Chapter 783

Wanyan Chixiong shouted loudly: "I will count to ten; if you don't come out within ten counts, don't blame me for being heartless! Boys, prepare the fire arrows!"

Fifty Black Hu warriors simultaneously drew their bows and nocked fire arrows, only hearing Wanyan Chixiong roar: "One! Two! Three! Four……"

Hu Xiaotian was also at a loss at this moment; Huo Shengnan pulled her iron bow to full, aiming at Wanyan Chixiong in the crowd, but then she immediately lowered the arrowhead. Capturing the leader first is certainly good, but if she shot and killed Wanyan Chixiong, causing chaos, there might be a chance to escape; however, doing so might reignite war between the Black Hu and Da Yong, so she must not act rashly and cause trouble.

Wanyan Chixiong said: "Eight!" The time until the final ultimatum was drawing ever closer.

At this moment, a mournful huji sound suddenly came from the northwest corner of the prince's residence.

Wanyan Chixiong's voice was thus interrupted, and his face showed a panicked expression.

Hu Xiaotian and the others also blinked in surprise; Dong Tianjiang had suffered in this regard before, and the memory was still fresh. He quietly reminded the few: "You must absolutely not listen to the huji sound, lest you lose your mind." Perhaps due to the adage "once bitten by a snake, ten years fearing the well rope," Dong Tianjiang somewhat exaggeratedly covered his ears with both hands.

The remaining three hurriedly focused their minds and controlled their breath, embracing the primordial unity, trying as much as possible not to listen to that huji sound, lest the huji sound seize their minds.

Hu Xiaotian first thought of Xi Yan; he almost could conclude that the huji sound must be related to Xi Yan. This girl has always wanted to kill Wanyan Chixiong to cause chaos, thereby breaking the alliance between Da Yong and the Black Hu, right? Could it be that she intends to use herself to draw attention away and then push all the blame onto Da Yong?

Wanyan Chixiong also heard the huji sound, looking toward the distance with some panic. That night, the appearance of this strange huji sound caused him to lose a notable subordinate; afterward he also conducted a careful investigation. It can be confirmed that the person playing the huji is definitely not from inside the Red Mountain Hall. However, tonight's huji sound seems completely different from that night's; at least from when the sound started until now, none of his subordinates have shown any abnormal behavior, so Wanyan Chixiong decided to cut the Gordian knot.

"Nine…… ten…… release the arrows!"

In an instant, dozens of fire arrows shot toward the Wild Goose Tower; just as the fire arrows flew in all directions, suddenly a black arrowhead pierced the night. Silently it flew toward Wanyan Chixiong's chest; that arrowhead was half a chi longer than a normal arrowhead, and when Wanyan Chixiong noticed, the tip was only about one zhang away from his face. Wanyan Chixiong hastily raised his saber to slash at the arrowhead, but as he drew his blade, a warrior behind him flashed out a dagger and viciously stabbed into his neck side.

The saber struck the arrowhead, but Wanyan Chixiong's strength quickly waned. After being stabbed, the force of that blow was insufficient to split the arrowhead; the tip continued forward at high speed, the sharp tip piercing his breastplate and entering his heart, carrying his flesh out through his back.

The situation on the scene changed in an instant; after the warrior who assassinated Wanyan Chixiong stabbed his neck with a dagger, he turned and fled, cutting through the squad of Black Hu warriors that intended to block his escape as if entering an uninhabited realm.

On the Wild Goose Tower, a Lan-clad man wearing a gold mask stood against the wind in the night, his right hand gripping a bow as black as ink. The arrow that had just killed Wanyan Chixiong was fired by his own hand.

Wanyan Chixiong's killing plunged the scene into panic; the dozens of fire arrows that had just been launched had already set the Wild Goose Tower ablaze.

Huo Shengnan, who had been keeping an eye on the outside situation, exclaimed in shock: "It seems Wanyan Chixiong is dead!" She heard the Black Hu people continually letting out terrified cries, interspersed with loud wails of grief.

Hu Xiaotian's heart sank; the thing he had feared most finally came to pass. If Wanyan Chixiong was indeed assassinated, this would stir up a tremendous trouble. Just now Wanyan Chixiong claimed to have learned their identities, and he also called out the names of Dong Tianjiang and Huo Shengnan; nearly everyone present heard it, so they will surely blame this on Dong Tianjiang and Huo Shengnan.

Dong Tianjiang's mood at this moment was extremely gloomy; in his view, he undoubtedly had been schemed against by Hu Xiaotian, and he roared: "I'll fight you to the death!" He brandished his spear and charged at Hu Xiaotian.

Huo Shengnan blocked his path, lowly rebuking: "What time is it now? Still want to cause internal strife? Taking advantage of the Black Hu people losing their leader and falling into chaos, let's kill our way out first."

Zong Tang quietly said: "Not bad, now is not the time to pursue responsibility; let's leave this place first."

The three broke through the window and leapt down from the second floor of the Wild Goose Tower; Huo Shengnan was the last to leave, providing cover, her arrows never missing as she consecutively shot down seven Black Hu archers to clear obstacles for her three companions.

Dong Tianjiang tonight could be said to have been vexed to the extreme, turning all his resentment into towering killing intent; anyway, Wanyan Chixiong is already dead, and this blame will likely fall on him eight or nine times out of ten—killing one is killing, killing ten is killing, killing one nets a gain. He shook his spear, spear-light like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, and in an instant five men fell beneath his spear. Zong Tang also no longer held back any mercy; his pair of iron fists swept all before them.

Hu Xiaotian snatched a broadsword; this guy also felt extremely resentful, now everyone thought he had plotted this affair to drag everyone down, but he too was a victim, and his pent-up grievance was fully unleashed upon these Black Hu warriors. The broadsword flew about, like chopping vegetables and melons, and in a moment he had cut down three Hu men.

Huo Shengnan flew down from the Wild Goose Tower, reminding them not to linger in battle. Under the cover of his three companions, Hu Xiaotian hurled all the poison-mist and smoke grenades at once into the surroundings; the scene became filled with smoke and mist, chaos rampant. They then seized the opportunity, joining forces to carve a bloody path out, and left the Red Mountain Hall.

The Lan-clad man on the Wild Goose Tower saw the four depart; the eyes hidden behind his mask projected an icy chill. He tapped his toes, leapt into the air, and his wide sleeves unfurled like a pair of blue wings in the night sky, carrying him as he glided through the air; soon he passed over the high walls of the Red Mountain Hall. At the end of his glide, just before landing, a huge black shadow swooped down from the forest, passing beneath him; the Lan-clad man lightly landed upon that shadow, which was a black giant eagle. The eagle bore him aloft, flapping its wings, and in an instant vanished into the boundless night sky.

Yongdu Myriad Phenomena Mountain, the Myriad Phenomena Great Buddha was built against the mountain, standing a hundred zhang tall. The Great Buddha has silently guarded this capital for a hundred years. From its vantage, the whole of Yongdu city lies before its eyes, as if nothing that occurs could escape its sight, yet for a hundred years it has remained unmoved by what it sees, always maintaining this posture through wind and rain, having witnessed all vicissitudes.

A white figure stood alone atop the Buddha's head, her cold eyes gazing toward Yongdu; the burning place must be the Red Mountain Hall. Moonlight was blocked by the black eagle's wings, a huge black shadow swooped down from the high sky, flapping its wings before the Buddha's face, a Lan-clad man leapt up, clearing the two-zhang gap between the black eagle and the Buddha, arriving before the white-clad woman and kneeling on one knee: "Greetings, Sect Leader!"

It turned out that this white-clad woman was the mysterious Sect Leader of the Wuxian Sect.

The Sect Leader slowly nodded: "How is it?"

"Report to the Sect Leader, Wanyan Chixiong has already been executed!"

"Is everything being carried out according to my plan?"

"Yes! I used Hu Xiaotian and the others to lure away the black and white twin corpses, then shot Wanyan Chixiong dead with Weichi Chong's Heaven-Shaking Bow, and pointed all the evidence toward Huo Shengnan and Dong Tianjiang!"

"Excellent! Have you exposed Hu Xiaotian's identity?"

The Lan-clad person said: "I have followed the Sect Leader's orders and not revealed anything about Hu Xiaotian!" After saying that, he couldn't help but add: "Only with the Saintess's wisdom would she surely deduce that this matter concerns me."

The Sect Leader gave a heh heh cold laugh: "So what? She cares only for Hu Xiaotian's life; as long as Hu Xiaotian is safe, she will have no other thoughts."

The Lan-clad person wanted to speak but held back; the Wuxian Sect Leader had already seen his intent from his eyes, and said in a low voice: "Say whatever you want!"

"Sect Leader, why spare Hu Xiaotian's life?"

The Wuxian Sect Leader sighed softly: "Xi Yan was raised by me; in my heart she is like my own daughter. The things she cherishes, how could I bear to destroy them? Otherwise she would surely hate me for life." His gaze suddenly turned cold: "I know what you are thinking; no matter what you think, just remember this well: you must never do anything that would hurt Xi Yan's feelings, and never let her know that these matters have anything to do with me."

"Yes! I will faithfully follow your teachings!"

Hu Xiaotian and the three others fought their way out of the Red Mountain Hall; at first they were together, but later, to evade the pursuing Black Hu warriors, they hastily scattered and fled. Hu Xiaotian ran all the way; he was never familiar with Yongdu's roads, and in his panic he chose roads at random, looping around only to find himself back on the road near the Red Mountain Hall.

A group of Black Hu warriors in pursuit spotted his trail, shouting as they gave chase; Hu Xiaotian turned pale with fright, sprinting forward, while the Black Hu archers behind him took aim and loosed arrows.

Hu Xiaotian's figure was elusive, dodging left and right; not a single incoming feather arrow could touch his clothes. After absorbing the black corpse's inner strength, his inner strength seemed to have greatly increased.

Just then, from the left thicket came swish! swish! swish! —dark arrows flew in succession, instantly killing the five Black Hu archers who had been shooting at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian looked up, only to hear Huo Shengnan's voice say: "Come up!"

Hu Xiaotian employed the Golden Spider Eight Steps, quickly climbing the tree. Huo Shengnan then shot down two more Black Hu warriors; with her quiver empty of feather arrows, she flung down her bow and quiver, leaping from the tree onto the wall.

Hu Xiaotian followed her footsteps, sprinting along the wall toward the front; at that moment, several more units were heading toward the Red Mountain Hall from afar—these were men sent by the Da Yong side after receiving news to inspect the situation at the Red Mountain Hall. (To be continued~^~)