Chapter 1812

The street in front of Xuantian Guan, once bustling, suddenly fell silent. Hu Xiaotian entered Xuantian Guan accompanied by Zuo Tang; he had been here before, but Xuantian Guan is divided into inner and outer sections. The outer court is where normal patients are received, while the inner court is a forbidden area for ordinary disciples—only Ren Tianqing's personal disciples may enter, outsiders are not allowed.

Now everyone inside Xuantian Guan has been driven out; the medical hall is empty. Hu Xiaotian strode in, and Zuo Tang ordered his men to search everywhere for anything suspicious—of course, the main goal was to find evidence of Ren Tianqing's guilt.

Hu Xiaotian wasn't in a hurry either; he found a shady spot in the rear courtyard and sat down. The Xuantian Guan was full of medicinal herbs—just the storehouse alone would keep these warriors busy taking inventory for a while. Hu Xiaotian gave the order: the warriors must carefully inventory everything and must not damage any items in the Xuantian Guan.

Liang Da Zhuang brewed him a pot of good tea and set out a recliner. Hu Xiaotian lay in the shade, enjoying the gentle breeze and sipping his tea, feeling utterly content—this was exactly the life he had wanted when he first came to this world. If he had a few more lovely confidantes and a few more sons and daughters on his knees, life would be even more perfect. Suddenly he thought fame and fortune weren't that important after all; Qiqi harbored great ambitions, wanting to be queen—let her pursue it. Even if she became queen, would she still have to fawn over me?

Thinking of this, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but reveal a faint, knowing smile. Between his breaths he caught a whiff of fragrance—natural floral scent mixed with a hint of a young woman's body perfume, refreshing to the lungs and stirring the imagination. He cracked open his right eye just a slit and saw a bewitching figure swaying toward him—it was Baobao.

Hu Xiaotian closed his eyes again, feigning ignorance, but he heard Baobao's pleasant voice beside his ear: "Baobao of the Heavenly Secrets Bureau pays respects to the Prince, Thousand Years, ten thousand years."

Hu Xiaotian grunted, still keeping his eyes shut. Liang Da Zhuang leaned in and whispered, "Young Master, people from the Heavenly Secrets Bureau have arrived."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Then why aren't you leaving?"

Liang Da Zhuang gave an embarrassed chuckle, realizing this master thought he was surplus here; he immediately bowed low and retreated, making sure to guard the courtyard gate as he left.

After Liang Da Zhuang left, Baobao came swaying over to Hu Xiaotian's side, cooing, "Now that you're a prince, you won't even spare me a glance?" Before he could react, Hu Xiaotian grabbed her arm, pulling her off balance so she tumbled into his arms. The recliner, suddenly bearing extra weight, lost its balance and began to rock rapidly.

Baobao leaned against Hu Xiaotian's chest, her eyes seductive as silk, her pretty face flushed red, her cherry lips lush and tempting. She lowered her head and lightly pressed her lips to his. That light kiss ignited his passion; he clung tightly to her soft body, roaming his hands over her. Baobao, made limp by his touch, spat, "You scoundrel, daring to flirt with a common girl in broad daylight!"

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and let Baobao go—not because of the daylight, but for some reason he always worried that Liang Da Zhuang would barge in at a crucial moment and ruin his fun.

Baobao climbed off him, tidied her hair, and looked at Hu Xiaotian with a coy, annoyed expression, yet her eyes were full of love.

Hu Xiaotian continued to rock back and forth on the recliner, arms behind his head, quietly admiring the infinitely charming beauty before him.

Baobao said, "What's there to see? It's not like I haven't seen you before."

Hu Xiaotian replied, "My heart burns; the more I look, the hotter it gets!"

Baobao giggled and poked his forehead, saying, "Look at you, all hot and bothered—you're the Prince Zhenhai of Dakang, for goodness' sake; can't you be a bit more dignified?"

Hu Xiaotian cleared his throat and sat up: "Baobao, what do you want from me?"

Baobao said, "You pant when called fat, yet you're putting on airs like a prince. There's nothing urgent—my adoptive father knows you want to thoroughly investigate the Xuantian Guan, so he had me bring you a map."

Hu Xiaotian took the map from her hand and unfolded it. The map Hong Beimo had her deliver was a structural plan of the Xuantian Guan, marking every room and every secret chamber inside clearly, saving him a lot of trouble.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Was the Xuantian Guan also designed by Hong Beimo?"

Baobao shook her head and said, "The Heavenly Secrets Bureau surveys all important buildings in Dakang; essentially, the structural diagrams of all key structures in Dakang City are under our control."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; this naturally included the Zhenhai Wang Fu where he currently resided. He studied the Xuantian Guan's structural plan, pointing to the upper‑right corner—this should be the southeastern corner of the Xuantian Guan, and according to the map there is a cellar there.

Baobao said, "This cellar existed from the start; it's said he used it to store ice."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Let's go take a look."

Baobao laughed, "I'll go with you."

Hu Xiaotian summoned Liang Da Zhuang, and the three of them went to the cellar entrance. Zuo Tang and the others had already found the cellar, but the door was locked with a copper lock; they were about to report to Hu Xiaotian whether they should open it.

Hu Xiaotian nodded, signaling them to pick the lock.

Immediately a sturdy man stepped forward, raised the Great Iron Hammer with both hands, and with one hard blow smashed the copper lock. Hu Xiaotian realized that the most direct way to solve a problem is often brute force; it took four warriors working together to shove open the cellar's heavy copper door.

Even though it was the height of summer, a chilly draft blew up from the ground, startling everyone.

Zuo Tang cupped his fists toward Hu Xiaotian and said, "Prince, please wait a moment; let me lead men ahead to scout the path and ensure safety before you come."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said, "You think I'm afraid?"

Zuo Tang laughed, "Prince, you're heroic and bold—what in the world could frighten you?"

Liang Da Zhuang shot Zuo Tang a sideways glance with his small eyes, clearly disliking this flatterer's bootlicking, though it was merely fifty steps laughing at a hundred—when he fawned, he was even more obsequious than Zuo Tang.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Alright, Liang Da Zhuang, you and the others stay outside on guard; the two of us will go in and have a look."

Liang Da Zhuang naturally understood that the "two people" Hu Xiaotian mentioned did not include him. Everyone went about their duties: Zuo Tang led the warriors to continue searching the Xuantian Guan, while Liang Da Zhuang stood honestly at the cellar door.

Hu Xiaotian and Baobao walked down the cellar steps; after about twenty steps they came to a wooden door. This door obviously offered no protection—it was meant to block outside heat and keep the cold air inside from escaping. It was unlocked, and when Hu Xiaotian pushed it open he saw that the back was wrapped in cotton cloth, indeed for insulation.

After closing the wooden door again, Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "It's indeed cool in here—are you cold? Want me to take off my clothes and give them to you?"

Baobao glared at him and said, "Then what would you wear?"

Hu Xiaotian replied, "With you, it doesn't matter whether I'm clothed or not."

Baobao couldn't help but giggle, then took his arm and said, "You, you—are you a lecher reborn? Besides these things, is there anything else worth talking about?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed, "It's not my fault to blame; if blame must be assigned, it's because you're too alluring—even someone with my self‑control can't hold back when seeing you."

Baobao laughed, "Well said—'can't hold back'—but I'm afraid you'd lose control with any woman." As they talked and walked, a third door appeared ahead: a stone door covered in carvings that looked like patterns, or like certain specific symbols. Baobao said, "Pattern Lock!" She frowned slightly; a pattern lock cannot be forced open—if the sequence is wrong, the door could jam shut, or worse, trigger a hidden mechanism.

Hu Xiaotian had no expertise in this, but he thought that since Baobao came from the Heavenly Secrets Bureau and was Hong Beimo's adopted daughter, she must have studied mechanism decryption; let's see if she can crack this stone door.

Baobao had indeed learned quite a bit about mechanism decryption from Hong Beimo, and she had specialized in pattern locks, yet the pattern lock on this stone door left her stumped.

Hu Xiaotian worried about disturbing her, so he stepped back a few paces and waited a while. Seeing Baobao shake her head, clearly baffled by the stone door's pattern lock, she sighed softly, "I've never encountered a mechanism like this; perhaps I should ask my adoptive father to come."

Hu Xiaotian said, "If he came, wouldn't all the good things be taken by him alone?" He thought to himself, it's just a stone door—worst case I could smash it with a punch, or if that failed, round up some people to chisel it open. But when his gaze fell on the stone door again, he felt the individual patterns shifting before his eyes, the symbols forming the pattern turning from flat to three‑dimensional—holy shit, it was a three‑dimensional stereoscopic image! Hu Xiaotian walked over and reached out to rearrange the patterns on the stone door.

Baobao warned him, "Be careful, don't move at random—if you trigger the mechanism it'll be trouble." But she quickly realized Hu Xiaotian wasn't acting randomly; he seemed to have seen the answer, rearranged the patterns on the stone door, and soon heard it emit a series of squeaks and creaks as it slid slowly to the right. The two looked up: not only this stone door, but two more stone doors behind it opened at the same time. Each stone door was about five feet thick; if they tried to break it by force, who knows how long it would take, and besides, they might set off a hidden mechanism.

Baobao exclaimed in delight, "You're omnipotent—you even understand pattern locks!" She thought Hu Xiaotian was hiding his talents.

Hu Xiaotian was completely baffled, not even knowing why he could see the answer? After thinking carefully, it should be due to a brief romantic encounter with Qin Yutong; he had somehow obtained her abilities in a daze. Previously he saw the Skull react, and now he also solved the Pattern Lock without instruction. He doesn't understand Ren Tianqing's abilities; after thinking it over, only Qin Yutong could have done this, and the rest can only be explained this way. He certainly won't tell Baobao about these things, chuckling and saying: "I still have many strengths; in the future you will keep them and learn gradually."

It's the last day of July; everyone who still has Monthly Tickets, please vote for Medical Union. In August we will strive to burst out and finish the book, estimated to be around another 300,000; in the early morning we will deliver Three More. August will certainly work hard; if health permits, we will burst out even more. August guarantees at least two chapters per day. We anticipate the Monthly Tickets in your hands; the month of filling gaps, completing the book, and bursting out officially begins! (To be continued~^~)