Chapter 889

The next morning, Hu Xiaotian woke up early, first checked the situation in Splitting Cloud Valley, confirmed that the bodies of Qi Dainei and the two black-clad assassins had been completely dissolved and washed away by the river water, then he felt relieved, and also searched inside Splitting Cloud Valley, found the assassins' weapons, went underwater and buried them with stones.

Returning to the cave where Chu Fufeng worshipped the Longevity Buddha, he discovered that the Buddha statue had been smashed to powder by Bu Wu; if the Laohuangdi found out, this would be enough to cost him his head.

Hu Xiaotian cleaned the cave, preparing to move a Longevity Buddha statue from the neighboring cave over; anyway, the Laohuangdi wouldn't come in person, so he'd just get by for now.

While cleaning up the heap of Buddha statue ruins, he swept out something like a gear, the size of a copper coin, which felt quite heavy in his hand; upon closer inspection, the gear's teeth were very strange. Although Hu Xiaotian didn't know what it was, he could infer it was very important. He had previously examined this cave carefully and found nothing like it; it must have been revealed when Bu Wu smashed the Buddha statue with a palm strike. Since Chu Fufeng had hidden this gear inside the Longevity Buddha statue's belly back then, the gear must be extremely precious.

Hu Xiaotian carefully put away the gear, cleaned the cave, then selected a similar-looking Buddha statue from another cave and carried it back; the originally heavy statue now felt light as a feather to him, and he completed the move without expending much effort.

After Hu Xiaotian finished all this, it was already noon; the two monks who brought meals hadn't come, but this time the monastery's supervisor, Master Tongjing, came in person. Seeing only one of the two left, Tongjing couldn't help but be startled and exclaimed, 'Where is your companion?'

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, 'It's a long story; he couldn't endure the austerity here, and while I was asleep, he fled on his own.'

Tongjing sniffed; Hu Xiaotian worried he would smell blood, his heart pounding, but Tongjing didn't detect any blood odor and said in a low voice, 'How does this poor monk smell a meaty, burnt stench?'

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed; saying it so complicated was just about grilled fish. He put his palms together and said, 'It all started with this: last night he speared a fish from the small river, brought it ashore, gutted and scaled it. Seeing him kill living beings in the Buddha's pure grounds, I said a couple more words to him; he got angry and argued with me. I thought the matter would end there, but I never expected him to leave in the middle of the night.'

Tongjing was half‑believing, half‑doubting, but Hu Xiaotian's explanation held up under scrutiny. He said in a low voice, 'Hu benefactor, follow me; the seven‑day period is up.'

Hu Xiaotian followed Tongjing back to the West Courtyard Five Observances Hall. During his absence, those guards had been taking it easy; hearing that Hu Xiaotian had returned, they all secretly thought uh‑oh. This guy had been worshipping Buddha in Splitting Cloud Valley for seven days—equivalent to being confined for seven days—and now that he's back, he's likely to vent all his pent‑up frustration on them. In the future, they'll suffer.

Seeing only Hu Xiaotian return, they were all greatly surprised.

Hu Xiaotian didn't waste words with those guys, took a cold shower, changed into clean clothes, and went straight to the Puxian Institute to report to the Emperor. After last night's events, Hu Xiaotian could almost conclude that this old emperor in the Puxian Institute was nine times out of ten not the real body; the purported reason for coming to Tianlong Temple to perform a liberation ceremony for Princess Anping's departed souls is actually a scheme arranged by Hong Beimo, this guy intends to take the opportunity to kill him so he cannot leave Tianlong Temple. It seems the Laohuangdi has just been restored to power, and the open and covert struggles over power have already begun. Princess Anping, being young, has exposed her sharpness, which has caused Hong Beimo to become wary too early; judging from his current situation, Hong Beimo has already begun to cut off Qiqi's left and right arms. This guy has a clever plan, saying whatever to let him go offer incense and chant sutras for seven days before Chu Fufeng's Longevity Buddha, which is really just looking for a chance to do him in. As for Qi Dainei, he's just an unlucky bastard; I originally dragged him into Splitting Cloud Valley to serve as a backup, never expecting to get him killed, and Qi Dainei's current fate is his own doing.

Arriving at the Puxian Institute, Yin Zheng came out to greet him, whispering, 'The Emperor is inside chanting sutras; elder brother, please wait a moment.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and stood outside; this time the Laohuangdi didn't know if he was deliberately making things difficult, and after waiting an hour he finally summoned him inside.

The Laohuangdi sat on a futon, holding a string of prayer beads, gazing at Hu Xiaotian as he walked in from outside, and coldly asked, 'Where is Qi Dainei?'

Hu Xiaotian thought darkly, 'You just sent two assassins to kill me last night, and today you feign ignorance,' then he bowed and said, 'Your Majesty, Qi Dainei fled because he couldn't endure the austerity.'

Long Xuan'en glared at Hu Xiaotian and said, 'Do you think you can fob me off like you did those monks?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Your Majesty, what brings this on? I and Qi Dainei, acting in your name, offered incense for seven days before the Longevity Buddha in Splitting Cloud Valley and chanted sutras for seven days; I dare not claim great merit, but we have been diligent these seven days and have lived up to your trust. However, something happened last night…'

Hu Xiaotian deliberately paused at this point.

Long Xuan'en said, 'What matter?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I dare not speak.'

'Speak truthfully; as long as you tell the truth, I will pardon you.'

'Thank you, Your Majesty!' Hu Xiaotian stepped forward, convinced in his heart that the Long Xuan'en before him was a fake by Hong Beimo, wishing he could go up and beat him with old fists to reveal his true form, but for now it wasn't the time; he lowered his voice and said, 'Last night, two black‑clad men sneaked into Splitting Cloud Valley intending to destroy the Buddha statue.'

Long Xuan'en's brows furrowed slightly, a flicker of disturbance appearing in his eyes.

Hu Xiaotian said this deliberately to test his reaction; he couldn't tell the whole truth, but to make him believe, he had to mix in some truth so that true and false would be hard to distinguish.

Long Xuan'en said, 'Then what?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I and Qi Dainei were worried they might harm the Buddha statue, so Qi Dainei rushed into the cave first to surround the statue.' He then paused again.

Long Xuan'en grew impatient with his habit of dangling bait and urged, 'Out with it!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Before we went to Splitting Cloud Valley, the monastery supervisor Master Tongjing had repeatedly warned us never to rashly enter the cave; so we always obeyed his rules, burning incense and chanting sutras outside the cave. Last night those three entered the cave simultaneously, and then I heard three anguished cries.'

Long Xuan'en said, 'How?'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, 'I also don't know exactly what happened; I was about to venture into the cave when suddenly I saw a long‑haired monster with half a human face and half a ghost face drag three people out from inside.'

Long Xuan'en sneered, 'Do you take me for a three‑year‑old? How could one person possibly drag three people out? Besides, Qi Dainei's martial arts are top‑notch among the imperial guards.'

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed; 'top‑notch' my ass—Qi Dainei's three‑legged cat kung fu couldn't withstand a single punch from me now. He put on a look of extreme grievance and said, 'Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, I can't help it; maybe my eyes are playing tricks, but I truly saw that half‑human, half‑ghost creature carrying three human silhouettes fly out, with Qi Dainei among them, flying all the way to the northern stone cliff before vanishing.'

Long Xuan'en said, 'You didn't go after them?'

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile and said, 'Your Majesty, at that moment I was so frightened I lost six of my seven souls; even if I wanted to pursue, I lack the ability to fly, and even if I caught up I'd only be signing my own death warrant. My death wouldn't matter much, but if no one returns to inform the Emperor of what really happened last night, that would be a grave crime.'

Long Xuan'en gave a cold snort and said, 'So you claim your fear of death is actually out of concern for me?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Your Majesty, there are major oddities inside Tianlong Temple; I think we shouldn't stay here, for your safety's sake we should return to the imperial capital as soon as possible.'

'Nonsense!' Long Xuan'en exploded in anger.

Hu Xiaotian pretended to be frightened out of his wits, fell to his knees with a thud, and secretly gritted his teeth, thinking, 'One day I'll make you kneel before me double time.'

Long Xuan'en said, 'It's all sheer nonsense; in my view, Qi Dainei simply couldn't stand the valley's austerity and fled. As his superior, you're worried about taking responsibility for him, so you fabricated this lie to deceive me. Do you think I'm an old fool? How dare you deceive me like that?'

Hu Xiaotian groaned, 'Your Majesty, if I have even a hint of deceit, may my internal energy be utterly lost and I suffer qi deviation.' He actually wished for his internal energy to be lost and to suffer qi deviation, since it would happen sooner or later anyway, and it's not such a vicious curse.

Long Xuan'en, unaware of his thoughts, said coldly, 'Step back for now; I will investigate this matter before reaching a conclusion.'

Hu Xiaotian recalled that Bu Wu the monk was supposed to teach him martial arts, and hurriedly said, 'I know I have been lax in disciplining my subordinates, which led to Qi Dainei's escape; I am willing to go to Splitting Cloud Valley to face the wall, and before the Longevity Buddha again chant sutras and burn incense for seven days.'

Long Xuan'en's eyes shifted, his face full of suspicion; this kid actually volunteered to go to Splitting Cloud Valley to face the wall—there must be some trick. He nodded and said, 'I won't force you; since you voluntarily request to face the wall and reflect, fine, let it be seven days.'

Hu Xiaotian secretly delighted, performed his salute and took his leave.

Not long after Hu Xiaotian left, a gray‑clad figure slipped into Long Xuan'en's room and whispered, 'Old Four and Old Five didn't return all night last night; it looks like they're more likely dead than alive.'

Long Xuan'en sighed, rose from the futon, stretched his body; his formerly hunched back instantly straightened, his eyes flashing with sharp light, and he said in a low voice, 'Qi Dainei should also be dead by now.'

'Could it be his doing?'

Long Xuan'en shook his head: 'His martial arts shouldn't be that formidable.'

'Big brother, I just heard that the Rebirth Stele behind Tianlong Temple's rear mountain has toppled; several senior monks in the temple are now discussing it.'

Long Xuan'en furrowed his brows: 'Go ask whether there really is a half‑human, half‑ghost long‑haired monster in Tianlong Temple.'

'Yes! What about Hu Xiaotian over there?'

'For now, don't worry about him; wait until we clarify exactly what happened in the temple last night, then we'll consider his situation.' (To be continued~^~)