Three days later, in a stone chamber of the Ancient Tomb Sect, the atmosphere was peaceful yet carried a hint of warmth.
"Mochou, I told you already, I'm completely fine now!"
Lu Zhanyuan said with a helpless expression, stretching his arms and legs in front of Li Mochou as if trying to prove that he had fully recovered.
"Brother Lu, stop moving around! Your wounds haven't healed completely yet, be careful they might tear open!"
Li Mochou hurriedly stepped forward, reaching out to grab Lu Zhanyuan's flailing arms. Her eyes were filled with worry, her brows knitted slightly, and her face was written all over with concern.
"I'm fine, Mochou. I've been lying here for days—if I don't move around a bit, I feel like I'm going to rust!"
"Well... then I'll walk with you around the ancient tomb for a bit!" Seeing Lu Zhanyuan's helpless look, Li Mochou finally compromised.
"Alright, Mochou! I've been wanting to see what the inside of the Ancient Tomb where you grew up looks like for the longest time!"
A flash of excitement crossed Lu Zhanyuan's eyes as he eagerly grabbed Li Mochou's hand and headed outside.
"Come on, show me around!"
"Brother Lu, your injuries aren't fully healed yet, slow down!"
Li Mochou gently reminded him, her eyes fixed closely on Lu Zhanyuan for fear that he might hurt himself again.
The two walked slowly through the ancient tomb, the surrounding environment quiet and mysterious.
The ancient stone walls exuded a faint coolness, and weak light filtered through the crevices in the stones, adding a hazy sense of beauty to the mysterious space.
After walking for a while, Li Mochou softly said, "Brother Lu, do you find it a bit boring? Actually, the environment inside the ancient tomb is pretty much the same everywhere—there's nothing special about it."
"Not at all, not boring in the slightest!" Lu Zhanyuan stopped walking and stood in front of Li Mochou.
He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes brimming with deep affection, as if the two of them were the only people left in the entire world.
"Mochou, as long as I'm with you, I'll never find anything boring."
Deeply moved by Lu Zhanyuan's affection, Li Mochou felt her heartbeat quicken involuntarily, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"Brother Lu!" she murmured softly.
Closing her eyes slowly, she leaned in and kissed Lu Zhanyuan.
Just as the two of them were immersed in love, sharing a passionate kiss as if no one else was around, a crisp child's voice suddenly rang out from nearby:
"Senior Sister, what are you and Brother-in-law doing? Why are you eating each other's spit?"
The two of them, caught in the middle of their kiss, were startled back to reality by the sudden voice.
Li Mochou hurriedly pulled away from Lu Zhanyuan's embrace, turned her head, and glared at Xiao Longnü in annoyance.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo, go play somewhere else! What does a little kid like you know?"
"Mean Senior Sister!"
Xiao Longnü pouted, talking back to Li Mochou, and then looked at Lu Zhanyuan with a beaming smile. "Brother-in-law, is your injury better?"
"Long'er, my injuries are just fine!" Lu Zhanyuan replied with a smile.
"Then... can you perform another magic trick for me, Brother-in-law?"
Xiao Longnü's eyes were filled with anticipation, as if Lu Zhanyuan were some sort of magical illusionist.
"A magic trick..."
Lu Zhanyuan pondered for a moment. "Long'er, of course I can show you another trick!"
"Yay! Awesome!" Xiao Longnü clapped her little hands excitedly.
"Brother Lu, what trick?" Li Mochou asked, looking at the big and small figures in front of her with a curious and puzzled expression.
"Senior Sister, Brother-in-law is amazing! The other day he used a magic trick to make sugar figures and pinwheels appear for me!" Xiao Longnü explained eagerly to Li Mochou.
Ignoring Li Mochou's puzzled gaze, Lu Zhanyuan squatted down in front of Xiao Longnü.
"Long'er, you know, I've always admired your Founder Grannys for her daring and resolute character. Could you take me to pay my respects to her elder self? Once you take me to pay my respects, Brother-in-law will get you a candied hawthorn stick, how does that sound?" Lu Zhanyuan tempted her.
"Candied hawthorn stick? What is that?" Xiao Longnü furrowed her little brows, her face full of curiosity.
Lu Zhanyuan patiently explained to her, "Long'er, this candied hawthorn stick is a very delicious treat that tastes both sweet and sour!"
"Okay, I want a candied hawthorn stick! Brother-in-law, follow me!" Xiao Longnü nodded happily and began leading the way.
...
Lu Zhanyuan looked at the portrait on the wall before him, a trace of helplessness welling up in his heart.
"Um... Long'er, maybe Brother-in-law didn't make myself clear earlier! I want to pay my respects at your Founder Grannys's tomb, to offer a few sticks of incense, not this portrait!"
Xiao Longnü looked at Lu Zhanyuan with furrowed brows. "Brother-in-law, my Founder Grannys doesn't have a tomb!"
"However, Brother-in-law, I know which stone coffin Founder Grannys sleeps in!"
Lu Zhanyuan's eyes lit up, a wave of excitement surging in his chest. "Alright, Long'er, then take me to see it!"
"Okay, Brother-in-law, follow me!" Xiao Longnü skipped ahead happily, and Lu Zhanyuan hurriedly followed behind her.
Li Mochou looked dazedly at the pair—one tall, one small—walking ahead. She had no idea what Lu Zhanyuan was up to, but she helplessly followed along anyway.
...
"Brother-in-law!"
Xiao Longnü led Lu Zhanyuan into a stone chamber and pointed at the stone coffins in front of her. "Look, these are the stone coffins where Founder Grannys slept!"
Lu Zhanyuan looked over the five stone coffins in the chamber, silently guessing which one of them concealed the mechanism.
Suppressing his excitement, he walked up to Lin Chaoying's stone coffin and bowed respectfully.
"Brother-in-law, you've already paid your respects to Founder Grannys now. Isn't it time to show me the magic trick?" Xiao Longnü looked at Lu Zhanyuan expectantly.
Putting his hand behind his back, Lu Zhanyuan retrieved a candied hawthorn stick, bent down, and handed it to Xiao Longnü.
"Long'er, look, this is a candied hawthorn stick!"
Xiao Longnü quickly reached out and took the candied hawthorn stick, her face beaming with a happy smile.
"Brother-in-law, you're the best! Thank you, Brother-in-law!"
Ignoring Xiao Longnü, who was now happily occupied by herself, Lu Zhanyuan walked over to an empty stone coffin, ready to open it and take a look.
Seeing that Lu Zhanyuan was actually going to open a coffin, Li Mochou was startled and flew to his side.
"Brother Lu, you're still carrying injuries, let me help you!"
Lu Zhanyuan nodded at Li Mochou, and together they began inspecting the opened stone coffin.
When they opened the third stone coffin, Lu Zhanyuan finally discovered the mechanism hidden within.
Click, click, click, click—
Lu Zhanyuan triggered the mechanism and watched with delight as the stone door slowly slid open.
Rumble—creak—
"Brother Lu, I grew up in the ancient tomb, yet I never knew there was another stone chamber hidden here!"
Li Mochou looked in amazement at the opened stone door, her eyes filled with confusion. "Brother Lu, how did you know there was a mechanism here?"
"Mochou, don't worry about how I knew for now!"
Lu Zhanyuan took Li Mochou's hand, his eyes filled with excitement. "Come on, let's go inside and take a look first!"
"Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law, wait for me!" Seeing the two of them walking away, Xiao Longnü hurriedly followed.
Holding Li Mochou's hand, Lu Zhanyuan walked through a passageway and arrived at an underground stone chamber.
The atmosphere here was even more mysterious. Faint radiances flickered along the stone walls, as if whispering ancient tales.
After searching around for a moment, Lu Zhanyuan finally laid eyes on the Nine Yin Manual carved into the stone wall.
"Nine Yin Manual!"
Li Mochou read the characters carved on the stone wall aloud, her eyes filled with astonishment as if she had discovered a massive treasure trove.
"Brother Lu, there are actually words carved on this stone wall. Is this a martial arts manual?"
Li Mochou turned to look at Lu Zhanyuan, her eyes full of curiosity. "Did you bring me here just to find this Nine Yin Manual?"
"That's right!"
Lu Zhanyuan nodded at Li Mochou, his gaze resolute.
"Mochou, do you know what kind of martial art this Nine Yin Manual is?"
"Could it be a very powerful martial art?"
"Heh!"
Lu Zhanyuan let out a soft chuckle and turned to look at the innocent-looking Li Mochou.
"Mochou, this Nine Yin Manual is more than just 'very powerful'—it is an peerless martial arts manual!
If we can cultivate this Nine Yin Manual to the acme of perfection, leaving aside being number one under heaven, we will have few rivals in this world.
And if we can master this Nine Yin Manual to its ultimate completion, becoming the number one in the world will be no difficult task at all!"
"Wow!"
Xiao Longnü, who had walked up behind the two of them at some point, let out an exclamation upon hearing Lu Zhanyuan's words.
"Brother-in-law, I want to learn this Nine Yin Manual too!"
"Alright!"
Lu Zhanyuan nodded at Xiao Longnü, then turned back to look at Li Mochou beside him. "Mochou, let's begin learning this Nine Yin Manual right now!"
"Mhm!"
Li Mochou nodded at Lu Zhanyuan, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
And just like that, the group began studying the Nine Yin Manual carved upon the stone wall...