Changling had indeed had a dream.

The scene in the dream was too convoluted and bizarre. She had vague impressions of how it came and went, only remembering that she passed through a mountain of blades and sea of fire, seeing the corpses of the Yue family army strewn everywhere. She aimlessly turned over body after body, trying to identify whether any was her brother.

Until she lifted one person and saw that face clearly—it was actually Ye Qi. She was completely stunned.

For an instant, she couldn’t distinguish where she was. Detecting he still had breath, she didn’t hesitate to help him up and channel her true qi into him.

Suddenly, a ethereal voice came from behind: “If you continue channeling your energy to him, at best you’ll lose all your martial arts, at worst you’ll die suddenly, and you’ll never again be able to take revenge. Do you still choose to save him?”

She turned her head and could only vaguely see a blurry figure, seeming like her master, yet also like Divine Physician Ji… She couldn’t distinguish clearly, nor did she care to. Turning back to look at the unconscious Ye Qi, she said firmly, “Yes. I must save him.”

If I save his life, even if I unfortunately die, he can take revenge for me. But if he dies, there will be no more him in this world.

Changling avoided Ye Qi’s gaze, still wearing that expressionless face. “Ha. You yourself know I couldn’t possibly say ‘save me.’ Yet you still ask such a ridiculous question?”

Seeing her so self-righteous, Ye Qi obediently muttered, “Eh… could it be I misheard?”

At this moment, the thatched hut door was pushed open. Jiagu rubbed his eyes and asked, “Why is everyone awake so early? What are you talking about?”

“Discussing whether eating fruit will leave us hungry,” Ye Qi smiled. “And whether we should go dig out the abbot master?”

With the village chief and Abbot Liaozhen reappearing after being missing for most of the day, the whole village finally settled down.

With the village chief personally explaining, the villagers’ gazes toward the three of them quickly changed from hostility to gratitude. After a tea’s time, the long board table was filled with various delicacies, and Jiagu got his wish of eating a full meal.

However, regarding the corpse gu matter, aside from individual elders and the patients who had been forcibly de-wormed yesterday, most people didn’t know. The village chief didn’t elaborate publicly, only saying that evil spirits attacked the village because they carried inauspicious objects, and that Jiagu’s master-disciple group could help drive them away one by one.

Such absurd talk wouldn’t be easily believed by outsiders, but the superstitious villagers who had been brainwashed for decades naturally believed without doubt, instantly viewing Jiagu’s master-disciple group as divine beings.

After the village chief dismissed everyone to return home, Changling and Jiagu joined forces to first completely expel the corpse gu from several elders and Abbot Liaozhen. Although the process was quick, it still consumed considerable true qi. The village chief wouldn’t demand they save the entire village in one day. Knowing they urgently sought the fan, he agreed to first take them to explore the cave temple.

After learning the full story, Abbot Liaozhen was filled with self-reproach. Though his injuries left him unable to stand and only able to lie down, upon hearing of Changling and the others’ purpose, he earnestly reminded them: “After the benefactors enter the temple, you might want to look at the treasure vase in the Buddha statue’s hands—you may gain something.”

Ye Qi and Changling had already glimpsed something unusual from the roof that night when Xu Laifeng secretly explored the Buddhist temple. Hearing Liaozhen say this, Ye Qi bowed in respect. “Thank you, Abbot, for being forthright.”

With troubles occurring frequently over the past few days, the villagers were all staying home to recover. Today the Buddhist temple was empty, perfect for them to rummage freely.

As soon as Ye Qi entered the temple, he leaped onto the Buddha statue and, just as Xu Laifeng had done that night, twisted open the vase lid, revealing the twin lotus carved from luminous stone.

The luminous stone’s glow wasn’t too strong in daylight, only emitting a faint pale blue. Changling also swept forward to examine it closely. She reached out to pull it but couldn’t. Puzzled, she asked, “Is this flower connected to the vase?”

“This entire Buddhist temple and Buddha statue were personally crafted by Great-grandfather He following his master’s orders. This must contain Grandmaster Wu Run’s intentions—it shouldn’t be that simple…” Ye Qi thoughtfully leaned in to stare at the lotus. “Why twin lotus flowers?”

“Twin lotus flowers…” Changling also leaned closer. “Doesn’t this symbolize a married couple’s hundred years of harmony?”

When she said this, she turned her head slightly. Her long eyelashes blinked, seemingly brushing against Ye Qi’s cheek, causing his hand to slip and nearly fall from the Buddha statue.

Ye Qi unnaturally cleared his throat. “This saying does describe married couples… However, Grandmaster Wu Run surely wouldn’t want his two disciples to become in-laws, right? Village Chief, do you know the meaning of this lotus?”

The village chief shook his head, indicating he knew nothing.

Jiagu leaned against the doorway, somewhat unable to watch anymore. “Hey, such rigid thinking. One stem, two flowers—it signifies the same root, the same heart. People call it the ‘gentleman among flowers.’ Since it’s a gentleman, naturally it can also refer to brotherly bond.”

The village chief nodded. “Exactly. I heard my uncle say that when Grandmaster Wu Run was dying, what he hoped for most was that his two disciples would always remain as close as brothers. What he worried about most was them killing each other over competing for the secret manual.”

Hearing this, Ye Qi seemed to suddenly think of something. He had always felt this lotus, though beautiful, seemed to be missing something. Now looking carefully, both lotus hearts had a hollow ring-shaped gap, as if waiting for someone to fill them.

Ye Qi suddenly smiled. “I understand!”

Changling asked inexplicably, “What do you understand?”

Ye Qi took out the ring jade the village chief had given him last night, removed the red string tied to it, and gently brought the jade close—the ring jade fit perfectly with the lotus heart, not a fraction more or less.

Changling was astonished. She immediately removed the ring jade hanging from her neck, and it too fitted seamlessly onto the other lotus heart.

Ye Qi and she exchanged glances. Both simultaneously gripped the lotus stem and pulled upward together. With a clear “crack,” they lifted it down with ease.

They felt the ground beneath rumbling. Ye Qi grabbed Changling and jumped down. The next moment, the Buddha statue slowly moved, revealing a stone cave beneath!

Both the village chief and Jiagu looked shocked. Running to the edge of the stone cave, they saw stairs extending downward inside—it was a bottomless secret passage leading to who knows where.

Ye Qi looked at the twin lotus in his hand and suddenly understood. “So that’s it. Since Grandmaster passed the folding fan to both disciples, he naturally hoped both the He and Yue families would produce someone capable of inheriting his legacy. But at the same time, he didn’t want them to slaughter each other to possess it exclusively. So only when both ring jades come together can this ingeniously crafted mechanism be opened.”

A musty smell sealed for many years faintly wafted up from below. Changling peered down. “Indeed, it requires fate. If Yanling Village had been destroyed before we arrived, wouldn’t this door never be opened?”

When she said “destroyed,” the village chief’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Ye Qi bumped Changling with his shoulder and smiled to smooth things over. “Fortunately, Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. Yanling Village is safe and sound, allowing us to have this opportunity.”

Changling didn’t care about opportunities or not. Thinking the other half of the folding fan might be hidden below the secret passage, she wished she could jump down immediately. “What are you dawdling about? The cave is open—aren’t you going to look?”

Not knowing what lay below this tunnel, Jiagu was quite worried and wanted to go along. The village chief, seeing him step forward, hurriedly waved his hand to stop him. “My apologies, Master Jiagu. Although you also saved our villagers, according to our ancestors’ command, only descendants of the He or Yue families can enter this mechanism. Even I cannot enter.”

Jiagu made a displeased “hmph.” “How pedantic. Are you worried I’ll covet your treasures? I’m concerned about my disciple and martial nephew—what if there are traps or mechanisms down there they can’t handle?”

“If that’s truly the case,” the village chief said, “then it means they lack the qualifications to inherit the grandmaster’s legacy… If Master intervenes, wouldn’t that also go against the grandmaster’s intentions?”

Jiagu rolled up his sleeves. “Ha… You…”

“Master, forget it. Since this is a mechanism designed by Martial Uncle He, he surely wouldn’t want to kill his own descendants.” Ye Qi handed the lotus to Jiagu. “Moreover, we need someone to guard the cave entrance in case something unexpected happens outside… If You San or Xu Laifeng return, wouldn’t that be more dangerous?”

Hearing this, Jiagu thought it made sense and stopped being stubborn. He took the lotus and admonished, “Once you sense something’s wrong, come up first. It’s not like you can only go down today—we can discuss it together later.”

“Master, you’re really nagging enough.” Ye Qi chuckled softly, took two torches from the temple’s stone wall, lit them, and handed one to Changling. Changling took it and stepped into the tunnel first, not giving him a chance to lead. Ye Qi hurried to follow and also started nagging, “Walk slower, watch the path.”

The two descended the stairs. When they reached the bottom, a stone cave more than a zhang high opened before them.

Ye Qi made a couple of “tsk tsk” sounds. “Did Great-grandfather He really excavate this alone? How long must that have taken?”

Changling walked forward slowly. “He could create the Twenty-Eight Constellations Formation—what can’t he do?”

“That’s true too.” Ye Qi sighed. “Great-grandfather He’s mystical arts of divination were truly rare throughout history. It’s just a pity his fortune was poor, dying young…”

“He was past forty when he died, wasn’t he?” Changling said without turning her head. “If you don’t fight for your life and die confusedly, that’s what truly counts as dying young.”

The further forward they walked, the wider the path became. Ye Qi and Changling walked side by side. After a moment, Ye Qi suddenly noticed something seemed to be carved on the stone cave wall. He brought the torch closer, and the crevices on the wall lit up with green fluorescence. He made a soft sound of surprise. “This is…”

Changling also saw it. Many small human-like figures were carved on the wall with blade and axe, with powder similar to luminous stone embedded in the carved marks, lighting up when illuminated.

Each stroke and line was simple but profoundly meaningful. Following the path downward, one could see these were martial arts moves—a different set on each of the two walls, appearing completely different yet sharing similarities.

“One blade, one sword…” Changling stared at the martial techniques on the wall, her footsteps suddenly stopping. “Could it be…”

“Iron Strokes and Silver Hooks.”

“Dragon Snake Calligraphy.”

They spoke simultaneously.

So these were the ancestral ultimate techniques once known as the two absolutes of the jianghu’s scholarly warriors.

Ye Qi said with sudden realization, “Great-grandfather He must not have wanted his own sect’s martial arts to be lost, which is why he carved the blade manual and sword manual separately on stone.”

The two moved one left and one right, looking at their family’s martial arts on the stone walls while moving forward. Although they had seen extremely superior martial arts, in comparison, these blade and sword manuals, while clever, weren’t supremely excellent. But this was passed down from their ancestors after all. Every move and stance carried unique meaning, as if personally witnessing the jianghu traces that once belonged to them. Changling couldn’t help thinking: Grandfather’s blade must have carried the ambition to compete with heroes, but unfortunately he died too early and couldn’t personally supervise. By the time this blade manual reached Father’s hands, it had already dimmed considerably.

Unlike Changling dwelling on past events, Ye Qi only glanced twice before paying attention to the path again. He walked ahead of Changling, afraid of accidentally stepping on some mechanism. Passing through the corridor, he found his vision suddenly widened—ahead was another world. The ground beneath opened into a seven or eight zhang wide arc, and the wall surface at the far end was pocked with dozens of fist-sized holes.

Was this a mechanism?

He stopped, used his long whip to bind the torch and threw it forward, landing steadily on an iron socket at the wall corner. Looking more carefully, he discovered that each small hole contained a long box—calculating mentally, there were twenty-eight in total.

Well, well, Great-grandfather He was really obsessed with the number twenty-eight.

“I imagine one of the boxes in those small stone holes contains the half folding fan,” hearing Changling’s approaching footsteps, Ye Qi said. “I originally thought we’d have to turn at least seven or eight corners to find it. I didn’t expect the design to be so simple—it makes me somewhat uneasy.”

After saying this, he noticed Changling didn’t respond. Turning back, he saw her stumble, the torch slipping from her hand as her whole body tilted onto his.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Qi was startled and immediately sensed something was wrong with her. “Did you get hit by some hidden weapon?”

Changling steadied herself with difficulty and quickly pulled out needles from her sleeve to prick herself several times. After a few drops of blood seeped from her little finger, she finally regained a bit of consciousness. Taking a breath, she said, “The characters on the stone wall… seem to be poisonous…”

Ye Qi felt her pulse and looked back. “The characters are poisonous? Just from looking… how could you be poisoned?”

“What did you say?” Changling seemed unable to hear him clearly. “Say it again, I can’t hear clearly.”

Ye Qi was shocked. They stood so close—even if his voice wasn’t loud, how could she not hear? Startled, he immediately realized—the luminous powder on the wall wasn’t really poison but a kind of sedative drug. He had seen it before in the He family.

He pressed his hand on Changling’s brow and brought his mouth close to her ear. “This is a sedative drug from our He family. Looking a few times doesn’t matter, but looking too much will weaken your five senses. Can you not see things clearly now either?”

Changling raised her eyes. Things further away were all blurry—she could only see Ye Qi’s face nearby. “Mm, can’t see clearly.”

“Don’t worry, this sedative drug doesn’t harm the body. After an hour or two, you’ll slowly recover…” Ye Qi held her tightly. “Moreover, you’ve applied the Nanhua needles. After a moment, you should be fine.”

Changling felt a floating sensation as if her feet weren’t touching the ground. Her sight, hearing, smell, and touch were all weakened to only twenty or thirty percent. This feeling was too bizarre. “Your Great-grandfather He is really strange. Why would he sprinkle this powder on the walls?”

Ye Qi pondered briefly. “I understand now. He was afraid someone other than family would enter this cave. Think about it—if they were descendants of the He or Yue families, they should have seen the martial arts on the walls before. Then after looking a few times, they wouldn’t look more. But if they were outsiders, they’d naturally assume it was some martial arts secret manual and stare intently… This way, they’d naturally fall into the trap.”

Changling instantly felt both amused and exasperated.

She had been emotionally distant from family since childhood, so in truth, she craved kinship most deeply. Suddenly seeing traces of her ancestors, she momentarily couldn’t look away.

Great-grandfather He could never have imagined that this Yue family descendant earnestly studied the martial arts on the walls with the intention of cherishing the memory of the deceased and missing her ancestors, yet ended up accidentally injured—

She secretly circulated her Shimo true qi. After a moment, feeling the sensation in her feet return somewhat, seeing Ye Qi still tightly holding her shoulder, she glanced at him. “Let go.”

“No,” the young marquis righteously refused. “Who knows if there are also mechanisms or hidden weapons ahead. Your legs and feet aren’t nimble now—better stay close to me.”

Changling: “…”

To hell with legs and feet not being nimble!

Unable to break free from him momentarily, Changling mentally rehearsed various ways to beat him up later, then asked, “What’s ahead?”

Ye Qi repeated what he’d seen. Changling raised an eyebrow. “Then why don’t you go pull them out and look?”

“Given Great-grandfather He’s temperament, I’m worried if I pull out the wrong one… hidden weapons will shoot out…” Ye Qi said. “Your legs and feet now… oh no, I mean, why not wait a bit longer, until your senses return before…”

Before he finished speaking, with a “swoosh,” a short arrow shot from somewhere in the cave. Ye Qi, holding Changling, barely dodged it. As soon as they landed, two more “swoosh swoosh” sounds of breaking air came flying—

Although Changling’s reactions were slower, she could still feel many short arrows shooting back and forth in the cave. In an instant, including the corridor, a rainstorm of pear blossom-style arrow rain fell.

Ye Qi held her while dodging left and right, saying, “This is truly vicious—Great-grandfather didn’t even give us this much time…”

Though Changling’s senses weren’t sharp, her mind wasn’t slow. She immediately understood—from opening the Buddha statue to entering this cave, the arrow rain mechanism would activate within a certain time. Unless the correct box containing the folding fan was pulled out, the arrow rain would only increase, never allowing anyone affected by the sedative to exploit loopholes.

“Take me over there. I’ll pull out boxes, you block arrows.” Changling said decisively. “I think only if we pull the right box will this mechanism stop.”

Ye Qi also felt there was no other way. His toes touched the ground and he swept over with her to the stone cave—at least this position had no arrow shafts. As soon as he set her down, he used his long whip to deflect the frequently flying hidden weapons and shouted loudly, “Pull!”

Changling randomly pulled one and instinctively looked back. Not seeing the short arrows stop, Ye Qi’s whip technique moved agilely like a snake, sweeping horizontally to intercept a large swath of arrow rain. “Don’t worry about me, just pull!”

Since that was the case, and time waited for no one, Changling didn’t stand on ceremony. She immediately turned back and continued pulling boxes from the holes.

The holes in the stone wall were arranged wide at the bottom and high at the top. After she pulled out more than ten boxes from the bottom three rows, the arrow shafts still didn’t stop. Changling tried her best to leap up but her body wouldn’t rise—the sedative hadn’t worn off yet and her lightness skills couldn’t be performed.

Gritting her teeth, she simply stepped on the holes and climbed up. Ye Qi focused on intercepting the storm behind her. A glance from the corner of his eye scared him so much he wanted to curse. “Be careful… don’t fall!”

Changling’s instinct told her the box she sought should be in the highest position. She stepped on several holes consecutively and sprang up. The moment she pulled out the wooden box, the torrential arrow rain finally stopped.

She opened the box lid with one hand. Seeing there truly was half a folding fan lying inside, she smiled knowingly and waved it at Ye Qi. “Got it.”

Whether from fright or emotion, Ye Qi was drenched in sweat, his hand gripping the whip still trembling slightly. He repeatedly beckoned. “Come down quickly… ah no, come down slowly.”

Changling closed the box and stepped down one by one. The moment she landed, with a cracking sound, the ground beneath Ye Qi’s feet suddenly collapsed. He somersaulted in mid-air and landed on the stone wall’s edge. Looking down, the ground within a zhang’s radius had completely collapsed, below was a bottomless mountain valley.

Though Changling couldn’t see clearly, she could roughly understand what happened. She stayed on the stone wall without moving and asked Ye Qi, “Did the ground on the corridor side also collapse?”

Ye Qi was about to answer when his expression suddenly changed. He exerted all his strength to sweep upward, grabbing her waist with one arm. Before Changling could react, he thrust her entire body outward!

With a “pa-da” sound, thick iron hooks shot out from several stone holes, fastening together and hanging Ye Qi firmly on the wall—while Changling was suspended in mid-air by his single hand, escaping this calamity.

If he had been a step slower, either she would have been pierced by those iron hooks or it would be her turn to be fastened on this wall.

Only after Ye Qi saw the commotion stop did he extend his other hand to hold her tightly in his arms.

Changling was somewhat dumbfounded. “This, this mechanism—what’s it for?”

“Probably to test whether the brotherly bond is deep enough…” Ye Qi gasped for breath. “Two people come in, but only one is destined to leave…”

Changling was shocked. “What did you say?”

Seeing her so alarmed, Ye Qi stuck out his tongue. “Just kidding. These iron hooks were fastened on afterward—it’s not like they can’t be pried open.”

Changling skeptically tried to pry the iron hooks at his waist. Ye Qi’s arm tightened. “Don’t move around. If this could be pried open by hand, it wouldn’t be Great-grandfather He’s work. Listen to me—the ground on the corridor side didn’t collapse. I’ll throw you over in a moment. After you get out, have Master bring some hammers and shovels in, and I’ll naturally be able to get out.”

Changling knew there was no other way, but in this situation, she really couldn’t bear to leave him alone. Who knew what other strange and deadly things might emerge from this cave.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ye Qi’s lips curved upward as he gazed deeply into her eyes. “Could it be you can’t bear to leave my embrace?”

Changling rarely didn’t refute this kind of teasing.

“Although I’m also reluctant… but if we keep holding on, my hands will have no strength left.” Ye Qi smiled gently. “You’re not light either.”

In the pitch-dark cave, the only thing she could see clearly was his eyes flickering with faint light. She didn’t know when it started, but she had become increasingly accustomed to looking at his eyes in moments of bewilderment like this.

She finally surrendered. “Alright, but you must promise me one thing.”

“Tell me.”

“You can’t deceive me now.” She said, “You cannot die.”

“Alright.” Ye Qi answered without thinking, readily agreeing. “I promise you.”

Changling said earnestly, “If you deceive me, I will never forgive you.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to everything you say, Heroine.”

Seeing his composed expression, Changling no longer hesitated. “Fine, throw me then.”

Ye Qi was about to move his hand to her waist when he seemed to hear something. His eyes suddenly trembled, revealing an expression of disbelief.

He hurriedly closed his eyes to hide his expression and forcefully hugged her. This embrace was different from before when he worried she’d fall—but how it was different, Changling couldn’t say.

His knuckles turned white from gripping, as if wanting to meld her into his own body, yet also as if expressing something.

But that was only for an instant. The next moment, Ye Qi showed her a smile, gripped her waist with both hands, gathered his internal energy, and forcefully threw her toward the cave entrance.

In that moment suspended in air, she seemed to hear him say something, but couldn’t hear clearly.

When she landed, she saw Ye Qi wave at her, still unable to see his expression clearly.

Her heart inexplicably panicked, but she didn’t dare think more, nor did she have time to think more. She ran toward the cave exit like flying.