Chapter 52

"Big brother, do you like me?" Qu Feiyang suddenly asked.

Yue Fangxing, of course, understood the meaning behind her words. Anyone who wasn't a fool could see what this little girl had been up to these past few days. He comforted her, saying, "I like you, of course I do. Who wouldn't like a clever little sister like you? Just don't be so reckless in the future."

Qu Feiyang struggled a bit, staring at him with wide eyes. "You know what I mean, answer me."

Yue Fangxing hesitated for a moment. Seeing her looking at him with pleading eyes, his heart softened. "You like me so much, how could I not like you!"

A smile appeared on Qu Feiyang's face. "Then I'm not alone anymore..." She said, then began to drift off into unconsciousness.

Yue Fangxing quickly carried her and rushed to the stone chamber where the jade bed was located, hoping to use its cold energy to keep her conscious. It was a critical moment, and if she fell unconscious, she wouldn't be able to actively heal herself, which would worsen her injuries.

Although Yue Fangxing hadn't explored the stone chamber where the jade bed was located, he knew its approximate position from the map. He immediately used his lightness skill, winding his way through the passages, and soon found the chamber. Inside, the jade bed was still there. He quickly placed Qu Feiyang on it and helped her sit in a meditative position.

The jade bed was made by Lin Chaoying, the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, using the cold jade gifted by Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen Sect. It was used for healing. This cold jade, the coldest and most yin substance in the world, was dug from under hundreds of feet of ice in the far north. Practicing internal skills on this jade bed not only made one year of practice equivalent to ten years of normal practice, but it also cleared the heart of fire, allowing one to practice with full vigor without fear of negative consequences.

Stimulated by the cold, Qu Feiyang's drowsy consciousness became clear again. Seeing Yue Fangxing beside her, she murmured, "Big brother, are we in the underworld? Why is it so cold?"

Yue Fangxing gently tapped her head and said, "What are you thinking? With me here, you won't die even if you want to." He then taught her a few incantations to guide the residual foreign energy in her body into the jade bed to dissipate and stabilize her injuries.

Stimulated by the cold, Qu Feiyang managed to stay conscious and followed his instructions. Yue Fangxing carefully watched over her.

Qu Feiyang's injuries were not actually very serious, but as a young girl, she had never experienced such severe injuries before and was naturally frightened. Yue Fangxing, seeing her expression, couldn't gauge the extent of her internal injuries and was also worried. In fact, Yue Fangxing's Huanyuan True Qi was under his control, and he had already withdrawn most of it when he heard her voice. The amount of true energy he had injected into Qu Feiyang's body was not much, but his sword was heavy, causing severe external injuries that looked frightening.

Seeing that Qu Feiyang had expelled the foreign energy from her body, Yue Fangxing also sat in a meditative position on the jade bed, facing her with his palms. He circulated the Yang-just True Qi from the *Pacifying Evil Sword Manual* to harmonize with the Yin-soft True Qi in her body, helping her heal. After seventy-two cycles, Qu Feiyang's injuries stabilized, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Watching her sleep, Yue Fangxing was troubled. Her internal injuries were stable, but her external injuries were another matter. Although there was no bleeding due to the blunt sword, several of her ribs were broken. If they were not set in time, she might be left with a disability.

He bit his lip, thinking that as someone from the modern era and a martial artist, why should he care about such things? He carefully undid Qu Feiyang's clothes and set her broken bones.

Over the next few days, although Qu Feiyang's injuries improved, she was still unable to move easily. Yue Fangxing was busy taking care of her, and although there were some awkward moments, Qu Feiyang had already expressed her feelings and was not shy. Yue Fangxing, having seen her upper body, also felt no embarrassment. He had a vague feeling that he might never be able to get rid of this little girl!

After about half a month, Qu Feiyang's injuries were much better, but her broken bones still needed time to heal. Feeling that her bones were weak, Yue Fangxing also taught her the *Yi Jin Duan Gu Zhang* (Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter) to practice diligently.

With some free time, Yue Fangxing began to carefully examine the ancient tomb to see if there were any other relics. Upon closer inspection, he found that many of the stone chamber doors were difficult to open. He spent a lot of effort breaking them open, but apart from some long-rotted living supplies and armor and weapons in a few chambers, most were empty. The biggest discovery was in a strangely symmetrical stone chamber, where he found martial arts techniques from both the Quanzhen Sect and the Ancient Tomb Sect carved on the walls. The carvings were well-preserved, likely due to the dryness of the tomb, unlike the previous underground stream where moisture had caused corrosion.

Yue Fangxing was delighted and made rubbings of all the carvings. Although the Quanzhen techniques lacked incantations, the Huashan Sect's martial arts, which originated from the Quanzhen Sect, still retained some traces of Quanzhen techniques, so he could try to complete them. As for the Ancient Tomb Sect's techniques, they were all there, although the *Jade Maiden Heart Sutra* required twelve more and twelve less, making it difficult to achieve great success. However, if he could derive a simpler technique from it, it would still be powerful. In the original story, Yang Guo had mastered most of it without meeting the twelve more and twelve less requirement. Moreover, the Ancient Tomb Sect not only had internal skills but also very refined boxing, swordsmanship, and especially lightness skills and hidden weapons, which were unparalleled in the world. Now that Qu Feiyang had cultivated Yin-soft internal skills and was inclined towards agility, it was suitable for her to practice. This way, she would have something to do after she recovered.

With this in mind, Yue Fangxing naturally wanted to leave after Qu Feiyang recovered. First, their relationship was awkward, and he hadn't decided how to handle this little girl. Second, he had been away from home for nearly two years, the longest he had ever been away, and naturally missed home. Third, the storm in the martial world was approaching, and he had some plans to help the Huashan Sect through the crisis.

In the following days, Yue Fangxing, besides practicing the Quanzhen and Ancient Tomb Sect techniques himself, also explained martial arts to Qu Feiyang, regardless of whether she understood them, just to help her remember. He also shared the key points of water practice he had summarized to help her in the future.

Hearing Yue Fangxing's detailed explanations, Qu Feiyang knew he would likely leave after she recovered, and she was naturally very reluctant. However, she understood that Yue Fangxing couldn't stay with her forever, and her status was awkward, making it impossible for her to follow him to Huashan. Moreover, she needed to practice martial arts to avenge herself, and the jade bed was very helpful for cultivating internal skills, so she couldn't leave easily. She could only accept it.

After another month, Yue Fangxing had finished explaining the key points of the Ancient Tomb Sect's techniques. Seeing that Qu Feiyang's injuries were much better, he decided to say goodbye. His martial arts had also progressed rapidly during this time. First, teaching Qu Feiyang had deepened his own understanding. Second, using the jade bed had greatly accelerated his cultivation of Yang-just True Qi. However, his martial arts were already at a high level, and he had mastered the key points of circulating true energy in his sleep in just a month. Now, even without the jade bed, he could勉强 achieve it, and staying longer would bring no significant benefits and would be inconvenient. Therefore, he decided to leave.

Although Qu Feiyang was reluctant, she knew it was already a rare feat to have delayed this long. The two said their tearful goodbyes, promising to meet again. Watching his retreating figure, tears involuntarily streamed down her face. Only after Yue Fangxing completely disappeared did Qu Feiyang wipe away her tears and return to the ancient tomb.