Chapter 268

Hu Xiaotian was stunned, not believing that the stick he casually swung would have such great power.

Four bandits were all scared stupid by him; nobody expected that today's assassination target would actually be a genuine martial arts expert. One of them reacted first, turned and ran toward the gate, trying to escape, but the gate had been bolted from outside by He Yuexi. Originally it was to prevent Hu Xiaotian from escaping, but unexpectedly, Entrapping Oneself cut off their own comrades' retreat.

The leader, still somewhat brave, gritted his teeth and said: "Come on together!"

His three companions, hearing his shout, all came to their senses, raised their steel knives and closed in on Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian lifted the door bolt in his hand and threw it at one of them; the bolt spun like a windmill and smashed toward one bandit, who had already prepared, stepped aside to dodge it, but his companion behind him wasn't so lucky— the bolt struck his face, the tremendous force sent him flying backward until he hit the earthen wall, stopping his flight, he slid to the ground, limbs twitching, a pool of blood beneath him, clearly dead.

Hu Xiaotian slowly picked up a steel knife from the ground; with a single move he could extinguish a life, only now did he truly realize the transformation brought by Quan De'an's ten years of inner power— a complete metamorphosis, indeed, a old hen turned into a duck, murderous aura rising. Hu Xiaotian didn't pursue; his true concern was He Yuexi, who had set the trap. He came to the courtyard gate and kicked it. Bang! The two door panels flew open. He Yuexi hadn't gone far, still outside listening; he was waiting to confirm Hu Xiaotian's death, then return to the palace to report. Suddenly seeing the two large doors fly out, he was so startled he gasped, stared intently. Yet through the dust and smoke, Hu Xiaotian stepped out holding his steel knife, He Yuexi let out a miserable cry and turned to flee.

Hu Xiaotian hated this bastard intensely; he wouldn't let him slip away under his nose, he took a big step forward, then leapt using momentum. He clearly lacked an accurate estimate of the ten years of inner power he had inexplicably gained; this jump carried him over three zhang high, flying over He Yuexi's head.

He Yuexi ran for his life, but suddenly he noticed a figure ahead— it was Hu Xiaotian's. He let out another miserable cry and turned to run back.

This time Hu Xiaotian exerted a bit of strength, lunged forward in a single stride, grabbed He Yuexi's collar and flung him to the right. He Yuexi flew up like a paper kite with its string cut, struck the earthen wall, then fell face‑first into the dirt. As he was just pushing himself up with his arms to climb away, Hu Xiaotian caught up and knocked off his hat. He seized He Yuexi's topknot and slapped him hard, knocking two front teeth out of his mouth mixed with blood; the fellow was beaten black and blue, wailing: "Eunuch Hu, spare me… Eunuch Hu…" Hu Xiaotian sneered: "You scoundrel, dare to invoke Eunuch Zhang's name to plot against me?"

He Yuexi trembled: "I know my fault, Eunuch Hu, spare me…"

Hu Xiaotian yanked down his pants, only to find that this guy's member was still intact— he wasn't a eunuch at all. Hu Xiaotian cursed inwardly, thinking he was the only fake eunuch in the palace, never expecting there to be others like him.

Seeing his secret exposed, He Yuexi's soul left his body: "Eunuch Hu, I'm not a palace person at all; I approached you… because I was paid by someone else… so… so then…"

Hu Xiaotian, full of killing intent, said: "Just tell me who ordered you, straight up."

"Eunuch Wang… Wang Desheng…"

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian flew into a rage; he had thought the plot against him was orchestrated by enemies of the Hu family, but he never imagined it was merely a minor eunuch from the Office of Imperial Gardens, and even as he was leaving the palace, Little Zhuo had been reminding him of this— he hadn't expected Wang Desheng to strike so viciously, colluding with outsiders to intend his death. For such a vile, petty villain, how could he be allowed to live? Hu Xiaotian thrust his sword forward; the blade pierced his chest, stabbing He Yuexi through and through, leaving him cold. He Yuexi didn't even grunt before breathing his last.

Hu Xiaotian wiped the blood from his hands, dragged He Yuexi into the courtyard, but upon returning there he was startled— five corpses lay in the yard, though he had clearly only killed two; the other three had fled toward the rear courtyard, yet for some reason their bodies ended up here.

Suddenly from behind came a low sigh: "If you don't eradicate the roots when cutting grass, endless trouble will follow— have you considered that if any of those three escaped, today's killing would surely be exposed?"

Without turning, Hu Xiaotian already identified the speaker from the voice— it was Supervisor Quan De'an of the Directorate of Rites. He nodded and said: "I was acting in self‑defense; even if it's exposed, it's no big deal."

"Self‑defense? Who would believe that if you announced your status? Do you think the Emperor would tolerate a eunuch who can kill three people with a wave of his hand staying by his side? And this little eunuch is the biological son of Hu Buwei."

Hearing Quan De'an's words, Hu Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat, slowly turned around, and saw Quan De'an stooped, standing at the gate, hands hidden in his sleeves, his palace robes immaculate, as if this bloody slaughter had nothing to do with him.

Hu Xiaotian, however, knew that the three who had fled and then been slain were all killed by Quan De'an's hand— old ginger is spicier. Although he also harbored the wish to eradicate the roots, he lacked confidence; wanting to seize He Yuexi before he noticed and interrogate the mastermind, he couldn't also manage to subdue the remaining assassins. Quan De'an's appearance here was no coincidence; perhaps he had been tailing him beforehand.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help recalling the intimate scene he had just shared with Murong Feiyan in the Jade Abyss Pavilion, unaware whether the old eunuch had witnessed it; if he had noticed, trouble would surely loom. Hu Xiaotian wasn't worried that Eunuch Quan would act against him; he had gone to great lengths to send himself into the palace, making concession after concession, clearly intending to use himself for some great undertaking. Yet Murong Feiyan seemed to hold little value for Eunuch Quan; if Quan De'an felt her presence interfered with his grand plan, he might well strike her down ruthlessly, given his unfathomable martial arts and vicious methods— should he decide so, he would hesitate not at all.

Hu Xiaotian reminded himself to stay calm in Quan De'an's presence, absolutely not letting him see through his true thoughts, and put on a bright, sunny smile: "You've come at just the right time, Elder; I really don't know how to deal with these corpses."

Quan De'an said: "To eradicate the roots, destroy the corpses and erase the traces—that's the cleanest way to settle the trouble." He gave a sinister smile: "Actually, with your brains you don't need me to teach you."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Did you hear what I just said?"— a double entendre, as if asking whether Quan De'an had heard He Yuexi's confession, or probing whether he had overheard his conversation with Murong Feiyan.

Quan De'an said: "The Zajia only listens to what it ought to hear."

Hu Xiaotian's heart sank; Quan De'an's words had hidden meaning— could he really have already noticed what happened between him and Murong Feiyan in the Jade Abyss Pavilion?

Quan De'an said: "Liu Yuzhang doesn't know about our relationship; you'd better not mention it to him."

Hu Xiaotian nodded respectfully: "Murong Feiyan and Zhan Peng have already passed the preliminary examination of the Divine Strategy Garrison."

Quan De'an said: "I understand; the Zajia will take care of their affairs. Xiao Tian, your main focus should still be on cultivation—I see your performance just now still shows little progress."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Practicing fists without cultivating inner power ends in emptiness; although you've given me ten years of inner force, I do have some internal skill, but I don't know any fist techniques— like a three‑year‑old child, even if you gave me ten thousand strings of cash, I wouldn't know how to use them."

Quan De'an found his analogy amusing, a faint smile curling his lips: "You, you're a prodigal son— had I known earlier, the Zajia wouldn't have needed to expend so much energy; you've practiced the Yin‑Yang Contraction technique for nearly two months and shown no progress at all. Don't forget you're in the palace; if the matter were exposed, how would you conduct yourself?"

Hu Xiaotian wore a ruthless expression: "If one person discovers my secret, I kill him; if a hundred discover it, I kill a hundred."

"What if the Emperor finds out?"

"Uh…" Hu Xiaotian didn't dare say it, not that he didn't dare think it— worst case, I'll take him down together; to preserve my lifeline, I'll go all out.

Quan De'an said: "Never mind; I thought that passing ten years of inner power to you would let you easily master the Yin‑Yang Contraction technique, but now it seems a vain hope—I don't know where the problem lies."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If it isn't my dull talent, then perhaps your technique itself is flawed— you probably hadn't encountered this Yin‑Yang Contraction method before your castration, right?" Hu Xiaotian asked knowingly; if Quan De'an had mastered this skill before becoming a eunuch, how could he bear to cut off his own vital essence? He could simply slip the Yin‑Yang Contraction through the castration hurdle, and naturally there would be no Eunuch Quan today.

Quan De'an furrowed his brows: "Maybe you're not even a virgin boy, maybe you simply lack the talent for martial arts— that's why your progress is so slow."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Heaven and earth, my conscience— I've never slept with a woman in this life!"

The Senior Eunuch certainly didn't understand what having sex meant, looking at Hu Xiaotian with a bewildered face.

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