Chapter 186: [Silencing] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Murong Feiyan's beautiful profile beside him, feeling a sudden warmth in his heart. If it weren't for her company along this journey, how lonely would he be? Murong Feiyan always felt his gaze was full of heat; the usually frank and open-minded woman found herself embarrassed by his look, raising her pretty face high and gazing at the twinkling night sky.

At that moment, a shooting star streaked across the horizon.

Hu Xiaotian, however, didn't see that shooting star and softly said, "I want you to be my walking stick for life."

Murong Feiyan seemed not to hear his words, her beautiful eyes quietly fixed on the shooting star, its tail reflecting a lovely light in her gaze.

Hu Xiaotian was stunned by the fleeting light, only then realizing a shooting star had streaked across. He had often heard that making a wish upon such a star would grant one's desire—could the heavens have truly heard his call?

Such beauty is fleeting; when Hu Xiaotian lifted his head, the shooting star had already vanished into the distant horizon.

After the shooting star had disappeared for a while, Murong Feiyan finally replied, "If you let me break your two dog legs, perhaps I could consider it."

At that moment, the government office encountered an expected mishap: the two assassins whom Murong Feiyan had personally sent to prison began to convulse after dinner, seemingly on the verge of death. Since these prisoners had been captured by Hu Xiaotian, the prison immediately informed him. When Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan arrived, Liu Kuohai of the Hall of Returning Spring was summoned to treat them; though he applied some measures, they seemed ineffective. One had already died, the other, though still alive, was at death's door.

Hu Xiaotian hadn't expected someone to act so swiftly—barely delivered to prison, they were already being silenced. Looking at the assassin twitching on the ground, he said, "Fetch some soap‑bean powder, mix it with water, and pour it down his throat."

The two jailers, having received the order, hurried off and soon returned with a bucket of clean water, mixing in the soap‑bean powder as Hu Xiaotian instructed. They poured the mixture into the assassin's mouth; he swallowed a good amount and began to vomit profusely. It wasn't that Hu Xiaotian was deliberately tormenting him—there was no stomach pump available, so this was the only way to induce vomiting.

Hu Xiaotian endured the foul smell, standing aside and watching. The assassin continued until he had vomited up his bile; only then did Hu Xiaotian order the process stopped and have cold water poured over the prisoner to rinse him clean. The man lay on the ground, still weak and feeble; had Hu Xiaotian not used this extreme rescue method, he would surely have died by now.

One of the two assassins died; the survivor, though he had vomited up his entire dinner, remained in a grim state—briefly lucid before slipping back into unconsciousness. Hu Xiaotian went outside the cell, where Murong Feiyan had just questioned the on‑duty jailers: tonight's meal was the same for all prisoners, yet only these two had fallen ill. This surely meant something. The jailers all insisted that the evening food was absolutely fine.

Liu Danggui came up to Hu Xiaotian and whispered, "Sir Hu, the remaining one also looks hopeless—at death's door; I doubt he'll last much longer."

Hu Xiaotian, not skilled in detoxification, furrowed his brow and asked, "Is there any detox expert in the city?"

Liu Danggui shook his head, then suddenly thought of someone: "Mister Meng!"

Hu Xiaotian's eyes lit up, but at that moment a wail rang out—the assassin they had just managed to rescue had died. After great effort they had captured two live mouths, intending to use them to uncover the mastermind behind the plot; yet they never expected that, as soon as the two were brought to prison, they would meet this fate. Both were silenced at the same time.

Both Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan felt a sense of defeat, for they had underestimated their enemy, failing to anticipate that the mastermind behind the scenes would strike so ruthlessly and promptly.

Hu Xiaotian had the corpses temporarily sent to the Charitable Estate and ordered that that night's food be sampled and sealed. Only then did he leave the prison. Although two prisoners had died inside, the Qingyun County Government Office, aside from the clerk in charge of the prison, sent no officials to inspect; no one cared about the prisoners' fate. Moreover, since these assassins had been brought back by Hu Xiaotian, any responsibility fell on him—even Xu Qinglian, who resided in the county office, could not be bothered to show up.

Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan silently returned to their residence; upon entering the courtyard, Murong Feiyan snapped, "Someone must have poisoned them."

Hu Xiaotian said, "We'll talk about this tomorrow." Yet he had already concluded it was an inside job—the prison was heavily guarded, making it hard for outsiders to slip in. From this he inferred that the person who hired the killers came from within the Qingyun County Government Office.

Liang Da Zhuang came running in a panic, shouting, "Young master, something serious has happened—Hu Jinniu has escaped!"

Hu Xiaotian felt no surprise at all; letting Hu Jinniu flee was merely part of his plan, and Liu Kuohai should already be tailing him. He waved his hand, saying, "Let him go; you should rest early—we still have a journey tomorrow."

After Liang Da Zhuang left, Murong Feiyan fixed her beautiful eyes on Hu Xiaotian and said, "You're not just going to let this go, are you? If we detain those jailers and interrogate them thoroughly, we'll surely uncover the truth—there's no doubt they poisoned the food."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and asked, "Why poison them?"

"Obviously to kill and silence them!"

"What is the purpose of killing to silence?"

"Because someone fears that the plot to assassinate you will be exposed, so they want to eliminate these two assassins."

Hu Xiaotian added, "Who could act without anyone knowing?"

Murong Feiyan replied, "That goes without saying—it's certainly someone from inside the office! Don't you want to find out exactly who did it?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head. "Why must we pinpoint a single individual? Perhaps not a single person in the whole office is clean."

Murong Feiyan's eyes brightened as she suddenly grasped Hu Xiaotian's intent—perhaps his original goal was merely to confirm one thing: that the assassination operation from Flying Eagle Valley had been plotted by the office itself; as for who, there was no need to investigate further.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Since everyone is a suspect, everyone is our enemy. I don't have the energy to keep playing childish games with them; from today on, I would rather mistakenly kill a thousand than let a single one go."

Hu Xiaotian's words sounded mighty and overbearing; hearing them, Murong Feiyan felt a jolt in her heart, yet looking at his frivolous smile, she couldn't help but think he was joking.

Hu Xiaotian was not joking; he truly harbored murderous intent. He also knew Murong Feiyan was a person of strong principle, and he could not tell her all his thoughts, lest he fail to gain her approval and instead provoke her aversion. Yet such mental work was necessary—just as ice forms three feet thick over time and water wears away stone, change comes from persistent effort. Once they had been bitter rivals, they were now good partners; if he put in the work, they could become close friends, even lovers, for with enough skill an iron rod can be ground into a needle. But as he gazed at Murong Feiyan, his mind wandered elsewhere.

Murong Feiyan always sensed his intentions at once and swiftly put distance between them; he was a dangerous element, like a hedgehog—get too close and you'll get pricked. Even Murong Feiyan didn't know why she feared him so; in martial prowess, ten Hu Xiaotians together could not match her.

Hu Xiaotian suggested, "Go to my room."

"Shameless!" Murong Feiyan obviously misunderstood his words again.

Hu Xiaotian said, "I just want to discuss something with you; there's no other meaning."

Murong Feiyan replied, "Fine, let's go—I'm not afraid of you." Often, the louder one's voice, the guiltier they feel.

Upon entering Hu Xiaotian's room, he had Murong Feiyan close the door, then limped onto the bed and lay prone; given his current condition, this posture was the most comfortable.

Murong Feiyan sat in the grand chair by the window, and Hu Xiaotian said, "Come closer."

Murong Feiyan answered, "We'd better keep some distance; I can hear you."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Just now I reached an agreement with Xiao Tianmu."

"You and him? Surely you're not plotting something wicked, are you?"

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said, "He said those assassins today were from the Wuxian Sect."

"The Wuxian Sect?" Murong Feiyan rose to her feet; as a member of the Six Gates, she knew the jianghu's lore far better than Hu Xiaotian. She stepped closer and whispered, "You mean the Wuxian Sect that was wiped out by imperial troops?"

Hu Xiaotian closed his eyes and nodded. "Exactly them; it's said they have risen from the ashes."

Murong Feiyan said, "The leader of the Wuxian Sect, Shangguan Wuqing, is said to possess formidable martial arts, having allegedly reached the realm of Grand Master; if he were to move against you, we'd be in serious trouble." Though Murong Feiyan was bold, merely hearing Shangguan Wuqing's name sent a shiver of fear through her—in the jianghu he is a near‑mythic figure, his skill said to have reached perfection, able to pluck a head from a sea of troops as easily as taking something from a pocket, though she had never seen him in person.

Hu Xiaotian replied, "I don't have such formidable enemies; the Wuxian Sect has countless disciples, with who knows how many halls and branches taking on missions—there's no need to bother with some Shangguan, some Wuqing."

Murong Feiyan said, "You actually have some self‑awareness."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, "If you don't even understand yourself, how dare you plunge into officialdom?"

"Call you fat and you'll pant!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Two Wuxian Sect disciples sent to prison were killed—without a doubt, the person who hired the killers is inside our office."

Murong Feiyan said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that, despite all our precautions, we missed catching the silencer in the act."