Unknown

The dewdrops in the forest scattered the sunlight.

Qin Yi slowly looked back, staring unblinkingly at the girl.

Ruan Su's answer had given him an entirely new line of thought. He had always considered things from the perspective of overall interests before, but had never thought about the matter from the side of inheritance.

Inheritance ran through the entirety of civilization.

Whether academic theories, ingenious creations, or social currents of thought, all required vessels through which they could be passed down. They could be stone walls, bronze vessels, books and classics, or even human beings themselves.

Hidden metaphors and proverbs, local customs, and regional slang all counted as inheritances woven into human life.

If things truly were as Ruan Su had said,

then the authors had scattered encrypted cultivation techniques into widely circulated poems and miscellaneous writings, most likely in order to achieve precisely this.

Thinking this, Qin Yi softly said,

"So you mean that these authors used people themselves to pass down cultivation techniques while they remained completely unaware of it?"

Hearing the question, Ruan Su thought seriously for a long while. Suddenly, she felt that Xiao Yi was like a roundworm in her belly—he had directly summed up what even she herself had not fully thought through. She nodded.

"Yes."

"And the reason?"

This time, Qin Yi was not asking Ruan Su. He spoke aloud to himself.

"Why didn't those authors use the simplest method, like bamboo slips or paper? They could have printed some copies and hidden them in some remote mountain forest, and they wouldn't need to fear the inheritance being cut off..."

At that thought, Qin Yi suddenly seemed to have caught hold of some crucial piece of information.

Fear.

Fear the inheritance being cut off...?

Why would these people who stood at the pinnacle of the world, who could found sects and establish schools, or even rule entire nations, fear cultivation techniques being lost to time?

Given their identities, status, and the resources they could command, hiding a few techniques and ensuring their transmission should have been a matter simpler than simple.

So this line of thought was wrong as well?

Thinking this, Qin Yi quietly let out a breath.

He decided not to think about the question for now.

At present, he had only collected two techniques, Disrupted Scripture and Nine Songs. The sample size was still too small and lacked universality.

He silently followed Ruan Su onward.

Suddenly,

Crack—

As he walked, the sound of Qin Yi snapping a branch softly echoed through the woods. His body abruptly stiffened, and the girl ahead, who was tugging at his sleeve, pulled him into a stagger.

Ruan Su, carrying armfuls of bags, turned back and saw him. She hurriedly wanted to help him up, but Qin Yi raised a hand to stop her.

"Big Sis."

After steadying himself, Qin Yi suddenly realized something. He slowly raised his eyes, his black pupils deep and dark, while his calm voice quietly spread.

"When we were in the Qin Lands, I was unconscious most of the time. Did you ever hear of Disrupted Scripture?"

"Dis... rupted Scripture?"

Ruan Su stood on the forest path, narrowing her eyes in thought. After a moment, she shook her head.

"No..."

Qin Yi smiled faintly and handed her the translated copy of Nine Songs from his arms.

"Then take another look at this. This copy of Nine Songs should have circulated rather widely in the Qin Lands."

Ruan Su accepted it and quickly skimmed through it, one piece after another. Only after she had finished the whole book did she raise her eyes and shake her head.

"Still... no."

Qin Yi took Nine Songs back and confirmed,

"Not a single piece? Anything similar would do."

Confusion filled Ruan Su's eyes.

"No... why?"

Qin Yi gave a light smile.

"Nothing. I just suddenly thought of something interesting."

Ruan Su immediately shot him a glare.

Xiao Yi only ever said half of what he meant. Annoying. Hmph.

Qin Yi did not mind. He patted the water stains on his clothes.

No wonder they had to hide them.

Even hidden so thoroughly, they had still been cut off from inheritance...

Cultivation techniques had evolved from martial artists' internal energy arts. Anyone capable of creating a cultivation technique must have brought martial artists' internal energy arts to the pinnacle of perfection.

The people who had written poems, songs, miscellaneous records, and essays such as Disrupted Scripture and Nine Songs were most likely members of the ruling class, powerful and high-ranking.

Yet despite being so cautious, they had still been unable to avoid failure.

Who had done this?

Or rather...

Qin Yi raised his head, gazing calmly through the canopy at the northern sky.

...Perhaps those were not human at all, but certain "things"?

Qin Yi no longer thought about such matters.

He could verify it if he encountered them someday. If not, then so be it. If the sky fell, there would always be someone taller to hold it up.

Mm, someone like that big sister Meng Peijiu.

Qin Yi thought she was quite suitable.

After following Ruan Su for quite some distance, Qin Yi suddenly felt a faint tremor. He initially thought his brain ailment was acting up, but when he saw withered leaves rustling down around them, flocks of birds taking flight, and beasts roaring in the mountains, he understood.

An earthquake.

The shaking grew stronger from weak beginnings.

It was quite a spectacular sight in the forest—a true earth-shaking, mountain-quaking upheaval.

Ruan Su stood where she was, not knowing what was happening. Her little face was slightly pale as she looked at Qin Yi. It was clearly her first time experiencing one.

Qin Yi, on the other hand, did not look the least bit panicked.

Just an earthquake. What was there to make such a fuss about?

Seeing Ruan Su still standing there, Qin Yi comforted her.

"The earth dragon is turning over. It doesn't look too serious, and Compassion Mountain won't collapse that easily. But the traps around our home will probably suffer."

As his words fell, the mountain's swaying indeed gradually subsided. Only the beasts deep in the mountains continued howling chaotically, one after another.

Seeing Qin Yi gradually walking away, Ruan Su hurriedly followed after him at a trot, carrying all her bags.

When they returned home and saw the state of the courtyard, Qin Yi still sighed softly despite having expected it.

More than half the traps in the courtyard had been triggered.

Quite a few arrows were stuck in the soil. Several hanging traps had been activated, and even the conical wooden stake by the entrance had slid down, smashing their wooden door clean off. It was currently swinging back and forth from the doorframe like a swing.

Having been warned by Qin Yi beforehand, Ruan Su wanted to walk straight inside. Qin Yi hurriedly stopped his big sister.

"Big Sis, wait a moment."

As he spoke, he formed a hand seal and summoned light.

Over the past few days, he had discovered that he did not need to first use the breathing method to enter Cultivation Sight in order to output Spirit Resonance. It was simply far more strenuous that way.

After using the light to trigger the remaining traps in the courtyard, Qin Yi explained,

"The mechanisms of these traps have probably all loosened. They'll need to be remade. I'll go inside and check on my body. You can use the method I taught you to set up the traps again..."

Halfway through his words,

Qin Yi suddenly paused and shook his little head.

"Forget it. Before you get used to your strength, you shouldn't do anything. I'll handle the cooking and chores for now. Mm... if you're bored, Big Sis, practice the saber technique Uncle Peng taught you in the courtyard."

Sometimes, when one's realm rose too quickly, it could instead weaken one's combat strength in actual battle.

Ruan Su was somewhat flattered, but then she asked eagerly,

"Then... the medicine... for my throat..."

Faced with those pleading eyes, Qin Yi ignored her. He used light to loop around and lift one cloth bag from behind the girl, then walked toward the kitchen, leaving behind a helpless sentence.

"I'll brew it for you. Practice your saber technique properly."

"Hehe~ Okay!"

Half an hour later,

Qin Yi emerged from the small house, with a steaming porcelain bowl floating behind him. He looked at the mess covering the little courtyard with some surprise.

Ruan Su's increase in strength this time had been even greater than he had imagined.

Seeing Qin Yi come out, the girl immediately ran over in delight and reached for the porcelain bowl.

"Xiao Yi... is it... ready?!"

Smack!

Qin Yi slapped her hand away, raising his head to look at his big sister, who stood a head taller than him.

"Lower yourself a little. I'll feed you. Don't break the bowl—we only have one dose of this medicine."

"Oh, oh... okay."

Ruan Su came to a realization and nodded.

Looking at the girl crouching halfway in front of him, Qin Yi also bent down slightly and held the bowl to her lips.

His movements were gentle and slow.

Ruan Su stared unblinkingly at the boy before her.

Glug, glug, glug.

The medicine gradually flowed down her throat.

The medicinal soup for treating her throat seemed very bitter. As Ruan Su drank, her pretty brows unconsciously knit together, and she instinctively closed her eyes. When the bowl was empty, the girl's entire body gave a slight shudder. Opening her eyes and seeing a little medicine still at the bottom, she even wanted to lick it clean.

All right, Qin Yi seemed to have underestimated how much her congenital physical defect had harmed his big sister.

Still, he moved the porcelain bowl away.

It was far too unseemly for a girl to do that.

Qin Yi waved a hand.

"Meng Peijiu didn't say how long this medicine would take to work. How do you feel now, Big Sis?"

"Cough, cough..."

Ruan Su coughed, touched her throat, and carefully felt it out.

A pleasant voice, clear as wind chimes, softly rang through the siblings' little courtyard.

"Mm... I don't feel anything else. My throat is just a little itchy. Eh? Eh?"