Yang Guo: I defied death and reached the heavens in The Return of the Condor Heroes

Little Dragon Girl nodded gently, her tone calm and soothing, continuing to comfort her softly:

"Yes, senior sister, this is your home. You're back."

"Just focus on resting and recuperating for now. We can discuss other matters later."

After saying this, she didn't wait for Li Mochou to respond. She turned her head and whispered a few instructions into Granny Sun's ear.

After giving her instructions, she straightened up and slowly stepped out of the stone gate, her white dress brushing lightly across the cool bluestone ground without making a sound.

Seeing that Xiaolongnu and Granny Sun had finished their discussion and decided on a way to settle Li Mochou, Yang Guo immediately stepped out of the stone gate and headed towards the outhouse.

In an instant, only Granny Sun and Li Mochou, who was in a daze and had fragmented memories, remained in the stone chamber.

Granny Sun sighed softly, walked slowly to the stone table, picked up the earthenware bowl on the table, poured a cup of warm water, and then returned to Li Mochou's side.

She leaned slightly forward, bringing the rim of the bowl to Li Mochou's lips, and said gently:

"Don't worry, drink some water first. Don't be afraid, no one in the ancient tomb will hurt you."

Li Mochou lowered her eyes to look at the slightly swaying water in the bowl. The water reflected a swollen, haggard, and completely unfamiliar face, which made her momentarily lost in thought.

She looked up and examined Granny Sun's wrinkled yet kind and gentle face. After hesitating for a moment, she finally leaned closer to the rim of the bowl and began to sip her drink.

The warm water flowed over her dry, stinging throat, slightly calming the dizziness and confusion churning in her mind, finally clearing her heavy, throbbing head a little.

After taking a few sips, she moved her lips away, looked up at the old man in front of her, and whispered something in a soft, timid voice:

"Thank you... Grandma..."

When Grandma Sun heard the words of thanks, her hand holding the ceramic bowl trembled involuntarily, and her heart ached.

She gently placed the ceramic bowl back on the stone table, bent down and stretched out her arms to steadily support Li Mochou's swaying body, and slowly helped her walk towards the quiet room where the medicine for injuries was stored.

......

It was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, early morning.

The Tomb of the Living Dead remained dark and gloomy.

Inside the stone chamber, three resin oil lamps hung from iron hooks on the stone wall.

The dim, yellowish light flickered, casting countless distorted and fragmented shadows on the rough stone wall.

Yang Guo sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed, his eyes lightly closed, a faint white mist lingering around him, his back rising and falling slowly with long, even breaths.

He allowed the biting cold and his own internal energy to flow through his meridians, washing over his muscles, bones, skin, and internal organs again and again.

He gathered all his mental energy and will into his body, and the subtle pain of his bones being torn and his flesh being reconstructed lingered in his mind from time to time.

But he remained completely undisturbed, focusing intently on refining his Reverse Life Technique, progressing slowly step by step, though occasional noises drifted into his ears.

Today is Little Dragon Girl's eighteenth birthday, and Granny Sun has been busy preparing for it for half an hour.

From the direction of the kitchen came the soft clatter of knives chopping ingredients, the crackling of firewood burning in the stove, and the gurgling of boiling water lifting the lid of the earthenware pot, all mixed with a faint aroma that wafted along the winding passageway.

Before long, the soft clatter of bluestone steps echoed through the passageway.

"Young man Yang, stop practicing for now and come out for a meal."

Grandma Sun's aged voice came from the stone gate, her voice filled with undisguised joy.

Yang Guo slowly withdrew his inner energy, his eyes flashed, and he exhaled a three-foot-long wisp of white vapor that lingered in the stone chamber for a long time before rising to his feet.

He looked up at the doorway and saw that the old man's coarse cloth apron was still stained with oil, his hands were still damp from the kitchen, and his eyes were full of gentle smiles.

Yang Guo straightened his clothes, turned around, picked up the wooden box on the stone table next to him, put it in his arms, stepped out of the stone chamber, and walked slowly along the passage behind Granny Sun.

The stone walls of the passageway, which have always exuded the cold, fishy smell of earth, are now mixed with the fresh, smoky aroma of fish and meat.

After walking for about a hundred steps, the two arrived at another spacious stone chamber.

This stone chamber is several times larger than the Cold Jade Stone Chamber where he cultivated. Dozens of giant tallow candles are neatly arranged on the four walls, illuminating the room as if it were daytime, without any of the dark and oppressive atmosphere of the ancient tomb.

The walls are also carved with elegant patterns such as cloud patterns, winter plum blossoms, and flying cranes, as well as some inscriptions recording the old stories of the Ancient Tomb Sect, which are likely the work of Lin Chaoying.

The ground is paved with smooth, polished bluestone slabs, which feel solid and stable underfoot.

Compared to Yang Guo's "unfinished room" with only a bed and a table, this banquet stone room can be described as a "luxury villa".

In the center of the stone chamber stood a square, carved stone table, already neatly laden with food, steam rising gently. Stewed meat, fresh vegetables, and fish soup were all served.

It is evident that Granny Sun put a lot of thought and effort into purchasing and cooking for Xiaolongnu's birthday banquet.

On one side of the stone table, Little Dragon Girl, still dressed in plain white, sat aloofly on the stone bench, as if the sumptuous dishes on the table and the banquet carefully prepared for her had nothing to do with her.

On the other side, Li Mochou had also changed into a clean, plain-colored cloth shirt and was squatting on the bluestone ground. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed and touched back and forth, her five fingers spreading and closing repeatedly, as if she were playing with a novel toy.

Her swollen cheeks had mostly subsided, and her black hair had been neatly combed by Granny Sun, no longer showing the disheveled state she had two days ago.

He was just muttering incoherently, like a bewildered child, completely absorbed in his own world, oblivious to everything around him.

Yang Guo and Granny Sun stepped into the stone chamber by the candlelight, their footsteps landing one after the other on the bluestone floor.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Li Mochou stopped pointing and looked in the direction of the sound.

The moment her gaze fell upon Yang Guo, her shoulders hunched instinctively, and she hurriedly stood up and hid behind Xiaolongnu, as if seeking some kind of protection.

Little Dragon Girl let her lean against her side, only extending her slender, fair hand to rest on her arm, gently stroking and soothing her, as if comforting a frightened child.

Under such gentle reassurance, Li Mochou's tense body finally relaxed slightly.

Although she was still hiding behind Xiaolongnu, she no longer trembled violently as she had a few days before. She just lowered her head and unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes with her fingertips.

Yang Guo looked at the scene before him and shook his head inwardly with a sense of helplessness.

Now, when Li Mochou sees him, it's like a mouse seeing a cat. Although her reaction is somewhat milder than the day before, her instinct is still that of encountering a natural enemy, and she just wants to stay far away.

However, he didn't care. Although the situation was unexpected, it was reasonable after a closer look at the battle that day.

Grandma Sun invited everyone to sit around the table, then turned around and took a jar of long-sealed sake from the corner of the wall. She removed the mud seal and poured sake for everyone in turn.

The clear, cool liquor was poured into the bowl, creating fine foam. The rich aroma of the liquor instantly spread, mingling with the fresh fragrance of the food on the table, adding a rare touch of earthy charm.

Today, even the wrinkles around Grandma Sun's eyes are filled with smiles.

Her gaze first fell on Xiaolongnu, who was sitting upright in front of the table, then looked at Yang Guo beside her, and finally fell on Li Mochou, who was still lowering her head and fiddling with her fingertips.

She picked up the wine bowl in front of her, her tone both a sigh of lament and a recollection of the past:

"Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Miss Dragon has grown so much... I still remember when the old master brought you back, you were just this tiny."

As she spoke, she stretched out her withered hand and gestured in the air:

"Just this tiny bundle, wrapped in a coarse cloth swaddle, with your eyes still closed, it was the dead of winter that day, with snow raging outside the mountains. Your little face was purple from the cold, your breath was weak, and you almost didn't make it..."