Long Xiyue frowned, struggling to recall everything that had happened the night before. Her memories stopped at the moment the fireworks burst into bloom; she remembered nothing of what had happened afterward. Perhaps she could only get a clear answer when she saw Hu Xiaotian. How exactly had that wretched Hu Xiaotian brought her back to the Purple Orchid Palace, and why had he left her there all alone?
Hu Xiaotian's New Year's Eve had not gone as he wished. He had planned to sit atop the little building with Princess Anping, watch the fireworks, admire the snowflakes filling the sky, and enjoy a little wine while discussing life and the future. They might even have explored their steadily deepening feelings, with a little hand-holding or kissing not out of the question. But Ji Feihua's sudden appearance had ruined his lovely evening completely.
Worse still, the effects of Yin-Lifting Yang-Shrinking, which had helped him escape disaster on Misty Mountain, were exceptionally long-lasting this time. Half a day had passed, yet there was still no sign of anything poking its head out.
Things in this world often worked that way: more haste, less speed. The more he wanted it to come out, the more stubbornly it refused. After returning to the Palace Gardens Bureau, Hu Xiaotian first soaked in a hot bath, hoping the principle of expansion with heat and contraction with cold might help. Having spent so long freezing outside today, perhaps it had grown attached to the warmth inside his belly and refused to leave. Yet soaking for nearly an hour had no effect whatsoever.
Quan Dean really was utterly despicable. When he had taught him Yin-Lifting Yang-Shrinking, he had never explained how to retract and release it at will. Hu Xiaotian thought of the Formless Divine Skill. Since