Chapter 22: Shifting the Stars and Changing the Dipper

  Liang Xiao Meng felt that all directions were shaking, opened his eyes to find himself lying in a horse carriage. Liu Yingying's words still echoed in his ears, loud and soft, each word like an awl, piercing his heart.

  Liang Xiao was stunned for a moment, then slightly sobered up, with a sour taste in his mouth and a cool face. He wiped away tears that had flowed into his mouth along the bridge of his nose. Suddenly, he heard someone say timidly, "Are you awake?" Liang Xiao turned to look, and Ah Xue was sitting on one side, leaning against a brocade pillow, coughing lightly twice before speaking in a gentle voice, "Yesterday, you couldn't catch your breath, if it wasn't for the master, things would have been bad." She had been injured by Yun Shu and said these few words before starting to cough again.

  Liang Xiao remained silent, closing his eyes. Ah Xue guessed what was on his mind but couldn't think of anything to comfort him, so she said: "Are you hungry?" and took out two pastries, saying: "This is gooseberry pastry, and also cream cake, soft and sweet, not greasy at all." Seeing Liang Xiao still motionless, she said: "If you won't eat the pastries, have a drink of water then." She handed him the waterskin, but Liang Xiao's jaws were tightly clenched, and the clear water flowed onto the ground.

  Ah Xue hastily wiped her sleeve. Suddenly, a cold laugh was heard, and Ah Ling poked her head in, glancing at Liang Xiao with a look of disgust on her face, and spat out: "Useless trash." She also said, "Ah Xue, did you sleep well?" Ah Xue smiled and replied, "It's okay, no need for sister to worry." Ah Ling's expression changed, and she angrily said, "What's good? I'm exhausted from driving the carriage, while you're sleeping soundly. Humph, is there still justice in this world?" Ah Xue saw her face full of resentment and hastily said, "Sister, don't be angry, next time if you get hurt, I'll drive the carriage to carry you."

  A Ling grew even angrier and scolded, "Black mouth, who got hurt? Hmph, I'm not as stupid as you!" A Xue was greatly embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "A Ling sister, look at this person, he doesn't eat or drink, how can that be good?"

  "A Ling sneered, 'Starving to death is the best. This kind of trash only hinders people's vision. Hmph, if it were me, I would have killed that Cloud guy to vent my anger. What's the use of going on a hunger strike?' Ah Xue was taken aback, but then saw Liang Xiao open his eyes and sit up, grabbing food and eating mouthful after mouthful. Seeing him change his mind, Ah Xue couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief."

  She coldly stared at Liang Xiao, humming and saying: "What's the use of you eating? You're like a fat pig, stupidly eating and growing, completely useless. The master said that your martial arts were crippled by someone, and you're even worse than ordinary people. Want to take revenge? Hmph, maybe in the next life it'll be slightly better." She loved watching people being heartbroken, seeing Liang Xiao's face reveal pain, she felt great pleasure, and laughed, "Speaking of which, I don't know what Liu Yuying and Yun Shu are doing now, that pair of loving couple?" She deliberately made up some words to make Liang Xiao sad, taking advantage of his confusion. Seeing Liang Xiao's eyes well up with tears, she felt even more delighted, intending to tease him further, but before she could speak, a lazy voice said: "A Ling, what are you dragging on about?"

  "Ay, I'm coming!" Ah Ling hastily replied, turning his head back and whipping the horses to hurry. Ah Xue was knocked unconscious by Yun Shu's slap and didn't know what happened afterwards. Upon hearing Ah Ling's words, she looked at Liang Xiao with a sympathetic heart. Just then, Liang Xiao sat stunned for a moment, finished eating two pieces of milk cake, and lay down again with his eyes closed.

  After half a day's journey, Ah Ling lifted the curtain and said coldly, "Master, have mercy, let us rest!" He glanced at Liang Xiao and said, "Lazybones, are you getting down?" Liang Xiao also felt stifled, got out of the carriage, and saw Han Ningzi sitting by the stream with her long hair loose. Ah Bing scooped up a ladle of water from the stream and respectfully handed it to her. Liang Xiao guessed Han Ningzi's identity but remained silent, sitting down in front of a green stone.

  Han Ningzi was drinking water while staring at Liang Xiao, suddenly saying: "Little boy, what's your name?" Liang Xiao didn't care. Han Ningzi's face slightly sank, Ah Bing had already shouted: "Stinky little boy, Master is asking you a question!" Liang Xiao looked at her with a scolding and angry expression, thinking of Liu Yingying, and couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Ah Bing saw him staring blankly at herself, got even angrier, and cursed: "You're looking for death with those thieving eyes?" Ah Ling's eyes rolled, laughing: "Sister Bing, don't waste your breath, this trash is mute." Ah Bing asked: "Is that true?" Ah Ling laughed: "What else could it be?"

  Han Ningzi suddenly said, "A Ling, who says he's mute?" A Ling was taken aback and said, "He's always been mute, do you need to hear it from someone else?" Han Ningzi calmly said, "Really?" A Ling looked at her expression, felt a sudden unease in his heart, and stole a glance at Ah Xue. Han Ningzi said in a gentle voice, "You see, the foolish girl won't dare to expose you..." A Ling's face turned pale, he knelt down with a thud, and trembled as he said, "I know I was wrong, please forgive me, master." Han Ningzi shook her head and laughed, saying, "Your cleverness in deceiving others is quite to my taste. It's not even worth rewarding you, what should I punish you with?"

  Ah Ling knew she was prone to speaking in reverse, saying one thing but meaning another. She didn't realize tears were streaming down her face as she repeatedly kowtowed. Han Ningzi reached out and helped her up, sighing, "It's fine, I'm not blaming you, if anyone is at fault it's that Ah Xue." Her words were gentle, but Ah Ling continued to tremble, stuttering, "Does...does Master know?" Han Ningzi asked, "What do you think?" Ah Bing's expression changed as she knelt down and said, "This servant was reckless in guessing Master's intentions at Wulon Ridge, deserving of death a million times over." Han Ningzi spoke calmly, "You're just trying to join in on the fun? Even if you died a few hundred million times it wouldn't be enough." Her beautiful eyes swept across the three young maids, each one covered in cold sweat, feeling like nothing could be hidden from her.

  At this time, three farmers came along the way, one old and two young, with heavy loads on their shoulders, baskets full of oranges, probably going to the market to buy and sell. Han Ningzi saw that the oranges were fresh and said: "A Bing, A Ling, you go and buy a few oranges to taste."

  The two of them were overjoyed and knew that if they let someone go buy food, there would be no more blame. They immediately welcomed the three farmers with open arms, blocked their way, and divided the two oranges among themselves, savoring the sweet and sour taste. Ah Ling brushed her hair back and smiled: "How do you sell these oranges?" Her demeanor was charming, and the two young men were at a loss for words after exchanging a few glances. The old farmer, who had seen it all before, smiled and said: "There are three kinds of oranges here, and three different prices. The warm orange you ate is eight cents, the green orange is four cents, and the ones in the basket are one cent each, the cheapest." Ah Ling haggled over the price, bringing the warm orange down to seven cents and the green orange down to three cents before making her selection.

  Ashley's heart was racing, she stood unsteadily and said: "Master, I...I'll go help the sisters carry the tangerines?" Han Congzi casually said: "Ah Xue, you've been following me since you were a child!" Ah Xue nodded in agreement. Han Congzi said: "That's strange. After more than ten years, how come you haven't made any progress? Hmm, do you know your mistakes?" Ah Xue was taken aback and shook her head blankly. Han Congzi sighed: "Stupid girl, beyond salvation. Never mind, listen carefully. This time, you did three wrong things. The first thing is that you were manipulated by that little scoundrel A Ling, and together you deceived me." Ah Xue was so scared that tears welled up in her eyes, and she trembled as she said: "I...I..." She didn't want to shift the blame onto A Ling, and for a moment, she couldn't speak clearly.

  "Secondly, on the Five Dragon Ridge, you were shouting and exposing your tracks. If I weren't by your side, would you still be alive?" Han Ningzi's words made Ah Xue's face even paler.

  Han Ningzi continued, "As for the third matter, how many times have you practiced that 'Puppet Control Technique'? Yet you messed up the formation. Hmph, do you understand now?"

  Ah Xue was stunned, her mind muddled, and she could only nod in response.

  Han Ningzi said, "Three crimes committed at once, originally deserving of death. But you caught this little guy, which is a great achievement, and can slightly offset some of the crimes. I have always been clear about rewards and punishments, and now I'll give you an opportunity to test your luck." She took out several strings of copper coins from her sleeve and said coldly, "This is 100 wen. Go buy 100 pieces of warm citrus, green tangerines, and flat peaches, using the price Ah Ling mentioned as a reference. You must not spend more or less than this amount. If you have one coin left over or if you buy one fewer piece of citrus, you will cut off one finger. Continue in this manner until all ten fingers are gone." Ah Xue was frightened and didn't dare take the money. Han Ningzi asked, "What's wrong?" Ah Xue had no choice but to accept the money with both hands, trembling as she said, "Ten... ten fingers will be cut off!" Han Ningzi snorted in anger and scolded, "You're a useless thing! After cutting off all your fingers, you'll cut off your head!"

  Ah Xue stood with tears in her eyes, her mind a jumble of thoughts, unable to think of a way to buy 100 oranges for 100 coins. Suddenly, Ah Bing and Ah Ling appeared, each carrying a basket of oranges, smiling as they walked back. Before they approached, Ah Ling's laughter was heard: "Master, these oranges are incredibly delicious..." The words were not yet finished when the atmosphere suddenly felt off, and her heart began to pound. Han Ning Zi split open an orange with both hands, coldly saying: "Foolish girl, what are you staring at? Why haven't you left?" Ah Xue had no choice but to wipe away her tears, dazed and confused, walking towards the three farmers. The other two maids guessed the reason, knowing Han Ning Zi's intention was to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, exchanging a glance, not daring to make a sound.

  Ashley's soul was not at peace, her foot tripped and kicked Liang Xiao's ankle. She was seriously injured and fell forward, hitting her nose on a large boulder, with blood flowing profusely. Ashley felt both sorrowful and painful, but didn't dare to make a loud cry, so she could only choke back tears. Han Ningzi saw that she hadn't gotten up for a long time, became impatient, and coldly said: "Clumsy girl, if you can't even buy an orange, then don't come see me!"

  A Xue was shocked, seeing three farmers carrying their loads and wanting to leave, she hurriedly struggled to get up, but unexpectedly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get up. Looking back, Ah Bing and Ah Ling were both indifferent, with no intention of lending a helping hand. She felt cold all over, as if her heart had fallen into an icy pit, and she wished she could just die right there.

  At the moment of desperation, a hand stretched out from the side and handed her a sleeve to wipe away her tears. Ah Xue's heart warmed up, staring blankly at Liang Xiao. Ah Ling saw this and had a hint of jealousy, coldly laughing: "A mismatched pair, a perfect match. A foolish woman and a silly girl, they're well-suited." Ah Xue's ears turned bright red from hearing this. Liang Xiao remained silent, using his left sleeve to wipe away Ah Xue's tears, while his right hand flew across the muddy ground, writing: "Six warm, ten green, eighty-four signs." Once Ah Xue finished reading, he immediately erased it. As Ah Xue was confused, Liang Xiao helped her up and pointed into the distance. Ah Xue looked up to see that the three farmers had already walked a distance with their burdens, suddenly panicking: "Old man, big brother, I...I want to buy oranges."

  Three farmers suddenly turned their heads. Ah Xue's life was in danger at this time, and she couldn't care about the authenticity of Liang Xiao's writing, so she blurted out: "I want six warm oranges, ten green tangerines, and eighty-four flat tangerines." As soon as these words came out, Han Ningzi suddenly stood up. The old farmer counted his fingers and smiled: "This sister is buying cleverly, one hundred tangerines, not too many or too few, exactly one hundred cents." Ah Xue was overjoyed and rushed forward to hand the money to the old farmer. A young man saw that she was not convenient to move, so he lent her a bamboo basket, packed the hundred tangerines, and handed it to her.

  A Xue repeatedly thanked. The farmers saw her being overly delighted, and they were all very surprised. A Xue hugged the tangerines and happily returned to Han Ningzi's side. However, Han Ningzi didn't look at the basket, but instead stared at A Xue. A Xue felt uneasy under her gaze and stuttered: "Master, did I buy the wrong thing?"

  Han Ningzi said coldly, "Mistaken or not, how did you calculate it?" Ah Xue stole a glance at Liang Xiao, her cheeks flushing red. Han Ningzi lifted her foot and kicked over the bamboo basket, shouting sternly, "Stupid girl, who taught you to calculate like that?" Her eyes flashed with a cold light, sharp as a knife.

  Ah Xue took two steps back, and for some reason, her heart was no longer as panicked and fearful as before. She secretly made up her mind that no matter what, she would not mention Liang Xiao. Han Ningzi saw that she not only didn't respond, but also had a hint of stubbornness between her eyebrows, which made him even angrier in his heart. He pursed his lips, glared at her, and slowly raised his palm, on the smooth surface of which a layer of white frost had condensed.

  Ah Bing and Ah Ling saw her raise her palm, both with fearful expressions. Ah Xue was afraid, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound. Han Ningzi looked at her for a while, nodded and said: "Stupid girl, you have guts." Her palm rose and fell quickly, just as it was about to slap down, suddenly Liang Xiao shouted: "Wait!"

  Han Ningzi's purple palm gesture solidified, and she turned to say, "Do you have something to say?" Ah Xue was shocked and pale, shaking her head repeatedly at Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao pretended not to see, patted his clothes, and stood up: "The tangerine is what I taught her to buy, if you want to hit or kill, come at me." Han Ningzi's eyes flashed, and she said lightly: "Want to show off your heroism? Alright, you say it, how did you calculate it? If you can't say it, don't blame my ruthlessness."

  Liang Xiao knelt down on one knee, using pebbles as abacus beads, and said: "Three times three hundred coins, subtracting the total number of one hundred, leaving two hundred as the actual amount. Three times the price of oranges, twenty-one, subtracting one, leaving twenty...". He slowly explained step by step, Ah Xue looked confused, but Ah Ling was furious in her heart: "This stinky kid can talk, how dare this foolish girl deceive me?" She glared at Ah Xue fiercely, as if she wanted to cut off a piece of flesh with her gaze.

  Liang Xiao finished writing the solution and threw away the stone: "Because there are three yuan in the question, this method is called 'three-part body technique'. There are several other solutions, which are complicated and difficult to say, so I won't say them." His wrist suddenly hurt, and he was already caught by Han Ningzi. He looked up and saw that behind the mask, a sharp edge flashed, and he said coldly: "You little boy, you're from Tianji Palace?" Liang Xiao cried out in pain, shouting: "Your son is the one from Tianji Palace!" Han Ningzi's eyes gleamed with an even more sinister light, his voice rising to a high pitch, becoming sharp and shrill: "Still not admitting it? Apart from the few families of Tianji Palace, who else could solve this difficult problem?"

  Liang Xiao furrowed his brow and said lightly, "Is this also considered a difficult problem? There are too many difficult problems, aren't there?" Han Ningzi stared at Liang Xiao, who had a deep-seated resentment towards the "Tianji Ten Calculations" and refused to acknowledge his origins from the Tianji Palace. As a result, he maintained an expression of calmness throughout. Han Ningzi couldn't find any flaws in him, and her anger gradually dissipated, replaced by a hint of confusion. Suddenly, she let go of Liang Xiao and said coldly, "It seems that even the Tianji Palace, which prides itself on being a noble institution, can't teach someone like you who is so reckless and impudent."

  Three farmers looked at each other, thinking they had no business left, and shouldered their burdens again. But unexpectedly, Han Ningzi suddenly bent down, picked up three stones, and threw them out with a swing of her hand. "Thud thud thud" Three muffled sounds were heard, the three farmers seemed to have been punched, and fell to the ground one after another, mixed with blood and water flowing out, oranges rolling all over the place. Han Ningzi clapped her hands and said casually: "Let these three people escape, wouldn't that reveal my whereabouts?" Liang Xiao was shocked and angry in his heart: "This woman's joy and anger are unpredictable, she is really a madwoman." Ah Xue thought that it was all because of her own words that had delayed them, which had brought disaster to the three men, and felt extremely guilty, turned around and silently shed tears.

  Han Ningzi took two steps, turned her head and said lazily: "A Ling, take good care of this kid. If there's even a slight mistake, I'll flay your skin." Her words were cruel, but her tone was soft and pleasant to hear. A Ling's face turned pale as he repeatedly responded with obedience. Liang Xiao was surprised in his heart: "How did the yellow-faced woman change her temper? She's being overly enthusiastic for no reason, I must be extra careful."

  Ah Ling turned a smiling face, helped Liang Xiao onto the carriage, and even gave her a silk pillow. Ah Xue sat down beside her, but didn't say a word for a long time as she gazed at him sideways. Liang Xiao felt uneasy under her gaze and couldn't help asking, "What are you looking at?" Ah Xue's face flushed red as she whispered, "Thank you so much!" Liang Xiao replied coldly, "There's nothing to thank me for." He was feeling extremely down, still reeling from his earlier battle of wits with Han Ningzi. Now that it was over, he felt unenthusiastic and empty. Ah Xue saw his cold demeanor and couldn't bring herself to express her gratitude, so she too fell silent, her emotions in turmoil. She snuck a glance at Liang Xiao and saw him closing his eyes, tears streaming down his face and leaving wet marks on the wooden board. Ah Xue felt a pang of pain in her chest and couldn't help but feel resentment towards Liu Yanyan.

  The carriage stopped and started again, traveling for half a day before suddenly coming to a halt. Ah Xue asked in surprise, "Ah Ling sister, have we arrived home?" Ah Ling lowered her voice and said, "Foolish girl, be quiet, the Yuan people are here." Before she had even finished speaking, a crow took flight with a loud flapping of its wings, followed by the sound of horses' hooves rumbling from afar, growing louder and causing the ground to tremble.

  Ah Xue's face turned pale, and a look of fear appeared in her eyes. Liang Xiao glanced at her, grasped her warm and soft small hand, and felt that her palm was warm and sweaty. He said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Ah Xue saw his calm demeanor and forgot that he had lost all his internal energy. She nodded with a red face. Liang Xiao concentrated on listening, and in the sound of horse hooves, he heard Mongolian shouts mixed in. Although there were many people and horses making noise, it was chaotic but not disorderly, like a strong gust of wind that suddenly went far away.

  After a moment, Han Ningzi let out a breath and said: "This is the Xiangfan border, with two armies chasing each other back and forth, and many soldiers and horses coming and going. Everyone should be more careful, or they might accidentally run into trouble."

  Liang Xiao released Ah Xue's hand, the carriage started again, and after a while, it finally stopped. Liang Xiao thought to himself: "Could we have encountered another large army?" Suddenly, he saw the curtain open, and Ah Ling poked his head out, smiling and saying: "We're home."

  Liang Xiao got off the carriage, in front of him was a vast expanse of mountains and forests, embracing a courtyard, green bamboo smoke, painted pavilions dripping with emeralds. But then he heard Ah Xue whispering in his ear: "This is the Remnant Red Pavilion."

  As they spoke, a young Taoist walked out of the courtyard and came to the front of the car. He had a face like jade, with a mole the size of a grain of rice between his eyebrows, and a gentle aura on his face. He bowed to Han Ningzi and said, "Yu Ling has seen the master." Han Ningzi coldly asked, "Is there something?" Yu Ling smiled and said, "The leaders of the nine villages in Longxi are all in the hall, coming to hand over the annual taxes and grain." After finishing speaking, he exchanged a glance with Ah Bing, then turned his head again to greet the other two maids, with polite words and a round face.

  Han Ningzi said: "Yu Ling, I have something important to attend to and don't want to bother with those rough people. You and Ah Bing go take care of it yourself, remember, less money less rice, 500 taels or more cut off hands, 1,000 taels or more cut off heads, don't mess up the rules." Yu Ling smiled: "I understand." Han Ningzi turned her head around, glanced at Ah Xue with a look of disgust and said: "Ah Ling, take this foolish girl to rest, don't bother her again."

  A Ling was furious and hated Ah Xue for deceiving herself, originally intending to humiliate her. After hearing Han Ningzi's words, she hurriedly smiled and said: "I treat Ah Xue like my own sister, I love her so much that it's not enough!" Ah Xue felt a few touches of emotion after hearing this. Han Ningzi felt even more disgusted, turned to Liang Xiao and said: "You little boy come with me!"

  Liang Xiao hesitated and didn't move forward, but was ruthlessly pushed by Ah Bing, falling to the ground. Only then did he realize that his internal energy had been lost, and he could only get up and follow behind Han Ningzi.

  Two people entered the manor, took a shortcut and walked towards the back mountain. After turning over several corridors, a bamboo forest appeared in front of them. Han Ningzi seemed to think that Liang Xiao's pace was too slow, so she turned around and pulled him along, quickly walking into the forest.

  The bamboo forest is deep and mysterious, the road is winding, Liang Xiao only feels the green bamboo swaying in the wind, the dragon's hum is fine, the sword leaves cover the sky, and the surroundings are filled with a cool feeling like water. After walking for more than 20 steps, suddenly saw a stone statue, squatting and wearing armor, opening its mouth and frowning. He felt quite familiar, and after thinking for a moment, he realized that this stone statue was one he had seen in the "Two Instruments Fantasy Array", which was "Wu Qi's Lament" in the "General's Realm". With surprise and doubt, he walked another 10 steps and saw another stone statue, stroking its beard and holding its hands behind its back, which was "Shao Ling's Bitter Sigh" in the "Saintly Literary Realm". After walking another 20 steps, he saw a stone statue of "Sword and Shoes", holding a precious sword upside down and barefoot on one foot, as if sprinting with all his might, which was the story of Chu Zhuang Wang, the overlord of the Spring and Autumn period.

  Every ten or so steps, he saw a stone statue, and Liang Xiao was more and more shocked. After careful examination, he found that these stone statues were similar to those in the Tianji Palace, but with subtle differences, as if the sculptor had hastily glanced at the Tianji stone statues and then vaguely carved them out from memory. The positions of the statues were also very disordered, not conforming to the "Two Instruments Phantom Dust Array" formation.

  Liang Xiao looked all the way, gradually realizing that the stone statues were arranged in a cross shape according to the Southern Dipper position, dividing the bamboo forest into four pieces. The east was Shaoyin, the south was Shaoyang, the west was Taiyin, and the north was Taiyang. It was actually a "Southern Dipper Four Image Formation". Liang Xiao secretly paid attention, walking while silently memorizing the positions of the bamboo array.

  After walking for about two miles, they arrived at the end of the bamboo forest and saw a stone cave. The entrance was closed, with the shape of a full moon. On the lintel were carved four characters "Tian Yuan Di Fang", which looked like a woman's handwriting. On both sides of the door, two dragons coiled around an iron eight trigrams, also an eight trigram lock.

  Han Ningzi turned the Bagua lock, opened the stone door, and inside was a small room with four walls full of books. Against the wall was a stone bed, and beside it was a stone table with an abacus on top. Liang Xiao took a closer look and found that the abacus was filled with mathematical symbols for calculating areas and volumes.

  Han Ningzi led Liang Xiao into the door, turned back to cover the stone gate, a piece of clear light poured down, and the situation in the room was clearly visible. Liang Xiao raised his eyes to look, the top of the cave was round like a mirror, with bright pearls embedded on it, as big as pigeon eggs, as small as rice grains, arranged according to the celestial bodies of the week. A row of small holes were carved on the rock wall, and the sky light leaked in, casting on the bright pearls, the pearl light reflected on the wall, illuminating the whole room brightly.

  Han Ningzi sat cross-legged on the stone bed, lazily saying: "Youngster, my surname is Han, my name is Ningzi, what's yours?" Liang Xiao's heart was filled with despair and his arrogance had dissipated, so he casually mentioned his name. Han Ningzi nodded and said: "You previously spoke boastfully, are you quite skilled at math problems?" Liang Xiao replied: "I can roughly solve some of them." Han Ningzi glanced at him coldly and sneered: "Good, I'll take a look, what kind of skills do you have?" He pointed to the math problem on the sandboard and said: "Can you solve it?"

  Suppose there is a circular city, the circumference of which is unknown. The four gates are wide open, with roads running east-west and north-south, each 10 zhang wide. On the northwest road, which is dry land, A and B stand at a distance of 180 paces from a tower in the east direction. A walks south for 360 paces and sees the tower on the diameter of the city. What is the circumference of the city?

  Han Ningzi laughed and said: "If you can solve this problem, I'll let you live. If not, well...". Her tone was full of pride. Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow and sighed, "What's so special about the '弦上容圆' (a mathematical term)?". He casually solved it, "Using the product of the hypotenuse and the square root as the real number, and using the sum of the hypotenuse and the square root as the divisor, dividing them, the result is 240. The diameter of the city is exactly 240 steps."

  Han Ningzi had been pondering over this math problem for a long time, unable to find the solution. Unexpectedly, Liang Xiao solved it in an instant, with a clever and ingenious method that was beyond her comprehension. Han Ningzi stared at the calculation formula, lost in thought for half a day, before saying: "How can it be so easy?" Liang Xiao said: "The art of examining circles (equivalent to ancient Chinese geometry) is not difficult or easy to say. If you don't know the method, it's hard to get started, but if you do know the way, it's actually quite easy. In addition to containing a circle on an arc, there are eight other topics: containing a circle with a hook and stock, containing a circle above a hook, containing a circle above a stock, containing a circle above a hook and stock, containing a circle outside a hook, containing a circle outside a stock, containing a circle outside an arc, containing a half-circle outside a hook, and containing a half-circle outside a stock. These are collectively known as the 'Nine Containments of Dongyuan'." He wrote out the methods for the nine containments with ease. Han Ningzi looked at him with a focused expression, feeling a sudden pang in her heart, thinking: "This young man's appearance when solving math problems is surprisingly similar to his, about 50-60% alike."

  Liang Xiao finished writing, looked up and saw Han Ningzi staring at him with a crazed look in her eyes. His heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Do you have any doubts?" Han Ningzi's body trembled, hesitated for a moment, and sighed, "You... really aren't from the Tianji Palace?" Liang Xiao hummed, but didn't respond.

  Han Ningzi fiddled with the abacus in her hands, sat dazed for a long time, let out a long sigh, and then followed Liang Xiao's method to calculate on the sandboard. But after calculating only two lines, she suddenly burst into tears, which dripped onto the sandboard one by one.

  Li Shuo said, "Can't figure it out? No need to cry!" Han Ningzi was furious and humiliated, raised her hand, and slapped Li Shuo's left cheek. As her palm approached halfway, through blurry tear-filled eyes, a faint shadow appeared, revealing a handsome and elegant silhouette. Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't bring herself to slap him. Li Shuo saw her strange behavior and was taken aback, but suddenly he caught sight of Han Ningzi's tears revealing two patches of snow-white skin with a hint of red, and his heart secretly trembled. Han Ningzi noticed the change in his expression, realized what had happened, took out a handkerchief to wipe her face, and revealed her true appearance. Her cheeks were rosy like autumn peaches; her eyebrows curved like new moons; her eyes sparkled like the clear waters of San Qiu Pond, with a hint of coldness beneath their brightness.

  Liang Xiao did not expect that beneath her sallow face she was hiding a stunning beauty, surpassing even the elegant and refined Liu Yingying. Han Ningzi came back to her senses after a while, silently gave out another "military recruitment test", ordering Liang Xiao to calculate the number of soldiers, money, and provisions needed.

  Liang Xiao was originally depressed, but as soon as he got involved in arithmetic, his mind suddenly became quick-witted and sharp, like a flying arrow. When Han Ningzi asked half of the question, he had already given out the result. Han Ningzi was even more surprised and gave another "addition and subtraction problem". As soon as Liang Xiao heard the title of the problem, he reported the answer again. Han Ningzi was shocked and angry in his heart: "I thought that Tianji Palace was the best in arithmetic in the world, but I didn't expect that there would be such a genius outside Tianji Palace?" So he repeatedly asked Liang Xiao about his teacher. Liang Xiao remained silent and only spoke up when Han Ningzi wrote out the math problem to answer it.

  As the dusk approached, Liang Xiao's questions were answered one by one, and Bai Wen was exhausted. Han Ningzi gradually became unable to ask any more difficult questions, her self-esteem greatly hurt, and she finally couldn't bear it anymore, flipping over the sand tray, storming out of the door, and locking it from the outside.

  Liang Xiao had nowhere to go, so he lay on the stone bed in a daze. The bright pearl at the top of the cave was actually reflecting the light from outside. As night fell, the pearl lost its luster and the inside of the stone room became pitch black. Liang Xiao only felt the coldness of the bluestone beneath him, his heart filled with sorrow and loneliness like a surging tide, and after a while, he fell into a deep sleep.

  The next day, he woke up extremely early, having slept for a long time on the stone bed, his muscles and bones were sore and painful. He struggled to get up, his throat was dry and painful. Since he had been practicing internal strength, this situation had never happened before. Thinking about it, he realized that he had not only become an ordinary person, but perhaps even worse than an ordinary person, just as Ah Ling had said.

  His heart was desolate, and he silently operated his heart method. He only felt a warm current emerging from nothingness, slowly born from his dantian. His heart was joyful, and he urged on his inner strength. After a long time, that strand of true energy still lingered weakly, without any progress. Liang Xiao secretly thought that with this kind of practice method, to return to his previous level, he didn't know how much more time would be wasted. For the moment, he was extremely disheartened, and he withdrew his heart method, continuing to stare blankly.

  In the midst of despair, I suddenly heard a knocking sound coming from outside the cave. Following that, the stone door creaked open and a small window was pushed open, with a large wooden tray being passed through, loaded with bowls and dishes. All I could hear was Ah Bing saying: "You lazy bum, hurry up and finish eating, don't dawdle."

  Liang Xiao hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday, and when he smelled the food, his stomach growled. He thought to himself: "It's all the same whether I die sooner or later, so I might as well die with a full belly." He jumped out of bed, put the wooden tray back on the table, and saw that there was one vegetarian dish and three meat dishes, including chicken and fish, as well as a pot of chicken soup that had been stewed until it was thick and hot. Liang Xiao wolfed down the food, stuffing his belly until he was full, then sent the plate and bowl out the window. Just as he was about to say a few words to Ah Bing, he heard her footsteps fading away into the distance, and the room fell silent once again.

  Liang Xiao had eaten and drunk his fill, but he couldn't calm down. He looked around the room and saw many books on the walls, so he flipped through them to pass the time. However, most of them were math books, which he had already read before. After flipping through for a while, he didn't find anything that caught his eye, until he put down a book called "Frosty Pond Sword Spectrum". Because no one had looked at it in a long time, it was covered with thick dust. He opened it and took a look, the first page had a small poem written on it: "New moon curve like eyebrows, not yet round intention. Red beans can't bear to look, eyes full of longing tears. All day chopping peach blossoms, people in heart. Two flowers separated by walls, soon becoming connected." The handwriting was elegant and refined, the signature was condensed purple. Next to the poem was a faint yellow mark, as if it were a tear stain.

  After flipping to the next page, he saw a painting of a man and a woman dancing with swords. The painter's brushstrokes were elegant and vivid, capturing the intimate and affectionate expressions between the two people. Liang Xiao noticed that the woman in the painting had similar eyebrows and eyes to Han Ningzi, and he couldn't help but think: "Could this be Han Ningzi's unique skill? I'll take a look, maybe I can figure out how to break it and catch her off guard." After flipping through several more pages, he furrowed his brow, "These sword moves look good, but they're not practical for actual combat. Why is it called 'Frost Pond Swordsmanship'? It's baffling." After flipping through dozens of pages, the man in the book thrust his long sword at the woman's left flank, and the woman used her sword to deflect the attack. In the margin was written: "Unfaithful and heartless".

  This move is extremely exquisite, Liang Xiao's spirit was shaken again, and he continued to flip down. The woman's long sword was fierce and cruel, stabbing into the man's heart, with blood splashing everywhere, and a large "kill" character written in cinnabar on his forehead, with four small characters "tear heart and lungs" on the left side. Liang Xiao's chest also seemed to be pierced by the sword tip, feeling suffocated and painful, and he flipped again. In the picture, the woman suddenly jumped up to the right, avoiding the man's long sword, and stabbed another sword into the man's heart, with a small character "crush heart and intestines" on the side. Liang Xiao continued to flip down, and the woman suddenly appeared on the left and right, jumping up and down, with the sword tip never leaving the man's heart. The moves were named in sequence: "Drilling Heart and Bone", "Heart and Intestine Cut Off", "Heart Ashes and Lazy Mind", "Heart Buried like Death". Seven swords in total, killing the man in the picture six times.

  Such a heart-piercing technique, Liang Xiao had only seen it once in his life. He had nothing to do on either side, so he picked up the abacus and learned from the woman's agile and piercing movements. Although his internal energy was lost, his comprehension was still there, and after practicing for an hour, he had basically mastered it. When he practiced the previous sword moves again, he felt that they were gentle and affectionate, lingering on and on, and were completely incompatible with the Heart-Piercing Seven Styles. The latter's resentment towards heaven and earth matched his current mood perfectly. Liang Xiao wielded the abacus, stabbing again and again, and with each stab, he imagined himself piercing into Xiang Qian Yue and Yun Shu's hearts, ending their lives.

  After practicing for a while, Liang Xiao's excitement was ignited, and he let out a long whistle as he leapt into the air. Who would have thought that he couldn't control his momentum, and he ended up crashing headfirst into the wall? The sound of cracking bones echoed through the air, Liang Xiao's tiger mouth was split open, and the sharp pain pierced straight into his brain. Only then did he remember that his internal energy had been depleted, and even if his sword skills were ten times stronger, it would be all in vain.

  He lay down on the spot, and Ai Bing brought food again. Liang Xiao finished eating and stared at the night pearl on the dome, lost in thought. After a while, he smiled wryly to himself, thinking: "Han Ningzi is really absurd. Even village children know that the Cowherd and Weaving Maiden stars are separated by the Milky Way, how can they be together..." He sat up, counted with his fingers, and found that the positions of the Cowherd and Weaving Maiden stars were incorrect, but the other stars were correct, and it should be the star chart for the seventh evening of the summer solstice in the year of Jiwei.

  He was fascinated by mathematics and his spirit was lifted. He reviewed all the ancient and modern calendar methods, and the celestial movements were familiar to him. He thought: "Since ancient times, there has been no better calendar method than Zu Chongzhi's 'Daming Calendar'. Although I may not be able to achieve a legendary martial art, if I can surpass the ancients and create a new calendar method that surpasses the 'Daming Calendar', it would still be a wonderful thing in my life." He had nothing to do, so he started on July 7th, calculating the calendar method as a game. From the seven-star chart, he derived the eight-star chart, then from July, he calculated August, and from August, September, all the way to the end of the year. After finishing the calculation for the current year, he also calculated the next year, and so on, until the sky was dark, before he finally stopped.

  For three consecutive days, Han Ningzi did not show up, and Liang Xiao was so focused on astronomy that he had forgotten his worries. By the fifth evening, he had calculated to the year of Xinwei, exhausted mentally and physically, and fell asleep with a start. The next day, still in a dream, he suddenly felt a pain in his waist, opened his eyes to take a look, and Han Ningzi was standing in front of the bed, staring at him fiercely. Her face was pale, her eyes were full of bloodshot, as if she had not slept for several nights, and when she saw him open his eyes, she shouted: "Get up!" Liang Xiao saw that she looked unhappy, so he rubbed his eyes and got up.

  Han Ningzi sat down, took out a black object from her sleeve and placed it heavily on the table. She said coldly: "Open it for me!" Liang Xiao saw that it was an iron box about half a foot square, and thought to himself, saying: "This is the pure yang iron box you stole?" Han Ningzi raised an eyebrow, displeased, saying: "What do you mean by stolen? The pure yang iron box was originally our sect's treasure. Now it's just returning to its rightful owner."

  Liang Xiao recalled Chu Xianliu's words and intentionally said, "This box clearly belongs to the Chu and Lei families. What evidence do you have to say it's yours?" Han Ningzi glanced at him and calmly said, "It doesn't matter if I tell you. The ancestors of the Lei and Chu families and my Tian Shan Snow Sect's founder, Huayang Zhenren, were fellow disciples who came from the same school. They jointly obtained the iron box, but the two of them deceived my ancestor, took advantage of his injury, and abandoned him, swallowing the iron box alone. I didn't know about this before, but later when I was flipping through our sect's secret manual, 'Shi Luo Zhi', I accidentally saw Huayang Zhenren's letter hidden in the cover. It took me many years to find the descendants of the Lei and Chu families, only to discover that they had changed their names and established Tian Xiang Mountain Villa and Lei Gong Fortress. Hmph, do you think it's right for me to take back the iron box? Is it not returning something to its rightful owner?"

  Liang Xiao said, "You stole the iron box, but why do you have to frame, frame Liu Yuan?" Han Ning's black and white eyes turned on his face, Liang Xiao's cheeks slightly flushed. Han Ning smiled and said, "Are you heartbroken? Who let that little girl be so arrogant everywhere, stealing things and leaving her name behind. Since that's the case, I'll also borrow her name conveniently." Seeing Liang Xiao's gloomy expression, she secretly laughed in her heart and said, "Little guy, if you open this box, I'll let you go see Liu Yuan, okay?"

  Liang Xiao suddenly enlightened, Han Ningzi couldn't open the box, so he asked for his help. Although he was unwilling, his curiosity arose, and he picked up the iron box, only to feel that it was very heavy in his hand. The surface of the box was uneven, with 26 fine seams running horizontally and vertically, dividing the surface into 729 small squares. Each square had a small flower pattern deeply engraved on it, which was exquisite and neat. There were also some faint grinding marks, presumably left by the previous owner who had cut and polished it. This iron box was made of unknown precious metal, having undergone cutting and polishing, with extremely minor damage.

  Han Ningzi said, "The mystery of the iron box can be found in the hairpin and small script. I've been thinking for a long time, and I've come up with two ways to open it." Liang Xiao asked, "What methods?" Han Ningzi replied, "Firstly, these words are a Xuanji diagram, and the poem within reveals the method of opening the box." Liang Xiao was surprised: "What is a Xuanji diagram?" Han Ningzi glanced at him with disdain and coldly smiled: "The 'Xuanji Diagram' is a palindrome poem created by Su Hui, a talented woman from the Northern Dynasty. Her husband, Dou Tao, was a high-ranking general who was banished to the desert for offending the emperor. Su Hui missed her husband dearly and wove a Xuanji diagram with five-colored silk threads, sending it to Dou Tao. The diagram has 29 lines, with 840 characters that can be read in all directions - horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and intersecting - forming poems that expressed Su Hui's longing for her husband." She called in Ah Bing, took water and inkstone, ground the ink, and wrote many words on the stone table, intersecting and forming a square shape.

  Han Ningzi rebuked Ah Bing and pointed to a line of text, saying: "Look at this sentence: 'Ren zhi huai de sheng yu tang, zhen zhi du zhong shi qiong cang, qin suo gan xiang wang yin huang, xin you zeng mu huai can shang.' When read in reverse, it becomes 'Shang can huai mu zeng you xin, huang yin wang xiang gan suo qin, cang qiong shi zhong du zhi zhen, tang yu sheng de huai zhi ren.' It's smooth and natural. The other sentences are all like this, turning and twisting, endless." Liang Xiao followed her pointing finger and looked at each sentence, and indeed they were all well-structured and meaningful, so he couldn't help but praise: "This Su He is really extraordinary."

  Han Ningzi said, "Need I say more? Since ancient times, there have been countless women with courage and wisdom, who are both refined and martial. Lu Zhi, Wu Zetian, Yi An, Hong Yu - which of them is not a legendary woman who shook the ages? If it weren't for you stinky men using cunning to suppress them, I'm afraid there would be even more." Liang Xiao was uneducated in literature and history, and couldn't respond, so he carefully examined the text on the box, but felt that it didn't make sense, and said, "The words on the iron box are different from the 'Xuanji Tu'."

  Han Ningzi snatched the iron box and twisted it with force, making a "click" sound. The three rows of squares rotated once, until all four sides were aligned, and then there was a light click, as if there was a mechanism embedded inside. Han Ningzi tried again with more force, but still couldn't turn it. However, after this one rotation, the text on the box's surface underwent an enormous change.

  Liang Xiaoqi said, "Can the box be rotated?" Han Ningzi said, "The pure yang iron box only needs three rows to form a group, and it can be rotated horizontally and vertically." Liang Xiao shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, the text on the box still cannot form a sentence." Han Ningzi said, "Maybe when it's rotated to a certain point, the Xuanji Diagram will be formed. By reciting the sentences in order, the mystery of the iron box can be solved. But I've been rotating it for three days and two nights, and I still haven't found any clues." Liang Xiao's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Are you asking me to piece together the Xuanji Diagram?"

  Han Ningzi glanced at him and smiled, "Do you understand poetry?" Liang Xiao shook his head, "No." Han Ningzi said, "That's right, I couldn't even decipher the 'Xuanji Map', let alone you. But I have a hunch that this iron box should be solved with another method." Liang Xiao asked, "What method?" Han Ningzi smiled slightly and said, "Numerology!" Seeing Liang Xiao didn't understand, she continued, "I've heard people say that the universe is governed by numbers, and this iron box is no exception. It has 27 rows, corresponding to the number three and nine. Therefore, I suspect that the mechanism inside the iron box must be related to mathematics. You're skilled in math, think carefully, maybe you can figure it out."

  Liang Xiao shook his head and said, "I can't think of it." Han Ningzi's face sank, and she coldly said, "You didn't even try to think, how could you possibly come up with it?" Liang Xiao said, "If you don't kill me, then do you want me to open the box?" Han Ningzi raised an eyebrow, her snow-white face filled with murderous intent: "What? You're not willing?" Liang Xiao said, "I couldn't think of it even if I wanted to, and killing me would be the same." Han Ningzi's eyes flashed with a cold light, she reached out and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back, pinning him to the stone bed, and laughed: "You don't want to see Liu Yanyan again? Actually, she still likes you in her heart." Liang Xiao's arm bone was about to crack, hearing this, he felt unhappy and sorrowful, gritting his teeth and muttering: "You don't need to use her to deceive me, I...I'd rather die than see her again!"

  Han Ningzi was taken aback, her breathing rapid and disordered. She slapped her palm onto Liang Xiao's "Da Zhui" acupoint, and Liang Xiao felt a cold energy drilling into his Ren Mai, spreading to his four limbs and hundred joints. He heard Han Ningzi laugh and say, "Do you want to or not?" Liang Xiao let out a sound of disgust, and Han Ningzi smiled coldly, increasing the pressure on her hand. Liang Xiao felt like his entire body's meridians were being pierced by thousands of ice needles at once, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. His hands grasped tightly onto the bedframe, struggling to hold on for dear life until his fingers cracked and bled. He couldn't catch his breath, and fainted away.

  Han Ningzi withdrew the cold current, waiting for Liang Xiao to wake up, and smiled: "Little beast, did you surrender?" Liang Xiao said in a hoarse voice: "No surrender." Han Ningzi slightly sneered and urged her internal force again. Liang Xiao steeled himself and didn't make a sound, enduring for half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, before his eyes turned black and he fainted again.

  Han Ningzi saw him being so stubborn and thought: "My 'Ice Dragon Absorbing Qi Great Method' is comparable to any torture in the world, many masters would cry out for their fathers and mothers. This kid has already lost his internal energy, yet he doesn't make a sound, it's quite unusual." She picked up the cold tea from the table, splashed Liang Xiao awake, and asked: "Do you admit defeat?"

  This torture was unprecedented, and Liang Xiao's body was in agony. A proud aura remained unextinguished, and he heard himself shouting: "I won't surrender!" His voice was weak, but his tone was unusually resolute. Han Bing's eyes flashed with a fierce light, wanting to use the "Ice Dragon Absorbing Marrow Technique" again, but fearing that Liang Xiao was too weak and might not survive. After some deliberation, he vented his frustration by slapping the stone table, breaking off a corner, then turned around and stormed out in anger.

  Liang Xiao heard the stone gate lock, but felt his whole body aching and numb, his eyes blurry. He thought he was going to die, lay for a while, and things in front of him became clear again, thinking that the torture he had just suffered was like being reborn.

  He gasped for a moment, struggled to get up, and in the blink of an eye, he was shocked to see that the pure Yang iron box was placed on the stone table. It turned out that Han Ningzi had forgotten to take it back after her anger.

  Liang Xiao's curiosity arose, and he forgot his pain. He took the iron box and pressed three rows in a group horizontally in reverse order. After turning it around once, he heard a light click inside the box, and the iron box was locked. Liang Xiao turned it vertically in the positive direction, and the iron box could be turned again, but only for one turn, and the mechanism inside the box was locked again.

  He fiddled with the iron box for a long time, but couldn't find any clues. He had to carefully examine the text on the box. Originally, he wasn't familiar with literature, and the more he looked, the more confused he became. After staring at it for a while, an idea suddenly occurred to him: "Han Ningzi is meticulous, and this pure yang iron box was something she went to great lengths to obtain, how could she have easily forgotten?"

  He felt a surge of suspicion, and stole a glance upwards. The vaulted ceiling had many dark shadows looming about, no longer as spotless as before. Suddenly he came to his senses: "Is she peeking?" He couldn't help but break out in cold sweat, grateful that he hadn't opened the iron box, or else he would have fallen into Han Ningzi's trap. Then he thought, "I'll just turn the tables on her and tease her a bit." Pretending to be deep in thought, he turned the iron box over in his hands, glancing at it from left to right, sometimes smiling, sometimes looking dejected.

  Han Ningzi deliberately left the iron box behind, and after she went out, she climbed to a high place, peeked through a small hole in the rock wall, and looked into the room. She thought that Liang Xiao had gotten a rare opportunity, and he must be curious and eager to open the box. As soon as he opened it, she would immediately take it back. Seeing Liang Xiao holding the box and thinking hard, she was very pleased with herself: "If you want to get something, you must first give it away. No matter how cunning you are, you can't escape my palm." But then she saw Liang Xiao's expression change from joy to worry, and her heart rose and fell with his.

  At noon, Han Ningzi saw that Liang Xiao couldn't open the box, so she left and hastily had lunch before coming back to take a peek. However, she didn't realize that Liang Xiao was aware of her every move, and he pretended to be calm on the surface while almost bursting into laughter in his heart. Han Ningzi was extremely patient and only gave up when the sun began to set. She still didn't give up and thought to herself that this plan might not work again, and since Liang Xiao was having a hard time escaping, she might as well temporarily send the iron box elsewhere and come back to steal another look tomorrow.

  The sky was dark, the stone room was pitch black, Liang Xiao felt that Han Ningzi had gone far away. He tossed the iron box onto the table and thought to himself: "Fighting with this woman is useless, except for making her worry." He lay back on the bed, feeling listless, and in a daze, he suddenly saw a faint light in the room.

  Liang Xiao thought it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but when he rubbed them and looked again, the faint light was still flickering. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the extremely faint glow was actually coming from a pure yang iron box on the table. Liang Xiao picked up the box, and a faint light emanated from within, which would have been impossible to detect if it weren't for the darkness.

  Liang Xiao gazed at it for a long time, and the faint light was not coming from one place, but rather scattered in all directions. Liang Xiao played with it for a while, when he suddenly saw that one piece of light resembled a short horizontal stroke in regular script, and another piece of light was long and powerful, just like a long horizontal stroke in regular script. Liang Xiao's heart moved slightly: "If I turn the iron box around a few times, and the two horizontals get close to each other, wouldn't that form a 'two' character?" He became excited, and turned the iron box back and forth. After a while, as if by magic, he managed to combine the two pieces of light into a "two" character.

  Liang Xiao was overjoyed and surprised, holding the iron box and looking at it again. One piece of light seemed to be a left-falling stroke like in regular script, while another piece seemed to be a vertical hook with a right turn. He couldn't help but think: "If you connect the left-falling and right-turning strokes with the character 'two', wouldn't that form the character 'yuan'?"

  As he pondered, he fiddled with it for a while and suddenly came up with the character "yuan". Liang Xiao was overjoyed in his heart and had an epiphany that the secret of the pure yang iron box seemed to be here. His heart was racing with excitement. With the completion of the "yuan" character, the remaining five sides of the box also became clear. Liang Xiao discovered that when the light spots on one side were combined, they formed a "fu" character, but lacked a stroke on the left and a dot at the top. Upon closer inspection, he found them on the other two sides of the iron box. After rotating it for a while, he managed to piece together the "fu" character. With the completion of the "fu" character, the adjacent side's "zong" character also revealed its outline, lacking only the "xiao" character at the bottom. Liang Xiao pondered and pieced together the characters, soon spelling out the "zong" character.

  Looking at the remaining light spots, they just form a "purple" character. Liang Xiao drove lightly and skillfully, splicing together the "purple" character. As soon as the "purple" character was formed, a sound came from the box, like the sound of a zither or the hum of a sword. The pure yang iron box suddenly cracked open, bursting out dazzling light.

  A century-old mystery, solved in an instant, Liang Xiao felt it was too easy, and his heart was filled with a sense of confusion. He twisted the iron box with his hand, and it fell apart into twenty-six cubic iron blocks. A glowing orb rolled out from inside the box. Liang Xiao picked up the orb, which was about two inches in diameter and seemed to be made of crystal. Its color was half black and half white. The black part was deep and mysterious, blending with the darkness of night, while the white part was dazzlingly bright, enough to blind one's eyes. What was even more astonishing was that the black and white colors seemed to be alive, sometimes the white faded and the black grew stronger, sometimes the black weakened and the white surged forward, constantly invading and disappearing, never stopping.

  Liang Xiao vaguely understood why no one had opened the iron box for hundreds of years. It was because those who obtained the iron box spent all their energy on the small characters and cursive script on the box's surface, pondering the "profound meaning" of the words. Even someone as intelligent as Han Ningzi would only think of the "Xuanji Diagram". Since they were focused on reading the characters, people wouldn't be able to see clearly even in broad daylight, let alone in the dark. Unexpectedly, these small characters were a trap set by the box's creator, and those who owned the iron box would never be able to unlock its secrets if they were obsessed with the text on the box. Although Han Ningzi had also guessed that the key to opening the box didn't lie in the text, she had a major mental obstacle - having just escaped the "text barrier", she immediately fell into the "mathematics barrier".

  The predecessors of the casting box poured countless heart and blood on this iron box, but did not want to let the secrets in the box be buried forever. However, he hated those who sought fame by quoting sentences, so he deliberately set up obstacles, leaving fine seams on the iron box, allowing the white light of the sphere to faintly shine through, forming four regular script characters "Zi", "Fu", "Yuan" and "Zong". This predecessor also set up a mechanism in the box to prevent someone from getting it right by chance, scattering the four regular script characters. He thought that later, someone who broke through the "text barrier" would also see through the mystery of the flashing script characters, and must be a wise and open-minded person. The iron box fell into the hands of this kind of person, and it was not in vain for him to have put in so much effort.

  Liang Xiao accidentally opened the iron box, and upon closer inspection of the black and white balls, he found it somewhat inexplicable. He focused on the white light emanating from the ball and examined the scattered iron pieces, which were square in shape and covered with hooks and studs. Liang Xiao applied force to turn them, and the iron pieces loosened into numerous small iron pieces, each with a character on it, connected to one another by hooks and studs.

  Liang Xiao disassembled the iron blocks one by one and found that the text on the iron plates could form sentences. Thinking of the "Xuanji Diagram" he saw during the day, he relied on the light of the sphere to reassemble the iron plates according to reason. This time, it was more difficult than disassembling the iron box, but Liang Xiao was determined to outsmart his predecessor who made the box. He became so absorbed in it that time flew by quickly. By the fifth watch, Liang Xiao had assembled the 26 small iron plates into a large one and placed it on his bed. He looked at it carefully and saw that it read: "Few people can buy a box and return a pearl, but many people get a pearl and forget the box. Heaven transforms humans, with their bodies as boxes and spirits as pearls. If they lose their hearts, their bodies die; if they destroy their bodies, their spirits disappear. Only those who cultivate the Tao can keep both body and spirit intact and attain naturalness. I set up this box for you to solve. As a gift, I give you a yin-yang sphere and the 'Zifu Yuanzong' in 12 chapters, to express my heartfelt wishes."

  Liang Xiao looked down again, and then wrote: "Yin and yang are mutually pursued, transformed into the essence of qi, entering is insufficient, but exiting has surplus, losing surplus to make up for insufficiency, isn't this the way of heaven?" Liang Xiao didn't understand, looking down further, it was the four characters "Purple Mansion Original Ancestor", followed by poem-like incantations. Liang Xiao thought that if she were to reveal herself now, Han Ningzi would immediately arrive, and seeing that she had written the "Xuanji Diagram" but hadn't withdrawn her brush, she applied ink to the iron plate, tore off half of her inner shirt, and copied down the text on the plate. Then she wiped the iron plate clean, reassembled it into an iron box, fearing Han Ningzi would notice a difference in weight, she knocked off a piece of stone from the table and stuffed it inside the box.

  It was already dawn when he finished, and Liang Xiao's body and mind were both exhausted. He put the Taohua Pian and the Yin-Yang Ball into his bosom and lay on the bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

  Before long, the dome gradually brightened up, and then darkened again, with an additional shadow. Liang Xiao knew that Han Ningzi had arrived, so he pretended to sleep, got up at noon, took out a book of arithmetic to browse, and didn't even glance at the iron box from start to finish.

  Time flies, and before long, it was evening. The stone gate opened wide, and Han Ningzi strode in, her face clouded with anger. Liang Xiao remained calm and composed, glancing at the astrological chart. Han Ningzi knew that he had seen through her scheme, and she became enraged, slapping him twice before shoving the iron box into her sleeve and slamming the gate shut behind her.

  Liang Xiao's cheeks were swollen and painful, but he was delighted in his heart. Until late at night, he took out the yin-yang ball to ponder: "'Yin and yang chase each other, transforming into vital energy, entering is insufficient, exiting has surplus.' Yin and yang often refer to the yin-yang ball, and vital energy refers to internal power. 'Entering is insufficient,' could it be that I need to pour my internal power into the yin-yang ball?" He grasped the yin-yang ball, gathered his remaining internal power, and injected it into the ball. In an instant, the black and white colors of the ball began to fluctuate rapidly. Before Liang Xiao could react, he felt a numbness in his palm, and a thick, warm current burst out of the yin-yang ball, directly entering the "Laogong Acupoint", following the "Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian" upwards, returning to the "Zhongji" Sea of Qi.

  Li Shuo couldn't believe it, and once again infused the yin-yang sphere with his true energy. In an instant, a thick and powerful surge of true energy was sent back to him. He was overjoyed and suddenly understood the meaning of "entering though insufficient, exiting with surplus, using surplus to make up for insufficiency". Uncontrollably, he danced with joy, laughing loudly.

  He was injured by the overwhelming righteous energy, with only a little internal strength left. Normally, it would take at least ten years of cultivation to recover. However, this "Yin Yang Ball" is a rare treasure in the world, and as long as the user inputs their internal strength, the true energy will rotate inside the ball and can change from weak to strong, transforming one into ten, and return to the user's body. Calculating it this way, ten years of work could be completed in just one year.

  Liang Xiao was delighted for a while before grasping the yin-yang ball in his left hand. This time, he guided his true energy into the "Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian", first practicing the "Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian". After the three focuses were full, he practiced the "Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian", "Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian", "Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian", and "Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian". Then, he rubbed his feet at the Yongquan point, practicing the "Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian", "Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian", "Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian", "Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian", and "Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian". After that, he practiced the "Dai Mai" and "Chong Mai" until his true energy was full. Only then did he place the yin-yang ball under his tongue. The tongue is the heavenly bridge of the human body, connecting the Ren and Du meridians, hooking up with the eight extraordinary meridians. The true energy flows into the yin-yang ball through the tongue, turns around, and comes out again, forming a complete cycle.

  Liang Xiao's internal strength was originally weak, but at this time it grew extremely fast. Every time he turned a cycle, it was as if he had practiced for ten days or half a month. He practiced until he entered a state of trance, forgetting the passage of time. When he came to, the light had faded and it was already dusk. The food had been placed in front of the door, but it had long since gone cold. It seemed that Ah Bing had called out for a long time without getting a response, so she had left on her own. Liang Xiao hadn't eaten all day, but because his true energy was full to bursting, his mouth and tongue produced saliva, and he didn't feel hungry or thirsty at all.

  After more than ten days, Han Ningzi did not come again, and Liang Xiao was happy to have no one disturbing him. Sometimes when he got tired of sitting, he would practice a few sets of fist and foot techniques to relax his muscles and bones. At first, his fists and feet were weak, but as his internal energy grew, the wind sound gradually emerged in his fists and feet. However, as Liang Xiao's internal energy grew stronger, the true energy generated by the "Yin-Yang Ball" became weaker. At first, it was one to ten, five days later it changed to one to nine, and then decreased day by day. By the twentieth day, it had become one to four. As Liang Xiao's input of true energy grew stronger, the black and white energies inside the ball clashed more fiercely, like boiling water churning. Liang Xiao felt puzzled and couldn't figure out what was happening.

  On this day, he practiced a set of fist and foot techniques, thinking about how to escape. In these days, his internal strength had recovered somewhat, but he was still no match for Han Ningzi. After some thought, he remembered the "Chuan Xin Qi Shi" from the "Frost Pond Sword Spectrum". He picked up a bamboo abacus and stabbed it according to the method, making swift and fierce movements, and the abacus gradually made a whistling sound on its surface. Liang Xiao was excited and stabbed at the cave wall, the bamboo abacus entering the stone halfway. The same move, but with vastly different results from before, Liang Xiao's heart was filled with joy, and he thought: "If I hold the yin-yang ball in my mouth, won't my internal strength increase fourfold?" He immediately put the yin-yang ball in his mouth, raised the abacus and stabbed swiftly, this time entering the wall two inches deep.

  Liang Xiao confirmed his thoughts, overjoyed beyond measure, and practiced day and night. One day, as he was practicing swordplay, he suddenly heard a clanging sound outside the door. He held the yin-yang ball in his mouth, calculating in his mind. If the stone gate opened, he would first catch Ah Bing off guard and knock her down, then use all his strength to force back Han Ningzi, rush into the bamboo forest, and use the "Southern Dipper Four Symbol Array" to shake her off.

  The sound of the bell grew louder and more frequent, then suddenly stopped in front of the door. Liang Xiao's heart beat faster, his hands slightly trembling, when he heard a loud "creak" as the stone door swung open. He was like an arrow on the string, ready to shoot out, but two people rushed in from outside, stumbling and staggering towards him. This move was unexpected, and Liang Xiao had no choice but to dodge aside, hesitating for a moment, the two stone doors slammed shut with a loud bang. Han Ningzi let out a cold laugh, saying: "Young man, I've found some entertainment for you, ha! You can enjoy it slowly." With that, she fell silent.