Having made it through the inspection, Hu Xiaotian had no reason not to look around Misty Mountain. Otherwise, all that heart-pounding fright would have been for nothing.
Murong Zhan wore a dead man's expression throughout. Hu Xiaotian could not help resenting him, feeling that his behavior today went beyond mere iron-faced impartiality. Long Xiyue had already suggested letting him wait at the foot of the mountain, yet Murong Zhan had still refused to let the matter drop. Not even a fool would believe he had no ulterior motive. Which faction did this man belong to? Why had he targeted him at every turn today?
There were a few people in the Imperial Palace who knew he had not been castrated: Quan Dean, Baobao, Long Xiyue, and Li Yuncong. As for Qiqi, she was, after all, a little girl who knew nothing of relations between men and women. Perhaps she truly believed he had hidden a snake in his trousers back then. Li Yuncong wanted to use him to investigate Misty Mountain's secrets, so he probably would not betray him. Baobao and Long Xiyue had secretly given him their hearts, making them even less likely suspects. That left Quan Dean and Qiqi as the likeliest possibilities, with the former under greater suspicion. Could Quan Dean and Murong Zhan be colluding? Yet exposing this now would not seem to accomplish much for Quan Dean. Given his deep, calculating cunning, this did not seem like his style.
The more Hu Xiaotian thought about it, the stranger it seemed, but he plainly could not find an answer just then.
The only way to reach the summit of Misty Peak was by a suspended basket hoist. Hu Xiaotian and Princess Anping stepped into the basket. Murong Zhan did not accompany them up, instead locking its