Chapter 504

Changing a person is not something that can be done in a day, and Hu Xiaotian understood this; he didn't think a single meal of food and drink would make Wu Jing Shan completely turn to his side. After eating and drinking their fill, everyone returned to their own tents. Hu Xiaotian carried the remaining half jar of wine over to Zhou Mo, who smiled and said nothing, took the half jar and placed it beside him, then sent a voice transmission: "Brother, just go to sleep; I'll keep watch tonight."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, then went to Princess Anping's tent. Seeing the lights still on inside, he said softly, "Your Highness, you should rest early; we still have to set out early tomorrow."

Princess Anping said: "Little Beard, you've worked hard all day; you should rest early as well."

Hu Xiaotian responded with a sound, his tent was right next to Princess Anping's. Upon entering the tent, he felt an unusual chill, and with his heart always somewhat uneasy, he couldn't fall asleep. So he sat up to practice the Formless Divine Skill. The technique he had learned from Li Yuncong was only introductory, yet it was exquisitely pure, a supreme and powerful foundational method. His internal energy circulated through his body; his meridians felt as if bathed in spring breeze. In an instant, the chill vanished completely, and without realizing it, he had completed two cycles. Not only did he feel no fatigue or drowsiness, he actually felt more spirited.

Hu Xiaotian opened his eyes; the scene inside the tent was clearly visible. As his cultivation in the Formless Divine Skill deepened, his night vision kept improving. He lifted the tent flap and stepped out. The entire camp had fallen into silence, and from time to time he could see the cold gleam of armor and weapons flickering around—these were the night patrolling warriors.

Zhou Mo sat by the bonfire; hearing the movement, he turned around. Hu Xiaotian smiled and came over to sit beside him.

Not asleep yet?

Hu Xiaotian nodded. Suddenly, an owl's cry came from the distance. Both men looked up at the same time and saw a pair of golden eyes glaring roundly in the thicket, fixed on their direction.

Hu Xiaotian recognized it as a night owl. He picked up a piece of leftover mutton from the ground, raised his hand and flung it forcefully into the air. The night owl almost simultaneously spread its wings and flew up, extending its talons to snatch the meat precisely in midair, then flapped its wings and flew off into the night sky.

Before it could take off, a flash of cold light like lightning suddenly shot in from the side, with a puff! It pierced the night owl's body. The owl didn't even have time to let out a cry before it fell straight down, landing on the ground already dead.

In the darkness, Wen Boyuan stepped out slowly, holding a long bow. He picked up the night owl from the snow. His gaze, however, was coldly fixed on Hu Xiaotian; if his gaze were arrows, they would have already pierced Hu Xiaotian's chest.

Hu Xiaotian nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. "Nice shot!" he said. "But this arrow was fired for no apparent reason. The night owl just wanted to eat some meat, yet Wen Boyuan went and killed it outright."

Wen Boyuan unexpectedly walked over to the bonfire on his own initiative, looked at Hu Xiaotian and said, "Sir Hu, why aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Hu Xiaotian replied, "In such perilous surroundings, I cannot rest easy."

Wen Boyuan said, "Sir Hu, don't worry. I have already set up defenses; it's foolproof. On the contrary, you'd better not wander about at night. Swords have no eyes—if you mistake a target, wouldn't that be trouble?" His words carried a threatening undertone.

"Swords have no eyes, but people always have eyes. If someone lacks eyes, they probably won't live long." Hu Xiaotian said calmly.

A faint cold smile curled Wen Boyuan's lips: "Not bad!"

At that moment, they both fell silent simultaneously, because they saw that in the forest, the treetops were lit up with hundreds of small lanterns—eyes, all belonging to night owls, everywhere, surrounding their camp from all sides.

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; he tried to rise from the ground, but Zhou Mo grabbed his arm and gently shook his head, signaling Hu Xiaotian not to act rashly.

Wen Boyuan stood there, still holding the night owl he had shot dead.

Zhou Mo shook his head at Wen Boyuan, signaling him not to speak rashly.

Wen Boyuan suddenly threw the night owl's corpse onto the snow and, at the same time, shouted loudly, "Brothers! Keep your spirits up! Protect the Princess!"

Flap-flap! The deafening wing beats and owl cries rang out, as over a thousand night owls swooping night owls descended from the treetops.

Wen Boyuan drew his bow and shot: whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! Three consecutive arrows had already killed three night owls on the spot.

Zhou Mo silently cursed Wen Boyuan for his recklessness, launching an attack before their own forces were fully prepared.

Hu Xiaotian never parted with his blade; with a clang! he drew his sword and, with a casual swipe, split an owl lunging at his face in half, brown feathers and blood flying everywhere.

The piercing owl cries woke those who had already fallen asleep; Princess Anping and Zi Juan also awoke. Hearing the mournful cries outside, their hearts filled with panic. As a natural reaction, Long Xi Yue exclaimed in alarm, "Xiaotian!"

From outside came Hu Xiaotian's steady reply: "Princess, don't panic—I'm outside!" In the blink of an eye, he raised his hand and brought down his blade, felling an owl that had lunged at the tent.

Zhou Mo picked up a burning wooden stick, stood guard at the tent entrance, and kept swinging it, smashing the attacking night owls sideways like a baseball bat.

Although many night owls came swooping in, Hu Xiaotian's side was not lacking in numbers either—just the warriors of the Divine Strategy Prefecture numbered five hundred, and the remaining two hundred were no pushovers either. When the over-a-thousand night owls first launched their attack, there was a bit of panic, but they quickly steadied their formation, turning this sudden assault into a hunting operation.

Arrows rained down like locusts into the night sky, accompanied by shrill owl cries, and night owls fell to the ground one after another.

Seeing the number of night owls diving from above dwindle, Hu Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief. Not long after, the battle was settled—aside from a few owls still frantically attacking, the rest were either dead or had fled.

Wen Boyuan, not far away, had already sheathed his sword and shouted loudly, "Clean up the battlefield—shoot down anyone who hasn't managed to escape!" Truly imposing and full of domineering presence.

Hu Xiaotian didn't have time to savor the victorious smugness of that fellow; he immediately went to the princess's tent, lifted the flap and entered. Princess Anping and Zi Juan, master and servant, sat embraced inside the tent, the princess still gripping a dagger in her hand. The little snowball—more timid—huddled between them, trembling.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian enter, both let out a cry of surprise and joy.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Princess, don't be afraid—it's just some birds unhappy that we've taken over their territory; the problem is now resolved."

Princess Anping asked, "What kind of bird has such a mournful cry?"

Hu Xiaotian replied, "Night owls!"

Princess Anping nodded. Only then did her emotions settle.

Hu Xiaotian reached out to take the dagger from her hand, played with it a bit, and smiled, asking, "Princess, where did you get this dagger?"

Long Xi Yue's pretty face flushed slightly; this dagger was something she had secretly hidden on her person, away from others. When danger struck earlier, she thought a great calamity was upon her and only then drew the dagger. Naturally, it was exposed before Hu Xiaotian. She whispered, "It's just for self-defense—I didn't mean anything else…" and lowered her head like a child who has done something wrong.

Hu Xiaotian's heart tightened, however. He knew that although Long Xi Yue seemed gentle, that was merely a facade; she was actually soft on the outside, firm within. With so many warriors protecting her, she certainly had no need to secretly keep a dagger. Moreover, the fact that she had concealed this from him showed she had other plans—could she be contemplating suicide? Thinking this, Hu Xiaotian felt a pang of fear. He slipped the dagger into his boot, then smiled and said, "I'll hold onto it for the Princess for now." He then turned to Zi Juan and said, "Zi Juan, step out for a moment—I have something I want to say to the Princess alone."

Zi Juan responded with an affirmative, gave Hu Xiaotian a curious glance, then lowered her head and left, holding Snowball.

Hu Xiaotian leaned close to Long Xi Yue's ear and whispered softly, "Zhou Mo is my elder brother. You can trust him completely."

Long Xi Yue's beautiful eyes lit up; her heart involuntarily began to race faster. Hu Xiaotian had actually arranged for his elder brother to infiltrate the bridal procession, proving he was secretly plotting to take her away. Long Xi Yue's heart swelled with both emotion and worry, and she trembled as she said, "Xiaotian…" Hu Xiaotian covered her cherry lips and said, "No need to say anything. I understand!"

Hu Xiaotian dared not linger in the tent; after speaking, he left, and upon stepping out he saw Wen Boyuan and Wu Jing Shan approaching to greet him.

Wu Jing Shan accompanied him carefully and said, "Sir Hu, how is the Princess now?"

Hu Xiaotian let out a cold snort: "The Princess was frightened; now she doesn't want to see anyone."

Wu Jing Shan sighed and said, "To be honest, even I, an old man, was startled just now."

Wen Boyuan said lightly, "It was just a false alarm."

Hu Xiaotian gave a heh heh cold laugh: "A false alarm? Just now, wasn't General Wen saying it was foolproof?"

Wen Boyuan replied, "Our side suffered no casualties; nobody could have predicted this."

Hu Xiaotian said, "No matter how you put it, it's always General Wen's reasoning."

Wen Boyuan glared at Hu Xiaotian and said, "I don't need your advice on how to act!"

Hu Xiaotian was about to retort, but Wu Jing Shan stopped him: "Everyone, let's say a little less. General Wen, we still need to strengthen our guard—such an incident must never happen again." Then he turned to Hu Xiaotian and said, "Sir Hu, actually General Wen isn't having it easy either; he's been responsible for everyone's safety all along, working day and night. I, too, can see that, and frankly some things are simply beyond human control, so we ought to be more understanding." Relying on his seniority, saying a few words to these two juniors is exactly Wu Jing Shan's role, and it's only at times like this that he can show his presence.

Wen Boyuan went to inspect the battlefield cleanup, while Wu Jing Shan didn't leave right away—not because he didn't want to, but because Hu Xiaotian grabbed his sleeve.

Wu Jing Shan gave a bitter smile and said, "Sir Hu, do you have any further instructions?"

Hu Xiaotian said softly, "Sir Wu, do you know about the Beast Tamers from the past Bureau of Heavenly Secrets?"

Wu Jing Shan nodded and said, "I've heard of them."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The night owls that just attacked our camp numbered over a thousand—I think it wasn't a coincidence."

Wu Jingshan said in a trembling voice, "You mean these night owls are being driven by someone?"

Hu Xiaotian remained silent, letting Wu Jingshan think it over himself.

Wu Jingshan patted his forehead and said, "If that's really the case, we should leave as soon as possible."

Hu Xiaotian said, "There's no point in me saying it; go discuss it with him."

Thank you, wingofgod, for generously tipping millions of red packets; from the Medical Way to the Medical Union, your support for Zhangyu has been unwavering. Zhangyu can only thank you, and also thanks all brothers and sisters who have tipped and supported Zhangyu! (To be continued~^~)