Li Chonglou returned to the hospital just before eleven.
Zheng Xiumei, however, had stayed awake waiting for him. Only when she saw him return did she finally relax.
"Mom, I'll be going to work starting tomorrow and will only be able to hire a private nurse to accompany you. Please don't worry so much anymore; I'm grown up now," Li Chonglou said, his heart aching. "I'll take leave the day after tomorrow when you have your surgery."
In his mother's eyes, her son was forever a child.
He told her to relax, yet she constantly worried about him.
"Mom isn't worried about you, it's just that the light is too bright, and I can't sleep," Zheng Xiumei held her son's hand, concealing her inner anxieties.
Finally, he managed to coax his mother to sleep.
He leaned against the side bed, his mind filled with his master's words from earlier that day.
Once upon a time, he thought he had fully inherited his master's legacy.
But he discovered there was always someone better, and the world was vast.
Those eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through his past and present lives, were all-encompassing.
They seemed to hide a monumental secret.
In his previous life, he never had the opportunity to touch upon it.
Since he had the chance to renew their connection in this life, he was determined to find a way to understand it, ensuring that neither his master nor senior sister would die in vain again.
Tomorrow, he would first see what was inside the box.
The next morning.
Lin Ying was already seated by the tea table at the Donglin Pawnshop, having brewed tea and waiting for him.
Today, she wasn't wearing a qipao but a black evening gown. Her makeup was elegant, and her demeanor was dignified.
On the tea table, there was also a colorful Huanghuali wood box.
It was the size of a book, perfectly fitted, with no metal parts.
A Lu Ban box?
Li Chonglou recognized the origin of the box.
These boxes had mechanisms and were typically used to store important items.
It was difficult for ordinary people to open without considerable effort.
Could this be the box his master mentioned?
"Have some tea."
Lin Ying handed him a cup with a half-smile and asked, "Did you visit my father yesterday afternoon?"
"I heard he even took you as a disciple."
"Sister Ying is too well-informed," Li Chonglou chuckled, feigning surprise.
Although his master was in prison, with his abilities, it was easy for him to send messages back.
"You're making me more and more curious. Yesterday I was still wondering who you were and why you pretended to know my father, and now you've become my junior brother."
Lin Ying gave him a thumbs-up. "My father is very arrogant; no one has ever caught his eye over the years."
"You met him once and became his disciple on the spot; I'm impressed!"
As she spoke, she pushed the box towards Li Chonglou. "This puzzle box belongs to you now."
"However, this box is quite challenging; normal people would never be able to open it in a lifetime. Let's see how capable you are."
Upon hearing this, Li Chonglou gripped the box and lifted it. It was heavy, weighing two to three jin.
He gently swung his hand back and forth, repeating the motion dozens of times, then suddenly gave it a sharp shake.
With a clatter!
Eight small wooden pieces detached from the box.
The next second, the Lu Ban box automatically disassembled, revealing a palm-sized parchment scroll inside.
"How did you do that?" Lin Ying's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
After meeting Li Chonglou yesterday, she immediately sent a message to her father and received a reply that afternoon, filled with shock.
The two had never met, yet they had become master and disciple.
What capabilities did Li Chonglou possess to gain his father's favor?
He had even asked her to gift the box to him.
Naturally, she felt a bit unconvinced, so she specifically used the box to test Li Chonglou.
This Lu Ban box was not the usual shoddy toy found on the market. It was a genuine creation of a descendant of the Gongshu clan, deeply embodying the ingenuity of the ancestor Lu Ban.
It contained sixty-four layers of mechanisms, designed based on the sixty-four hexagrams of the Book of Changes, intricately linked and ceaselessly flowing.
Cracking it with normal thinking was unimaginably difficult.
The smarter a person was, the more they would fall into its trap.
She herself had spent over three hours to successfully open it.
Yet Li Chonglou broke the mold, dismantling it in mere seconds.
This...
"Master said the greatest truths are simple. Following others' rules will only confine you within a framework, but breaking it from the outside is much easier," Li Chonglou replied. "For some very difficult things, perhaps a change in perspective makes them simple."
"Senior sister, try it?"
As he spoke, he had already reassembled the Lu Ban box and handed it to Lin Ying.
He wore a playful smile.
Having known her for so many years, his impression of his senior sister was always that of composure, generosity, intellectual depth, and elegance.
This was the first time he had seen such a shocked expression.
It couldn't help but bring out his childlike playfulness.
In reality, his seemingly simple shake involved an exquisite control of every fraction of an inch; the decades of practice were not something anyone could replicate.
"I concede!" Lin Ying waved her hand, refusing.
She finally understood why her father had acted so uncharacteristically and accepted this young man as his disciple.
Li Chonglou set down the box, picked up the parchment scroll, and unfurled it in his palm.
After a few serious glances, his expression became peculiar.
This parchment scroll, covered in dense, tiny calligraphy, actually recorded a martial arts cultivation technique.
Although the characters were small, they exuded a sword-like sharpness and an imposing aura.
He knew his master was skilled in combat. Normally, four or five strong men couldn't even get close to him, and he moved freely in and out of tomb explorations.
However, in the realm of martial arts, he had no opportunity to learn in prison during his previous life.
He hadn't expected the box to contain something like this.
"This parchment scroll is a treasure passed down through generations of our Lin family. The breathing and cultivation technique on it was left by our ancestor, Lin Daojiu."
"Lin Daojiu."
Li Chonglou's brow twitched slightly. "The miraculous Daoist Master from the Song Dynasty, who was said to be able to control banners and command swords? Could it be sorcery?"
"Yes."
Lin Ying nodded in reply. "Controlling banners and commanding swords is just a legend; it's not quite sorcery, but if you learn it, at least self-defense won't be a problem."
"In our line of work, we often encounter people from various walks of life. My father gave this to you for protection."
"..." Li Chonglou chuckled in speechlessness.
His senior sister was clearly trying to scare him.
He certainly knew what "various walks of life" meant; it referred to those ancient professions outside the established categories of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant.
Colloquially known as the martial world.
In his past life, he focused on antiques and, apart from a car accident, had never encountered any life-or-death situations.
In a society governed by law, the ways of the martial world were no longer prevalent.
However, since his master had entrusted this to him so solemnly, he figured it must be useful.
He planned to practice it diligently when he had the time.
"Keep the parchment scroll safe. Don't lose it. The secrets on it are more than just a martial arts technique," Lin Ying earnestly cautioned him.
"I wouldn't dare lose it," Li Chonglou's expression turned serious.
"Here's the key. I have my own business to attend to. If you need anything, just close the shop; not many customers come in a day anyway."
Lin Ying finished her tea, picked up her bag, and stood up. "Make your own tea. There's money in the accounts, and if you find something worth buying, make your own decisions."
"Try not to bother me; I'm very busy."
With that, she strode away.
Li Chonglou was already accustomed to this style of hers.
After so many years, it was truly nostalgic.
After two cups of tea, he familiarized himself with the accounts and inventoried the warehouse one by one, completing the statistics.
This was also his formal entry into Donglin.
The business of pawnshops rarely saw a bustling scene with guests. Those who came were usually people driven to desperation by life.
Otherwise, who would pawn or sell their belongings?
Li Chonglou enjoyed the leisure and made a phone call to Wu Hao, asking him to come to the shop before closing to chat.
Just as he hung up the phone, three fierce-looking burly men pushed a young girl with swollen eyes and a panicked expression into the shop.
"You'd better hope this thing is worth something, or you'll come back with me to entertain guests!" the leading brute cursed.