Chapter 1882: 【Silencing】(Part 2)

Su Yujin's gaze was filled with shock and incomprehension; her hand dropped, and the Mystic Light Thunder fell slowly. Hu Xiaotian, quick-eyed and quick-handed, rushed forward and grabbed the Mystic Light Thunder. Fortunately, the Mystic Light Thunder had not activated. At the same time, a red light shot toward him; Ji Feihua shoved him aside, and the red light grazed her left shoulder. Ji Feihua felt a burning pain in her shoulder, but it was only a flesh wound. She didn't have time to check the injury, already soaring toward the direction the red light came from.

Hu Xiaotian worried that Ji Feihua might meet with mishap; he stuffed the Mystic Light Thunder into a leather pouch and closely followed her silhouette in pursuit.

Mu Rongzhan immediately came to Su Yujin's side, lifted her body, and grasped her hand that was rapidly turning cold. Su Yujin's lips opened and closed but she could not speak; she gazed at Mu Rongzhan, her eyes intertwined with countless inexpressible complex emotions.

Mu Rongzhan's gray-white eyes grew moist; he tightly clutched Su Yujin's hand, feeling she was also using all her strength to hold onto him, like a drowning person clutching a lifesaving straw. Although she understood, this straw could not possibly save her life.

Mu Rongzhan knew she had something to say, and whispered, "You don't need to say anything; I have never blamed you. Rest assured, no matter the cost, I will bring your daughter back."

Su Yujin's head slowly drooped; even in death she never uttered a word. In the night wind, Mu Rongzhan tightly embraced her gradually cooling body; the clear, cold moonlight illuminated his expressionless face, making him seem like a frozen statue.

Hu Xiaotian and Ji Feihua failed to catch the ambushers; judging by sight, the ambush site was more than one li from where Su Yujin stood. Hu Xiaotian secretly marveled: with their current martial skill, even if they joined forces they'd have nothing to fear under heaven, yet martial skill has its limits. The earlier Mystic Light Thunder had already put them on the brink of death, and tonight's weapon that killed Su Yujin was even more powerful. Although Hu Xiaotian hadn't seen what weapon it was, he could infer it was something like a sniper rifle, and it killed with a light beam—far more advanced than a traditional sniper rifle.

When the two returned to the original spot, they found Mu Rongzhan had already taken Su Yujin's corpse away. Ji Feihua shook her head; her mood was also not light. Hu Xiaotian glanced at her left shoulder and asked concernedly, "Are you injured?"

"Nothing!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It must be the Xu clan who took action!"

Ji Feihua nodded, then suddenly thought of something: "Let's go see if anyone else is alright."

Hu Xiaotian had also thought of the same place; he hurried to meet Xiong Tianba and Xia Zhangming. Fortunately, neither had encountered danger; they had already subdued Xiang Qin and were waiting at the agreed spot for Hu Xiaotian's arrival. Ji Feihua did not appear, and after confirming everyone else was safe, she slipped away unnoticed.

Hu Xiaotian ordered someone to take Xiang Qin overnight to the Prince's mansion for interrogation.

In this situation, upon meeting Hu Xiaotian, Xiang Qin still showed no fear, smiling and saying, "Hu Xiaotian, you can get nothing from me; why waste your breath?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Just now someone said exactly the same thing to you, but she's already dead!"

Xiang Qin visibly startled: "You mean Liang Da Zhuang?" Her concern for Liang Da Zhuang clearly surpassed that for Su Yuqin by far.

Hu Xiaotian smiled faintly and said, "Su Yuqin!"

Xiang Qin sighed and said, "Your methods are indeed ruthless!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I didn't kill her; someone worried she would reveal a secret, so they eliminated the hidden danger before she could speak."

Xiang Qin lowered her head, her gaze fixed on her own toes, afraid that Hu Xiaotian would detect her inner panic from her eyes.

Hu Xiaotian said, "I used to think you and Xi Yan came from the Wuxian Sect, but now I realize your background is far more complex."

Xiang Qin said, "In your hands I have nothing to say; if you want to kill me, just do it—no need for extra words."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Rest assured, I don't expect to gain anything from you; you seem to have no choice now, and even if I let you go, the Xu clan won't let you off."

Xiang Qin said, "You think they'll let you go?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'll give you a choice: tell me everything you know, and I'll let you go."

Xiang Qin shook her head and said, "I don't know anything; my original mission was to monitor the Wuxian Sect."

"What exactly does the old lady want?"

Xiang Qin raised her head to look at Hu Xiaotian and said, word by word, "I have never seen her!"

Hu Xiaotian did not press Xiang Qin hard for answers, as he had said he never expected to gain anything from her. Xiang Qin and Liang Da Zhuang, though deeply hidden, are not core figures in the Xu clan; as a Dharma Protector, Su Yuqin should have been able to reach the Xu clan's core, but she has been eliminated. The reason is not hard to imagine: either she knew too many Xu clan secrets, or she had lost her value to the Xu clan. Killing Su Yuqin would successfully sever the leads Hu Xiaotian is pursuing; Xiang Qin and Liang Da Zhuang obviously lack such value.

Upon entering Kangdu in autumn, rain suddenly began to fall—rather unusual for this time of year, which is usually clear and mild. Such weather added a touch of worry. Hu Xiaotian did not rush to leave Kangdu, because he was still waiting; he and Liu Yuzhang had agreed to meet once more before departing Kangdu. He had thought he would soon see the Senior Eunuch, but instead he waited seven days, and Liu Yuzhang vanished without a trace, like a stone sunk in the sea.

Liu Yuzhang did not come, so Hu Xiaotian had to keep waiting. During this period, Long Xi Yue and Qiqi met frequently; she kept her promise to Hu Xiaotian, never staying overnight in the imperial palace. Instead, Qiqi came to the Zhenhai Wang Fu to accompany her for two nights, completely ignoring outside gossip.

Hu Xiaotian did not disturb their aunt-nephew reunion; these two days he was busy plotting his own plan, meanwhile organizing his thoughts to clarify the Xu clan's true motives. Liu Yuzhang's motive he already understood: Liu Yuzhang harbors deep resentment toward the elderly Xu matriarch; his aim in everything is revenge, and even putting the opposition to death would not quell his hatred, so he has devoted many years to this, even not hesitating to secretly aid Hu Buwei. His goal is certainly not to repay hatred with virtue, but to elevate the Xu clan to the heights, then cruelly cast them down.

Hong Beimo has never changed his original intention over decades; all he does is to repair the starship hidden in the imperial mausoleum. As things stand now, he and the Xu clan appear to have no connection—at least on the surface, Hong Beimo currently has the ability to match the Xu clan, yet in the repair process he encountered a bottleneck. Unable to move forward, he had no choice but to cooperate with Qiqi, and because of the Skull, he also had to set aside his grudge and cooperate with himself. Hong Beimo likely does not know the truth of the Skull; if everything is as Liu Yuzhang said, the two Skulls are merely keys to open the underground palace, and the most astonishing secret lies in the underground palace of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.

Xue Shengjing and Ren Tianqing are likely of the same kind; they are closely related to the mysterious Wuji Guan, their bodies more or less carry the blood of Heaven's Mandate ones; they need the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Chart to improve their own shortcomings, and while carrying out orders they also give rise to their own ambition; behind them there must certainly be a powerful force pulling the strings.

Another person cannot be ignored—that is Guiyi Fulou. What role exactly does he play in all this? Is he a lone wanderer, or does he belong to some faction? Since parting from Yongdu, Guiyi Fulou has suddenly vanished from the human world. Hu Xiaotian faintly feels that his disappearance and the appearance of the elderly Xu matriarch may be connected; if Guiyi Fulou has collaborators in this world, the most likely are still the Xu clan.

Hu Xiaotian was lost in thought when steward Hu Fo came to report, but it was Zhou Ruiyuan's side requesting Hu Xiaotian come to the mansion for a discussion, saying there were important matters to discuss.

After not seeing each other for several days, Zhou Ruiyuan had visibly aged greatly; his originally streaked-white sideburns were now completely white. Upon seeing Hu Xiaotian arrive, he hurriedly rose and said, "I pay my respects, Your Highness, Thousand Years..."

Hu Xiaotian stepped forward and grasped his arm, saying, "Uncle, why be so formal?" Seeing Zhou Ruiyuan's poor state, he inexplicably felt a bit strange, not knowing what had happened during this period, why Zhou Ruiyuan had aged so severely; he asked concernedly, "Uncle, are you still well?"

Zhou Ruiyuan nodded and said, "All right, all right..." After speaking, he sighed again.

Hu Xiaotian saw that he certainly had something on his mind, and respectfully said, "Uncle, just tell me directly whatever you need."

Zhou Ruiyuan said, "Over these years I have lived in regret; even I myself thought that Yu Tong's mother died because of my foolishness and resentment. Only recently, when I reread the letters she left me, did I realize that everything had long been made clear—I was simply too foolish and had continually overlooked it."

Hu Xiaotian comforted him, "Uncle, it's been many years; you need not grieve over it."

Zhou Ruiyuan said, "I found this among her keepsakes; please give it to Yu Tong." He took out a hairpin from his sleeve; at a glance it seemed normal, but upon closer look the inscription on the hairpin was very strange. Hu Xiaotian had previously seen such writing on the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Chart, and his heart stirred; he reached out and took the hairpin.

Zhou Ruiyuan said, "If not guided by her letter's instructions, I would not have easily found this hairpin; since she treasured it so carefully, it must be extremely important."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Uncle, rest assured; after I return to Dongliang Jun, I will personally hand it over to Yu Tong."

Zhou Ruiyuan said, "Very good, very good."

Hu Xiaotian added, "Actually you could hand it to her yourself."

Zhou Ruiyuan shook his head and said, "Although I have long hoped she would forgive me, when the moment came that we could actually resolve the estrangement, my heart instead filled with fear—and I myself do not know why." A hint of bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Even on the first day of the month, we still need to ask for some guaranteed votes! (To be continued~^~)