Chapter 173

Hu Xiaotian said, "I say, fellow clansman, although we are fellow clansmen, you are a thief and I am an official; since ancient times officials and thieves cannot coexist, do you understand?"

Hu Jinniu said, "There are also cases of officials and bandits being one family!" This guy had made up his mind, thickening his skin to try to curry favor with Hu Xiaotian, hoping that the other side, out of consideration for their clan ties, would not harm his own life.

Hu Xiaotian said, "One stroke cannot write two Hu characters; since we are fellow clansmen, I cannot be too heartless."

That is, at first glance Sir Hu is someone who values loyalty and family, righteous; the moment I saw you, I felt you are especially righteous. Hu Jinniu laid on the flattery without hesitation.

Hu Xiaotian said: "That's because you don't know me; actually I'm usually the kind who doesn't even acknowledge my own relatives."

Hu Jinniu was stunned for a moment, then laughed again: "Impossible, I'm an excellent judge of character; at first glance I can tell you're not that sort, and our Hu family doesn't have that sort."

Hu Xiaotian also laughed heartily, lightly patted Hu Jinniu's shoulder and said: "I say, kinsman, you might have misjudged this time, so let's cooperate—I'll ask, you answer; as soon as I get a satisfactory answer, I'll let you go. What do you think?"

Hu Jinniu was half‑believing, half‑doubting, but he appeared quite sincere: "Alright, since we are kinsmen, I will naturally hold nothing back and tell you everything."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Where are you from?"

Hu Jinniu said: "We're hunters from the surrounding mountains; we hunt for a living, and when there's no game we turn to banditry." This fellow may look simple‑minded, but he's not lacking in wits.

Hu Xiaotian gave a hehe cold laugh: "Trying to beat around the bush with me? You think if you don't say it I won't know? You lot are all horse bandits from Heavenly Wolf Mountain!"

Hu Jinniu stared in shock: "How do you know?" He blurted it out, and as soon as he spoke he instantly regretted it; nine times out of ten Hu Xiaotian was just bluffing him.

Hu Xiaotian naturally was guessing; in fact, while he had just been locked up, he had already suspected that this gang of bandits likely came from Heavenly Wolf Mountain. The Heavenly Wolf Mountain horse bandits are the strongest force in the Qingyun Xian area, and he secretly felt things were not looking good—having just taken office a few days ago, he had effectively offended both the lawful and the unlawful sides.

Hu Jinniu said: "Sir, Heavenly Wolf Mountain and Qingyun Xian have always kept to themselves; if we weren't desperate to treat the young master's illness we wouldn't have resorted to this. I swear on heaven, we kidnapped you tonight solely to save a life, with no intention of harming you."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and asked: "The injured one is your young master, right?"

At this point Hu Jinniu realized he had let slip, but with nothing left to hide he lowered his head and replied: "Our young master is Yan Boguang."

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself: "That name sounds familiar; after a moment I recalled that a notorious lecher also bore the name Boguang—Yan Boguang? Hehe, I'll make you into Tian Boguang." This time he secretly tampered with Yan Boguang's body. Yan Boguang will spend the rest of his life unable to perform conjugal duties due to insufficient corpus cavernosum engorgement, and Hu Xiaotian, thinking this, couldn't help feeling secretly pleased. One might say it shouldn't be done, for it violates a doctor's ethics, but the past is past and the present is present; circumstances have changed, so moral standards naturally shift as well. Applying yesterday's morality to today's affairs would simply not work; if one cannot adapt, one ends up with no way out.

Hu Xiaotian then asked about the purpose of this gang's infiltration of Qingyun Xian.

Hu Jinniu said: "My third brother and I came just to look for the young master; aside from that we have no other purpose."

Hu Xiaotian didn't believe Hu Jinniu's words and gave a cold laugh: "Then what was the purpose of your young master's visit this time? And how did he get injured?"

Hu Jinniu said: "I don't know; the young master didn't say." He wasn't a fool—whenever Hu Xiaotian asked about Heavenly Wolf Mountain matters he gave no details, evading the questions. He also knew about Yan Boguang's situation. But even though he knew Yan Boguang's purpose, he could not easily betray him.

As dawn approached, Hu Xiaotian, having stayed up all night, couldn't help yawning repeatedly and naturally lost interest in continuing the questioning. He rose and said: "You go ahead and think it over; I'll ask you more once I remember something."

Hu Jinniu stared in shock: "Kinsman, you just said you'd let me go, didn't you?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I did say that, but I didn't say now."

He left the woodshed and saw Murong Feiyan practicing sword in the courtyard; in the morning light the blade flashed, graceful as a startled dragon. As the saying goes, "Arrive like thunder, cease like the sea's calm blue." Hu Xiaotian stood aside, clapping enthusiastically; Murong Xiaonü's sword skill kept improving, and for some reason, besides admiration, he felt a strong urge to conquer. Realizing he was feeling a bit unsatisfied, Hu Xiaotian noted that at sixteen or seventeen, with his blood vigorous, it was the prime of youthful vigor.

Murong Feiyan sheathed her long sword, reversed the blade and hid it behind her back; her pretty face was flushed, resembling a matchless rosy dawn on the horizon, looking especially lovely.

Hu Xiaotian walked up with a steady gait, shaking his head and swaying as he praised: "Great swordsmanship, truly great; the unity of man and sword is nothing more than this."

Having interacted with him for a while, Murong Feiyan, upon hearing his praise, first doubted his sincerity, then quickly retorted: "You're the lowly one, a despicable person."

Hu Xiaotian, scolded out of the blue, stared in shock: "Girl, you dare insult a superior?"

Murong Feiyan said: "As a superior, if I don't lead by example, why shouldn't I scold? Know that bitter medicine cures illness, frank advice benefits conduct; I scold you for your own good."

"Uh… girl, how did you become so sharp‑tongued?"

"I learned it from you; speaking of sharp tongues, in front of you, Sir Hu, this humble girl willingly bows lower."

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing; Murong Feiyan, constantly exposed to him, has also become increasingly eloquent.

Murong Feiyan gave him a sideways glance: "Laugh? It's a miracle you can still laugh—who nearly got you killed last night?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I've always been blessed with great fortune and destiny; I'm not that easy to kill." He failed to mention Murong Feiyan's timely rescue.

Murong Feiyan asked: "What if I hadn't arrived in time?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "Even if I had to retreat ten thousand steps, I still have Yan Boguang as a hostage; they threaten my life, and I can likewise repay them in kind—just hold a small knife to Yan Boguang's throat and they'll have to obey."

Murong Feiyan snorted, thinking to herself that this trick was nothing special; back when Hu Xiaotian was in the capital he had used this very method to seize her close friend Tang Qingxuan, leaving the three Tang brothers and their entourage of over a hundred helpless. Although the means aren't honorable, she couldn't deny its effectiveness. Even though she constantly tries to show her superiority in front of Hu Xiaotian, she also understands that her edge comes solely from her martial prowess, and most of the time martial arts alone can't solve everything. A cunning, deceitful, scheming person like Hu Xiaotian—even with modest martial skill—can still turn danger to safety in adversity.

She glanced toward the woodshed and softly asked: "How did your talk with the kinsman go?" As she spoke she couldn't help wanting to laugh; what a coincidence that in this place Hu Xiaotian happened to meet his distant relative.

Hu Xiaotian really felt a mix of laughter and tears; it seemed the kinsman had decided something, and he whispered: "I've gotten some information, though probably not all." He then briefly told Murong Feiyan what he had just asked.

Upon hearing that these people were actually Heavenly Wolf Mountain horse bandits, Murong Feiyan was also startled. She hadn't expected these bandits to be so brazen; they sneaked into the Wan manor intending to abduct the Wan family's daughter‑in‑law, and on top of that they dared to hold a local official hostage.

Murong Feiyan pondered a moment, then said: "What do you plan to do? Release him or send him back to the government office?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "First keep him temporarily locked in the woodshed." His purpose was to let Zhou Batian meet Hu Jinniu and see if he could obtain anything from him. Other matters would wait until tomorrow—though saying "tomorrow" is moot since it's already daylight. Hu Xiaotian yawned nonstop; Murong Feiyan, who had likewise stayed up all night, remained full of vigor. This girl obviously had excess energy; after a sleepless night she showed no sign of fatigue, and she voluntarily offered to go to the government office to inquire whether any word of last night's events had leaked.

Not long after Murong Feiyan left, Hu Xiaotian was about to go back to sleep when he heard knocking at the door; it was barely dawn, and under normal circumstances no one would come calling at this hour—disturbing someone's sweet dreams is rather impolite.

Liang Da Zhuang had already woken up and hurried to open the door; if it were an ordinary person he would have just sent them away, but upon opening the door he saw Wan Bingping, who shouted loudly: "Sir Hu, are you up yet?"

Upon hearing Wan Bingping's voice, Hu Xiaotian nodded and let Liang Da Zhuang let him in, replying irritably: "I haven't slept yet!"

Wan Bingping entered with his steward Wan Changchun in quick steps, his head drenched in sweat, his face showing clear anxiety; one look and you knew big trouble had come. In fact, ever since he had known Wan Bingping, this fellow had never brought him anything good.

Wan Bingping panted: "Sir Hu, something terrible has happened, something terrible!"

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed this jinx for his bad luck, running over at the crack of dawn just to yell nonsense? If something's awful, what's it to me? For now, Wan Bingping is still useful; if anyone else carried on like this, Hu Xiaotian would have already kicked them out the door. He yawned and said: "Wan Yuanwai, what's got you so panicked?"

Wan Bo Ping wiped his sweat while saying, "Speak inside the house."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, leading him into his own room; Wan Bo Ping, upon entering the room, let out a long sigh and said: "Sir Hu, my life is so bitter, this time you must help me..." As he spoke, he burst into tears.

Hu Xiaotian had known Wan Bo Ping for a while, and had never seen him behave with such loss of composure; even when his second son Wan Ting Sheng was at death's door, this person could still maintain basic composure, but now he seems to have completely lost his calm. Hu Xiaotian said: "Wan Yuanwai, don't panic, calm down and speak slowly." (To be continued...)