The weather in Fujian was humid, hot, and rainy—very different from Hengshan.
Zhong Lingxiu wasn’t short on money, so this time she didn’t stay at an inn. Instead, she found a small courtyard to rent from a local, going daily to the shops to buy specialties unique to Fuzhou.
If anyone asked, she said it was her first time away from home doing business, intending to buy some southern specialties to sell up north.
That wasn’t a lie. She had the capital and had planned to head north anyway. Since she was already here, earning some pocket money was killing two birds with one stone.
Taking advantage of the convenience while investigating the specialties, she learned quite a bit about the Fuwei Escort Agency.
Their family was the most famous escort agency in the southern regions, with many men and connections everywhere.
Despite the opening of the Smiling Proud Wanderer story, where the Fuwei Escort Agency was destroyed by the Qingcheng Sect, to ordinary people the agency was a real local power in Fuzhou.
And Lin Zhennan was very capable at handling people. Not only had he made friends with various figures in the martial world, but his business in Fuzhou was thriving; he contributed to road repairs and donated clothes, earning a good reputation.
Unfortunately, “innocent men suffer when possessing precious things.”
The Lin family’s Evil-Repelling Sword Manual was famous and attracted many who coveted it, eventually leading to their clan’s massacre. The cruel and ruthless plot behind this tragedy was already showing signs today.
Indeed, Qingcheng Sect spies had appeared near the Fuwei Escort Agency.
They weren’t the “heroes and champions” she’d seen before; judging by their moves, they were just ordinary disciples. But during swordplay, they accidentally revealed two moves of the Songfeng Sword Technique, which she recognized.
Zhong Lingxiu grew increasingly cautious, trying to avoid the Fuwei Escort Agency in her movements. There was a famous line in Smiling Proud Wanderer: “The most powerful tricks in the world aren’t in martial arts but in schemes and plots.” Even though she had killed Tian Boguang and was roughly a second-tier expert, she didn’t dare challenge the treacherous nature of human hearts.
Fortunately, Qingcheng Sect’s actions were only just beginning; their outer disciples were merely tailing and gathering information, and no one cared about the Lin family’s old residence.
She used a simple method: trading by day, sneaking around deserted houses by night to investigate.
Her target had to meet several criteria: an old residence, definitely with some age, not a new house. The Lin family was wealthy, so they wouldn’t let the estate fall into neglect; it must be regularly maintained and cleaned. In other words, the destination was a well-kept old residence with tightly closed doors by day and no lights on at night.
Fuzhou’s neighborhoods were very orderly. Running through one neighborhood each day, she could find her target in a matter of mornings and evenings.
Her luck was neither good nor bad. After half a month, she found the Lin family’s old residence on Xiangyang Alley.
The house had several rooms, the courtyard showed fallen leaves pooling in water, steps dusted with a thin layer of gray, beams and pillars sturdy and intact, with only some slippery green moss on the roof.
It had been more than ten years since she read Smiling Proud Wanderer. In all the years since the martial heroes had died, Zhong Lingxiu hadn’t reread the novel, so many details were fuzzy; she only remembered that the sword manual was copied onto a monk’s kasaya.
Since it was a kasaya, the most likely place was the Buddhist hall.
There was one in the northwest corner. The door was locked, but she didn’t force it open. Instead, she fiddled by the window for a while, lifting the bolt inside and successfully sneaked in.
On the wall hung a sumi-e painting of Bodhidharma, along with meditation cushions, a wooden fish, Buddhist scriptures, and other items.
She glanced briefly and immediately went to the corner, searching for the kasaya that might hide the manual.
…It was easy to find.
Right on the beam above.
Because Bodhidharma’s finger pointed upward, very much like a classic “escape room” clue.
The kasaya was dull and faded but covered with dense tiny characters—it was the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.
Zhong Lingxiu was overjoyed. She pulled out paper and pen from her bundle, lit the oil lamp, and began copying.
Fearing she might become distracted and get ambushed, she copied from left to right, deliberately avoiding internalizing the text fully.
The kasaya was limited in space, so the characters weren’t many. A few were quite obscure, but as they all came from Buddhist scriptures, she recognized them all—a fortunate surprise.
By dawn, she had finished copying the manual. After refolding the kasaya, she hid it back on the beam.
Thinking further, she held up the oil lamp to the Bodhidharma painting and burned a hole through the part where his finger pointed, obscuring the key information.
Ancient people rose early; by now, there were already voices on the street, so it wasn’t time to leave.
She didn’t rush to leave but moved to another large room to review the copied sword manual.
At the very start: “To practice this skill, one must first castrate oneself!”
A stamp of authenticity—pure martial arts bloodline.
Zhong Lingxiu didn’t see the humor in it, but for some reason, she inexplicably laughed for a while before starting to read.
Once she started, she was hooked.
The Evil-Repelling Sword Manual was truly a coveted manual in the Smiling Proud Wanderer world, possessing unique qualities. Just reading two or three lines showed it was definitely more powerful than Hengshan’s heart method. Of course, Lin Yuantu—the creator of the manual—had also said that this skill was vicious and ruthless, unsuitable for nuns and monks, and that ordinary people should keep their distance.
Zhong Lingxiu had long forgotten Lin Yuantu’s backstory, but hearing he was originally a monk who obtained this martial art by chance reminded her of related plots—seemingly obtained somewhere in Huashan and indirectly causing disputes over sword energy.
She didn’t remember the specifics, but it didn’t matter; his words revealed an important piece of information—nun disciples could learn it more easily than ordinary people.
Could it be that the Buddhist mind methods of uprightness, peace, and compassion could offset the drawbacks of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual?
This was good news, though Zhong Lingxiu still had no intention to practice it.
She carefully read through the manual from start to finish, then memorized it word by word.
Since many characters might be missing or unclear, keeping it in her mind was a double insurance.
She focused on memorization, nibbling on steamed buns when hungry and drinking a little turbid wine when thirsty, only setting out from Xiangyang Alley at nightfall with the completed letter in hand.
Long nights brought many dreams. Zhong Lingxiu didn’t like to procrastinate and decided to investigate the Fuwei Escort Agency today.
Everything went smoothly.
Her lightness skill was only slightly inferior to Tian Boguang’s. She easily defeated the escorts and heads guarding the agency, silently sneaking into Lin Zhennan and his wife’s bedroom. The door wasn’t locked; a gentle push opened it, and she slipped inside with the night breeze, landing soundlessly.
The couple slept deeply and closely; their affection seemed strong.
Zhong Lingxiu bent down and quietly placed the letter on their pillow before leaving as quietly as she had come.
–
The morning light was faint.
Lin Zhennan woke as usual, energetic, and got out of bed to dress. Just as he sat up, the edge of his palm touched something.
He turned and immediately felt a chill in his heart.
A letter? Someone had silently broken into their bedroom?
He instinctively looked at his wife, who was still sound asleep and unharmed, and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then, suspiciously, he opened the letter.
The paper was coarse, typical of the poor-quality paper found on street corners. The ink was dry and faded gray, clearly not good ink. The handwriting varied in size, crooked and shaky, not from a practiced hand. The contents shocked him.
[“To Escort Head Lin, consider this letter a conversation. Your family’s Evil-Repelling Sword Manual is coveted by others with plans to seize it. Prepare early to prevent the worst. To avoid suspicion that I am probing, I inform you directly: I have seen the manual, and the price is extinction of heirs. Wishing you safety.”]
Lin Zhennan had seen the kasaya in the old residence and understood the meaning of “extinction of heirs.” He believed most of the letter.
He guessed: this person sneaked into his home at night but didn’t harm him or his wife. Without the “extinction of heirs” warning, it would seem a trap to lure him in. But since the sender openly mentioned it, they must have truly seen the manual; therefore, the warning was no baseless rumor.
Someone was truly after the Lin family, seeking to obtain the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.
But who? The Fuwei Escort Agency had always been friendly and hadn’t offended anyone… Was it still “innocent but blamed for having treasure”? Also, who was the sender? How did they know where the manual was hidden? Did his father confide in someone? Or was there a traitor in the family?
His thoughts swirled. Unable to decide, he hesitated for a long time before deciding to hold still and observe the situation.
He burned the letter by candlelight, went about washing and morning exercises as if nothing had happened.
Later, he gathered his trusted men and ordered them to watch the agency’s surroundings.
After all, the Fuwei Escort Agency was a local power; if they seriously investigated, they would naturally find some clues. Three days later, though Lin Zhennan still didn’t know the mastermind, he confirmed that the teahouse near the agency had changed owners and that an outsider had inquired about the Lin family’s past.
He stayed calm and quietly returned to the old residence, where he found the burned Bodhidharma painting. All hope of luck vanished. He immediately wrote to his father-in-law and, citing a family visit, sent his son Lin Pingzhi away.
Zhong Lingxiu sat at a rice noodle stall by the city gate, eating fresh fish ball soup and witnessed this scene with her own eyes.
Her heart instantly felt clear.
Everything about the Lin family was over for her.
Whether it was Qingcheng Sect, Zuo Lengchan, or Yue Buqun, their coveting of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual was for profit, not misunderstanding. The Lin family’s massacre was a disaster destined by their possession of treasure.
This was the tone of Smiling Proud Wanderer: “Where there are people, there are grudges; where there are grudges, there is the martial world.” Human greed could never be escaped or resolved.
Her abilities were limited. She had read their sword manual and warned of the danger in advance, but how to deal with it was Lin Zhennan’s problem—whether to have Lin Pingzhi strive to become strong through martial arts or give up the sword technique for protection was the Lin family’s own choice.
Southern summers were hot. It was time to leave.
The next day, she ended the short rental on the courtyard, hired a carriage to transport the purchased specialties, and set off by boat north along the planned route.
There were many routes from Fujian to Shanxi. Because she coveted the Smiling Proud Wanderer story, Zhong Lingxiu decided to try her luck in Hengyang first, then Changsha, visit Yueyang to see the Yueyang Tower, then Wuhan to see the Yellow Crane Tower, and then decide what to do next.
But the heavens were unpredictable. Along the way, she asked for directions but wasn’t sure if the old man was hard of hearing, if she misunderstood the dialect, or if the man deliberately misled her. Regardless, she took the wrong route and didn’t reach Hunan but instead entered Jiangxi.
Without navigation or maps, this was unavoidable and she had to accept it.
After entering the city and confirming her location, she realized she wasn’t far from Poyang Lake. She decided to change her plan and visit the lake.
After selling half her goods and recouping funds, she bought some local specialties to replenish her stock. When done, she rented a small boat by the lake, planning to enjoy the ancient lakeside scenery.
Then,
She saw Linghu Chong.
He was kidnapped.
Though unbelievable, he was indeed tied up on the boat, his acupoints sealed so he couldn’t move. Nearby was a delicate-looking young girl holding a gourd, pouring wine for him. He gulped down a few sips, his face full of distress as he looked inside the cabin, hesitant to speak.
Zhong Lingxiu was wary for a couple of seconds. Then, hearing the sound of qin and xiao playing inside, it suddenly clicked. She abandoned the boat, crossed the water, and landed heavily at the stern.
The small boat rocked a couple of times.
“Linghu Chong, what’s wrong?” she asked curiously. “Lost a bet and have to play statue?”
Linghu Chong’s expression changed sharply. “Don’t mind me, go quickly…”
She looked puzzled and turned to the two men inside the cabin—one gaunt, the other richly dressed. The latter was Liu Zhengfeng, whom she had briefly met on Huashan.
“If I’m not mistaken, that’s Elder Uncle Liu from Hengshan?”
Liu Zhengfeng sighed lightly: “Bad luck. First a foolish kid from Huashan, now a dumb girl from Hengshan.”
The other man pressed the qin strings and said calmly, “One more or less doesn’t matter.”
“Senior…” Linghu Chong hurriedly spoke, “Junior Sister doesn’t know your identity; please spare her and let her go.”
That remark brought faint smiles to the two men’s faces.
“Still a lovesick fool.”