The Girl in Black

Looking back at Song Qingshu, he had traveled day and night and finally arrived at the foot of Mount Hua.

"Feng Qingyang probably won't teach me the Nine Swords of Dugu, so I'll look for the Golden Snake Secret Manual, which is also on Mount Hua. The Golden Snake Lord Xia Xueyi is someone I greatly admire, much more likable than that Yuan Chengzhi," Song Qingshu muttered to himself.

However, Mount Hua is so vast, how could it be easy to find a Golden Snake Secret Cave? Song Qingshu racked his brains, recalling the plot of the original book, but still couldn't remember where the Golden Snake Secret Cave was located.

"Yuan Chengzhi learned his skills on Chaoyang Peak of Mount Hua. That Golden Snake Secret Cave was discovered by his pet ape nearby. If nothing unexpected happens, the Golden Snake Secret Cave should be near Chaoyang Peak," Song Qingshu paced back and forth, organizing his thoughts. "However, during the conflict between the Sword Sect and Qi Sect of the Mount Hua Sect back then, they split into the Qi Sect on Jade Maiden Peak, led by Yue Buqun, and many masters from the Sword Sect gathered on Chaoyang Peak, forming their own faction and also calling themselves the Mount Hua Sect, currently led by the Divine Sword Immortal Ape Mu Renqing. Chaoyang Peak is the territory of the Mount Hua Sword Sect, with many masters. The Golden Snake Lord must have been wary back then, so this cave couldn't have been too close to Chaoyang Peak..."

For the next few days, Song Qingshu searched outward, starting ten miles away from Chaoyang Peak as the center, specifically looking for sheer cliffs. His internal energy was now profound, and the Martial Arts of the Mount Hua Sect's Cloud Ascending Steps were particularly adept at jumping up and down. Song Qingshu leaped back and forth between the mountain walls. Although it was dangerous, there wasn't much risk.

"Wahahaha, I finally found it~~~~~~~~~~" A few days later, an exaggerated and unrestrained laugh echoed through the mountains. Song Qingshu looked at the secret cave before him, stroked his chin, and looked quite pleased with himself. "That binary search method my company's software engineer told me about is quite efficient. But it's still my innate talent. He just mentioned it casually, and I still remember it."

However, when he crawled into the cave and saw the already buried tomb, with a stone tablet on it that read "Tomb of the Golden Snake Lord Xia Xueyi, Erected by Yuan Chengzhi and Xia Qingqing," he couldn't laugh anymore.

He was late again. Song Qingshu slumped onto the ground, not even having the inclination to search around. He knew that the Golden Snake Lord had left behind a fake manual with potent poison. Now that Yuan Chengzhi had clearly taken the real manual, what was the point of searching?

"What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, do not force it." Song Qingshu looked back at the Golden Snake Lord's tomb with reluctance, sighed, and walked to the cave entrance. He gathered his energy and leaped upwards, finally stopping on a large tree at the edge of the cliff. He lay across the thick branches, his hands behind his head, staring at the blue sky and white clouds in a daze.

"I was so foolish, so naive," Song Qingshu chuckled self-deprecatingly. "These great treasures and secret arts were originally destined for the protagonists of the original story. I actually foolishly dreamed of competing for luck with the original protagonist... Reality is too cruel, and life is too difficult..."

At this moment, Song Qingshu understood that the idea of collecting all the martial arts treasures in the world was unrealistic. Fate might be illusory, and you can choose not to believe in it, but you cannot overestimate yourself and challenge it.

"I hope I'm not destined to be a villain who serves to highlight the protagonist," Song Qingshu felt a deep sense of powerlessness, even a hint of confusion about the future.

"Yun Zhonghe, I'd rather jump off a cliff than let you succeed." Suddenly, an angry female voice came from below the tree. Even though her voice was filled with anger and panic, it was still incredibly clear and pleasant.

Song Qingshu curiously looked down and saw a slender, graceful young girl in black, backing away step by step towards the cliff. The wind was strong at the edge of the cliff, blowing her long, flowing black hair everywhere, which was quite beautiful.

Opposite her stood a thin, middle-aged man in green, holding a tarnished silver crane claw. He stroked the small mustache on his upper lip with one hand, smiling at the girl. "Mu Wanqing, are you willing to leave your Duan Lang?" Seeing Mu Wanqing's eyes indeed change, Yun Zhonghe continued, "Oh, I almost forgot, your affectionate brother has become your biological brother..."

"You!" Touched in a sore spot by Yun Zhonghe, Mu Wanqing, in a fit of rage, drew her sword and attacked.

His scheme successful, a smug smile appeared on Yun Zhonghe's lips as he wielded his silver claw to meet her. Song Qingshu watched the scene unfold like a spectator. Mu Wanqing's swordsmanship had some foundation, but she was still no match for Yun Zhonghe. Furthermore, Yun Zhonghe's moves were despicable, always targeting the girl's private areas. Mu Wanqing was both angry and flustered, thus she was at a disadvantage everywhere.

Song Qingshu finally got a clear look at her face. It was exquisitely beautiful, like a new moon's halo, or snow piled on flowers. Especially her small, delicate chin, paired with her thin, nimble cherry lips, made her indescribably elegant and refined. "Is Duan Yu an idiot? Mu Wanqing's beauty is no less than Wang Yuyan's!" This was Song Qingshu's first reaction upon seeing her appearance.

Thinking of how he had encountered bad luck ever since entering the Boundless Jade Cave, Song Qingshu hated Duan Yu to the bone. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips. "Then I'll play a trick on your wife to vent my anger!"

Yun Zhonghe's heart grew more and more excited. He saw that Mu Wanqing was about to be captured by him, and then he could do whatever he pleased... Thinking that he had never touched such a beautiful woman in his life, his heart suddenly burned with desire.

"Who is making such a racket here, disturbing Gou Dan'er's sleep?" The sudden voice from the tree startled both of them. They looked up and saw a raggedly dressed farm boy with messy hair sitting on a tree branch, stretching lazily. He looked groggy, clearly just woken up.

"Get lost, you brat, don't get in the way of my good deed," Yun Zhonghe said menacingly to scare him. Song Qingshu had been living rough for some time, and his clothes were already dirty and disheveled. The weather had gradually gotten warmer, and Song Qingshu, accustomed to air conditioning in his previous life, couldn't stand it. He had unconsciously rolled up his trouser legs. Now, he looked exactly like a young woodcutter from the countryside.

Song Qingshu pretended to be foolish and stared at Yun Zhonghe for a couple of seconds, then exclaimed in wonder, "So you're Cousin Jin Yong."

"Who is Jin Yong?" Yun Zhonghe was completely bewildered. He hadn't noticed anyone else's presence at all just now and was momentarily unsure of this strange boy's background.

He didn't know that Yun Zhonghe was the pen name of Jin Yong's cousin, Xu Zhimo. Recalling Xu Zhimo's unfaithful behavior in his past life, Song Qingshu secretly praised, "Old Master Jin is quite the comedian!"

"Why are you wearing a veil in broad daylight? How strange," Mu Wanqing said, looking at Song Qingshu's attire curiously.

"My mother said I was too ugly, so she covered my face since I was little. She also said that the first woman to remove my veil and see my face would be the one I marry... oh no, the one I marry as my wife." Song Qingshu smiled foolishly at Mu Wanqing, walking around her and sizing her up.

"So he's an idiot," Yun Zhonghe secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Wanqing felt uneasy under his gaze and said irritably, "What are you looking at!"

"Sister, sister, you're so beautiful. Why don't you take off my veil? I'll marry you as my wife," Song Qingshu said in a simple, honest tone.