Chapter 923

When Qiqi and Hu Xiaotian's party went to Tianlong Temple, Long Xuan'en quietly returned to the palace accompanied by Hong Beimo. Long Xuan'en stood in the imperial garden, silently gazing at the bright moon in the night sky, dazed; Hong Beimo stood beside him, not disturbing his thoughts.

Long Xuan'en suddenly said, 'No matter how you look at it, the moon in this palace is not as bright as the one in Tianheyuan.'

Hong Beimo laughed: 'It's a matter of state of mind; the bright moon hasn't changed, only the Emperor's mood has.'

Long Xuan'en sighed, 'As age changes, mood naturally changes; when I was young, looking at the moon filled me with longing, and what came to mind were the legends and myths I had heard; as I grew older, I understood that the moon waxes and wanes, and people have joy and sorrow, parting and reunion; now I can only feel sad and hurt facing a clear moon.' He slowly shook his head, 'If one could live as long as the sun and moon, how wonderful that would be!'

Hong Beimo said, 'Your Majesty should relax your mind.'

Long Xuan'en said, 'How can I let go? Everyone and everything around me doesn't let me rest.' His deep eyes fixed on Hong Beimo as he said, 'Didn't I tell you not to lay a hand on Hu Xiaotian? Why aren't you doing as I said?'

Hong Beimo said, 'Your Majesty still harbors hopes for the Xu clan of Jinling, doesn't you?'

Long Xuan'en said nothing, turned his body and once again fixed his gaze on the moon in the night sky; but in that moment the moon had already slipped behind the clouds.

Hong Beimo said, 'Hu Xiaotian isn't that important to the Xu clan; otherwise, when the Hu family ran into trouble, Lady Xu would have stepped forward. Instead she chose to protect herself, clearly not wanting the Hu affair to drag the Xu clan into it.'

Long Xuan'en said, 'What I want is not the Xu family's wealth, but their service to me and to Dakang!'

Hong Beimo said, 'Your Majesty, do you still remember the Longevity Buddha that Chu Fufeng supported?'

Long Xuan'en nodded: 'I remember! Of course I remember.' Mentioning Chu Fufeng, a hint of guilt appeared in his eyes.

Hong Beimo said, 'That Longevity Buddha has been destroyed.'

Long Xuan'en's expression turned astonished: 'What?'

Hong Beimo said, 'This must be related to Hu Xiaotian; the important chapter that Chu Fufeng left in his book The Opening of Heaven and Earth was hidden by him. That chapter is precisely the one on elixirs and cauldrons.'

Long Xuan'en's eyes lit up: 'You haven't always suspected that the secret lies within the Longevity Buddha, have you?'

Hong Beimo nodded and said, 'That's why I devised this plan; Hu Xiaotian does have some ability—he actually found the Longevity Buddha. My two subordinates originally wanted to seize the chance to learn the Buddha's secret, but after sneaking into Lieyun Valley they vanished without a trace. I never intended to kill Hu Xiaotian. Rather, Hu Xiaotian for some unknown reason wanted to eliminate my subordinates; as for why they wanted to kill Hu Xiaotian, even I don't understand—it must be that they discovered Hu Xiaotian intended to strike them first, and they acted out of self-defense.' Hong Beimo shifted all blame onto himself.

Long Xuan'en naturally wouldn't believe Hong Beimo's explanation, but considering Hong Beimo's great contributions, he couldn't bring himself to reprimand him. He said softly, 'Let this matter rest; Dakang is in need of talent, and I don't want further strife within the court.'

Hong Beimo said respectfully, 'Your Majesty, rest assured; I will keep this in mind and will never again seek trouble with Hu Xiaotian. I merely suspect he may have already obtained the Longevity Buddha's secret.'

Long Xuan'en said, 'This matter still needs careful consideration; Qiqi values him greatly, and for his sake she even spoke harshly to me. I dote on this granddaughter and don't want her to be hurt.'

Hong Beimo smiled and said, 'Young ladies, when their emotions first awaken, often do impulsive things; but this Hu Xiaotian is certainly no good person. Your Majesty, can you really entrust the Yongyang Princess to him?'

Long Xuan'en blinked slightly, then said softly, 'I never even thought that Qiqi is only just fourteen this year; she's still a child.'

Hong Beimo said, 'Fourteen is already quite old for a girl!'

Qiqi came to Tianlong Temple under the pretense of welcoming the Emperor back to the palace. The true circumstances were known only to a few; most people thought the Emperor had an urgent matter in the palace and decided to return to the capital two days early. In fact, the old emperor never set foot in Tianlong Temple from start to finish. Nevertheless, the old emperor gained some reputation: in the eyes of officials and commoners he still seemed devoted and righteous, willing to endure a whole month of the ancient Buddha's green-lamp vigil for his departed relatives. Qiqi suffered no loss; she resolved this trouble for Tianlong Temple, gaining a certain standing among the monks, and even caused the monks headed by Abbot Tongyuan to owe her a favor.

Hong Beimo this time lost both wife and troops; not only was his plan completely shattered, but he also lost several subordinates' lives, especially his disciple Chi Feixing, whom he had struggled to train as a master of disguise capable of true deception. In fact, the experts he sent out successively died four times at Tianlong Temple—a truly heavy loss. What angered Hong Beimo even more was that Hu Xiaotian returned unscathed, not a hair harmed.

The greatest beneficiary of this Tianlong trip was naturally Hu Xiaotian. He not only absorbed Yuan Kong's astonishing internal energy, but also learned the three supreme arts from Bu Wu. Besides that, he discovered the secret inside the Longevity Buddha, although its use is currently unknown. As for causing Tianlong Temple to owe him a favor, that's merely an extra bonus; the real huge gain for Hu Xiaotian was meeting Ji Feihua. Yet this also became his trouble. Believing Ji Feihua had escaped the imperial city and was alive in the world, he then touched the reincarnation stone, causing the entire Well of Rebirth to collapse and sink. Thereafter, Ji Feihua's whereabouts were completely unknown—whether dead or alive. Hu Xiaotian firmly believes Ji Feihua is still alive in this world; since he could escape the joint siege of three top experts and flee the heavily guarded palace, he naturally has a way to slip away unnoticed from under his own eyelids.

Before dawn, Hu Xiaotian had already returned to the Minister's residence after a long absence. Steward Hu Fo, who always rose early, heard of his return and hurried to greet him. Hu Xiaotian told him not to disturb the rest of the household and first asked whether his father had come back.

Hu Fo respectfully replied, 'The master is still living in the Shui Jing'er hutong; following your orders, we've gone several times to fetch him back, but he simply refuses to come.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and asked, 'Any news about my mother?'

Hu Fo said, 'They say she'll be back soon.'

Hu Xiaotian asked, 'Has anyone come looking for me lately?'

Hu Fo said, 'Someone from Baofeng Hall came by once, but after hearing you'd gone to Tianlong Temple they never returned.'

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian's heart stirred—could it be that Zhou Mo and the others had returned? According to the schedule, Zhou Mo and Long Xi Yue should also have received Liang Yinghao's news and returned from Haiszhou. Thinking of Long Xi Yue, his heart warmed, but then he recalled the words Ji Feihua had spoken to him at Tianlong Temple, and a shadow fell over his mind; he silently told himself, Xi Yue could not possibly deceive him.

Hu Xiaotian alone came to the small courtyard where he lived; during his absence from the Hu residence, only Huo Shengnan stayed there. Approaching the courtyard, he heard the rustling of spears within; peeking through the door crack, he saw that the early-rising Huo Shengnan had already begun her morning drill. Hu Xiaotian suddenly thought of teasing her, and decided to disguise himself as a camel to scare her.

Hu Xiaotian quietly employed a change of appearance using Tendon Changing Bone Shifting, quickly turning into an ugly camel; he grabbed the courtyard wall and silently climbed up, crouching atop it to watch Huo Shengnan.

In the morning light, Huo Shengnan's spirited attire made her look even more heroic and vigorous; her pretty face was flushed red, glowing like the morning clouds, and her long spear, writhing like a flood dragon, was wielded with splendid vigor in the courtyard.

Taking advantage of the moment when Huo Shengnan turned her back to him, Hu Xiaotian lightly tapped his feet against the wall and swooped down suddenly, like a strange bird instantly closing in on her rear.

Huo Shengnan instantly sensed the movement behind her, reversed her grip and lifted the great spear—Boom! —the red tassel flared and contracted, squeezing the air to produce a loud explosive burst; the spear tip, a point of icy cold light, thrust straight toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian let out a strange, grating laugh, reached out to seize the spear—this was a move from the Subduing Tiger, Seizing Dragon technique.

Huo Shengnan swiftly twisted her body, and upon seeing an unfamiliar ugly camel before her, she angrily shouted, 'Bold thief, dare to break into the Hu mansion—take this spear!' She shook her right arm, and the spear performed a phoenix's three nods, its shadows shifting in an attempt to escape Hu Xiaotian's grasp.

Although the spear tip's changes were quick, they could not escape Hu Xiaotian's keen eyes; his reaction was even faster—he firmly grabbed the shaft and gave it a clockwise twist. With Hu Xiaotian's current inner strength, Huo Shengnan could hardly oppose him, but Hu Xiaotian, being loath to harm a beauty, used only three tenths of his force, while Huo Shengnan exerted her full strength, also twisting the shaft clockwise; under their combined action the shaft instantly warped, but fortunately the wood was extremely tough, so it did not snap immediately.

Hu Xiaotian raised his right hand and brought down a heavy palm on the spear shaft—Crack! —the shaft split in two under his blow.

Huo Shengnan sucked in a cold breath, never expecting the camel to be so formidable; she threw the broken half of the spear at Hu Xiaotian, and while he dodged, she sprang toward her room like a leopard.

Hu Xiaotian followed her with a lecherous grin, thinking, 'A brief separation is better than a new marriage; today I will surely give this female commander a good scare.'

Before Hu Xiaotian could reach the door, he heard the bowstring twang—Whoosh! —a cold light shot straight at his chest. Hu Xiaotian bent backward; the arrow flashed past his chest at astonishing speed. Forgetting that the Tendon Changing Bone Shifting had given him a pigeon breast, he dodged with his belly but not his chest, and with a Thud! the arrowhead struck his prominently protruding chest.

As soon as the arrowhead touched Hu Xiaotian's skin, his internal energy reacted instantly; with a sudden contraction of his qi, his chest caved in. Nevertheless, the arrowhead grazed his chest, tearing his outer garment and leaving a blood wound two inches long on his chest; Hu Xiaotian cried out in pain.

At this moment a second arrow was already aimed at Hu Xiaotian's lower regions, and Huo Shengnan's strike was vicious enough. (To be continued~^~)