The instant the ice-cold stream water poured into my nasal cavity, a thought flashed through my mind: this girl definitely has a personal vendetta against water!
The turbulent current swept me all the way downstream, the arrow wound on my shoulder burning with pain. I thrashed wildly, trying to grab onto something, but managed to grasp only a few tufts of water weed. Just as I was about to burst from holding my breath, a soft force suddenly supported my back, violently thrusting me out of the water's surface.
"Cough, cough, cough..." I slumped by the riverbank, vomiting stream water frantically, and raised my head to see Xiao Longnü's dripping-wet face.
"Get up if you're not dead." She shook the water droplets from her long hair, her tone still cold, though a flash of worry flickered in her eyes.
Yang Guo helped me up from behind: "Brother Huanxi, Auntie did that to save you! Senior Sister Li's poisonous needles are fiercely potent; that palm strike was to help you force out the toxins!"
I rubbed my congested chest: "Could you give a heads-up next time... cough, cough..."
Xiao Longnü ignored my complaint and surveyed our surroundings: "It's safe here for now. Tend to your injuries first."
We were in a secluded mountain cave, the entrance concealed by a waterfall. Inside, the cave was dry and warm, the corner even spread with hay, obviously frequented by people.
"This is..." I looked questioningly at Xiao Longnü.
"A place where Guo'er and I occasionally practice martial arts," she explained briefly, retrieving a bottle of wound ointment from her sleeve. "Take off your shirt."
This time I didn't dare crack wise, obediently removing my soaked upper garment. The skin around the arrow wound had already turned black, and though most of the poison had been forced out, the residue still left me dizzy.
Xiao Longnü's fingers dipped into the ointment, gently applying it to the wound. Her fingertips were ice-cold, yet touching my skin sent a shudder through me. I stole a glance at her profile as a water droplet slid down her delicate jawline, fine beads of water still hanging from her eyelashes.
"What are you looking at?" She suddenly raised her eyes, meeting my gaze squarely.
"N... nothing!" I hurriedly looked away, my earlobes burning hot. "It's just... this medicine really hurts..."
She gave a soft hum, though the pressure of her hand lightened slightly. Yang Guo was building a fire nearby, occasionally casting knowing glances our way.
"Done." Xiao Longnü finished the bandage. "Rest for the night. Tomorrow we return to the Ancient Tomb."
"We're going back?" I asked in surprise. "Isn't Li Mochou..."
"She wouldn't dare come again," Xiao Longnü said with a firm tone. "I've already warned her with a Jade Bee needle."
Only then did I notice a tiny wound on her left wrist, surrounded by an abnormal greenish hue. I grabbed her hand: "You're hurt?"
She struggled to pull away, but failing, frowned and said, "A minor injury. It's nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing! It's turned green!" Panicking, I felt in my pants pocket for the Swiss Army Knife—which was somehow still there! I flipped open the small scissors. "We have to let the black blood out!"
Both Xiao Longnü and Yang Guo stared in astonishment. Without time to explain, I sterilized the scissors with a lighter and carefully carved a small cross over her wound. Dark blood immediately seeped out, and I leaned in, preparing to suck it out with my mouth—
"What are you doing?!" Xiao Longnü jerked her hand back violently.
"Sucking out the poison!" I said, looking perfectly justified. "Don't... uh, don't medical books always show it like this?"
She looked at me with a complex expression: "Unnecessary. I can cure the Jade Bee needle poison myself."
With that, she retrieved a small jade bottle from her waist, poured out some transparent liquid, and applied it to the wound. The greenish color faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"...Fine." I sheepishly put away the Swiss Army Knife. "Well... panic makes one clumsy, you know..."
Xiao Longnü didn't speak, but the tips of her ears turned red again. Yang Guo stood nearby, holding back a laugh so hard his face was completely distorted.
Night fell, and Yang Guo quickly fell asleep. I leaned against the cave wall, staring in a daze at the moonlight refracting through the waterfall. Xiao Longnü sat cross-legged not far away, regulating her breath, her white robes as pure as snow, resembling an immortal in a painting.
"Dragon Girl..." I called to her softly. "Thank you for saving me again."
She slowly opened her eyes: "No thanks are needed."
"Say... why did Gongsun Zhi want to capture me anyway?" I asked the question I'd been holding in all day.
Xiao Longnü was silent for a moment: "Do you know why Passionless Valley is called Passionless Valley?"
"Because the valley master is a passionless person?"
"Because there is a spring in the valley named Passionless," she said softly. "Drink it, and you can forget all passion."
My heart gave a start: "That miraculous?"
"Gongsun Zhi has always been looking for someone who can resist the medicinal properties of Passionless Water." Xiao Longnü looked at me. "Your Congenital True Qi is special. Perhaps..."
"I'm his antidote guinea pig?" My eyes widened. "That is way too perverted!"
Xiao Longnü nodded slightly. "He must have learned from Li Mochou that you were with me."
I scratched my head: "Then what do we do next? We can't go back to the Ancient Tomb, and we surely can't hide in a cave forever, right?"
"We go to the Tomb of the Living Dead," she suddenly said.
"Huh? Isn't that just the Ancient Tomb?"
"Another one," Xiao Longnü explained. "Lin Chaoying's former residence."
Dawning realization struck me: "You mean... the one we time-traveled to?"
She nodded. "It's secluded, and protected by mechanisms."
"But how do we get back?" I spread my hands. "The Spacetime Compass isn't here..."
Xiao Longnü retrieved an item from inside her robes—it was precisely that jade pendant engraved with strange patterns!
"This is..." My eyes widened.
"Senior Lin gave it to me," she handed the pendant to me, "saying it could save lives in a moment of crisis."
I took the pendant, feeling its familiar, icy touch. Inspecting it closely by the firelight, the patterns actually bore a striking resemblance to the "circuit diagram" on the murals of the Ancient Tomb.
"Could this thing..." I muttered to myself, "be some kind of time-travel device?"
Before Xiao Longnü could answer, the jade pendant suddenly emitted a faint blue light! Immediately following, the entire cave began to tremble, and gravel fell in a rustle.
"What's going on?!" I pulled Xiao Longnü over, shielding her beneath me.
Yang Guo was also awakened: "An earthquake?"
The blue light grew increasingly intense, finally forming a light barrier that enveloped the three of us. A familiar dizziness washed over me—it was exactly the same as the last time we time-traveled!
"Hold on tight to me!" I shouted amid the whistling wind, clutching Xiao Longnü with one hand and grabbing Yang Guo with the other.
Countless fragments of images flashed before my eyes, finally freezing in front of an elegant country estate. The three of us tumbled together, crashing onto the bluestone slabs.
"Ow..." I rubbed my backside and sat up. "Is this... the Tomb of the Living Dead?"
The architecture before us differed slightly from what we had seen last time; it looked much newer, and the entrance lacked the "Tomb of the Living Dead" plaque.
"Who dares trespass!" A crisp cry rang out, followed by a flash of sword light as a long sword came to rest right against my throat.
Wielding the sword was a girl of seventeen or eighteen with almond-shaped eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, and picturesque features—none other than a young Lin Chaoying!
"Senior Lin!" I quickly raised my hands in surrender. "It's us! Huanxi and Xiao Longnü!"
Lin Chaoying narrowed her eyes, thrusting the sword tip another half-inch forward: "Nonsense! I don't know any Xiao Longnü!"
Only then did it dawn on me—oh right, at this point in time, Xiao Longnü hadn't even been born yet!
"Wait!" I said, a flash of inspiration hitting me. "Wang Chongyang loves eating the osmanthus cake from the Li family shop in the south of the city!"
Lin Chaoying blinked in surprise: "You... how do you know that?"
"Because..." I lowered my voice, "I'm from the future!"
She eyed the three of us suspiciously, her gaze lingering longest on Xiao Longnü: "This girl in white... actually looks somewhat like me..."
Xiao Longnü stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Junior Xiao Longnü pays respects to Founding Master."
"Founding Master?" Lin Chaoying nearly jumped. "Am I really that old?!"
Yang Guo was quick-witted too, immediately following suit: "Greetings, Founding Granny!"
Lin Chaoying: "......"
After some explanations (along with my displaying modern items like my smartphone), Lin Chaoying finally believed we were time travelers. She excitedly grabbed my hand: "That's wonderful! Finally, someone who can understand what I'm saying!"
As it turned out, Lin Chaoying had just time-traveled to the Northern Song dynasty not long ago and was suffering from a lack of anyone who could understand her "modern mindset."
"So..." I asked her quietly, "you're really a physics graduate student?"
"A Ph.D. candidate at MIT!" She lifted her chin proudly. "Researching quantum physics!"
My knees went weak: "Please accept this kowtow from a humble layman, O Great Master!"
Lin Chaoying giggled as she helped me up: "Come, let me show you my laboratory!"
Her so-called "laboratory" was hidden beneath the country estate, resembling nothing less than a mini science museum! The walls were plastered with blueprints, various metal parts sat on tables, and in the corner, there was even a hand-cranked generator!
"Are all these..." I was dumbstruck.
"Parts for a spacetime device!" she explained excitedly. "Unfortunately, materials are limited, so this is as far as I could get."
Xiao Longnü and Yang Guo were completely transfixed. Yang Guo pointed at a copper disc: "What is this object? It spins all by itself!"
"A simple generator," Lin Chaoying said smugly. "Too bad the power output is too small; it can only light up a tiny lightbulb."
With that, she pressed a switch, and a glass sphere truly emitted a faint glow! Yang Guo retreated three steps in terror: "Sor... sorcery!"
"This is called science!" Lin Chaoying declared, hands on her hips.
Xiao Longnü, however, looked thoughtful: "Senior Lin, these patterns..." she pointed to a blueprint on the wall, "bear an extreme resemblance to the murals in the Ancient Tomb."
Lin Chaoying's eyes lit up: "You've been to my Ancient Tomb? That's what I built a hundred years from now!" She grabbed Xiao Longnü's hand. "Quick, tell me, are my mechanisms still there?"
Xiao Longnü nodded. "Most are intact, except..."
"Except what?"
"There was a disc device. The moment Huanxi touched it, we time-traveled."
Lin Chaoying whipped around to face me: "You activated the Spacetime Compass?" Before I could answer, she grabbed my wrist: "Let me check your pulse!"
As her fingers rested on my pulse, her expression shifted from surprise to wild joy: "Indeed! You have Congenital True Qi within you! This is precisely the energy source the spacetime device needs!"
I was utterly bewildered: "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means..." Her eyes shone with brilliance, "I can send you home!"
"Home?" Subconsciously, I glanced at Xiao Longnü, who lowered her eyelids, her expression unreadable.
Lin Chaoying was already rummaging excitedly through boxes and cabinets: "As long as I adjust the parameters and use your true qi as a guide... theoretically, directional time travel is entirely possible!"
She fished out a metal disc, identical to the one in the Ancient Tomb: "This is my prototype machine!"
I swallowed hard: "Can I... really go back?"
"Of course!" Lin Chaoying patted her chest. "I'm an MIT Ph.D.!" She paused. "It will take a few days of preparation, though."
That evening, we stayed at Lin Chaoying's estate. Yang Guo was filled with curiosity about everything, especially my smartphone. I taught him to play Snake, and he had a blast playing it.
"Brother Huanxi, can you give me this 'hand chicken'?" he asked with big, hopeful eyes.
"It's called a smartphone," I corrected with a smile. "Though once the battery dies, it just becomes a brick."
"A brick?"
"Meaning... it becomes useless."
Xiao Longnü stood alone under the corridor, staring blankly at the moon. I walked over and handed her a can of cola—the very last one I had dug out of my bag.
"Want to try some?" I pulled the tab. "A specialty from my hometown."
She took a cautious sip, immediately wrinkling her nose at the sting of the carbonation: "...A strange taste."
"You get used to it." Leaning against the railing, I too gazed at the moon. "Um... Lin Chaoying said she can send me back."
"Mm," she acknowledged softly.
"I..." My throat felt dry. "I was thinking..."
"You should go back," Xiao Longnü said suddenly. "That world is your true place."
I turned to look at her. The moonlight cast a silver halo over her, making her unrealistically beautiful. "But..."
"There are no buts," she said firmly. "You don't belong here."
A sharp pain pierced my heart: "And what about you?"
"I will return to the Ancient Tomb and continue living with Guo'er." She paused. "We were merely passing acquaintances; there's no need to dwell on it."
She spoke so casually, yet I clearly saw the knuckles of the hand holding the cola can turning white.
"Passing acquaintances?" I gave a bitter laugh. "I nearly died several times for you, and you're just brushing me off like this?"
Xiao Longnü finally turned to look at me, a crystalline glimmer seeming to flash in her eyes: "Then what do you want me to do?"
I was momentarily at a loss for words. Indeed, what could I ask of her? Come back to the modern world with me? Or should I stay here? Neither choice was realistic.
"At least..." my voice trembled, "say that you'll miss me?"
She gave me a deep look, then turned and left: "...Rest early."
I stood alone in the moonlight, a heavy ache binding my chest. I tilted my head back and finished off the remaining cola, but couldn't taste any flavor at all.
The next morning, I was awakened by the sound of a zither. Following the music, I found Lin Chaoying playing the zither in a pavilion, with Wang Chongyang seated across from her, the atmosphere between them subtle and delicate.
"Huanxi!" Seeing me, Lin Chaoying immediately beckoned. "Come quickly!"
I bit the bullet and walked over. Wang Chongyang nodded in greeting: "Young Hero Huan."
"Greetings, Daoist Master Wang," I returned the bow, thinking to myself that this was the future number one martial artist in the world, yet right now he was remarkably young.
Lin Chaoying leaned close to my ear: "Do me a favor and piss him off!"
"Huh?"
Before I could react, she suddenly linked her arm through mine, her voice rising an octave: "Huanxi, dearest, did you sleep well last night?"
The teacup in Wang Chongyang's hand visibly shook.
My scalp tingled: "F... fairly well..."
"I specially prepared new bedding for you~" Lin Chaoying said affectations-laden, leaning against me.
Wang Chongyang's expression grew darker and darker until he finally couldn't help standing up: "Chaoying, this Young Hero Huan is..."
"A new friend I've made~" Lin Chaoying blinked. "Much more interesting than certain wooden blocks who don't understand romance!"
Now I understood completely—she was using me as a human prop! Just as I was about to explain, my peripheral vision caught Xiao Longnü standing not far away with a pale face.
"Dragon Girl!" I panicked and broke away from Lin Chaoying.
Xiao Longnü turned and walked away. I rushed after her: "Wait! It's not what you think!"
She stopped at the corridor's turn and said coldly, "It has nothing to do with me."
"How could it have nothing to do with you?" I blurted out frantically. "I... I'm the one who likes you!"
As soon as the words left my mouth, both of us froze.
Xiao Longnü's eyes widened, her lips trembling slightly: "What... are you talking nonsense about..."
"I'm not talking nonsense!" Since it was out in the open, I decided to throw caution to the wind. "From the very first time I saw you, I... I..."
"You what?" Her voice was so soft it was barely audible.
"I couldn't forget you ever again," I took a deep breath. "I know it's absurd, we come from different eras, different worlds... but I just..."
"Enough," Xiao Longnü interrupted me. "You have to go back in the end."
"What if I don't go back?"
She snapped her head up: "What?"
"I said..." I mustered my courage, "what if I want to stay?"
A storm of emotions flashed through Xiao Longnü's eyes before finally settling into stillness: "...It's not worth it."
"Whether it's worth it or not is up to me to decide," I stepped forward and boldly grasped her hand. "A future without you is not what I want."
Her hand trembled slightly in my palm, yet she didn't pull it away.
"You two!" Lin Chaoying's voice suddenly cut in. "Go be lovey-dovey somewhere else!"
Xiao Longnü and I separated as if electrocuted. Lin Chaoying stood with her hands on her hips not far away, a knowing grin on her face: "The Spacetime Compass is ready. Want to give it a try?"
My heart tightened: "So fast?"
"What, reluctant to leave?" She looked at Xiao Longnü with a mischievous smile. "Or... is someone reluctant to let you go?"
Xiao Longnü turned and walked away, but I distinctly saw the tips of her ears turning beet red.
Lin Chaoying patted my shoulder: "Have you thought it over? Do you really want to stay?"
I gazed at Xiao Longnü's retreating figure and nodded heavily: "Yeah."
"Even if you can never go back? Even if you never see your family and friends again?"
"...My parents passed away long ago," I gave a bitter smile. "Over there... there's nothing much tying me down."
Lin Chaoying looked thoughtful: "Alright then. Still, you need to come try the compass; I need to record the data."
Following her into the laboratory, I saw the metal disc positioned in the center of the room, surrounded by all sorts of copper wires and strange devices.
"Step up," Lin Chaoying directed me. "Relax, don't resist."
I stepped onto the disc as instructed. She began adjusting various dials and switches, finally pressing a certain button.
The disc emitted a hum, and the familiar blue light gradually began to brighten.
"Strange..." Lin Chaoying frowned as she looked at the instrument panel. "The energy reading isn't right..."
Suddenly, the blue light flared brilliantly! The entire room began to vibrate violently!
"Oh no!" Lin Chaoying cried out in alarm. "Someone is interfering!"
"What?" I was struck dumb with horror.
The sounds of fighting echoed from outside, followed by Yang Guo's shout: "Brother Huanxi! Someone's broken in!"
The next second, the laboratory door was kicked open, and three figures in black rushed in brandishing sabers! The leader sneered, "Time traveler, we've finally found you!"
Lin Chaoying reacted with lightning speed, snatching a copper kettle from the table and hurling it: "Get out of my laboratory!"
A man in black swung his saber to parry, while the other two lunged straight at me. I instinctively jumped off the disc, causing the blue light to destabilize and refract wildly around the room.
"Don't touch the device!" Lin Chaoying yelled frantically. "It will trigger a spacetime turbulence!"
It was already too late. One of the men in black severed the main cable connected to the disc, and the blue light instantly turned into violent bolts of electricity darting across the room!
"Get down!" Lin Chaoying tackled me to the floor as a beam of blue light swept right over our heads, striking that man in black. He vanished without even letting out a scream!
Seeing this, the remaining two men in black retreated in terror: "Sor... sorcery!"
Xiao Longnü and Yang Guo burst in at that moment and immediately joined the fray. Xiao Longnü's maiden sword flashed like a silver snake, instantly piercing one man's wrist, while Yang Guo used his dog-beating staff to trip another.
"Let's get out of here!" Lin Chaoying grabbed me and bolted toward the exit. "This place is going to collapse!"
The moment we burst through the door, a massive explosion sounded behind us. The shockwave knocked us flat on our faces, and the entire laboratory was swallowed by the blue light!
When the smoke and dust cleared, the laboratory had been reduced to ruins, and those two men in black had vanished without a trace.
"My equipment..." Lin Chaoying sat on the ground, tears welling up. "Ten years of hard work..."
Xiao Longnü helped her up: "As long as people are safe, that's what matters."
Yang Guo anxiously checked me for injuries: "Brother Huanxi, who were those people?"
"I don't know..." I panted, "but they were clearly coming for me."
Lin Chaoying suddenly remembered something: "They called you a 'time traveler'... Could they be from the Spacetime Administration?"
"Spacetime Administration?" I looked blank. "What's that?"
"An organization that theoretically shouldn't exist..." Lin Chaoying frowned. "They specialize in hunting down time travelers to prevent history from being altered."
My heart tightened: "Then they..."
"Will come again," Lin Chaoying said gravely. "We must leave this place."
Xiao Longnü nodded: "We return to the Ancient Tomb."
"No," Lin Chaoying shook her head. "That place is too conspicuous." She thought for a moment. "I know a place. Follow me!"
And so, after hurriedly packing some essentials, we followed Lin Chaoying and left the estate. Before leaving, I glanced back at the ruins with a jumble of emotions churning in my heart.
Perhaps this was fate. A modern world I could no longer return to, an ancient era fraught with danger, and... the white-robed girl beside me for whom I was willing to forsake everything.
Xiao Longnü seemed to sense my gaze and gently squeezed my hand: "Let's go."
Her hand was cool, yet it left my heart burning hot.