Chapter 1765: and ===GLOSSARY===

On the spider silk, something seemed to be flowing; Hu Xiaotian stared and saw that they were all color‑changing sticky shadow insects, which could alter their color according to the environment. He had no time to think further; the most pressing matter was to escape the Scarlet Flame Cave. He dared not risk pulling Xi Yan from that sphere—she had lost her mind, and who knew what outrageous act she might commit.

Hu Xiaotian secretly drew a breath, then looked around for a foothold on the rock wall. According to his plan, he would first find a foothold, then lift the sphere and bring Xi Yan along to escape the danger.

Just as Hu Xiaotian was looking around, a silver thread shot out from the side, striking the transparent sphere that held Xi Yan. It stuck to the sphere, then quickly retracted, pulling the sphere toward the rock wall on the right.

Hu Xiaotian reacted instantly, shouting as he pressed the button on his left arm; the wing armor lifted him upward. He was still unskilled in operating the wing armor—though his martial arts were strong, relying solely on his own strength to fly free of the spider web was difficult. The armor's thrust could help him break free of the web's restraint. Once he had risen several zhang, he immediately shut off the armor's power, relying on the Art of Soaring to glide within the Scarlet Flame Cave, precisely controlling his body with inner force. With the aid of the two wings, his Art of Soaring was effectively multiplied. At that moment, the sphere had already been dragged into a pitch‑black opening on the side.

How could Hu Xiaotian stand by and watch Xi Yan be snatched away before his eyes? He folded his wings and dove after the sphere into the cave mouth.

As soon as he entered the cave, he felt a chilling wind; under a hazy orchid‑colored glow, Granny Shadow stood there ghost‑like, her right hand like a ghost's claw gripping Xi Yan's snow‑white throat. She stared at Hu Xiaotian and said gloomily, 'The Wuxian Sect has searched for decades for this rare treasure, yet you have obtained it, brat—your luck is indeed good.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, 'Granny Shadow, if you like it, I'll give you this set of wing armor.'

Granny Shadow gave a hollow chuckle, then let her gaze fall upon Xi Yan's delicately beautiful face; her sharp nails lightly slid across Xi Yan's neck.

Hu Xiaotian secretly broke into a sweat; Granny Shadow's nails could at any moment cut Xi Yan's tender skin. A cut wouldn't be terrible, but he feared her nails might be poisoned.

Granny Shadow sighed, 'What wing armor? Do you think I'm coveting your things?'

Hu Xiaotian replied, 'Granny Shadow, as an exalted senior, you certainly wouldn't value such things.'

Granny Shadow said, 'Stop the sweet talk, brat. Where exactly did you learn your Void Grand Technique?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Granny Shadow, don't listen to Meizhuang's nonsense—I don't know any Void Grand Technique.' He worried that Granny Shadow might develop designs on the Void Grand Technique, even using Xi Yan's life as leverage to force him to hand it over.

Granny Shadow said, 'You'd better tell me the truth, or I'll snap her neck right before your eyes.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'It's a eunuch!'

'A eunuch?' Granny Shadow's face filled with bewilderment, her eyes full of doubt.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'It was a eunuch named Li Yuncong from the Dakang imperial palace who gave it to me.'

Granny Shadow said, 'Li Yuncong? I've never heard of that person.'

Hu Xiaotian secretly chuckled; Li Yuncong had hidden in the Dakang palace for years—how could you have heard of him? Besides, Li Yuncong is already dead, so there's no need for him to conceal anything. He said, 'He hid in the Dakang palace to escape his enemies' pursuit; his real name is actually Mu Yuming.'

Upon hearing this, Granny Shadow's whole body trembled with abnormal agitation: 'What did you say? What did you say?'

Hu Xiaotian had never seen the gloomy, cold Granny Shadow show such agitation; her expression made it clear she must know Li Yuncong. He suddenly recalled the words Li Yuncong and Bu Wu had spoken before they fought to the death, each taking the other's life. The enmity between these two brothers stemmed from a woman—likely Bu Wu's wife, Li Yuncong's sister‑in‑law Hongying. Could Granny Shadow be Hongying? Could she be the beauty whose presence caused the brothers to tear each other apart?

Looking at this wrinkled, crane‑haired old woman before him, Hu Xiaotian could hardly imagine her youthful appearance; yet he knew that Li Yuncong, in his youth, had been a suave, handsome, and elegant gentleman, and according to Bu Wu, this fellow's vital essence was extraordinarily strong—such a charismatic man would naturally favor a peerless beauty. Seeing Granny Shadow now, one could only lament how beauty fades with age.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'It was Mu Yuming who taught me the Void Grand Technique.'

Granny Shadow, finally managing to calm her agitation, asked, 'Do you know where he is?'

Hu Xiaotian had intended to announce Li Yuncong's death, but seeing Granny Shadow's recent agitation, he changed his mind—if she learned that her old lover was dead, she might do something irrational. He wasn't afraid of her going mad, but feared that her madness would endanger Xi Yan. So he nodded and said, 'He had always hidden in the Dakang palace, but later his enemies tracked him down.'

Granny Shadow, hearing this, could hardly wait: 'Who is his enemy?' She already suspected who it was, but still wanted confirmation from Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Bu Wu the monk!'

Granny Shadow stared, of course she couldn't possibly know a monk imprisoned for decades at the Heavenly Dragon Temple. She said in a low voice, 'What is Bu Wu's secular name?'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head. 'I'm not sure; I only know he bears a deep grudge against Li Yuncong—indeed, he must hate Mu Yuming. I also don't know why they became enemies.'

Granny Shadow asked, 'Do you know where they are?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'The last time I saw Li Yuncong was in the Dakang palace; at that moment Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing, and Mu Rongzhan joined forces against me, but thanks to my master's help I managed to escape, and it was then that Bu Wu appeared—originally it was Ren Tianqing who had told Bu Wu my master's true identity, causing my master to flee the Dakang palace to avoid Bu Wu, and I have not seen him since.' In this matter Hu Xiaotian was half‑truthful, for Li Yuncong, who had taught him the Void Grand Technique, could also be considered his master. By bringing this up before Granny Shadow, he hoped she would love the person and thus love their associates, so that if she really were Mu Yuming's former lover Hongying, she might spare him out of regard for his being Li Yuncong's disciple.

Granny Shadow said, 'Those three actually joined forces?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Ren Tianqing's true identity is actually Meng Zizai—don't you know this, Granny Shadow?'

Granny Shadow furrowed her brows, beginning to believe Hu Xiaotian's words.

Hu Xiaotian added, 'At the start of the year, Ren Tianqing and Meizhuang's lady joined forces to seize Qin Yutong, hoping to use her to obtain the Heaven‑Man Myriad Images Diagram from me.'

Granny Shadow seemed uninterested in the Heaven‑Man Myriad Images Diagram, and pressed further, 'You just said the sect leader caused Qin Se's death?'

Hu Xiaotian nodded. 'I've only heard about this.'

'Who did you hear it from?'

'It's Qin Yutong, daughter of the Dakang prime minister Zhou Ruiyuan!'

Granny Shadow said, 'How could she know something from so long ago?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'When they were arguing, I happened to be present; I heard that Qin Yutong's mother Qin Se, Ren Tianqing, and Meizhuang's lady were originally senior‑junior disciples of the same master. Their master sent Qin Se to Dakang to approach Zhou Ruiyuan and investigate internal affairs, but unexpectedly Qin Se fell in love with Zhou Ruiyuan, later married him, and soon became pregnant.'

Granny Shadow sighed, 'That's true, except that she and Zhou Ruiyuan had not yet married when she became pregnant; they only wed after she was already carrying Zhou Ruiyuan's child.'

Hu Xiaotian inwardly sighed; little did he expect that Zhou Ruiyuan and Qin Se also had the child before marriage. He continued, 'Thus their master sent Meizhuang to seduce Zhou Ruiyuan, to drive a wedge between the couple.'

Granny Shadow slowly shook her head. 'Impossible—A Se is the Sect Leader Qin's own daughter; how could she bear to kill her? Moreover, Zhou Ruiyuan is exceptionally talented and accomplished at a young age; seeing his daughter have such a good match, how could the Sect Leader bring herself to destroy it?'

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; Granny Shadow shouldn't be lying, so it must be Meizhuang's lady who is lying—she is the one who killed Qin Se.

Granny Shadow spoke dimly, 'When the Sect Leader Qin learned of Qin Se's suicide, she was grief‑stricken to the point of despair, suddenly vanished for several years, and when news of her finally surfaced seven years later, the Sect Leader Qin had died on Snow‑Lofty Ridge.'

Hu Xiaotian asked, 'How did she die?'

Granny Shadow gritted her teeth and said, 'She was secretly murdered!' She slowly released Xi Yan's neck and rose to her feet.

Hu Xiaotian saw a rare opportunity, quietly approached Xi Yan, held her in his arms, checked her breath, and was assured she still had life.

Granny Shadow, her back to Hu Xiaotian, said, 'Over these years I have been investigating the Sect Leader's cause of death, but the killer's methods are so covert that there's no way to start; I only know that after the Sect Leader's death, her two personal treasures disappeared.'

'What treasures?'

Granny Shadow fell silent for a moment, then said, 'One is the Creation Heart Classic, the other is the Phoenix Armor! Even our current sect leader, Meizhuang's lady, has not obtained the entirety of the Creation Heart Classic.'

Hu Xiaotian now understood—no wonder Qin Yutong grasps the Creation Heart Classic; the Lan inner armor she wears must be the Phoenix Armor Granny Shadow mentioned. Needless to ask, the former sect leader of the Wuxian Sect, Sect Leader Qin, was Qin Se's mother, in other words Qin Yutong's teacher and indeed her maternal grandmother. Without such a close relation, how could the sect leader have passed these two vital items to her?

It's the last day of the month—please cast your monthly votes for Zhangyu. Zhangyu knows the recent updates lack strength, but even in the concluding stage the speed can't be improved; hope you understand. (To be continued~^~)