Chapter 873

Ji Feihua said: "Among the royal family, familial affection is the thinnest, let alone friendship; you may not know Chu Fufeng, but you certainly know the Heaven's Secret Bureau."

Hu Xiaotian nodded; the Heaven's Secret Bureau is the largest intelligence agency of Dakang, how could he not know, this time the Laohuangdi's successful restoration was also thanks to the help of Hong Beimo of the Heaven's Secret Bureau; one could say Ji Feihua was defeated by the Heaven's Secret Bureau.

Ji Feihua said: "The founder of the Heaven's Secret Bureau was Chu Fufeng! Chu Fufeng studied heaven and man, versed in geography, astrology, mechanisms, and calculations; it was he who established the Heaven's Secret Bureau and earned merit for Long Xuan'en's ascension to the throne, but after Long Xuan'en took power, he worried that Chu Fufeng's achievements overshadowed the ruler, suspected him of plotting to usurp power, set a trap, and together with Chu Fufeng's disciples had him killed."

Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air; in fact he had already anticipated such a result, those who occupy the throne will stop at nothing to maintain their rule, committing any vile and shameless acts, he has heard too many stories of when the birds are gone the bow is stored away, when the rabbit is dead the dog is cooked.

Ji Feihua said: "The Longevity Buddha you went to see today was erected by Chu Fufeng to pray for blessings at the birth of his son; Long Xuan'en indeed accompanied Chu Fufeng then and personally witnessed Chu Fufeng erecting the Longevity Buddha for his son, and even the name of Chu Fufeng's son was given by Long Xuan'en."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What is his name?"

Ji Feihua whispered: "Chu Yuanhai!"

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; Chu Yuanhai! Wasn't he the former Minister of Revenue of his father? Nineteen years ago, because of a corruption case, the court executed his entire clan.

Ji Feihua said: "Although Chu Fufeng was killed, Long Xuan'en handled this matter extremely secretly, and no one knew it was him who did it; he also took care of Chu Fufeng's descendants to some extent, and did not exterminate them completely at the time. Chu Yuanhai achieved fame in his youth, later served in the Dakang Court, reaching the position of Minister of Revenue of Dakang, but nineteen years ago, because of a corruption case, his family was confiscated and his clan executed."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Does he actually know or not that his father was harmed by Long Xuan'en?"

Ji Feihua said: "At first he didn't know, and Long Xuan'en initially had no murderous intent toward him, but later someone leaked Chu Fufeng's secret to Chu Yuanhai; Chu Yuanhai learned that the lord he served was actually his mortal enemy who killed his father, what do you think he would do?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "He will certainly take revenge." As Minister of Revenue of Dakang, Chu Yuanhai's most direct method of revenge might be to destroy Dakang's economy; perhaps it was this intention that Long Xuan'en detected, thus bringing upon him the disaster of death.

Ji Feihua said: "Hatred is a double-edged sword; harming others also wounds oneself. If Chu Yuanhai didn't know that Long Xuan'en was his father's killer, perhaps he would live a peaceful life." He slowly stood up, took two steps forward, leaving Hu Xiaotian with an still arrogant back view: "Long Xuan'en still has a sworn brother named Xu Lingkong; after Chu Fufeng's death, he took responsibility for caring for Chu Yuanhai; although he suspected that his elder brother's death was related to Long Xuan'en, he never found solid evidence. Unlike Chu Fufeng, Xu Lingkong's martial arts are outstanding, but he regards fame and rank as fleeting clouds; although he also once helped Long Xuan'en, he has always kept a considerable distance from the court. Moreover, he likely holds some leverage over Long Xuan'en, so Long Xuan'en has always been wary of this sworn brother. After Chu Fufeng's death, he dared not act against the Chu clan precisely for this reason."

Hu Xiaotian said: "But Xu Lingkong ultimately failed to save Chu Yuanhai."

Ji Feihua said: "When Chu Yuanhai first entered officialdom, Xu Lingkong tried every means to dissuade him, but Chu Yuanhai was determined to pursue fame and serve the country; he did not take Xu Lingkong's words to heart."

Hu Xiaotian said: "In that case, Xu Lingkong is actually a perceptive person."

Ji Feihua said: "This person appears and disappears like a dragon; when Chu Yuanhai was killed, he was not in Dakang, otherwise he would not have allowed this to happen."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Is Xu Lingkong still alive in this world?"

Ji Feihua shook his head, thought for a moment, and said: "If there is someone in this world who knows, that person would be your grandmother!"

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in astonishment: "Why would it be my grandmother?" After saying that, he actually already understood a bit in his heart; could it be that Xu Lingkong is his long-lost maternal grandfather? Xu! Xu! Heavens! Could things in this world really be such a coincidence?

Ji Feihua turned around, spoke softly: "Do you understand now?"

Hu Xiaotian murmured: "You mean Xu Lingkong is... is... my maternal grandfather?"

Ji Feihua said: "If not, how could Chu Yuanhai have become your grandmother's adopted son back then? When the corruption case involving Chu Yuanhai broke out nineteen years ago, it implicated many people; why was the Jinling Xu family not implicated at all?"

Hu Xiaotian would never have imagined that this matter was so closely related to his own family; no wonder the Laohuangdi was so wary of the Xu family—it turns out he had some leverage in the hands of his maternal grandfather. But how could Ji Feihua know these matters so clearly...

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Ji Feihua's calm, unruffled face; a sudden clarity arose in his mind: Could Ji Feihua be a descendant of the Chu family? That would explain why he harbors such hatred toward the Long clan, sparing no effort to purge himself and enter the palace to overturn the Dakang realm, bringing disaster to the Long descendants, throwing the whole Dakang into chaos? Moreover, he had long known the relationship between the Chu and Xu families, which is why he shows leniency toward his subordinates; after all this, it's all out of gratitude for his maternal grandfather's past kindness to the Chu family. Having figured out the principle, Hu Xiaotian feels even more that this gratitude and vendetta is extraordinarily strange; looking at Ji Feihua before him, a sense of sympathy actually arises in his heart; if he were in Ji Feihua's position, he would certainly not let go of this grudge, and would inevitably slaughter the Long clan to relieve his hatred; yet Ji Feihua's revenge has implicated the Dakang populace—is such an approach perhaps too extreme?

Ji Feihua saw Hu Xiaotian's shocked, bewildered appearance, and spoke softly: "You don't believe me?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I believe, you are actually surnamed Chu!"

Ji Feihua neither admitted nor denied, spoke calmly: "People often become careless when success is near; I made the same big mistake."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Then Hong Beimo is actually that formidable?"

Ji Feihua said: "Hong Beimo was actually Chu Fufeng's little disciple back then; it was he who betrayed Chu Fufeng and, together with Long Xuan'en, plotted to kill his own master; they each got what they needed—Long Xuan'en could thus sit securely on the throne, free of worries, while Hong Beimo obtained Chu Fufeng's lifetime of knowledge; I must admit he is also a natural genius, for without any guidance he comprehended Chu Fufeng's lifetime of knowledge and further built upon Chu Fufeng's foundation, and now he has surpassed Chu Fufeng's achievements back then."

Hu Xiaotian comforted Ji Feihua: "Wasn't it exactly such a person who was defeated by you in the first place?"

Ji Feihua said: "At that time I also once thought so, but only later did I discover that Hong Beimo, when I joined forces with Long Yelin in the coup, did not exert his full strength; he maximally preserved the strength of the Heaven's Secret Gate."

Hu Xiaotian was quite puzzled: if Hong Beimo wholeheartedly supported the throne, why would he do something so contradictory?

Ji Feihua said: "Long Xuan'en has always been suspicious, especially in his later years; he developed great suspicions toward Hong Beimo, creating a rift between ruler and minister—if not for that, how could I have seized the opportunity? Although Hong Beimo retreated at that time, his influence within the palace was never completely eradicated; Lin Wan and Baobao of the Lingyu Palace are his pieces planted in the palace; I had already discovered Lin Wan's matter, she traded betraying Hong Beimo for my trust."

Hu Xiaotian said: "How could such a person be trusted?"

Ji Feihua smiled faintly: "Weren't you the same at first? You pretended to betray Quan De'an to get close to me; did you think I wouldn't see through your purpose?"

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but feel embarrassed, he defended himself: "I'm different from Lin Wan; at the time I was just trying to survive, otherwise how would I have submitted to Quan De'an?"

Ji Feihua said: "Actually, everyone in this world is struggling to survive; no one is an exception."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What does the Commander intend to do?"

Ji Feihua shook his head and said: "I am no longer a Commander, you are no longer my subordinate; from now on just call me elder brother."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Elder brother Ji!" Although he called out eagerly, in his heart he did not acknowledge this elder brother, feeling somewhat strange.

Ji Feihua said: "The monk who just brought you here is also a fierce figure who once roamed the world; because his martial arts practice went deviant, he was forced to be confined to the Long Dragon Temple, needing every six months the temple's senior monks to use internal energy to help him straighten his chaotic meridians in order to prolong his life; thus, although he is extremely wicked, he must remain here honestly."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "I just heard you taught him the Wujue Art?"

Ji Feihua said: "If not for exchanging martial arts manuals with him, how would he be willing to work for me?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Are your injuries serious or not?" Actually this question is pointless; if Ji Feihua's injuries were not serious, he would have left already, why bother taking the risk to stay in the Long Dragon Temple. However, it's also hard to say; perhaps Ji Feihua thinks the more dangerous the place, the safer it is?

Ji Feihua said: "I didn't expect Mu Rongzhan to betray me; the root of it all lies with him—Long Xuan'en disguised himself as Ding Wanqing and escaped from under my nose, while Hong Beimo disguised himself as Long Xuan'en, Li Yuncong transformed into Wang Qian, and together with Mu Rongzhan the three of them launched an attack on me."

Although Hu Xiaotian did not personally witness the scene, just from Ji Feihua's brief description he could already imagine how shocking and heart-pounding that life-and-death battle was; the three top experts surrounded Ji Feihua alone, yet they still failed to put him in a death trap; Ji Feihua ultimately still managed to escape alive from the palace, showing that if it were one-on-one, those three would have no chance to win. Hu Xiaotian had not seen the martial arts of Hong Beimo and Mu Rongzhan, but he had personally experienced Li Yuncong's astonishing skill.

Besides being shocked, Hu Xiaotian also thought of another question: Hong Beimo disguised himself as the Laohuangdi in the Lingxiao Palace; then, is the old emperor now in the Long Dragon Temple Long Xuan'en or Hong Beimo? Recalling that the eight guards beside Long Xuan'en all came from the Heaven's Secret Bureau, Hu Xiaotian's heart grew heavy. (To be continued~^~)