Chapter 89: Into a Martial Arts Novel, Day 11

Chapter 89: The Eleventh Day of Transmigrating into a Wuxia Novel

It turned out that this courtyard once belonged to a female chivalrous hero named Liu.

In her youth, Heroine Liu was highly skilled in martial arts and possessed a fiery temperament. She had a romantic entanglement with Lord Li’s father, the young Master Li of those days.

Unfortunately, the Li family harbored deep prejudices regarding social status. The old master of the Li family went to humiliate Heroine Liu but was beaten out of her home instead.

Heroine Liu went to seek an explanation from Young Master Li, but he dared not defy his family’s wishes and refused to even meet her. In the end, he followed his family’s arrangements, married another woman, and betrayed Heroine Liu.

Heartbroken, Heroine Liu did not go far; instead, she lived in seclusion beneath this very residence. Over time, she seemed to become somewhat mad and obsessed.

Others gradually distanced themselves from her. By the time anyone remembered her again, Heroine Liu had vanished without a trace, and the Liu family had no descendants left.

After the incident, Lord Li’s father felt deep guilt and fear. When he later prospered, he expanded the estate, incorporating this courtyard into the Li residence for protection. He neither arranged for anyone to live there nor used it for other purposes, only sending people periodically to clean and maintain it, ensuring it wouldn’t be eaten hollow by insects.

Some said that Heroine Liu, betrayed by her unfaithful lover, died of grief and turned into a vengeful spirit. The Li family had heard such rumors but dismissed them as hearsay. Little did they expect that such strange events would actually occur now.

“Heroine Liu? Madness?” An Yi stood quietly to one side, catching the key words with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

A female chivalrous hero surnamed Liu, yin-cold internal energy, qi deviation... these fragments rapidly assembled in his mind.

He recalled a plot mentioned in the original novel: scattered fragments of the *Youhuan Shu* had been obtained by a lucky martial artist, who, after prolonged exposure, underwent a drastic personality change, with his skills turning cold and eerie.

Similar to the *Heart Erosion Art*, the one who obtained those fragments was a martial artist surnamed Liu. It was said that after severing all romantic ties, she resolutely decided to pursue the pinnacle of martial arts.

But since the *Youhuan Shu* fragments were incomplete, while her martial arts became formidable, she also suffered qi deviation, leading to insanity.

In the later story, she would be besieged by righteous people from the martial world. The reason was that, during a moment of madness, she had slaughtered an entire wealthy household, including the martial artists who came to help.

Among the sects that attacked her, the Skyward Sect was the most indignant, allegedly because some of their disciples had been killed by her.

However, the fragmentary manual she possessed was incredibly powerful. The others could not subdue her, and instead, many of their people died.

It was only when she regained her senses and realized what she had done that she revealed the truth. Without waiting for others to act, she returned to the ancestral home of the Liu family and took her own life.

The martial world gave her a proper burial, and from then on, a great uproar regarding the *Youhuan Shu* swept through the jianghu. If even a fragment was that formidable...

It was far more powerful than the Fuyi Sect’s *Heart Erosion Art*!

After all, the *Heart Erosion Art* was merely derived from one of its fragments, yet it could dominate the martial world!

And those who directly practiced the fragment were even more advanced. How powerful must the original *Youhuan Shu* be?!

Previously, only the Fuyi Sect, various sects, and some martial artists had been searching for the *Youhuan Shu*. After this incident, the jianghu became even more fervent. Everyone was desperate to find this manual and dominate the martial world!

Some aloof martial artists who had previously looked down on the Fuyi Sect’s methods and had strong objections to the *Heart Erosion Art* now set aside their pride and joined the frantic search for the *Youhuan Shu*.

As the most prominent sect openly associated with the *Youhuan Shu*, the Fuyi Sect naturally became the target of countless martial artists, who swarmed in to find leads.

No peace remained.

Could it be... that this Heroine Liu was the same martial artist surnamed Liu from the original novel?

And the wealthy household and the Skyward Sect disciples killed were the Li family and Yan Yu?!

He understood in his heart but kept his expression unchanged.

What a coincidence. Was it because he was traveling with Ling Fengyao?

Ling Fengyao exchanged a glance with An Yi; each understood about seventy to eighty percent of the situation.

A hint of a playful smile curled at the corner of Ling Fengyao’s lips. He suddenly leaned close to An Yi and whispered in a voice only the two could hear: “Ayi, it seems we’ve stumbled upon a tale of bitter love and resentment. But with all this chilling atmosphere, there might even be... a big treasure?”

His breath was warm, carrying a hint of teasing, brushing against An Yi’s ear.

An Yi slightly tilted his head, moving away from the overly close distance, and said calmly, “Let’s deal with the matter at hand first.”

But inwardly, he was stirred by Ling Fengyao’s sharpness. This man seemed cynical on the surface, but his mind worked extremely fast.

Yan Yu, standing nearby, furrowed his brows. He was clearly displeased with how the Li family had betrayed Heroine Liu. However, being of orthodox upbringing, and since such conduct didn’t warrant death, seeing the Li family sick and terrified, he felt compelled to intervene.

He said solemnly, “In that case, we must go down and investigate, uncover the truth. Perhaps we can resolve this grudge and restore peace to the Li residence.”

If An Yi knew what he was thinking, he would have immediately refuted him.

Heroine Liu had already cast Young Master Li out of her heart when he cowardly abandoned her. She had since focused solely on the pinnacle of martial arts. The Li family meant nothing to her anymore.

The current trouble at the Li residence was entirely because they had incorporated her courtyard into their estate, and because Heroine Liu had suffered qi deviation.

To her, the Li family was not that important.

Seeing that the matter was gradually becoming clear, no one raised further objections.

Several brave wanderers entered first, one after another. Yan Yu followed closely behind, his expression alert.

Ling Fengyao made a “please” gesture to An Yi, his smile lazy. “Ayi, you’d better stick close this time? It’s dark down there; I’m afraid you might fall.”

An Yi shot him a glance, too lazy to respond to this man’s frivolous talk, and said flatly, “Just take care of yourself.”

With that, his figure flickered, and he landed lightly into the hole with graceful poise, touching down without a sound, like a snowflake in the dead of night.

Ling Fengyao chuckled softly and immediately slipped in after him.

The passage was initially very narrow, allowing only one person to pass. The air was heavy with cold and dampness.

After descending about a hundred steps and winding through numerous turns, the space suddenly opened up into a sizable natural cave.

In one corner of the cave were a crude stone bed and a stone table. On the table sat an oil lamp that had not burned out and a few scattered women’s garments, all covered in thick dust, clearly untouched for a long time.

In the center of the cave, a figure clad in faded yellow clothes with disheveled hair stood with her back to the crowd, muttering to herself in a hoarse, broken voice, sometimes mournful, sometimes gentle. This was the deranged Heroine Liu.

Her body emitted an unstable aura of yin cold, causing the temperature in the cave to fluctuate.

Hearing the noise behind her, she spun around abruptly—a pale face, which still bore traces of her former beauty, was contorted. Despite decades passing, she showed no signs of aging?!

She appeared to be only middle-aged!

Her eyes were vacant and frantic: “Who?! Who’s here to steal my book?! Is it you?! I want to become the best in the martial world?!”

Before she finished speaking, she struck out with a palm without further ado. The yin-cold palm force surged like a tidal wave, even more fierce and overwhelming than what they had sensed above ground!

The martial artists practicing external hard qigong were the first to be hit; they were sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the stone walls, coughing up blood, clearly severely injured!

The crowd was greatly alarmed!

So strong!