A wisp of blue smoke rose slowly in the secret room of the Tangmen ancestral hall.

  Grandma closed her eyes and leaned in front of the green smoke, taking a deep breath, and slowly exhaled with satisfaction, leaning back against the bamboo chair.

  "You helped me this time, and the Poison House will be targeted by the Family Houses. Aren't you afraid..." Tang Jiu'er stood opposite him, her eyebrows and eyes filled with deep worry: "Have they discovered that Huajie is a Heavenly Pulse?"

  "The more you hide, the easier it is to be targeted. Otherwise, why would the family business send someone to collect rent from Ruo Yu? This might just be a test!"

  "Instead, it's you, quietly letting them get away with it would be better. Even if they all died, no one would dare say anything."

  "If someone were to beat me at the entrance of my humble abode and I were to swallow this insult, would I still be myself?"

  "So! You can't bear it anymore, why should I? It's not only humiliating for you, but also makes them think I'm trying to cover up."

  Tang Jiuer heard this and smiled bitterly: "We've endured so much, yet we still can't exchange it for peace."

  "Ah, yes... The more they endure, the more arrogant these two become. It's time to teach them a lesson or two, but..."

  "Before Huajuan can't hold up the poisonous house, we still have to be in harmony with each other, understand?"

  "I know."

  "Is the poisonous thing... still dragging on?"

  Tang Jiuer's mouth twitched: "I'll start teaching tomorrow."

  Grandma smiled with relief: "As long as the poisonous house grows bigger, they can go crazy all they want, it's useless!"

  Tang Jiuer neither spoke in agreement nor opened her mouth to oppose, she just looked at the plaque that was vaguely visible in the green smoke and scratched her own fingers.

  Grandma closed her eyes and took another deep drag of the green smoke.

  ……

  At the third watch, the moon was dark and the wind was strong, and the dew began to fall. Hua Rou, who had been kneeling in the courtyard all along, finally got up.

  She had knelt for too long and her knees were numb and painful. She rubbed them for a long time before they recovered, then moved back to the west wing room.

  Lingling, who was sleeping drowsily beside Yuer, woke up to the noise and rubbed her eyes while softly complaining: "You finally came in! You're really stubborn, couldn't you have come back after kneeling for a bit? And yet you didn't come back until now."

  "My master made me kneel down and think clearly, so I thought carefully." Hua Rou said with a smile at Lin Lin, at this moment her eyes had less innocence and more maturity.

  Lin Lin looked at her and blinked: "Then you should understand now?"

  "Hmm." Hua Rou nodded: "I can be kind-hearted, but I absolutely cannot be weak and easily bullied. Otherwise, those people will keep finding trouble with me. I may be able to avoid it once, but not necessarily five or ten times. Not to mention my own safety, if things are always like this, won't the people around me also suffer?"

  Huā Róu said, having already arrived at Yù Er's side, looking at the bruises all over her body, a wave of regret rose up: "I must learn good martial arts, and I must learn the most powerful martial arts. Not only can I protect myself, but also the people around me!"

  "Don't want to be bullied by others, must strengthen oneself."

  "Right!" Hua Rou grasped Yu Er's hand, with tears welling up in her eyes: "Only self-reliance."

  Lingling gazed at Hua Rou's back, a hint of envy rising in her eyes.

  Hua Rou, one day you will be as powerful and intimidating as Master, but where will I be by then?

  ……

  Night, quiet.

  Inside the Tangmen, the disciples' rooms, whether one person lived in or several people lived in, all snored loudly.

  A short blade opened the window, and Tang Ji slipped into the room of the disciples like a black cat. He walked quietly to the beds of the disciples he suspected, and under the dim light of a night pearl, carefully examined their shoes.

  After putting down a pair of shoes, he crawled out and closed the window. Then he glanced at the ear room not far away from the main hall.

  He hesitated for a moment and then walked over.

  The window was not closed tightly, half open, he stuck his head in and took a look, then flipped over and went inside.

  Inside the house, I was sleeping soundly with you, breathing softly and slowly.

  Tang quietly approached, picked up the shoes under the bed to take a look, put them back in their original position, turned around and was about to leave, but noticed the drawings on the desk.

  He hesitated for a moment, walked over to the table, and held up the night pearl to examine it page by page.

  Mechanism diagram, each drawing a mechanism, nothing special, but when he put down the paper, a small piece of light gray on the paper made him feel wrong.

  He picked up the drawings again, one by one, to examine them in the dim light. Soon, he found the difference, a patch of light gray, which was the faint ink mark left on the back of the paper after writing on the previous layer.

  Tang Jing stared at the ink mark, trying hard to piece together and restore it. Soon, he had three words in his mind: Guiguzi.

  Tang Jin raised an eyebrow in surprise, then put the drawings back in order and prepared to leave. At this time, he noticed the breathing behind him, which was still gentle but had a hint of unevenness.

  Tang Jing's heart skipped a beat as he immediately turned his head back. He saw Mu Junwu still lying on the bed, but with his eyes closed and open at the same time, staring straight at him.

  "Awake?" Tang Ji asked in a calm and composed tone, as if he were the master of the house.

  I sat up and said to you: "You rustled the papers and woke me up."

  No anger, no surprise, just as calm and peaceful, somewhat indifferent.

  Tang Jing heard this and turned her head to glance at the paper on the table: "What are you after?"

  "Nothing." Mu Junwu said with a yawn, his eyes flashing with drowsiness.

  Tang Jing fell silent, seemingly hesitant, but a moment later he suddenly looked at Mu Junwu: "Guiguzi."

  A flash of panic flickered in Mu Jun's eyes, only to disappear immediately, restoring his calm and composure: "I don't understand what you're saying."

  Tang Jing caught the thread of panic, and at this moment he knew that Mu Junwu's intention must be related to Guiguzi. On the contrary, he said in a low voice to Mu Junwu: "Don't worry, I've never been here."

  Tang Jing finished speaking and turned around, jumping out of the window and leaving.

  Admiring you, I paused for a moment and then went to the table, nervously flipping through the drawings and organizing them before putting them away in a book beside me.

  After doing all this, he rubbed his hands and walked around the room in a somewhat uneasy manner before lying back down on the bed.

  He lay quietly, but his ears were still listening to those gentle breezes slowly drifting away...

  Then his tension, unease and anxiety all disappeared, revealing a faintly meaningful shallow smile.

  ……

  The sky is just brightening, and everything is still in a daze.

  Tang Jiuer, who hadn't slept well all night, came to the table in the main hall with her hair scattered and wearing a cloak, without even lighting the lamp.

  The wall cracked open, revealing a hidden compartment and wooden cabinet. She opened the third compartment and took out a thin silver box.

  She placed the box on the table, and only then did Tang Jiuer light the candles. After that, she touched the silver box with both hands, waiting for a full ten breaths before finally seeming to make up her mind and opening it.

  "You finally have a chance to show your skills."

  Tang Jiuer's expression was solemn, and although she spoke in a low voice, her faintly audible words conveyed not only excitement but also a hint of sadness.