Chapter 693

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Hu Xiaotian sat quietly in the reception hall of Pine Wave Club, Pine Wave Club being the best-conditioned among the many inns in Yongdu; of course, the Qichen Palace where they stayed was also not bad, even surpassing Pine Wave Club in specifications, but that was due to Princess Anping's status.

Black Hu warriors around stared at the lone Hu Xiaotian coming forward; their eyes held little goodwill, yet they still admired his courage—after all that had happened, he still dared to come alone, this eunuch could be considered bold.

Before Wanyan Chixiong arrived, Zhang Yang's arrogant laughter had already come from behind the screen.

Hu Xiaotian did not rise, smiling seated there, watching Wanyan Chixiong's tall and sturdy figure appear before him; Wanyan Chixiong came into the reception hall with hands clasped behind his back, striding like a dragon and tiger, laughing loudly: 'I thought it was some Lord Hu, but it's Eunuch Hu!' His expression was full of contempt.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: 'I used to hear that Black Hu people speak bluntly, not knowing what etiquette is; seeing the Fourth Prince's conduct and speech today, I now understand.'

Wanyan Chixiong's face changed, he glared at Hu Xiaotian and said: 'You seem unaware of where you are.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Fourth Prince, what do you think this place is? Is it your Black Hu territory?'

Wanyan Chixiong nodded: 'I used to hear that Dakang's men are all effeminate weaklings, but today I found there are also tough ones.' After saying that, he paused, the corner of his mouth curling in a mocking smile: 'I forgot, you're not a man.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'A man's toughest thing is not located on his mouth.'

Wanyan Chixiong burst into laughter at those words, sat down beside Hu Xiaotian, his tiger eyes blazing. He stared at Hu Xiaotian and asked: 'What brings you to see me?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'People of the Central Plains often say, "Honest people do not do secret deeds"; I like to act straightforwardly, getting straight to the point.'

Wanyan Chixiong said: 'I am the same.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'One life for another, Tang Tiehan for Laohan!'

Wanyan Chixiong laughed loudly, his laughter lingering before stopping; he coldly stared at Hu Xiaotian and said: 'I don't know who Tang Tiehan is, but Laohan has gone missing. If he suffers even the slightest harm...'

Hu Xiaotian locked eyes with Wanyan Chixiong, not yielding an inch, and said: 'It seems you still don't understand me; as long as I wish, I can make him disappear forever. We are both envoys, we should not interfere with each other's waters, yet you repeatedly press hard, thinking I truly fear you?'

Wanyan Chixiong shouted angrily: 'Bold!'

The warriors behind him simultaneously drew their waist blades.

Hu Xiaotian coldly smirked, surveying the warriors, and said: 'If you have the guts, let them kill me. If I die, I don't believe you can leave Yongdu alive.'

'Threatening me?'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: 'Not a threat, but a promise!'

Wanyan Chixiong gave a glance, and the warriors simultaneously sheathed their blades.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'We each have our missions; it's best we coexist peacefully. I give you two hours; if Tang Tiehan returns to South Wind Inn within two hours, Laohan can come back alive; if I don't see Tang Tiehan within two hours, our deal is off.' He rose to leave.

Wanyan Chixiong loudly said: 'Don't you care about his life or death?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'He means far less to me than Laohan does to you; if he doesn't return within two hours, I'll consider him dead. That also means the Fourth Prince is preparing to break with me completely, becoming sworn enemies; anyway, we're on Da Yong's turf—let's see whose side loses more people.' Having said that, Hu Xiaotian left without looking back.

Wanyan Chixiong's face darkened; he suddenly raised his hand and slammed down hard on the sandalwood tea table. Where his palm landed, the sandalwood tea table shattered with a boom, tea utensils scattered across the floor, the sound of breaking endless.

After an hour, Tang Tiehan was sent to South Wind Inn; though covered in wounds, his life was safe. Seeing Hu Xiaotian, he naturally felt ashamed. Hu Xiaotian did not blame him too severely, taking the chance to let Tang Tiehan and his sister leave promptly to avoid Black Hu retaliation in Yongdu. After this incident, Tang Qingxuan was no longer as insistent as before, finally agreeing to leave first with her older brother.

Hu Xiaotian still remembered the python skin in the deep pool; after the matter was settled, that night he went to Dog Head Mountain's Peach Blossom Pond together with Zhou Mo and Xiong Tianba. Before the three even approached the pond, they heard movement at its edge. They hid behind the rocks, gazing toward the edge by moonlight, only to see five figures standing beside the Peach Blossom Pond, seemingly waiting for something.

Hu Xiaotian silently thought it was bad; unexpectedly, someone had gotten there first. After waiting patiently a while, he saw the pond's water surge, two men in water gear climbing out of the pond, frantically patting their bodies upon landing. Hu Xiaotian saw clearly that they had attached over a hundred crescent jellyfish, but thanks to proper protection, they were not as miserable as he had been when he first entered the pond.

The five on shore also helped drive off the jellyfish on their bodies, finally clearing them after great effort, when one said: 'The pond is too deep, the water incredibly cold; below are swarms of crescent jellyfish—should we add more pay?' This person's accent was clearly Han.

The leader among the five coldly said: 'What was agreed upon is what it is; how can you Han people be so cunning?'

'Big brother, if we don't get extra pay we won't work! It's not worth freezing to death for such a little silver.' Another diver exclaimed angrily.

From their conversation, Hu Xiaotian judged that the five on shore were likely Black Hu people; though skilled in horseback archery, few Black Hu know water skills, so to explore this pond they needed outside help—these two divers were hired by them locally in Yongdu.

The leader among the Black Hu people chuckled: 'Fine, fine! I'll add ten taels of silver each.'

'Fifty taels!' the diver bargained.

The Black Hu leader nodded, waiting for the two divers to prepare before diving again; he glanced at both sides and made a chopping motion.

Zhou Mo sent a voice transmission to Hu Xiaotian: 'It seems they have already developed killing intent.'

Hu Xiaotian replied softly: 'Let's see first.' He did not think the two divers could possibly locate the purple lightning giant python's nest unless they could hold their breath underwater for a long time; otherwise, there was no chance of reaching the pond bottom.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly felt a chilling killing intent approaching from this side; Zhou Mo felt it at the same time. The two looked around.

But they saw a cold glint flickering hidden in the opposite woods.

Hu Xiaotian's heart startled; the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—could someone else be eyeing this place?

The two divers surfaced again from the water, this time having found a skull; they climbed ashore, while driving off the jellyfish they said: 'The pond water is too deep; it's impossible to reach the bottom.'

The Black Hu leader said: 'Rest a bit, then go down again to look.'

One of the divers pulled off the mask covering his face; aquatic weeds had already crawled up his eyelids from the gaps. He plucked off a crescent jellyfish, threw it to the ground and stomped hard: 'What are we? We've been searching for two hours; we're human too, brothers—we're not doing this!'

Clang! Five Black Hu people simultaneously drew their long blades; the Black Hu leader pressed the blade's edge against the man's chest, coldly saying: 'You'd better obey, or else...'

The man thrust his chest forward and shouted loudly: 'Or what? This is Da Yong, not your Black Hu territory!'

The Black Hu leader nodded: 'Strip off his water gear and throw it into the pond.'

Two Black Hu warriors immediately rushed forward, reaching to tear off the diver's water gear.

At that moment, a cold flash shot from the woods, accurately striking the throat of one Black Hu warrior, piercing it instantly. Everyone was startled; two figures had already flown out from the woods. Four Black Hu warriors drew their long blades to meet them, while the two divers seized the chance to turn and flee.

The two figures shooting from the woods were both clad in black, faces masked. Each went toward a Black Hu warrior, their swords flashing like lightning, extremely vicious; within three moves they had taken the lives of four Black Hu warriors.

Zhou Mo's brows furrowed slightly, not knowing who those two were; perhaps they were there to save the two divers?

The two divers had not fled far when a masked black-clad figure blocked their path, a flick of his slender sword killing them on the spot.

Zhou Mo and Hu Xiaotian exchanged a glance, not expecting the three black-clad individuals to be so ruthless, leaving no survivor.

The three black-clad individuals examined the corpses; one tore off something from his waist and shoved it into a Black Hu warrior's hand. They exchanged glances, then quickly departed.

Confident that the three black-clad swordsmen had gone far, Hu Xiaotian, Zhou Mo, and Xiong Tianba then appeared; they sent Xiong Tianba to keep watch on high ground, while Zhou Mo and Hu Xiaotian went to the seven bodies, examining each. All seven were dead; the three swordsmen were extremely efficient, every move lethal, ending the fight quickly, apparently intending to leave no survivors.

Hu Xiaotian approached a prone Black Hu warrior, pulling from under his palm an object—it was the wooden token the black-clad swordsman had just placed in his hand; by moonlight he saw the token engraved with the two characters 'Sword Palace'.

Zhou Mo came to Hu Xiaotian's side, staring at the wooden token and said: 'Could it be a Sword Palace disciple?'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: 'It should be a deliberate frame-up of the Sword Palace.'

Zhou Mo nodded, agreeing with Hu Xiaotian's view; using this method to create the illusion of a Sword Palace disciple killing someone, clearly intending to stir up hatred between the Sword Palace and the Black Hu people. Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled what Xiao Tianmu had said: the Sword Palace's founder, Lin Bai tao, died from a combined attack by Black Hu experts, so the enmity between Sword Palace and Black Hu cannot be resolved; the appearance of this wooden token will surely advance the plan to provoke Sword Palace and Black Hu hatred.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Never mind all that, hurry up and get the python skin up.' (A great activity of free pies falling from the sky, cool smartphones await you! Follow the start~point/public account (WeChat add friend-add public account-input qdread), join now! Everyone gets a prize; immediately follow the qdread WeChat public account!) (To be continued~^~)