Lin Xinghe's heart felt as though it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
Every word on the anonymous letter was like a tiny silver needle piercing her already taut nerves.
*Beware of Lin Feng?*
*He is not as simple as he appears on the surface?*
This sentence echoed in her mind over and over again, like an inescapable nightmare.
She forcefully suppressed the turmoil in her heart, still wearing her harmless, docile smile on her face as she walked toward Lin Feng.
"Xinghe, come help me carry some things."
Lin Feng's voice carried a trace of an imperceptible urgency, which made Lin Xinghe even more certain that this person had issues!
Rapidly calculating in her heart, she quickened her pace and came to Lin Feng's side.
Lin Feng's room was still as plain as before, even somewhat crude.
The air was permeated with a faint medicinal aroma, the lingering trace of Lin Feng's lifelong dealings with herbs.
Pointing to a pile of books in the corner, he softly said, "These books are a bit heavy. Help me move them to the study."
Instead of moving immediately, Lin Xinghe feigned casualness and asked, "Young Master Feng, lately I've noticed you always seem so preoccupied. Have you run into some trouble?" As she spoke, she closely observed Lin Feng's expression.
Hearing this, Lin Feng's body stiffened slightly, followed by a bitter laugh: "Family matters, as you know, are always a tangled mess. Oh, right, Xinghe, I heard you've been helping out near the Sword Tomb recently?"
*Here it comes!*
A chill ran through Lin Xinghe's heart, knowing the main event had arrived.
Feigning surprise, she said, "How does Young Master Feng know about that? I was only sent there to do some cleaning."
Lin Feng's gaze flickered before he let out a sigh: "Xinghe, don't hide it from me. Though I've been away for years, I still understand a thing or two about family matters. I heard there have been some unusual disturbances near the Sword Tomb lately, seemingly related to the inheritance of the ancient Sword Saint."
Lin Xinghe silently cursed the old fox in her heart while maintaining a pure smile on her face: "Young Master Feng jokes. I'm just a servant; what would I know about the inheritance of some ancient Sword Saint? Still, I did hear some rumors about the Sword Tomb..." She deliberately paused, observing Lin Feng's reaction.
Lin Feng's breathing grew noticeably faster, and he impatiently asked, "What rumors? Tell me quickly."
Lin Xinghe smiled faintly, lowering her voice: "I heard people say a huge secret is hidden within the Sword Tomb, a secret tied to the fate of the entire Xuanxiao Continent. Only those who possess the Power of the Sword Soul can unlock this secret."
With that, she stared intently at Lin Feng, not missing the slightest micro-expression on his face.
Lin Feng's expression shifted uncertainly—first surprise, then doubt, and finally fanaticism.
"The Power of the Sword Soul... So that's how it is, so that's how it is!" Lin Feng muttered to himself, as if sinking into some manic state.
Suddenly grabbing Lin Xinghe's shoulders, he said excitedly, "Xinghe, what you've said is extremely important to me! If you know anything more about the Sword Tomb, you must tell me!"
Lin Xinghe felt a dull ache from his grip, but she endured the discomfort and said softly, "Rest assured, Young Master Feng, whatever I know I will tell you. It's just that these matters are too profound, and I can't guarantee they're true."
Only then did Lin Feng realize his loss of composure. He hurriedly released Lin Xinghe's shoulders and said with some embarrassment, "Apologies, Xinghe, I got a bit excited. This information is terribly important to me; it can help me expose a conspiracy within the family."
Lin Xinghe sneered inwardly. *A conspiracy?*
*I'm afraid you are the biggest conspiracy of all!*
On the surface, however, she put on a concerned look: "Young Master Feng, what kind of conspiracy is it? Can you tell me? Perhaps I can help."
Lin Feng shook his head and sighed: "This matter is far too complex for you to understand. You only need to remember that everything I do is for the good of the Lin Family."
Lin Xinghe felt even more guarded. This Lin Feng was truly unfathomable!
Outwardly keeping her composure, she was already plotting her next move in her mind.
That night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse.
Lin Xinghe silently left her room, weaving through the various corners of the Lin Family estate like a ghost.
She had only one target: Lin Feng's room.
Her probing during the day had pushed her suspicion of Lin Feng to its peak.
She had to find out what secret Lin Feng was hiding!
Relying on her familiarity with the Lin Family and the powerful sensory perception brought by the Power of the Sword Soul, Lin Xinghe easily bypassed the patrolling guards and arrived outside Lin Feng's room.
Holding her breath, she cautiously pushed open the door.
The room was dim, with only the moonlight filtering through the window barely illuminating a small patch of space.
Instead of rushing in, Lin Xinghe stood at the doorway and carefully observed the room's layout.
The furnishings remained very simple: a bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and nothing more.
Yet Lin Xinghe did not lower her guard because of this.
She slowly stepped into the room and meticulously searched every corner.
The books on the bookshelf were neatly arranged with no anomalies.
The desk held some medicinal herbs and writing materials, also unremarkable.
Lin Xinghe's gaze finally landed on the wall.
She reached out and tapped gently against the wall, attempting to find a hidden mechanism.
Suddenly, her finger brushed against a slightly loose brick.
Her heart stirred, and she immediately pressed down hard on that brick.
With a crisp "click," a small gap unexpectedly appeared in the wall.
Lin Xinghe's heart raced; she knew she had found it!
Carefully widening the gap, a hidden secret chamber appeared before her eyes.
The secret chamber was small, only a few square meters in size.
Inside sat a bookshelf piled with various books and scrolls.
Beside the bookshelf stood a small altar bearing strange talismans and magical artifacts.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xinghe forcefully suppressed her inner excitement and walked into the chamber.
She picked up the books on the shelf and leafed through them carefully.
The contents of these books varied widely: some concerned the history of the Lin Family, some were legends of the Xuanxiao Continent, and others contained cultivation insights regarding Sword Dao.
Yet Lin Xinghe's attention wasn't on these books; her gaze remained fixed on the scrolls.
She knew the real secrets must be hidden within those scrolls!
Picking up a scroll, she slowly unrolled it.
The text on the scroll was ancient and obscure, and she could barely recognize a few characters.
Yet those few characters alone caused her complexion to pale.
"Blood sacrifice... Sword soul... Body seizure..."
Every single one of these terms reeked of bloodshed and conspiracy.
Lin Xinghe's body trembled slightly as she realized she might have uncovered a heaven-shaking secret of the Lin Family!
She continued flipping through the other scrolls, and more and more of the truth surfaced.
She discovered that the Lin Family had long been secretly executing an evil plan—attempting to utilize the power of the Sword Tomb to seize other people's sword souls, thereby achieving some unspeakable objective.
And Lin Feng was very likely the executor of this plan!
Filled with anger and fear, Lin Xinghe never imagined she had been living within such a dark family all along.
She had to make these secrets public and stop the Lin Family's conspiracy!
Just as Lin Xinghe was going through these documents, footsteps sounded outside the door.
She quickly ducked into the shadows, holding her breath and remaining utterly motionless.
The footsteps went thump, thump, thump like the beating of a death-knell drum, making Lin Xinghe's heart skip a beat.
With the agility of a startled cat, she zipped straight into the darkest corner of the secret chamber, cutting off half her breath and leaving only a pair of exceptionally bright eyes fixed on the entrance.
She felt like a hardcore voyeur right now, but what could she do? Who told Lin Feng to skulk around looking so damn suspicious.
With a creak, the stone door of the secret chamber was pushed open. Lin Feng's usually passable face was now written full of agitation, resembling an ant on a hot pan.
The moment he stepped in, his eyes swept back and forth across the chamber like searchlights, while he muttered incoherently—clearly nothing good.
He looked for all the world like someone who had lost his soul, or someone terrified that others might discover some unspeakable treasure he had hidden.
Frenziedly rummaging through the bookshelf, he sent papers rustling noisily. That desperate urgency made it seem as if the sky would fall if he were even a second too slow.
Holding her breath, Lin Xinghe quietly circulated the Power of the Sword Soul within her body, blending her aura with the surrounding darkness until she was practically better than a chameleon.
She simply watched quietly while calculating wildly in her mind: *Heh, let's see what tricks you can pull out of your hat, kid!*
Just as Lin Feng was scratching his ears and tearing at his hair in frustration, ready to pull his own hair out, another rush of hurried footsteps approached from outside the chamber. Judging by the sound, whoever was coming was in a desperate rush.
Lin Feng's body stiffened, his ears pricking up sharply as his expression changed. "Who is it?" he lowered his voice, carrying a trace of unmasked panic.
Silently thinking *right on cue*, Lin Xinghe shrank her figure even deeper into the shadows, almost merging with the stone wall.
"Young Master! Something's wrong!" An anxious, suppressed voice came from outside the door, followed immediately by the sound of furious pounding against the door.