Chapter 220

At this moment, seeing the carriage curtain lifted, Xi Yan again poked her head out from inside the carriage, utterly heedless of the pouring rain, her beautiful eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian not far away, and she cried out sharply: "Hu Xiaotian, if you don't come, I will expose all the shameful deeds you have done!"

A group of soldiers all stared at Hu Xiaotian, and Hu Xiaotian was both laughing and crying—what shameful deeds do I have? Apart from writing you an IOU and stamping it with an official seal when I fought to retrieve my luggage at Huan Cai Ge, what leverage do you possibly have over me?

Qin Yutong said softly: "Listening to what she has to say is no problem."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Her martial arts are quite formidable."

Qin Yutong smiled calmly: "Rest assured, I have sealed her meridians; as long as I don't remove the silver needles, even if she possesses great skill she cannot unleash it—now she is merely an ordinary woman, incapable of making waves."

Hearing Qin Yutong say that, Hu Xiaotian relaxed, rode his horse up to Xi Yan's carriage, lowered his head, one hand holding the reins and the other supporting his straw hat, and smiled at her: "Miss Xi Yan, what are your orders?"

Xi Yan's pretty face showed no trace of killing intent as she flashed a bewitching, alluring smile at Hu Xiaotian and cooed, "Your outfit is really handsome!" Hu Xiaotian, having some self-awareness, thought: I wear a straw hat and a raincoat, looking like a scarecrow; calling me handsome unless you're a pervert, he chuckled: "Isn't it a bit late to be flattering me?"

Xi Yan said: "How annoying, I'm speaking from the heart."

Hu Xiaotian retorted impatiently: "Speak up if you have something to say, let it out if you have gas—I'm busy with official duties."

"Wow, you're so crude, but I just love your bold, rough-hewn masculinity. Xiaotian, you really have a manly spirit."

Hu Xiaotian got goosebumps all over—this demoness really lays on the flattery without reserve, fawning and pandering. If I let her go now, who knows what she might make me do; he smirked: "Trying to seduce me? You've got the wrong guy!"

Xi Yan giggled: "I just want to seduce you, but I guess you lack the guts—you may look like a man, but you're really not a man at all."

"Done scolding? Feeling satisfied? I'm leaving!"

"Stop right there!"

Hu Xiaotian whipped his horse and rode off, seeing no need to waste words with this demoness.

Xi Yan said: "Hu Xiaotian, you colluded with that demoness to harm me—you will surely regret it!"

Hu Xiaotian whipped his horse, went a few steps, then turned back and told Liang Qing: "Tie her up and stuff her mouth with rags!" The downpour came and went quickly; after the convoy passed Yongji Bridge, the rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun, without warning, leaving the sky a uniform leaden gray. Clouds hung low, the sun hid behind them, appearing only a brief respite—before long another storm would arrive.

From Qingyun all the way here, we have encountered no attacks whatsoever; Hu Xiaotian had already braced himself for this, and it seems the bandits of Tianlang Mountain have indeed abandoned their plan to ambush the envoy midway.

The next city, Mingyuan, is still 150 li away; at their pace, the earliest they could arrive is the day after tomorrow.

Having traveled fifteen li east past Yongji Bridge, the Prince ordered the troops to camp and rest. Before entering the mountains ahead, they chose a slope and set up camp upon it; the Shajia entourage and the Dakang accompanying personnel pitched their tents separately.

Hu Xiaotian and Qin Yutong dismounted. Standing on the slope, they gazed westward: a hundred li of fertile plain, the Tongji River winding and rugged, splitting the plain in two, irrigating the lands on both banks, while to the east lay mountains. The view here was superb, the surrounding scenery laid out before them. Hu Xiaotian whispered: "It looks like the horse bandits of Tianlang Mountain won't be pursuing us."

Qin Yutong smiled faintly: "No matter how formidable the bandits, they are merely a rabble; the real threat we must guard against is the members of the Wuxian Sect."…

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but turn his head to glance at the carriage in which Xi Yan rode, and laughed: "She has fallen into our hands; the Wuxian Sect is nothing more than that."

Qin Yutong said: "She was merely off‑guard for a moment; in fact she intended to let us capture her deliberately, having mastered the art of shifting palaces and exchanging meridians—ordinary acupressure techniques cannot restrain her at all."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, thinking that if Qin Yutong had not disguised herself and followed him, Xi Yan's scheme would surely have succeeded.

Qin Yutong said: "She wouldn't dare come alone; there must be her accomplices nearby to meet her. Tomorrow, upon entering the mountain region with over a hundred li of mountain road, the Wuxian Sect members are likely to lay an ambush there."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Unless they don't care about her life, having her in our hands means that lot of Wuxian Sect won't dare act rashly."

Qin Yutong said: "In all matters, caution is best; you had better persuade the Prince to keep his distance from that demoness." Her eyes filled with worry, Hu Xiaotian followed her gaze and indeed saw the Prince, accompanied by two guards, walking toward that carriage.

Hu Xiaotian really had a headache; if he went over now to stop it, the Prince might lose face, but anyway Qin Yutong had already sealed Xi Yan's meridians, so she posed no threat to the Prince at present.

In the distance, a figure strode slowly toward Hu Xiaotian—it was the envoy of Shajia, Mo Moli. His expression was grim and his eyes stared coldly at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian could understand this fellow's hostility toward him—after all, he had delivered a lively, fragrant beauty into his hands; Mo Moli must be unwilling and resentful, so his enmity is understandable. Yet Hu Xiaotian behaved with utmost courtesy, smiling and saying: "Envoy, sir, good day!"

Qin Yutong quietly stepped aside to check on the progress of the camp setup.

Mo Moli forced out a stiff smile and said: "Sir Hu, why didn't you bring Weisa along?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "Nice things naturally belong in one's own home, kept for personal enjoyment—what do you think, Envoy?"

Mo Moli gave a hollow chuckle, stood beside Hu Xiaotian with his hands clasped behind his back, narrowed his eyes toward the distance, and said: "I remember that when I was last here, Qingyun Bridge was still standing; how could it have suddenly collapsed, forcing us to take such a detour?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Envoy, you could have avoided the detour altogether; we could have crossed the Tongji River by boat."

Mo Moli shook his head; indeed they had outright rejected the suggestion to cross by boat, for the Shajia people possess an innate fear of water, and unless there is no alternative they will never choose to travel by water, so although they ended up walking an extra seventy-odd li of unnecessary route, only by having both feet on solid ground do they feel secure and at ease.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Is it that you're afraid of taking a boat?"

Mo Moli gave him a cold glance: "There is nothing in this world that the Shajia people fear."

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, "You're just puffing up your face to look fat—if it weren't for fear of Dakang sending troops, how could you have obediently retreated from Nanyue? And how could you have honestly returned those five cities? You're utterly shameless."

Mo Moli said: "I see that all along the route defenses are tight and vigilant; could it be that someone intends to harm us?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "Envoy, you worry too much; Dakang is vast and rich, its people prosperous and at peace, the sage emperor is wise and benevolent, and all under heaven wholeheartedly support him."

Mo Moli said with deep meaning: "But I always sense a portent of an impending storm."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Heaven holds unpredictable winds and clouds; everything can have unexpected turns. Our caution is also for the sake of the Shajia entourage—you need not worry excessively, for we can fully guarantee the safety of your mission."

Mo Moli said: "I hope Sir Hu can manage that!" He then stepped forward toward where the Prince was standing.

Hu Xiaotian also followed him over.

Prince Long Yefang had originally gone over cheerfully to flirt with Xi Yan, but upon approaching her she gave him a cold stare; no matter what he said, Xi Yan remained silent, leaving the Prince bored and about to leave when Mo Moli and Hu Xiaotian arrived together.

Mo Moli said: "Your Highness Prince, are we to camp here today?"

The Prince nodded.

Mo Moli, however, lifted the carriage curtain and peered inside.

Xi Yan was trussed up with fivefold bonds and tossed into the carriage, the rag still in her mouth having just been removed by the Prince's order. Mo Moli glanced at her face, lowered the curtain, and bowed to the Prince.

The Prince asked: "Envoy, why do you bow?"

Mo Moli said: "I have a request I hate to make; I hope Your Highness will hand this woman over to us for handling."

To the Prince, Mo Moli's request seemed rather abrupt; he frowned and asked: "Envoy, what do you mean by this?"

Mo Moli said: "Your Highness, I have heard that this woman is a demonic monster of the Wuxian Sect; on our way to Dakang, the envoy's party has already seen seven people successively harmed by the sect's demonic persons, so I implore you to entrust her to me for interrogation, in order to ascertain the truth of the matter."

The Prince inwardly wondered why he had not heard this before; then he chuckled and said: "Wuxian Sect? Who says she belongs to the Wuxian Sect? Miss Xi Yan is my friend—she is certainly not of the Wuxian Sect."

Although Mo Moli was not present when Hu Xiaotian earlier seized Xi Yan, he had heard clearly that Hu Xiaotian had openly identified her as a traitor of the Wuxian Sect; now the Prince refuses to acknowledge it, and Mo Moli sneered: "Your Highness, if she is not a member of the Wuxian Sect, why did you have her arrested?"

"Uh…" the Prince was lost for words, his gaze fixed on Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian knew the Prince was prompting him to speak; he coughed and said: "Your Highness, do as you please—only I fear this matter is not for you to intervene in."

This remark exactly suited the Prince's temperament, and he replied: "Quite right; my affairs are not for others to meddle in."

He rubbed, his anger making his face turn iron-blue, but limited by the Prince Zhou's status, he also didn't dare to flare up in person; he nodded, clasped his fists, preparing to leave, but he heard Xi Yan say: 'Big Beard, what you said is correct, I am a member of the Wuxian Sect, your seven subordinates were all killed by me.'

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