Hu Xiaotian did not go to the Palace Gardens Bureau. Although it was his base within the palace, there were too many people and prying eyes there; his frequent visits to the Wine Cellar would inevitably arouse suspicion. He was no longer the timid Little Eunuch he had once been. His every move now drew other people's attention.
The Wine Cellar was not the only entrance to the secret passage. There was another behind the Literary Sage Statue on the sixth floor of the Library Pavilion. In the past, Hu Xiaotian might have thought twice about using it, but now that he and Li Yuncong had agreed to cooperate, he had nothing to worry about.
Li Yuncong was somewhat puzzled to see Hu Xiaotian return so soon. Only after asking him did he learn that Hu Xiaotian wanted to borrow the Library Pavilion's secret passage.
Li Yuncong assumed the rascal intended to slip into the Purple Orchid Palace at night through the passage for a clandestine tryst. He sighed inwardly. Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat's son knows how to burrow. This boy is even bolder and more amorous than his father.
Li Yuncong accompanied Hu Xiaotian to the sixth floor of the Library Pavilion. Hu Xiaotian recalled how he had once been utterly helpless against Li Yuncong. Now, dealing with him would probably no longer be so easy. He surveyed the room, suddenly remembered something, and asked with a smile, "Eunuch Li, you once told me to find the Heart Sutra. Is it still here in the Library Pavilion?"
Li Yuncong said, "There is no such sutra in this Library Pavilion."
Hu Xiaotian asked, "What about the Heavenly Man Myriad Images Diagram?" Because of the anatomical drawings Hu Xiaotian had made, Li Yuncong had once suspected