The deflated cultivator refused to give up and vowed to turn the tables.

Su Zinong and Qin Xiangxue hurried into Honghe Manor, only to find two young boys and girls fighting each other, with a middle-aged woman watching from the side.

It turned out that the brother and sister were practicing swordsmanship.

"I made a mistake!" Su Zinong said embarrassedly.

The middle-aged woman approached and asked, "May I ask your honorable names? What brings you to my Red River Manor?"

At this moment, the gatekeeper rushed over and said, "Madam, these two broke in too quickly, we couldn't stop them!"

Su Zinong clasped his hands in a salute and said, "I'm really sorry. I heard that something happened at Honghe Manor more than a year ago. When I came to the door today, I suddenly heard the sound of two young boys and girls fighting with swords. I thought something had happened, so I rushed in."

"This is Su Zinong, and I am Qin Xiangxue from Qin Tianzhuang," Qin Xiangxue replied.

It turns out that this lady is the wife of the owner of Honghe Manor, and the boy and girl practicing swordsmanship are her children.

More than a year ago, when the Heavenly Demon Sect launched a major invasion of Red River Manor, the lady happened to be taking her young master and young lady back to her parents' home to visit relatives, and luckily escaped the calamity.

Most of the people in the manor at that time did not escape the calamity. The manor lord, Hong Tianying, and his brothers all died one after another. Even the elderly, children, laborers, and cooks were not spared. Only one brother of the same generation as the manor lord, Hong Tianxing, survived, but he was too badly injured and is still bedridden.

"I heard from my father that your estate suffered a terrible calamity. The people of the Heavenly Demon Sect are truly wicked. You must be having a hard time these days. This is just a small token of my appreciation." Qin Xiangxue took out 20,000 taels of silver notes and handed them to Madam Hong.

Su Zinong couldn't help but admire Qin Xiangxue, who, despite having only 30,000 taels in her pocket, generously gave 20,000 taels to several people she had never met.

Madam Hong was clearly very moved and quickly waved her hand, saying, "Thank you, Miss Qin. No need. Although those villains stole the treasures from my manor, they did not take any valuables."

Su Zinong asked, "It is said that the Heavenly Demon Sect seized your manor's treasure, the Red River Divine Book. May I ask what kind of treasure it is that would provoke such a large-scale attack from the Heavenly Demon Sect?"

Madam Hong hesitated for a moment, then said, "That's right. The Red River Divine Book is a treasure that my Red River Manor has kept for nearly a thousand years. However, its secret has always been known only to the manor lord. Now that the manor lord has passed away, it seems that no one knows it anymore. It is said that the divine book is contained in a mechanism box. If you don't know how to open the box, you can't open it. If you try to open it by force, it will trigger the mechanism and cut the divine book into pieces."

“Oh, that’s a real pity. Don’t you know about that uncle who escaped this calamity? I’d like to go and visit him,” Qin Xiangxue said.

Madam Hong thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "It has been a long time since anyone has visited him. If Miss Qin wishes to go, then please go."

Just as Su Zinong and Qin Xiangxue were about to enter the inner hall, Miss Hong, Madam Hong's daughter, shouted, "Mother, this jade pendant looks like Father's!"

Following her gaze, everyone saw her pointing to the purple jade pendant hanging from Su Zinong's waist.

Madam Hong was taken aback and shouted, "Where did you get this Canghai Jade Pendant?" Her tone was aggressive, as if she had stolen it from somewhere.

Su Zinong found it strange and said, "I have had this purple jade pendant since I was a child, but I didn't know it was called Canghai. I have been wearing this jade pendant for more than ten years since I can remember."

"This is clearly the jade pendant of my Red River Manor, which is only for the manor lord. It was kept by my late husband before!" Madam Hong did not believe Su Zinong's nonsense at all.

“Madam Hong, people may resemble each other, and objects may have similarities. Perhaps there is more than one such jade pendant in the world. I have always seen Young Master Su wearing it, and Young Master Huang Chenghe of Yellow River Manor also knows about it. We can both testify to this,” Qin Xiangxue said in a helping hand.

"Since it is the succession jade pendant of your manor, could it have been taken by the Heavenly Demon Sect in the incident more than a year ago?" Su Zinong asked.

"No, that's not true. That day, the Demonic Sect only took the divine book and a few spirit stones; they didn't take anything else. The jade pendant was placed there..." Madam Hong was recalling when she hurriedly ran back to the inner hall. After a while, she came out holding a similar purple jade pendant, exactly the same as the one Su Zinong was wearing.

"I'm so sorry, Young Master Su. It turns out there really is an identical jade pendant. I misunderstood you earlier. I apologize to you," Madam Hong said, bowing slightly.

“Madam Hong, you flatter me. If I were in such a situation, I would inevitably think the same way you do. I also cannot believe that there are two identical jade pendants in the world. May I ask what is so special about these jade pendants?” Su Zinong asked.

"I don't know what's so special about it, I only know that it feels warm to the touch and glows faintly in the dark, but I don't know anything else," Madam Hong said.

The man wounded by the enemy and bedridden was named Hong Tianxing. When he saw someone coming, he struggled to sit up, but he could not manage to sit up even after several attempts to support himself with his hands. Later, Madam Hong helped him sit up.

Madam Hong introduced Su Zinong and Qin Xiangxue to Hong Tianxing, mentioning that they both possessed the same purple jade pendant, and she sensed that Su Zinong had a mysterious connection with Honghe Manor.

Hong Tianxing was originally a tall and mighty man, but at this moment he looked haggard, weak all over, and even showed signs of shrinking.

Su Zinong took his pulse and asked Hong Tianxing how he felt all over.

Hong Tianxing said, "Actually, I suffered severe internal injuries from the shock of the internal energy. All the meridians in my body were damaged. Some of the meridians have improved a lot in the past year, but the kidney meridian has not improved. I suppose the injury was too deep. Now I am weak all over. Occasionally, when I am in good condition, I can struggle to get up and walk a dozen steps. Sometimes, it is difficult for me to even get out of bed."

Madam Hong looked at Hong Tianxing with pity and sighed.

Su Zinong nodded and said, "My pulse diagnosis confirms this. If you trust me, I'll give you a few acupuncture treatments to see if it helps."

"Does the young master know medicine?" Madam Hong asked with concern.

"I studied it when I was young and only have a superficial understanding," Su Zinong replied modestly.

He then took out silver needles and selected six special acupoints on Hong Tianxing's kidney meridian to apply acupuncture.

"I need to use the restroom..." Hong Tianxing said after the acupuncture treatment, "I'm really sorry."

“It’s alright,” Su Zinong said. “This is the expected phenomenon after I pricked these six acupoints with needles. It’s a good thing.”

Su Zinong wrote a prescription and also took out one of the three decades-old Ganoderma lucidum plants obtained from Lingshan to use in the medicine.

Three days later, Hong Tianxing was able to get up and walk, taking about twenty or thirty steps.

Su Zinong told him to come out and bask in the sun whenever he had free time, and to make soup and porridge with bones.

Su Zinong also gave him acupuncture every day. After staying at Honghe Mountain Villa for ten days, Hong Tianxing miraculously became able to walk like a normal person.

Hong Tianxing and his wife were extremely grateful to Su Zinong.

Su Zinong and Qin Xiangxue didn't want to linger there too long, so they said they would leave early the next morning.

Hong Tianxing said, “You are all so curious about that divine book. Originally, it was a closely guarded secret of the manor. I overheard some things about it when I was a child. Now that the divine book is lost, I’m not afraid to tell you. I’ve heard that the Purple Jade Pendant is a key that can unlock important locks. But I don’t know exactly how to open it, which lock to open, or what treasures it holds. There is a miraculous immortal technique in the divine book. Some of our ancestors successfully cultivated it, but no one in recent generations has been able to master it. Only the manor lord can cultivate it. My eldest brother didn’t succeed, otherwise he wouldn’t have fallen victim to the Heavenly Demon Sect. I don’t know anything else about it.”

Before leaving, Madam Hong took out four spirit stones and gave two to each of Qin Xiangxue and Su Zinong. These four spirit stones were surprisingly bright red…