Chapter 261

Shi Xuedong hearing him say that, couldn't help but turn pale with fright, and whispered: "It's over, they have so many people, we only have two, tonight we'll probably suffer a loss."

Hu Xiaotian said: "We've only just arrived the first day, the days are long ahead; if we don't let them know how formidable we are, they'll only become more overbearing."

Shi Xuedong asked: "What should we do?"

Hu Xiaotian whispered: "If they don't provoke me, I won't provoke them. Find something handy to use; tonight we two brothers can at worst go all out against them."

Shi Xuedong, hearing Hu Xiaotian speak with such vigor, also felt his blood boil; he nodded and said: "If I'd known I'd secretly brought a pig-killing knife, whoever dares to mess with us, I'd stab them." He used to speak harshly often, but lately, due to his family's decline, his aura has indeed weakened considerably; he rarely speaks such arrogant words, and saying them now also feels like his aura is much weaker.

Hu Xiaotian said: "What do you need that for? If someone catches you, they'll accuse you of secretly possessing a weapon with intent to harm the emperor—that's a capital crime of confiscating property and exterminating the clan."

Shi Xuedong sighed; the words "confiscation and extermination" were no stranger to him lately. Taking advantage of nobody paying attention, this guy squatted down, quietly picked up the half-brick on the ground and hid it in his sleeve. Hu Xiaotian also took the opportunity to slip a brick into his sleeve.

Hu Xiaotian and Shi Xuedong entered Room Number Two; as the saying goes, enemies meet. As soon as they went in, they saw more than ten eunuchs sitting on the bunks, with one glaring at them fiercely—none other than the pockmarked eunuch who had whipped Shi Xuedong earlier that day.

Shi Xuedong inwardly cursed his bad luck; his first reaction was that the atmosphere was off, and he forced a smile: "Sorry, wrong room."

Two eunuchs flashed out from behind and shut the door.

The pockmarked eunuch's eyes revealed a resentful, vicious glare as he sized up Hu Xiaotian and Shi Xuedong, finally settling on Shi Xuedong's right hand hidden in his sleeve: "What are you holding in your hand?"

Shi Xuedong chuckled: "Big brother... are you talking to me?"

The pockmarked eunuch nodded.

Shi Xuedong said: "Nothing at all."

The two eunuchs advanced on him. Clearly they wanted to search him.

Hu Xiaotian stepped forward slowly, fixed his gaze on the pockmarked eunuch, and said: "Sir, nobody has it easy; we come to the palace just to earn a meal. You've already beaten and cursed us—killing a man is nothing more than a nod to the ground, and besides, we'll be seeing each other from now on, all of us brothers making a living in the Imperial Kitchen's Cattle and Sheep Room..."

"Who the hell are you brothers? I've been in the palace seven years, I've seen all sorts of people. Brothers? Pah! If you want to make a living here, fine—just make sure you serve our few brothers comfortably, and we'll talk. Go! First go fetch us foot-washing water!"

At this point Shi Xuedong had already been grabbed by the two eunuchs on his arms, and the half-brick hidden in his sleeve was exposed.

Seeing that half-brick, the pockmarked eunuch's expression grew even more ferocious; he naturally guessed Shi Xuedong intended to use that half-brick against him. He snapped: "You wanna smack me with a brick? You've got the gall of a bear and leopard!"

Shi Xuedong was terrified out of his wits: "I... I..." He looked pleadingly at Hu Xiaotian, thinking: Today I've been screwed by this sworn brother of mine. I said, just now why did I listen to him so much? Why did I pick up a brick? If we're going to smack someone with a brick, why don't you, Hu Xiaotian, take one yourself?

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly: "Big brother, they're asking you—do you want to smack him with a brick?"

Shi Xuedong was on the verge of tears: "I said. Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian, we at least swore brotherhood. True, I've let you down before, but now we're both down on our luck, our families ruined, we've come to this pass, and you still remember the past, not forgetting to screw me over. Traitor... you shameless traitor..., yet in my heart I still curse, the brick was indeed found in his hand."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If you wanna smack, just smack, big brother—you're wrong for saying it and not doing it!"

Shi Xuedong said: "What? How am I wrong?" This guy wore a bitter face, on the verge of tears but unable to cry.

The pockmarked eunuch snorted coldly: "Smack me? Hell! If you've got the guts, come on! If you've got the guts, come smack me!"

At that moment Hu Xiaotian suddenly sprang into action, like a agile leopard shooting out, a single stride already covered the distance from the door to the bunk, then he leapt up, raising his right hand high, and a bluish-gray brick struck the pockmarked eunuch's face squarely—boom! —the brick shattered, blood spattering everywhere; the pockmarked eunuch cried out in pain and fell flat on his back on the bunk.

Hu Xiaotian grabbed the guy's right leg with his left hand, yanked hard, dragging him completely off the bunk and slammed him to the ground.

Seeing the situation turn bad, the more than ten surrounding eunuchs jumped down from the bunks and swarmed Hu Xiaotian; Hu Xiaotian threw his brick, which flew out—boom! thud! —first it smashed a eunuch's face, then he fell onto the bunk.

Those eunuchs, relying on their numbers, had intended to give Hu Xiaotian and his companion a show of force, but nobody expected Hu Xiaotian to be so fierce, his strikes so vicious and cruel. After castration, eunuchs undergo noticeable physiological changes, which naturally bring about psychological shifts, which is why many eunuchs display a feminine, soft demeanor; seeing their two companions drenched in blood, most of them screamed in terror, hands raised, making orchid-finger gestures, their voices shrill: "Bleeding... bleeding! 'Killed someone!'"

Hu Xiaotian took the opportunity to retreat from their encirclement, seeing the pockmarked eunuch right beside him, he lifted his foot and stomped on the eunuch's abdomen; the pockmarked eunuch screamed in pain, throwing his hands and feet high into the air.

Hu Xiaotian coldly said: "All of you damn well shut your mouths; whoever dares to shout, I'll first finish off this pockmarked eunuch."

At that moment, the voice of the on-duty eunuch came from outside: "What's the commotion in there?"

Hu Xiaotian coldly swept his gaze over the gang of eunuchs; the eunuchs were cowed by the aura he had just displayed, and none dared to answer, huddling together like frightened chicks.

Outside, someone called out Lin Bingqing's name; the pockmarked eunuch under Hu Xiaotian's foot, enduring the pain, gasped: "Eunuch Yuan... I'm fine... just going to sleep..."

Shi Xuedong broke free from the two eunuchs' grasp, seeing Hu Xiaotian's earlier performance, this guy also felt murderous rise in his heart; he raised the half-brick in his hand and swung it at the pockmarked eunuch named Lin Bingqing's head, gritting his teeth: "I've always been aiming for you..."

Hu Xiaotian reached out and seized his wrist; although Shi Xuedong exerted all his strength, once his wrist was caught by Hu Xiaotian it felt like an iron clamp, immobilizing him. Shi Xuedong inwardly sighed, "This brother of mine really has tremendous strength."

Hu Xiaotian wasn't afraid Shi Xuedong would hit someone; he was worried Shi Xuedong might not control his strength, and if he actually killed someone it would be trouble.

The pockmarked eunuch's face was covered in blood; just seeing Shi Xuedong brandishing a half brick and heading toward his own head to greet him, he was so frightened his soul fled, and he actually fainted from lack of breath.

Shi Xuedong spat at the pockmarked eunuch's face and cursed, "You bastard, truly timid as a mouse."

Hu Xiaotian stood up, clapped his hands as if nothing had happened, and said, "It's best not to talk about today's affairs; otherwise everyone will inevitably be punished. From now on, whoever dares to bully the two of us brothers will be your example. Moreover, people disappear every day in this palace—among tens of thousands of palace staff, losing one or two goes unnoticed. Don't you agree?"

These eunuchs had never seen such a ruthless character; each was terrified into silence. The eunuch who had just been struck in the face by Hu Xiaotian's flying brick covered his bleeding face and moved down from the bunk.

Shi Xuedong pointed at him and asked, "What are you doing?"

The eunuch trembled as he said, "Xiao Zhuo is going to fetch foot-washing water for the two lords."

In any era, any place cannot escape the law that the strong reign supreme. Hu Xiaotian used a brick to knock unconscious Lin Bingqing, who intended to rally the crowd to give him and Shi Xuedong, these two newcomers, a lesson, thereby successfully establishing their domineering image; the benefits soon became apparent. Not to mention that foot-washing water is always brought to him each day, moving cattle and sheep, washing and dividing the heavy labor only needs to be done perfunctorily; as soon as the overseer is absent, he immediately finds a shady spot to squat and chat with Shi Xuedong and a few others, shooting the breeze, and from time to time a fawning little eunuch brings a pot of freshly brewed Longjing tea. Sometimes it's Xiao Zhuo who brings the tea, sometimes it's Xiao Deng.

As one of the first batch of personnel who had been struck by Hu Xiaotian's brick, Xiao Zhuo well understood the principle of going with the wind; having learned from pain, he immediately defected decisively to Hu Xiaotian's team, and a few others who shared the same thought followed suit.

Hu Xiaotian also understood the importance of forming a small team; in a palace teeming with eunuchs, having a few confidants was absolutely essential. Shi Xuedong was undoubtedly a core member of Hu Xiaotian's small group; although this guy had been castrated, residual male hormones had not been completely cleared from his body, so his daily conversations with Hu Xiaotian invariably revolved around women—at first recounting his past romantic escapades in the capital's pleasure quarters, or else his shameless experiences of abducting civilian women on the street and forcing himself upon them, speaking with flying spittle and exuberant vigor, feeling no shame but rather pride. The eunuchs were mostly uninterested in such topics, so his confidants could only be his sworn brother Hu Xiaotian; in the past, Hu Xiaotian would certainly have kicked this shameless fellow away, but life in the palace was truly dull and boring, so he merely listened to pass the time. Shi Xuedong, reminiscing about the past and lamenting the present, could only increase his sighs over his current situation by recalling former glory, and would often end with a sigh: "Even being old has been worth it—I've seen every kind of woman."

At such times, Hu Xiaotian would leisurely sip his tea, gazing at Shi Xuedong with a half-smile; he said nothing aloud, but in his heart he thought, "Let you, you bastard, reap what you sow from all your wicked deeds."

Another Three More update, seeking votes is mandatory; Zhangyu discovered that vote-seeking and updates are directly proportional, and voting and updates are even more directly proportional. After a long silence, the old vote-seeker Wang from days past has returned. Afraid I'll ramble, please hurry and vote for me! With just this small request, how could you all bear to see me unhappy……(To be continued……)

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