Chapter 193: Jade Tree in the Wind Is Gu Qing

Lady Wang, you wouldn't want the martial world to know your father is Ding Chunqiu, would you?

Lady Wang, you wouldn't want the martial world to know about the secret manuals inside the Langhuan Jade Cave, would you?

Lady Wang, you wouldn't want Yuyan to discover her real father is someone else, would you?

Lady Wang, you're riddled with weaknesses—why don't you wipe your sweat first?

Under Gu Qing's verbal interrogation, Lady Wang was left trembling, drenched in sweat, utterly defenseless, and could only nod, leading Gu Qing toward the Langhuan Jade Cave.

"You promise you won't harm me or Yuyan, right?"

Before activating the mechanism to open the Langhuan Jade Cave, Lady Wang turned to Gu Qing and asked.

Gu Qing knew too much about Lady Wang's affairs; she knew she had no chance to resist. His promise was her only hope.

"Of course."

Gu Qing assured her.

Only then did Lady Wang lead Gu Qing into the Langhuan Jade Cave.

It was dusk outside, where shimmering light danced beautifully, but inside the Langhuan Jade Cave, candles had long been lit. As Gu Qing and Lady Wang entered, a young girl sat before a desk, flipping through a book; only when she heard Lady Wang call out "Yuyan" did she turn around.

Even with her back turned, the girl's slender figure was already striking. Now, as she turned slightly, her beauty was ethereal—her delicate brows carried a faint youthfulness, making her like a flower in bud, a pearl newly formed. Though not possessing twelve points of radiance, she exuded a quiet inner luminance, and with the scroll in her hands, she resembled a celestial librarian.

"Mother…"

Wang Yuyan called out, her gaze naturally falling on Gu Qing.

Wang Yuyan had always lingered around the Mantuo Mountain Villa and Yanzi Village; among all eligible young men she'd met, only Murong Fu had been refined, handsome, and effortlessly elegant, drawing her quiet affection. But now, seeing Gu Qing, she felt as if the literary phrases—"face like polished jade," "graceful as a jade tree," "noble as gold and jade"—had suddenly taken tangible form, and she found herself studying him longer than she intended.

"This is Gu Qing. He came with Deng Baichuan and the others to the Mantuo Mountain Villa to browse a few manuals."

Lady Wang introduced him.

Hearing he was brought by Deng Baichuan, Wang Yuyan assumed he was a new friend of Murong Fu's, and naturally felt more favorably toward him. She smiled sweetly and asked, "Which manual are you looking for?"

She knew every manual in the Langhuan Jade Cave.

"The manual for Xiao Wu Xiang Gong."

Gu Qing replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Lady Wang's expression subtly changed.

"I've heard Xiao Wu Xiang Gong is an extremely powerful Daoist internal art, but I've never seen it."

Wang Yuyan said.

"You'll see it soon."

Gu Qing's gaze swept the room, then walked straight to a bookshelf marked with the words "Green Ox Heads West, Purple Qi Comes East." He opened the hidden panel and removed all the books inside.

Gu Qing knew this place inside out.

Wang Yuyan took the ledger and read the first entry under "Jia": a passage from the Dao De Jing.

"In ancient times, those skilled in the Dao were subtle, mysterious, and profoundly penetrating—too deep to be understood. Precisely because they cannot be understood, we force descriptions upon them: cautious as one crossing a river in winter, hesitant as one fearing neighbors on all sides."

This passage described those who had attained the Dao's rhythm—divinely responsive, profoundly unfathomable, formless and subtle, capable of boundless transformation—the very essence of Xiao Wu Xiang Gong.

Gu Qing flipped through Xiao Wu Xiang Gong entirely. The text was written in secret script, decipherable only by those who understood it. Using his Good Deeds, he memorized every line, then compared them and said, "Ding Chunqiu has Volume Six?"

Xiao Wu Xiang Gong originally had eight volumes; one was currently missing.

Wang Yuyan naturally knew of Ding Chunqiu and immediately looked at Lady Wang.

"Correct," Lady Wang nodded.

The Mantuo Mountain Villa had endured in the martial world because Lady Wang dared to target the sons of imperial officials—her greatest safeguard was Ding Chunqiu, the Star Pavilion Monster, reviled by all. Ding Chunqiu often returned to the villa to study its manuals and refine his martial arts.

Originally, Jiumozhi had stolen Xiao Wu Xiang Gong from the villa, leaving one volume missing. Now that Gu Qing saw the gap, he wasn't surprised. To truly complete the set, he'd still need to meet Ding Chunqiu or Li Qiushui.

Gu Qing looked at Lady Wang and asked, "Do you know the secret code?"

The novel mentioned the code, but only sparingly. If he could fully decipher it, he could begin unraveling Xiao Wu Xiang Gong's mysteries ahead of time.

Lady Wang shook her head. "I don't know."

Lady Wang had only planned to study Xiao Wu Xiang Gong after Duan Yu took Wang Yuyan away from the villa and she met Ding Chunqiu—she was like someone guarding a mountain of treasure without knowing how to mine it.

Gu Qing returned the manual to Wang Yuyan, then swept his gaze over Lady Wang's chest and said, "I understand."

Lady Wang's brain had grown right here.

Lady Wang clenched her lips in anger and quickly glanced at Wang Yuyan, who, having taken the manual, was staring fixedly at Gu Qing's hands.

!

Lady Wang studied closely: Gu Qing's knuckles gleamed like polished jade, pale and translucent—his skin was even finer than Wang Yuyan's.

"The Celestial Longevity Eternal Youth Art?"

Lady Wang suddenly asked.

In the revised edition, the Eight Directions Sole Sovereign Art was changed to the Celestial Longevity Eternal Youth Art, one of its effects being eternal youth.

Qiu Chuji, practicing Quanzhen martial arts, retained his youthful appearance for decades. Xiaolongnu, practicing the Ancient Tomb School arts, did the same. Yue Buqun, after studying the Purple Xia Scripture, at nearly sixty, suddenly looked forty again.

Youthful retention is typically a side effect of profound internal arts—but this Eternal Youth Art carried a permanent effect.

"Something like that."

Gu Qing replied coolly. As the husband of both Mist Flower Palace mistresses, he knew the mysteries of Mingyu Gong intimately. After cultivation, Mingyu Gong grants eternal youth and makes one grow younger with practice. In The Legendary Twins, when Yao Yue broke through the ninth level, within days, Xiao Yuer found her looking several years younger.

Lady Wang's heart stirred, about to speak—when she saw Gu Qing had already turned to browsing the manuals within the cave.

Gu Qing's martial cultivation was already profound; every technique he saw now appeared to him from a height of mastery. Yet his pursuit of martial truth never ceased. As he browsed manuals, he memorized any brilliant moves he found, while ordinary techniques merely broadened his martial horizons.

His pace was swift. Wang Yuyan stood beside him, feeling he didn't look like a reader—yet he turned each page with solemn care.

Unaware, two hours passed. Suddenly, noise erupted outside.

Hearing it, Gu Qing set down the manual and walked out. Near the door, a maid from the Mantuo Mountain Villa arrived to report.

"Madam, we've captured that adversary."

At once, Lady Wang rushed out. Wang Yuyan followed. In the courtyard, they saw Mu Wanhui dressed entirely in black, bound by the villa's maids, with several members of the Murong family standing nearby.

"Madam," Deng Baichuan said, "as soon as we realized this girl was the assassin, we mobilized our people and finally caught her."

This was the Murong family's apology to the Wang family.

Lady Wang's gaze passed over Deng Baichuan and fixed on Mu Wanhui in her black attire.

But Gu Qing smiled and spoke: "Miss, is this how you planned to enter the Mantuo Mountain Villa?"

Before coming to the villa, Gu Qing had invited Mu Wanhui to come with him; she insisted on coming alone.

Now, hearing his question, Mu Wanhui turned her face away.

(End of Chapter)

(End of chapter)