Chapter 1871: [Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda] (Part)

Shi Xuedong vomited up his bile, wiping his mouth as he said, "I'm scared, quickly throw that thing away."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Has anyone gone missing recently in the Imperial Gardens Bureau?"

Shi Xuedong, upon his question, finally recalled something, nodded and said, "Yes, Xiao Dengzi. He left without a word a month ago, leaving a note saying he could not bear the austerity of the palace."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Take a look, is this Xiao Dengzi?"

Shi Xuedong stared at Hu Xiaotian with a grief-stricken face; besides that finger, the corpse had completely turned into a puddle of water—who could identify the dead?

Hu Xiaotian also knew he lacked that ability, he tossed the remaining finger into the yellow puddle, and in a moment it dissolved completely clean.

Seeing this, Shi Xuedong still wanted to vomit but couldn't.

Hu Xiaotian said, "How many keys are there to the medicine storehouse in the Imperial Gardens Bureau?"

Shi Xuedong said, "The key was taken from your hand; there's only this one, and it has never changed." He paused, thinking Hu Xiaotian doubted him, and hastily declared, "I swear, I have nothing to do with what's happening here."

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, Shi Xuedong didn't do it, neither did I, and the outer door is locked tight—could the medicine storehouse have another entrance? Gazing at the yellow puddle on the ground, Hu Xiaotian fell into contemplation; according to Shi Xuedong, the deceased is likely Xiao Dengzi, who was also an old hand at the Imperial Gardens Bureau—why would he come here? Could he have secretly made a copy of the storehouse key?

Shi Xuedong also realized this, he shook his head and said, "I always carry the key to the Imperial Gardens Bureau on my person; I never let it leave my side."

Hu Xiaotian suddenly thought of something and whispered, "Put out the lamp!"

"What?"

Shi Xuedong had already been frightened enough; hearing Hu Xiaotian tell him to extinguish the lamp made him even more afraid, and he trembled, "We should leave… this place… is really… too… gloomy…"

Hu Xiaotian said without room for doubt, "Do as I say!"

Shi Xuedong had no choice but to blow out the lantern, huddling close to Hu Xiaotian, fearing he would be abandoned.

The entire medicine storehouse plunged into darkness; Hu Xiaotian looked around and soon noticed a faint blue light flickering near where he had found the severed finger. Earlier, the lantern's light had interfered with his vision, so he overlooked this detail—the blue light was extremely weak, even weaker than a firefly's glow, and only Hu Xiaotian's extraordinarily keen eyesight could detect it.

Moving aside the wooden rack, Hu Xiaotian carefully picked up the glowing object—it was a blue gem the size of a mung bean.

Shi Xuedong's teeth chattered from fright; having been in charge of the Imperial Gardens Bureau for so many years, he had never discovered any treasure.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Xiao Dengzi must have discovered something; he intended to take the treasure and leave, but he didn't expect to encounter an uninvited guest who killed him…" Hu Xiaotian then, using the faint glimmer, found another gem.

He carefully searched the area where the gems were found and finally discovered a jade thumb ring beneath a row of wooden racks. Shi Xuedong immediately identified Xiao Dengzi's identity from it, whispering, "Exactly, the deceased is Xiao Dengzi; this jade thumb ring I gave him."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, tapped his finger on the lower tiles, producing a hollow sound. He signaled Shi Xuedong to relight the lantern, then pried up the tiles. After lifting four connected tiles, he saw a disordered relief beneath—a pattern lock. Hu Xiaotian shook his head; he lacked the skill to solve it. The relief likely depicted a dragon, its scales inlaid with tiny blue gems one by one. Evidently, Xiao Dengzi had inadvertently discovered this place; unable to open the lock, he pried off the gems one by one, intending to flee with the treasure, but instead brought about his own demise.

Shi Xuedong trembled, "What… what is down there?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, "How would I know?" He whispered to Shi Xuedong, "Let's leave this place first; you must not reveal this to anyone."

Shi Xuedong nodded repeatedly, took the medicine storehouse key and handed it to Hu Xiaotian, saying, "All the keys are yours; I… I… wouldn't dare come back even if beaten to death."

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed at his cowardice, thinking that only Qiqi could solve this pattern lock. He whispered, "Go now to Zilan Palace and fetch the Princess, telling her I'm drunk."

Shi Xuedong said, "What… what if she refuses to come?"

Hu Xiaotian hooked a finger at him, leaned close to his ear and whispered something; Shi Xuedong gaped, "Would that work?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Just go; I'll take responsibility for everything."

Qiqi indeed arrived as promised. When she reached the Imperial Gardens Bureau, Hu Xiaotian was sitting properly under the grape arbor drinking tea, and he glared at Shi Xuedong, saying, "Shi Xuedong, you didn't say he was drunk, did you?"

Shi Xuedong shook his head like a rattle drum, saying, "Not **** matter, it's the Prince who told me to say this."

Hu Xiaotian gave him a look, and Shi Xuedong hurriedly fled.

Qiqi sat down opposite Hu Xiaotian, huffing angrily, and said with a cold snort, "Your gall is indeed growing bigger; you actually dared to drag a eunuch to deceive me."

Hu Xiaotian smiled faintly, "Pretending to be drunk is false, but shouting everywhere that I like you is true; if you don't believe me, shall I call out a few times right in front of you?"

Qiqi glared at him and said, "Afraid of you, you shameless; I still care about my reputation—speak! Why are you still lingering in the palace?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I just recalled some things from our past; do you remember what happened in the Imperial Gardens Bureau's wine cellar?"

Qiqi bit her cherry lips, her pretty face warming slightly; she naturally remembered. Could it be that he summoned her this late just to stroll under the flowers and moon, to talk of love? Or does he know that Long Xi Yue will soon come to Kangdu to meet her, fearing she might be unfavorable to Long Xi Yue, so he launched an emotional offensive to confuse her?

Hu Xiaotian said, "As it turns out, the Imperial Gardens Bureau indeed holds more than meets the eye; besides the wine cellar, there is another place hiding a secret."

Only then did Qiqi understand his main purpose in summoning her; she whispered, "Where?"

Hu Xiaotian dismissed the crowd, and he and Qiqi entered the medicine storehouse, bringing her to the spot where the pattern lock had just been discovered. Qiqi took one glance and declared, "This is a Double Dragon Going to Sea Lock; the medicine storehouse indeed harbors a secret."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Can you solve it?"

Qiqi said nothing; her hands began rearranging the pattern. In the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, the previously disordered design was reordered into the Double Dragon Going to Sea pattern, the glyphs emitting a squeaky creak as they slowly sank downward, revealing a pitch-black opening.

Hu Xiaotian glanced at Qiqi and said, "How about I go down alone?"

Qiqi replied, "Do you think I'm afraid? If we go, we go together."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, lit the way with the torch he brought; the cave wasn't deep. He jumped down first, confirmed the air inside could support normal breathing, then waved to Qiqi. She leapt down, and Hu Xiaotian caught her lithe frame with one arm. Qiqi's cheeks flushed; she suspected he was taking advantage, but at this height it was nothing—she wriggled free from his arm and whispered, "What exactly is this place?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, "I'm not sure, but the one who first discovered this place should be Liu Yuzhang; he knows everything about palace affairs." He inwardly admired Liu Yuzhang, this senior eunuch hiding his depths too well—back then I never imagined he could harbor such unfathomable scheming.

The two walked along the underground passage for over half a li, when a stone gate appeared ahead, still bearing a pattern lock; to Qiqi such locks posed no obstacle, and she easily opened it.

The two stone doors slid slowly to the sides, opening up to reveal a stone bridge spanning the underground river; the water rushed violently, the riverbed lay more than ten zhang beneath the bridge, and at the bridge's end stood a tower whose surface glittered with light, actually inlaid with night pearls. Qiqi stared agape at the sight, and after a long while murmured, "Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—so that's where the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda has been hidden all along."

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; he had also heard of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, said to contain another Heaven's Mandate One's skull. Later the pagoda collapsed, and on its original site was built Yilan Palace, the residence of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom's dowager empress Long Xuanjiao before her marriage; as for that skull, Long Xuanjiao later discovered it and secretly took it to the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom. Yet Qiqi had never seen the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, so how could she identify this tower as it?

Qiqi didn't explain to Hu Xiaotian; she stepped onto the stone bridge, with Hu Xiaotian following closely. She warned him, "Pay attention to the patterns on the bridge surface, follow my steps exactly—do not misstep even once, or the bridge will collapse."

Hu Xiaotian sighed, "Just who built this subterranean project?"

Qiqi said, "It must be the Military Sage Zhuge Yun Chun; I'm sure he gained some insight from the Heaven's Mandate One." With her leading the way, the two soon arrived before the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. Qiqi did not rush to enter; instead she circled the tower once, returning to the gate, her brows furrowed as she said, "I've never seen this lock before—I don't know how to break it."

Hu Xiaotian felt deeply disappointed; he hadn't expected that upon reaching the exterior of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda they'd still be barred entry. Then again, even if they got in it would be pointless, since the skull preserved inside had already been stolen by Hu Buwei in collusion with Long Xuanjiao—just how those two managed to steal the skull? Long Xuanjiao surely lacks the ability; could Hu Buwei have solved the mechanism to get inside? That also seems unlikely.

Qiqi stared at the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda for a long time, then sighed, "Forget it; if we get it wrong, this whole place will collapse and we'll be buried here."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, "Better to live in disgrace than die honorably; though I don't object to sharing a grave with you, just think—we've never even shared a bed, which would be a pity." (To be continued~^~)