Chapter 548: From the Heavens (Part II)

Li Chang'an gazed at Hu Xiaotian, a killing intent flickering in his eyes: 'Who are you?'

Wen Boyuan said in a low voice: 'This is the eunuch Hu who personally serves the princess.' With that sentence, Hu Xiaotian's background was revealed.

Hu Xiaotian looked at Li Chang'an with a face full of disdain and said: 'And who are you?'

Everyone behind them was puzzled by Hu Xiaotian's behavior; Li Chang'an wasn't seeking trouble for him, yet no one knew why Hu Xiaotian insisted on stepping forward. Who could know the anguish in Hu Xiaotian's heart? Just moments ago, Xumi Tian had sent him a mental transmission: 'If you want the princess to live, drive Li Chang'an away from here; the antidote is in my hands—if I run into trouble, the princess will too.'

Although Hu Xiaotian couldn't locate Xumi Tian at the moment, he knew she wasn't speaking alarmist nonsense—there was nothing this female demon wouldn't do. Now Hu Xiaotian finally understood why Xumi Tian had mixed herself into their uh team, and why she had advised them to detour around Huishawan and leave from here; the fundamental reason was still her wariness of Li Chang'an. Given Xumi Tian's abilities, she still dared not confront Li Chang'an head‑on, showing just how formidable this Li Chang'an, known as the Feather Demon, truly is.

Hu Xiaotian originally had no intention of stepping forward, but Xumi Tian forced him by threatening Long Xi Yue's safety, compelling him to board a ship with her.

Li Chang'an stared at this ignorant little eunuch, and an invisible killing intent spread from his whole body.

Hu Xiaotian showed no fear, smiling at Li Chang'an: 'Sir, there is no such person as Xumi Tian here. Before I give the order to have you seized, you had better leave quickly—don't bring disaster upon yourself.'

'Kid, are you threatening me?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed: 'No, no, I'm just speaking the truth.' He glanced around at the warriors, then his gaze returned to Li Chang'an's face: 'Look at that head of white hair—you're no spring chicken. Do you really think your two fists can stand against over seven hundred strong, skilled warriors?'

Li Chang'an snorted coldly: 'How would we know without trying?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'I don't know martial arts; even if you beat me, it would be an empty victory. How about this: we compete in footwork. I'll run, you'll chase, and we'll let everyone be the judge—find someone to feel their pulse and count to five hundred. If you can't catch me, I win.'

Li Chang'an had never met anyone like this before; the jianghu gave him the title Feather Demon not only because he excelled at commanding birds, but also because his lightness skill and movement were superb—his body was light as a swallow, as agile as a bird. Li Chang'an was also quite confident in his own footwork; hearing that Hu Xiaotian actually wanted to compete in footwork with him, he secretly laughed at this clueless eunuch. He said disdainfully: 'Find someone to count. No need to count to five hundred—if I can't catch you within a hundred counts, I lose.'

Hu Xiaotian wasn't upset by others' contempt; just from Li Chang'an's flamboyant entrance he could tell this person was an unfathomable master, and he actually hoped Li Chang'an would be even more arrogant. 'Go ahead, say you'll catch me within ten counts.'

Although Li Chang'an was arrogant, he wasn't so overconfident as to think that. After all, he didn't know this little eunuch's background; counting to a hundred already gave him ample leeway. Looking across the world, there really aren't many who could escape from under his nose with ease—especially among the younger generation.

Hu Xiaotian said to Wen Boyuan: 'Then please, General Wen, help us count to one hundred—feel your own pulse, preferably at the heart, and don't go too fast or too slow.'

Wen Boyuan replied coldly: 'Don't worry, I won't favor either side.'

Hu Xiaotian hehehed: 'You're quite familiar with Mr. Li, I thought you'd lean a bit more toward me.' Of course he understood in his heart that Wen Boyuan hated him enough to want to see him dead.

Li Chang'an said: 'Let's begin! I'll be even more generous—you get a ten‑step head start.' After all, he maintained his dignity and still bore the bearing of a high‑ranked person.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'That's what you said.' Having said that, this guy turned and ran. Facing Li Chang'an, a senior master, a head‑on clash offered no chance of victory; although our side had numbers, if a fight really broke out we would surely suffer heavy casualties, and Wen Boyuan is still a variable. Since we can't win by force, we must rely on strategy. Hu Xiaotian still had great confidence in his Dog‑Dodging Eighteen Steps; Xumi Tian is also a formidable character—even in the underground tunnels of Lu Family Village she had not been able to shake off his circling, and if it weren't for using Tang Qingxuan's life as leverage, she could never have caught him. However, Ji Feihua is probably currently in a slump; her martial arts are far from their peak, otherwise why would she fear Li Chang'an so much and need to hide in their camp?

Hu Xiaotian had run a few steps when he suddenly stopped and said to Li Chang'an: 'By the way, you may only use lightness skill, no martial arts, no external aid, and if you lose you must not cause us any more trouble.'

Li Chang'an said: 'Fine, if I fail to catch you within the allotted time I'll leave immediately and not bother you further. But if I catch you, you must do whatever I say.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Catch me first, then talk!'

Li Chang'an saw Hu Xiaotian run ten steps, tapped the tip of his foot on the ground, and his body rose like a falcon; in an instant he had crossed the distance between them, reaching out to grab Hu Xiaotian like a goshawk seizing a rabbit.

Zhou Mo and Zhan Peng were both watching the scene; seeing Li Chang'an's superb movement, they were both startled. While Hu Xiaotian was running, he had already sent a mental transmission to the two, instructing them that if he lost, everyone should swarm up and use a human‑sea tactic to seize Li Chang'an.

Wen Boyuan secretly smirked, thinking that not only would he fail to reach a hundred counts, he probably wouldn't even make it to ten before Hu Xiaotian got caught.

But the turn of events exceeded his expectations. Just as Li Chang'an's fingertips were about to touch Hu Xiaotian's shoulder, Hu Xiaotian suddenly changed direction, instantly opening a step of distance between them—this single step let Hu Xiaotian successfully evade Li Chang'an's palm.

Li Chang'an grasped at air, feeling more astonished than anyone else, while Hu Xiaotian's side said: 'Ten…'

The one responsible for counting was Wen Boyuan; he hadn't even started yet—not because he intended to scheme against Hu Xiaotian, but because he simply hadn't imagined that Hu Xiaotian could escape from Li Chang'an's grasp.

Everyone around watching the excitement psychologically favored Hu Xiaotian's side; even Dong Tieshan, who had previously been on bad terms with him and had just been half‑killed by a punch from Li Chang'an, was helped back by his companions and now also hoped Hu Xiaotian would win.

As the saying goes, 'united against a common enemy,' Hu Xiaotian's initial shouting prompted the crowd to help count: 'Eleven, twelve… seventeen.' Originally Wen Boyuan was in charge of the counting, but now everyone joined in judging; with many hands the effort grew strong, and because everyone's spirits were aligned, the counting sped up—before long they had already called out thirty. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before they reached the target.

Li Chang'an's expression turned grim, his eyes icy as he fixed his gaze on Hu Xiaotian not far away. Neither moved until he made a move; then Hu Xiaotian instantly changed his footwork—one cannot judge a person by appearance, and who would have thought this little eunuch's footwork could be so exquisite? Hearing the crowd's commentary, Li Chang'an felt his competitive spirit rise; he set aside the matter of capturing Xumi Tian, for today he could not afford to lose face by falling in a gutter, nor could he be defeated by this kid. With that thought, he naturally would not hold back, unleashing all his skills in pursuit of Hu Xiaotian.

Everyone only felt a flash before their eyes, and saw a white silhouette shooting toward Hu Xiaotian like a bolt of lightning—so fast it was unimaginable, so fast that Li Chang'an's appearance became a blur, his whole body turning into a mass of white light.

Zhou Mo silently thought, 'Oh no.' The Feather Demon is renowned for his movement; he must be displaying his pride‑ful 'chasing wind and lightning' technique, and Hu Xiaotian this time probably cannot escape his pursuit.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled the old beggar's words: 'If something happens faster than you can blink, there's no point in looking— in this world even the slightest motion triggers a chain reaction in the surrounding environment; raising a hand or lifting a foot stirs the ambient qi, and the faster the speed, the faster the surrounding air surges; no matter how swift your movement, it can never outpace the undulating qi around you.'

Hu Xiaotian calmed his mind and steadied his breath, feeling a current of air rushing toward him. Though he did not watch Li Chang'an's movements, he had already clearly grasped the direction and distance of his approach in his mind; let him be strong, I will let the clean wind circle the hill.

The lightning formed by Li Chang'an had not yet had time to envelop Hu Xiaotian, and Hu Xiaotian stepped out precisely through the gap.

The field flickered with white shadows, one after another white afterimages seeming to be everywhere; the onlookers were dazzled, their hearts trembling, admiring Li Chang'an's swift movement while inevitably thinking that if they themselves were in the midst of it they would have already been caught—thus revealing Hu Xiaotian's prowess; no one expected that this eunuch, who always wore a smiling face, was actually a hidden master.

Zhou Mo and Zhan Peng watched, grinning broadly; although they knew Hu Xiaotian understood some martial arts, they had not imagined his footwork could be so exquisite—in fact, Hu Xiaotian himself had not expected it either; if it weren't for the validation he had obtained on Xumi Tian's body last time, this kid would not have dared to risk challenging Li Chang'an.

The crowd had already counted to seventy; Wen Boyuan felt his pulse, and by the normal count it should have been fifty‑one, but this lot was clearly helping Hu Xiaotian. Seeing Hu Xiaotian's performance, Wen Boyuan felt worst of all—no wonder Hu Xiaotian dared to oppose him repeatedly; it turned out he had a supreme skill up his sleeve, no wonder he acted so arrogantly.

Although Hu Xiaotian had so far been safe despite the danger, the pressure he felt was growing ever greater. After Li Chang'an failed to grab him up close, he immediately changed tactics, expanding the encirclement, rapidly spinning around Hu Xiaotian three zhang out to form a white ring of light; the ring kept rotating and shrinking toward the center. Hu Xiaotian looked around and saw nothing but white figures on all sides, not a single gap, as the enclosure steadily closed in; at that moment the crowd had also counted to ninety.

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, 'It's over, I've fallen short at the last ten—I can't hold on.' He closed his eyes, clenched his right hand around the Violent Rain Pear Blossom Needle hidden in his sleeve, and thought: 'Li Chang'an, if you dare to approach me, I don't care what demon or monster you are—I'll turn you into a hedgehog.' (To be continued~^~)