Chapter 1869

Rongshi shook his head and said, "If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't know who Xiangshan Cong is."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Your master asked him for help to save you; Xiangshan Cong is a person from Wuji Guan; have you ever heard of Wuji Guan?"

Never heard of it!

Hu Xiaotian said: "Are Rongshi's parents still alive?"

Rongshi said: "The Prince seems very interested in my private affairs."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Because I happened to overhear some matters concerning your background."

Rongshi's eyes suddenly lit up; anyone would be curious about their own background. Raised by his master since childhood, he had asked about his origins before, but each inquiry was met with merciless scolding from his master. Realizing he would get no answer, he stopped asking.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Rongshi, you were given to Madame Meizhuang by the Heavenly Crippled Daoist, and that Daoist obtained you from Xiangshan Cong."

Rongshi murmured: "But I don't know either of those two people."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Is this your birthdate and time?" He pulled out a slip of paper from his sleeve and handed it over.

Rongshi took the paper and stared at it; upon seeing the date and time, he was stunned and exclaimed: "You… how do you know this?"

Hu Xiaotian was merely guessing; after hearing the conversation between Xiangshan Cong and Madame Meizhuang in Yunshao Prefecture, he realized Rongshi's background must be extraordinary. Xiangshan Cong had mentioned the Heavenly Crippled Daoist, a name Hu Xiaotian had heard before; after racking his brains he recalled that this person appeared in the will Jian Xihe left for Jian Rongxin, which stated that if one gathered the two Heaven and Myriad Phenomena Charts, they could take them to Wuji Guan to find the Heavenly Crippled Daoist and exchange them for Jian Rongxin's elder brother. Moreover, Xiangshan Cong had said that Rongshi originally bore the surname Jian. Hu Xiaotian pieced together these facts and concluded that Rongshi was very likely the lost brother of Jian Rongxin.

Fortunately, Jian Rongxin had given Hu Xiaotian the token for seeking her brother, letting him search on her behalf. Hu Xiaotian found her brother's birthdate and time inside the fetal hair brush, wrote it down for Rongshi to see. He had thought Rongshi wouldn't know his own birth time, but was surprised that Rongshi actually knew it; overjoyed, he saw the birthdate match, bringing the matter closer to the truth.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I was entrusted by a close friend to find her relatives; hearing about your situation reminded me of this, so I wrote down the birthdate and time for you to see."

Rongshi's heart surged with excitement; such a coincidence seemed unlikely in the world. Could he truly be the person Hu Xiaotian sought? If so, he would still have relatives in this world—why did his parents give him away years ago? He suppressed his excitement and said softly: "A single birthdate and time proves nothing; there are far too many people born in the same year, month, day, and hour, and even sharing the same name and surname proves nothing."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Do you have any other clues, Rongshi?"

Rongshi shook his head; after a moment he seemed to recall something and said softly: "I have carried something with me since childhood; I don't know if it relates to my origins."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What is it?"

Rongshi hesitated whether to speak, for he did not know Hu Xiaotian's true intent.

Hu Xiaotian then produced another object, gently placing it on the chessboard: a fetal hair brush made of spotted bamboo. Seeing it, Rongshi felt his eyes heat and an indescribable surge rise within him; he lifted his robe, took out a fetal hair brush from his waist, nearly identical to Hu Xiaotian's, and carefully compared the two brushes.

Hu Xiaotian almost immediately concluded that the two fetal hair brushes must have come from the same fetus.

After confirming the two fetal hair brushes were exactly alike, Rongshi's hands trembled uncontrollably; he whispered: "This… you… where did you get this?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Truly unexpected!" He slowly rose, paced two steps, gazed northward, and silently thought, "Rongxin, I have finally helped you find your elder brother; indeed, heaven does not betray the sincere—amid the vast sea of people, he has met Jian Rongxin's brother of the same parents."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Your original surname is Jian; you are the eldest son of Grand Secretary Jian Xihe of Da Yong."

Rongshi's eyes blurred with tears; the sudden news left him somewhat at a loss, unsure whether to feel joy or sorrow. Previously he had given up hope of finding his family, yet he never expected to suddenly learn of his origins, and even less expected that the one revealing this secret would be Hu Xiaotian.

Rongshi said: "Grand Secretary Jian… he… he isn't already dead?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "That's right."

Rongshi sighed; although he now knew of his father, Jian Xihe had already died, meaning he could never meet him in this life, so knowing or not made no difference.

Hu Xiaotian guessed his thoughts and said softly: "Although Grand Secretary Jian has passed, he still has a daughter named Jian Rongxin, who is now my wife."

Rongshi's heart shuddered; he lifted his head to look at Hu Xiaotian, his eyes filled with disbelief. Hu Xiaotian is Jian Rongxin's husband, he is Jian Rongxin's brother—Rongshi, his true name should be Jian Rongshi, and he has become Hu Xiaotian's elder brother-in-law.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "For Rongxin's sake, I ought to call you elder brother."

A bitter smile touched Rongshi's lips; for a moment he felt the whole world had changed—Hu Xiaotian, who had always opposed him, had become his brother-in-law, leaving him unsure how to face it. After a long silence, Rongshi slowly digested the secret of his origins and whispered: "I… how did Grand Secretary Jian die?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "This is a long story; when you meet Rongxin, she will naturally explain it in detail." Although Hu Xiaotian knew the details of Jian Xihe's demise, it was not appropriate to tell Rongshi now, nor was he the best person for it; Jian Rongxin telling her brother herself would be ideal. Moreover, once Rongshi learned his origins, he would inevitably inquire about his father's death, and pinning the blame on Li Shen Zhou would not be difficult—Hu Xiaotian did not want him to think he was deliberately using him against Li Shen Zhou.

Rongshi nodded: "My master…"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I don't know about her, but I can be certain that you were forcibly taken away years ago, and Grand Secretary Jian has been searching for your whereabouts all these years."

Rongshi said: "Could you arrange a meeting between me and Rongxin?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Yes, but you must agree to one condition."

Rongshi nodded.

Hu Xiaotian said: "You must not reveal your origins; I fear that if others learn of this, it might be detrimental to Rongxin."

Rongshi said: "Rest assured, I will keep this secret tightly."

Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed: Rongshi had been taken because someone used him to blackmail Jian Xihe into stealing the tattoo behind Emperor Jingde's back; had it not been a twist of fate, he himself would not have obtained the Heaven and Myriad Phenomena Chart. However, the chart Jian Xihe privately kept was only part of it; another portion likely had been stolen by Prince Yan Xue Shengjing. If the two charts were gathered, could they lead to Wuji Dong?

Qiqi was in good spirits; seeing Hu Xiaotian approach, she smiled: "You finally bothered to come see me—where have you been gallivanting these past two days?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Without you by my side, who would I go gallivanting with?"

Get lost!

"Yes!" Hu Xiaotian turned and made a move to leave.

Qiqi again said: "Get lost and come back!"

Hu Xiaotian turned back with a smirk: "You boss me around, but I am after all the King of Zhenhai—could you give me some face?"

Qiqi said: "What face is there when you have no shame? I heard someone had already found the Black Hu Princess and sent her back to the Black Hu entourage; it seems my lost item has been recovered."

Hu Xiaotian sighed: "It's not that easy." He then recounted his recent experiences to Qiqi in full.

Upon hearing this, Qiqi flew into a rage: "These Black Hu people have the gall to damage my aunt's tomb; I will immediately send men to arrest them all."

Seeing how much she cared for her mother's tomb warmed Hu Xiaotian's heart; this girl clearly loved her mother's house and its crows, he said softly: "This has nothing to do with the Black Hu entourage; it should be the work of Fan Yin Si."

Qiqi said: "If that's the case, both skulls must have ended up in Xue Shengjing's hands; this man is so deceitful and crafty, who knows what trouble he'll stir up—we need to retrieve the skulls as soon as possible."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I recall you saying that aside from you, no one can comprehend the secret of that skull."

Qiqi had indeed thought that before, but after meeting Ji Feihua her belief began to waver; perhaps Hu Xiaotian was right—this world does not have only her capable of reading the skull's secret. She bit her cherry lip and said: "In any case, we must get it back quickly."

Hu Xiaotian said: "A loss may be a gain in disguise; after this incident, Hong Beimo finally agreed to cooperate with me."

Qiqi said: "Do you also believe his words?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Given the circumstances, if he refuses to join forces, my previous efforts would likely come to nothing."

Qiqi said: "Wouldn't the two of you collaborating be nothing but scheming in disgrace?"

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing; after laughing he said: "Today Xue Lingjun came to see me, bringing up the matter of a bilateral alliance again—I have already refused on your behalf."

Qiqi glared at him; this fellow actually decides matters for her, she said softly: "What qualifications does Xue Lingjun have to represent Da Yong? Anyway, I will meet her in three days."

"I'm afraid she won't come to see you again; the Da Yong envoy has already started packing their luggage, and it looks like they'll be leaving soon."

Qiqi said: "It's fine if she leaves; I can't be bothered to see her." (To be continued~^~)