Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

"Peerless"

Yang Guo's voice was deep and gentle, with a guiding rhythm.

"Tell me about yourself, starting from the earliest time you can remember."

Lu Wushuang's lips parted slightly, her voice flat and even, yet each word was clear:

"I... was born in Lu Family Village, Jiaxing. My father, Lu Liding, was the head of the village. The family was very large, with many people. My father taught me to read and write, and also asked a master to teach me some basic martial arts..."

Xiaolongnu's originally aloof expression showed a noticeable tremor for the first time when she heard the words "Lu Family Village in Jiaxing".

She remembered the old stories of the martial arts world that her master had mentioned before: Li Mochou's massacre of the Lu family manor was a tragic incident that happened many years ago.

"...Later, when I was ten years old, a beautiful woman in an apricot-yellow Taoist robe came to the village. She was very cold and fierce."

Lu Wushuang's voice remained flat, yet it sent a chill down the spine of the listener.

"She asked my father what he wanted, and when he refused... she... she killed people. Many people, uncles, aunts... they all died. My father hid me in a box in a secret room and told me not to make a sound no matter what... I heard screams outside, and that woman's laughter..."

Little Dragon Girl held her breath slightly.

Her gaze toward Lu Wushuang gradually shifted from surprise to complexity.

This girl, who always seemed a bit stubborn and lively, was actually carrying such a deep-seated hatred.

What she found even more difficult to understand was...

"Then...why are you still alive? And how did you become her disciple?"

Xiaolongnu couldn't help but press for an answer, her usually cool voice revealing a rare urgency.

Lu Wushuang's eyes darted unconsciously beneath her eyelids, as if searching her memory:

"I hid in the box for a long, long time, hungry and scared. Then there was no sound, and I quietly crawled out... The village was full of... full of... and then I saw her."

She seemed to be slightly injured and was sitting in the courtyard, trying to catch her breath. She noticed me, looked at me and the handkerchief in my hand with a strange expression... but didn't kill me immediately.

She said... "Lu Zhanyuan's niece does look somewhat like that bitch... It's too easy for the Lu family to die like this."

"She took me away. She gave me two choices: either die immediately, or become her disciple, learn her martial arts, and sever all ties with the Lu family, becoming her dog."

A very faint tremor finally seeped into Lu Wushuang's otherwise calm voice.

"I...I don't want to die. I knelt down and called her Master."

Little Dragon Girl remained silent.

Although she was naive and inexperienced, she could still sense the twisted revenge and cruelty in the words.

Li Mochou's decision not to kill Lu Wushuang was not out of pity, but rather to force the Lu family bloodline to acknowledge their enemy as their master and bear this humiliation and pain for eternity.

Where does this hatred come from?

"She..." Xiaolongnu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Li Mochou, why does she hate your Lu family so much? What is her relationship with that 'Lu Zhanyuan'?"

This question seems to have touched upon a more complex nexus deep within my memory.

Lu Wushuang paused for a moment before continuing in that dreamlike tone:

"Later, I overheard my master sometimes talking to an old brocade pouch when he was drunk."

The brocade pouch was left by Lu Zhanyuan... my eldest uncle. When my master was young, he encountered my injured uncle outside the ancient tomb, saved him, and the two... recovered.

His master also taught him the martial arts of the Ancient Tomb Sect and wanted to marry him.

However, after recovering from his injuries, Lu Zhanyuan, the eldest uncle, left on the grounds of "going home to inform his parents," promising to return to marry his master.

After returning home, my uncle married Aunt He Yuanjun... When my master went to Lu Family Village to find him, he publicly humiliated her, calling her an evil witch who didn't know her place... My patriarch also severely punished my master and expelled her from the sect because my master had privately taught him martial arts and made a private engagement...

There was silence around the campfire, broken only by the crackling of burning wood.

Grandma Sun was already in tears, wiping them away with her sleeve.

Xiaolongnu was lost in thought. Although she knew that her senior sister had been expelled from the sect, she did not know that there was such a tragic love affair and betrayal involved.

Love turned to hatred, and that hatred spread throughout the entire Lu family, even implicating innocent people...

This is the root cause of why my senior sister became so paranoid and ruthless.

Yang Guo timely withdrew his spiritual power and gently flicked his sleeve.

Lu Wushuang swayed slightly, her eyes gradually regaining their clarity. She blinked, looking around somewhat blankly:

"Was I...did I just talk in my sleep again? Why do I feel so dizzy..."

She has no memory of anything she revealed after being hypnotized.

No one answered her immediately.

A heavy and melancholic atmosphere permeated the air.

Just then, the pheasant and fish on the grill were cooked to perfection, their skins golden and crispy, glistening with oil, and their rich aroma permeated the air even more intensely than before, slightly diluting the heaviness of the meal.

"Oh dear, we were so busy talking that the meat is almost overcooked!"

Grandma Sun was the first to come to her senses. She quickly used a twig to remove the roasted food and placed it on a clean, large leaf.

She looked at the fragrant roasted meat, then at the various expressions on the faces of the people around her, and suddenly slapped her thigh. "No feast is complete without meat and wine! You wait, this old woman has hidden something good!"

As she spoke, she turned and jogged back to the ancient tomb. A short while later, she emerged carrying a rough pottery jar sealed with mud, a hint of pride on her face.

"This was brewed privately using wild fruits and spring water from the back mountain. It's been buried for several years, and nobody drinks it normally. But today... after hearing all this, I should have a little."

She broke the mud seal, and a cool, fruity, and sweet aroma of wine wafted out.

She poured wine into several clean bamboo tubes and handed them to Yang Guo first.

He then handed it to Lu Wushuang, but after hesitating for a moment, he poured out a tube and handed it to Xiaolongnu.

"Miss Long, why don't you... have a taste? To warm yourself up," Granny Sun urged.

Xiaolongnu instinctively wanted to refuse, as she had never drunk alcohol and there were no such rules in the Ancient Tomb.

But after hearing so many unexpected stories tonight, her heart was filled with turmoil, and the refreshing aroma of wine made her momentarily dazed.

"Miss Long," Yang Guo picked up his bamboo tube and raised it slightly towards her, the firelight reflecting his open and smiling eyes.

"The past is like the mountain mist, condensing into dew, and also dissipating with the sunlight. As for the future, let's look to today. This cup is for you, and also for... this rare warmth and life in the world."

He spoke casually, yet skillfully avoided heavy topics, steer the conversation toward the present moment.

Xiaolongnu looked at him, then at Granny Sun's expectant eyes, and then at Lu Wushuang beside her, who, though unaware of what was going on, was already staring longingly at the roasted meat.

She remained silent for a moment, then finally reached out her slender hand and accepted the bottle of wine.

The wine is initially sweet upon tasting.

Immediately, a warm current slid down his throat.

It quickly transformed into a warm sensation that spread throughout the body.

Two charming blushes rose on her cheeks, like white jade glowing with rosy clouds, instantly adding a rare touch of beauty and vibrancy to her otherwise aloof and ethereal face.

She seemed somewhat bewildered by the unfamiliar warmth and tipsy feeling.

Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a faint shadow under her eyelids, and she silently took another sip.

Seeing her unusual appearance, Yang Guo's smile deepened, and he tilted his head back to drink the wine in his cup.