Chapter 778

Only two points of cold light were seen, moving at astonishing speed like chasing wind and lightning, covering a distance of over ten zhang in an instant, and they had already arrived at the corner tower.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze followed the two feathered arrows; one arrow shot straight into the forehead of a Black Hu warrior facing them, while the other arrow pierced the neck of the Black Hu warrior originally on guard duty, its momentum undiminished, it went through his throat and continued forward—puff! The arrowhead sank deep into the throat of the Black Hu warrior opposite who was conversing with him. Two arrows fired together, one arrow, two eagles!

Seeing the three Black Hu warriors collapse silently onto the corner tower, Hu Xiaotian was overjoyed, almost jumping up to clap and cheer. Looking at Huo Shengnan, she had already nocked an arrow, fully prepared for a follow‑up shot. Hu Xiaotian secretly sighed, 'No wonder Huo Shengnan enjoys such prestige in the Da Yong army—this girl is formidable; in archery she should be no match for Zhan Peng.'

Huo Shengnan whispered, 'What are you looking at? Hurry up and act!'

Hu Xiaotian nodded; both he and Huo Shengnan were dressed in black night‑clothes, with black masks on their faces.

The two swiftly slid down from the big tree and, in the shortest time, arrived beneath the corner tower of the Red Mountain Club. According to their prior calculations, the route now lay just outside the sight lines of the other sentries.

Arriving at the base of the Red Mountain Club's wall, Hu Xiaotian employed the Golden Spider Eight Steps, clinging to the wall's edge like a spider, his fingers digging into the cracks, and he climbed upward as if walking on flat ground. After climbing a distance, he lowered his head to look, only to see Huo Shengnan still unmoving. He quickly pursed his lips at her, signaling her to hurry.

Huo Shengnan took out a grappling hook from behind her, gave it a spin in her hand, then swoosh! threw it upward; the hook firmly caught the edge of the wall top. She pulled hard on the rope and climbed up. Like a wisp of black smoke, she instantly scaled over three zhang of the outer wall. Although she started after Hu Xiaotian, she was a step ahead of him. Upon reaching the corner tower, she did not forget to glance down at Hu Xiaotian, a proud look shining in her beautiful eyes.

Hu Xiaotian refused to lag behind, quickly scrambling up to the corner tower, albeit a bit slower. Since he was climbing bare‑handed, the difficulty was considerably greater than for Huo Shengnan.

Seeing the three corpses slumped on the corner tower, he couldn't help but marvel again at Huo Shengnan's astonishing archery.

The two stripped suitable clothing from the bodies and put it on; unless they met someone at close range, the disguise would not be noticed.

Hu Xiaotian then lifted one of the Black Hu warriors' corpses, propping it against a pillar of the corner tower. But as soon as he let go, the body slumped down. He directly plucked a feathered arrow from Huo Shengnan's quiver, aimed at the man's throat, and stabbed hard; the arrow pierced the warrior's throat and lodged in the pillar behind.

Huo Shengnan frowned at the sight. 'Hu Xiaotian, your hand is truly ruthless.' However, from a distance the corner tower still appeared to have someone on watch; approaching closely would reveal that it was a corpse long dead, which was also meant to prevent the Black Hu from noticing any abnormality at the corner tower too early.

The two exchanged a glance. They stepped down from the corner tower; to reach the Wild Goose Tower from here they still had to pass two checkpoints. Under the cover of shadows, Hu Xiaotian looked ahead and saw that at the distant Second Gate two Black Hu warriors were stationed outside.

Huo Shengnan whispered, 'What do we do?'

Hu Xiaotian made a chopping‑hand gesture, indicating they could only fight their way in.

Huo Shengnan sighed inwardly. She had previously instructed them to keep killing to a minimum, but once the operation began, the situation slipped beyond her control; the route they had chosen required a wholesale slaughter all the way, and she wondered whether Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang had managed to infiltrate successfully.

Huo Shengnan drew her bow, preparing for the next step, when suddenly footsteps sounded in the distance. Hu Xiaotian hastily reached out to stop her; in the darkness he couldn't see clearly, and his arm happened to land on Huo Shengnan's chest. Because she wore armor, he didn't realize he had inadvertently offended her, but Huo Shengnan felt her face flush.

Two Black Hu female slaves walked side by side, holding lanterns, chatting away in gibberish as they went. Hu Xiaotian didn't understand the Black Hu language and glanced curiously at Huo Shengnan.

Huo Shengnan pulled him back quietly to the wall corner; as the two Black Hu women drew nearer, she whispered, 'Knock them out!'

When the two Black Hu female slaves passed by, the pair lunged out together. Hu Xiaotian struck one slave on the back of the neck with his palm, snatching her lantern in the same motion, while Huo Shengnan sealed the other's acupoint. They dragged the two women into a corner and hid them, checking that no one else had noticed.

Huo Shengnan had heard clearly what the two Black Hu women had just said; they were slaves of the Red Mountain Club, summoned at this late hour to the inner court by the master. Their earlier chattering had been about bedroom matters, and Huo Shengnan silently cursed them for their shamelessness. She had knocked them out because an idea had struck her: she could disguise herself as them to enter the inner court.

Huo Shengnan felt the pulse point of the Black Hu slave Hu Xiaotian had knocked out and found no pulse—not because she was already dead, but because Hu Xiaotian had misjudged his force; this strike was too heavy, his palm breaking the slave's cervical vertebra. Hu Xiaotian had not intended to kill her, and he inwardly lamented, 'Bad luck for you—my strength is simply too great.' Walking the line between life and death allows no hesitation; a single slip could mean total defeat.

Huo Shengnan whispered, 'Change into their clothes.'

'What?'

Huo Shengnan had already quickly changed into one of the slave women's garments and put on the hat.

Hu Xiaotian felt vexed—was tonight a fashion show? He had just changed into one outfit, now he had to change again; he understood Huo Shengnan's intent: to pose as the two Black Hu slave women and slip openly into the inner court. This would both avoid extra killing and allow them to infiltrate the Wild Goose Tower without alerting the enemy.

Reluctantly, he had to don another Black Hu woman's long dress; fortunately Black Hu women are generally tall‑built, so though the dress felt a bit tight on Hu Xiaotian, it didn't tear. Black Hu women customarily wear veils, which also created convenient conditions for them to pass off as the women.

Seeing Huo Shengnan saw Hu Xiaotian's appearance and couldn't help but laugh; she took the lantern from his hand and whispered, 'You needn't say a word—just follow my orders.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded, pulling the veil over his face so only a pair of large eyes showed.

For ease of movement, besides their daggers they temporarily hid all other weapons in the corner. Once ready, they set off together toward the Second Gate.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian's gait, Huo Shengnan couldn't help but remind him, 'Hold your chest in, suck in your belly, watch the sway of your hips as you walk—remember, you're a woman!'

Hu Xiaotian was torn between laughter and tears; following his own instinct, he would have preferred to shoot the two guards dead right away rather than wiggle his buttocks here playing a woman. He lifted his head, puffed his chest, sucked in his belly, stuck out his rear, and tried to look wantonly sexy, swaying his hips as he walked beside Huo Shengnan.

They arrived at the Second Gate; the gate guards spoke in gibberish, and Huo Shengnan replied in the Hu language, their exchange flowing smoothly. The guards must have been notified beforehand, for they both laughed and stepped aside to let them pass. Huo Shengnan went in first, and Hu Xiaotian, wiggling his buttocks, followed her inside. As they passed the two Black Hu warriors, a sudden slap! sounded—one of the warriors, seeing Hu Xiaotian's full, pert buttocks swaying, found it provocative and couldn't resist delivering a hard smack.

Hu Xiaotian was stunned by the slap, freezing in place, but the warrior quickly reacted, turning his body and lightly slapping the Black Hu guard's face—a symbolic gesture, not a punishment, more like flirtation.

The two Black Hu warriors burst out laughing.

Hu Xiaotian acted coy, wiggling even more fiercely, taking quick little steps to catch up with Huo Shengnan.

Huo Shengnan had also been startled just then; once she realized what was happening, she almost laughed out loud. The two Black Hu warriors behind them were babbling in gibberish, and Hu Xiaotian, unable to understand, sent a mental message to Huo Shengnan: 'What are those two bastards saying?'

Huo Shengnan wanted to tell him, but felt it improper to speak aloud, so she pretended not to have heard anything.

Huo Shengnan's plan worked perfectly; after disguising themselves as two Black Hu women, they encountered no obstruction along the way—except for the incident at the Second Gate where Hu Xiaotian was groped by a lecherous hand—and faced no further questioning. They proceeded smoothly to the north wall of the Wild Goose Tower. Inside the tower no lights were lit; it was pitch black. Hu Xiaotian looked around, seeing no trace of Dong Tianjiang or Zong Tang, when suddenly he sensed the rustle of clothing behind him. He whirled around to see two black shadows lunging at them—Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang, who had been lying in wait nearby. Spotting the two Black Hu slave women approaching, they feared Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan would be discovered, so they prepared to strike first and subdue the pair.

Hu Xiaotian hastily made the prearranged gesture.

Dong Tianjiang's sword in hand had already pierced halfway; only then did he realize the two before him were Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan in disguise, and he hastily withdrew his sword momentum, while Zong Tang's side also stopped his attack on Huo Shengnan. Both saw Hu Xiaotian's appearance and simultaneously covered their mouths; Dong Tianjiang was holding back so hard that the veins on his forehead bulged out—Hu Xiaotian had actually dressed up as a black Hu lass, and he really looks seductive and alluring.

Seeing Dong Tianjiang and Zong Tang's strange looks, Hu Xiaotian wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into; he estimated this would become a laughingstock for those people in the future.

The four split off from both sides and went to the front of Hongyan Tower, seeing two guards stationed at the gate outside Hongyan Tower; it was already midnight, the time when people are most prone to drowsiness, and those two black Hu warriors also leaned against the corridor pillars and started dozing.

Dong Tianjiang made a gesture, and he and Zong Tang both moved at once, arriving beside the black Hu warrior, covering his mouth and nose, and with just a twist broke his neck. (To be continued~^~)