Chapter 779: [Wild Goose Tower] (Part 2)

Huo Shengnan shook her head and said not to create more slaughter; once action begins, these people's killing intent is not ordinarily strong.

Hu Xiaotian rushed over immediately, stripped a Black Hu warrior's clothes and put them on, and spent the night busy taking them off and putting them on.

Zong Tang distributed the weapons he brought to them, and Huo Shengnan also picked out a bow that fit her hand, an iron-tire bow.

Dong Tianjiang stood to the side, smiling with narrowed eyes at Hu Xiaotian and said: "Actually, you look quite good in a skirt."

Hu Xiaotian felt a chill from his gaze, eyes widening as he said: "If you keep looking at me, I'll turn against you!" Dong Tianjiang looked aggrieved and said: "I'm telling the truth!"

Clang! Zong Tang had successfully opened the copper lock on the Wild Goose Tower's main gate; the four reassigned duties, with Dong Tianjiang responsible for keeping watch outside the tower, while Hu Xiaotian and the other three entered the tower to search for evidence.

The three entered the Wild Goose Tower through the main gate; judging from the lock outside, the tower should be unoccupied. After closing the door, Huo Shengnan and Zong Tang's vision could not immediately adapt to the interior darkness, but Hu Xiaotian saw everything clearly. He spread his arms to block Zong Tang and Huo Shengnan; this time Huo Shengnan was touched on her chest by him again, and without chest armor protection, it felt as if Hu Xiaotian had deliberately groped her. Her pretty face flushed involuntarily, and Hu Xiaotian also felt his arms contact two soft, elastic masses, feeling somewhat puzzled. Clearly he remembered Huo Shengnan being flat-chested, so where did these two masses come from? Even though it was just arm contact, he could sense their considerable size; it seemed Huo Shengnan had previously bound them tightly, and today, to play the role of a Black Hu female slave, she had released them, like a floodgate opening—surely surging waves!

Huo Shengnan had been groped on the chest twice in a row by him today, although both times were unintentional. Yet she couldn't help wondering in her heart why he kept using the pretext of blocking to touch her there. Actually this somewhat wrongs Hu Xiaotian, for his other arm also brushed against Zong Tang's chest, which is not inferior in size to Huo Shengnan's, though the feel is far different.

Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice and said: "There's a mechanism!"

Huo Shengnan and Zong Tang glanced at each other; neither of their eyesight was as good as Hu Xiaotian's. They had only just begun to adapt to the surrounding darkness, and could only make out rough outlines, unable to see any details.

Zong Tang took out a copper tube, unscrewed its cap, and a beam of light shot out. Hu Xiaotian was greatly surprised, never expecting him to have brought a flashlight; then he thought that such a thing shouldn't exist in this era. Looking closer, he saw that a small Night Pearl was inlaid inside the copper tube; this Night Pearl could not compare to the one Xi Yan had before. However, even a grain-sized pearl emits light, focused into a beam, resembling a flashlight at first glance. In fact, the optical principle is much the same. This device is not called a flashlight; Zong Tang called it a condensing tube.

By the light of the condensing tube, they saw that the hall was filled with metal threads as fine as spider silk, crisscrossing vertically and horizontally, with copper bells hung above. If touched without prior notice, it would surely set off a loud ringing of the bells.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan helped hold the copper bells. To avoid triggering a sound, Zong Tang carefully cut the metal wires, successfully passing this tripwire line. Hu Xiaotian pointed ahead. On the map Xi Yan gave him, the location of the Wild Goose Tower's underground secret chamber was marked in detail.

Entering the eastern flower hall, Hu Xiaotian strode straight toward the opposite antique shelf, but after just one step Zong Tang grabbed him and whispered: "The furnishings here are arranged according to the Feng Gong Six Bureau." As he spoke, he shone the condensing tube on the floor and saw that the blue bricks were indeed engraved with different characters.

Zong Tang said: "The Feng Gong Six Bureau is a trap art created by our Central Plains people; I never expected the Black Hu to have learned it too." After carefully examining the characters on the ground, he stepped forward and warned Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan: "You two must follow my steps exactly; do not make a mistake."

Hu Xiaotian secretly marveled, not expecting the Wild Goose Tower to be full of mechanisms. Xi Yan left this clue for him, but he didn't know what her purpose was. Since she could hide the Ice Soul Stabilizing Pearl inside the Wild Goose Tower, it proved that she or her companions had previously entered here. Since they had gotten there first, why not find the Black Hu's intelligence-gathering evidence and make it public? That Demoness Xi Yan always acts deceitfully; if it weren't to save Huo Xiaoru's life, Hu Xiaotian would not have come to the Wild Goose Tower for adventure, but the Prince Yan's three exchange conditions included obtaining this Ice Soul Stabilizing Pearl, so coming here was unavoidable to fulfill his terms.

According to Xi Yan, she hid the Ice Soul Stabilizing Pearl inside the antique shelf in the Wild Goose Tower's flower hall.

Following Zong Tang's winding path, they circled halfway around the flower hall before reaching the antique shelf.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Let's see if there's a mechanism to open the secret chamber inside." Actually he didn't hold high hopes of finding the secret chamber; if he could smoothly find the Stabilizing Pearl, that would already be the greatest surprise. Even failing to find the Black Hu's intelligence-gathering evidence wouldn't matter, as long as he could rescue Huo Xiaoru.

The three searched separately on the antique shelf, turning it over completely without finding any suspicious spot. Hu Xiaotian began to feel uneasy, wondering if that girl Xi Yan had tricked him again before leaving—maybe the Ice Soul Stabilizing Pearl simply wasn't here.

Zong Tang pushed the antique shelf; it didn't budge. He then lay flat on the ground to look underneath, seeing nothing abnormal.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze fell on the wall beside the antique shelf, where a huge ox head hung. He approached the ox head, reached out to touch its horns, and felt that the two horns had different temperatures. Since consuming the Wind and Cloud Fruit, his perception had become superhuman; even this slight difference was noticeable to him. The ox head was cast entirely of bronze, its two horns not being integral with the head. He twisted the slightly cooler left horn, unscrewing it, found the horn hollow, gave it a shake, and a small cloth packet rolled out.

Hu Xiaotian bent to pick up the cloth packet, seeing Zong Tang and Huo Shengnan still searching the antique shelf for mechanisms, unaware of his discovery. He quietly unfolded the packet; his fingertip touched a cold, smooth bead—undoubtedly the Ice Soul Stabilizing Pearl. He was both startled and delighted, secretly stowing the Pearl away, then screwed the ox horn back into place. Mission accomplished, since he couldn't find the switch to open the secret chamber anyway; he would leave before being noticed.

At this moment, after an unsuccessful search, Zong Tang came to Hu Xiaotian's side, unaware that Hu Xiaotian had already found what he wanted, and whispered: "Any findings?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and whispered: "Just discovered that these two ox horns can be unscrewed."

Zong Tang looked at that ox head, then suddenly reached out to twist the right horn, asking Hu Xiaotian to help unscrew the left horn.

Hu Xiaotian wondered what he was up to; anyway, having already found the Ice Soul Stabilizing Pearl, the horns shouldn't contain anything else. After they unscrewed both horns, Zong Tang swapped the horns and screwed them back on, putting the left horn on the right side and the right horn on the left.

At first glance it seemed no different from before, but underneath the antique shelf a creaking, grating sound of movement arose.

Huo Shengnan, being closest, hurriedly retreated to their side, only to see the antique shelf slowly shift to one side, revealing a dark, gloomy opening beneath it.

Hu Xiaotian stared agape, never expecting that they had actually stumbled upon the Wild Goose Tower's underground secret chamber by accident; the switch to open the chamber door lay on this pair of ox horns. Without Zong Tang, who is versed in mechanism arts, Hu Xiaotian would never have figured out how to open it.

Zong Tang said: "The person who set up these mechanisms was probably a Han Chinese."

Hu Xiaotian said: "A Han traitor, more like! Actually helping the Black Hu work for them!"

Huo Shengnan whispered: "No time for complaints; let's go down and see!"

The three arrived at the opening and saw a staircase leading downward.

Before descending the stairs, Zong Tang took out something from his waist and smeared it on his face, instantly turning it into a dark complexion; it was pot ash, the simplest and most effective disguise at night. Although Hu Xiaotian wore a face mask, adding this extra precaution wasn't bad; he also applied some pot ash to make his face completely black, and Huo Shengnan imitated them. Everyone understood that if they found evidence of the Black Hu's crimes tonight they could still appear openly in their true identities, but if they found nothing they must absolutely not reveal their identities, lest they invite serious trouble.

After walking a few steps, Hu Xiaotian spotted a torch on the wall, took it down and lit it with a striker; the dark cavern instantly brightened considerably, and they continued down the stairs. After climbing more than sixty steps they reached the door of the secret chamber.

On each side of the gate stood a bronze figure holding a lamp; the lamps burned brightly with flood‑dragon fish oil, which could last a month without replacement.

Zong Tang halted before the iron door, had Hu Xiaotian bring the torch close to the external copper lock, then took out a lock‑picking tool from his deer‑skin pouch and, after a moment, opened the lock.

Hu Xiaotian secretly praised, today fortunate to have invited Zong Tang; otherwise not only would entering the underground chamber be impossible, even finding the Ice Soul Stabilizing Pellet would be hard. He and Zong Tang pushed the door open together, and Huo Xiaoru raised her torch to shine inside, revealing a long corridor lined with assorted specimens—tigers, wolves, leopards, deer, horses, cattle, sheep—and further ahead lay more than a dozen human desiccated corpses, standing or sitting in various poses.

Huo Shengnan couldn't help frowning, truly unable to fathom why the Black Hu would store such things in this underground chamber; Hu Xiaotian had said this place was for gathering Black Hu intelligence, yet it looked more like an underground tomb.

Zong Tang also found the secret chamber rather strange, and whispered: "It seems like a hidden tomb!" (To be continued~^~)