Hu Xiaotian naturally could not lay everything that had happened bare. He skirted the serious points and dressed the story in a different guise as he recounted its causes and consequences, insisting that his intelligence had been faulty. He had believed the underground chamber beneath Wild Goose Tower at the Red Mountain Guildhall was a secret intelligence center established by the Black Hu people. He had never imagined that his information would be wrong, leading him straight into someone else's trap. As for how the Black Hu people had learned that Dong Tianjiang and Huo Shengnan were involved, he claimed he had no idea. He never mentioned the Ice-Spirit Soul-Calming Pearl at all.
After hearing Hu Xiaotian out, Yuchi Chong remained doubtful. Though Hu Xiaotian's tongue could make lotuses bloom, he still could not escape suspicion of having engineered the whole affair to frame others. Great Kang stood to benefit directly from Wanyan Chixiong's death. If Black Hu and Great Yong were plunged into war as a result, Great Yong would have to abandon its plans to advance south for the time being and devote all its strength to resisting the vast Black Hu army pressing down from the north.
Hu Xiaotian said, "Commander-in-Chief, I stake my integrity on this: General Huo had nothing to do with this affair. She became embroiled in this trouble entirely because of me. I thought we could use this opportunity to uncover the secrets of the Black Hu people's intelligence gathering in Great Yong and smash their plot, allowing General Huo to redeem her offense through meritorious service. I never imagined this was a Hu plot from beginning to end. Someone else killed Wanyan Chixiong. While we were creating a disturbance at Wild Goose Tower, someone seized the opportunity to assassinate him and pin