Chapter 83: with translation of chapter title

Feng Yi followed Li Mochou through the forest, but saw the thickets deep; the deeper they went, the denser the woods became, until eventually they were so shaded that not a glimmer of moonlight could be seen. Hong Lingbo gazed at the lush, towering dark shadows, feeling inexplicably tense, and could not help but say: "Master, this Tomb of the Living Dead is built here—could there be mechanisms and traps?"

Feng Yi frowned slightly and said: "I told you, stop calling her Master—why can't you remember?"

Feng Yi eased his tone and added: "If you really can't break the habit, then don't call her that while I'm around, or else I'll feel awkward."

Hong Lingbo's face flushed slightly, and she gave an affirmative hum.

"There's nothing outside, but my junior sister has the Jade Peak Formation, which is very formidable!" Li Mochou pondered for a moment: "Be careful."

The few of them, skilled in lightness, darted over grass and floated on branches; in a moment, Li Mochou suddenly stopped: "What's going on? Could something have changed inside the tomb?"

Feng Yi and Hong Lingbo saw a large stone tablet lying to one side; upon approaching, they saw four characters carved on it: "Tomb of the Living Dead."

Hong Lingbo knew this was the tomb's gate and asked: "Could there really be enemies?"

Li Mochou thought that with her junior sister and Granny Sun inside the tomb, the gate should not be wide open, so she proceeded forward cautiously.

Feng Yi saw the tomb gate askew, the interior pitch black and lightless, weeds overgrown; even before entering, a bleak, chill wind blew over him, and he thought: "For a living person to dwell here for years is pretty impressive!"

Yang Guo emerged flustered and panicked, having failed to close the tomb gate; Xiao Longnv was severely injured, Granny Sun was dead, and although Li Mochou did not know the details, she also guessed that something had happened inside the tomb.

He said: "Feng Yi, I can take you inside and also pass on the Five Poisons secret transmission, but you must let me settle matters with my junior sister first, and you are absolutely forbidden to help her!"

Feng Yi frowned slightly and said: "I can stay out of your sisters' affairs, but you also heard what Yang Guo said."

Li Mochou well knew Feng Yi's arrogance was boundless; to think of killing someone in his presence would be like making him sit awkwardly, a great loss of face.

Li Mochou said: "All right! Before Yang Guo returns, I won't harm her life!" She stepped forward, but suddenly her wrist tightened—Feng Yi had already grabbed it.

Li Mochou raised her arched brows: "You're shameless!!" A pure and innocent woman, yet Feng Yi could pull her as he pleased, making her tremble with anger.

Feng Yi's eyes flashed with sharp light, and he remained silent.

He knew Li Mochou was ruthless and cunning like a fox; though she did not know all the tomb's mechanisms, she knew some, and fearing she might seize the chance to scheme against him, he absolutely could not let go.

Li Mochou pondered, then understood, and gave Hong Lingbo a fierce glare.

She thought Feng Yi's knowledge of the tomb's interior came entirely from Hong Lingbo's telling.

Each person harbored private concerns and thoughts, mutually understood but unspoken; they entered one after another. Upon stepping through the chamber door, they were met with utter darkness. Feng Yi produced a fire striker from his sleeve, shook it in the wind, sparks flew, and a flame blazed in the dim passageway.

Li Mochou snorted: "Coward!" She led the way, the three turning corner after corner; the passage was extremely narrow, allowing only single file, so even if a thousand entered the tomb, they could only form a long line.

Feng Yi's heart pounded; no wonder the tomb is dangerous—without mentioning the falling Dragon‑Breaker stones, there was no way out, for hidden weapons like darts, knives and swords flew from all sides in the passageway, and ordinary people could not escape.

In fact, the Tomb of the Living Dead, though called a tomb, is actually an extremely spacious and grand underground warehouse.

Before Wang Zhongyang rose in rebellion against the Jin, he mobilized thousands of laborers, spending years to complete it, secretly storing weapons, armor and grain within as the foundation of the Shaanxi region, shaping its exterior like a tomb to deceive the Jin's eyes and ears.

Furthermore, fearing a Jin attack, the tomb's passages were labyrinthine, making it easy for outsiders to lose their way; inside, mechanisms were numerous and tightly arranged, and two hundred‑ton stones were placed at the gate, called the Dragon‑Breaker Stones.

After the righteous army's defeat, Wang Zhongyang hid here; the Jin lord learned of his whereabouts and sent dozens of masters before and after to kill him, each either captured or slain by him, with not a single one escaping.

Later the Jin emperor died suddenly; his successor, unaware of the circumstances, pardoned him, so the tomb's two Dragon‑Breaker Stones have never been used to this day—a fact known to both Li Mochou and Feng Yi.

The tomb's winding corridors meant that a single misstep would cause instant disorientation; fortunately, Li Mochou, who had lived there since childhood, led Feng Yi east and west, pushing open a door here, pulling aside a large stone there, and in moments the three arrived at a stone chamber.

Li Mochou pushed the door open; the chamber was pitch dark. She took the fire striker from Feng Yi's hand, lit the candle on the table, and its light revealed a white‑clad woman lying on her side on the bed.

Li Mochou instantly recognized her junior sister Xiao Longnv, though she had not expected her to lie so calmly and loftily, unaware whether she was deep in dream or simply ignoring her presence, and said: "Junior sister, how have you been?"

After a long silence, no one answered; Xiao Longnv kept her back to everyone, not turning her head at all. Li Mochou felt a flicker of anger, thinking: "This girl is so cold and aloof." She glanced back at Feng Yi.

Feng Yi thought that since Xiao Longnv was in this cottage, she would not scheme against him, so he released her hand.

Li Mochou gritted her teeth, stepped forward two paces, placed her hand on Xiao Longnv's body, felt her palm icy and piercing to the bone, and hastily turned her over.

They saw her eyes shut, her complexion ashen with a bluish tinge, devoid of vitality; her chest bore patches of blotchy bloodstains. Touching her mouth and nose revealed no breath, and a careful pulse check detected a faint beat, barely there, extremely weak.

In an instant, Li Mochou's heart filled with both hatred and pity.

Coming from the ancient tomb, she knew her junior sister trained on the cold jade bed, originally of utmost yin constitution; not knowing why she suffered grave injury and lost control, her body became even colder than ice.

When Xiao Longnv's face turned toward him, Feng Yi's bright eyes flashed with insight, and he realized what a sleeping beauty is.

The woman appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen; in this gloomy, chilly chamber she seemed to dwell amid smoke and mist, aside from her black hair her whole body was snow‑white, and even with closed eyes her exquisite, unearthly beauty and peerless grace were hard to conceal, yet in such a somber setting it evoked a feeling that she was neither wholly human nor ghost.

Although Xiao Longnv was actually over twenty, having grown up in the stone tomb with little exposure to sunlight, and practicing the Jade Maiden Divine Art, which reduces worry and care and delays aging, she appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen.

Feng Yi also sensed what Zhen Zhibing and Gongsun Zhi must have felt initially: such a beauty lying still, in this place heavy with yin energy, impure thoughts might not arise, but elsewhere, tsk tsk, trying to restrain one's heart would be exceedingly difficult.

Not only Feng Yi, but even the lovely Hong Lingbo, upon seeing Xiao Longnv's peerless beauty, was greatly astonished: "There really is such a peerless beauty in the world!" A feeling of shame arose, and she stammered: "What happened to her? Is she dead?"

Feng Yi shook his head: "She is injured!"

"Injured?" Hong Lingbo could not grasp it at once, thinking to herself: "My master's martial arts are peerless, shaking the martial world; even if my uncle cannot match him, he is certainly formidable. Given the winding, hard‑to‑enter passages here, who could wound her?"

Li Mochou's eyes flickered; normally she would have thought of subduing her junior sister and forcing her to hand over the Jade Maiden Scripture.

However, Xiao Longnv was now half‑dead, her life hanging by a thread, and furthermore, from Feng Yi she had learned much that she previously did not know.

Long‑dormant memories surfaced in her mind; she recalled twenty years ago, when she was already a graceful young lady, her master bringing back an infant, and the two of them jointly feeding the baby honey.

In a flash, the flowing years passed like water; many years went by swiftly, and now she had become the woman despised as a female demon, while the other had grown into a young lady just as she once was.

Li Mochou gazed at Xiao Longnv; though she felt neither sorrow nor joy, a faint, ineffable sense of despondency showed through.

Seeing her demeanor, Feng Yi pondered briefly and said: "Seeing you like this, do you still long for the Jade Maiden Scripture? Do you still harbor the wish to plunge a blade into her heart?"

Li Mochou's heart instantly turned icy cold, and a buzzing filled her ears.

Her hatred for Xiao Longnv actually stemmed from her master's partiality.

Seeing her junior sister in this state, she realized it was due to cultivation gone awry, and since it was not an internal art she knew, it must certainly be the Jade Maiden Scripture.

As for the master's nurturing kindness toward her, she now learned that it was actually because of her that the master suffered grave injury and died.

Thus, her persistence and hatred seemed to become a joke; for a moment her eyes lost focus, her heart grew deeply sorrowful, she was filled with grief, and silent tears streamed down, falling onto Xiao Longnv's cheeks.

The group remained silent; Feng Yi reflected that upon arriving here there were many martial treasures—Wang Zhongyang's arts, Lin Chaoying's arts, the Nine Yin True Classic, etc. —but how could he obtain them? He couldn't just claim there were clues beneath the tomb's coffins, could he?

His other advantages of foreknowledge could be passed off as hearsay, since as long as the involved parties were alive, such rumors become fact; but this one—how could he lead everything to the coffins?

He also did not know how much time had passed.

"Senior sister!"

Suddenly a clear, bell‑like voice rang out, echoing throughout the chamber.

Xiao Longnv suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils clear as crystal, looking at Li Mochou's familiar face, she said in surprise: "Are you crying? I just died a round, there's nothing scary about it."

Her speech was short of breath, yet she still sounded as delicate as a silver bell.

"Junior Sister..." Li Mochou saw her seeming to want to rise, and pressed down her arm.

Last night Xiao Longnv and Yang Guo practiced the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. Odd-numbered cycles are "Yin Advance", even-numbered are "Yang Retreat". Yang Guo practices the "Yang Retreat" skill, which he can stop at any time.

Xiao Longnv's "Yin Advance" practice, however, must be done in one breath, without the slightest hesitation midway; she had just reached a critical point in her training when a tree branch lightly flicked her, causing her to break out in a sweat all over, the inner breath that was rushing upward blocked in her dantian and could not rise again—this is a case of rebellious qi, and she immediately vomited blood and fainted.

Yang Guo carried her back to the ancient tomb, where she repeatedly vomited blood; knowing her injury was grave, she wanted to kill Yang Guo, but in the end could not bring herself to do it.

After Yang Guo left, she again vomited blood repeatedly, unable to receive nourishing blood and qi, and unable to practice her arts, she slipped into unconsciousness.

Until Li Mochou arrived, Xiao Longnv felt a hint of warmth and slowly woke; she tried to exert a little strength, then gave up, lying helplessly and said: "Senior Sister, I can't go on; carry me away, I'll take you to pay our respects……"

Yingying's gaze suddenly fell on Hong Lingbo and Feng Yi.

The woman herself didn't mind, but upon seeing Feng Yi, she closed her cherry lips and couldn't help but flash a cold light in her eyes.

Feng Yi met her gaze, feeling only that the woman's expression was icy, revealing no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness; he silently thought: "What kind of crappy martial art did Lin Chaoying create, turning a beautiful woman into a block of wood?"

Xiao Longnv coldly asked: "Who are you? Senior Sister, this place doesn't even allow you to come, how could you bring a man in?"

Li Mochou raised her brows, her face flushed with anger, her body trembling slightly, she struggled to suppress the emotions in her chest.

She hadn't expected that upon waking, her junior sister would scold her; the warm memories of the past had now turned into sorrowful indignation and resentment.

Feng Yi said: "I am Feng Yi, I am Yang…"

Xiao Longnv interrupted: "I didn't ask for your name, get out!" She showed clear impatience.

Feng Yi furrowed his brows, thinking: "This woman is truly heartless, fine, let's see if you can stay cold after learning that your lover's adoptive father killed your master."

Xiao Longnv coldly said: "Senior Sister, you don't heed your master's words, nor your grandmother's; fine, I don't want to speak with you anymore, take him out, I don't wish to see you." She said this while slowly closing her eyes.

She spoke with refinement, yet her tone carried authority, but at this moment she seemed unable to grasp the situation.

But see Li Mochou slowly rise, her gaze fixed on Xiao Longnv, asking: "The grandmother truly left instructions, no men may set foot in the ancient tomb.

Yet I only brought one man into the tomb, while you have taken a man as your disciple—who is really disobedient? What right do you have to act high and mighty here?"

Xiao Longnv didn't even glance at Li Mochou, coldly saying: "You've seen my disciple, that's good!

I am the mistress of the Tomb of the Living Dead; he was entrusted to me by Granny Sun, so I accepted him."

Li Mochou knew this junior sister was stubborn and obstinate; even the master would often indulge her three points, seeing her speak with such righteous confidence, it was no surprise.

Feng Yi couldn't help thinking: "This woman clearly has no control over her life or death, yet she remains steadfast, one is one, two is two—is she foolish, or is her mind pure?"

Suddenly Li Mochou asked: "Where is Granny Sun?"

"She's already dead!"

Li Mochou suddenly understood why the tomb gate stood open, the passage dark and cold, devoid of any light.

"Is that so?" Li Mochou murmured, lost in thought: "She raised you, you obeyed her, that's not bad either."

She knew Granny Sun had served the master as a maid; after the master's death, the two depended on each other in the tomb, Xiao Longnv heeding her words was only natural.

Raising her voice, she declared: "I have come today for two matters: first, to ask how the master died; second, to produce the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra."

Li Mochou originally saw her like this, a soft feeling rose in her heart, but seeing Xiao Longnv still aloof, she wanted to see what would happen if she knew everything.

Xiao Longnv trembled at the words, her fingers clenched involuntarily, she couldn't help but lift her eyes and stare fixedly: "Strange, say you've changed, yet you ask about the master, yet you also ask for the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra—shows your heart hasn't changed!"

Li Mochou's mouth twitched, a half‑smile: "I've been obstinate all my life, can my heart really change so easily?"

Xiao Longnv fell silent, then suddenly said: "How you are, I can't control, but how dare you still have the face to ask how the master died—she never understood even to her last breath." She then began coughing incessantly.

Li Mochou asked: "What didn't she understand?"

Xiao Longnv's coughing eased, she said: "The master never understood to her death, she clearly sealed that villain's pressure points, why did you go and unseal them for the villain, letting the master fall to his poisonous hand?"

Li Mochou replied: "I didn't unseal his pressure points!"

Seeing Li Mochou's solemn expression, devoid of jest, Xiao Longnv stared blankly: "Impossible! The master's pressure‑point technique is superb, you know that; without you unsealing him, how could he hurt anyone?"

Feng Yi chuckled: "Under heaven, nothing is strange; could there not be a skill that misses the pressure point?"

He spoke abruptly, Xiao Longnv's face showed disbelief, she said: "I don't talk to strange men!"

Feng Yi gave a cold laugh, silent; he had seen it—Xiao Longnv was overly confident in her own martial arts.

"Moreover..." Xiao Longnv gasped: "The master never left the mountain because you caused trouble outside, fled back to Zhongnan Mountain, the master came out of the tomb to meet you, though she suffered a loss, she still brought you back.

Yet you teamed with villains to plot against the master, letting her suffer grave injuries and die—how dare you still ask for the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra?"

At this moment Xiao Longnv had no strength to resist, yet her expression remained calm.

Li Mochou softly snorted: "It's true I brought the person back, but do you know who the villain who killed the master is?"

Xiao Longnv said: "The master never told me. She bade me keep my heart free of love, hate, joy, or anger, saying that if I knew the villain's fate, I would never forget it, and might later go seek revenge."

Li Mochou hearing this hated the master's favoritism even more, coldly saying: "Is it that the master won't tell you, or that you deliberately pretend not to know?"

Xiao Longnv slightly furrowed her brows.

"Is it the West Poison Ouyang Feng?" Hong Lingbo whispered.

"Ah..." This came out of nowhere, Xiao Longnv hurriedly widened her eyes, glanced at Hong Lingbo, quite astonished: "How do you know?"

Feng Yi's ears twitched, his gaze flicked to the door, hearing heavy breathing outside, he knew Yang Guo had arrived, thinking: "Surely he's using moral blackmail to settle the Quanzhen–Ouyang Feng feud."

He understood Yang Guo, this man is no paragon of virtue; once his intent is clear, he always has a way out, so this is no surprise.

Then came Li Mochou's cold voice: "Is that man really the West Poison Ouyang Feng?"

"It's Ouyang Feng!" Xiao Longnv nodded, saying: "Granny Sun said it was definitely Ouyang Feng!"

Xiao Longnv had spent years living a tranquil, unperturbed life; besides, she had cultivated internal arts since childhood, so she hardly felt joy, anger, sorrow, or joy; but now, gravely wounded, her strength waned, she couldn't help but miss her master's kindness, and when Hong Lingbo reminded her, her gaze grew hazy, she said: "Granny Sun said, in the world only a few could harm the master—namely the East Heretic, West Poison, South Emperor, North Beggar; the one who injured the master must be the West Poison Ouyang Feng.

Because Ouyang Feng is notorious as a villain, yet the master refused to speak his name even to her death.

Granny Sun asked her: 'Is it Ouyang Feng? Is it Ouyang Feng?' The master always shook her head, smiled faintly, and then breathed her last."

The several of them each had their own thoughts, fell silent for a while.

"The master is dead, will you avenge her?" Li Mochou suddenly interjected.

"Revenge?" Xiao Longnv regained her composure, speaking calmly: "Whether I take revenge or not is my business; what does it matter to you?"

Li Mochou clenched her teeth and said, "My master is also your master; how can I not take revenge?"

Xiao Longnv fell silent, then sighed: "Not bad, you are also the master's disciple, but how will you take revenge? Where will you take revenge? Humph, if even the master can't win, can you?"

"If..." Li Mochou stared at Xiao Longnv, speaking word by word: "I know where he is, and I also have a way to take revenge."

Her gaze was fierce and overbearing; Xiao Longnv saw it for the first time today.

"Where is he?" Xiao Longnv, somewhat confused, asked: "What way is there to take revenge?"

Feng Yi raised his eyebrows: "Who!" Just then a sword light flashed from the doorway, heading straight for Li Mochou's chest.

Hearing Feng Yi's warning, Li Mochou gave a cold snort: "Trivial tricks!" She waved her horsetail whisk, its movements soft and continuous like autumn night drizzle, reaching everywhere.

Feng Yi had long known that Yang Guo had entered, but Hong Lingbo was greatly startled and snapped: "Yang Guo, what are you doing?"

Yang Guo gritted his teeth and glared, silent, the tip of his sword trembling; in an instant he thrust out four swords.

"Need I say more?" Li Mochou gave a faint cold smile: "This brat wants to kill and silence."

Yang Guo's eyebrows shot up, and he shouted sternly: "You demoness, you wounded me with your Ice Soul Silver Needles; this score isn't settled yet. If you're capable, let's go outside and decide the winner—why spout nonsense here?"

He took advantage of his emotional edge to befriend Qiu Chuji, and also leaned on his reputation in the martial world; furthermore, the Quanzhen Sect's leader Ma Yu was old and unwell, and the Six Disciples of Quanzhen plus Yin Zhiping truly could not defeat Ouyang Feng, so he had no choice but to go along with the situation.

After dismissing the Quanzhen Sect, Yang Guo asked Ouyang Feng whether he had killed his master's grandfather; Ouyang Feng's answer was confusing and contradictory, Yang Guo couldn't understand, so he told him that he himself was the West Poison Ouyang Feng, hoping to clear his mind.

Unexpectedly, when Ouyang Feng thought of himself as Ouyang Feng, he instead shouted and ran off on his own.

Yang Guo saw no point in pursuing him, so he returned to the Ancient Tomb; hearing several people discuss Ouyang Feng, he concealed himself, wanting to hear from his aunt whether Ouyang Feng had indeed killed his master's grandfather.

He had originally harbored doubts, but upon hearing Xiao Longnv's account of the facts, he fell into despair at once; Yang Guo had never before told Xiao Longnv that his adoptive father was the West Poison Ouyang Feng.

How clever he was, he realized that Li Mochou was about to reveal that he was Ouyang Feng's adopted son, in order to strike at his aunt.

Yang Guo could not allow that; he drew his sword, swift and vicious, each strike aimed at Li Mochou's vital points, leaving her no chance to speak.

But Li Mochou's profound martial arts far surpassed Yang Guo's; without her internal energy greatly depleted, how could she tolerate his attacks? She waved her horsetail whisk to block, all the while chuckling: "Hehe, do you think luring me out to kill me can hide the fact that Ouyang Feng is your adoptive father?"

Seeing Yang Guo, Xiao Longnv felt a mix of surprise and joy, about to speak to stop him, but hearing those words struck her like a thunderbolt, leaving her mind blank: "You're nonsense..." Xiao Longnv tried to raise her hand to pat the bed, but as soon as her fingers moved, they fell limp again.

She gasped heavily, voice hoarse from exhaustion: "You're nonsense..." With a wow, she spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Xiao Longnv had trained for years, her seven emotions and six desires long suppressed to near nothing, usually leaving her untroubled by anything; but now, gravely wounded, she had lost her self‑control.

Moreover, she and her master had dwelt together day and night in the Ancient Tomb, their affection quietly growing, their feelings deeply rooted; yet neither had clearly realized it. But when Xiao Longnv heard that her master had been killed by Yang Guo's adoptive father, it was too shocking, striking her like a bolt from the blue, and she involuntarily grew furious and anguished, vomiting blood and fainting once again.

(End of chapter)