I leapt down from the wall and hurried towards the Little Dragon Pagoda.

I hadn't gone far when I heard Jiang Jiuyuan's footsteps behind me. I stopped and turned, shouting, "Why aren't you leaving?"

Jiang Jiuyuan said softly, "Hall Master, don't send me away. I can actually do a lot!"

"You want to stay and cause trouble? Get lost!" I had no intention of letting Jiang Jiuyuan stay.

Jiang Jiuyuan lowered her head and shuffled her feet, saying, "Are you sure I can get out of Pagoda City?"

I was stunned by her words. After a long moment, I threw my backpack to Jiang Jiuyuan. "There are spiritual talismans and magical artifacts inside. Be careful."

Jiang Jiuyuan smiled, slung the backpack over her shoulder, and followed behind me. "Hall Master, to be honest, I thought you wouldn't save me and was ready to die. But I didn't expect..."

I retorted irritably, "Saving you was wrong? I should have killed you, right?"

Jiang Jiuyuan said softly, "No one has ever taken a knife for me before! Not even my fellow disciples."

"I know that lifespan is very important to you Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren. You risk your lives to exchange for it from the underworld, just to live. But you..."

"Shut up!" I snapped without turning my head. "I was out of my mind just now. I'll never save you again."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Jiuyuan chuckled behind me.

What's wrong with girls these days? Can't they even understand when they're being scolded?

The girls who join Liangjie Tang are all a bit abnormal. Is there something wrong with the feng shui of Liangjie Tang? I need to find a feng shui master to take a look when I get back.

There's no point in asking Leng Gou; even if he sees the problem, he won't fix it.

It's embarrassing for a dignified mystical sect to ask an outsider to look at the feng shui!

My face flushed, and I quickened my pace!

Later, Jiang Jiuyuan asked me again why I had saved her.

It's easy to explain.

Whether true or false, Dao Gate Return to Heart was already an outer member of Liangjie Tang.

If Dao Xian Men didn't fail Liangjie Tang, I had no reason to fail Dao Xian Men.

The martial world isn't without warmth; it isn't just about利益 (lì yì: profits; benefits).

As I led Jiang Jiuyuan towards the Little Dragon Pagoda, Lin Zhao and Xiao Qi had already run into trouble.

Just like the hotel owner said, the Little Dragon Pagoda wasn't hard to find. Just outside the edge of Pagoda City, at the foot of the mountain, was an ancient pagoda carved with snake-shaped浮雕 (fú diāo: relief sculpture).

When Lin Zhao arrived, the first thing she saw was the snake sculpture at the foot of the pagoda. "Snakes are also called Little Dragons. This must be it."

While Lin Zhao was examining the浮雕 (fú diāo: relief sculpture), Xiao Qi had already circled the pagoda. "This is a burial pagoda. There's a tomb chamber underneath."

As Xiao Qi spoke, she pulled out a foot-long, jet-black rod from behind. With a flick of her wrist, both ends of the rod extended simultaneously, turning it into an iron staff as tall as her eyebrows.

"Wu Ji Staff!" Lin Zhao couldn't help but be surprised. Kong Dao experts usually didn't fight people directly. For a long time, there was even a rule that they could only be beaten and not retaliate if caught.

Even when Kong Dao experts did fight, they mostly engaged in close combat, using daggers, finger blades, and other short weapons. Xiao Qi's Wu Ji Staff shouldn't be from the lineage of Stealing Heaven Gate.

Xiao Qi didn't pay attention to any of that. She tapped the ground a few times with the staff. "Listen, this spot sounds hollow, which means there's a tomb chamber underneath. Whose corpse do you think is down there?"

Seeing Lin Zhao frowning and not speaking, Xiao Qi simply pointed the staff at a青砖 (qīng zhuān: blue brick). "Step back, I'll open the ground!"

"Don't move!" Lin Zhao raised her hand to stop her. "I'm thinking about the floating carvings outside."

"Didn't you notice that the snake doesn't have a head?"

Xiao Qi propped the iron staff against a青砖 (qīng zhuān: blue brick) near the door. "The snake head is hidden here."

Seeing Lin Zhao looking at her face, Xiao Qi couldn't help but make a face. "Sister Lin, we study different things. If a Stealing Heaven Gate disciple can't find a hidden room or compartment in a house within three seconds, they'll get a beating!"

As Xiao Qi spoke, she pushed forward with the iron staff in her hand. The brick beside the door was immediately shattered by the Wu Ji Staff, revealing a cast-iron snake head hidden inside.

Judging from the size of the snake head, it matched the floating carving on the pagoda perfectly. This meant that the floating carving was covered with a layer of something like灰粉 (huī fěn: ash powder) on a cast-iron python.

While Lin Zhao was still examining the snake head, Xiao Qi had already struck the other side of the door with the staff, revealing another snake head. However, it was noticeably smaller than the one on the left.

Xiao Qi took a deep breath and said, "This is troublesome! Sister Lin, can you pick locks?"

Lin Zhao shook her head helplessly. She really didn't have the skill to pick locks.

Xiao Qi said, "These two snakes are male and female, and they're the key to opening the tomb's mechanism. There are lock holes on both snake heads, but they're in different positions. It's best to have two people working together."

Lin Zhao said, "Can't you teach me?"

"There's no time!" Xiao Qi said, "There are only two options now. One is to send a signal and have Ye Dangjia come over. Bei Yiye is also proficient in mechanical secret arts; he might be able to cooperate with me!"

"The other option is for me to do it myself!"

"What do we choose?"