Chapter 689

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Although Hu Xiaotian did not ask Xue Lingjun to intervene directly, he still needed to make thorough preparations; smart people never fight battles they are not sure of. In Yongdu before him, there are many people he could ask for help, but few he can truly trust, and Huo Shengnan is exactly one of them.

Hu Xiaotian's purpose in seeking Huo Shengnan was not to have her intervene directly; as a Da Yong general, Huo Shengnan is not suited to meddle in such a sensitive matter. What Hu Xiaotian wants is a retreat route, so that if things change, he hopes Huo Shengnan's female troops can step in.

After learning the details of the matter, Huo Shengnan agreed to Hu Xiaotian's request without much hesitation. In dealing with the Black Hu people, the two can be considered allies sharing a common hatred. Hu Xiaotian did not demand that Huo Shengnan take a clear stance and fight side by side with him; he only asked her to lead her subordinates to lie in wait and act when the opportunity arises.

Yongdu's Red Mountain Guildhall is a Black Hu guild in Yongdu, equivalent to a chamber of commerce, where many Black Hu merchants often gather.

Black Hu Fourth Prince Wanyan Chixiong, after being summoned by the Da Yong emperor, specially came here to meet several Black Hu merchants who do business in Yongdu. In the inner chamber of the Red Mountain Guildhall, Wanyan Chixiong and the Black Hu merchant Zhawan sat cross-legged facing each other. Wanyan Chixiong set down his large bowl and said: "Nothing tastes better than the kumis from my homeland."

Zhawan smiled and said: "Your Highness, do you miss your homeland?"

Wanyan Chixiong said: "No matter where I go, I cannot let go of our Black Hu's snowy mountain grasslands."

Zhawan said: "The snowy mountain grasslands may be nice, but they cannot compare to the prosperity and splendor of the southern lands."

Wanyan Chixiong declared heroically: "One day, our Black Hu will have both blue skies and green grass as well as flourishing flowers and brocade. Zhawan! Will you help me?"

Zhawan placed his right fist over his heart and said: "Zhawan is willing to serve Your Highness with the devotion of a dog or horse."

Wanyan Chixiong patted his shoulder, then lifted the wine bowl and drained it in one gulp, wiping the wine stains from his lips and beard, and said in a deep voice: "Have you found out where the Precious Steed Marvelous Record is?"

Zhawan said: "That Tang Tiehan is stubborn; he would rather die than speak."

"Then beat him until he talks! Few people in this world are not afraid of death!" Wanyan Chixiong said sinisterly.

Zhawan sighed: "It's all my fault for being careless; I actually let someone rescue Tang Qingxuan. If she were still in my hands, Tang Tiehan would surely hand over the Precious Steed Marvelous Record willingly."

Wanyan Chixiong said: "Could it be that he's just boasting?"

Zhawan shook his head: "Impossible. When drunk, he recited the opening of the Precious Steed Marvelous Record flawlessly, and many of his insights come from that very text."

Wanyan Chixiong narrowed his eyes, revealing two cold, sinister glints full of killing intent: "The Precious Steed Marvelous Record originally belonged to our ancestors; it was shamelessly stolen by the Han people, and now retrieving it is utterly justified."

Zhawan was about to speak when he heard La han's loud voice from outside: "Your Highness!"

La han strode in; he enjoys Wanyan Chixiong's deep trust, so he usually dispenses with excessive formalities in the prince's presence. La han said: "Something serious has happened—we just discovered two corpses on Gou Tou Mountain. They are our people!"

Wanyan Chixiong's gaze turned sharp: "What happened?"

La han said: "After we were ordered to burn the manor, we sent brothers to search; they returned one by one, but after counting we found two missing, so we went looking again and ended up near the pond where the incident occurred last night. We found two bodies; they likely died from their skulls being smashed together."

Zhawan exclaimed in shock: "Could it be that the man-eating python from last night has appeared again?"

La han said: "Probably not! I carefully examined the bodies; they were struck in the head by external force without any awareness, the attacker's strength is immense—perhaps not inferior to mine."

Wanyan Chixiong furrowed his brows; he knew La han's arm strength very well. In terms of pure strength, few could match La han—of course, that was in the past; after arriving in Da Yong, he met Xiong Tianba, whose strength surpasses La han by a notch. Could it be him?

La han said: "One of the brothers had his clothes stripped completely clean."

Zhawan snapped angrily: "Who could be so vicious? If I catch him, I will surely tear his corpse into ten thousand pieces to quell my hatred."

La han said: "It should be the man who rescued Tang Qingxuan."

Wanyan Chixiong nodded.

At that moment, a steward of the guild walked in to report that someone had delivered a letter, which was addressed to Wanyan Chixiong.

Wanyan Chixiong couldn't help but feel strange; his visit to the Red Mountain Guildhall had not been publicized, yet this letter's arrival was indeed odd. After a moment's thought, he realized someone might be tailing him. Given his status in Yongdu, it's hard to go unnoticed. He opened the letter and read it carefully; his face darkened with anger, and he slapped the letter onto the small table, shouting: "Damn thing, how outrageous!"

La han and Zhawan exchanged a glance, neither understanding why Wanyan Chixiong was so furious.

Wanyan Chixiong snapped angrily: "Hu Xiaotian! He wants to exchange the Precious Steed Marvelous Record for Tang Tiehan with me."

Zhawan exclaimed in surprise: "How does he know that Tang Tiehan's matter is related to Your Highness?"

Wanyan Chixiong crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it at him, saying: "Look for yourself—it's all because you botched the job, letting Tang Qingxuan escape easily, and she recognized La han."

La han was also bewildered; in his memory, he had never met Tang Qingxuan.

Wanyan Chixiong coldly said: "You caused this mess; you deal with it yourselves."

Zhawan took out the letter, smoothed it, and read it from beginning to end: "Exchanging Tang Tiehan for the Precious Steed Marvelous Record sounds like a good deal."

Wanyan Chixiong sprang to his feet: "I'm afraid they might not even have the Precious Steed Marvelous Record; using this method is merely a trick to lure us out."

Zhawan said: "Your Highness, he hasn't actually made a firm demand for this; we can simply ignore it."

Wanyan Chixiong said: "What is that Hu Xiaotian anyway? The Da Yong emperor seeks an alliance with us, but I don't know how sincere he is; this is a good opportunity to test his bottom line." He paced back and forth two steps, then lowered his voice: "La han, have someone keep watch on every move of the Dakang envoy; report any abnormality to me immediately."

"Yes!" La han accepted the order and left.

Zhawan said: "Your Highness, should we go or not?"

Wanyan Chixiong's lips curled with a cold smile: "This is your own affair; I know nothing of it. However, if you truly have caused loss of life over this matter, I can guarantee your safety."

Zhawan clasped his hands and said: "Your Highness, I would like to request the two elders of Youhe to go into battle."

Wanyan Chixiong said: "They were originally people you invited; I have no say in these matters."

Zhawan's face lit up with joy: "Thank you, Your Highness."

Huo Shengnan led a squad of fifty, lying in wait in the dense forests of Gou Tou Mountain; from their position they could clearly see the manor reduced to a scorched wasteland. According to her prior agreement with Hu Xiaotian, as soon as they sight Tang Tiehan, they can move in to capture him.

The figures of Hu Xiaotian, Zhou Mo, and Xiong Tianba had already appeared on the scorched earth. Xiong Tianba gripped the pair of large hammers; his recent fondness for hammers had reached the point of obsession, and as he walked he said to Zhou Mo: "Master, look at the patterns on my hammer—aren't they beautiful?"

Zhou Mo replied: "Not bad!"

He added: "Uncle Hu, look at what's written on my big hammer."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I can't read the Black Hu script."

Xiong Tianba sighed, feeling he had nothing in common with these two elders; don't they see that the hammer is clearly engraved with a series of hammer technique diagrams?

Everyone views the world from a different angle; what Hu Xiaotian focuses on is hard to align with Xiong Tianba's perspective. The black iron sword has already been handed over to Xiao Tianmu for safekeeping; what he now uses is the black gold knife given to him by Ji Feihua.

Zhou Mo stood silently beside Hu Xiaotian, deep as mountains; to him, his bare hands are the best weapons.

Hu Xiaotian instructed: "Today our goal is to rescue people, not to fight the enemy. As soon as we save Tang Tiehan, we will withdraw immediately."

Zhou Mo's gaze turned to the northwest corner, and he smiled: "Liang Yinghao really is a genius."

Hu Xiaotian nodded. This time they came not as three but four; Liang Yinghao had already arrived ahead of time, found the manor's cellar in the ruins, and dug a passage from it. Even with Zhou Mo's experience, he had never seen before someone like Liang Yinghao who specializes in tunneling.

Zhou Mo said: "Later I'll handle the rescue, you draw their attention, and the little bear will provide cover." Hu Xiaotian's footwork is the most exquisite, making him best suited to draw the enemy's attention; as for Xiong Tianba, his immense strength means the stones and bricks prepared on site, as well as any rubble lying around, can become his ranged throwing weapons. It's a pity Zhan Peng isn't here; if Zhan Peng were present with his archery, the few of them could absolutely control any complex situation.

"Here they come!" Hu Xiaotian whispered.

Zhou Mo looked up and saw, to his surprise, a few faint dots appearing in the southeast direction. He had always thought his eyesight was exceptional, but he hadn't expected Hu Xiaotian to notice the other side's movements earlier than he did. Zhou Mo couldn't help feeling a bit curious—his third younger brother's eyesight was actually stronger than his own.

Hu Xiaotian, however, didn't realize the change taking place in himself; after consuming the Wind and Cloud Fruit, his strength and perception have been rapidly transforming and growing.

"Seven riders and one carriage!"

Zhou Mo was greatly startled; while he was straining to tell how many people were on the other side, Hu Xiaotian had already seen everything clearly.

Xiong Tianba blinked and said, "How come I can't see anything?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Za Wan is here! La Han has also arrived!"

Zhou Mo only now managed to see how many people were on the other side; to make out their faces clearly, he would still need to get closer. He was truly astonished by Hu Xiaotian's eyesight—before, it seemed Hu Xiaotian's eyesight had never been this strong. (A great activity like a pie falling from the sky, cool mobile phones waiting for you to grab! Follow the link/official account (add friends on WeChat, add official account, enter qdread), join now! Everyone gets a prize, follow the qdread WeChat official account right now!)(To be continued~^~)