Volume 3: Qiongzhou. Chapter 22 of Wu Xing Volume: Heaven's Pit and Earth's Fissure, Fragrant Rice and Winding Smoke
At the beginning of the ninth day, Zan couldn't stop praising, saying: "What a wonderful natural creation, it's so amazing!" Lin Ming'er also nodded in agreement.
"Elder, this place is so treacherous and isolated from the world. Why did you two choose to live in seclusion here?" Lin Meng'er asked again.
"This will be clear tonight!" Madame Curved Blade gave her husband a mysterious smile.
They returned to the small courtyard in front of the thatched cottage again.
It was already noon, Lin Ming had not rested at all the night before last and yesterday, so he went to take a nap. On the ninth day, he sat on his bed and started practicing meditation. His internal injury had already recovered seven or eight tenths, but the more he practiced, the better it would be. One must know that in the path of martial arts, diligent practice is endless.
On the ninth day, he calmed down and heard a series of knife sounds. He thought that was Mrs. Curved Knife, who had already started preparing lunch in the kitchen.
On the ninth day, the Qi operation reached the Dan Tian, and he found that all the meridians in his body were unobstructed. His internal strength had been cultivated to the point where it was about to break through the seventh layer of the "Cang Yang Xuan Qing Qi" Qi operation boundary, but since his master was not by his side, he did not dare to confirm it. He could only feel an indescribable joy in his heart.
It was just that he obviously felt his senses were clearer than in the past few days, and even the sound of Madame Curved Knife chopping vegetables in the kitchen next to his neighbor's room could be heard clearly, which would have been absolutely unimaginable before yesterday!
Suddenly, he heard Madame Wan Dao say in a low voice: "Ah, you and I have been married for nearly thirty years, why must you be so suspicious of me?" Chu Jiu had no intention of eavesdropping at first, but he knew that the people of the Demon Sect often acted with deceit, and since his own master and sister were alone and defenseless, they couldn't afford not to be on guard.
But unexpectedly, Wu Gou didn't know that the elder was also in the kitchen. It seems that Elder Wu's martial arts skills surpassed those of Lady Wan Dao!
At the age of seventeen, he had been taught by a reputable school for ten years and was naturally an enemy of the demonic sect. The roots were deep and stubborn, and this idea of eavesdropping was not his sincere intention, but it was really hard to eradicate!
"Little Wan, we've been hiding in this secluded valley for nearly twenty years, and these have been the happiest times of my life. Unfortunately, they're about to pass us by. As for your feelings towards me, I'm well aware of them. But tell me, why did you take such great care to preserve that letter from Huang Zhidao?" Wu Gou asked in a low voice, his tone half-joking and half-jealous. It's likely that only he could get away with calling Madame Wan "Little Wan".
He directly called Huang Zhiji's name, seemingly familiar with him, and it seemed that the couple often mentioned him.
"You're at an age where you can't be considered young or old, how can you still talk like that? Be careful! If the two young men next door heard you, they'd be so embarrassed!" Madame Wan Dao smiled lightly and continued chopping vegetables without stopping.
"This young man is only nineteen years old, with an extraordinary bone structure and a strange pulse. He has also learned the authentic Xuanmen Heart Method, and his martial arts skills are extremely high. I'm afraid he's the best among the young disciples of this generation in the Jianghu. With our help to open up his Renmai, he will make rapid progress, but I'm afraid his internal energy hasn't reached a level where he can hear us from such a far distance." said Wu Gou Long Lao in a low voice.
He fell silent for a moment, then continued: "I've been thinking these past few days, I'm afraid that once we leave this heavenly pit and earthly crack, you won't be so good to me!" There was a hint of small annoyance in his tone.
The sound of the kitchen knife paused, and Chūjiū thought that Madame Curved Blade had stopped chopping vegetables. She heard her say: "You're misunderstanding, being too cautious. Today, the flying eagle divine letter has two reasons: first, it's a divine letter from the sect leader, so we must be careful to preserve it; second... second... Silver Spear Shixiong is after all my senior brother, and for over twenty years, he treated me with sincerity. Although I married you, he remained unmarried his whole life. How could I not be moved? Now that he's on the verge of death from severe injuries, he still managed to think of sending us a message to avoid this disaster. With all his heart, he wishes for our safety. As his junior sister, I haven't done anything for him yet. This is my senior brother's last handwriting; keeping it as a memento isn't excessive, don't you think?"
It turned out that she and the three of them had such a fate when they were young!
"Alas, no matter what, you were so good to your senior brother! I don't know if after I die, you'll be able to remember me like this!" Wu Gou's current state was like that of a young boy, petty and calculating. However, when these words reached Wan Dao Furen's ears, she could feel that this was also an expression of Wu Gou's deep love for her.
"Actually, you know my mind. After thirty years of marriage, how could I not? The pair of silver spears that Silver Spear Master had were made by me personally when we were practicing together back then. Seeing him on his deathbed, he still remembered to have these two young people bring them to me. You're jealous in your heart, but there's no need!" It turned out that the tears at the corner of Madame Curved Blade's eyes when they met on the ninth day of the new year were because she was crying for Silver Spear Master yesterday.
That Wu Gou elder saw that Mrs. Wan Dao was carefully collecting and treasuring the silver spear, so he started to get jealous.
"After seeing you treat the young man's injuries on the ninth day, I cried for half a night like a girl. Since marrying me, I've never seen you so heartbroken. The only thought that occurred to me was whether when this old man dies in the future, will you also cry for me?" Wu Gou said quietly, having apparently let go of his concerns.
"Don't talk nonsense, you also promised to wait until we're 80 years old and go together to the East Sea to watch the sunrise and sunset, and see the tide rise and fall!" Madame Wan Dao's voice seemed to be filled with emotion.
Afterwards, she started chopping vegetables again, and the two people's voices also became softer and softer, until on the ninth day, nothing could be heard anymore.
After a while, Madame Wan Dao came to call Lin Meng'er and Chu Jiu for lunch. When Chu Jiu saw that her eyes were slightly red, he naturally knew that she had also been deeply moved in the afternoon.
"Chu Jiu Xiaoxia, your junior sister Meng'er's surname is Lin. She should be the only daughter of your master, Ling Ruoqi, the 'Slanting Sun Divine Sword' of the Qingcheng sect!" Madame Wan Dao asked suddenly, as if it were just a casual remark, walking in front of Chu Jiu.
"Returning to the senior, it is indeed..." Although Jiǔ didn't know what Madame Wan Dao meant, he had been taught for over a decade in a prestigious school that forbade lying, so he replied. Upon hearing this, Madame Wan Dao seemed extremely delighted and didn't ask anything further.
At the dinner table, Madame Wan Dao quietly said a few words to Wu Gou Chang Lao, and then looked at Lin Fei Er again. Wu Gou Chang Lao was first startled, then took another careful look at Lin Fei Er, and a faint smile floated on his lips.
Although I had some insight on the ninth day, I was still in a fog and didn't know the reason.
He thought again of Silver Spear Elder Huang's last words to his junior sister before he died, which were truly inexplicable!
After dinner, everyone chatted for a while. As it was approaching dusk, Wu Goulong went into the house to prepare things. Before long, he came out with two large bundles of firewood and an iron shovel. Madame Wan Dao naturally knew why her husband did this, so she quickly stood up.
The four of them pushed open the thatched hut door again and came to the edge of the Tiankeng Dige. Wu Gou, the old man, tied one end of the rope to a big tree at the edge of the pit, inserted an iron shovel into his waist, smiled at his wife, and slid down into the Tiankeng.
On the ninth day of the first month, Wu Gou saw Madame Wan Dao with some tension. He also really wanted to know what was below, so he said: "Senior, I'll accompany Senior Wu Gou down too, how about it?"
Mrs. Wan Dao felt a sense of relief, she was worried that her husband had consumed too much energy when he saved Chu Jiu the night before last, and even after resting for a day yesterday, he might not have fully recovered, at most only recovering eight-tenths. This up and down nearly a thousand meters, and also digging below, is extremely hard work! She also knew that although Chu Jiu was young, he was well-versed in both literature and martial arts, so she felt more at ease with him going down, but the darkness below still made her worry about her husband.
Lin Meng'er saw Wu Gou's mysterious appearance and was curious, asking: "Auntie, what could be under this heavenly pit and earthly crack?"
"The curved knife lady smiled and said: 'This is a sacred object of the Holy Church, unearthed today!'"
