Chapter 1815

Yuanmu has already realized his mistake; he suppresses his anger, nods slowly to Hu Xiaotian and says: "Benefactor, this humble monk will give you three more days; if after three days you still haven't seen that Heart Sutra, then prepare to hold a funeral for your friend."

Hu Xiaotian calmly nods: "Master, if my friend suffers even the slightest harm, I swear I will wipe Heaven Dragon Temple clean from this world, leaving not a blade of grass."

Yuanmu says: "If that's really the case, you will surely pay a heavy price!"

Hu Xiaotian leaves the meditation chamber, sees Mingjing waiting outside the door; behind him comes Yuanmu's voice: "Mingjing, see the Prince off for me."

Mingjing makes an inviting gesture, leads Hu Xiaotian forward; reaching the fork ahead, Mingjing originally intended to directly take Hu Xiaotian to the front hall, but didn't expect Hu Xiaotian to point toward the pagoda forest and say: "I want to go this way."

Mingjing says: "This road is not a shortcut."

Hu Xiaotian says: "I've always liked to forsake the near for the far." He doesn't care what Mingjing thinks, already strides over; Mingjing helplessly can only quicken his steps to keep up.

Hu Xiaotian strides forward, not waiting for his reply; he's not new to this pagoda forest, he knows the paths very well.

Mingjing has already guessed his purpose, says from behind: "Prince, that pagoda is no longer there."

Hu Xiaotian stops, chuckles: "Master Mingjing, what do you mean by that? I merely chose to pass through here; I have no other purpose."

Mingjing thinks: "You're fooling ghosts, taking a detour to forsake the near for the far—could it just be because you like it? This Hu Xiaotian is really willful; though his mind is full of suspicion, his face shows nothing, he softly says: 'It's just me overthinking.'"

Hu Xiaotian says: "Master Mingjing, Minghui is your senior brother!"

Mingjing smiles: "Not bad, only unfortunate that I and my senior brother have no fate to meet."

Hu Xiaotian originally wanted to get some news about Minghui from Mingjing by indirect means, but Mingjing seems to have noticed and directly shut down Hu Xiaotian's questions.

Hu Xiaotian looks ahead, sees the pagoda forest standing; wanting to find the pagoda that originally belonged to Minghui among them is somewhat difficult, so he deliberately says: "Minghui was Yuanmu Master's personally transmitted disciple, right?"

Mingjing nods.

Hu Xiaotian says: "I don't know what wrongdoing he committed in life that caused Yuanmu Master to shatter the pagoda with a single palm."

Mingjing says: "Actually my senior brother's Buddhist relics are not in this pagoda forest; the master's palm strike was merely meant to reveal the truth to the Princess."

Hu Xiaotian smiles: "Do you know what Yuanmu Master discussed with me?"

Mingjing shakes his head: "I don't know, nor do I want to know; this humble monk only wants to do his duty, I dare not meddle in the master's affairs."

Hu Xiaotian looks at Mingjing: "You should understand how to conduct yourself better than Minghui; facing a disciple as versatile as you, even I would be reluctant to kill you."

Mingjing is slightly startled by his words, then laughs: "Prince, you're joking!"

Hu Xiaotian returns to Zhenhai Wang Fu, originally intending to take a bath then go to the palace to see Qiqi, to ask her about the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing; just as he stepped into the open-air pool in the Back Garden, Liang Da Zhuang came to report that the Yongyang Princess had arrived.

At this moment Hu Xiaotian only wears a tight undergarment; this pool is his sole design in Zhenhai Wang Fu; when Hong Beimo was renovating the Prince Consort's residence, he once consulted Hu Xiaotian's opinion, and Hu Xiaotian drew a pool about twenty zhang long and ten zhang wide in the Back Garden, not the lotus pond or fishpond people imagined, but a swimming pool built of cloud stone.

Since moving into Zhenhai Wang Fu, the place has been cleaned anew, fresh spring water brought in; Hu Xiaotian swims dozens of laps in the pool each day. Hearing that Qiqi has arrived, Hu Xiaotian smiles: "She's not an outsider; just let her in."

Liang Da Zhuang looks at Hu Xiaotian's attire; although Hu Xiaotian is fit, after all it's a princess coming, seeing her like this might be disrespectful, he adds: "Should the Young Master change clothes?"

Hu Xiaotian glares at him.

Liang Da Zhuang knows further talk will surely earn a scolding, he hurries to convey his order.

Not long after, Qiqi follows Liang Da Zhuang in; seeing Hu Xiaotian freely swimming like a fish in the pool, Qiqi's heart involuntarily feels some envy, plus an itch; thinking of herself busy with myriad affairs, handling myriad tasks, this guy is actually so carefree and happy, she instantly flares up, coldly saying: "Hu Xiaotian, you're quite at ease!"

Hu Xiaotian laughs: "When life is proud, one must indulge; having finally gotten a chance to rest, one should naturally enjoy life." He flips in the pool, stretches his arms, leisurely backstroking; under the sun, his whole body's muscle lines are healthy and even, his bronzed skin emits a metallic sheen.

Qiqi waves her hand; Liang Da Zhuang and those palace servants all retreat; she slowly approaches the poolside, secretly sighing, the Prince Consort's residence is sunny and flourishing with plants; living here, compared to the gloomy dark palace, her mood is naturally much better.

Hu Xiaotian gazes at Qiqi: "You ought to go out for a walk; your complexion is pale, your eyes dim—clearly you've been cooped up in the palace too long, rarely seeing sunlight."

Qiqi coldly snorts: "None of your business!"

Hu Xiaotian says: "Life lies in movement; you're young now and don't feel it, but to preserve youth you must persist from now on. Usually run, climb mountains, swim; even if you squeeze in some yoga, it's fine."

Qiqi naturally doesn't understand what yoga is; she merely glances sideways at the carefree Hu Xiaotian, wearing a look of disdain.

Hu Xiaotian swims to the shore, hands resting on the bank, lifts his head to look up at Qiqi; the sun is strong, he instinctively squints; now Qiqi appears lofty above.

Qiqi suddenly lifts her foot to kick his shoulder, thinking: "Let you be smug, I'll kick you in." She only wants to vent, but forgets she's facing Hu Xiaotian, who doesn't care who she is; as soon as Qiqi lifts her foot, he already knows her intent, allowing her foot to press on his shoulder, then he reaches out to grab her wrist, pulling her, Qiqi instantly loses balance, lets out a soft cry, and plops into the pool.

Hu Xiaotian bursts out laughing, instantly swimming several zhang away; he's not worried about Qiqi's swimming ability, since when they together dove into Long Ling Shengjing, her skill was no less than his.

Qiqi's entire dress is soaked, she looks like a drowned chicken; first she feels angry, but seeing Hu Xiaotian's appearance, that bit of anger evaporates; she wipes water from her face and says: "Hu Xiaotian, believe it or not, I could kill you!"

Hu Xiaotian laughs: "Want to kill me? Then you'd better catch me first!" Having said that, he already swims forward.

Qiqi snorts, in the water she pulls off her long dress; Hu Xiaotian sees her move and inwardly sighs, this girl is indeed bold; but after Qiqi's long dress is removed, he sees she wears a set of pearl‑shimmering inner armor; looking closely, this armor is entirely made of tiny pearls. Hu Xiaotian has never seen it before; Qiqi's inner armor is called the Pearl Radiance Armor, one of the treasures stored in the imperial palace, warm in winter, cool in summer, and can deflect blades to protect the body, truly a rare treasure.

But Hu Xiaotian sees that after Qiqi removes her long dress she moves like a mermaid swiftly chasing him; he clicks his tongue in admiration, turns and flees; the two chase each other in the water, both excellent swimmers, looping around the pool, repeatedly pursuing; Hu Xiaotian pretends to tire, slowing down; Qiqi, competitive by nature, gathers her strength determined to catch him; seeing his speed drop, she delights, reaches out to grab his ankle, but unexpectedly Hu Xiaotian suddenly spins in the water, ends up behind her, spreads his arms and embraces Qiqi.

Although Qiqi was wearing the Pearl Radiant Armor, being held in this scoundrel's arms inevitably made her delicate body tremble; moreover, this scoundrel wore only a pair of underpants, almost naked. She broke free from Hu Xiaotian's embrace, and the two faced each other underwater. Hu Xiaotian reached out, cupped her lovely face, and slowly leaned toward her cherry lips.

Qiqi's heart pounded violently, she lifted her leg as if about to make a move. Hu Xiaotian worried she would repeat her old trick and sneak attack his lower body, so he clenched his legs in the water. Seeing his reaction, Qiqi couldn't help but smile, then she shoved him away hard, kicked her jade leg, and surfaced. Just as she had lain down on the bank, she heard splashing water nearby—it was Hu Xiaotian also surfacing after her. Their eyes met; Qiqi's pretty face flushed crimson, her whole person as lovely as a lotus rising from the water. She whispered, "Based on what you just did, I could exterminate your nine clans!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "I have no relatives now; even if you wanted to exterminate my nine clans, you'd have to let me be born first—otherwise, could you help me?" He shamelessly moved closer again.

Qiqi shoved him away with one push, propped herself up with both hands and climbed out, then sat on the edge of the pool. She glared at Hu Xiaotian and said, "How can I face people like this? Go help me find my clothes."

Hu Xiaotian clasped his fists and said, "As you command!" He flipped and dove underwater; shortly thereafter he found Qiqi's clothes and swam back.

Qiqi had already come to sit in the pavilion by the shore; the Pearl Radiant Armor outlined her delicate figure exquisitely. From afar, the inner armor indeed bore a layer of colorful rosy light. Compared to this set of inner armor, Hu Xiaotian paid more attention to the beautiful body beneath it—the girl had indeed grown up; her figure was now well-proportioned. The previously flat as an airstrip **** now showed a slight curve, and even that tiny curve made Hu Xiaotian's heart heat up.

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