Chapter 464

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed, where would some secret come from; this girl is clearly deliberately stirring up his curiosity to lure him down with her. Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: 'The water is too cold; do I have gear as stylish as yours? I can't go down naked with you.'

Qiqi laughed: 'I knew you'd say that.' She opened the parcel she had brought with her, took out a set of black water gear identical to hers, and threw it to Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian then realized Qiqi had come prepared; unfolding the water gear, he saw it was made of shark skin, lined with a layer of phoenix down. Such top‑grade equipment must be valuable—after all, she is a princess of a nation, and her generosity is great.

Qiqi said: 'This water gear is a masterpiece of Lu the Master from the Heavenly Workshop; it was hard to obtain, so consider it a great gift from me.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'That's embarrassing, accepting your things again.' Yet he felt delighted inside, almost laughing out loud.

Qiqi furrowed her brows and snapped: 'Stop the nonsense, hurry up and change clothes; delay my business and I'll chop off your head.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and bowed, took the outfit to a concealed spot to change. After putting it on, he realized there was some trouble: although the water gear fit well, it was precisely because it fit too tightly that a bulge formed between his legs; walking out like that, even a blind man would know what that bulge was. Hu Xiaotian originally wanted to raise Yin and shrink Yang, but recalling the experience of New Year's Eve night, he still felt uneasy; it took him a whole night, countless calls, before he finally emerged; if not for Baobao's help, he'd probably still be shrunk inside, hibernating.

Hu Xiaotian thought it over and decided not to take the risk; what if Qiqi noticed? Anyway, she wasn't noticing for the first time—perhaps she really thought he had a snake hidden in his trousers. Still, Hu Xiaotian didn't dare walk out openly; he draped his outer robe over himself, which could conceal it a little, then turned to wait for Qiqi to jump in. He would follow later into the water, thus minimizing exposure; this thing is fierce, lest it frighten the pampered little princess.

To say Qiqi is arrogant and domineering is somewhat fitting, but calling her pampered is not. She also didn't notice what Hu Xiaotian was covering up; after he came out, she promptly jumped into the water. Hu Xiaotian's water gear still differed from hers—it lacked a hood, gloves, and fins.

Hu Xiaotian followed her into the water, only to see a cluster of orchid‑colored light glowing in the water; by that light he could see Qiqi holding a pearl the size of a chicken egg, the light emanating from the pearl. This might be a Night Pearl or something similar; as a princess, her equipment is truly complete. If she also had an air tank on her back, she'd be a full‑fledged diver.

Qiqi had already made a second dive underwater; with the Bright Pearl lighting the way, she quickly located the underwater passage and slipped in like a fish. Hu Xiaotian did not lag behind, closely following her. His Formless Divine Skill had already made a breakthrough; even if he dove naked into this icy pond, there should be no problem, let alone now wearing this gear—the shark‑skin water suit is superbly waterproof, and though the phoenix‑down lining is only a thin layer, its insulation is excellent. Of course, the unprotected parts—hands, feet, head, face—would inevitably touch the cold pond water, but for Hu Xiaotian protected by his divine skill, this posed no serious obstacle.

Emerging from the water cave, they entered the Jade Pool; Qiqi surfaced first, and Hu Xiaotian followed closely. They were in the lotus pond of the Jade Pool. Withered lotuses covered the pond, and a cold wind blew, making a rustling sound. This water area is not a forbidden zone; palace concubines can freely row boats here for pleasure, but ahead a ring of netting separates this small patch from the larger expanse of the Jade Pool, and on the other side boat traffic is strictly controlled.

Hu Xiaotian whispered to Qiqi's ear: 'There's nothing to see; let's go back.'

Qiqi pointed into the distance; Hu Xiaotian followed her finger and saw two small boats patrolling the Jade Pool, apparently checking the opposite water area for any suspicious activity. All this was to ensure the safety of Ethereal Mountain, preventing anyone from sneaking in at night to rescue the Laohuangdi. In fact, ordinary people entering or leaving the imperial palace must pass through layers of inspection; the inner palace is the most important part of the palace, and Ethereal Mountain now stands as an isolated island in the center of the Jade Pool, all bridges connecting it to the shore having been destroyed, so entry and exit rely solely on boats—or else one would have to swim. Not only is Ethereal Mountain itself heavily guarded, but patrol boats also constantly cruise the Jade Pool day and night, making the chance of sneaking in under such surveillance minuscule.

Qiqi again pointed toward Ethereal Mountain and asked, 'Do you see that waterfall?' Hu Xiaotian replied, 'I see it; what then?'

Qiqi lowered her voice: 'Let's swim over.'

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in alarm: 'If we're discovered, wouldn't that be trouble?' Qiqi, being the current princess, would naturally have nothing to worry about, but he was merely a minor eunuch; if his movements were discovered, he could not avoid having all the blame placed on him.

Qiqi said: 'Coward, come with me.' She felt her own pulse, using the beat to record the speed of the two small boats, counting about five hundred beats, then said: 'All right, now!' She took a deep breath and dove back underwater.

Hu Xiaotian had no choice but to follow her and dive back underwater. When Qiqi reached the depths, she took out the Bright Pearl again to illuminate; the two quickly swam to the net barrier inside the water area. Qiqi drew a dagger from her waist and handed it to Hu Xiaotian. Understanding her intent, he grabbed the net, only to discover that the barrier was made of metal, extremely tough, yet Qiqi's dagger was no ordinary blade—it sliced open a gap with little effort. Qiqi slipped through the gap first, and after a moment's hesitation, Hu Xiaotian followed her through.

Qiqi's diving skill surpassed Hu Xiaotian's imagination; she remained underwater for half a day without surfacing for air. Hu Xiaotian had wanted to last a bit longer, but the feeling of suffocation grew stronger underwater, and he silently lamented that if this continued he might be smothered to death. He caught up, tugged at her arm, then pointed to his own mouth and rose toward the surface. Taking advantage of the night's cover, he broke the surface, inhaled a few breaths, and saw the two small boats approaching his position from afar; he hurriedly dove back under. Qiqi remained underwater waiting, surprisingly without needing to surface for air, and Hu Xiaotian silently marveled: could this girl actually breathe underwater?

After they regrouped, Qiqi continued swimming forward. To avoid detection by the patrol boats above, they dove as deep as they could. Soon the suffocation returned, and Hu Xiaotian again felt the urge to surface for air—just then he heard movement overhead; one of the small boats was passing directly above them. He could only force himself to hold his breath, and Qiqi also stowed the Bright Pearl in her leather pouch to prevent its light from shining through the water and attracting the guards' attention, which would expose them.

Unexpectedly, that small boat, while passing overhead, suddenly stopped. Hu Xiaotian felt vexed—if he now went up for air, wouldn't he be caught red‑handed? Could it be that today they would really be exposed?

Qiqi obviously hadn't anticipated this situation either; she reached out and grabbed Hu Xiaotian's arm to remind him absolutely not to surface. Hu Xiaotian strained, feeling as if each second were a year; his endurance was at its limit, and no matter what he had to surface for a breath, even if it meant being discovered.

Just as he was about to break free of Qiqi's hand and rise to the surface, something suddenly came to mind: the old beggar who had told him to feign death had originally taught him a method for prolonged breath‑holding; he had forgotten it, but as the thought arose, his true qi flowed naturally through his meridians like a pure stream washing over his whole body, and the suffocation vanished instantly, completely clean.

After they regrouped, Qiqi noticed Hu Xiaotian had suddenly stopped responding and thought he had truly suffocated underwater; she hurriedly shook his arm, and Hu Xiaotian reflexively grabbed her small hand in reply. Only then did Qiqi realize he was all right and relax. At that moment the boat that had been stalled above them finally restarted; after it had moved a certain distance away, Qiqi patted his shoulder, intending to bring him to the surface, but she did not expect Hu Xiaotian to continue swimming forward instead.

As the saying goes, 'When you try to plant flowers with intent they won't bloom, but when you casually stick a willow twig it grows into shade.' Hu Xiaotian also hadn't expected the old beggar's feigned‑death technique to be useful here; indeed, the mind decides everything, and his ability to learn on the spot and apply one lesson to many is something ordinary people cannot match.

Qiqi can stay underwater for a long time without needing to surface for air; she must have mastered some special breathing method, which is no surprise given her relationship with Quan De'an—the Senior Eunuch would surely have passed on his most powerful arts wholeheartedly. As the saying goes, 'people compare themselves to others and end up dead'; consider the several arts Quan De'an passed to me: first, transferring ten years of my own strength to him was a trap—on the surface it boosted my martial prowess in the short term, but in fact it left the hidden danger of qi deviation in my body. The old coot clearly knew that transmitting his power could scramble my meridians and kill me, yet he did it anyway, showing he didn't care about my own life. Even the raise‑Yin‑shrink‑Yang technique is a trap; the last time I came to Ethereal Mountain, I almost got stuck shrinking and couldn't get out. Hu Xiaotian suddenly realized that Quan De'an had been setting traps for him from start to finish—this old eunuch's heart is truly wicked.

Qiqi found it strange that Hu Xiaotian hadn't surfaced for half a day; she knew her own ability to stay underwater long without breathing came from a special breathing technique that most people cannot match. She had expected Hu Xiaotian to surface occasionally for air, but she didn't expect him to possess the same ability—clearly his water skill is no inferior to hers; all along he had merely been putting on an act in front of her, and she increasingly thought this guy was sly and deceitful, though this assistant was not a bad choice. (To be continued~^~)