Chapter 2

Standing at the foot of Mount Lu, Feng Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged on a stone platform, gazing into the distance at the Yangtze River flowing eastward, and looking down at the continuous mountain ranges below. The white mist on the mountain gently wrapped around his body, swirling and circling.

Feng Xiaoxiao felt the spiritual energy slowly entering his body, spiraling down into his dantian. This sensation was extremely comfortable, every pore on his body opening up, as if they were all cheering together. He took a deep breath, sinking it into his dantian, and pushed the slowly rotating inner energy, assimilating the spiritual energy that had entered his dantian, making it one with himself. Suddenly, the spiritual energy that had entered his body was all repelled by the dantian, causing a slight pain in his lower abdomen. The inner energy in the dantian rapidly contracted, forming a small cocoon-like mass.

Feng Xiaoxiao was greatly alarmed; this had never happened before. He quickly got up and ran down the mountain. His grandfather was now in his master's small house. He was well-informed and could surely explain why this was happening.

As soon as he entered his master's small house, Feng Xiaoxiao's heart raced. Since practicing the "Calm Heart Technique," his intuition had become astonishing, always sensing danger in advance. Now, he felt a great sense of foreboding.

Sure enough, Wang Sanpao was lying motionless on the ground beside the table. A chair was overturned next to him, and a pen had fallen to the floor.

Feng Xiaoxiao quickly helped his master up, but when he touched him, he felt as if he had no bones, his body completely limp. Just as he was at a loss, Wang Sanpao opened his eyes and weakly said, "Mr. Feng... go... go and meet your grandmother... and parents."

Feng Xiaoxiao's eyes were red, his throat feeling as if it were blocked, unable to speak. He could only nod frantically. He had long known that his master had many internal injuries and that this day would come, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Wang Sanpao opened his mouth but made no sound. He weakly pointed to the table beside him, where there was a letter and a note.

The letter was addressed to Wang Sanpao's daughter, while the note was for Feng Xiaoxiao. The handwriting was very messy: "Xiao'er, when you read this letter, if I am already dead, bury me in the forest beside the Three-Step Spring. If I am not dead but cannot speak, take me there." The last dot of the character "go" was drawn out, even tearing the paper.

Feng Xiaoxiao quickly put down the letter, picked up his master, and rushed up the mountain.

Carrying someone up the mountain without causing them to feel jostled was a very tiring task. By the time he reached the forest, Feng Xiaoxiao's strength was completely drained, and the small cocoon in his dantian was continuously trembling and expanding, as if it were about to burst.

After placing his master on the ground, Feng Xiaoxiao slumped to the ground, his head lowered, his eyes red.

Wang Sanpao weakly twitched the corners of his mouth, his eyes looking toward the direction of the Three-Step Spring. Suddenly, he whispered, "Xiao Ru, in the depths of the mountains, where the clouds are deep, I have finally come..." and then closed his eyes and passed away.

Feng Xiaoxiao let out a loud cry, feeling dizzy and disoriented. In a daze, his dantian suddenly swelled, then contracted sharply. Countless spiritual energies rushed into his body, making him feel heavier and heavier, yet he was floating higher and higher, feeling so uncomfortable that he wanted to vomit blood.

At this moment, two men rushed over, both looking up with shocked expressions, shouting loudly.

"Xiao'er..."

"Xiao Xiao..."

They were his grandfather and father.

Feng Xiaoxiao struggled to open his eyes but suddenly felt his body become light, as if he were being squeezed out. His last thought was, "Grandma? Mom?" before he completely fainted.

"Grandma! Mom!" Feng Xiaoxiao suddenly sat up and shouted.

"You're awake?" A woman walked in, took his right hand, and felt his pulse.

"Where is this? Who are you?" Feng Xiaoxiao felt a slight pain in his head, lifted his hand, and rubbed it hard.

"This is my home, I am Wen Qingqing." She smiled seductively and asked, "Who are you? Where are you from?"

"I am Feng Xiaoxiao, I am at your home." Feng Xiaoxiao said blankly.

Wen Qingqing couldn't help but cover her mouth and burst out laughing, saying, "Haha! I never thought I would save a fool from the beach. From now on, I'll call you a fool, Feng Fool."

"Ah? Beach?" Feng Xiaoxiao widened his not-so-big eyes, opened his mouth wide, and looked foolish.

Wen Qingqing found his appearance quite amusing and laughed uncontrollably, her laughter clear and pleasant.

Feng Xiaoxiao touched his earlobe in a daze, not quite understanding the situation.

Wen Qingqing finally managed to suppress her laughter and ran out of the room, laughing again as soon as she stepped outside.

Feng Xiaoxiao was completely baffled. This woman was dressed in ancient attire; what was the reason for this?

After a while, a middle-aged man walked in, bowed, and said, "I am Yuan Chengzhi. My wife is Wen Qingqing. How are you feeling, young brother?"

"Yuan Chengzhi?" Feng Xiaoxiao was greatly startled and exclaimed.

"Exactly! Is everything well with you, young brother?" Yuan Chengzhi was somewhat surprised, not understanding why he was so shocked.

Feng Xiaoxiao's face turned pale, his eyes wide open. This... What is going on here?

Yuan Chengzhi thought there might be something wrong with his body and quickly walked over to feel his pulse.

However, Feng Xiaoxiao suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

When he woke up again, it was already the next day. He sat on the bed for a long time, his thoughts swirling.

This man named Yuan Chengzhi had a handsome face, his eyes gleaming with a hidden light. According to his grandfather, this person's internal skills had reached the level of "overflowing water," which should be the person from "The Blood Sword." His temples were slightly gray, indicating he was somewhat old, suggesting he had already retired and was now in the Qing Dynasty.

Feng Xiaoxiao felt dizzy. This... Is this a novel or reality? After calming down, he finally composed his thoughts and began to think carefully.

If he said he was from over a hundred years in the future, Yuan Chengzhi would think he was crazy. Since he was alone here, he decided to fabricate his background. After careful consideration, he felt there were no flaws and got up to thank Wen Qingqing for saving his life.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, he heard a seductive female voice say, "You are the fool that Master's wife mentioned!"

Feng Xiaoxiao looked up and was immediately stunned, his mouth dry and tongue-tied, thinking, how could there be such a seductive woman? He touched his earlobe to steady himself and said, "If you say so, then it must be."

The woman turned her head and giggled, covering her mouth with her sleeve, saying, "Master's wife was right; you are indeed a fool."

Feng Xiaoxiao had been practicing martial arts on Mount Lu since he was a child, and except for his mother and grandmother, he had rarely seen other women, let alone such a seductive one. Now, in his prime, he felt his blood rush to his face, almost spilling out of his nose. He quickly gathered his thoughts, closed his eyes, and silently recited the "Calm Heart Technique," acting as if women were tigers.

The woman found this very amusing, took a few steps forward, and pressed her face close to his, no more than a hand's distance away, playfully swaying.

Feng Xiaoxiao was about to speak when he suddenly caught a whiff of fragrance and quickly opened his eyes, jumping back in shock.

The woman placed her hands on her hips and pouted, "Am I very ugly? Why do you avoid me?"

"No... I... I... I'm not..." Feng Xiaoxiao waved his hands, stammering, unable to form a complete sentence.

The woman's fox-like eyes rolled, and she smiled, walking slowly toward him with her hands behind her back.