Chapter 995: Qingyun Mountain Villa (Part II)

Hu Jinniu indeed did not disappoint Hu Xiaotian's trust; after a while, he saw him sneak in quietly, and Hu Xiaotian carried Xue Lingjun over to meet him. Hu Jinniu whispered: "The village chief has not returned yet after going out."

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian felt a bit disappointed; with Yan Boguang absent, it seemed he had come for nothing.

Hu Jinniu added: "However, the miss just arrived here from Qingyun."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Which one? Yan Nujiao?" He had once dealt with Yan Nujiao at Blackstone Fortress, leaving a fairly deep impression.

Hu Jinniu nodded repeatedly, lowering his voice: "Actually, that lady's heart is still very kind; if you can find her and tell her these things, perhaps this matter can be resolved without a single blade or spear."

Hu Xiaotian was calculating something else in his mind; it would be best to start with Yan Nujiao—if she agreed to help, that would be perfect; if she refused, then he would simply take her as hostage, no hesitation, and not worry about Yan Boguang refusing to hand over the antidote.

Hu Jinniu told Hu Xiaotian where Yan Nujiao was staying; he did not know Hu Xiaotian's current strength, so he proposed this idea, saying that later he would inevitably worry, and whispered advice: "There are many experts from Heavenly Wolf Mountain inside Qingyun Mountain Villa; I think you should leave before being discovered, otherwise if something goes wrong, I cannot save you."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "You need not worry; I will not implicate you. Just pretend nothing happened and leave; I will handle the rest myself."

Hu Jinniu half-believing, he locked the courtyard gate and left.

After Hu Jinniu departed, Hu Xiaotian leapt lightly onto the courtyard wall, overlooked the surroundings from the wall, confirming no one noticed him, then he ran swiftly along the wall. After a few steps, he recognized the courtyard Hu Jinniu mentioned; he sprang up from the wall, soaring to a height of about three zhang, then gently gathered his internal energy, his body plunged downward from midair. Using the Art of Soaring, he flew directly into the courtyard where Yan Nujiao resided, the whole process without alerting anyone in Qingyun Mountain Villa.

Hiding behind the house where Yan Nujiao stayed and listening, he heard Yan Nujiao inside speaking with Qu Guangbai.

"Where is my second brother?"

Qu Guangbai replied respectfully: "The village chief went to the city to handle affairs; he will return shortly."

Yan Nujiao asked: "Has he recently caused any trouble?"

Qu Guangbai smiled: "You worry too much; since the village chief came to Xizhou, he seems like a different person—apart from practicing martial arts, he devotes himself to Buddhism, no longer causing chaos as before."

Yan Nujiao said: "If he truly can be like that, it would be a good thing."

Qu Guangbai said his farewells: "I'll go outside to see if the village chief has returned."

Yan Nujiao nodded; as Qu Guangbai left, he casually helped her close the door. Yan Nujiao sighed, took off the saber at her waist, was about to sit down and rest, when she heard the door being lightly knocked.

"Who?" Yan Nujiao asked softly.

A clear voice came from outside: "Me!" The door was gently pushed open from outside. Appearing before Yan Nujiao's eyes was Hu Xiaotian.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian, Yan Nujiao's first reaction was to reach for the saber on the table, but Hu Xiaotian stood there smiling innocently and said softly: "Long time no see; why draw your sword upon meeting? Eldest Miss Yan, are you not being courteous?"

Yan Nujiao raised the saber pointing at Hu Xiaotian's chest: "Don't come over, I warn you. This is Qingyun Mountain Villa; don't cause trouble here!"

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: "Eldest Miss Yan, do you think I intend to commit the heinous act of abducting and violating civilians? Rest assured, such deeds are only what your Heavenly Wolf Mountain people would do."

Yan Nujiao shouted: "Shut up! Do not insult our Heavenly Wolf Mountain!" At this moment she noticed another person behind Hu Xiaotian. She pointed her saber at Hu Xiaotian and asked: "Who is behind you?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Eldest Princess of Da Yong, Xue Lingjun."

Upon hearing this, Yan Nujiao's heart jumped; although she did not know Xue Lingjun, Hu Xiaotian had already revealed her identity—the Eldest Princess of Da Yong, a position of utmost nobility. Her first thought was whether Hu Xiaotian had come here specially to rescue someone; if this Eldest Princess had been abducted by her second brother, then the matter would become serious. Although Heavenly Wolf Mountain dominates the region, for years they have relied on their unique geography and maneuvered with the imperial authorities; Xichuan has not truly committed all forces to exterminate them. If her second brother truly dared to abduct the Eldest Princess of Da Yong, he would surely provoke Li Tianheng of Xichuan, leading to irreparable consequences.

Yan Nujiao bit her lip, her green eyes full of suspicion: "How could the Eldest Princess of Da Yong be in Xizhou?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Have you not heard of Li Tianheng's upcoming fiftieth birthday? The Eldest Princess came here specially to celebrate his birthday."

Yan Nujiao asked: "What happened to her?" Although she guessed in her heart that this was likely related to her second brother, she still hoped it was not so. In fact, this matter truly has nothing to do with Yan Boguang; the Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun was drugged with an aphrodisiac in the rock cave of the West Mountain Buddha, and Hu Xiaotian came here entirely because of the monk Wuning's guidance; Wuning told him the antidote is here, which is indeed true. Of course, Wuning also has other motives, hoping Hu Xiaotian comes to Qingyun Mountain Villa to die, using Yan Boguang's hand to kill him and take revenge.

Just as Hu Xiaotian was about to answer, the Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun woke up; her mind was fuzzy, her mouth blocked by a cloth wad Hu Xiaotian had stuffed, her eyes alluring and silk-like, her pretty face constantly rubbing against Hu Xiaotian's neck and cheeks.

Seeing Xue Lingjun in this state, Yan Nujiao already understood in her heart that Xue Lingjun had almost certainly been given an aphrodisiac, and this matter must be related to her second brother; otherwise Hu Xiaotian would not have found this place.

Hu Xiaotian turned his head aside to avoid Xue Lingjun's rubbing, and while doing so whispered: "She has been given the Mandarins' Union Powder; the antidote is in your second brother's hands." Hu Xiaotian did not elaborate; Yan Nujiao blamed everything on her second brother. Her anger rose to the extreme—her second brother truly is incorrigible; last time at Qingyun he nearly lost his life, and she thought after escaping death he would learn his lesson, turn over a new leaf, mend his ways, but she never expected him to still do such things. For a moment Yan Nujiao did not know how to face Hu Xiaotian. After all, this fault lies with them; Hu Jinniu was right—although Yan Nujiao comes from a bandit family, her heart is truly kind, especially despising such bullying of men and women.

Yan Nujiao looked at the dazed Xue Lingjun; although Xue Lingjun was dressed in male attire, she could still tell at a glance that this was a bewitching, alluring woman. Yan Nujiao asked: "Did you rescue her?"

Hu Xiaotian immediately realized Yan Nujiao had misunderstood, thinking her brother Yan Boguang had captured Xue Lingjun and brought her here, and that he had sneaked into Qingyun Mountain Villa solely to rescue her; since Yan Boguang was no good bird anyway, he might as well go along with the misunderstanding. Hu Xiaotian said: "In the cellar of the north courtyard there are still many girls locked up; go see for yourself and you will understand what your brother has done."

Upon hearing this, Yan Nujiao's face flushed with shame; she nodded and said: "Rest assured, if I confirm this is indeed his doing, I will certainly give you an explanation."

Seeing her so candid, without any bias toward her own kin, Hu Xiaotian felt a faint liking arise in his heart; just then footsteps sounded outside. Hu Xiaotian frowned slightly and whispered: "Someone is coming!"

Although Yan Nujiao's martial arts were not weak, her perception could not compare to Hu Xiaotian's; she blinked in surprise and asked: "What?" At that moment a cheerful voice came from afar: "Little sister, I'm back!" It was Yan Boguang returning from outside.

Yan Nujiao hurriedly pointed to the inner room, seeing Hu Xiaotian unmoved, she quickly pushed him inside, shoved him into the wardrobe, and whispered low: "Hide first, don't let them see you, otherwise it will be troublesome." Yan Nujiao of course did not know Hu Xiaotian's current cultivation level; she only knew that beside her brother there were many experts guarding him, and if he discovered Hu Xiaotian hiding here, Hu Xiaotian's life would be in danger; she acted purely out of goodwill.

After Hu Xiaotian hid in the wardrobe, Yan Nujiao closed the wardrobe door; at this moment Yan Boguang had already entered the room.

Yan Nujiao tidied herself a little, stepped forward to greet him, seeing her second brother dressed splendidly, face full of joy as he walked in. Although Yan Boguang was by nature lecherous, he doted on this sister greatly; he had lingered in Xizhou for nearly half a year without returning to Heavenly Wolf Mountain, one reason being his attachment to the prosperity here, another being that he had still not found a cure for his ailment; Yan Boguang also understood that his sister's visit was most likely at their father's behest, to supervise whether he had caused trouble here.

Yan Nujiao said: "Second brother!"

Yan Boguang chuckled: "It's been months since we last met; my little sister has grown ever more beautiful and charming; I do not know which prince or imperial grandson will someday have the chance to marry my sister."

Yan Nujiao spat: "What prince or imperial grandson would be willing to marry the daughter of a mountain king?"

Yan Boguang said: "How can my sister belittle herself? In my view, there is no prince or imperial grandson worthy of my sister."

Yan Nujiao asked: "Has it been about half a year since second brother left Heavenly Wolf Mountain?"

Yan Boguang nodded, changed the subject: "Sister, rest a while; later I will accompany you to Xizhou city to browse silks, satins, rouges and powders, to take in the prosperity of Xizhou."

"I haven't even properly toured Qingyun Mountain Villa yet."

Yan Boguang laughed: "What's there to see in a mere Qingyun Mountain Villa? You can look anytime you wish."

Yan Nujiao said: "But just now I passed by a courtyard on the north side, saw the gate locked tight, wanted to go in, but was obstructed in every way by your men."

Upon hearing this, Yan Boguang's heart sank; had his affair of abducting civilians already been discovered by his sister? The smile on his face instantly stiffened.

Seeing some book reviews really infuriating; they said it all—readers lacking logical thinking and social experience should just detour; as for those trolls, they had better not come here to spew filth. The world has changed: foolishness is taken as passion, reason as gloom, wisdom as misery, pretentiousness as classic. Before reading this book, I suggest you first test whether your brain circuits are up to the task. This book truly is not suitable for the above kinds of people; don't make things hard for yourself, and don't disgust me.

Zhangyu has always kept to himself, writing his own book to seek his own votes; being able to maintain my own readership is already no easy feat, I have no time to entertain you! (To be continued~^~)