Back not far from the ruined pavilion where she encountered Lu Enshu, Lin Chaoying turned right and headed directly for it. Wang Chongyang stopped her, saying, "Let's leave it at that." Lin Chaoying stared into his eyes without speaking. Wang Chongyang then said, "Aren't you in a hurry to get to Liaodong to check on your grandmother? That scripture..." Lin Chaoying replied with a hint of blame, "Worried about your old habit of 'considering fellow martial artists and stepping in to resolve disputes,' I had to turn back to check on you. I've already ordered the Dark Swordsmen to fully assist the Jin army in their 'seize the scripture and kill' mission." Wang Chongyang held her hand and said, "I know your good intentions." Lin Chaoying replied coldly, "And what if you know? For your fellow martial artists, you scattered the fragrant powder that summons me; for righteousness, you gifted the jade dew that saves my life to others!" Wang Chongyang was momentarily speechless and could only change the subject, "The water manor is over there; everyone should have gathered there to search." "That place is merely a garden behind the waterfall." Although Lin Chaoying was inwardly willing, she found it difficult to adjust. As she raised her hand to gesture, she withdrew her palm, saying, "Look, the area around this pavilion is all sunken. It's likely this was originally a pond, and it dried up like this due to changes in the terrain." Saying this, she turned to go inside, adding, "If it weren't for Old Man Lu ruining things, I might have found the first brocade pouch by now." Wang Chongyang thought that the last two words the old man wanted to curse were indeed "witch." She suddenly stopped and said, "How did you detect me in the cave?" Wang Chongyang smiled and replied, "How could I not recognize your scent?" Lin Chaoying dropped a "stinky man" and continued inside.
The two entered the pavilion. Wang Chongyang found the carved railings and sculpted walls still ornate and exquisite, but they had faded and were damaged. Recalling the Taoist scripture's saying, "When things are at their peak, they begin to age," he was moved. The corridor, a few inches from the left wall, had dust, but the rest was quite clean. He asked, "Straight ahead from here?" Lin Chaoying replied, "I observed the path leading here, and then Old Man Lu pestered me." Wang Chongyang grunted and took a few more steps before Lin Chaoying called him to a halt.
"Don't you find that dust suspicious?" Wang Chongyang looked again and shook his head at her blankly. "From the entrance to here and even to the visible area behind, this corridor is sealed from top to bottom, left to right. The air flows vertically here. Why is the dust on the sides at an oblique angle and curved?" Wang Chongyang thought for a moment and said, "It must be someone searching for the scripture, or perhaps the person who hid it passed by, changing the airflow. Look! This area is not dusty at all, clearly indicating someone has been moving here."
"The edges are so neat, as if someone or something deliberately avoided this area, forming these patterns over time." Lin Chaoying gazed at the left wall and said, "There must be a hidden door in this wall. The air blows through the gap, changing its direction." Wang Chongyang found this very plausible and followed the curved lines. He finally discovered a section that was slightly thinner and had some gaps. He felt along the walls on both sides of this section, about a foot apart, and found slight depressions on each side. Unable to find a handle or mechanism, he tried pushing and shifting it in all directions, but it wouldn't budge. After a moment of thought, he clasped his hands and pushed forcefully. To his surprise, the wall in front of him rotated downwards horizontally, revealing a dark cavity in the upper half. Lin Chaoying wanted to leap in, but Wang Chongyang held her back, saying, "Let me see clearly first." Though somewhat displeased, she had to comply.
Wang Chongyang peered inside and vaguely saw what looked like a winding staircase descending. As he stepped through the wall, his feet landed on a thin net covering the ground. The net seemed to be coated with a substance that made it difficult to stand on, and he stumbled backward, sliding down the stone steps to the bottom. Lin Chaoying leaped forward and grabbed his arm, but the momentum was too great, and she was pulled along with him.
After sliding for a moment, as they reached a turn and their momentum weakened, they seemed to be of one mind. Each held a sheathed sword against the stone walls on either side, stopping their descent. Lin Chaoying tried to help Wang Chongyang stand, but he still couldn't find his footing. Fearing they would slide again, she had a flash of inspiration, quickly drew her sword, and swung it forward. It successfully cut through the net, revealing the stone steps below. They braced themselves on the stone steps and straightened up. Lin Chaoying used her sword again to cut through more of the net, exposing several more steps.
The two descended the steps, with Lin Chaoying leading with her sword drawn, intending to flip over more of the net. Suddenly, Wang Chongyang called out, "Look!" Lin Chaoying looked about thirty feet ahead and saw a pile of grayish-white objects. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were animal bones. Wang Chongyang said, "I suspect they are the remains of a lion from the Western Regions." He gently tugged her sleeve and said, "Let me go down first and investigate." Lin Chaoying sneered, "Your qinggong is not as good as mine." Wang Chongyang lowered his voice and said, "There might be weasels." Before Lin Chaoying could retort, "Am I an ordinary girl?" a very faint sound was heard, like something wading through water. Wang Chongyang drew his sword, ready. Lin Chaoying arrogantly took another step down, scanning her surroundings for the source of the sound. Wang Chongyang looked down and, after a moment, saw a ivory-colored object floating in the darkness. He focused his gaze and recognized it as half a recumbent beast's head—it looked like a tiger, but with a mane around its jaw, narrow and thick black ears, and a tuft of hair at the tips. As Wang Chongyang quickly recalled his life's knowledge, he heard Lin Chaoying call out, "Found it!" Following her leaping figure, he looked over to where a red object, about half a foot square, was hanging. Wang Chongyang watched as she lightly stepped onto the rock wall, retrieved the object, and then pushed off with her legs, shooting back with her back to them.
Just then, a splash of water was heard. Another ivory-colored beast lunged at her in mid-air. Wang Chongyang immediately swung his sword, injuring its left shoulder blade and kicking it. This not only created distance but also allowed him to use the momentum to pull Lin Chaoying back to the stone steps. On the way, another beast of the same kind attacked. Lin Chaoying pushed her sword forward, and the beast, seemingly aware of the sword's sharpness, dodged the rush, only to have the long hair at the tips of its ears sliced off.
Returning to the stone steps, Wang Chongyang felt Lin Chaoying falter slightly. It turned out her left calf had been scratched. He helped her sit down, tore off a strip from her lower robe, and used it to bandage the wound and stop the bleeding. While Lin Chaoying felt ashamed of her mistake that had implicated her companion, she heard a faint "drip, drip" sound. Looking at the beast whose ear tufts had been cut off, she saw it climbing out of the water, stepping on the piled-up netting. However, it struggled to find stable footing. After several attempts to grab it, its front claws, which had webbing between its toes, finally caught hold. It managed to grip the steps revealed after the net was flipped over. Lin Chaoying immediately regretted cutting the net, losing an object that could have blocked it. The beast did not attack them immediately but kept shaking its neck. Lin Chaoying noticed its jaw was smooth, with only a tuft of long whiskers below its lips that swayed like an old scholar. She couldn't help but look at Wang Chongyang. Seeing him looking at her, she felt embarrassed and averted her gaze. Noticing his gaze hadn't shifted, she glared back, realizing he was subtly signaling for them to retreat upwards. She quickly composed herself and, sitting down, retreated step by step. After climbing five steps, the beast seemed to sense their movement and moved towards them. At that moment, the one injured by the sword also climbed out of the water, but it collided with the one before it, and the two beasts immediately began to fight.
Wang Chongyang and Lin Chaoying seized the opportunity to speed up their departure. Just as they rounded a corner, a sound like a lion's roar came from behind them. As Wang Chongyang embraced Lin Chaoying and crouched down, a dark shadow streaked overhead. He caught a glimpse of it using the wall to push and leap, reaching the entrance above. Wang Chongyang observed its size; it was even larger than the previous two. Its sprawling mane and the tufts of fur on its ears, illuminated by the light behind it, made it even more terrifying.
"I'll handle it!" Lin Chaoying's voice sounded in his ear. Wang Chongyang saw her leap up, supporting herself with her sword. With a flick of her wrist, she seemed to launch a hidden projectile at the beast's ear tips. It appeared she had also realized that this beast used its ear tips and the tufts of fur in that area to track and locate its prey. The injured beast let out a deafening roar. Lin Chaoying used her injured left leg to kick its nose, using the momentum to leap back into the corridor. The beast lunged at her immediately. Wang Chongyang also used his sword to strike the ground for leverage and kicked off the wall twice, stepping out of the secret room and closing the hidden door behind him. Wang Chongyang saw that although Lin Chaoying's qinggong was superb in her retreat, this beast was powerful and agile, often missing her by a mere fraction. Its hearing seemed unaffected by the projectile. Wang Chongyang called out to Lin Chaoying, "Throw me the cloth strip from your leg." Lin Chaoying understood his intention but was unwilling for him to take risks and ignored him. Wang Chongyang sighed, cut his left palm with his sword, tore off a piece of his clothing to wipe away the blood, and then threw the cloth strip at the beast's face. The beast turned its attention to Wang Chongyang. Following the principle of preying on the weak, it should have continued to hunt Lin Chaoying. Angered by Wang Chongyang's repeated provocations and attracted by the scent of blood, it furiously changed its attack to him. "Go further inside, I'll find you later." Wang Chongyang emphasized, "Just listen to me, alright?" Having said this, he turned and fled, leading the beast out of the pavilion. At this point, though her heart was unwilling, Lin Chaoying had to obey his words and ran into the other end.
As Wang Chongyang rushed out of the pavilion, he saw Lu Enshu, Pei Ji, Mao Dongli, the Baye Gang, the Niudao Sect, and others engaged in a melee. Wang Chongyang leaped forward and pushed his palm against Lu Enshu's back. Lu Enshu, sensing the movement, spun around and met his palm with his own. Lu Enshu felt his palm become slightly damp. He opened it and was shocked to see a bloodstain. In his astonishment, he heard shouts of alarm and saw a monster, neither lion nor tiger, lunging at him. In his panic, he forgot his moves and could only scream and run for a way out, while Pei Ji followed closely with his sword, driving it away.