Chapter 274: 【Another World Within】(Lower)

Hu Xiaotian still maintained his leaning-back posture, palms aimed at Baobao's arms, lightly pushing up, he deflected Baobao's attack, then turned his palms into claws, his hands ghostlike slipping through Baobao's opened center gate, directly reaching her chest, landing precisely on her twin peaks. Profound Nether Yin Wind Claw—Hu Xiaotian had put in great effort in this.

Baobao's series of moves again tugged at her wound, pain distorting her movements, she nearly fell; if not for Hu Xiaotian's claws supporting her, she would have surely collapsed flat on the ground.

Hu Xiaotian also showed mercy; this claw ultimately didn't have the heart to sink in. He lightly pushed, shoving Baobao aside, then stepped back two steps, one hand behind his back, the other gripping that short sword, extending it forward and said: "Don't misunderstand, I was just taking this short sword."

Baobao, having lost in those few exchanges with him, realized she was no match for Hu Xiaotian; she could only endure the humiliation, biting her cherry lip and said: "You lecher, how dare you insult me…"

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in distress: "Heaven and earth, my conscience, as a eunuch I have no such thoughts—let alone you, even if a peerless beauty stripped naked lay before me, I would remain unmoved."

"You… eunuch… shameless and despicable! Vulgar!" Baobao cursed, then felt a bit relieved. Hu Xiaotian finally discovered the benefits of being a eunuch—even taking advantage could be done with such vigor.

Baobao pointed at the short sword and said: "Return the short sword to me!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Let me keep it for you first, lest you accidentally hurt someone."

He glanced toward the blanket: "Miss Baobao, you should change into those clothes quickly; I'll send you back to the palace."

Although Baobao wanted to retrieve her short sword, seeing Hu Xiaotian's move earlier, she knew she had no chance to beat him, so she suppressed the thought, angrily nodding and said: "Get out!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm not at ease leaving Baobao; you can hide behind the wine barrels to change clothes."

Baobao had no choice but to pick up her clothes from the ground, hide behind the distant wine barrels to change; for some reason she felt wary of this little eunuch, afraid he'd suddenly rush in while she changed. Even she thought her suspicion ridiculous, she quickly changed and came out. Seeing Hu Xiaotian still waiting where he was, she bit her cherry lip and said: "You really intend to let me go?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "If you really don't want to leave, I don't mind locking you in the cellar."

Baobao spat, she walked toward the stairs. After two steps she turned back: "What poison medicine was the pill you first gave me?" "In short, it's poison; you don't need to ask so precisely—just obey, and I'll naturally give you antidotes regularly."

The two arrived at the cellar door, one after the other.

Night had already fallen; outside the sky was full of stars. Xiao Zhuozi and Xiao Dengzi remained on duty, honestly guarding the gate. Seeing Hu Xiaotian and the other come out after such a long time inside, fortunately one was a palace maid and the other a eunuch, otherwise anything could have happened in that time. Even so, palace maids and eunuchs in the imperial palace sometimes engage in illicit affairs; Xiao Zhuozi and Xiao Dengzi had been in the palace longer. Their expressions showed some **.

Hu Xiaotian locked the cellar, then had the two send Baobao to Ice Jade Hall. Before leaving, he didn't forget to give her a jar of bayberry wine. He also instructed the two little eunuchs: if they encountered inspection on the way, just say Baobao had accidentally fallen and dirtied her clothes, so she changed into eunuch attire. Hu Xiaotian said this because he saw that although Baobao wore eunuch robes, her delicate figure remained graceful, especially her rising and falling chest—one could tell at a glance she was a woman. Baobao, listening beside him, couldn't help but feel secretly startled; Hu Xiaotian's thoughts were indeed meticulous, every detail considered.

After seeing Baobao off and finishing dinner, Hu Xiaotian took the iron pestle back to the cellar. Wang Desheng's corpse was still unprocessed; beside it lay a wooden box. Baobao had left in a hurry, leaving behind the Golden Trauma Medicine and Mo Jade Regenerating Ointment. He first found an empty barrel and stuffed Wang Desheng's corpse inside, then by lamplight took out the map he had searched from Wang Desheng's body, only to discover the terrain depicted on the map seemed related to the cellar. Recalling that Xiao Zhuozi and Xiao Dengzi had always guarded the gate outside, Wang Desheng could not have entered through the main door—meaning perhaps there was a secret passage in this cellar; Baobao's two visits under the pretense of fetching bayberry wine might have shared the same goal.

Hu Xiaotian carefully examined the map, finally discerning some clues from the dense markings. He located the possible barrel position marked on the map, noticed the barrel showed signs of having been moved, shifted it aside, and tapped the stone slab below with the hilt of his short sword, producing a hollow sound. Without this map, finding a secret passage under thousands of barrels would surely not be so easy. Hu Xiaotian secretly delighted, sheathed his short sword at his waist, and heaved the stone slab open, revealing a two-foot-diameter opening below—needless to say, Wang Desheng had crawled up from this hole.

Hu Xiaotian had never imagined there was another world beneath the cellar; he held up a lantern and peered inside, confident the entrance wasn't deep, then cautiously crawled in. The narrow opening allowed only one person through; at first he had to stoop and crawl, after about ten zhang he could proceed with head lowered, and after another ten-odd zhang the cavern widened considerably, allowing his frame to walk upright.

Having walked over a li through the winding cavern, the earthen cave turned to stone, the surroundings gradually shifting from dry to damp. Hu Xiaotian felt he was continually ascending; ahead, three different openings appeared. He paused, took out the map again; the left one seemed to lead to a pond. Frankly, Wang Desheng's drawing skills were poor—if he'd drawn a few little fish, Hu Xiaotian still wouldn't recognize those circles as a pond.

Strong curiosity drove Hu Xiaotian to press on. Before entering the opening, he specially marked the outer wall with his dagger so he wouldn't lose the way back. Following the left-side opening downward, it grew ever damper; after going over a li, underground water appeared. Hu Xiaotian raised his lantern to look ahead—about ten zhang forward was the end, the floor completely submerged. Yet looking at the map, besides a pond there seemed to be a house—how could they not match?

Hu Xiaotian wondered: could there be another exit hidden in the water? He decided to dive in to investigate, setting his clothes aside, hanging the lantern on the rock wall, wearing only underpants, and entering the water with just a dagger in hand; after swimming about two zhang, the water reached his chest.

Hu Xiaotian swam to the end of the passage, felt the stone wall, took a deep breath and dove down; as he expected, about a zhang beneath the surface he found an opening, entered it, swam forward another zhang and emerged from the underground water cavern. He slowly rose, and when his head broke the surface he discovered he was in a small lake, the sky above thick with stars, the night deep as black velvet, a thin mist hovering over the water, many lotuses grew where he was, the blossoms withered, the leaves mostly withered; far off a long bridge arched like a rainbow across the lake, and around the lake, corridors and palace buildings along the shore glimmered with lights.

Within the imperial palace, only one body of water is this vast—the Jade Pond north of the palace; farther out, in the lake's center, stands a Lake Center Mountain, its lower half hidden in mist and darkness, pavilions and terraces built along its slopes, lights blazing, faint sounds of strings and bamboo drifting afar, gazing far away it resembles a fairy palace.

Hu Xiaotian made out his direction in the darkness; that should be the location of Ethereal Mountain, said to be the highest point of the imperial city, atop which lies the Divine Sky Pond. This Ethereal Mountain is a forbidden zone within the palace; even ordinary imperial members may not enter without permission.

In the distance came the sound of oars; Hu Xiaotian looked toward it and saw an orchid boat drifting on the small lake, a string of palace lanterns at its bow swaying in the wind.

Hu Xiaotian dared not speak, hiding motionless among the withered lotuses; soon he saw the orchid boat drift to before him. He could see clearly: two women sat aboard, both of heavenly beauty and national grace, one of whom was unmistakably Baobao, injured today in the cellar.

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed: truly a fated meeting across a thousand miles; he never expected that after circling around he would encounter them here.

Baobao had changed back into palace maid's attire, sitting at the bow with a somewhat pale complexion; the one rowing was dressed as a noble consort. Hu Xiaotian felt great curiosity—had he mistaken? Who was master and who servant? Their positions were reversed.

Baobao let out a soft sigh; the palace-attired beauty behind her stopped rowing, lifted a teapot from the small table aboard, poured a cup, and presented it with both hands, gently saying: "Sister, how do you feel?"

Baobao took the cup, sipped, and with her lovely eyes gazing at the star-filled sky said: "Sister, I've followed you into the palace for two months now, yet there's still no progress at all."

Hu Xiaotian had originally been very curious about Baobao's purpose; today he hadn't gotten an answer, yet unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, after emerging from the cavern he found the two of them here secretly chatting. No need to ask—the beauty beside Baobao is the emperor's favored consort, Lin Wan.

Lin Wan said: "My foster father only said there are secret passages in the palace, but the palace is so vast—where should we start looking? We've searched nearly every place we could this period, yet we've covered less than a tenth of the palace; with our abilities we can do no more."

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