"Sit cross-legged, with your five centers facing the sky."
Xiao Longnü's voice echoed in the stone chamber, as cool and clear as water from a mountain stream. I tried to bend my legs into a lotus position, but my thigh muscles protested, and I toppled sideways onto the floor.
"Ow—" I rubbed my cramping calf. "Longnü, this posture is anti-human!"
She stood by the Cold Jade Bed, her white robes whiter than snow, her brows slightly furrowed. "The first level of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra requires clearing the Ren and Du meridians."
"Well..." I gave an awkward laugh and scrambled up. "Is there a crash course? Like 'Master the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra in Three Days'?"
Xiao Longnü ignored my joke and suddenly pressed her hand against my back. A wave of icy internal energy penetrated my body, and I instantly shivered.
"Close your eyes and feel the flow of the True Qi," she commanded.
I obediently did as I was told. Strangely enough, when her internal energy wandered to my Dantian, the Congenital True Qi inside me spontaneously rose to meet it. The two forces intertwined like old friends who had had a long separation.
"Mmm..." I couldn't help moaning softly. The sensation was too wonderful, as if every pore in my body were breathing.
Xiao Longnü seemed quite surprised as well. "Your True Qi..."
"What's wrong?" I opened my eyes and saw that her cheeks were slightly flushed. "Am I suffering a deviation in my cultivation?"
"No..." She withdrew her hand, looking pensive. "Your True Qi... is an extreme match for the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra."
I raised an eyebrow smugly. "Does that mean the two of us are a match made in heaven?"
She turned and walked toward the stone wall. "Continue your cultivation, and stop spouting nonsense."
In the days that followed, I began a cultivation life of pain and joy. By day, I studied the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra; by night, I slept on the Cold Jade Bed. Xiao Longnü taught earnestly, and I studied diligently—mostly so I could look at her a few more times.
That brat Yang Guo was always making trouble, either tickling me while I was meditating or purposely smearing honey on my clothes to attract the Jade Bees to sting me. But strangely enough, the Jade Bees didn't sting me anymore; instead, they swarmed around me like they were seeing a long-lost relative.
"Longnü!" I burst into her stone chamber excitedly one day. "Look!"
I channeled the Qinggong I had just learned and drifted a circle around the stone chamber—though I fell flat on my face when I landed, at least I had flown!
Xiao Longnü was studying an ancient text and looked up. "Not bad." But there was clearly a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.
I patted the dust off myself, got up, and sidled up to her. "What are you reading?"
In a rare move, she didn't dodge away. "Ancient Tomb Sect texts." She paused. "They record some... strange things."
I lowered my head to look. The yellowed pages were illustrated with some bizarre diagrams that looked strikingly similar to the Ancient Tomb murals I had photographed on my phone!
"This..." My heart beat faster. "Longnü, do you know what these patterns mean?"
She shook her head. "Left behind by our founder; no one can decipher them." She suddenly raised her eyes to look at me. "You... seem to know something about this?"
I swallowed hard, wondering whether I should tell her my guess—that these diagrams might be blueprints for some kind of high-tech device.
Just as I was hesitating, Yang Guo's scream rang out from outside. We rushed out to see Yang Guo hanging from the stone wall, with a group of snapping, clawing crocodiles below—that's right, the very same ones from Passionless Valley, though heaven knows how they ended up in the Ancient Tomb!
"Help!" Yang Guo wailed. "Auntie, save me!"
Xiao Longnü was about to make a move, but I stopped her. "I've got this!"
Channeling my newly learned Qinggong, I leaped forward and actually flew over to Yang Guo's side. As I grabbed him by the collar and jumped back down, a crocodile suddenly lunged upward, its bloody maw aiming straight for my ankle.
"Huanxi, watch out!" Xiao Longnü cried out in alarm.
At the very last split second, the True Qi inside me circulated automatically. My legs twisted in a bizarre arc in mid-air, executing the "Heavenly Net and Earthly Trap Formation" that Xiao Longnü had once demonstrated, narrowly dodging the crocodile's bite.
When we landed, Yang Guo and I rolled into a heap together. Xiao Longnü drifted over gracefully and dispatched the crocodile with a single sword strike. The rest, seeing how things stood, fled helter-skelter into the underground stream.
"You..." Xiao Longnü stared at me. "When did you learn the Heavenly Net and Earthly Trap Formation?"
I looked completely blank. "I don't know! My body just moved on its own!"
Yang Guo scrambled up from on top of me and said angrily, "Did you secretly steal the Ancient Tomb Sect's martial arts?"
"I'm wronged!" I raised my hands in surrender. "Maybe... after seeing Longnü use it, my body just remembered?"
Xiao Longnü looked thoughtful. "A martial arts prodigy?"
Just as I was about to look pleased with myself, a sudden pain hit my chest—my arrow wound was acting up again. My vision darkened, and I stumbled, steadying myself against the wall.
"Huanxi!" Xiao Longnü caught me in a flash, her voice actually tinged with a hint of panic.
I forced a smile and held on. "I'm fine... probably just overexerted..."
Without another word, she picked me up straight into her arms—a bridal carry! Here I was, a full-grown man, being carried bridal-style by the petite Xiao Longnü! The sight was too much for me to bear looking at.
Yang Guo's eyes nearly popped out of his head on the side. "Auntie! He's faking it!"
Ignoring him, Xiao Longnü carried me straight to the Cold Jade Bed and began untying my sash.
"Longnü..." My face turned burning red. "Isn't this... progressing a bit too fast?"
She glared at me. "Healing your wounds."
An Ice Soul Silver Needle pierced my acupuncture points once more, but this time the feeling was completely different. Xiao Longnü's internal energy mingled with my True Qi, forming a marvelous cycle. I could clearly feel the two forces working together to repair my wound.
"Strange..." Xiao Longnü murmured to herself. "I've never experienced internal energies that were so... compatible."
I looked at her face, which was inches from mine, and suddenly mustered up my courage. "Longnü, in our future, this is called 'dual cultivation'."
Her hand shook, and the silver needle almost went in crooked. "Nonsense!"
"Really!" I blinked innocently. "The mingling of male and female internal energy for mutual advancement..."
"Shut up." The tips of her ears turned beet red, but she didn't stop channeling her energy.
When the healing session ended, I felt refreshed and vigorous, and even my chest didn't hurt anymore. Xiao Longnü, however, looked utterly exhausted, with beads of fine sweat dotting her forehead.
"Longnü..." Feeling a pang of heartache, I reached out to wipe the sweat from her brow, but she ducked away.
"Get some rest." She turned to leave.
"Wait!" I jumped off the bed and blocked her path. "I have something for you."
I fished a wooden carving out from under the stone pillow—I had carved it with my military knife while she was out these past few days. It was a Chibi-style Xiao Longnü; though crude, it captured quite a bit of her spirit.
"This is for you." I felt a bit bashful. "It's not carved very well..."
Xiao Longnü took the wooden carving, her fingertips gently brushing over the knife marks, and suddenly asked, "Why are you... so devoted to me?"
"Because I like you." I looked straight into her eyes. "From the very first moment I saw you, I liked you."
The stone chamber fell deathly quiet. Just when I thought she would put on a cold face and walk away again, she suddenly said, "The wood carving... I like it very much."
Then she strode away quickly, leaving me standing there grinning like an idiot.
The next morning, I found a bowl of steaming honey water at the entrance of the Ancient Tomb—Jade Bee Jelly, the most precious tonic of the Ancient Tomb Sect. A tiny character was carved into the rock beside it: "Drink."
Holding the bowl, I smiled like an absolute fool. This was Xiao Longnü's style of response! Even though it was just a single character, it was enough to keep me happy all day long.
Yang Guo popped out from somewhere and said sourly, "Auntie has never prepared breakfast for me!"
I gave the bowl a smug shake. "This is called personal charm~"
"Bah!" He pulled a face. "Auntie just pities you!"
As we were bickering, the sound of fighting suddenly drifted over from a distance. We exchanged glances and dashed toward the source of the noise simultaneously.
In the woods behind the Ancient Tomb, Xiao Longnü was locked in combat with three men in black. Their martial arts style was bizarre, and they were actually able to hold their own against the Jade Maiden's Pure Heart Sword Technique!
"Auntie!" Yang Guo drew his sword and charged in.
As for me, I whipped out my cell phone and a bottle of whiskey, hiding behind a tree to bide my time. Seeing a man in black about to launch a sneak attack on Xiao Longnü from behind, I immediately switched on my phone's flashlight—
"Eat my hidden weapon!"
A blinding flash burst out, and the man in black cried out, covering his eyes. Seizing the opportunity, I splashed the whiskey toward another one and flicked out my lighter—
Boom! A human torch was born.
The third one, seeing that the situation had turned sour, turned tail and ran. Xiao Longnü pierced his calf with a single sword thrust. "Who sent you?"
The man in black flashed a ferocious grin and suddenly started foaming at the mouth—he had taken poison to commit suicide!
"More assassins..." I frowned. "This is already the third wave."
Xiao Longnü sheathed her sword. "Their martial arts style... looks somewhat familiar."
Yang Guo inspected the corpse. "Auntie, they have a mark on them!"
Turning back the collar of the man in black, a bizarre pattern was strikingly tattooed underneath—it was identical to the one on the Ancient Tomb murals!
My heart gave a violent jolt. "Longnü, this..."
Her expression changed drastically. "Back to the Ancient Tomb."
Upon returning to the Tomb, Xiao Longnü led us to a hidden stone chamber. The walls here were covered with those strange patterns, and in the center stood a stone platform holding a metal disc.
"This is..." I stared in utter shock. "An energy converter?"
Xiao Longnü whipped her head around to look at me. "You recognize this object?"
I swallowed hard. "In our future... we have similar technology." Stepping closer to observe it, I noticed several grooves on the disc. "This needs an energy source to activate..."
Before I could finish speaking, the True Qi inside my body surged uncontrollably toward my palm. The moment my palm pressed against the disc, the entire stone chamber lit up!
The patterns on the walls lit up one by one, finally projecting a star map into the air. Yang Guo was so frightened he tumbled backward onto the ground. "Damon... demonic arts!"
Xiao Longnü, however, remained exceptionally calm. "The founder's prophecy has come true..."
Several lines of characters emerged in the center of the star map written in seal script. I managed to barely make out a few: "Guests... from beyond the heavens... the journey home..."
"Longnü!" I grabbed her hand excitedly. "This might be the device to send me home!"
Her body stiffened. "You... want to leave?"
I froze. Looking at Xiao Longnü's face, so close to mine, I suddenly realized—I couldn't bear to leave anymore.
"I..." My voice was hoarse. "I don't know..."
The stone chamber suddenly began to shake, and the star map flickered a few times before vanishing. My True Qi was violently repelled back into me, and I staggered back a few paces.
"Insufficient energy." Xiao Longnü steadied me. "The disc requires... a special energy source."
"What kind of energy source?"
She shook her head. "The ancient texts do not record it."
We left the stone chamber in silence. Back in the main tomb chamber, Yang Guo was dispatched to practice his martial arts, leaving only me and Xiao Longnü.
"Huanxi..." In a rare move, she spoke first. "If you find your way back... will you leave?"
I looked at her profile bathed in the moonlight and suddenly understood what it meant to have "a heartache so sharp it feels like you can't breathe."
"Longnü..." I said softly. "If I stay, can I... accompany you forever?"
She didn't answer; she only gently clasped my hand. Her icy fingers intertwined with mine, speaking louder than a thousand words.
Just as the atmosphere was turning so sweet, a heaven-shaking explosion suddenly erupted from outside the Ancient Tomb! The entire tomb shook, and gravel came raining down in a rustle.
"Oh no!" Xiao Longnü's expression changed drastically. "Someone is forcing their way into the Ancient Tomb!"
We rushed out to look, only to see that the stone door at the tomb entrance had already been blown open. Standing amidst the dust and smoke was a familiar figure—Gongsun Zhi! Behind him were dozens of fully armed disciples, and also... Li Mochou!
"Junior Sister Long~" Li Mochou giggled. "Your Senior Sister has come to see you~"
Gongsun Zhi glared at me with a sinister gaze. "Time traveler, I've finally found you!"
My heart shook violently—how did they know I was a time traveler? And why were they so obsessed with catching me?
Xiao Longnü drew her maiden sword and stepped in front of me. "Don't even think about hurting him."
Li Mochou let out a cackling laugh. "Has Junior Sister's heart been stirred by mortal desires? How amusing~" She suddenly flicked out three Ice Soul Silver Needles. "That makes it all the more reason to kill him!"
Xiao Longnü parried the needles with her sword while shouting a low command to me: "Take Yang Guo and go!"
"No!" I drew my Swiss Army knife—though it looked like a toy, it was still better than empty hands. "I will never abandon you!"
Yang Guo also charged in with his sword. "Auntie! I've come to help you!"
A fierce battle was unavoidable. Just at this critical juncture, a deafening roar suddenly echoed from deep within the Ancient Tomb, followed by the sound of machinery turning. From the direction of the stone chamber housing the mysterious disc, a dazzling blue light erupted!
"Not good!" Gongsun Zhi's expression changed drastically. "Energy resonance! Fall back!"
But it was already too late. The blue light surged forward like a tide, and wherever it passed, all the patterns on the stone walls lit up. The True Qi inside my body went out of control once more, and my entire body drifted up into the air!
"Huanxi!" Xiao Longnü flew forward and grabbed my hand.
At the very last moment before we were swallowed by the blue light, I saw that there were actually tears glistening in her eyes...