Chapter 1805

After several people had left, Hu Xiaotian only then returned to Qiqi's side, but saw Qiqi's pretty face tense, expression cold, Hu Xiaotian said: "Your Highness, this humble servant has an important matter to report."

Qiqi waved her hand, and the palace attendants on both sides all withdrew. Hu Xiaotian cocked his ear to listen to the surroundings, confident that there was no one else in the diligent governance hall, then said: "I have made Your Highness worry!"

Qiqi slowly walked down from the throne to stand before him, fixing her gaze on his eyes, and asked: "Where is Eunuch Quan?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed and slowly shook his head.

Although he didn't speak, Qiqi already guessed the result from his reaction; her eye sockets instantly reddened, she unconsciously straightened her back, pursed her lips, and said: "How come you are unharmed?"

Hu Xiaotian sent a voice transmission: "Ren Tianqing and Meizhuang were following us from behind, suddenly ambushed us, and Eunuch Quan died at Ren Tianqing's hands."

Qiqi took a deep breath to control her inner sorrow. Hu Xiaotian knew she was upset, so he did not rush to continue, giving her time to compose herself.

Qiqi said: "I guessed something had happened…… I shouldn't have agreed to your request……" She felt infinite regret; if she had not agreed to Hu Xiaotian's request to go to Long Ling Shengjing, perhaps Quan De'an would not have died.

Seeing her state, Hu Xiaotian's heart welled with boundless pity; he reached out to embrace her shoulders to comfort her, but was stopped by Qiqi's fierce gaze. Qiqi said, word by word: "What exactly do you intend to do by going there? What is your true purpose?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Have you already discovered those two crystal coffins?"

Qiqi startled at his words: "What coffins?"

Hu Xiaotian originally thought that after his escape, the cave entrance would soon be exposed, and once the personnel in charge of the search entered Long Ling Shengjing's interior, they would first discover the abandoned spacecraft and those two coffins. Seeing Qiqi's expression, he assumed she knew nothing of this. He then briefly recounted his experiences in Long Ling Shengjing, merely skipping over the matter concerning Qin Yutong; if Qiqi knew Qin Yutong was also present, she might react unpredictably, so under these circumstances it was best not to let her develop suspicions.

The more Qiqi listened, the more startled she became. According to Hu Xiaotian's account, Ren Tianqing seemed to have entered Long Ling Shengjing via another route, indicating that the paths into Long Ling Shengjing were not limited to one. As for the abandoned spacecraft and the coffins, she had never seen them, nor even heard of them, clearly showing that Hong Beimo had concealed this from her. Thinking back that even the one who loved her most, Quan De'an, was now dead, who else could she trust? Qiqi's heart felt as if it had plunged into an ice cave; after the cold came a feeling of lonely despair. She slowly sat down, her face showing a look of bewildered helplessness she had never had before.

Hu Xiaotian reached out and gently patted her shoulder, whispering: "You still have me!"

Qiqi lifted her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and slowly shook her head, saying: "You do not belong to me—not in the past, not now, and never will." After saying this, two lines of crystal tears fell uncontrollably.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Qiqi, tears streaming down her face, his heart filled with pity, yet he did not know how to comfort her.

Qiqi quietly wiped away her tears and softly said: "You may leave; I do not need your pity!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "If I wanted to leave, slipping away silently when escaping Long Ling Shengjing would be better; since I have decided to stay, and decided to appear here openly and aboveboard, I will take responsibility for you to the end..." Before he finished speaking, his face was struck with a resounding slap from Qiqi.

Hu Xiaotian could clearly have dodged her strike, yet he made no evasive movement.

Qiqi, tears in her eyes, said: "Anyone in the world can utter the words 'take responsibility,' but only you lack the qualification! Before you went to Dongliang Jun, what did you promise me? When you secured a foothold in the Ordinary River and lived a life of pleasure, did you ever remember that there is a woman in the Kangdu palace waiting for you to rescue her? Every time you sent people here, I thought you came to save me, but have you ever sincerely written me even a few words? Apart from using me to do things for you, have you ever considered my situation?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I have!"

"Nonsense!" Qiqi shouted sharply, raising her palm again, but this slap never landed—this fellow's skin is truly too thick; although the previous slap rang loudly, there was not a trace on his face, instead it shook her own palm so painfully that it became somewhat red and swollen. Looking at his state, Qiqi felt sorrow well up from her heart, and tears streamed down uncontrollably.

Hu Xiaotian said: "If I had originally rescued you to Dongliang Jun, how would you have had the chance to ascend the Dakang throne?" Even now he does not consider Qiqi a woman who would willingly marry, tend to husband and teach children; this girl has always been ambitious, possessing from childhood an intense desire for power; perhaps she once felt moved for him, but she finds it hard to change herself.

Qiqi's willow brows rose, her phoenix eyes widened, she clenched her silver teeth and said: "You actually view me like that?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "When I went to Dongliang Jun, it was precisely when the court's suspicions of us were at their height; the Emperor certainly would not have allowed you to leave with me, leaving you in Kangdu was meant to keep me in check."

Qiqi sneered: "He clearly miscalculated, not expecting that I am irrelevant to you, nor that you, Hu Xiaotian, are an unfeeling, unjust scoundrel!"

Hu Xiaotian did not become angry at her reproach; he smiled and said: "If he thought you were important to me, perhaps you would not have survived to this day."

Qiqi said: "You always have endless reasoning!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Between us there is fundamentally no right or wrong; why must we insist on deciding a winner?"

Qiqi fell silent at his words, then after a while sighed and said: "Not bad; some things really need not be decided by winning or losing." The reason so many things have happened between her and Hu Xiaotian is not merely because her temperament is overly strong; if she were willing to yield a little in everything, perhaps their relationship would be different now, but everything has become the past. Now Hu Xiaotian has already won Long Xi Yue, while she remains alone. Is it that he has failed her, or that her strength has caused him to lose heart? The answer no longer matters.

Qiqi adjusted her emotions, then asked: "Did he die in pain?"

Hu Xiaotian, unwilling to hurt her further, did not detail how Quan De'an died, merely sighed and said: "He was ambushed by Ren Tianqing; because it happened suddenly, he had no time to react, so it cannot be considered painful."

Qiqi nodded.

Hu Xiaotian comforted her: "Everyone will die eventually; it's only a matter of sooner or later."

Qiqi retorted sharply: "Why did that person die and not you?" Although she spoke coldly, she could not help but ask herself: if it had been Hu Xiaotian who died, would she not be even more sorrowful than now? The dead are gone; though grieving, one cannot let sorrow cloud judgment. The most pressing matter now is to face reality and defuse any impending crisis. Qiqi quietly gazed at Hu Xiaotian; although Quan De'an has left, at least Hu Xiaotian remains by her side—he could have slipped away silently, yet he chose to stay and openly appear in the palace; one must know that Hu Xiaotian's appearance this time also entails great risk, and the likely reason is for her sake; deep down he probably still cares for her. Thinking this, the sorrow in her heart rose a little comfort.

Qiqi asked: "Did Ren Tianqing escape together with you?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Ren Tianqing is vicious and malicious; to eliminate me, he didn't hesitate to trap Lady Meizhuang and me together. I had no other choice, so I just detonated the light sword, blasting open a gap, and escaped from there."

Qiqi frowned slightly and said: "In that case, Ren Tianqing might have already escaped."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "Quite possible."

Qiqi couldn't help worrying and said: "Does that mean he already knows about our affair?" If Ren Tianqing sees through our alliance with Hu Xiaotian, this matter may have already reached Hong Beimo's ears.

Hu Xiaotian said: "No need to worry; he won't pose a threat to us in the short term. I chopped off one of his arms, and before his injury heals he likely won't dare show himself, but……"

But what?

Hu Xiaotian said: "The skull stored in Long Ling Shengjing was carelessly lost by me; I worry it might have fallen into someone else's hands."

Qiqi smiled faintly and said: "Even if that skull fell into someone else's hands, it would be of no use; you don't need to worry."

When Hu Xiaotian escaped, although he didn't find Lady Meizhuang's trace, he always felt she wouldn't die so easily; perhaps she had also left along the same road he and Qin Yutong took to flee, but after this incident, Meizhuang should have completely given up on Ren Tianqing and will no longer cooperate with him.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Ren Tianqing harbors ulterior motives; he not only wants to steal the skull but also colludes with Prince Yan of Da Yong, Xue Shengjing. We can use this to charge him with conspiring with foreign powers, and meanwhile thoroughly investigate Xuantian Guan."

Qiqi stared coldly at him; although she also agreed with Hu Xiaotian's idea, she secretly doubted his motive for making this suggestion.

Hu Xiaotian said: "You still don't trust me after all."

Qiqi bit her cherry lip and said: "What do you mean?" Actually she knew full well that if she had trusted Hu Xiaotian, she wouldn't have sent Quan De'an along, nor would she have let Quan De'an bring two fake skulls to confuse the situation; thinking of this, Qiqi felt a pang of guilt—ultimately Quan De'an died because of her suspicion; if she had trusted Hu Xiaotian from the start, perhaps Quan De'an wouldn't have died.

Hu Xiaotian said: "There's something I've never asked you—what secret exactly lies hidden in that skull?" After saying that, he felt his question was too abrupt; such an important matter, Qiqi would naturally not tell him lightly.

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