Chapter 1795

Meizhuang glared at Hu Xiaotian's direction, Hu Xiaotian then said: "Actually I misspoke just now; Meizhuang clearly had a chance to escape, yet you still wouldn't let her go—looks like you don't just want to kill me."

Ren Tianqing said: "I have roamed the world all my life, never suffered such humiliation; if I don't kill you, I swear I won't be considered human!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said: "You're not even human, just a mongrel monster! You don't count as a Chosen One, nor as a person—your existence in this world is superfluous." His words successfully enraged Ren Tianqing, who roared: "Shut up!"

Hu Xiaotian knew he had hit a sore spot, and continued: "That arm of yours is useless even if you take it; I accidentally stepped on it a few times just now, I'm afraid all the bones have already turned to powder."

Ren Tianqing burst out with an angry roar; this bastard is truly vicious, always stabbing at his own heart. He laughed furiously: "Hu Xiaotian, let's see how long you can stay arrogant!" After saying that, he fell silent.

In the darkness a cluster of green flame rose—it was Meizhuang spreading her right hand, a green flame flickering up from her palm, illuminating the whole dark stone chamber.

In the light, Meizhuang's face was overlaid with a pallid green hue, looking extraordinarily eerie and exuding an indescribable sorrow. Ren Tianqing's earlier words had already shown he had resolved to kill Hu Xiaotian; she herself was inevitably dragged in by Hu Xiaotian, becoming a sacrificial pawn. Hu Xiaotian's words were right—she held no place in Ren Tianqing's heart; he merely used her, and would sacrifice her without hesitation if he wished.

Hu Xiaotian held Qin Yutong; although it was the remainder, the temperature inside the stone chamber was a bit cold, he felt Qin Yutong's delicate body growing chilly, so he first took off his outer robe and put it on her, then held her close to help her regain body heat. Not knowing what Meizhuang had done to Qin Yutong, Hu Xiaotian dared not rashly rescue her, and suggested to Meizhuang: "We're all in the same boat; let's set aside our grudges and first think of a way to escape."

Meizhuang's gaze, however, remained fixed on that cluster of flame from start to finish, the corner of her mouth curling into a sinister smile, and she did not respond to Hu Xiaotian's words.

Hu Xiaotian said: "You have no chance to kill me!" In such a situation, speaking of one-on-one combat, he had full confidence he could defeat Meizhuang.

Meizhuang finally spoke: "Then let's see who can live longer." Her gaze swept over Qin Yutong's pale face as she said: "But there's one thing I can be certain of—the one who dies first will definitely be her."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "Not necessarily!" He gently laid Qin Yutong's delicate body on the ground, then slowly rose to his feet.

Meizhuang felt an invisible killing intent pressing on her from all directions, her heart involuntarily tightening; she quickly stepped back, widening the distance between herself and Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I've changed my mind."

Meizhuang gave a hollow chuckle and said: "You want to kill me?" Even though she herself lacked the power to kill Hu Xiaotian, she believed Hu Xiaotian wouldn't find it so easy to kill her either; the rolling killing intent surging toward her like waves continually pressed upon her, squeezing the space around her. In this stone chamber, Meizhuang had no room to retreat; she felt her available space shrinking, as if an invisible mountain were slowly descending from above her head. Only then did she truly grasp Hu Xiaotian's strength. Relying solely on martial arts, she could not match him. Just as she resolved to unleash every means and go all-out against Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian, via voice transmission, said to her: "If we don't join forces, we may very well be trapped and die here today; Ren Tianqing has already prepared to abandon you, and won't care whether you live or die."

Meizhuang knew he was speaking the truth, yet she remained silent.

Hu Xiaotian then said: "We have two options: one, we fight and I pretend to be dead, but given Ren Tianqing's shrewdness he would certainly see through it."

Meizhuang blinked her eyes, indicating agreement with Hu Xiaotian's statement; Ren Tianqing's wisdom is supreme, such a trick would certainly not fool him—Hu Xiaotian could chop off one of his arms, yet he wouldn't die by her hand. She finally replied via voice transmission: "What is the other option?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "That is, we form an alliance, let him know we've made peace; you revive Qin Yutong, and among the three of us, only she can comprehend the secret in the skull—perhaps the skull contains the method to open this secret passage."

Meizhuang was half-believing, half-doubting; although she suspected Hu Xiaotian might be deceiving her into rescuing Qin Yutong, given the circumstances she seemed to have no better alternative.

As the Xu hour was about to pass, Quan De'an still hadn't returned, and Qiqi's heart began to feel uneasy—had something gone wrong again? She thought more about Hu Xiaotian turning traitor, which would be detrimental to Quan De'an; although she and Hu Xiaotian had just built some trust, its foundation was clearly not solid enough.

Hong Beimo noticed Qiqi seemed somewhat distracted and asked with concern: "Your Highness, are you tired? We should probably take our leave soon, lest we disturb the Princess's rest."

Everyone echoed in agreement, but Qiqi laughed and said: "What's the rush? I still have important matters to discuss."

Several officials stared at each other, having talked for half a day; after an hour they still hadn't gotten to the main topic.

Ren Tianqing remained silent most of the time; Zhou Ruizhen and Wen Chenghuan, after their earlier clash, seemed to have calmed down as well, nobody wanting to speak first, making the atmosphere noticeably awkward.

Qiqi said: "Regarding the King of Zhenhai, I still agree with the views of Chancellor Zhou and Mr. Hong."

Wen Chenghuan heard her bring up old matters again, and unconsciously furrowed his brows; it seemed his plan to take the opportunity to strike at Hu Xiaotian was now impossible. This little girl's mind is very clear, her grasp of the overall situation very accurate, she sees that acting against Hu Xiaotian now is not wise.

Qiqi said: "Nobody is a sage; who can be without fault? Hu Xiaotian indeed did some rash, youthful things, but he has also expressed regret to this palace recently. Upon reflection, over these years he hasn't done too much that lets Dakang down."

Everyone heard that Qiqi was beginning to speak up for Hu Xiaotian; since she had put it that way, no one would openly blame him, otherwise they'd be tactless, yet no one could readily agree either, for after all it's still unclear how Qiqi and Hu Xiaotian's relationship will develop.

Hong Beimo smiled and said: "Your Highness the Princess has far-sighted vision and a broad mind, truly beyond our reach; however, the situation of the King of Zhenhai is also not optimistic."

Qiqi gave a faint smile and said: "Since he is a subject of Dakang, his affairs are naturally Dakang's affairs." Though her words were plain, to the several officials they were shocking and moving; the Yongyang Princess's remark meant she had decided to cooperate with Hu Xiaotian.

Wen Chenghuan couldn't help but say: "Hu Xiaotian disregards reality, taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees; he is about to face a grain shortage, while Dakang has only just recovered its vitality—where would we get extra grain to support those outsiders?"

Zhou Ruiyuan said: "Minister Wen, your remark is mistaken; even the refugees on Hu Xiaotian's fief have come from Xichuan, which has always been part of Dakang, fellow Dakang people—what distinction between inside and outside is there?"

Wen Chenghuan noticed that Zhou Ruiyuan rarely spoke, but whenever he did it was aimed at him; he could not help but angrily retort: "Sir Zhou, your remark is mistaken—what does it mean to be fellow Dakang subjects? When Li Tianheng raised troops and declared independence, did these people ever consider themselves Dakang citizens? In times of national peril, have you ever seen them contribute even a bit? Now that Xichuan has suffered an earthquake and they are in trouble, only then do they think of Dakang—why should we retain an unfilial son? Why pity a disloyal populace? Why burden ourselves for these disloyal, unfilial, unjust people?"

Hong Beimo glanced at Ren Tianqing, noticing his gaze seemed a little uneasy, and felt a pang of surprise; tonight's banquet was indeed strange, everyone seemed odd, everyone appeared abnormal. The dispute between Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan might stem from differing political views, but Ren Tianqing is usually composed—why is he uneasy tonight? Hong Beimo said: "Master Ren, what do you think?"

Ren Tianqing stared for a moment, then laughed: "I have no say in court affairs."

Hong Beimo added: "Master Ren, what do you think of the King of Zhenhai?"

Ren Tianqing replied: "I don't know him well."

Hong Beimo countered: "But he is quite close to your disciple."

That one sentence swept aside a large group, even dragging Zhou Ruiyuan into it.

Ren Tianqing gave a light smile, while Zhou Ruiyuan's complexion looked rather bad; after all, Hong Beimo, in the Princess's presence, brought up the entanglement between Hu Xiaotian and his daughter, which smacked of provocation, yet he could not say much, for his daughter's actions did, to some extent, infringe upon Dakang's interests.

Everyone thought Hong Beimo's real target was Zhou Ruiyuan, but Ren Tianqing at this moment carefully observed the subtle changes in Ren Tianqing, including his breathing rhythm and heartbeat changes; although a person's outward disguise can be exquisite, there will still be some places where flaws show; Ren Tianqing's mindset has obviously lost its former steadiness; as Hong Beimo's questions proceeded, he also underwent some subtle changes. The others present would of course not notice, but Hong Beimo grasped everything clearly; he dares to assert that the person beside him is certainly not Ren Tianqing, at least not the Ren Tianqing he used to know. With Ren Tianqing's steady mindset, he had long achieved being unperturbed by turmoil; how could he change with the shifting situation, his inner rhythm shifting? Although this change is extremely subtle, it still cannot escape Hong Beimo's eyes.

Inside the stone chamber still shrouded in darkness, Hu Xiaotian held Qin Yutong, feeling her temperature had returned to normal; the hour he had previously agreed upon with Qiqi was likely already past, and tonight's events proved the saying that plans are inferior to change. He had originally intended to conspire with Qin Yutong to stage a clever infiltration, but the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—Ren Tianqing and Lady Meizhuang were already lying in wait here.

First update posted (to be continued~^~)