Chapter 882

Long Xuan'en sat alone in the courtyard, holding a string of purple sandalwood prayer beads, his expression somewhat bewildered, unknown what he was thinking.

Hu Xiaotian came up behind him and respectfully said, "Your humble servant Hu Xiaotian pays his respects to Your Majesty; long live the emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Long Xuan'en waved his hand, and Yinzheng sensibly withdrew. Long Xuan'en then slowly turned his gaze, his deep eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian's face, noticing many new scars on his face, his two white eyebrows furrowed together as he said, "It looks like you've endured much hardship."

Hu Xiaotian bowed and replied, "Serving Your Majesty, even if I must bear great hardship and great injustice, I will not utter a single word of refusal."

A faint, meaningful smile appeared on Long Xuan'en's lips: "How so? Are you saying I have wronged you?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "It's not Your Majesty, but someone claiming I couldn't endure the temple's austerity and fled scot-free; Your Majesty flew into a thunderous rage over my matter and even sent people to arrest me for interrogation!"

Long Xuan'en's face darkened: "Nonsense! When did I ever say I would interrogate you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "If Your Majesty didn't say that, then someone is forging an imperial decree."

Long Xuan'en guessed Hu Xiaotian's intention and calmly said, "Just note down whatever matter you have; when we return, I will help you vent this anger."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Hu Xiaotian showed gratitude on the surface, but inwardly cursed it as a deliberate brush-off; he furtively sized up Long Xuan'en, seeing no flaw in his face—if the person before him were truly Hong Beimo, his disguise technique would be flawless. It seems there are always masters beyond masters, heavens beyond heavens; the few human-skin masks he once obtained from Qin Yutong felt like treasures, yet he didn't know that true mastery of disguise uses inner force to directly alter one's facial contours; among those he knows, only Xi Yan can achieve that.

Long Xuan'en asked, "Have you found any leads on the matter I tasked you to investigate?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Thanks to Your Majesty's favor, I have not failed the mission; I discovered that Longevity Buddha in the Riftcloud Valley of Heaven Dragon Temple."

Long Xuan'en's gaze turned icy.

Hu Xiaotian said, "But before I could get close, a gang of ferocious monkish warriors rushed out, brandishing clubs and charging at me; I panicked and took a random route, ending up lost in the mountains, and then a heavy rain fell. I endured a bitter night in the woods, only at dawn could I discern the direction and find my way back."

Long Xuan'en asked, "If I let you go again, could you find that Longevity Buddha?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head like a rattle-drum: "I'd rather not go; those monks are vicious, and if they catch me, I fear I would lose my life in Heaven Dragon Temple."

Long Xuan'en said, "As the commander of the imperial guards, your courage is this small—how can you still talk about protecting my safety?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It's not that I'm cowardly; rather, Riftcloud Valley is a forbidden zone of Heaven Dragon Temple, and my sneaking in yesterday already violated their rules. If they discover it was me, they might expel me from the temple, Your Majesty. Better you issue an edict, so I can go to Riftcloud Valley to pay respects to the Longevity Buddha with proper justification; with an imperial decree, even their abbot would dare not say no."

Long Xuan'en snapped angrily, "Impudent! How could I rely on my power to overwhelm others?"

Hu Xiaotian anxiously said, "Your Majesty is sage; I foolishly guessed at your will, offending your dignity; please forgive me." Inwardly he cursed, "You want to find that Longevity Buddha but dare not go openly, only doing sneaky deeds—basically you want to have your cake and eat it too while erecting a memorial arch; Old Emperor, you are utterly hypocritical."

Long Xuan'en wasn't truly angry; he rose and paced a few steps in the courtyard, then said in a low voice, "Hu Xiaotian, I still have one matter for you to attend to."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Your Majesty, just give the order." Inwardly he felt uneasy, thinking this old emperor never assigns anything good to me; this time I don't know how he'll scheme against me again.

Long Xuan'en said, "Since you have found that Longevity Buddha, go to its side and chant sutras and burn incense for seven days to console the spirit of this old friend of mine in heaven."

Hu Xiaotian, upon hearing he must go, was startled into a cold sweat. Yuan Kong, though his internal energy had been drained by me, still has Bu Wu that evil monk; besides, there is a mysterious old monk whose mere chanting makes one's blood surge and cause fainting—perhaps it's Kongjian, who faced the wall for three years and already attained the innate realm—this isn't sending me to die? Hu Xiaotian said, "Your Majesty, but if I go, everyone will know that the person who intruded into Riftcloud Valley last night was me."

Long Xuan'en said, "Don't be afraid; I will inform the abbot of Heaven Dragon Temple to open a convenient door for you. They have no evidence, so even if they suspect you, they cannot say much."

Hu Xiaotian inwardly cursed, "A convenient door? The abbot is nothing— you have no idea what kind of figures lurk in Riftcloud Valley; even if Tongyuan saw them, he'd have to call them uncle. The irony is knowing the truth yet daring not to speak it."

Long Xuan'en asked, "Are you afraid?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "For Your Majesty, even if I'm afraid I must go." The imperial command cannot be defied; the old emperor has spoken—how could I possibly refuse?

Long Xuan'en said: "This time I specially permit you to bring a few guards with you, so you needn't worry about your safety."

Hu Xiaotian thought: With just the cultivation of those few old demons, going however many would still be sending oneself to death, but after a second thought, since I must go anyway, I might as well drag another person along as a backup: "Your Majesty, I think letting Qi Daine accompany me will do."

Approved!

Qi Daine heard that Hu Xiaotian had named him, ordering him to go to the Split Cloud Valley to pay respects to the Buddha; he almost bit his steel teeth in frustration, "Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian, you're basically screwing me over!" Knowing it's a trap, he still has to jump in, after all the emperor has already nodded.

However, since the emperor agreed to open a convenient door for them, the difficulty is somewhat reduced. If the abbot of Tianlong Temple, Tongyuan, nods, this matter becomes proper and justified.

Hu Xiaotian also knew that his sneaky trip to Split Cloud Valley yesterday could not remain a secret, after all, the monk Mingsheng had accompanied him; it was Mingsheng who gave him directions and led him to Split Cloud Valley. But since he returned, he hadn't seen Mingsheng's shadow; upon inquiry he learned that Mingsheng had been taken away by the Discipline Institute, said to have violated temple rules and been punished with three months of facing the wall.

Hu Xiaotian understood clearly that Mingsheng's punishment was surely related to him; three months of facing the wall meant that before he left Tianlong Temple, he would be unable to meet him.

The old emperor acts swiftly and decisively; that very afternoon, the supervisor of Tianlong Temple, Tongjing, personally came to the Five Observances Hall to lead them to Split Cloud Valley. Tongjing, as a monk of the Tong generation, is the elder brother of Abbot Tongyuan and the head of the eight senior officials of Tianlong Temple, enjoying great prestige there.

He is tall and thin with a bitter melon face; he brought Hu Xiaotian and Qi Daine to the front of Split Cloud Valley, where Tongjing introduced them: this small river in Split Cloud Valley is called Wuchen Stream, and along the riverbanks the stone cliffs contain a total of 1,081 caves of various sizes. Allowing these two outsiders to enter Split Cloud Valley already violates the monastery's rules; this time, out of respect for the emperor, the abbot has turned a blind eye, but the two may chant sutras and pay homage here—provided they remember not to enter any cave.

Upon entering Split Cloud Valley, Qi Daine felt it gloomy and terrifying; thinking he had to stay in this desolate valley for a full seven days, he felt both regret and fear, and realizing that all this was because of Hu Xiaotian, his hatred for him grew even stronger.

Tongjing also gave them some precautions: a monk would come at regular times each day to deliver meals, and if they wanted to rest they could stay in the small stone room north of the stream.

Hu Xiaotian didn't take in Tongji's words, carefully observing his surroundings, wondering whether Bu Wu would come tonight.

After Tongjing left, Hu Xiaotian brought Qi Daine to the Longevity Buddha cave sponsored by Chu Fufeng; Qi Daine placed the incense burner and offerings outside the cave, Hu Xiaotian grabbed a peach from the offerings and ate it, and Qi Daine stared at him open-mouthed: "These are offerings! If the emperor finds out, that'll be disastrous!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Here it's just you and me; if the emperor finds out, it'll be because you tattled!"

"Uh..." Qi Daine was momentarily speechless.

"Seven days, I'm not trying to scare you—I barely escaped with my life yesterday. If we spend seven days and nights here, the chance of making it back alive is minuscule; eating one meal less, it's better to die full than to starve." He grabbed a peach and threw it at Qi Daine.

Qi Daine reached out and caught it, then whispered: "What exactly did you go through last night?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Anyway, you'll find out soon enough." He lay back on the sand by the river, yawned, and said: "I'll sleep awhile; you chant sutras and pay homage first, and I'll take over when I wake."

Qi Daine wanted to press further, but Hu Xiaotian had already begun to snore lightly, seeming to have fallen asleep; Qi Daine glared at him fiercely, silently cursing Hu Xiaotian's baseness: "You're unlucky yourself—why drag me down as a backup?"

Although Hu Xiaotian's eyes were closed, he seemed to see what Qi Daine was doing, and lazily said: "If you dare to make any small moves behind my back, I won't let you off."

Qi Daine's heart jumped: "This guy isn't even supposed to have his eyes closed—how can he see?"

Hu Xiaotian slept for about an hour; when he opened his eyes, the sun had already set, and the whole valley was bathed in a golden hue, while Qi Daine sat blankly in front of the cave, lost in thought.

Hu Xiaotian stood up, first looking toward the cave where he had encountered Bu Wu the previous night, and saw no movement there. Ji Feihua had instructed Bu Wu to watch over the Longevity Buddha sponsored by Chu Fufeng; yesterday it was precisely because he entered the cave that he attracted Bu Wu. hearing Tongjing's earlier words, it seemed that if they didn't enter the cave, nothing would happen. Therefore, it's still best not to provoke trouble.

At that moment, a monk came to the valley mouth to bring them dinner; Hu Xiaotian hurried over, took the food box, opened it and saw it was nothing but thin vegetarian soup—this place's fare surely can't compare to the Five Observances Hall, but having something to eat is better than nothing, and without greeting Qi Daine he first filled his stomach.

Qi Daine returned on his own, picked up his portion and began eating heartily; as the light gradually dimmed, Qi Daine said to Hu Xiaotian: "Who's on watch tonight?"

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