Chapter 1796

At first, Hu Xiaotian still thought these two were also following him and Quan De'an like Qin Yutong, sneaking into Long Ling Shengjing, but ever since Ren Tianqing activated the mechanism and sealed the Stone Chamber, it seemed there must be another passage inside Long Ling Shengjing, and now all passages have been sealed by Ren Tianqing.

After darkness comes light, but when will their light arrive?

When Hu Xiaotian thought of this, the Stone Chamber lit up again, the light still emanating from Meizhuang's palm; although the light was only the size of a dragon's eye, it was enough to illuminate the dim Stone Chamber, and Hu Xiaotian saw Meizhuang's eyes reveal an unprecedented peaceful gaze.

Meizhuang sent a mental transmission to Hu Xiaotian: 'What do you have?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Let him walk into the trap.'

Meizhuang said disdainfully: 'He is vigilant; how could he easily fall for it?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'As long as the bait is substantial enough, there's no worry he won't take it, and besides, we still have a trump card!'

Both of their gazes fell on Qin Yutong at the same time; Meizhuang, having clearly thought it through, nodded and said: 'I will help you wake her, but you must not have any other ideas, otherwise I will let you be the first to bury her.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'We've come to this point; we should all share the same boat—what other ideas could I have? Even if I wanted to act against you, it would be after we escape.'

Meizhuang nodded; Hu Xiaotian's words were indeed frank. Yet this fellow's mind is overly clever—originally she and Ren Tianqing had the situation firmly in hand, but she never expected Hu Xiaotian, relying solely on his silver tongue, to reverse the situation. The reason is greed; if it weren't for Ren Tianqing's excessive desire to obtain the Skull's secret, he wouldn't have fallen for this brat's trick. She herself is no different—she has long been blinded by greed, leading to today's predicament. Thinking back when Hu Xiaotian sneaked into Purple Dragon Mountain, she should have learned a lesson, yet she still fell for this fellow's scheme. Now, saying more regrets is useless; the only thing to do is accept Hu Xiaotian's suggestion, work together with him, and strive to escape the predicament as soon as possible.

The dragon‑eye‑sized light slowly floated up from Meizhuang's hand to Qin Yutong's forehead, then turned into a mist of light that, with Qin Yutong's breath, entered her nostrils. The sight made Hu Xiaotian's heart leap—after all, he did not trust Meizhuang and could not rule out her harming Qin Yutong, but Qin Yutong was already in this state; logically she could not get any worse.

Strangely, after Qin Yutong inhaled that light mist, she soon reacted—her long, curled lashes twitched, then she slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Hu Xiaotian right before her, she couldn't help but feel delighted, but the next instant she saw Meizhuang's cold face and was startled.

She quickly realized her Phoenix Armor was now on Meizhuang's body, and she gasped in shock. Her first worry was not losing this precious armor, but whether she was wearing any clothes at all. She lowered her head and saw she was dressed in male clothing, then looked at Hu Xiaotian's Pterosaur Armor and instantly understood: Meizhuang must have stripped her Phoenix Armor, and Hu Xiaotian, to spare her embarrassment, had taken off his outer robe and given it to her, leaving him with only the Pterosaur Armor. Her heart fluttered with shame and anxiety; she struggled to sit up in Hu Xiaotian's embrace, but felt weak and limp, so she had to continue leaning against him.

Meizhuang said coldly: 'Don't think that regaining your senses means you can live; as long as I wish, I can take your life at any time.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'We agreed to share the same boat—why are we suddenly shouting about fighting and killing?' He put his arm around Qin Yutong's fragrant shoulder and told her what had happened earlier. After hearing him out, Qin Yutong finally understood everything and sighed softly: 'It's all my fault for being careless; I actually let these two villains take advantage of me.'

Meizhuang said: 'All you think about is meeting your lover; how could you still pay attention to what's behind you?'

That sentence made Qin Yutong's face flush red; she indeed had been negligent.

Hu Xiaotian comforted her: 'Don't blame yourself for being careless; the enemy is simply too cunning.'

Meizhuang asked: 'Do you still regard me as an enemy in your heart?'

Hu Xiaotian sent a mental transmission to her: 'Are our every move under Ren Tianqing's surveillance?'

Meizhuang shook her head and replied via mental transmission: 'He might be able to hear our words, but he absolutely cannot see what's inside.'

"You are so close to him—don't you know about the mechanism?"

Meizhuang felt gloomy; Ren Tianqing clearly kept important things from her, and her disappointment quickly turned into resentment toward him. She glanced at Qin Yutong and said: 'What else can she do to escape?' Earlier Hu Xiaotian had said Qin Yutong was a trump card; Meizhuang didn't understand what a trump card meant, so she asked.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Among us three, only Qin Yutong can truly grasp the meaning of the Skull.'

Meizhuang looked at Hu Xiaotian suspiciously: 'You first tricked me into saving someone, and now you want to coax the Skull away from me?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'You really are a conspiracy theorist; even if I wanted to deceive you, if we can't escape this place we'll all end up as a pile of bones—what would I gain?'

Meizhuang turned the Skull over in her hands; she felt no resonance with it at all, and thought to herself, Hu Xiaotian is right—even if I gave him the Skull, it would be useless to him. Qin Yutong is the daughter of Qin Se, the granddaughter of the master; since the master was willing to pass the Heart of Creation Sutra to her, she might well know many things I do not. Thinking this, she handed the Skull to Hu Xiaotian, recalling how she had painstakingly seized the Skull only for it to circle back to her hand and then return to its owner, thereby implicating herself in imprisonment—Meizhuang truly regretted her earlier actions.

Qin Yutong's sore, weak condition showed no improvement; Hu Xiaotian knew Meizhuang must have tampered with her body. He said to Qin Yutong: 'See if this Skull holds any mystery?' While speaking, he gave her a glance.

Qin Yutong originally felt no response from the Skull, but seeing Hu Xiaotian's gaze she instantly understood she could not speak the truth—she had to give Meizhuang hope. She placed her hands lightly on the Skull, and a surprising sight occurred: a Lan-colored light mist drifted from the Skull, curling around it.

Now not only Meizhuang but even Hu Xiaotian stared wide‑eyed; he had originally believed this Skull was the one from earlier in Long Ling Shengjing, but if it truly were that Skull, Qin Yutong should have felt nothing—yet she does feel a response, meaning the Skull does not react via bloodline affinity; another possibility is that Qin Yutong and Qiqi are themselves blood‑related.

Seeing the Skull react in Qin Yutong's hand, Meizhuang could not help but feel both startled and delighted; perhaps Hu Xiaotian was not mistaken—Qin Yutong might truly be their final trump card.

But the light mist rising from the Skull quickly faded, and Qin Yutong's delicate body went limp in Hu Xiaotian's embrace, panting weakly—evidently the effort had drained most of her strength.

Meizhuang anxiously asked: 'What's wrong? What exactly is recorded inside the Skull? Could it be the Heaven‑Man Myriad Phenomena Diagram?'

Hu Xiaotian snapped: 'Can't you let her rest a bit?'

Meizhuang, having been scolded by Hu Xiaotian, wanted to retort, but then thought that turning against him now would gain her nothing. Qin Yutong's present state is entirely her fault; if Meizhuang wished, restoring Qin Yutong to normal would be easy, yet she refuses to take the risk—one Hu Xiaotian is already more than she can handle, and if a restored Qin Yutong were added, she feared they would kill her before she could escape. Even a frail Qin Yutong adds a little to her security, at least making Hu Xiaotian wary.

Hu Xiaotian carried Qin Yutong to a nearby corner; Meizhuang coldly watched them, not following, and saw Hu Xiaotian toss the Skull onto the ground as if he didn't care for it. She had originally wanted to pick it up, but then thought that even if she took it, it would be useless—Hu Xiaotian had precisely judged that and thus left it be.

Qin Yutong curled in Hu Xiaotian's arms, trembling violently, even her teeth chattering; Hu Xiaotian pressed his forehead to hers and found her forehead scorching hot, yet she whispered, 'I feel so cold…'

Hu Xiaotian asked Meizhuang: 'What did you do to her?'

Meizhuang also came over, touched Qin Yutong's forehead, and was inwardly startled, astonished: 'How could this be?'

Hu Xiaotian stared coldly at Meizhuang, evidently believing Qin Yutong's condition was entirely her doing. Meizhuang furrowed her brows and said: 'Don't look at me like that—this has nothing to do with me.' She secretly thought that although she had tampered with Qin Yutong's body, it should not have caused this state; likely the girl was feigning it, hoping to make her detoxify her.

Each harboring their own thoughts, even though Qin Yutong trembled all over, Meizhuang had no intention of stepping in to help.

At that moment, Ren Tianqing's voice rang from above: 'Hu Xiaotian, if you want to save her life, just hand over that key obediently.'

Upon hearing him mention the key, Meizhuang recalled that Hu Xiaotian had earlier flashed a key; because of the ensuing mishaps she had almost forgotten it, and without Ren Tianqing's reminder she would not have remembered.

That remark of Ren Tianqing's is enough to prove Qin Yutong's present condition is connected to him.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'If Qin Yutong comes to any harm, you will never in this lifetime learn the secret of the Skull.'

Two updates delivered seeking recommendation ticket support! (To be continued~^~)