Chapter 1746

Li Wuyou's eye rims reddened, two lines of crystal tears slid down her pale pretty face; she quickly turned her head away and whispered, 'I haven't been crying!'

Hu Xiaotian took out his own handkerchief and handed it to her; Li Wuyou discreetly wiped away her tears, and after regaining composure she whispered softly, 'Here is a list of generals my father deemed loyal before his death; most of them have already been killed or imprisoned, and I have specially marked a few—Uncle Chang can get in touch with them.'

Hu Xiaotian took the list from Li Wuyou's hand, glanced over it briefly, and one name caught his attention—Yan Huacheng, the adopted son of Zhang Ziqian and one of the most outstanding young generals of Xichuan; later, after failing in the attack on Yunyang, he was held accountable, but as it turns out he is still in Xizhou.

Hu Xiaotian carefully put away the list and whispered, 'Is there any way to get in touch with Xi Yan?'

Li Wuyou shook her head, worry showing in her lovely eyes, and sighed softly, 'Actually I am worried about her too; perhaps you know, the Wuxian Sect has always maintained a tacit understanding with the Li family, but for some reason a conflict arose—before the attack on Yunyang, the Wuxian Sect had already severed ties with our side, meaning I haven't seen Xi Yan since then.'

Hu Xiaotian originally wanted to ask her which of her and Xi Yan was the real Li Wuyou, but he swallowed the words as they rose to his lips, after all now is not the time to inquire after the truth.

Yan Huacheng sat, disheveled and grimy, in the corner of the city wall; the blazing sun overhead had long since tanned his skin dark, and his tiger eyes seemed dried of moisture, lacking any luster. After the defeat at Yunyang, Commander Li Yan pushed all the blame onto him, although Li Yan ultimately bore the main responsibility, Yan Huacheng could not escape imprisonment, and only three months ago was he released; though he had regained his freedom, he had been stripped of all military posts, and aside from drinking all day, Yan Huacheng did not know what else he could do.

A shadow fell across his face; Yan Huacheng lifted his head and saw a young beggar standing directly before him, silently staring at him, with six more beggars not far behind that one. His first reaction was that he might have inadvertently taken over someone else's turf; lately, especially after the Xichuan earthquake, the number of beggars in the Xizhou area had surged, and these beggars, fighting over territory, constantly clashed. Yan Huacheng silently lamented when he had sunk so low as to be mistaken for a beggar himself. He shook his head, pushed aside the empty wine jar beside him, staggered to his feet, and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, the young beggar still blocked his path, smiling, 'General Yan, someone is looking for you!'

Hearing the stranger call out his name so directly, Yan Huacheng felt a twinge of surprise—could anyone really recognize him in this decrepit state?

After giving the address, the young beggar led his companions away.

Watching the backs of those few beggars, Yan Huacheng wondered to himself how they could have found him, and how they knew he would certainly go there.

Everyone has curiosity, and Yan Huacheng is no exception; especially since his debauched life has been taken over by alcohol, deep down he also yearns to find something that will free him from his present condition. After a brief hesitation, he decided to go and see—even if it were a trap, at least it would let him know that someone in this world still thinks of him.

In the afternoon, the Star Bamboo Garden was tranquil; rows of bamboo lined the path, and a breeze stirred the leaves, producing a soft rustling that was not noisy but rather added to the serenity. Walking out of the bamboo grove, Yan Huacheng suddenly found himself in an open clearing where a bamboo hexagonal pavilion stood, its eaves curling upward, its craftsmanship simple yet exquisite. A man dressed in light-gray linen martial attire sat in the pavilion sipping tea, his bare arms muscular and solid. His features were handsome, his bearing majestic—a stark contrast to the listless Yan Huacheng.

Yan Huacheng instantly recognized the man as Hu Xiaotian, wondering how he dared to appear in Xizhou.

Hu Xiaotian waved and smiled, 'Brother Huacheng, why did it take you so long to come over?'

Looking at that fellow's beaming smile, Yan Huacheng thought to himself, 'Do I even know you well?' Nevertheless he walked over and said in a low voice, 'If I'm not mistaken, you are the Prince Zhenhai of Dakang?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'We haven't exactly never met—sit!' He made an inviting gesture.

Yan Huacheng sat opposite him; Hu Xiaotian could already smell the strong alcohol on him from afar, picked up the teapot and poured him a cup of tea, then got straight to the point: 'Brother Huacheng, you're hard to find—fortunately Miss Wu pointed the way.'

Yan Huacheng looked puzzled, 'Miss Wu?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'The Grand Marshal's youngest daughter, Li Wuyou!'

Yan Huacheng grew more bewildered; although he knew that Li Tianheng indeed had a young daughter named Li Wuyou, he had never actually seen her, so how could Li Wuyou know him? And why would she give Hu Xiaotian directions? Was any of this true, or was Hu Xiaotian deliberately lying?

Seeing from his expression that he didn't believe him, Hu Xiaotian lifted his teacup, took a sip, and asked, 'Do you know that before the Grand Marshal was assassinated, he had already decided to lead Xichuan back to Dakang?'

Yan Huacheng shook his head: 'I left long ago.' After the defeat at Yunyang he was pursued and imprisoned, and although he was released only a few months later, he had not seen Li Tianheng since his incarceration, so naturally he would not know of that decision.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Xichuan is mired in a quagmire; the Grand Marshal could not bear to see its soldiers and civilians plunged into misery, so he finally decided to return to Dakang, but he encountered unprecedented resistance.'

Yan Huacheng stared at Hu Xiaotian and asked, 'What exactly brings you here?'

'This time I have come by order of the Dakang court to specially confer posthumous royal title upon the Grand Marshal!'

Upon hearing this, Yan Huacheng slammed the table and rose in anger, 'The Grand Marshal was killed by Dakang assassins—you're crying crocodile tears, pretending compassion!' The table shuddered from his heavy blow; the teacup on it jumped off the surface and overturned, spilling tea across the table.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze fell on the overturned teacup, the corner of his mouth twitching into a faint smile: 'If Dakang truly wanted to take advantage of the situation, why bother sending envoys? They could just march straight in—do you think Xichuan could hold them off?'

'Dakang sent you here merely to kill two birds with one stone, using the anger of Xichuan's soldiers and civilians toward Dakang to tear your envoy to pieces!'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: 'After the Grand Marshal's assassination, the aides and commanders led by Yao Wenqing were suppressed in a short time—can you explain the reason for that?'

Without waiting for Yan Huacheng to answer, Hu Xiaotian continued, 'The Grand Marshal's bones were not yet cold, and Li Honghan rushed to cremate his remains; lacking evidence, he accused Dakang of being the mastermind behind it—but why?' He fixed his gaze on Yan Huacheng's eyes, pressing aggressively: 'If the facts really are so, why would Miss Wu tell me the names of those commanders the Grand Marshal trusted most in life? And why would she risk herself to help me?' He then handed over a list to Yan Huacheng.

Yan Huacheng's gaze showed some hesitation, but he ultimately took it; upon seeing the handwriting on the list, he could confirm it was indeed written by the Grand Marshal himself. After reading it all, his eye rims reddened—he had simply not imagined that deep down, Li Tianheng still considered him trustworthy.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'According to what I've learned, Li Honghan has consistently opposed returning to Dakang; in this matter he may have come into serious conflict with the Grand Marshal, and after the Grand Marshal's death his behavior has been extremely abnormal.'

Yan Huacheng whispered, 'Are you saying he killed the Grand Marshal?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I won't speak without evidence, but the situation in Xichuan is very strange now; we had thought that after the Grand Marshal's death there might be some turmoil within the army, yet instead we have encountered unprecedented calm.'

Yan Huacheng said, 'Nowadays more than half of the commanders in Xichuan's army are unfamiliar to me.' He tactfully told Hu Xiaotian that the Xichuan officers had undergone a large-scale reshuffle; the defeat at Yunyang was the catalyst, after which Li Yan fell from favor, Li Tianheng promoted Yang Haoran, and Yang Haoran together with Li Honghan jointly carried out a large-scale overhaul of the army. It was this overhaul that produced the current state of the military, and the matters Hu Xiaotian mentioned made Yan Huacheng realize something was off; he began to sense the unusual nature of it all.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Recently the State of Tianxiang and Xichuan reached an agreement, with Tianxiang willing to lend grain to Xichuan free of charge to tide over the crisis; as far as I know, Xichuan and Tianxiang previously had little contact, yet Tianxiang and I have formed an alliance, and the agreement they have made with Xichuan amounts to a betrayal of our alliance's original purpose.'

Yan Huacheng slowly sat down, his eyes scrutinizing Hu Xiaotian; he still suspected that Hu Xiaotian was saying all this merely out of self-interest, but who in the world isn't?

Hu Xiaotian said, 'There is nothing in the world given for nothing; if Tianxiang were not to gain enormous benefits, why would it make such a sacrifice?'

'Are you suspecting that Tianxiang plotted this affair?'

Hu Xiaotian smiled, 'I don't know who plotted the assassination of the Grand Marshal, but one thing I can be certain of is that Li Honghan must know the inside story, and he is certainly being used by someone.' He paused, leaned forward a little, and lowered his voice: 'In reality, command of Xichuan's army is already in Yang Haoran's hands; Li Honghan has actually been sidelined.'

Yan Huacheng pressed his lips together, clenched his fists, and the muscles throughout his body tensed; his heart filled with anger—if Hu Xiaotian's speculation were true, then Li Honghan would absolutely be a wolf-hearted, dog-lunged creature, capable of killing his own father for power, capable of doing something as bestial as that.

I have something to do tonight, so that's it for the First Update. (To be continued~^~)