Chapter 320

Hu Xiaotian said: "But I've practiced this long and made no progress at all."

Zhou Mo said: "No way, with your intelligence and talent, learning a set of martial arts mental method shouldn't be difficult."

Actually no one understands the problem better than Hu Xiaotian himself; Quan De'an forcedly gave him ten years of internal energy, the Senior Eunuch's intention probably wasn't to harm himself—he was worried that after entering the palace he would lack self-defense ability, so teaching Hu Xiaotian martial arts was also a kind of insurance for his own investment. What happened next proved that without the martial arts taught by the Senior Eunuch, Hu Xiaotian couldn't deal with Wang Desheng, let alone team up with the little princess Qiqi to take down Wei Hualin. In Xuankong Valley, he also managed to fight to a draw relying on the Profound Dark Yin Wind Claw and the assassin from the Heavenly Secrets Bureau.

But truly discussing how to completely convert the Senior Eunuch's ten years of skill into one's own, one must cultivate the internal energy method he transmitted. Hu Xiaotian has always stalled; the fundamental reason is that he hasn't truly castrated himself. Quan De'an's internal energy method is fine; transmitting it to any eunuch would pose no problem, but with Hu Xiaotian it does. To cultivate divine power, one must castrate oneself. Hu Xiaotian finally understood how reasonable that saying is: if he wants to master the martial arts Quan De'an taught, he must resolutely cut himself off. Hu Xiaotian painstakingly preserved this bit of male dignity; he is unwilling to easily abandon it for the sake of cultivating some martial art. Although the Senior Eunuch's ten years of energy left in his body might very likely cause him to go berserk, future matters can be discussed later. If he waits until after seventy, having enjoyed all worldly pleasures, leaving descendants filling the hall, even his little brother would count as merit fulfilled. By then, even if he were cut off, it wouldn't be much of a regret.

Zhou Mo certainly wouldn't think this brother was a fake eunuch. Even if Xiao Tianmu were extraordinarily wise, he wouldn't have thought of this either; after all, the palace is a heavily guarded place, nobody would imagine that Hu Xiaotian sneaked in without being castrated, passing himself off as genuine.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian silent for so long, Zhou Mo thought he was worried about the exotic true qi matter, comforting him: "Third brother, you don't need to worry too much. The way of martial arts also stresses that haste makes waste; as long as you go with the flow, perhaps you'll soon solve the problem."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Nothing to worry about—when the car reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will go straight naturally. I've always been fortunate and blessed; last time I encountered danger, didn't I turn misfortune into fortune?"

Xiao Tianmu also said: "Not bad, a fortunate person naturally has heavenly appearance; third brother will be fine."

As the temperature turned cold, Quan De'an's coughing grew worse and worse; each cough was hard to stop, he coughed with such force it seemed he wanted to cough up his entire lungs, his withered body curled up like a large shrimp.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at this elderly man before him, finding it hard to understand why he still possessed such great ambition and desire for power. At his age, why couldn't he let go a little? Given all that Quan De'an has done for the Emperor, he could simply retire after achieving success and enjoy his twilight years.

When Quan De'an kept coughing, Hu Xiaotian sat beside him silently watching. Until Quan De'an caught his breath, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said: "You brat, you have no conscience…… even just helping me rub my back would be nice."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm afraid I'd hinder rather than help—not only would I not assist you, sir, I'd actually drag you down."

Quan De'an heard the double meaning in his words, his withered lips curling into a faint smile: "What important news do you have to tell me today?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "There are a few matters I'd like to discuss with you. First, it concerns Ji Feihua."、

"Speak!"

"After our last meeting, Ji Feihua summoned me to the Directorate of Imperial Attendants."

Quan De'an raised his head, narrowed his eyes, as if the afternoon sunlight had stung them: "Go on."

"He's probably trying to win me over, saying he'll look after me and back me up."

"What do you say?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I certainly wouldn't dare say anything; I merely thanked him for his good intentions."

Quan De'an looked at Hu Xiaotian full of suspicion: "That simple? He didn't ask you to do anything?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "He did ask—he wanted me to help investigate whether the wine cellar hides any secret……"

Quan De'an said: "Just this matter?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I think Ji Feihua is not simple; he's probably starting to suspect me. Also, Eunuch Liu has already made up his mind to retire, he's begun packing these past two days, saying he'll leave the palace once his injury heals."

Quan De'an said: "Ji Feihua is trying to buy you off."

Hu Xiaotian remained silent; in fact, this was all obvious.

Quan De'an said: "Tell him about the secret passage in the wine cellar."

Hu Xiaotian started in surprise: "What?"

Quan De'an didn't repeat it a second time; he rose, paced slowly two steps, leaving Hu Xiaotian a stooped back: "Ji Feihua is the current favorite before the Emperor; countless big and small eunuchs in the palace want to attach themselves to him—you have such an opportunity, how could you miss it?"

At first Hu Xiaotian thought he'd misheard, but after pondering carefully he immediately understood: Quan De'an wanted him to seize the chance to approach Ji Feihua; the Senior Eunuch was setting him up to go undercover. Revealing the secret passage to Ji Feihua was to gain his trust—equivalent to presenting a letter of allegiance before him.

Quan De'an said: "Ji Feihua was raised single-handedly by the Zajia; this person is deeply scheming, even having deceived the Zajia themselves. Now he uses petty tricks to bewitch the Emperor, relying on the Emperor's favor, growing increasingly arrogant and domineering; if not eliminated, he will surely become a major threat."

Hu Xiaotian silently thought: "What's it got to do with me? Ji Feihua isn't a good person, you aren't either, and that Long Yelin is even worse—let you dogs bite each other, fur flying; I'll happily sit back and watch the show."

Quan De'an said: "From now on, the Zajia will try to reduce meetings with you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Eunuch Quan, aren't you afraid I might defect midway?"

Quan De'an laughed with a grating chuckle, squinting at Hu Xiaotian: "How's your cultivation of the internal energy method the Zajia taught you?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "Still the same—no progress at all; I think I'll never make a breakthrough in this lifetime."

Quan De'an said: "Even if you have no breakthrough, the ten years of internal energy the Zajia transmitted to you is already enough for self-defense."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Lately I often feel abdominal pain, not knowing whether it's the exotic true qi you transmitted into my body acting up. I recall you once said that if I cannot convert this internal energy into my own, sooner or later it will harm my body, possibly even cause deviation."

Quan De'an nodded: "Exactly!"

Hu Xiaotian had long been mentally prepared for this; he feigned alarm: "Then am I not doomed? Eunuch Quan, help me."

Quan De'an smiled calmly: "You don't need to be so afraid; in the short term these true qi will pose no danger to you. As long as you diligently work for the Zajia, once the task is accomplished they will certainly resolve this problem for you."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed Quan De'an; the Senior Eunuch really isn't anything good, using this to blackmail him—but his life is in their hands, he can't just flip out, so he still accompanied a smile: "Just how long is this short term?"

Quan De'an thought and said: "At most three years, at least three months."

Hu Xiaotian's heart sank instantly—indeed, there's no free lunch: "Eunuch Quan, why don't I just return this internal energy to you?" Compared to martial arts, life is obviously more important; previously, without martial arts he lived just fine, but now that he has this internal energy he must constantly fear deviation. Better to return the martial arts and seek peace of mind.

Quan De'an smiled: "What the Zajia gives out isn't something you can simply return if you want to."

Hu Xiaotian had long anticipated this outcome; the Senior Eunuch is tough to deal with, and only after great effort did he obtain this leverage over himself—Quan De'an wouldn't easily take it back, otherwise he wouldn't have boldly allowed him to defect to Ji Feihua as an undercover agent.

Quan De'an said with a sinister tone: "In these days, you will thoroughly investigate the layout of the secret passage; when the time is ripe, you will reveal the matter of the secret passage to him."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Really have to tell him?"

Quan De'an said: "Since Ji Feihua asked you to investigate the wine cellar, it shows he already suspects it; the rumor of a secret passage beneath the palace has been around for ages, this secret cannot be kept forever—rather than let Ji Feihua discover it later, you might as well proactively report it to him, treating it as a letter of allegiance."

Hu Xiaotian secretly praised Quan De'an's deep foresight, considering every matter big and small. One can imagine that his days in the palace henceforth will be fraught with danger at every step; a moment's inattention could plunge him into an abyss of eternal doom. Ji Feihua and Quan De'an are no good birds; maneuvering between them is like walking on thin ice—one must be extremely cautious, for the Dakang palace is no place to linger long; once the opportunity arises, it's still best to leave early. As for the exotic true qi and deviation, who knows if Quan De'an isn't just trying to scare him? At worst, he'll spend this lifetime without martial arts, or if necessary find someone to abolish his martial arts—do you think that old turtle can still threaten him?

Quan De'an saw Hu Xiaotian remaining silent, knowing this kid must surely be scheming something in his mind, he said softly: "What else are you worried about? Just tell me."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Eunuch Quan, I've been in the palace for three months, and I haven't seen my parents in over half a year; the commotion has died down—do you think you could arrange a meeting for us?"

Quan De'an sighed: "It's not that the Zajia unwilling to arrange it for you; it's simply that the time still isn't right. You're just a minor eunuch, naturally nobody pays attention, but your father used to be the Dakang Ministry of Revenue minister—who knows how many eyes are watching him from behind? If you father and son meet, those who know the circumstances will think it's just familial affection, but those with ulterior motives could twist this into something, slapping you with a charge of conspiring to flee and defect to Xichuan—who knows if that might happen."