the afterimage she left on the silk, the silk was severed by the sword, and the emerald‑green tiny spiders on the silk fell like water onto the ground, thick and countless; in the void golden light flickered—these were the Blood Shadow Golden Toads thrown by the owner of Meizhuang.

Hu Xiaotian drove away the poisonous insects with his light sword.

Qin Yutong put on deerskin gloves, took from her waist pouch a pellet the size of a longan, shot it into the air; the pellet had already been fired when it emitted a chilling cold, exploding among the Blood Shadow Golden Toads, a frigid chill spreading outward; the Blood Shadow Golden Toads encountered rapid freezing, frost forming on their surfaces one after another, falling to the ground; the ground temperature dropped sharply, instantly condensing a layer of white frost that froze the countless crawling emerald‑green tiny spiders.

Seeing the sight before him, Hu Xiaotian blinked involuntarily; Qin Yutong was not simple! Judging by the scene, even if he had not come, she would surely have a way to escape; she stayed only because she wanted to uncover the truth.

Hu Xiaotian turned to Qin Yutong, his face full of questions.

Qin Yutong said calmly, "Don't ask me anything, and I won't tell you anything."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, scanned Qin Yutong from head to toe, and said softly, "You have a great figure!"

Qin Yutong never expected this rascal to utter such nonsense; her pretty face flushed, she stepped forward, and Hu Xiaotian watched her curvy back recede, sighing inwardly—he never imagined Qin Yutong in tight clothing would be so alluring; the fabric of this garment was very special, its texture like countless fine pearls arranged together; just now he had personally seen Qin Yutong use fire to burn the web and break free, her outer robes burned to ashes, otherwise she would not have revealed this close‑fitting armor.

Hu Xiaotian followed Qin Yutong forward, stepping on the countless frozen spiders, instantly crushing their frozen bodies; he still felt uneasy, fearing there might be living creatures on the ground, so he occasionally glanced down.

The owner of Meizhuang's voice seemed to come from all directions; she said softly, "I never thought even Ren Tianqing could misjudge at times; since you know the *Creation Heart Classic*, you must have heard of the Thousand Illusions Bewitching Sound—today I will let you both experience it properly."

Qin Yutong transmitted via voice‑only to Hu Xiaotian: "Gather your mind, absolutely do not let outside sounds disturb you."

Seeing her speak so seriously, Hu Xiaotian quickly covered both ears.

Qin Yutong said, "Useless."

Hu Xiaotian suggested, "Why don't we retreat first and talk later?" Having already found Qin Yutong, he felt there was no need to continue the adventure.

Qin Yutong said, "If you want to leave, go ahead; I still have something to finish."

Hu Xiaotian could not help but think of Qin Yutong's mother; if her mother truly died because of the owner of Meizhuang, Qin Yutong staying to take revenge is understandable; he said softly, "A gentleman may wait ten years to take revenge; the terrain inside this Sword Heart Cave is complex—let's leave this place first and talk later."

Qin Yutong pressed her lips together.

Hu Xiaotian said, "You really intend to stay and listen to the Thousand Illusions Bewitching Sound?"

Qin Yutong finally nodded; the two turned and walked toward the cave's exit, all around came the owner of Meizhuang's gloomy laughter, her voice though not loud, clearly reached every corner: "Now I finally understand—you joined Xuantian Guan and became Ren Tianqing's disciple only to avenge Qin Se, that wretched woman."

Although Hu Xiaotian's hearing was superb, this voice seemed to come from all sides, making it impossible to pinpoint its source, let alone locate where the owner of Meizhuang hid.

Qin Yutong said softly, "You betrayed your sect, violated the oath you once swore—aren't you afraid of heavenly punishment?"

"Afraid! Naturally afraid, you are exactly like Qin Se, that wretched woman—she willingly fell, disregarded her status to marry beneath her, she betrayed the sect, she broke the oath, that is why she died, that is why heaven will not spare her!"

"Shut up!" Qin Yutong rarely became this angry.

The owner of Meizhuang sighed and said, "You have always wanted to know the truth, haven't you? Then I will tell you the truth—your mother willingly gave up her martial arts rather than return to the sect, yet she never found happiness belonging to her; she did not commit suicide, with her temperament how could she suicide? Do you know who killed her?"

Qin Yutong's delicate body trembled slightly; in the darkness Hu Xiaotian sensed her great emotional fluctuation, reached out and grasped her wrist, reminding her to stay calm at such a moment.

Second update uploaded, more updates tonight—brothers with monthly tickets don't stop! (To be continued…~^~)