Chapter 1876

Liu Yuzhang's expression was full of resentment and anger; given his martial prowess, mentioning this past event still stirred such great emotional turmoil, showing how deeply it affected him and proving that even today he has not let go of it. He took a deep breath to calm his agitated emotions.

Hu Xiaotian comforted him, saying, "Actually, human nature is selfish; choosing to preserve oneself at a life‑and‑death juncture is hardly blameworthy." He thought privately that Liu Yuzhang's mind was also somewhat narrow; back then he himself had decided to sacrifice voluntarily, so having made that choice, why complain?

Liu Yuzhang slowly shook his head and said, "Death is not frightening, nor is physical torment; what is truly terrifying is when a person willingly gives for others, sacrifices for others, only to discover in the end that they have long been betrayed." His voice trailed off.

Hu Xiaotian privately wondered who had betrayed Liu Yuzhang. According to what he just said, among the five of the Void‑Crossing Team, one had already been eliminated by them? The possibility of the Ghost‑Doctor Fu Zhuo is small; if it were Fu Zhuo, Liu Yuzhang would surely have acted against him already. Could it be Madame Xu? The hardest barrier in life is the love‑pass; perhaps he too could not escape it, falling at that very pass.

Madame Xu had said before that among the five Void‑Crossers, each possessed different skills: one handled security, adept at various weapon combat and wilderness survival; one was versed in medicine, skilled in various first‑aid and recovery; one was an astronomy and physics expert, proficient in astronomical, geographical and geological survey; one excelled in the manufacture of various devices and the operation of all kinds of transport; and one was a geneticist. The first to die was the astronomer; Madame Xu would not lie about this, meaning the one who wanted to destroy the fire seed and died in their internal strife was that person, and then came the combat and wilderness‑survival specialist. Judging by the timeline and matching Liu Yuzhang's recent words, it should be Liu Yuzhang himself, also the leader of the Void‑Control Team; Madame Xu must have thought he was dead. The medical expert is the Ghost‑Doctor Fu Zhuo, the geneticist is Madame Xu, and who is the remaining one? Why has no one mentioned the specialist in device manufacture and transport operation? Is he already dead, or does everyone simply avoid speaking his name?

Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Who betrayed him?"

Liu Yuzhang gave a heh heh cold chuckle, then said in a low voice, "I have already said enough today."

Hu Xiaotian heard him pause at the crucial moment, feeling inevitably disappointed, but such a matter surely involved the other's privacy; unless Liu Yuzhang brought it up himself, further questioning would be useless, so he whispered, "What is your relationship with Hu Wuwei?"

Liu Yuzhang smiled and said, "Nothing special, just like me and you—a mutually exploitative relationship."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Do you know his true identity?"

Liu Yuzhang replied, "Isn't he your father?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "The fire seed lacks the ability to propagate!"

Liu Yuzhang's two white eyebrows knitted together; he had already sensed this, but hearing it from Hu Xiaotian made him more certain of the fact. He said in a low voice, "I originally thought Hu Wuwei would be an exception, but it seems you are not his son either. Wrong? Back then Xu Fengyi clearly carried you for ten months before giving birth…" He fixed his gaze on Hu Xiaotian's eyes, instantly realizing something, and nodded heavily, saying, "You are also a fire seed; someone planted a fire seed inside Xu Fengyi's body."

Hu Xiaotian privately thought, "You probably never imagined I am more than just a fire seed." He stared at Liu Yuzhang and asked, "Lord Liu, what exactly do you want?" He really could not see through this Senior Eunuch; if the betrayer he spoke of was Madame Xu, then why would he help Hu Wuwei? He ought to be seeking revenge instead.

Liu Yuzhang said, "Revenge!"

This answer was no surprise; Hu Xiaotian asked, "Do you want to kill the one who betrayed you?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "I want everyone who has wronged me to regret it bitterly!" His voice was full of resentment, as if each word dripped with blood, every breath exuding a hatred etched to the bone.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly realized that Liu Yuzhang's target was not only his companions from the Void‑Crossing Team, but also the Heaven‑Mandated ones who had captured and tortured him back then.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Why have you come looking for me again?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "I have no grudge against you; I do not desire the realm and its riches, nor wealth and beauties. What I want is precisely what you do not need, while what you need is exactly what I do not value."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Your meaning is that we could cooperate."

Liu Yuzhang slowly nodded and said, "The underground palace of the Seven‑Treasure Glazed Pagoda likely conceals the greatest secret of the Heaven‑Mandated ones. I have examined all available materials on Zhuge Yun Chun, and I can almost conclude that the pair of skulls is merely a key to open the underground palace; unless someone comprehends the secret of the two skulls, there is no chance to open the palace."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I once brought Qiqi here, but she also could not open the Seven‑Treasure Glazed Pagoda."

Liu Yuzhang said, "Ling Jiazi's abilities—this girl has at most grasped thirty percent of them; moreover she is still young, and some secrets deeply buried in her memory have not yet awakened. Every July seventh is also when this Seven‑Treasure Glazed Pagoda shines most brilliantly; it seems to absorb the essence of heaven and earth and burst forth with the year's most radiant light. Ling Jiazi gave her the name Qiqi, which must be connected to this treasure tower."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; the name Qiqi is indeed full of meaning. Quan De'an said Qiqi was born after Ling Jiazi's seven‑year pregnancy, and now Liu Yuzhang also links it to the pagoda and heavenly signs—clearly Ling Jiazi's thoughts are meticulous.

Liu Yuzhang said, "I spent great effort but could not uncover Ling Jiazi's origin; however, one thing I can determine is that she is related to Wuji Dong."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Did she enter the underground palace of the Seven‑Treasure Glazed Pagoda?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "I am not entirely clear either; she may have entered, or she may not have been able to; merely an additional layer of restriction was added atop the original foundation, and not long after that incident she died."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Do you want me to help persuade Qiqi to unlock the Seven‑Treasure Glazed Pagoda?"

Liu Yuzhang slowly shook his head and said, "I recall Ling Jiazi once saying that to open the underground palace one must find those two skulls; from this statement it seems she cannot open it, and since she cannot do it, Qiqi certainly cannot either—but adding Ji Feihua into the mix might resolve it."

Hu Xiaotian eyed Liu Yuzhang warily, wondering what the Senior Eunuch's purpose was in dragging Ji Feihua into this—was it to open the underground palace or something else? Ji Feihua had once been used by him as a medicinal guide in her youth; who knows if he would not harm her? He smiled calmly and asked, "Where should I go to find her?"

Liu Yuzhang let out a gek gek laugh and said, "Wasn't it she who joined you at Fengyi Shan Zhuang to jointly slay the Black Hu masters? If you cannot find her, others will find her even less; if you cannot persuade her, others will sway her even less."

Hu Xiaotian's heart shuddered; Liu Yuzhang's words were as if he had personally witnessed it, suggesting that when Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua teamed up to repel the enemy, he was present on the scene. Liu Yuzhang's martial arts are unfathomable—he could actually evade both of their senses simultaneously. He whispered, "Were you there the whole night?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "That Mystic Light Thunderbolt is an object of Wuji Guan; that night the five Black Hu masters who ambushed you all had countless ties to Wuji Guan, and you and Ji Feihua do have some skill—you actually managed to kill four of them together, but unfortunately one still got away."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Then you must surely know the whereabouts of Xiang Shan Chong?"

Liu Yuzhang gave a gloomy, chilling laugh and said, "Both skulls were taken right from under our noses; you all turned out not to be as formidable as I imagined."

Hu Xiaotian felt his cheeks burn; Liu Yuzhang was speaking the truth—indeed he had stumbled over the skull matter.

Liu Yuzhang said, "However, as the saying goes, a loss may be a blessing in disguise; if the skulls had not been lost, how could we have found clues to investigate Wuji Guan?"

Hu Xiaotian's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed delightedly, "You've been tailing them?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "Even you cannot detect my movements, let alone a mere Xiang Shan Chong."

Hu Xiaotian was about to ask, but swallowed the words back up to his lips, thinking there is no such easy thing in the world, and Liu Yuzhang would not so readily give him the information; this Senior Eunuch certainly follows the principle of "no rabbit, no hawk."

Liu Yuzhang said, "Why don't we cooperate? You figure out how to get Ji Feihua and Qiqi to join forces and open the gate of the underground palace, and I will help you find those two skulls."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

Liu Yuzhang said, "I naturally won't be impatient; I heard Ling Jiazi say that only the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each year is the perfect moment to open the underground palace's gate. This July has just passed, so waiting for the next opportunity will take another year. You have a year to prepare—are you afraid you won't be able to handle two women?"

Hu Xiaotian startled, then reflected that it was hardly surprising—after all, Liu Yuzhang had once used Ji Feihua as a medicinal guide, drinking her blood for years, and discerning her secret was no great feat; this shows Liu Yuzhang's deep scheming, able to keep that secret hidden until now.

Hu Xiaotian said, "It sounds like I still get nothing out of this." He then began to lay out conditions.

Liu Yuzhang laughed and said, "You will gain the realm and the beauties; I only want revenge."

Hu Xiaotian said, "You're deceiving me; the person you truly intend to support is Hu Wuwei, right?"

Liu Yuzhang said, "He is merely superficially glorious; the higher he is lifted, the harder he will fall. His current stature rests entirely on our household's support—we can let him soar to the clouds, or just as easily cast him down to the mundane world."

Hu Xiaotian said, "You make it sound so easy!"

Liu Yuzhang said, "Hu Wuwei has too many secrets in our household's grasp; as I just told you, defeating a person does not necessarily require martial force—more often it relies on here." He pointed to his own white‑haired head.

Hu Xiaotian pursed his lips and said, "Final question: Is the person who betrayed you Madame Xu?"

Sending up Three More, end of month—please cast a few monthly tickets! (To be continued~^~)