Chapter 1793

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

Quan De'an said: "What you say is correct, Your Highness is different from us, but…… in this world she has only me as a relative; promise me, after I die you must treat her well."

Hu Xiaotian said without hesitation: "I promise you."

Quan De'an said: "Ling Jiazi is the wisest person we have ever seen in our household, but sadly her beauty brings a thin fate…… there is a secret…… Qiqi is actually born from her pregnancy of seven years……"

Hu Xiaotian widened his eyes; at this moment Quan De'an would never deceive himself; Qiqi's name originally was like this; Hu Xiaotian whispered: "Who exactly is her father?"

Quan De'an gasped heavily: "I don't know…… when the mistress was alive, Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing, Long Xuan'en and the like would never dare to be disrespectful to her…… Qiqi has no relation with them……"

Hu Xiaotian looked at Quan De'an, his heart filled with confusion.

Quan De'an said: "The clarity of outside rumors…… actually…… it's merely a pawn……" He grabbed Hu Xiaotian's collar with all his strength: "The one who can help her…… is only you……"

Hu Xiaotian still wanted to ask him something, but Quan De'an's snow-white head drooped limp; Hu Xiaotian checked his breath and found Quan De'an had breathed his last. The Senior Eunuch's whole life was lived to protect Qiqi; no matter what means he had used before, he did it all to safeguard Qiqi, and to Qiqi he deserved the four words "loyal liver and righteous gall".

A light footstep sounded behind him; Hu Xiaotian reached out to gently close Quan De'an's eyes, then stood up; he did not look back, because Ren Tianqing's figure had gone and returned ahead, so there was no need to ask who was behind—it must be the Wuxian Sect leader, Lady Meizhuang. Just now Ren Tianqing had already said the skull in the leather pouch was fake; his return proves he has seen through it.

Ren Tianqing's feet hovered about a foot above the ground; in Hu Xiaotian's memory, the Yuan Kong of Tianlong Temple's Void Zen was similar to Ren Tianqing.

Ren Tianqing smiled and nodded at him, then threw the two leather pouches to the ground; two skulls rolled out of them; although similar in size, a close look shows they are artificially carved imitations.

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed; Qiqi this girl indeed still held back a move; actually it's no wonder, although I have exhausted kind words and spared no effort using emotional tactics, the current Qiqi is no longer the innocent girl of her first love; years of wind and rain have tempered her into ever more mature and worldly; recalling Quan De'an's earlier words, Ling Jiazi carried Qiqi for a full seven years, her origins are indeed extraordinary.

Ren Tianqing said: "Hand over the skull, and I will spare your life."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What big talk!"

Ren Tianqing said: "Do you think you have a chance of winning under our two‑on‑one attack?"

From behind came Lady Meizhuang's voice: "Even if you don't cherish your own life, you ought to consider Qin Yutong's life, right?"

Hu Xiaotian stepped forward onto a forged skull, crushing it to powder, and smiled: "Since the skull is so important to you, why did you send it to Qiqi? It's only because you fundamentally cannot comprehend its secret."

Ren Tianqing's smile gradually faded; Hu Xiaotian had hit the nail on the head.

Hu Xiaotian said: "You too are rare smart people; although I don't know who the owner of that skull is, the former Qin Sect Master of the Wuxian Sect must be closely related to it; even if you give this skull to Qiqi it would be useless, she cannot fathom its secret; if Qin Se were alive she would surely appreciate its profundity, but the Qin Sect Master is dead and Qin Se is dead, so now the only person in the world capable of revealing the skull's secret is actually just one." He slightly turned his face, glancing askance at Lady Meizhuang: "Is this simple principle really beyond you all? So if you want to kill Qin Yutong, just go ahead and do it!"

Ren Tianqing and Meizhuang locked eyes, both expressions turning grave; Hu Xiaotian's words were certainly not alarmist, for when Ren Tianqing had the skull sent to Qiqi for study, this thought had already arisen; now that Hu Xiaotian says the same, it is likely correct.

They originally thought they could use Qin Yutong's life as leverage to force Hu Xiaotian to comply, but now Hu Xiaotian has instead grasped their psychology, seeing through their reluctance to lightly take Qin Yutong's life.

Lady Meizhuang gritted her teeth: "So what? I can still make her unable to live or die!" She did not believe a word of Hu Xiaotian's words.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "If we break faces, at most we part ways; you want the skull, I want another treasure in Long Ling Shengjing; why not cooperate? You hand Qin Yutong over to me, and I'll give you the skull."

Ren Tianqing and Meizhuang's expressions were both half‑believing, half‑doubting.

Hu Xiaotian produced a key and waved it before the two, then said: "If you don't believe me, we can go all out; even if you manage to snatch the key from my hand, you will inevitably pay a heavy price." The present Hu Xiaotian indeed has the standing to say this; even if Ren Tianqing and Meizhuang join forces, without suffering an extremely heavy cost they cannot defeat him.

Ren Tianqing coldly said: "Who are you?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "My master is the Ghost Doctor Fu Liang!" At this moment he brought up the name Ghost Doctor Fu Liang for a reason; the previous conversation showed that Ghost Doctor Fu Liang knows a great deal of the inside story, his concealment is no less than Ren Tianqing's, and Hu Xiaotian can determine that Ghost Doctor Fu Liang and Ren Tianqing are not on the same side; saying this also boosts credibility.

Ren Tianqing narrowed his eyes, calmly sizing up Hu Xiaotian: "Is the thing you're looking for the Heaven‑Man Myriad Images Chart?"

Hu Xiaotian secretly chuckled; this fellow really took the bait. With a stern face he said: "It's none of your business; will you make this deal or not?"

Meizhuang gave Ren Tianqing a glance; she still inclined to have the two of them joint‑attack to eliminate Hu Xiaotian and seize the key, but Ren Tianqing obviously did not think so; after pondering a moment he slowly nodded: "How do I know you have the skull in your hand?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "With the person in your hands, what tricks could I possibly play?"

Ren Tianqing finally gave Meizhuang a glance.

Meizhuang turned and left.

After Meizhuang's silhouette disappeared, Hu Xiaotian bent down to pick up the other forged skull on the ground and whispered: "Don't you see I'm trying to take them out one by one?" Before his words finished, he hurled the skull with all his strength at Ren Tianqing.

Ren Tianqing also did not expect this fellow to be so crafty; the agreement just reached changed in an instant, he struck down with a palm, smashing the skull to dust; immediately his body twisted, the Lone Moon Slash flew from his hand, like a crescent blade of wisdom swiftly spreading out.

Hu Xiaotian did not draw his light sword, but instead reached out bare‑handed to grab the Lone Moon Slash.

Ren Tianqing secretly sighed at this fellow's boldness, yet such a move is sheer folly; he seemed already to see Hu Xiaotian's arm being cut off.

Hu Xiaotian and Ren Tianqing have clashed more than once; before they fought with light sword versus Lone Moon Slash, discovering that Lone Moon Slash is actually the nemesis of the light sword; upon contact the light sword's energy is obviously absorbed by the Lone Moon Slash, a loss for one and gain for the other, the Lone Moon Slash's energy also increases accordingly, so Hu Xiaotian's decision to abandon the light sword is wise.

The reason Quan De'an was just killed is fundamentally due to the burden of his prosthetic limb; the Lone Moon Slash's strong magnetic force restricted Quan De'an's movements, so Hu Xiaotian simply discarded all weapons; purely in terms of inner strength he is not inferior to Ren Tianqing.

Ren Tianqing's control of the Lone Moon Slash also relies on inner strength manipulation; to break the Lone Moon Slash, the simplest method is to cut off Ren Tianqing's inner strength; Hu Xiaotian is already close to mastering the Void Grand Technique, his inner strength has been growing leaps and bounds lately, and as his inner strength strengthens his perception of external force field changes becomes extremely keen; the stronger the energy swept by the Lone Moon Slash, the clearer Hu Xiaotian's perception becomes; aside from the mighty force field of the Lone Moon Slash's raging waves, he also senses a supple force, namely Ren Tianqing's strength, which manipulates the Lone Moon Slash to manifest myriad forms in the air.

Hu Xiaotian's seemingly casual reach is actually exquisite to the utmost; he evades the Lone Moon Slash's greatest force, avoids its unstoppable edge, places his palm flat against the Lone Moon Slash, and simultaneously severs the connection between Ren Tianqing and the Lone Moon Slash.

Ren Tianqing immediately realized Hu Xiaotian's intent; he could no longer maintain his leisurely calm, his body shot toward the Lone Moon Slash, aiming to seize control of the Lone Moon Slash before Hu Xiaotian could take it.

Ren Tianqing's body swept past Quan De'an's corpse; at that moment an unexpected scene unfolded: the long‑dead Quan De'an actually sat up from the ground, clasping Ren Tianqing's right leg with both hands, his ten fingers like swords, viciously stabbing into it.

Ren Tianqing never expected Quan De'an to come back from death, let alone Hu Xiaotian being greatly startled; just now he himself had probed Quan De'an's pulse and was certain he was dead, yet Quan De'an even deceived him.

Quan De'an already knew he was surely doomed, yet he had anticipated that Ren Tianqing would see through the truth and then return, so he decided to feign death to deceive everyone; even if he must die, he wanted to seize any possible chance for revenge.

Even though Ren Tianqing's martial prowess is peerless, his entire focus was on Hu Xiaotian, and since he had long believed Quan De'an was dead, he let his guard down; Quan De'an's surprise attack was beyond anyone's expectation; he clung to Ren Tianqing's right leg, gathering his lifetime's strength into his fingers and thrusting them into Ren Tianqing's thigh.

Ren Tianqing burst out a furious roar, raised his right palm and slammed it hard onto Quan De'an's celestial crown; this blow shattered Quan De'an's skull to powder, blood and brain matter spraying everywhere; yet Quan De'an still clung desperately to Ren Tianqing's right leg, refusing to let go.

Hu Xiaotian, however, reacted instantly; with a swing of his right hand, the now‑uncontrolled Lone Moon Slash flew sideways and embedded deep into the stone wall; he then drew his light sword, leapt into the air, gathered a force of thousands of jun, and brought it down upon Ren Tianqing.

Monday, seeking recommendation votes (to be continued~^~)