Chapter 745: [The Third Watch of Zi Hour] (Part I)

Hu Xiaotian left the palace with a heavy heart. Jinlin Guard Commander Shi Kuan appeared before him, bidding farewell. Princess Anping had already died, and Qichen Palace no longer needed heavy garrison duties. Shi Kuan, together with the Jinlin Guard, had completed his mission. Their replacement as garrison commanders turned out to be Tiger Standard Battalion Commander Dong Tianjiang, who had been ordered to come; at dawn tomorrow he will lead a detachment of five hundred to escort Princess Anping's coffin back to Dakang.

Hu Xiaotian had previously dealt with Dong Tianjiang, though back then the Dong brothers had taken the initiative to attack him, trying every means to find fault with them. Now the Da Yong emperor had specifically sent him to escort Hu Xiaotian's party—truly, enemies meet when fate wills it. Hu Xiaotian silently thought it ominous; if Xi Yan continued to feign death, this journey would surely be fraught with trouble. Remembering Xi Yan's earlier words that something major would happen at the third watch of zi hour, he could not help but feel a hint of anticipation, hoping Xi Yan could use this to escape and thus eliminate this hidden danger completely.

Although Dong Tianjiang had often opposed Hu Xiaotian, today he came to the door observing full propriety, conducting business as usual without excessive arrogance. Under Shi Kuan's guidance he approached Hu Xiaotian and clasped his fists: "Sir Hu, I have come under the Emperor's edict to escort Princess Anping's coffin back to Dakang."

Hu Xiaotian also clasped his fists and said: "This journey to Dakang involves high mountains and long waters; I fear it will trouble General Dong greatly."

Shi Kuan said: "Since the two of you have already met, there is no need for me to make further introductions. I must return to the palace to report; farewell!"

Hu Xiaotian and Dong Tianjiang saw Shi Kuan off outside the gate. Dong Tianjiang this time brought a hundred Tiger Standard Battalion soldiers; these men have come to make preparations before departure, while the remaining four hundred will arrive tomorrow morning. According to Da Yong's arrangements, at dawn tomorrow Consort Dong Shu and Seventh Prince Xue Daoming will personally come to see them off.

Hu Xiaotian secretly sneered: This mother‑son duo of Consort Dong Shu really intend to play their act to the fullest. While Princess Anping was alive they never showed their faces; now that she is dead they insist on playing the role of utmost devotion and sincerity—this mother‑son pair are hypocritical to the extreme.

In fact, Dong Tianjiang's escort of the coffin to Dakang is also Consort Dong Shu's idea. After Princess Anping's assassination, outside rumors have already linked them to the matter, many suspecting mother and son. Therefore Consort Dong Shu is eager to prove her innocence: not only did she and her son visit Long Xi Yue before her death, they will also personally escort the coffin out of the city, and even let her own nephew escort the coffin to Kangdu, seeing the matter through to such an extent can be described as exhausting benevolence and righteousness. This will surely silence many tongues.

Hu Xiaotian pretended to discuss with Dong Tianjiang the route back to Kangdu and the departure time for tomorrow; after preliminarily settling the matter, it was already midnight, and Hu Xiaotian deliberately yawned.

Dong Tianjiang saw this and said: "It's getting late. Sir Hu, you had better go rest early; we still have to rush tomorrow."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, rose and clasped his fists to Dong Tianjiang: "Then I will first go rest a while, and after an hour I will come to relieve General Dong."

Dong Tianjiang said: "Sir Hu, just go rest. I am here; nothing will happen."

Hu Xiaotian returned to his residence. Zhou Mo and Xiong Tianba were also still awake; seeing Hu Xiaotian come back, they hurriedly greeted him. Hu Xiaotian whispered: "Let's go inside to talk."

Back in the room, Xiong Tianba shut the door and shouted: "I heard that Dong Tianjiang has come, saying he will escort the princess's coffin back to Dakang?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Indeed!"

Xiong Tianba gritted his teeth: "Damn it, this time I will definitely fight him for eight hundred rounds to see whether his Fang Tian Hua Ji is fiercer or my double hammers are!" Since being defeated by Dong Tianjiang at the South Wind Inn, Xiong Tianba has borne a grudge; recently he acquired this pair of great hammers, learned a exquisite hammer technique from them, and after defeating the Black‑Haired Warrior Lahen, his confidence is soaring.

Zhou Mo glared at him and snapped: "If you dare cause trouble again, I don't care if I break your legs—don't act rashly at a critical moment!"

Xiong Tianba said: "I'm just talking; Master forbids me to act, so I will not move a muscle." He still obeys Zhou Mo's words.

Hu Xiaotian said: "The inner court may soon see a major event."

Zhou Mo exclaimed in shock: "What kind of event?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I don't know the details, but something will definitely happen; we must adapt as circumstances dictate."

Zhou Mo said: "The princess is already dead—what else could happen?" Actually Hu Xiaotian had privately told Zhou Mo about Xi Yan's feigned death; Zhou Mo worries that if Xi Yan stirs up trouble again and her ruse is exposed, their little group will be in big trouble.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Xiong Tianba, you must remember: from now on, no matter what happens, you must stay close to your master and must not act on your own."

Xiong Tianba nodded solemnly.

Zhou Mo said: "Xiong Tianba, go to your room and prepare; I have a private matter to discuss with your third uncle."

Xiong Tianba responded, turned and left, casually pulling the door shut from outside.

After Xiong Tianba left, Zhou Mo lowered his voice to Hu Xiaotian: "What else does she want to do?"

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile: "She won't tell me, but since Dong Tianjiang is traveling with us, if she doesn't find a way to slip away, this journey will surely bring us much trouble."

Zhou Mo said: "Let's hope there will be no more trouble." Yet he knows deep down that the chance of nothing happening is minuscule; given Xi Yan's nature as a demoness, she will surely fear that the world is not chaotic enough.

Hu Xiaotian said: "When the boat reaches the bridge, it will go straight; when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a way. Elder brother, don't worry—we have weathered wind and rain together all along; even if the sky falls, we'll just treat it as being covered."

Zhou Mo patted his shoulder, admiring Hu Xiaotian's broad‑minded attitude, yet unaware that Hu Xiaotian had said that only because he had no other option; despite his outstanding wisdom, he truly has no good countermeasure when faced with Xi Yan's twisted meddling.

At that moment a loud cry for help came from Xiong Tianba. Xiong Tianba is usually fearless, so few things can frighten him; the two rushed out, only to see Xiong Tianba running toward them at full speed from the well in the courtyard, where a dense tide of black scorpions was surging toward them.

All three were startled by the sight before them, staring at the black mass like a tide of scorpions. Hu Xiaotian instantly realized this must be connected to Xi Yan—hadn't she said something would happen at the third watch of zi hour? How could it already have begun?

Zhou Mo reacted first, grabbing a torch and shouting: "Fall back to the front courtyard!" At that moment the black scorpion swarm had not yet reached them; there should be enough time to retreat to the front courtyard.

Just then the neighboring stable let out a horse's neigh; Hu Xiaotian's face changed. Xiao Hui was still there; he told Zhou Mo and Xiong Tianba: "You go first, I'll release Xiao Hui and come join you right away."

When Zhou Mo tried to stop him, Hu Xiaotian had already charged toward the stable; Zhou Mo shook his head helplessly—he still knows something about this third brother's special constitution. Not knowing what miraculous encounter Hu Xiaotian has had, his physique seems to have become invulnerable to all poisons; otherwise last night he would not have emerged unscathed from the pincer attack of the three top masters of the Banmen Sect. Moreover, in several spars Hu Xiaotian's martial arts have improved by leaps and bounds, making a thousand‑mile‑a‑day progress; in any situation Hu Xiaotian should be able to protect himself. There is no need for him to worry excessively.

Hu Xiaotian tapped the ground with his toes, leapt like a rabbit and falcon, and in an instant arrived at the stable.

Xiao Hui was jumping and neighing inside the stable; originally not a few scorpions had already surrounded it. Fortunately Hu Xiaotian arrived in time, drew his Hidden Edge Sword, and with a single stroke cut the horse's reins, freeing Xiao Hui. Raising its neck, it let out a long neigh, lifted its forehooves and stomped down hard, crushing the two black scorpions that had crawled nearest to it into pulp.

Xiao Hui charged out of the stable to its master's side; Hu Xiaotian mounted. At that moment he heard a rustling sound from above; looking up, he saw a boundless black cloud drifting toward his head—actually a swarm of bats flying over Qichen Palace.

Hu Xiaotian spurred his horse toward the front courtyard.

Xiao Hui was extraordinarily swift; running over the ground covered with black scorpions, often as soon as its four hooves touched the ground it would leap into the air, then come down heavily. Thus its leaps covered great distance and avoided being bitten by the black scorpions.

Hu Xiaotian brandished his Hidden Edge Sword left and right, emitting several sword qi; usually a single sword qi could kill a large patch of black scorpions. All living things have spirituality; the black scorpions soon felt Hu Xiaotian's might and began to scatter to both sides, leaving a clear path through the middle.

Hu Xiaotian charged his horse into the front courtyard, only to see several dozen archers under Dong Tianjiang's command aiming at the night sky. Accompanied by Dong Tianjiang's loud shout: "Release!" dozens of fire‑arrows shot swiftly into the night sky; the dense arrow rain plunged into the black cloud overhead, the fire‑arrows struck the bats, causing them to explode and burst into flames, which spread through the bat‑formed black cloud. These are the Tiger Standard Battalion's specially made fire‑cloud arrows; upon hitting a target they explode, the blast igniting anything within roughly one zhang radius.

The several dozen archers, undaunted, advanced and retreated in proper order; following Dong Tianjiang's orders, not a single arrow missed. The bat swarm encountered obstruction, obviously unwilling to land lightly, and instead flew higher to escape the Tiger Standard Battalion's killing range.

Seeing the bat swarm heading toward the inner court, Hu Xiaotian recalled that Xi Yan was inside the inner court; everything happening now must be related to her. He sent a mental transmission to Zhou Mo: "Hold your positions!" Since this chaos was caused by Xi Yan, standing still is cooperating with her plan.

Dong Tianjiang shouted: "Wu Zhengfang, protect the princess's corpse!"

Setting aside Hu Xiaotian's personal opinion of Dong Tianjiang, in troop deployment he indeed has his own method: the hundred men under him were split into two parts—one part accompanied him to meet the bat swarm, while the other thirty soldiers, under his deputy Wu Zhengfang, firmly guarded the palace where Princess Anping's corpse is kept; no matter what commotion occurs outside, those soldiers never leave their posts, lest they fall for the enemy's tactic of feigning an attack to draw them away.

I am speechless; in recent chapters every chapter has mistakes, Zhangyu sweating profusely, thanks again for the corrections—nephew, zi hour, this brain of mine keeps short‑circuiting? The omissions in the text will be corrected later; before uploading I will proofread more thoroughly, which also proves Zhangyu writes fresh, hot‑off‑the‑press material. Seeing such diligence, please do not miss the recommendation tickets and monthly tickets! (To be continued~^~)