Chapter 1948

Hu Xiaotian had everyone disperse, Huo Shengnan stayed to clean up the mess, he then came to Zhou Ruizhen's side, Zhou Ruizhen saw he had something urgent to say, and they went to a secluded spot, Hu Xiaotian said nervously: "Father-in-law Sir, the princess is ill, I have already sent someone to Fengyi Shan Zhuang to fetch Yutong back."

Zhou Ruizhen's brow twitched, his daughter's pregnancy was obvious; at this point entering the palace would surely expose it, this was the first thing he thought of, then he realized Yongyang Princess's condition must be extremely serious, otherwise Hu Xiaotian wouldn't be so urgent to bring his daughter back. He nodded and said: "Just arrange this properly; if you need me to do anything, just tell me."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I have urgent matters to attend to; once Yutong arrives, I will leave, I entrust the affairs here in Huangcheng to you, Father-in-law Sir."

Zhou Ruizhen saw his solemn expression, anticipating a major event, he said in a low voice: "Go ahead without worry; I will do my best to stabilize the situation here."

In order to help Qin Yutong quickly diagnose and treat Qiqi's condition, Hu Xiaotian told her that Qiqi might be a descendant of the Heaven's Chosen and the Mirage; as for the possibility that Qiqi's father could be Chu Yuanhai, and the possible relationship between Qiqi and Ji Feihua, Hu Xiaotian said nothing, since this matter has nothing to do with the illness, and besides, it involves the mystery of their origins, so the fewer people who know, the better.

After examining Qiqi's condition, Qin Yutong frowned with worry; seeing her, Hu Xiaotian's heart sank, he faintly suspected that things might not be good.

Qin Yutong said truthfully: "I have never seen such a peculiar physique; you say besides the Heaven's Chosen, humans, and Transcendents, there is another kind of intelligent life existing in this world?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded; after personally witnessing that orb, he firmly believed in the existence of the Mirage, and he also understood an important matter: the so-called Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's underground palace was not meant to store any treasures of the Heaven's Chosen, but was a prison used by the Heaven's Chosen to imprison the Mirage; they were used by Liu Yuzhang, or Liu Yuzhang was likewise used, their curiosity and greed led them to personally release the Mirage.

But Hu Xiaotian still couldn't figure it out: if the orb imprisoned in the underground palace is the Mirage, then who is the Mirage spoken of by the Heaven's Chosen? And who is Ling Jiazi? Could there actually be two Mirages in this world?

Qin Yutong said: "However, Qiqi's bodily structure should not differ greatly from ours on the surface." She paused and said: "Her body already shows signs of collapse; this condition appears in the descendants of the Heaven's Chosen, because the Heaven's Chosen's descendants all possess a fatal defect, innate, which accumulates as they grow, becoming increasingly severe, ultimately leading to simultaneous collapse of body and spirit; the Atlas of Myriad Phenomena of Heaven and Man was researched precisely for this condition, and the Heaven-Man Pill you used to save my father was also developed based on that atlas."

Hu Xiaotian's heart stirred; if that were true, then the two Heaven-Man Atlases sent by Huo Xiaoru might prove useful. He was about to tell Huo Xiaoru this, but before he could speak, he heard Qiqi's voice calling him from inside.

Qin Yutong gave Hu Xiaotian a look, signaling him to go in quickly.

Hu Xiaotian quickly entered the room; this was the first time Qiqi had awakened after escaping the underground. Seeing Hu Xiaotian had not gone far, tears suddenly welled in Qiqi's eyes; she did not know why she had become so fragile and emotional, her heart filled with helpless bewilderment, and only Hu Xiaotian could comfort her at this moment. She said in a trembling voice: "I thought you had left, that you would no longer care for me."

Hu Xiaotian opened his arms and embraced her, lightly kissing her smooth forehead as he said: "Don't be afraid, I will always be by your side."

Those words instantly shattered Qiqi's inner defenses; she set aside her strength and pride, leaning against Hu Xiaotian's chest she began to sob silently; after a while she steadied her emotions, lifted her head with glistening tears and said to Hu Xiaotian: "When I was in the underground palace, I saw my mother……"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Perhaps it was an illusion; you have never seen her since birth."

Qiqi said: "I often dream of her speaking to me, she tells me many things; in the underground palace, I saw that orb, within the orb I clearly saw her face, she smiled at me, she beckoned to me……" Saying this, she tightly closed her eyes, desperately reminding herself not to recall that terrifying scene.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Don't think about it, there's nothing to fear."

Qiqi nodded, grabbing Hu Xiaotian's arm; Hu Xiaotian then noticed a faint blue vascular trace appearing on her snow-white neck, his heart startled, yet he kept his composure, afraid that Qiqi might discern something from his expression.

Qiqi's beautiful eyes snapped open, she said in a trembling voice: "Xiaotian, she…… she is calling me again……"

Hu Xiaotian cupped her lovely face, comforting her: "You're too nervous; perhaps a good rest will make everything better."

Qiqi shook her head and said: "I hear it clearly, she is calling me, she is telling me to go find her……"

Hu Xiaotian's heart tightened; seeing Qiqi's panicked and helpless appearance, his pity reached its peak, he held her tightly, his face close to her lovely visage, trying to help her calm down.

Qiqi's hands clenched his arms tightly; the originally smooth, snow-like skin on her neck was showing an increasingly prominent blue vascular pattern.

Hu Xiaotian hastily summoned Qin Yutong inside; seeing the situation, Qin Yutong raised her hand and struck Qiqi's neck; Hu Xiaotian wanted to stop but it was already too late, and he certainly would not bring himself to strike, yet Qin Yutong's method proved effective, temporarily putting Qiqi into a faint.

Qin Yutong said: "Her body is undergoing changes; we must quickly find a cure." She shook her head, her face showing helplessness.

Hu Xiaotian said: "To undo the bell, one must find the one who tied it; it seems we must locate the Mirage to cure her." After a pause he added: "She said she keeps hearing her mother calling her."

"'Could it be auditory hallucination?'"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "No!" He gently stroked Qiqi's neck, which seemed wrapped in a blue net, and whispered: "Ling Jiazi is probably the Mirage." He had originally planned to meet Ji Feihua at the imperial mausoleum after Qiqi's condition stabilized, but seeing her like this, how could he leave reassured?

At this moment, Xia Zhangming, responsible for gathering information, returned from the Heaven's Mechanism Bureau, accompanied by Baobao; however, Hong Beimo had hastily left Kangdu the previous night, taking with him his most elite Dragon Unit of the Heaven's Mechanism Bureau, a fact he had not reported to anyone, including his foster daughter Baobao. Baobao thought he had some urgent matter, until Xia Zhangming came to contact her, only then realizing this was unusual.

Hu Xiaotian did not tell anyone about the Mirage, for it is truly hard for ordinary people to comprehend, and there is no need to explain it to each person individually. After asking about Hong Beimo's departure time from the Heaven's Mechanism Bureau, which was slightly later than when they were trapped in the underground palace, although there is no proof that the orb's escape and Hong Beimo's departure are necessarily linked, Hu Xiaotian still felt they must be closely related.

Ji Feihua had already gone ahead to the imperial mausoleum, Huo Shengnan also led an elite force to the mausoleum to make preparations; in Hu Xiaotian's view, if that orb is the Mirage, then the Mirage's first act after escaping would be to go to the imperial mausoleum to take control of the airship, the situation has become urgent. He said in a low voice: "Has Hong Beimo seen anyone recently?"

Baobao thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled: "Indeed, someone came to visit him, but that group behaved very mysteriously; I didn't see the leader's face, only I could tell she was a woman."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, he ordered Xia Zhangming to immediately go to the imperial mausoleum to meet with Huo Shengnan, Zhuge Guanqi and others, to inform them that someone might be controlling the mausoleum; Hong Beimo's behavior is very strange, from what we currently know, he might defect at a critical moment, and what's more troublesome is that he controls all the secrets of the imperial mausoleum; for years he has been overseeing the maintenance of that airship hidden deep underground.

Ghost Doctor Fu Zhuan had long realized that Hong Beimo, willing to spend his life striving and persisting to repair the airship and return to their former world, would see destroying the airship as destroying his dream; therefore he warned Hu Xiaotian not to publicize this matter, otherwise it would surely provoke Hong Beimo's resistance and retaliation.

A sudden downpour fell, enveloping the entire Huangcheng in torrential rain; a carriage quietly entered Yiyuantang, it was Hu Xiaotian bringing the already comatose Qiqi to seek medical help; Qin Yutong faced Qiqi's condition helplessly, although it's said that to undo the bell one must find the one who tied it, Hu Xiaotian could not determine the Mirage's whereabouts, and even if he found it now, he could not guarantee it would extend aid; he thought of Li Wuyou, who was hiding here, a top-tier geneticist from their former world who might be able to give him some assistance.

Li Wuyou had been waiting for Hu Xiaotian's news; ever since Hu Xiaotian told her everything about the Mirage, she had fallen into deep dread, this super-cognizant intelligent life had become powerful enough to destroy the world; if the Mirage fully revived, it would bring an unimaginable catastrophe to this place and to the world they once inhabited. However, after Hu Xiaotian left, she fell into another kind of fear, concerning these clones of the Transcendent Squad: have their self-awareness fully recovered? From the fact that they understand love, hatred, and emotion, it seems they have recovered, yet they lack creativity, and they still differ from true humans; Li Wuyou even worries that Ghost Doctor Fu Zhuan and Liu Yuzhang, these clones, are merely acting under the Mirage's manipulation, their seemingly uncontrolled behavior perhaps just a more sophisticated control. It is precisely their various losses of control that make them appear genuine and trustworthy, enabling them to deceive many more people.

But this raises another problem: if Liu Yuzhang has always been under someone's control, then his joining forces with Hu Xiaotian this time is likely just another carefully laid trap, the orchestrator of which is probably the Mirage; if there is a weapon capable of destroying the Mirage hidden in the underground palace, why would the mastermind behind it lure Hu Xiaotian, such a great enemy, into it?