Chapter 1807

What? Qiqi's brows knit, she was about to flare, but seeing Hu Xiaotian's painful look, not feigned, and since she herself had caused the trouble, though she guessed he might be using this to tease her, she could only lower her head temporarily and help him undo his belt, thinking, I want to see just how shameless you are—could you really dare to take off your pants in front of me?

Hu Xiaotian saw Qiqi lower her head to serve him and felt secretly pleased; he also understood the principle of excess, knowing that going too far would make Qiqi look down on him, so he said, "Turn around."

Qiqi asked, "Why?" Only after speaking did she realize his meaning, her pretty face flushing as she turned around.

Hu Xiaotian quietly put his clothes back on, yet said, "Oh no… you're ruthless, this is meant to make me childless…"

Qiqi sneaked a turn, seeing him still posing there, she kicked at his butt in anger; unexpectedly Hu Xiaotian grabbed her ankle and gave a light tug, Qiqi cried out, lost balance, and fell backward; Hu Xiaotian swiftly caught her in his arms, smiling, he said, "As it turns out, you do care about me after all."

Qiqi glared at him, saying, "If you don't let go right now, I'll have someone drag you out and chop you to pieces."

Unexpectedly, Hu Xiaotian actually obeyed this time; he released his hands, and Qiqi, losing his support, fell flat on her back; though not far from the ground, the tumble left her head spinning, she rubbed her waist and muttered, "You bastard…"

Hu Xiaotian grinned, saying, "You told me to let go, so I can't be blamed."

Qiqi said, "I told you to go die—why aren't you going?"

Hu Xiaotian reached out his hand to her, but Qiqi slapped it away.

Hu Xiaotian said, "To get through this immediate crisis, the only way is for us to join forces; you may not think I'm a good person, but compared to others I at least deserve your trust." He extended his hand again.

This time Qiqi did not refuse; she took his hand and, with his help, stood up, tidying her disheveled hair buns; in this world, besides Hu Xiaotian, no one else would dare treat her this way; although she frowned coldly at him, she realized deep down she wasn't actually angry with him, and understood that she needed to keep a certain distance from him, otherwise she would be the one to suffer; she quietly walked back to the throne and sat down slowly, feeling a sharp pain in her buttocks from the fall just now, silently cursing her bad luck, she took a quiet breath to calm herself before saying, "You just said Hong Beimo is different from me?"

Hu Xiaotian moved closer on his own; Qiqi glared at him fiercely, trying to drive him away with her gaze, but unexpectedly he wasn't afraid of her at all, still came to her side, leaned near her ear, and lowered his voice: "Not bad!"

Qiqi reached out, pressed a finger against his chest, and said with disdain, "Stay away from me—I'm not deaf, I can hear what you're saying."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Walls have ears; I'm afraid others might overhear." In fact, he was constantly alert to his surroundings, and would not say so much if there were any suspicion.

Qiqi asked, "What exactly is his goal?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although I don't know his purpose, I do know that he became Chu Fufeng's disciple solely because of his connection to the Jinling Xu family."

Qiqi's heart jolted: "You mean he has ties with the Jinling Xu family?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'm looking into it; until things become clear, I dare not speculate on their relationship." Since the Xichuan incident, the forces led by Hu Buwei and the Xu family have gradually surfaced, raising sufficient vigilance among all parties. Hu Xiaotian learned of Hong Beimo's background from Old Madame Xu, but he dare not fully trust her words; this woman, who single-handedly built up the Xu family and controlled it for decades, has depths of scheming hard to imagine. Although she came to Yunze to attend his wedding, spoke heart-to-heart with him, and offered sincere words, he cannot tell how truthful they were, nor whether she intended to lead him astray, and he cannot even judge the relationship between Hong Beimo and the Xu family.

However, Hu Xiaotian's words had already sowed doubt in Qiqi's mind; if Hong Beimo truly was, as Hu Xiaotian said, not a descendant of the Mandate of Heaven, then his motives would certainly differ from hers. Qiqi said, "Hong Beimo's true interest is only that thing in the imperial tomb."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Have you ever seen it with your own eyes?"

Qiqi's delicate brows furrowed slightly; she slowly shook her head.

Hu Xiaotian said, "What you hear is false, what you see is real; since you haven't seen it yourself, how can you know what he's been doing all these years?"

Qiqi asked, "And how do you know?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "You told him the secret in the skull—why? Do you realize what would happen if he actually repaired that airship?" He assumed Hong Beimo could not possibly reveal all his secrets to Qiqi; their relationship was mutual exploitation, so trust was out of the question. From Qiqi's demeanor, it was clear she had always been wary of Hong Beimo, yet she likewise did not trust him; compared to that, his greatest advantage was that deep down Qiqi still harbored feelings for him. To turn the situation around, he first needed to win her trust—something even Shi Xuedong could see clearly. As the saying goes, where you fall, you must rise from there; initially they turned love into hatred, now they must turn hatred back into love. Rekindling old affection is easy to say, but truly igniting that fire to achieve a state where you are in me and I am in you is no simple feat, especially when facing the cunning, almost demonic Qiqi.

Qiqi said, "He wants to go home!" The light in her lovely eyes suddenly grew dazed; deep in her heart she also harbored a secret unknown to others: whenever night fell and all was quiet, her mind would conjure a fantastical, beautiful world, as if a voice kept calling her; for the first time she felt a sense of alienation from the world she was born into, she faintly sensed this place did not belong to her, yet that thought filled her with dread.

Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Is he saying that only you can lead them back?"

Qiqi did not answer his question; she locked eyes with Hu Xiaotian and whispered, "Are you trying to drive a wedge between me and Hong Beimo, using me to deal with him?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "If all he wants is to repair that airship, leave this place, and never return, then we could coexist peacefully—but the matter is far from as simple as you imagine."

Qiqi knew his words were true; she softly sighed, "No one in this world treats me as sincerely as Eunuch Quan did!" Thinking of Quan De'an's many kindnesses toward her in life, her nose soured and she nearly teared up, but her nature was extremely strong, and in front of Hu Xiaotian she would not easily shed tears.

Hu Xiaotian said, "I may not be able to care for you as meticulously as Eunuch Quan, but I guarantee I will never harm you."

Qiqi coldly replied, "Your guarantee is worth nothing to me."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although you don't trust me, you cannot avoid facing the present reality; unless we join forces, neither of us will get through this." He lowered his voice: "In this world, it's not only you who can read the information hidden in the skull; if Hong Beimo finds another person, your situation will become perilous."

Qiqi pressed her lips together and asked, "Are you threatening me?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "I genuinely want to help you."

Qiqi asked, "Who else can read the information hidden within the skull?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Besides you, I've seen two others who can, but I'm not yet in a position to reveal their names."

Qiqi nodded, then suddenly recalled the skull that had gone missing in Long Ling Shengjing; if what Hu Xiaotian said were true, that skull might become a hidden danger.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Is the skull that Ren Tianqing brought still in your possession?"

Qiqi warned, "What are you planning?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "An innocent man who carries a jade invites his own doom; I'm merely worried that the skull might bring you trouble. Although Ren Tianqing's arm is broken, there surely remain other forces behind him."

Qiqi's brows furrowed slightly as she said, "Actually, I sense no information from that skull at all."

Hu Xiaotian said, "It seems the information in those skulls can only be deciphered by the deceased's descendants; since you share no blood relation with that skull, that explains this situation."

Qiqi asked, "According to you, how should I handle this?"

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, that skull was something he found in the Wuxian Sect's main altar; according to his speculation, although Qiqi cannot read the skull's information, Qin Yutong likely could, given that Qin Yutong probably shares blood ties with the skull's owner; in his view it would naturally be best to hand the skull over to himself, but if he suggested it, Qiqi would surely suspect his motives.

Seeing his silence, Qiqi said softly, "How about I give the skull to you?"

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll keep it for myself?"

Qiqi chuckled, "What use would it be to you? Since I can't guard the skull myself and I don't trust anyone else, handing it to you seems the only right choice; I'll give you the skull and then spread the word widely—if anyone wants to covet that skull, they can just come find you."

Hu Xiaotian said, "You're setting me up!"

Qiqi said, "Just now who said they'd protect me? Looks like some people ought to step up now."

Hu Xiaotian had not expected Qiqi to actually hand over the skull; she gazed at it and whispered, "If it weren't for this thing, Eunuch Quan wouldn't have met such a grim end."

Hu Xiaotian said dubiously, "You really gave me the skull?"

Acute gastroenteritis—I don't want to talk about it; even if I did, nobody would believe me. Being a writer isn't easy; they accuse me of slacking, yet in less than two years with the Medical Union I've written five million words, and few are more diligent than I. Just thinking about it brings tears. I can't risk my life chasing updates; I'm going to rest. Acute gastroenteritis—this year it's happened twice. (To be continued~^~)