Chapter 1857

Xue Lingjun said, "What business do you have with the Black Hu matter coming to my place? Do you suspect they would be hiding here?"

Hu Xiaotian gave a slight smile and didn't respond; with Xue Lingjun's wit, it shouldn't be hard to guess his purpose in coming.

Xue Lingjun said, "Are you trying to pin a charge on me of intending to abduct the Black Hu princess and sabotage relations between Dakang and Black Hu?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "According to common sense, you indeed have such a possibility, but given my understanding of you, Elder Sister, this should be impossible."

"How do you know?" Xue Lingjun raised her brows, her expression turning even colder.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Elder Sister is a smart person; you should know the consequences of doing this, especially since this is in Dakang and I am the one handling it."

Xue Lingjun chuckled: "You really have a high opinion of yourself."

Hu Xiaotian said, "One must have some confidence as a person; otherwise, one might not even have the courage to go on living."

Xue Lingjun said, "Since you know I couldn't possibly do this, why are you still leading troops to surround the relay station?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although I believe it, others don't; my purpose in doing this is absolutely not to pressure Elder Sister, nor to disadvantage your entourage, but to help you prove your innocence."

Xue Lingjun was truly convinced by him; this guy always has his own reasoning, bullying others and then putting on an act of caring for them.

Xue Lingjun nodded and said, "Thank you, Prince!" Her tone and expression made it clear she was drawing a line with Hu Xiaotian; thinking of the rumors between them, she felt increasingly agitated, wondering what Li Chen Zhou would think if he heard.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Elder Sister, would you allow me to walk around the relay station?"

Xue Lingjun sighed and said, "Although it's a relay station, after all it's your Dakang's territory; you are the Prince Zhenhai of Dakang, so on your own turf you naturally do as you please—how could an outsider like me dare to interfere?"

Hu Xiaotian heard her anger, gave a slight smile, and clasped his fists toward her.

After Hu Xiaotian left, Xue Lingjun summoned Shi Kuan inside, quietly instructing him to follow Hu Xiaotian step by step, strictly guarding against this guy pulling any tricks.

Hu Xiaotian summoned ten warriors from outside to search the relay station, of course under the other side's close surveillance the whole time.

Shi Kuan-led Jinlin Guard all felt this guy was overbearing, but given the situation, nobody dared to speak up in opposition. The ten warriors searched inside and out, found nothing abnormal, came before Hu Xiaotian and shook their heads, indicating they found nothing.

Shi Kuan had been holding in his anger; now he finally let it out, snorting coldly, "Prince, are you satisfied now?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Commander Shi seems to bear some grudge against me."

Shi Kuan said, "How dare I, how dare I; this is Dakang, so naturally the Prince does as he pleases." He was clearly implying that Hu Xiaotian does whatever he wants.

Hu Xiaotian acted as if he didn't understand his meaning at all, and asked the nearby warriors: "Have you all searched?"

Several warriors nodded, their faces showing some embarrassment.

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Looks like we overthought it." His gaze then shifted to the front right, and he walked over slowly; everyone followed his direction and saw a well—long dried up for years, merely a hollow shell.

Shi Kuan also hurriedly followed.

Hu Xiaotian lowered his head to look into the well opening and asked: "Has this been searched too?"

Several warriors simultaneously shook their heads.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Go down and have a look."

Shi Kuan could no longer suppress his anger, snapping: "Prince, what do you mean? This relay station is also provided by your Dakang; didn't you inspect it before letting the entourage stay?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Commander Shi, don't be angry; I'm also acting under orders. So many things have happened these past two days, I've been under great pressure too—Commander Shi, please be understanding; we're old friends, right?"

Shi Kuan coldly said: "I dare not presume to be your equal!"

The warriors Hu Xiaotian brought had already begun their operation, climbing down the dry well; not long after, they discovered that the bottom of the dry well actually had a newly dug opening, and what troubled the Da Yong entourage even more was that they found some women's clothing inside the well—clearly foreign attire.

Shi Kuan saw the situation and knew it was bad; he slipped away, went indoors, and reported to the Elder Princess Xue Lingjun.

Upon hearing this, Xue Lingjun was also greatly startled; although she wished for the Black Hu entourage to meet trouble, the matter of the Black Hu Princess Xima had absolutely nothing to do with them. A little reflection made her feel something was fishy—why would Hu Xiaotian suspect that dry well, and why would a tunnel suddenly appear beneath it? Nine times out of ten, this guy set a trap. Xue Lingjun originally wanted to go out and confront Hu Xiaotian, but then she thought that going out now would only make people feel flustered; in such moments, one must stay calm. She told Shi Kuan: "Please have the Prince Zhenhai come in; I have something to say to him."

Though it was only a few steps away, Shi Kuan had to relay the message.

Shi Kuan returned to Hu Xiaotian's side, noticing that more warriors had arrived in the meantime; Hu Xiaotian's face was grave, no longer as gentle as before.

Shi Kuan said: "Prince, the Elder Princess invites you to come in."

Hu Xiaotian coldly glanced at him and said: "Help me convey to the Prince that I need to verify who owns these clothes; I don't have time to go over."

Shi Kuan hit a wall, his face turning ashen.

Hu Xiaotian said: "By the way, before this matter is clarified, I hope your entourage will temporarily not leave the relay station."

Shi Kuan was taken aback; this guy clearly intended to put them under house arrest, and he snapped: "Prince, we are the Da Yong entourage—do you still observe propriety?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "If it's proven that this matter has nothing to do with your entourage, I will naturally apologize to the Elder Princess; but if I find it is related to you, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"You..."

Hu Xiaotian didn't care about Shi Kuan's feelings and had already turned and left the relay station.

The disappearance of Princess Xima had already drawn in both Black Hu and the Da Yong entourage; the clothing Hu Xiaotian found in the Da Yong relay station was confirmed by the Black Hu side to belong to Princess Xima, and all current indications point suspicion toward Da Yong.

Wanyan Liexin was no ordinary person either; he placed that set of Princess Xima's clothing on the table, sighed, and said: "Sometimes, what you see with your own eyes isn't necessarily true."

Bu Bu Ma angrily said: "What do you mean? Since Princess Xima's clothing was found in the Da Yong relay station, that proves they did it—we should naturally demand they return the person."

Wanyan Liexin gave a wry smile: "If we didn't have this clothing, who would we suspect first?"

Bu Bu Ma thought for a moment: "Naturally, it's Hu Xiaotian."

Wanyan Liexin said: "That's right. He suspected Gangbaduo of sneaking into the Qi Qiao Linglong Pavilion to demand people from us; we refused to hand them over, so he tried every means to abduct the princess for exchange—this has nothing to do with Da Yong, they lack motive for this, except that Hu Xiaotian needs a scapegoat to shift blame; since he could dig a tunnel into our interior to abduct the princess, he could just as easily dig a tunnel and toss her garments into the Da Yong relay station to frame them."

Bu Bu Ma sucked in a breath: "This kid is truly vicious!"

Wanyan Liexin said: "Using one matter to entangle both us and the Da Yong entourage in trouble is exactly his clever scheme of killing two birds with one stone; we just need to wait patiently—this won't end like that, and soon someone will propose terms, exchanging Gangbaduo for the princess."

Bu Bu Ma gritted his teeth: "I'll go kill that bastard Hu Xiaotian."

Wanyan Liexin shook his head: "Hu Xiaotian's martial arts are formidable; I don't think the senior will easily succeed, and there's no need to rush—Princess Xima is still useful to them, so he likely won't harm her."

Bu Bu Ma said: "They've already stripped her of her clothes—how else could it be unfavorable? Don't you realize a girl's chastity is more important than her life?"

Wanyan Liexin also wore a worried frown, pursed his lips, and said softly: "I think Hu Xiaotian wouldn't do something so despicable."

Bu Bu Ma sneered: "What couldn't he do?"

Hu Xiaotian returned to the Zhenhai Wang Fu, where Liang Da Zhuang cheerfully greeted him: "Young Master, you're back—an old friend is waiting for you in the flower hall."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, went to the flower hall, and saw a tall, slender figure in green robes standing with his back to him, admiring the paintings on the wall; a faint smile touched Hu Xiaotian's lips as he turned and closed the door.

That person slowly turned around—he was a gaunt middle-aged man with three wisps of beard on his jaw, and he smiled slightly at Hu Xiaotian, saying: "Your trick of killing two birds with one stone is rather too obvious." It turned out this middle-aged man was Ji Feihua in disguise.

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said: "The Black Hu are playing dirty with us; we naturally need to return the favor. Has that girl been settled properly?"

Ji Feihua nodded and said: "Don't worry, I've hidden her well." She walked a few steps toward Hu Xiaotian, came close and said: "When do you plan to show your hand to Wanyan Liexin?"

"Not urgent! He knows the situation inside out, knows how this came about, and knows what I want. Now we have the initiative; he can't hold out too long, and will soon come to find me."

Ji Feihua said: "Your servant is not simple."

Hu Xiaotian knew she was certainly referring to Liang Da Zhuang, and smiled: "You noticed too?"

Ji Feihua said: "Keeping such a formidable person by your side, aren't you afraid he'll ruin your plans?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Whether he's friend or foe is still unknown; I'm careful and on guard against him everywhere. So far I've seen no sign of him being hostile to me. Once I finish what's at hand, I'll find a way to expose his true nature."

Ji Feihua said: "If Wanyan Liexin really intends to sacrifice Xima, what will you do?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "I've investigated; Xima is deeply favored by her father, Khan Wanyan Luxi, so Wanyan Liexin shouldn't dare take such a risk." (To be continued~^~)