Tomb Raiders: She Comes from the Ancient Martial Arts World

Faced with Ling Yue's uncertain question, which was full of genuine emotion, Zhang Rishan did not answer hastily, but instead frowned and stared intently.

After thinking for a long time, he solemnly replied: "As long as your purpose is not detrimental to the Nine Gates, you can trust me."

Regardless of his answer, Ling Yue would use the "truth" to probe Zhang Rishan about the secrets of the Zhang family or the Bronze Gate.

Unexpectedly, he was so serious, which touched Ling Yue's heart.

Rationally amplifying this feeling and incorporating it into her expression, Ling Yue pursed her lips and gave him a slight smile.

As if because of his answer, she chose to temporarily let down her guard and finally revealed to him: "Whether it's you or Wuxie, you always ask me who I am. Actually, I also want to know who I should be in this world."

Zhang Rishan was somewhat confused, but he still listened attentively.

Ling Yue recounted the "truth" in detail: "One night, I suddenly woke up in an alley. I didn't know who I was, where I came from, or why I was there..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rishan's heart suddenly raced, and the first thing that came to his mind was divine intervention!

Could it be that Ling Yue is truly a Qilin woman who was lost to the Zhang family in a certain generation, never registered in the family genealogy, and never had a Qilin tattoo?

Thinking about her reaction to Canghaihua, Zhang Rishan thought that her Qilin bloodline was even very strong!

Ling Yue, who had been watching his heartbeat and breathing since the start of the performance, immediately noticed this.

Thoughts churned in his mind, but that didn't stop Ling Yue from continuing: "In my mind, there's only a memory that I can't distinguish between truth and falsehood. It's a memory about a strange princess from the late Ming Dynasty. When the princess was born, many snakes and insects appeared in the palace. The emperor summoned the Imperial Observatory to inquire, and the director of the Imperial Observatory said that the girl's birth was ominous..."

Ling Yue made slight modifications, treating the history of the Empress in her world as a memory that had appeared out of nowhere in her mind, and briefly recounted it.

According to records of the Empress's daily life that she had investigated, which may or may not be true, snakes and insects raged inside and outside the palace when the Empress was born, which greatly alarmed the Emperor.

Later, it was learned that there was only one variable in the palace at that time: the newborn empress!

The empress's mother was originally a gift from an insignificant little tribe. The emperor, indulging in novelty, favored her for a few days, but then grew tired of her because of the strange tattoos on her body.

The Empress's mother gave birth to another ominous girl, and the Emperor grew to completely despise the mother and daughter.

If it weren't for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Director saying that this woman should not be killed, the mother and daughter probably wouldn't have survived being moved to the Cold Palace.

After that, the Empress's mother suddenly died of illness one night when she was one year old and could speak. Later, the people who took care of her also had accidents from time to time.

The people in the palace increasingly believed that she was a jinx. Even the palace maids and eunuchs who were responsible for bringing her food died one after another shortly after taking office, and everyone was afraid to get close to her.

No one cared, and the palace maids and eunuchs simply acted as if she didn't exist in the palace, ignoring her without any apparent reason.

Strangely enough, even under such conditions of having no food or water, the empress, who was only a little over a year old at the time, grew up.

This led to its sudden emergence.

Before this, it seemed that everyone had forgotten her existence, and those who did remember her subconsciously assumed that she had long since starved to death.

Her appearance was abrupt, and her disappearance was equally sudden.

Ling Yue's voice was soft, as if he were talking about a vague dream: "After the princess appeared, because of her wise decisions and the fact that she never suffered a defeat, and was very kind and friendly to the people, her reputation grew day by day, and she was the popular choice."

At this point, Ling Yue paused, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

As if what followed left her puzzled and confused: "After ascending the throne, the empress neither amassed wealth and indulged in pleasure, nor eliminated dissidents to consolidate her power. Instead, she slaughtered her royal relatives without asking any questions. Even the remaining descendants of her mother's small tribe, which was far away, were wiped out by the iron hooves she sent."

Zhang Rishan frowned because of this man's bloodthirstiness and cruelty.

Ling Yue's voice continued: "At first, everyone thought she was just taking revenge for losing her mother and being abandoned when she was young. But soon, the Empress turned her sword on the meritorious generals who had fought alongside her for many years. Without any questioning, she killed their entire families. After that, she targeted the virtuous people of the world."

Ling Yue: "Her cruelty and inhumanity caused panic and unrest, and uprisings broke out frequently in the newly stabilized country. When the rebel army broke through the palace, the empress had already disappeared without a trace. Even the palace servants who served her closely did not know where she went or when she left."

Zhang Rishan waited and waited, but she didn't continue speaking, so he realized that this part of her memory probably ended there.

When divinely ordained, a memory that does not belong to oneself is suddenly implanted into one's mind. There are similar records in the Zhang family.

But every divine gift comes with a task that must be completed. What exactly is Ling Yue's divine gift asking her to do?

Because this memory clearly did not belong to the modern era and was separated by a long history, Zhang Rishan never considered other possibilities and had subconsciously concluded that Ling Yue had encountered a divine gift.

Therefore, without Zhang Rishan even realizing it, he developed a greater degree of trust and recognition for Ling Yue, which stemmed from their shared family background.

Seeing this change in him, Ling Yue felt much relieved.

She exhaled a long breath, as if trying to release the weight that had been pressing on her heart for so long, hoping to find a moment of relief.

"After gaining this memory, I wanted to find records about the Empress, but my search was fruitless. There was no such person in history." Ling Yue lowered her eyes in frustration, the miner's lamp casting a small shadow under her long, thick eyelashes.

This made her look even more frustrated and confused.

Although Zhang Rishan had no relevant experience, he racked his brains to recall the records about divine bestowal he had seen and heard during the time he stayed at the Zhang family's ancestral home, but he could not find any examples of someone being given a memory by heaven and then having no follow-up.

But this does not diminish his sense of responsibility as an "elder of the same clan" to guide and comfort: "Don't think too much. Since you have this memory in your mind, it must have other implications. Moreover, so many things have happened in history, and not everything will be recorded by historians."

Ling Yue looked up and forced a smile at him: "Probably. I'm still pretty lost. I only went into the desert with the film crew because I was short of money. Then, after meeting Wu Xie, I accidentally found a stone tablet in the underground palace of the city lord of Gutongjing. There was some vague information on the stone tablet that seemed to be related to the Empress..."

Ling Yue didn't need to say anything more.

Zhang Rishan must have already learned about everything that happened afterward from Wu Xie.

Zhang Rishan did not ask any further questions. He connected the dots and understood Ling Yue's persistent pursuit of the ancient Tongjing and the Yuezhi civilization.

"In that case, did you find any useful clues on those stone tablets and statues?" Zhang Rishan asked with concern, while also pondering whether he had any other information related to the ancient Tongjing and the Yuezhi civilization.

Unfortunately, he hasn't been to a tomb for a long time since the Buddha left.

Few of the tombs I've visited before have been related to the mysterious Yuezhi civilization.

Perhaps he could wait until the clan leader comes out and ask Wu Xie for help?

If the clan leader has lost his memory, aren't there other members of the Zhang family? After all, the person they're helping is very likely Ling Yue, the Zhang family's prodigy. Those Zhang family members who are determined to revive the Zhang family should be very willing to help.

As if he had thought of something, Zhang Rishan raised his hand to wipe his forehead, concealing the fleeting seriousness on his face.

I heard that one or two members of the Zhang family are particularly keen to find a Qilin woman to be their clan leader's wife, hoping to produce offspring with pure and powerful bloodlines.

He'd better think of a way to dissuade them from this idea beforehand.

After all, Ling Yue didn't seem like the type to sacrifice himself for family honor, and besides, such a forced matchmaking was really disrespectful to the personal wishes of the two people being paired up.

Zhang Rishan said that although he is no longer considered a member of the Zhang family, he cannot stand by and watch such "arranged marriages" still exist in the 21st century!