That night, after finishing his transcription of the Lotus Sutra, Xuan Yuan took the initiative to contact Huang Rong.

The girl had long since settled into an inn at the foot of the mountain. At the moment, she was sitting in her room, completely bored, holding the bionic bird in both hands and inspecting it from every angle.

Even though she’d fiddled with it quite a few times by now, every time she realized that this little creature—so perfectly lifelike and no different from an ordinary bird—was actually an artificial mechanism, Huang Rong couldn’t help but marvel. It made her even more fascinated by the»other world» that Xuan Yuan spoke of.

Suddenly, the bird fluttered up into the air.

Huang Rong blinked, caught off guard for a moment, then her face brightened with joy.

Two faint beams of fluorescent light shot out from the bird’s eyes, and moments later, a holographic projection of Xuan Yuan appeared right in front of her.

«Eeeek—!!!»

Startled, Huang Rong jumped up with a shriek. This was her first time seeing a full 3D projection like this.

«Xing-gege! Y-you—you—you—how are you here?!»

«I’m still inside Shaolin Temple, Rong’er. I haven’t come down yet.»

Huang Rong blinked in disbelief and reached out to touch his arm—only to have her hand pass straight through it.

«So amazing… you can even do something like this?» Her eyes glittered with wonder. Her curiosity surged again, and she darted in front of the projection, poking at it here and there with her small hands, delighting in how it responded to her gestures—even though it wasn’t really there.

After playing around for a bit, she finally asked,»Xing-gege, did everything go smoothly?»

«Very smoothly. I’ve already acquired the Lankavatara Sutra. At the latest, I’ll be able to leave the mountain the day after tomorrow.»

«The day after tomorrow…» Huang Rong pouted, disappointed. She’d been hoping that Xuan Yuan would return tonight.

«Didn’t I leave you a game console? If you’re bored, play with that a bit. Time will pass quickly.»

At the mention of the handheld console, Huang Rong looked a little awkward. In the end, she lowered her head and said shyly, «Xing-gege, I think… the console you gave me is broken.»

Xuan Yuan told her to take it out and show him. After taking one look, he laughed.

It’s not broken—it’s just out of power.»

«Out of… power?»

«Just like how humans need food to have strength, and horses need grass to run, this thing needs food too. It eats electricity. Just take it outside tomorrow and leave it in the sun for a while—that’ll charge it.»

Everything Nuwa had given Xuan Yuan had been modified to include solar charging functions.

Huang Rong nodded, half-understanding, but took care to remember everything he said. After chatting for a while longer, she started urging him to get some rest.

«Go to sleep, Xing-gege! You’ve been busy for days. Don’t wear yourself out!»

Xuan Yuan wasn’t actually tired. After ending the call with her, he silently picked up the Lankavatara Sutra and opened it.

He casually flipped through a few pages and, just as he expected, found several rows of extremely fine, dense characters written between the lines of scripture.

«When raising your hand, maintain directional awareness in all four quadrants. Every movement and action must be initiated with clear intent. Carefully perceive the body’s natural flow. Move in response to your opponent—bend when they bend, extend when they extend. Do not force it, do not resist…»

«Let him rage with force, and still the breeze brushes the ridgeline. Let him come with violence, and yet the moon shines over the great river…»

As Xuan Yuan copied the lines down, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Just as he thought—even presented to him clearly, this kind of thing was still completely incomprehensible to someone like him, someone who came from a modern society.

And this was after Huang Rong had taught him the basics of meridians, acupoints, and martial cultivation during their journey here.

When it came to that, Huang Rong had actually been incredibly impressed with Xuan Yuan  ’s learning ability. Most people took forever to memorize the complex pathways of energy channels and acupoints, but he had memorized them all after hearing them just once.

Even Huang Rong—who proudly considered herself the smartest in the world of Jin Yong—had to admit that she’d needed quite a bit of effort to master them herself.

After an entire night of effort, Xuan Yuan finally finished copying the Nine Yang celestial  Art. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into his storage ring.

Only then did he truly exhale in relief.

The mission was complete.

                                                — Scene Break —

«Little master, thank you for your help these past few days.»

At the gates of Shaolin, Xuan Yuan smiled warmly and bowed in farewell to the young monk who had come to see him off.

This young monk had been the one delivering food and checking in on him every day.

The novice pressed his palms together and humbly replied that it was nothing. After Xuan Yuan departed, the monk returned to the guest room he had stayed in to collect the scriptures and return them to the temple’s library.

«Oh—by the way, little master. I never did ask for your dharma name.»

On a sudden impulse, Xuan Yuan turned back and asked.

The little monk replied,»This humble monk is called Jueyuan.»

Jueyuan…

So it really was him—the very same Jueyuan who would later discover the Nine Yang celestial  Art from the Lankavatara Sutra, and eventually become Zhang Sanfeng’s master.

Xuan Yuan  ’s lips curved slightly, his gaze meaningful as he looked at the short, still-immature monk whose head didn’t even reach his chest. Jueyuan just stared back at him, confused and slightly unnerved.

Just then—

A fragrant breeze swept in.
A delicate voice like an oriole’s call rang out:
«Xing-gege!»

Jueyuan froze on the spot, staring dumbfounded at the beautiful girl who had suddenly appeared and rushed over to grab Xuan Yuan  ’s hand.

Startled back to reality, the little monk quickly bowed his head, pressing his palms together and quietly chanting a Buddhist mantra.

«Heehee, this little monk is so funny,» Huang Rong giggled, happily clinging to Xuan Yuan  ’s arm.

Such behavior—openly holding hands, completely disregarding propriety—left Jueyuan dizzy with confusion.

Xuan Yuan thought to himself: in this era, only this little minx could act this boldly and intimately in public. As expected of Huang Yaoshi’s daughter—she treated the rules of etiquette like they were nonexistent, just like her father.

«Be—benefactor… this young lady, she is…?» Jueyuan asked cautiously.

«This is my wife-to-be.»

Xuan Yuan spoke calmly, without hesitation.

Huang Rong’s heart burst with joy. Her face flushed a deep red, both embarrassed and elated. She wished she could throw herself straight into his arms and never let go.

«Amitabha… So that’s how it is. May the two benefactors walk the path together in peace.»

«Goodbye, little monk!» Huang Rong said cheerfully.

Because of that one phrase—«wife-to-be»—even Jueyuan had earned a favorable impression from her now.

As the two of them walked down the mountain together, Huang Rong’s beautiful eyes remained locked on Xuan Yuan  . Her stare was so intense that he finally had no choice but to say,« I got it. It’s all in the ring.»

«Then let’s go find a place to start training!» Huang Rong leaned close, her voice bright and crisp.
«These past few days, Rong’er’s been shopping all over. I bought tons of herbs and ingredients for Xing-gege! If we prepare medicinal baths, your training will be twice as effective with half the effort!»

«That’s how Daddy used to prepare my baths for martial training when I was younger.»

It was the first time she’d ever mentioned something like that. Xuan Yuan was moved. Without a word, he gently took her soft, slender hand into his own.

«Rong’er… I actually know a great place to train. We might even encounter some kind of opportunity there.»

«Where is it?»

Xuan Yuan looked toward the south.

«Xiangyang.»

If his memory was right, then somewhere to the south of Xiangyang lay a nameless valley—

The burial ground of Dugu Qiubai.