Chapter 509: [Fear Not Chaos] (Part 2)

Hu Xiaotian felt great joy inside; it was truly like deliberately planting flowers that wouldn't bloom, and absentmindedly sticking willows that grew into shade. The Tang siblings and Wen Boyuan being opposed was outside his plan, and the two sides ending up like this is truly an unexpected blessing. He doesn't fear the situation blowing up; it's best if both sides turn against each other—Wen Boyuan's enemies are my comrades; this guy is absolutely someone who fears the world not being chaotic.

Wu Jing Shan shouted, "Put down all weapons, all put down!" Although he was the Chief Marriage Envoy, those warriors only obeyed Wen Boyuan's orders; since Wen Boyuan didn't speak, they naturally wouldn't follow Wu Jing Shan's commands.

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, sighed, and said, "Sir Wu, do you see? These people don't even regard you, they completely lack any sense of hierarchy."

Wu Jing Shan knew he was stirring up trouble, but the situation before them was indeed like that—Wen Boyuan's men didn't even regard him. Wu Jing Shan said, "General Wen, have them put down their weapons!"

Wen Boyuan remained silent, as if he hadn't heard Wu Jing Shan's words, his gaze piercing as he stared at the Tang siblings and said, "You actually allowed a female relative to mix into the troop—what's your scheme? Speak the truth now, or don't blame me for not showing courtesy!" Picking on the soft target, Wen Boyuan thought the Tang siblings were easier to break than Hu Xiaotian, but he didn't realize his action would push the Tang siblings onto Hu Xiaotian's side; Tang Qingxuan, who had been somewhat hesitant, became extremely resolute.

Tang Tiehan shouted loudly, "I'm the one who had my sister dress as a man and follow us to Dakang—so what? If there's any responsibility, I'll bear it!"

Wen Boyuan sneered, "Tang Tiehan, you still have some guts. Men, seize the three siblings for interrogation!"

The teamsters' feet stirred up again, and Tang Tiexin ultimately still feared the situation escalating; he cupped his hands toward the crowd and said, "Brothers, we appreciate your good intentions. Today's matter arose because of my sister; we will naturally take responsibility—please calm down first."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "What responsibility? I killed that beast—such scum deserves death by all; I acted in self-defense, Wen Boyuan. Don't rely on your power to bully people; with Sir Wu here, it's not your turn to dominate."

Wu Jing Shan could only smile wryly; today he'd essentially been kidnapped by Hu Xiaotian, and everything could be blamed on him.

Wen Boyuan said, "If the cause of Zhao Zhihe's death isn't clarified, I will absolutely not let it rest. Men..."

A soft voice sounded from afar: "Does Sir Wu's words even count?" The crowd parted, and Princess Anping Long Xi Yue walked over accompanied by the purple magpie. Zhou Mo followed silently behind her.

Seeing the princess come in person, Wu Jing Shan panicked and shouted, "You lot, hurry up and put away your swords and arrows!"

No matter how bold the warriors were, they dared not brandish blades before the princess; each hastily sheathed their swords, the archers loosened their bowstrings, pointing the arrowheads downward.

Princess Anping wore a light gauze over her face; even so, her peerless appearance still took everyone's breath away, her clear water-like eyes sweeping over the crowd. Finally resting on Tang Qingxuan's face, she softly said, "It was I who let the Tang sister come along. If there's any matter, I will take responsibility."

Wen Boyuan said, "Princess, Hu Xiaotian just killed one of my subordinates."

Long Xi Yue said, "Since he dared to do such an inhumane act, he naturally deserves death. General Wen, you must better restrain your men; if anything like this happens again, I will hold you accountable!"

Wen Boyuan felt furious to the extreme; he dared not defy Wu Jing Shan but dared not disobey the princess, so he suppressed his anger and lowered his head: "I understand, sir." He indeed understood—this Princess Anping basically shares Hu Xiaotian's pants; for any matter concerning Hu Xiaotian, she will side with him regardless of right or wrong.

Long Xi Yue said, "Everyone, go your separate ways; we're all on the same side—do you really want to fight among ourselves?"

Wu Jing Shan added, "Everyone, disperse, disperse quickly—don't be rude to the princess!"

By now, Wen Boyuan knew persisting would yield no result; Princess Anping clearly was protecting Hu Xiaotian, and they hadn't yet left Dakang's territory—if he provoked the princess, there likely wouldn't be a good outcome; "patience prevents big schemes," so he'd tolerate him for a while, letting this eunuch traitor Hu Xiaotian live a few more days to see how long he can stay smug.

Everyone dispersed in all directions; after Wen Boyuan left, Tang Qingxuan hurriedly performed a kowtow to Princess Anping, saying, "Commoner Tang Qingxuan thanks the Princess for upholding justice for me..." Before she finished, tears fell again—once a woman gets into character, it's truly not easy to break free.

The princess didn't wait for Tang Qingxuan to kneel before helping her up, saying, "Don't be afraid; I'll decide everything for you."

Hearing the princess was willing to back them, the Tang brothers also relaxed—Wen Boyuan may be big, but can he outrank the princess?

Princess Anping said to Tang Qingxuan, "Come with me."

Hu Xiaotian wasn't in a hurry to leave; eventually only he and a few of Wu Jing Shan's retinue remained. Wu Jing Shan sighed, "Lord Hu, you could easily capture him—why must you kill him?"

Hu Xiaotian hehe-laughed, "If I don't kill him, he'll kill me; even if it were Sir Wu, there'd be no other choice."

Wu Jing Shan shook his head, led his household troops away, and Hu Xiaotian, seeing everyone leave, unhurriedly went around behind the trees—not because he had another scheme, but because he felt a sudden urge to urinate and needed to relieve himself; just as he undid his belt, he saw a puddle of amber-colored stain on the snow, Hu Xiaotian blinked in surprise—unexpectedly someone had beaten him to it, and he immediately thought of Tang Qingxuan's panicked little face; a hint of evil smile curled his lips, he glanced around, listened carefully for any movement, confirming no one was nearby, then he pulled out his multi-layered protected vital part and urinated straight down three feet high onto that amber stain.

If Tang Qingxuan saw this scene, she'd likely die of embarrassment by banging her head against the tree trunk.

Hu Xiaotian swaggered back to the camp, seeing everyone tidying up and inventorying supplies, preparing to leave the Black Pine Forest at daylight.

Hu Xiaotian approached Zhou Mo, who was preparing the cart, and gave him a slight smile.

Zhou Mo sent a mental transmission: "Brother, your skills are swift and clean!"

Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Wen Boyuan has ulterior motives; last night's incident was definitely his scheme to get rid of me, Zhao Zhihe is likely his link with those bandits, and must be eliminated."

Zhou Mo nodded, inwardly praising, "This third brother acts decisively and cleanly; now most of the troop are Wen Boyuan's men, and given we're outnumbered, we can't allow any slip—removing Zhao Zhihe equals cutting off Wen Boyuan's contact with the outside, completely thwarting his set plan."

In the distance, Princess Anping and Tang Qingxuan were still talking; it seemed they got along well. When the troop resumed marching, Tang Qingxuan was actually invited to ride in the same carriage as the princess, and furthermore, the princess publicly declared they had just become sworn sisters.

Hu Xiaotian understood the princess's intention—she was likely putting on a show for Wen Boyuan and his men, letting them know she favors Tang Qingxuan so they wouldn't dare trouble her. He couldn't help but be moved by the princess's kindness; to say Tang Qingxuan, that mischievous girl, truly has ancestral graves smoking—she actually received the princess's protection; but this way, she'd be even more embarrassed to expose herself, forced to become his accomplice and give false testimony for him.

After the sky fully brightened, the fear and mystery of the Black Pine Forest seemed to lessen considerably; the subsequent journey encountered no further ambushes, and by noon the group had smoothly left the Black Pine Forest. Hu Xiaotian secretly gloated, thinking his judgment had indeed been correct—this Zhao Zhihe fellow really had a problem.

The following days passed peacefully; after Wen Boyuan and Hu Xiaotian openly clashed in the Black Pine Forest, they ceased communicating directly, everything needing to be relayed through Wu Jing Shan—thus Wu Jing Shan's role became prominent. He increasingly realized this was a bitter assignment: having just left Heavenly Wave City, four people had already died, and the string of incidents in the Black Pine Forest were no coincidence; although he hadn't investigated deeply, based on his years of experience he could infer there must be a conspiracy. What made Wu Jing Shan anguish was that the journey had barely begun, and he didn't know what dangers lay ahead; stuck in a mire, trying to keep himself clean is hard—indeed, extremely hard.

Since leaving the Black Pine Forest, these days they've been trekking across the wilderness; the farther north they went, the colder the weather became, and the population grew sparse—not because the land was barren, but because this region suffered continual disasters, and being near the border of two countries, warfare often flared; civilians fled south to avoid war, leaving the area increasingly desolate, many villages completely abandoned.

At dusk that day they arrived at a place called Lu Family Village; this village was one of countless abandoned settlements, surrounded by vast fertile fields yet untilled, thus completely overgrown; outside the village lay a burial mound that added to the desolate atmosphere.

These past few sunny days, the snow had melted considerably; many spots revealed yellowish-brown earth, mingling with residual blood to appear mottled and chaotic. The western sun had gradually sunk, the huge orange-red disc and the horizon were about to become tangent.

At the vanguard, Wen Boyuan raised his right arm to signal the wagons and horses to halt, but his complexion showed no brightness from the clear weather—instead it grew ever more gloomy. Looking up, he saw the village entrance's weathered wooden archway, long rotted from wind and rain, its original paint indistinguishable; faintly one could make out the three characters "Lu Family Village" written on it. On the eaves of the archway perched a lone crow; seeing the mighty convoy unafraid to flee, it cocked its head curiously, observing this unfamiliar group—when it met Wen Boyuan's sinister gaze, the feathers on its neck stood up from fear, then it let out a shrill cry, flapped its wings, and flew off toward the distant wilderness.

Please vote for recommendation on Monday; Zhangyu still has to work today, the next update will be tonight. (To be continued~^~)