Chapter 199

Hu Xiaotian carefully climbed down from the roof to the ground, and at this moment he realized the benefit of martial arts: even if he hired bodyguards with money, they could not follow him twenty‑four hours a day without interruption; after all, there are times when he is alone. Fortunately, Xi Yan had no intention of harming him, otherwise, with her martial skill, he would have nothing to offer but to stretch his neck and await death.

Hu Xiaotian pushed open the door in the dark, took out a fire striker and lit the oil lamp on the table, yawned, and was about to go to bed when he saw an old man with white hair sitting on the bed. He was so frightened that he jumped up more than three feet on the spot, opened his mouth to shout, but felt as if his chest had been poked, his mouth gaped wide, yet he could not make any sound.

That old man wore gray clothes, was thin, sat on the bed motionless, his eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian like a wax figure; put bluntly, he looked more like a standing corpse.

Hu Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat; this fright was greater than when Xi Yan had teased him earlier. When he finally saw the old man's appearance, he realized the man before him was also an acquaintance—indeed, it was Ande Quan, whom he had rescued at Lanruo Temple. Thinking of the Seventeenth Prince Long Yefang who had come tonight, and of Qiqi, who possessed royal lineage, Hu Xiaotian could almost conclude that Ande Quan's presence here must be related to Prince Long Yefang.

Back then, at Lanruo Temple, he personally performed an amputation of Ande Quan's right leg and discovered that Ande Quan was a eunuch. Thinking of this, Hu Xiaotian grew ever more fearful; could this old man have come to silence him?

Ande Quan said in a low voice, 'You need not fear; I bear you no ill will.' He raised his right hand and pointed a finger into the air; a stream of inner energy shot forth and struck Hu Xiaotian's chest. Hu Xiaotian felt a pain in his chest and involuntarily uttered an 'uh'; his voice finally returned. Ande Quan could actually strike pressure points from a distance—this level of skill is truly unfathomable.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help wondering when this Senior Eunuch had arrived, and whether he had already been watching them while he and Xi Yan were talking just moments ago. Although Hu Xiaotian was Ande Quan's lifesaver, he did not expect the Senior Eunuch to repay the kindness; throughout history, the deeper one goes into the palace, the more complicated the human heart becomes, and a Senior Eunuch would not appear here for no reason. Hu Xiaotian secretly put himself on guard, yet kept his composure and smiled, saying, 'Old sir, are your injuries healed?'

Ande Quan spoke with a wooden expression: 'Do you think I already had the lonely souls and wild ghosts of Lanruo Temple taken away?'

Hu Xiaotian smiled: 'Sir, you have great fortune and longevity; I knew you'd be fine.' He silently reckoned that it had been little more than a month since they parted at Lanruo Temple, yet this Senior Eunuch's recovery was astonishingly swift—he had managed to enter Hu Xiaotian's room without being noticed. Hu Xiaotian's gaze swept around, wondering if anyone besides Ande Quan was present.

Ande Quan asked, 'What are you looking at?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'How did you come here?'

'Naturally, I walked here!'

'Your leg!'

Hu Xiaotian had already amputated Ande Quan's right leg, yet now he saw that the old man seemed to have both thighs, with both feet planted on the ground. Could this Senior Eunuch's thigh regenerate like a lizard's tail? No—if the thigh could regrow, why had the thing between his legs not grown back after being cut off?

Ande Quan seemed to guess Hu Xiaotian's thought, slowly rolled up his trouser leg, and Hu Xiaotian saw that the right leg was entirely made of metal, glinting with a deep metallic sheen in the shadows—indeed, it was a prosthetic limb.

Ande Quan lowered his trouser leg again and said in a low voice, 'What is lost will never return.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said nothing, yet he did not know whether the Senior Eunuch's sigh referred to his leg or his manhood.

Ande Quan slowly rose to his feet, walking step by step toward Hu Xiaotian; although he controlled himself well, his gait was still uneven. He came to Hu Xiaotian's side and sat down, using the oil lamp's light to scrutinize the young man, and said in a low voice, 'Thanks to you, Qiqi is safe; as I said, I owe you a favor.'

... Hu Xiaotian shook his head: 'Such a trifle is not worth mentioning.' For some reason, he felt a deep‑seated dread of this Senior Eunuch, hoping only that Ande Quan would never find him again.

Ande Quan asked, 'Do you still have that coiling dragon jade pendant?'

Hu Xiaotian's heart skipped a beat; could it be that Ande Quan had crossed mountains and rivers just to come here to demand the return of that jade pendant? He shook his head and said, 'I lost it. On the way from Xiezhou to Qingyun, we ran into bandits again, and the pendant was dropped during our escape. I really regret that.'

Ande Quan sighed with some regret and said, 'Lost?'

Ah! Hu Xiaotian would not honestly return the jade pendant; he had endured great hardship, risking life and death to help him send that person to Xiezhou; that jade pendant was clearly the payment he gave Hu Xiaotian for his trouble; now that the matter is over, he actually wants the thing back—what a cheap deal! Moreover, the pendant is not with him; he gave it to the young widow Le Yao; even if you search him, he has nothing to fear.

Ande Quan said, 'Since it's lost, forget it; after all, it's yours.'

Hu Xiaotian moved closer and chuckled, 'Old sir, you're from the palace, aren't you?' By now he had no fear of speaking the truth.

Ande Quan slowly nodded and said, 'Always have been.' His gaze was calm as water, his expression a half‑smile, making him seem ever more unfathomable.

Hu Xiaotian probed indirectly: 'Did you come this time together with Prince Long Yefang?' He pressed on, step by step, trying to get the truth from the Senior Eunuch, for in his view the Prince's visit to cheer him up must be connected to the Eunuch.

Ande Quan's deep gaze fixed on Hu Xiaotian's youthful face, the corner of his mouth twitching with a faint smile; he had long heard Hu Xiaotian's intent and knew what the boy wanted to ask, and said softly, 'No!'

Hu Xiaotian thought the Senior Eunuch was lying, since Prince Long Yefang had come at Qiqi's request to cheer him up, and the Senior Eunuch had once risked his life to escort Qiqi all the way to Xiezhou; they certainly knew each other, and their relationship was bound to be extraordinary.

Ande Quan said, 'Are you really eager to know Qiqi's identity?'

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: 'I'm not that curious! Say it if you want, old man!' In fact, this fellow was not only curious, he was extremely curious.

Ande Quan said, 'Actually, if you ask, I will certainly tell you the truth; my life is yours because you saved it, and as your benefactor I have no need to conceal anything.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Everyone should be allowed to keep their own secrets; I never force anyone.'

Ande Quan smiled and said, 'You should now know the true identity of the master of the Zhou household on Yujin Lane, Fenzhe Street, Xiezhou.'

Hu Xiaotian pressed his lips together, suddenly feeling nervous for no apparent reason.

Ande Quan said, 'He once served as a first‑rank official of the Dakang court, appointed Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Academician of the Hanlin Academy by imperial decree, equal to the Chancellors, and Upper Pillar of the State—Zhou Ruiyuan, Sir Zhou.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I'm not very familiar with court affairs.' Even when he had sent Qiqi to the Zhou household, he had already known the master's identity; his hurry to leave stemmed from a premonition that Qiqi being hunted might involve a shocking political plot, and he, wishing to preserve himself, did not want to get involved, so he wisely chose to cut ties with them. He had thought that after arriving in Qingyun he would have severed all contact, but he never expected the Senior Eunuch to have survived and also come here.

Ande Quan said, 'Although you are not versed in court matters, your father knows them very well. I heard that while you were still in your mother's womb, you were betrothed to the Zhou family's daughter, but after they heard you were an idiot, they voluntarily dissolved the Marriage Pact. Is that true?'

... Hu Xiaotian's forehead began to sweat; the Senior Eunuch had gotten to the bottom of his background. I said, 'There's no point beating around the bush with him.' Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, 'If you don't mention trivial matters, I won't even remember them.'

Ande Quan said, 'Three years ago, the Emperor deposed the Crown Prince; Sir Zhou argued earnestly, which provoked the Emperor's wrath, resulting in his removal from office and reduction to commoner status—you should know this as well.'

Hu Xiaotian sighed, 'Heaven's will is inscrutable, but back then I was young and paid no attention to court affairs.'

Ande Quan said, 'Exactly! The Emperor's thoughts are the hardest to fathom.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I'm merely a ninth‑rank sesame‑seed official; I have never even seen the Emperor's face, and perhaps I never will in this lifetime.'

Ande Quan said, 'Qiqi said that without you she would have died on the road; her safe arrival in Xiezhou depended entirely on you, and she owes you a huge favor, promising to repay you someday.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'That's all in the past; please tell her not to worry about it.' He secretly thought, 'If you don't cause me trouble, I'll thank heaven and earth; I don't want your repayment.'

Ande Quan said, 'I really wonder—Hu Buwei has only you as his sole heir; why would he let you endure hardship by traveling mountains and rivers, coming thousands of miles to the southwest to suffer?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'My father dislikes that I live in a drunken, dreamy state in the capital, getting into trouble, so he sent me here to temper myself.'

'Bullying men and women, committing every evil— that's exactly right!'

Hu Xiaotian felt his face heat up; it seemed the Senior Eunuch had put considerable effort into investigating him.

Ande Quan said, 'Qiqi is the Crown Prince's daughter!'

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; although he had been prepared, he could not help being shaken by this truth, and he blurted out, 'Which crown prince…' Having said that, he instantly regretted it, for the current Crown Prince Long Yeqing is about to ascend the throne, and before long will rule the world—who would dare to hunt his daughter? It is clear that this Qiqi is none other than the ill‑fated daughter of the deposed Crown Prince Long Yelin. Although Long Yelin has fallen from power, his daughter has been pursued all the way, and he, unintentionally, rescued her; if this were to become known, what would others think? Might it not implicate his own father? The more Hu Xiaotian thought about it, the more his heart trembled. RS