Chapter 79: Chapter Thirty-Two [So-Called Romance] (Lower)

Murong Feiyan was awakened by the little girl's timely reminder, her eyes widening as if from a dream, then she chuckled: "Such clumsy tricks only suit an underage girl—what's with selling iron shells for gongs? It's utterly sour."

Hu Xiaotian laughed and cried, the little girl's ears were too sharp; all the romantic atmosphere I painstakingly built was wiped out by her one sentence. Damn, don't ruin my scene like that. Hu Xiaotian coughed and said: "It's not 'selling iron shells for gongs,' it's romantic. Little miss, you haven't reached puberty yet; when you grow up, you'll understand that an outstanding woman absolutely must know how to appreciate ambiance."

The little girl snorted in front of Murong Feiyan: "What's so great? Men aren't good for anything."

This remark aroused public indignation; even the four servants felt the girl was overly arbitrary, as if one stick could beat a boatload of people. The young master isn't a good person, but these servants are also poor proletarians, considering themselves not bad.

Hu Xiaotian secretly amused, an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl actually saying such things, as if she had a rich love life.

Liang Da Zhuang said from behind: "Not all men are bad; our young master is an absolutely perfect man." This guy, who had leaked Hu Xiaotian's identity at Lanruo Temple and felt guilty inside, seized the chance to flatter and rushed forward without hesitation.

Hu Xiaotian secretly cursed this guy for having no skill in flattery—what "absolutely perfect man"? Did I hear wrong? Why do I sense a strong tone of mockery? Is he speaking sarcastically?

Murong Feiyan giggled, understanding that this was definitely sarcasm.

The little girl said: "The more perfect someone is, the earlier they die—haven't you heard that good people don't live long, while calamities last a thousand years?"

Liang Da Zhuang shouted indignantly: "How can you talk like that? Cursing our young master—do you have any conscience? If it weren't for our young master, you and your grandfather would have been eaten by wolves long ago."

Even Murong Feiyan felt the girl's mouth was too venomous, her words too excessive; although Hu Xiaotian was usually a bit of a rascal and had a sharp tongue, he had committed no evil on this journey—especially toward the girl and her grandfather, he could be considered their lifesaver—yet this girl didn't repay kindness, instead speaking so bitterly, indeed suspecting her of repaying kindness with enmity. Murong Feiyan had seen many girls of this age, but she had never encountered such a type before; this girl exuded a strange aura from head to toe.

Hu Xiaotian didn't think the girl's remark was wrong, because her actions were far more poisonous than her words—at Lanruo Temple she had already shot him with a needle, the Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle; I said, it's too poisonous!

After passing that narrow mountain path, everyone rested on the flat stretch ahead. Hu Xiaotian took advantage of the others' inattention, rolled up his sleeve, and examined the spot where the poison needle had struck—it had already swollen to the size of a yuan dollar coin; at this rate, his whole arm would soon turn red. He quietly pressed his finger on the wound; the skin was numb, toxic, absolutely toxic, the nerves paralyzed. He alone found a crooked-neck pine to sit on, gazing far at the girl, seeing her standing on the cliff edge looking toward Lanruo Temple; the mountains were shrouded in clouds and mist, occasionally mixed with scattered drizzle, basically nothing visible, but from her demeanor, she seemed still very concerned about Senior Eunuch Ande Quan—she still had some conscience.

Thinking of Ande Quan, Hu Xiaotian had to admit he was indeed a remarkable person—under conditions of lacking medicine and drugs, he had actually survived an amputation surgery, which certainly couldn't be done by willpower alone. Recalling his previous surgical experiences, Hu Xiaotian noticed that people in this world seemed to have a higher tolerance for pain and better resistance to infection, possibly because this world hasn't undergone large-scale industrialization, the environment hasn't been heavily damaged, and antibiotics haven't been overused. Of course, physiological structure might differ from past understanding, but the anatomical structures he'd seen in several surgeries showed no difference; even down to the pathways of blood vessels and nerves, they hadn't exceeded his past grasp of medical knowledge.

Murong Feiyan came to Hu Xiaotian's side and handed him the waterskin; as the journey progressed, their relationship eased from opposition, and now Murong Feiyan had completely let go of her hostility toward him.

Hu Xiaotian took the water flask and took a sip.

Murong Feiyan said: "After we cross Mount Pengyin, I'll escort her to Xiezhou; you go straight to Qingyun Xian to take up your post, so we don't waste time."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, his gaze fixed on the distant little girl, seeing she wasn't paying attention to this side; he then rolled up his sleeve and showed his left arm to Murong Feiyan. Seeing the large red patch on his arm, Murong Feiyan couldn't help but exclaim.

Hu Xiaotian signaled with his eyes for her not to make a fuss, lowering his voice: "That girl shot me with a poison needle; according to her, I can only live seven days, and if I fail to deliver her to her destination within that time, I have only a dead end."

Murong Feiyan sucked in a cold breath, concern flashing across her pretty face, then turned indignant, she angrily said: "I'll go find her——" Hu Xiaotian promptly grabbed her, lowering his voice: "Just pretend this never happened; she trusts us not at all, my life is in her hands, and she uses it as a guarantee for her own safety."

Murong Feiyan said: "How can she do that? It's outright repaying kindness with enmity!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm not worried about her repaying kindness with enmity; what I truly fear is that they've provoked some formidable foe." At that moment the little girl looked this way, and Hu Xiaotian hastily stopped speaking.

Murong Feiyan whispered: "What do you plan to do?"

Hu Xiaotian waited until the girl's gaze turned elsewhere, then said: "All we can do is first send her to Xiezhou, hoping we'll have a safe journey."

Murong Feiyan bit her cherry lip and said: "Don't worry; if she dares to harm you, I'll certainly not spare her."

Hu Xiaotian suddenly laughed; his smile was sunny and infectious, making Murong Feiyan feel a bit embarrassed as she faced his grin, she spat: "How can you still laugh at a time like this?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Laughing is a lifetime, crying is a lifetime, so I've decided to face life with a smile!"

Such simple, plain words moved Murong Feiyan's heart; despite being infected with a strange poison, he could still maintain this optimism—what a strong mindset—just what kind of person is Hu Xiaotian?

The mountain rain approaches, wind fills the tower! The mist in the valley was quickly blown away by the mountain wind, the endless ranges finally revealing their true outlines, yet the sky grew ever darker, covered in leaden clouds that weighed upon their heads, making every heart feel heavy.

A suspension bridge spanned between two peaks, the sole passage across Mount Pengyin; the mountain wind set it swaying, the rusted iron chains screeched, that piercing sound transmitted deep into people's hearts, making them shudder.

Everyone halted at the eastern end of the suspension bridge; Murong Feiyan's pretty face turned as pale as paper—let alone crossing it, just seeing the scene ahead made her dizzy and lightheaded. Below the bridge lay a ten-thousand-foot abyss; a misstep would surely shatter one's bones.

The faces of several servants also looked grim; had they known this route was so perilous, they would have preferred to detour around Mount Pengyin from the start, even if it meant a few extra days' travel, rather than this heart-pounding ordeal. The accompanying horses, having endured the earlier dangerous mountain path, now refused to advance before the bridge, a few letting out fearful whinnies. Hu Fo stepped forward, stroked the horses' manes to calm them. Once the horses had settled, Hu Fo came to Hu Xiaotian's side and whispered: "Young master, these horses can't get through!"

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