Chapter 837

Huo Shengnan's punch came totally out of the blue; Hu Xiaotian was completely unprepared, taking it squarely on the nose, his head snapping back as he cried out, 'I don't even know...' He clutched his nose, tears streaming down.

Huo Shengnan, furious and embarrassed, was convinced Hu Xiaotian had used that filthy picture to tease her, so her punch packed a punch; though Hu Xiaotian didn't get a bloody nose, Huo Shengnan's blow left his nose sore and tears flowing.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian tear up, Huo Shengnan couldn't help laughing again, but when her eyes fell on that picture she was utterly mortified, gritting her teeth and snapping, 'You bastard!'

Hu Xiaotian, holding his nose and tearing up, said, 'You pinched open the wax pill—how would I know what's inside? And you hit me! You even hit my high, straight nose!' He felt utterly wronged.

Hearing this, Huo Shengnan finally realized she herself had pinched open the wax pill just moments ago; Hu Xiaotian surely had no idea what was inside, and she had most likely misunderstood him.

Hu Xiaotian lowered his hand; his nose was red and swollen from Huo Shengnan's punch. Women really aren't to be trifled with—she struck hard, forgetting all the shared hardships of their journey, striking when she pleased. He picked up the picture and glanced at it: 'The Scripture of Shooting the Sun?' Damn, it lived up to its name—no doubt that little bastard Lin Jinyu had played him.

Hu Xiaotian seethed inwardly, redirecting all his anger toward Lin Jinyu; he shoved the picture into his collar and got up to leave.

Huo Shengnan felt a twinge of guilt, realizing she had wronged him, and softly asked, 'What are you going to do?'

'Going to settle the score with him!'

Seeing Hu Xiaotian storm in with a murderous aura, Lin Jinyu figured this guy was up to no good; before he could even speak, Hu Xiaotian had already landed a punch on his nose—tit for tat. Old Man Hu was never one to swallow a loss; Lin Jinyu, hampered by his injured hands, and Hu Xiaotian, still fuming, threw a punch that exceeded his usual speed and power, sending Lin Jinyu and his chair crashing to the ground as he yelled, 'Spare me, benefactor! Spare me, benefactor!'

Hu Xiaotian kicked him squarely in the buttocks; Lin Jinyu winced, clamping his legs together, and wailed, 'How can you go back on your word like that?'

Hu Xiaotian pointed at his nose and said, 'Lin Jinyu, Lin Jinyu, I've saved you twice already, and instead of being grateful you screw me over.'

Lin Jinyu protested, feeling utterly wronged: 'How could I have ever harmed my benefactor?'

Hu Xiaotian produced the picture and snapped, 'Damn it, is this the Scripture of Shooting the Sun you gave me?'

Lin Jinyu stared at it, equally dumbfounded; no wonder Hu Xiaotian flew into a rage—how did the promised Scripture of Shooting the Sun turn into an erotic picture?

Hu Xiaotian gritted his teeth and snarled, 'You dare mess with me?!'

Lin Jinyu laughed despite himself and said, 'Benefactor, I've fallen so low I wouldn't dare toy with you; I swear this thing I really found on Tang Jingfei. By the way, there's something else.' Seeing Hu Xiaotian truly angry, Lin Jinyu felt a chill run down his spine, for his life now lay in their hands. If he wasn't honest, that Huo could probably kill him right then. Don't let his smile fool you—he's ruthless, and if you really piss him off, you could easily end up dead.

Lin Jinyu said, 'Benefactor, now that it's come to this I won't hide anything: I took a lot of valuables from that adulterous couple; since they were hard to carry, I buried them all under the old pagoda tree by the pavilion ten li east of the east gate in Cangmu County. I had always thought the wax pill contained the Scripture of Shooting the Sun, because I overheard the couple's conversation—the slut asked Tang Jingfei what this place was, and he said it was the Scripture of Shooting the Sun. Had I known it was this sort of thing, I would never have gone to the trouble of hiding it.'

Hu Xiaotian saw that Lin Jinyu's expression didn't look feigned; he had never opened the wax pill himself, so perhaps he truly didn't know what was inside.

Lin Jinyu said, 'Benefactor, I should have realized earlier—Tang Jingfei is a lecher, and his so‑called Scripture of Shooting the Sun actually referred to this sort of thing.'

Hu Xiaotian snorted, 'You'd better not be lying to me.'

Lin Jinyu said, 'I swear on heaven, if I deceive my benefactor, may thunder strike me and I die a horrible death.'

Hu Xiaotian turned and left, telling the two Hunshui Gang members guarding the door, 'Watch him—don't let him come or go without my order.'

Outside the door, Liang Yinghao happened to hear the news and rushed over, curious, asking, 'Sir, what happened?'

Hu Xiaotian waved a hand, saying, 'This sort of embarrassing matter certainly can't be spoken of outside,' and gave a heh heh laugh, 'Nothing much, really.'

Liang Yinghao gave his red, swollen nose a curious look and said, 'Sir's nose?'

'I just bumped into the wall by accident!' Hu Xiaotian explained sheepishly.

Liang Yinghao naturally didn't believe it, but didn't feel right pressing further, and whispered to Hu Xiaotian, 'The brothers I sent to scout have returned.'

'How so?'

Liang Yinghao said, 'Tang Jingyu was furious outside, firing off a few arrows wildly; he couldn't find our trail, so he withdrew from Fenglin Gorge.'

Hu Xiaotian replied, 'He does have some skill—Fenglin Gorge's roads are a tangled maze; even I get lost in there, yet he managed to find his way smoothly.'

Liang Yinghao said, 'He has a hawk guiding him; the hawk can survey Fenglin Gorge from above, and I worry that once Tang Jingyu leaves, he'll quickly gather reinforcements and come back strong.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, 'We shouldn't delay; we ought to leave as soon as possible.'

Liang Yinghao shared that thought, and whispered, 'Some of my brothers don't want to leave.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Don't force them—do as you wish regarding where to go.'

Liang Yinghao asked, 'Sir, when do you plan to leave?'

Hu Xiaotian said: "Let's go now." Remembering Tang Jingyu's divine archery skill, Hu Xiaotian still felt a bit chilled; one person could make bow and arrow have the effect of a sniper rifle, which in this era is truly somewhat heaven-defying, and moreover behind him there is a person who may have already mastered heart-arrow technique; if they truly learned his identity, these people could at any time hide in the dark and shoot him an arrow.

Liang Yinghao said: "We might still need to tidy up; how about this: I'll send people to first take Sir out of Peak Forest Gorge, then after settling things here, we'll hurry to Kangdu to meet with Sir."

Hu Xiaotian nodded repeatedly, and before leaving he thought of another matter: "Oh right, we should let those Luoying Palace women go; if we killed them all, we'd forge a great enmity with Luoying Palace—visible spears are easy to dodge, hidden arrows hard to guard against. Although we aren't afraid of Luoying Palace, after all gaining another such enemy isn't good."

Liang Yinghao laughed and said: "I understand Sir's meaning; actually I think the same." Even Hu Xiaotian is wary of Luoying Palace, let alone these Murky Water Gang followers; if they truly provoked Luoying Palace, they'd likely be the first to suffer and become the target of the other side's slaughter.

Hu Xiaotian also told Liang Yinghao the secret of Lin Jinyu; Liang Yinghao, hearing this, was overjoyed and decided to personally go to Storage Wood to dig up the things before Lin Jinyu could. Hu Xiaotian also had him personally go to Sea Prefecture to notify Zhou Mo and the others waiting there, because the situation in Kangdu had suddenly changed, so he temporarily altered his plan and could not go to Sea Prefecture to meet with them.

At dawn the next day, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan, under the guidance of a Murky Water Gang member, had already left Peak Forest Gorge; looking back at the undulating yellow-earth forest, recalling the terrifying scene from yesterday in Peak Forest Gorge, Hu Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief from the heart. After parting with the guide, the two spurred their horses and galloped all the way toward the southeast.

The weather in Dakang grew increasingly hot, summer was approaching, and the recent tumult in the court naturally attracted the populace's attention: first the present emperor Long Yelin passed away, then it was rumored that he died by the joint plot of Empress Jian and her son together with Ji Feihua; first Ji Feihua was executed, her corpse hung at the Meridian Gate, heads displayed to the public; afterwards Empress Jian was granted a length of red silk, and even Long Tingsheng, who had only recently become crown prince, was pushed out of the Meridian Gate to be executed for the crimes of regicide and usurpation.

The retired emperor Long Xuan'en again emerged to take control of power; while the common folk were concerned about this series of court changes, they cared more about how to fill their own stomachs. Truly feeling tense and uneasy about this regime change were Dakang's officials; most of those currently in office had been purged during Long Yelin's term, and the former favorites of the retired emperor Long Xuan'en were either executed with their clans exterminated to the ninth degree, or thrown into prison and exiled.

One emperor, one set of ministers; after Long Yelin ascended the throne and entrusted important duties to his officials, ever since the regime change they have been in a state of panic and unease, fearing that once the retired emperor regains power he will settle old scores, launch a massacre, and take revenge wildly; whereas those officials who had been punished by the new emperor for their loyalty to the retired emperor now feel hopeful, knowing that their day of comeback is not far off.

However, after Long Xuan'en regained power, he did not rush to change the current court's official structure, nor did he say when it would be changed; all offices remained as they were under the previous dynasty, not even the two most important posts of Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan and Prime Minister Zhou Ruizhen were altered—know that Zhou Ruizhen was one of the active promoters of Long Yelin's ascent, and while Long Xuan'en was in power he personally demoted him to commoner status. After Long Xuan'en regained power, he held no coronation ceremony, issued no clear edict to the world, and even after holding a single court audience he retreated once more into the inner palace.

Thus rumors began again among the outside world, saying that the retired emperor's health was failing, that he might soon ride the crane westward, and Dakang would once again fall into a state of no ruler.

However, for the common folk there was still good news: the six major granaries within Dakang began to simultaneously release grain for disaster relief; although for Dakang's current situation this is merely a drop in the bucket, at least the court has expressed its attitude that it will not leave the common folk to starve unattended.

Long Xuan'en stood on the Misty Peak, gazing at the Lingxiao Palace now reduced to ruins, his deep eyes revealing an extremely complex light. Qiao Beimo wore a blue Confucian robe, respectfully accompanying at his side.

Long Xuan'en said: "Will Dakang one day become like the Lingxiao Palace?"

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