When Huo Qi Lang saw the beauty frowning with tears still streaking her face, he immediately felt a surge of tender affection. Very naturally, he walked over and sat cross-legged in front of her, asking gently and warmly: “Why are you crying like this? Whatever grievances you have, just tell Huo Qi. Seeing you cry this way breaks my heart.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingjian’s face immediately darkened as he glared fiercely at Wei Xun, secretly pointing at Huo Qi with a look that said: How could you bring such an androgynous, loose-tongued helper?

Wei Xun also felt quite regretful – why hadn’t he torn Old Seven’s foul mouth apart before bringing him in? He also wondered how she could say such flirtatious words with such a straight face. Now that they needed to prepare for the rescue and no one was left to protect Baozhu, he could only endure her for the moment. So he slipped out again to scout the area.

Huo Qi Lang was not only dashingly handsome but also naturally gifted at quickly befriending anyone upon first meeting. Within just a few exchanges, he had struck up a conversation with Baozhu. Knowing that she was Wei Xun’s fellow disciple and an ally introduced by him to rescue Shisan Lang, Baozhu dropped her guard from their previous encounter and asked worriedly: “Can Shisan Lang really withstand the jailer’s brutal beatings?”

Huo Qi Lang comforted her: “Little lady, you don’t understand the constitution of us martial artists. Xiao Guangtou practices our sect’s Prajna Repentance internal cultivation. That training itself involves tempering sinews and bones. Don’t let his small size fool you – he’s actually more resilient than someone big like me. It’s just some superficial suffering that won’t harm his foundation. Once my senior brother and I rescue him, you can buy Xiao Guangtou some delicious food and he’ll immediately forget about the pain.”

Baozhu recalled how Shisan Lang had secretly come to the Reflection Hall at night, clumsily climbing over the wall to comfort her, and felt even more melancholy. She said: “You and Wei Xun are both skilled at scaling walls and rooftops, but Shisan Lang doesn’t have such agility. Otherwise, he could have escaped on his own instead of falling into such peril. Your master Chen Shigu is quite partial – he actually didn’t teach him lightness skills.”

Huo Qi Lang laughed: “Our sect’s lightness skill is called Mirage Steps, which is based on the Mysterious Qi Innate Cultivation internal energy foundation. Apart from our master himself, no one has the breadth of knowledge to simultaneously practice different internal cultivation methods – one can only choose between the two. Xiao Guangtou really wants to learn, but without the internal energy foundation, even if Wei Da were willing to teach him, he couldn’t grasp even the basics.”

She quietly considered Wei Xun, thinking that with this person’s natural talent, if he could live longer, he might eventually achieve mastery and reach Chen Shigu’s pinnacle realm. Unfortunately, martial arts were cruel – there were no “ifs” or “perhaps,” only “can” or “cannot.”

Baozhu heard many unfamiliar terms from her mouth, half-understanding at best, feeling vexed and distracted, unable to fully believe it. At this moment, she just wanted idle chatter to distract from her worries. Forcing a smile, she said to Yang Xingjian: “Father, listen how coincidental – their master is also called Chen Shigu, every character identical. The name ‘Shigu’ has excellent meaning, but when spoken aloud it sounds just like ‘corpse and bones,’ which really isn’t very auspicious.”

Yang Xingjian felt somewhat awkward and said gently and respectfully: “Perhaps it’s not the same Chen Shigu we know of – that one was a jinshi scholar from the Dali era.”

The Tang Dynasty’s jinshi examination was extremely difficult. As the saying went: “A thirty-year-old mingying scholar is old, a fifty-year-old jinshi is young.” Being able to pass the jinshi examination in one’s fifties was considered youthful achievement. Only about twenty people passed each year, making it extremely prestigious – the most talented and accomplished scholars in the realm. Their honor and glory were incomparable, and even those born into centuries-old noble families would have to bow their heads before these brilliantly talented jinshi.

Yang Xingjian meant that someone who could pass the jinshi examination would never be a mere wanderer of the martial world, much less have any connection to tomb robbers. Besides, the Dali era was already forty years past – those who achieved jinshi status then would likely all be dead and buried by now.

Chen Shigu was harsh and unfeeling, so his disciples had very little affection for each other or respect for their master. Naturally, they wouldn’t take such praise or criticism to heart. Huo Qi Lang smiled and said to Baozhu: “Speaking of auspiciousness and good fortune, little lady, your appearance is truly very noble – simply a dragon and phoenix among people, most auspicious indeed.”

Baozhu felt touched and sighed: “My luck used to be quite good, but these past two months have been absolutely terrible – I’ve hit rock bottom and couldn’t be more unlucky.”

Huo Qi Lang said flatteringly: “When you hit rock bottom, you can only go up from there! Your ears curve toward your head with full, drooping earlobes – this shows abundant ancestral blessings and noble bearing. Your forehead is full and your wealth palace is substantial. Your eyes, nose, and mouth are all perfectly formed. Even if you face some hardships now, you’re destined for luxury and comfort in the future.”

Hearing her speak with some accuracy, Baozhu asked curiously: “Besides martial arts, do you also practice physiognomy?”

Huo Qi Lang said: “My face-reading is mediocre, but I’ve learned bone-reading quite well. If you want to test your fortune, I’ll give you a free divination. Please extend your hand so I can feel it.”

Baozhu had no idea of the origin of Huo Qi Lang’s nickname “Silk and Gauze Young Master,” nor did she know that the person before her was a seasoned player in matters of romance who was attracted to both men and women. She was very curious about folk divination arts and, thinking Huo Qi was a woman, felt no wariness. Hesitantly, she raised her wrist, planning to extend her hand for the reading.

Huo Qi was smiling broadly, about to take her hand, when suddenly a chill wind swept across the back of his neck. Substantial killing intent brushed past, instantly raising goosebumps across his back, and his movement froze in mid-air.

Wei Xun had returned at some point and stood behind Huo Qi with hands tucked in his sleeves, coldly sneering: “Old Seven, I see your head is also quite nicely shaped, with a very long neck.”

He swallowed the latter half of the sentence – “easy to chop cleanly” – but Huo Qi Lang naturally understood. She swallowed hard, stiffly withdrew her hand, and awkwardly laughed to Baozhu: “No need to feel the hand – just looking at your face shows you’re invaluably precious, heh heh, invaluably precious!” She then bowed and scooted outward, putting distance between herself and Baozhu.

Wei Xun glared at her viciously, then walked over to sit by Baozhu’s couch, occupying the position closest to her. Looking up at her, he said: “I’ve finished scouting – just waiting for the right opportunity. The task you gave me this morning is also complete.” He pulled a paper money offering from his robe and placed it alongside the note he had stolen and switched from Bao Lang.

Baozhu leaned over to look and saw that the two pieces of paper had identical texture and color, as if they had been cut from the same large sheet. She exclaimed softly in surprise: “Where did you get this?!”

Wei Xun then related the paper money’s origin, why the craftsmen were sleeping outdoors, and the strange funeral proceedings.

After hearing all this, famous calligraphy she had seen before flashed rapidly through her mind. Baozhu had a sudden realization and cried out: “I know who wrote the note!”

Her cheeks flushed red with excitement as she said to Yang Xingjian: “If Father were to commission Zhang Xu for calligraphy, there’s one situation where it would absolutely have to be regular script. For instance, if I had died…”

Yang Xingjian frowned, wanting to gently scold her for such inauspicious talk at her young age, but suddenly understood her implication and exclaimed: “A tomb inscription! Tomb inscriptions must use regular script!”

Baozhu nodded: “Inviting famous masters to compose tomb inscriptions is a customary way to bring honor to the family. Since tomb inscriptions are carved on stone tablets, skilled stone carvers must be people well-versed in various calligraphy styles. With this knowledge, they can write with divine inspiration, perfectly reproducing the essence and spirit of famous masters’ works through copying and drafting. Such people, though proficient in calligraphy and able to create convincing forgeries, are of humble status and cannot afford good Xuan paper, so they typically use rough paper or hemp paper for drafting.”

Yang Xingjian sighed: “No wonder the Grass Sage’s calligraphy was written on hemp paper. Once we understand the reason, it’s no longer surprising.”

Baozhu glanced at Wei Xun, and both simultaneously thought of someone they had encountered before. Baozhu asked hesitantly: “Could a limping man with a crutch also possess lightness skills for scaling walls and rooftops?”

Wei Xun said: “In the martial world, there are indeed some colleagues with missing arms or lame legs who, despite their disabilities, can still move swift as the wind. They just fall a bit short when it comes to climbing towers. It’s possible he wrote the characters while someone else climbed the tower.” He thought to himself that with over a hundred people in that encampment, if there really was such a master hiding there so well that even he couldn’t detect them, that person was truly deeply concealed.

As Baozhu discussed the case with Wei Xun and Yang Xingjian, Huo Qi observed coldly from the sidelines. She noticed that in front of this Yang family lady, Wei Xun’s entire demeanor became radiant and spirited, with a careful, light-handed cautiousness. Not only did his sitting posture lean toward her, but whenever she spoke, Wei Xun’s eyes would light up.

The experienced and sharp-eyed Silk and Gauze Young Master immediately understood what was happening and couldn’t help but feel so excited that her heart pounded wildly.

Among the thirteen disciples under Chen Shigu, except for the last four or five who joined late, all the others were older than Wei Xun.

However, this pale and brooding young senior brother seemed born for martial arts. Whether in explosive power, comprehension, or determination, he was supreme. He was also resilient and self-disciplined – any technique that came into his hands would be mastered in just a few days to a degree that others couldn’t match even with a lifetime of hard practice.

With his youth and martial prowess dominating all others, plus his comprehensive mastery without weaknesses, he was naturally extremely proud. For years, he had completely suppressed these older fellow disciples. Even those like Dong Zhenzi, who had now established their own sects, could only respectfully bow their heads and call him “Senior Brother” in his presence. He had a tyrannical temperament of never letting grudges wait until tomorrow. When still, he would disappear without a trace; when moving, he was swift as lightning. Unable to defeat him or escape from him, no one wanted to provoke him.

Especially during Wei Xun’s most arrogant and rebellious years at fourteen or fifteen, he was simply despised by gods and ghosts alike. All the fellow disciples secretly hoped he would take a great fall to humble this bastard’s sharp edges.

But Huo Qi Lang never imagined he would stumble in this particular way. After all, Wei Xun had never shown any interest in romantic matters. Though he had witnessed everything from the rooftops, he remained indifferent to it all. Even with several beautiful fellow disciples around, he treated people like clay pigs and tile dogs, showing no mercy during sparring matches. He was equally ruthless to all, completely disregarding others’ dignity when fighting.

Now this insufferably arrogant fellow actually looked anxious and flustered, as if afraid of both gaining and losing. Huo Qi Lang wanted to throw back his head and laugh wildly, thinking that even if he didn’t earn a single coin from this job, it would be an enormous profit. Upon further reflection, he realized that Wei Xun probably didn’t even understand what kind of pit he had fallen into – he didn’t even know how to hide his feelings. This made it even more hilarious. She wished she could immediately send out a sect-wide summons to call all the fellow disciples to witness this rare spectacle of the fierce lynx making a fool of himself.

Seeing Huo Qi Lang’s strange expression with eyes darting about, refusing to leave despite sitting there, Wei Xun coldly and harshly urged: “Are you here for meditation? Have you prepared everything I asked for?”

Huo Qi Lang’s lips curved up as she smiled meaningfully: “Senior Brother, don’t panic. This sort of thing always requires long-term planning – you can’t rush it.”