Chapter 950

Quan De'an and the others in the distance saw that something was happening here; they originally wanted to come over, but Qiqi stopped them with a glance. She smiled at Hu Xiaotian and said, "If we're going to fight, then fight—are you afraid of him?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said to Zhu Dalì, "Are we doing a literary contest or a martial duel?"

Zhu Dalì's eyes rolled; the last time Hu Xiaotian had tricked him was still fresh in his mind, and thinking of it made him hatefully grit his teeth: "A literary contest! But this time I'll hit you with three punches first."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Good!"

Zhu Dalì didn't expect Hu Xiaotian to agree so readily; he was stunned, secretly thinking, "What trick is this kid up to now?"

Qiqi also didn't understand Hu Xiaotian's meaning; seeing Zhu Dalì's fist the size of a vinegar jar, which undoubtedly dwarfed Hu Xiaotian in height and weight, letting him throw three punches first—wouldn't Hu Xiaotian just get knocked down? Hu Xiaotian is usually full of tricks; why is he acting foolish today? She couldn't help reminding Hu Xiaotian, "You're crazy—are you really planning to stand there stupidly and take three punches?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, "Last time I struck first; this time it's only right that this brother goes first. But I need to say this up front: if I end up beating you later, what then?"

Zhu Dalì chuckled: "Impossible!" He was quite confident in himself.

Hu Xiaotian said: "What if I win?"

"There's no such 'what if.' If you beat me, I'll call you 'grandfather' whenever I see you from now on; but if you lose, you have to call me!" Zhu Dalì said full of confidence.

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Alright, I won't take advantage of you—you hit me three times first." He walked to the open space ahead and stood there, smiling at Zhu Dalì. Zhu Dalì put his dog-beating stick and begging bowl on the ground, tightened his belt, and strode toward Hu Xiaotian. He raised his vinegar‑jar‑sized fist and, before throwing the punch, said, "Hey. I just thought of something—you're an official of the court; if I injure or kill you, won't I have to pay with my life?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Don't worry a bit; if anything goes wrong I won't blame you. But I have one condition: no hitting the face."

Although Qiqi was the one who provoked this fight, seeing the situation before her she couldn't help feeling worried and reminded Hu Xiaotian, "Hu Xiaotian, you don't need to stoop to his level."

Hu Xiaotian said: "A true man keeps his word; how can he shrink back in battle? Come on!"

Zhu Dalì nodded, raised his fist and struck Hu Xiaotian's abdomen. This time he used only fifty percent of his strength; with his innate divine power he believed that half his strength was already enough to fell Hu Xiaotian. Although he was rash, he wasn't a fool—if he really killed a court official he would certainly have to pay with his life, so he still exercised some restraint.

Zhu Dalì's punch hit Hu Xiaotian's belly with a bang. The inner breath in Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea surged suddenly; his abdomen sank with the fist, and the punch's force was dissipated by more than half, causing Hu Xiaotian no harm at all. Looking again, Hu Xiaotian's smile remained unchanged, calm as ever.

Zhu Dalì silently cursed, thinking this kid really does have some skill, otherwise he wouldn't dare be so arrogant, standing there to take his three punches first—now only two remain. Zhu Dalì stepped back, then let out a violent roar; this time he held nothing back, and the punch surged forth like a raging wind and storm, aimed straight at Hu Xiaotian's chest.

Even Qiqi, watching from afar, felt the fierce punch wind sweep past her; for a moment her clothes fluttered and her pretty face changed color from worry.

Hu Xiaotian remained calm and composed, took a deep breath, filling his entire body cavity with inner breath. Zhu Dalì's heavy punch struck Hu Xiaotian's chest, producing an even louder bang; Hu Xiaotian's body swayed slightly but he did not retreat half a step. Because of Zhu Dalì's fierce blow, Hu Xiaotian's inner breath surged instantly, and a layer of invisible qi shield erupted around him. Hu Xiaotian had never imagined he could cultivate such protective gang qi; this gang qi was entirely sparked by Zhu Dalì's mighty punch. Though invisible, it had substance, and Hu Xiaotian could clearly feel his whole body enveloped by this layer of gang qi. Zhu Dalì's punch was not to be underestimated—it had made Hu Xiaotian's breath catch earlier. The reason was that Hu Xiaotian could not yet freely control his own inner strength; if he could command his abundant inner breath at will, he could completely reflect Zhu Dalì's punch back at him without suffering the slightest injury.

Zhu Dalì turned pale, utterly shocked that Hu Xiaotian could be this formidable. If holding back on the first punch was understandable, he had already gone all out on the second, yet still failed to push Hu Xiaotian back even half a step, let alone injure him.

Even Qiqi, an outsider, could see a hint of it—Hu Xiaotian seemed to have become an indestructible diamond body; this brute's two consecutive heavy blows had done him no harm. She laughed and said, "I thought you were amazing, but it turns out you're just flashy fists and embroidered kicks—are you just scratching others?"

Zhu Dalì's face flushed red with shame; he retreated another five steps, then surged forward with big strides, pushing off with his right foot, leaping into the air, and brought his right fist down on Hu Xiaotian's face. He too was angry from embarrassment, completely forgetting Hu Xiaotian's earlier request not to strike the face. He only thought of landing one punch to knock Hu Xiaotian down, regain some dignity, and avoid being laughed at by Qiqi.

Seeing this fellow's punch coming with fierce momentum, Hu Xiaotian didn't dare be careless; judging the opponent's strike, he realized foolishly standing still to take it outright would be unwise. He curled his right hand's five fingers like a tiger's claw, reaching out to seize Zhu Dalì's wrist, while his left arm drew back and swept across like a dragon's tail, striking Zhu Dalì's chest and abdomen—this was precisely the Subduing Tiger, Seizing Dragon technique taught by Monk Bu Wu.

His arm whipped like a lash and smashed into Zhu Dalì's chest. Zhu Dalì grunted, his vision went black, and his burly body flew backward like riding clouds and mist, soaring a full five zhang before crashing down spread-eagled into a mud puddle left by the rain, mud splashing everywhere. Qiqi couldn't dodge in time and got splattered with mud on her body; she hurriedly lifted her sleeve to shield her face, thus avoiding the misfortune of having her face washed by muddy water.

Hu Xiaotian stood where he was, calm and composed, shook his head at Zhu Dalì and said, "As we said before, no hitting the face!"

Zhu Dalì fell, his limbs aching as if about to break; he had thrown three punches, yet Hu Xiaotian had taken him down with a single move, leaving him utterly disheartened. He realized his martial arts were far inferior to others', and though he had just been arrogant and overconfident, expecting certain victory, the outcome was the opposite. After a moment, he gathered enough strength to rise from the ground, said nothing, picked up his dog-beating stick, snatched his begging bowl, and limped away into the distance.

Qiqi refused to let it go: "Hey, big guy, you seem to have forgotten something."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "Forget it." He had no habit of kicking someone when they're down; although Zhu Dalì was rash, he could see that he was an honest, simple person.

Zhu Dalì turned around and said to Hu Xiaotian, "Lord Hu, my skill is inferior…" Before he finished, he spat out a mouthful of blood with a puff, and his burly body swayed and collapsed.

Qiqi stuck out her tongue and told Hu Xiaotian, "You hit too hard—you killed him."

Hu Xiaotian walked over, felt Zhu Dalì's pulse, and knew Zhu Dalì had merely fainted from a mix of shame and anger, possibly also because Hu Xiaotian hadn't controlled his strength properly. At that moment Quan De'an and the others came over from afar; Hu Xiaotian had them call a carriage, lifted Zhu Dalì into it, and seeing that he wouldn't wake for a while, directly had them sent back to the Minister's residence.

The arrest of Hu Buwei's couple had stirred many people; hearing that Hu Xiaotian had returned, Zhou Mo, Zhan Peng and others all came out to greet him. Seeing that he hadn't brought back the Hu Buwei couple but instead a beggar, they found it strange. Hu Xiaotian briefly explained, then had Liang Da Zhuang place Zhu Dalì in the manor to recuperate, and gave him several Soul-Returning Pills to take.

After everyone had dispersed, Hu Xiaotian then asked about Murong Feiyan's whereabouts. Liang Da Zhuang whispered, "My lord, your friend arrived at the Minister's residence but then said he had business and insisted on going home to check; I couldn't stop him, so I let him leave."

Upon hearing that Murong Feiyan had not come, Hu Xiaotian was also startled; he hurriedly grabbed a horse, whipped it, and rode to Murong Feiyan's former residence. Outside the gate he saw the courtyard door tightly shut, the lock fastened outside, and he leapt over the wall and entered.

Seeing the door ajar, he quietly approached and peered through the crack—only to see Murong Feiyan offering incense before her mother's spirit tablet. Hu Xiaotian was about to go over to greet her when he heard a disturbance outside; he hurriedly hid behind the house. Not long after, he saw a black shadow leap over the wall, drifting down like a falling leaf without a sound. The person had a full head of silver hair, skin as pale as paper, and a pair of gray eyes full of vigilance. He glanced around, then quickly stepped toward the gate—this was the leader of the palace guards, Mu Rongzhan.

Mu Rongzhan came to the door, reached out to push it, but unexpectedly the door opened from inside, and a cold sword light shot out, straight for his throat.

Mu Rongzhan planted his feet and sprang backward. While retreating, he curled his right middle finger and snapped it hard against the sword tip; Murong Feiyan felt her arm go numb, and her sword could no longer be held steady, arcing away in a bright crescent behind her. Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw the sword fly to its furthest point, then fall back down, heading straight toward him, the blade piercing deeply between his legs. Hu Xiaotian's judgment of where the sword would land was extremely accurate, so he remained utterly still to avoid being noticed by them.

Thinking of the little gray horse still left outside, Mu Rongzhan surely wouldn't ignore that horse, though he might assume it was Murong Feiyan's mount.

As the saying goes, no one knows a daughter better than her father; although Murong Feiyan wore a human-skin mask, she still couldn't hide from Mu Rongzhan's eyes. Seeing his daughter safe and sound, Mu Rongzhan felt reassured and whispered, "Feiyan…"

Murong Feiyan coldly regarded her father: "You came to capture me so you could present merit to the court and claim a reward?" (To be continued~^~)