Weijia Town nestled amidst the embrace of mountains, served as a hub for supplies for the nearby villages and towns. In the early morning, Li Xuan followed the old hunter and Lin Wan'er into the town, where the streets were already bustling with activity.
"There's a 'Drunken Immortal Pavilion' in this town, a place often frequented by those in the jianghu. Let's head there first to gather some information," the old hunter said, tapping his bamboo staff on the ground, signaling for them to follow.
Inside the tavern, the three of them found a table by the window. Li Xuan discreetly observed the other patrons. Most appeared to be merchants, but a few tables were occupied by individuals who looked like they belonged to the martial world, with weapons strapped to their waists.
"What can I get for you, sirs?" the waiter asked with a smile.
"Bring us a pot of good wine first," the old hunter said, tossing a silver ingot onto the table. "Anything interesting happening in town lately?"
The waiter's eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice. "Speaking of interesting, a few people died just a few days ago. They say it was from a strange poison. The authorities can't find the killer, and everyone's on edge."
"Any leads?" Lin Wan'er inquired.
"I heard the victims all fell ill after drinking wine, so business isn't so good for the taverns these days," the waiter sighed. "Luckily, we're the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, a well-established name, so we still have a steady stream of customers."
Just as they were speaking, a tipsy, burly man staggered in. He was powerfully built, with a large saber hanging at his waist, clearly a martial arts expert.
"Bring on the good liquor!" the man bellowed, plopping down at the table next to them.
The waiter hurried over to serve him, "Sir, we have the finest daughter's red..."
"Cut the chatter! Bring your most expensive stuff!" The man slammed his hand on the table, "I'm in a good mood today, drinks are on me for everyone!"
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion erupted in cheers. Only the old hunter frowned slightly, gesturing for Li Xuan and Lin Wan'er to remain silent.
After a few rounds of drinks, the man became even more excited, "Do you all know why I'm so happy? To be honest, I just got a treasure from an ancient tomb!"
Li Xuan perked up his ears. In this era, important martial arts manuals might indeed be hidden in ancient tombs.
"What treasure?" someone asked curiously.
The burly man smiled mysteriously. "It's a martial arts manual! I don't recognize many characters, but just looking at the 'Nine Yang' on the cover, I knew it was no ordinary thing!"
"Nine Yang?" Lin Wan'er exclaimed softly, "Could it be the legendary Nine Yang Manual?"
The old hunter shook his head gently. "Unlikely. The real Nine Yang Manual has been lost for many years. But this news is worth investigating."
Just then, the burly man suddenly clutched his chest, his face turning ashen. "Not good, I'm poisoned!" He stood up abruptly, but stumbled and fell to the ground.
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion immediately descended into chaos. Based on his modern medical knowledge, Li Xuan quickly observed the man's symptoms: his face was turning blue, his breathing was rapid, and his pupils were dilated... these characteristics all pointed to one possibility.
"It's aconitine poisoning!" he blurted out.
The old hunter looked at him in surprise. "You know about toxicology?"
"A little," Li Xuan said vaguely. He couldn't explain that he had learned this knowledge from modern forensic courses.
Lin Wan'er was already squatting beside the burly man, examining him. "It's definitely poison, and it's acting fast. The method used is quite similar to the previous cases."
"Quick, take him to the back courtyard," the old hunter ordered. Several young servants scrambled to carry the man away.
Li Xuan followed them to the back courtyard and saw the old hunter administering aid. The old man's technique was unique; he used neither needles nor medicine, but simply pressed his fingers on several acupoints on the man's body. Surprisingly, this stabilized his condition.
"What a peculiar method of detoxification," Lin Wan'er exclaimed. "Is this the legendary 'Pinching Flower Detoxification Finger'?"
"Just some crude methods," the old hunter said modestly, while simultaneously giving Li Xuan a look. "Go search his belongings, see if the manual is there."
Li Xuan understood the old hunter's intention. If it was truly a treasure like the Nine Yang Manual, it was likely the target of the culprits.
In the man's bundle, they found a worn-out booklet. But it was not the Nine Yang Manual at all, just a common copy of a cultivation technique, with the three characters "Nine Yang Skill" written crookedly on the cover.
"It's a fake," Lin Wan'er saw through it at a glance. "But it reminds me of something. A few days ago, there were rumors in the martial world that someone had discovered the whereabouts of the real manual."
The old hunter nodded. "So, these poison hands might be after the manual. They deliberately spread the news, waiting for someone to take the bait."
Just then, the burly man slowly woke up. "I... what happened?"
"You've been poisoned," Li Xuan said. "Who gave you that manual?"
The burly man struggled to remember. "I met a scholar at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. He said he found it in an ancient tomb outside the town. I paid fifty taels of silver for it..."
"Where is the ancient tomb?" Lin Wan'er asked.
"On the mountain, five miles east of Weijia Town. The scholar said there were many treasures in the tomb, but I didn't have the guts to go..."
The three of them exchanged glances, understanding this was an important clue. But the old hunter didn't immediately move. Instead, he carefully questioned the burly man for more details, including the scholar's appearance, speech habits, and so on.
After settling the burly man, the three of them went to a small alley outside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to discuss their strategy.
"Something's fishy about this," the old hunter said. "That scholar is likely the culprit, setting a trap on purpose. We need to be careful."
"Should we check out the ancient tomb first?" Li Xuan suggested. Even if it was a trap, they still needed to investigate.
The old hunter pondered for a moment. "You and Miss Lin can go check out the tomb. I'll stay in Weijia Town to gather more information. If you run into any danger, use this to call for help." With that, he handed Li Xuan a bamboo whistle.
Li Xuan and Lin Wan'er followed the big man's instructions and found the ancient tomb. It was indeed a small, ancient tomb as the big man had described, with half of the tomb passage collapsed.
"I'll go in first," Lin Wan'er said, with a light leap, landing at the tomb entrance. Her light skill was truly remarkable, her movements as graceful as a falling leaf.
Li Xuan followed close behind. Although he didn't know light skill, he had built up a solid foundation after training. The two cautiously entered the tomb passage, and with the help of the outside light, they could vaguely see some blurred murals.
"These murals..." Lin Wan'er examined them closely, "seem to be recording the essentials of some kind of martial skill."
Li Xuan leaned closer to look. He saw figures on the murals, striking various poses, with ancient text annotations beside them that he couldn't understand.
"Wait!" Lin Wan'er suddenly said, "That movement... it's very similar to the basic mental cultivation method of our Qingyun Sect!"
Just as she spoke, a sound suddenly came from deep within the tomb passage. The two of them, on guard, took a few steps back, and saw a black shadow dart out from inside. The person was extremely agile, passing by in a flash and scattering a handful of powder.
"Hold your breath!" Lin Wan'er shouted, and at the same time, she waved her sleeve, stirring up a current of air to disperse the poisonous powder.
Although Li Xuan held his breath in time, he still felt a wave of dizziness. Seeing his poison plot fail, the black-clothed man turned to flee.
"Want to run?" Lin Wan'er drew her longsword, a sword light flashed, blocking the opponent's path.
Forced to no other choice, the black-clothed man had to turn and fight. He used a strange palm technique, his palms faintly glowing green, obviously laced with poison.
Lin Wan'er's swordsmanship was even better, her sword light like a woven net, completely sealing off her opponent's poisonous palms. After a few rounds, the black-clothed man was clearly at a disadvantage.
At this moment, Li Xuan saw a loose boulder at the top of the tomb passage, about to fall. And Lin Wan'er was focused on the battle in front of her, not noticing the danger above her head.
"Watch out above!" he yelled, and at the same time, he leaped forward. Just as the large stone fell, Li Xuan pushed Lin Wan'er with all his might.
BOOM! The large stone slammed heavily onto the ground. Taking advantage of this, the man in black turned and burrowed into the depths of the tomb passage, disappearing in an instant.
"Are you alright?" Lin Wan'er asked concernedly. The force of that push had been considerable, and she had almost fallen.
"I'm fine." Li Xuan rubbed his numb arm. "That person got away."
"Let him go, catching him wasn't the main objective." Lin Wan'er spoke, picking up a dropped bundle from the ground. "He dropped this."
Opening the bundle revealed a stack of yellowed papers, which were copies of the martial arts essentials from the wall. Although it wasn't the Nine Yang Manual, it was still an unexpected gain.
"Although this set of basic mental cultivation techniques is simple, it does indeed correspond with the techniques of our Qingyun Sect." Lin Wan'er carefully studied those papers. "It seems the owner of this ancient tomb has some connection with our Qingyun Sect."
Li Xuan listened while surveying the surroundings. Although this ancient tomb was very old, its layout was very ingenious. The position of that large stone, for example, was like a specially designed mechanism.
"We should get out of here quickly," he said. "This place is full of traps; it's not safe."
The two of them retraced their steps, and when they reached the entrance to the tomb passage, Li Xuan suddenly thought of a question: "That man in black should be the culprit who's been poisoning people in town recently. Why would he be here?"
Lin Wan'er was thoughtful. "Maybe he's looking for something too. This ancient tomb might hold even more important secrets."
When they returned to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the old hunter had already gathered some new information. The victims of the recent poisonings were all connected to the ancient tomb. Either they had been to the tomb, or they claimed to know the tomb's secrets.
"It seems everything points to that ancient tomb," the old hunter said. "But now is not the time to investigate. Those people will definitely come back. We just need to wait and see."
Li Xuan was about to speak when he suddenly saw the waiter running in frantically, "It's not good! Someone else has been poisoned in town! This time, it's at the Yuelai Inn..."