Tomb Raiders: She Comes from the Ancient Martial Arts World

Because of Ling Yue's "opening up," Zhang Rishan did indeed tell her a lot of information about the Zhang family.

Although they still didn't say what was inside the bronze door, the information they provided far exceeded Ling Yue's expectations.

Zhang Rishan told her that he had seen many similar cases in the Zhang family.

The Zhang family called it "a gift from heaven".

During the period when they were given this divine gift, the Zhang family members seemed to be controlled by another unknown consciousness, and were sent to complete certain tasks.

When the mission ends, the person may not be able to retain memories of what they did during the period of divine bestowal: "The stronger the bloodline, the more frequently one is bestowed divine gifts."

Zhang Rishan said, "The current patriarch of the Zhang family, the last generation Zhang Qilin, is the Zhang family member with the strongest bloodline power in hundreds of years. He was given a divine gift almost every ten years before losing all his previous memories."

Speaking of Zhang Qilin, Zhang Rishan also had mixed feelings.

I feel ashamed for having witnessed the Buddha handing him over, and I also feel sympathy and helplessness for the responsibility that Zhang Qilin has to bear.

Zhang Qilin ended the fate that many members of the Zhang family could not escape, but he also shouldered a burden that should not have belonged to him.

Zhang Rishan was actually somewhat pessimistic; he couldn't see the future of the Zhang family, nor did he know his own future.

Even with the Nine Gates, he genuinely believed that letting them disappear into the torrent of history was the best ending for them.

Sometimes, he even feels lost and confused about why he should continue living.

Occasionally, when Zhang Rishan recalls his past with Buddha, Dog Fifth Master, and Qi Tiezui Er Yuehong, he always has the same thought: he has lived long enough.

He is no longer the same Zhang the adjutant he once was.

Now that this topic has suddenly come up, Zhang Rishan's mood is inevitably somewhat depressed and heavy.

Looking up at the girl before him, who was as bright and vibrant as a cold rose, Zhang Rishan suddenly felt less expectant that she was a member of the Zhang family.

If she weren't a member of the Zhang family, would she have lived a more carefree and happier life?

The two stared at each other in silence, and a strange quiet fell over the secret room.

It didn't feel awkward or oppressive, perhaps because she knew that when she was in a bad mood, there was someone else in a bad mood with her.

Zhang Rishan felt that this quietness was quite comfortable.

For some reason, I don't want to break the silence.

However, the Hydra Cypress is clearly not a kind and understanding tree.

Because of the large-scale collapse and tremors that occurred in Gutongjing, snakes in the snake mine scurried around everywhere. The nine-headed cypress was also disturbed by the commotion and kept waving its tentacles to search for organic fertilizer.

Countless black-haired snakes were swept away by the nine-headed cypress, and soon its tentacles stretched out to the secret room where Ling Yue and Zhang Rishan were temporarily staying.

They kept banging on the metal wall, even though they knew it couldn't get in. The noise they made made it impossible for the genuinely emo Zhang Rishan and the fake emo Ling Yue, who was actually trying to sort out his thoughts, to stay quiet.

It's hard to say whether it's because he considers Ling Yue a junior member of the Zhang family, or because he just witnessed Ling Yue's vulnerable side, but now Zhang Rishan feels a strange sense of responsibility towards Ling Yue and a desire to take care of her.

Seeing this, he instinctively reassured it, "Don't be afraid, it can't get in."

Ling Yue looked up at him and gave a soft "hmm".

Zhang Rishan thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "You don't need to worry too much about the memory. When the wind comes, we'll go listen to the music played in Gutongjing. Since the Empress's maternal clan is likely related to the Yuezhi civilization, and they share the same civilization, the secrets hidden in Gutongjing might help you unravel your doubts."

After a pause, Zhang Rishan continued, "Even if this place can't truly resolve your confusion, after a while, you can go to Changbai Mountain with Wuxie. Perhaps there are people there who can help you find the answers."

No one understands the ultimate truth within the Bronze Gate better than Zhang Qilin.

Zhang Rishan had never been inside; he only vaguely knew that the ultimate world was inside.

Since Ling Yue has received divine mandate, divine mandate itself is a kind of unknown consciousness maintaining and correcting the direction of the world.

Perhaps her innate gift is related to the ultimate.

However, all of this was just Zhang Rishan's speculation, without any basis, so he did not say it.

I was afraid that giving Ling Yue too many wrong clues would mislead her in her search for the answer.

After a moment's thought, Ling Yue knew who Zhang Rishan was referring to.

However, with Wu Xie, the cunning and scheming concubine Daji, present, and the other party being the head of the Zhang family, they might have a special way of identifying their own clansmen.

Ling Yue felt that his current move wasn't quite suitable for using on Zhang Qilin.

The probability of a rollover is too high, and the consequences would be severe.

Moreover, if the answer cannot be found here in Gutongjing.

Ling Yue had a sudden, inexplicable intuition that perhaps the mystery behind the bronze door would be her next hope.

She was already considering going to test the waters.

Ling Yue's vulnerability and lack of defenses seemed to be a one-time occurrence; afterwards, she returned to her usual self.

Indifferent, aloof, powerful, proud, forming a small world of its own.

No one is allowed to set foot in it.

Zhang Rishan secretly regretted this, but he accepted it well.

After all, this is who she truly is.

Ling Yue understood that the occasional vulnerability of a strong person was what could move people's hearts, and that constantly showing weakness would only make the other party suspect that you had ulterior motives.

The saying "old people become wiser" is not just a figure of speech.

Zhang Rishan only occasionally reveals this naive and easily deceived side when facing certain women.

If Ling Yue hadn't seized upon the other party's suspicion about her bloodline and appropriately deepened that suspicion, Zhang Rishan certainly wouldn't have revealed so much information so easily.

This success was largely due to chance.

Fourteen days, there's still plenty of time.

The two of them were alone in a small, enclosed room. Even though they could occasionally go out for a walk, they still spent a lot of time together.

Spending a lot of time together, you're bound to have something to talk about.

In the remaining ten days or so, Zhang Rishan talked about some of the things that happened when they followed the Buddha to restore the ancient city of Tongjing, and also briefly mentioned their experiments.

Ling Yue had only one conclusion: "Throughout history, anyone who has ever attempted to achieve immortality with the body of a mortal has been delusional."

She scoffed at the idea of ​​immortality.

If Changsheng didn't have a prince and a princess, what use would she be?

But if the prince and princess both live to a ripe old age, they will have to witness their loved ones slowly grow old and eventually turn into dust. How long and profound that pain would be.

Will they really be happy?

Ling Yue thought for a moment and shook his head.

They are not people who crave immortality.

"Being all alone, abandoned by the world in the long river of time, isn't that another kind of exile?" Ling Yue frowned, pondering to himself how many years he should live.

She could only leave after she had settled the prince and the princess.

Ling Yue suddenly thought of Wu Xie and his gang of rampant tomb raiders, and silently added: Before leaving, we must do everything we can to hide and reinforce the tombs of the prince and princess, making them an absolute no-man's-land.

Zhang Rishan stared blankly for a long time, his eyes wide with disbelief. He gave a bitter smile and murmured, "Yes, abandonment, exile."

Ling Yue glanced sideways and saw his psychological defenses being breached. He said seemingly unintentionally, "You've lived for so long, why don't you go find your people? At least they could live with you until the end of their lives."

The bitterness in Zhang Rishan's eyes deepened: "Our clansmen? We could never go back when we betrayed our clan leader."

Ling Yue paused in her fiddle with the camera, remaining noncommittal about his pain, and continued to diligently photograph the phoenix-patterned stone that had rolled down in the ancient city of Tongjing.

The camera was found yesterday in an office that hadn't yet collapsed. Ling Yue remembered that he had promised Liang Wan that he would bring her information about the phoenix tattoo on her body.

So they took it back to the secret room and had Zhang Rishan repair it, and to their surprise, it actually worked.

She now has one more task to pass the time.

Despite the intervention of the Wang family, Liang Wan still came to Gutongjing and learned from Hei Xiazi that she was likely a child left behind by the Wang family.

But Ling Yue had promised her that no matter what happened, he would do something.

Regardless of whether his actions towards Liang Wan were a matter of exploitation or a momentary moment of weakness stemming from genuine feelings, Ling Yue adhered to the principle that "a gentleman values ​​his promises and does not make them lightly."

Zhang Rishan didn't dare say anything about it.

Afraid of being criticized.

The power of the twilight romance between grandparents and grandchildren remains to this day.