Chapter 94

Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoed in Song Haowen’s ears. Turning around, he discovered that a stone from the cave wall had fallen to the ground, creating the noise. Puzzled, as rocks should be connected to the mountain, he wondered how one could detach and fall.

Approaching the spot where the stone originally sat, he noticed a basin-sized dent. Using the wooden stick, he prodded the dent, creating a hollow space, but it was pitch-black inside, making it impossible to see anything.

Song Haowen’s adventurous spirit was ignited. Having read numerous exploration and tomb-raiding novels in his past life, he had developed a fascination for such things. Encountering this hidden cavity within the cave, instead of feeling fear, his heart raced with an intense desire to uncover its secrets.

Disregarding consequences, Song Haowen immediately set out to widen the opening. Luckily, the surrounding rocks were not a solid mass, requiring minimal effort to expand the entrance enough for a person to bend and pass through.

The inner cavity was noticeably smaller than the outer one, about seven to eight square meters, with indistinct surroundings. He cautiously threw a few small rocks inside, detecting no abnormalities, emboldening him to enter.

After adjusting his eyes to the darkness, the scene inside the inner cave began to vaguely reveal itself. However, with just one glance, even for someone with extraordinary courage like Song Haowen, he was shocked to the point of almost passing out.

Inside the dark little cave sat an old man in black clothes. His complexion was pale, and he was as thin as a skeleton, with closed eyes, appearing to be in a state of sleep.

Song Haowen couldn’t help but bow to the black-clad man, repeatedly apologizing, “I’m sorry, senior. I didn’t know there was someone here, and I disturbed you. I’ll leave now.” After speaking, he kept his eyes fixed on the old man, slowly retreating toward the entrance of the cave, afraid of disturbing him.

Suddenly, Song Haowen was once again stunned by what he saw, finding it hard to believe his eyes: the old man who was sitting upright moments ago had silently collapsed, rapidly turning into a pile of dust.

Song Haowen was almost scared to death, and his three souls seemed to fly away instantly.

This bizarre scene made everything inside the cave feel unreal.

He stood there in a daze for a considerable amount of time before reacting, speculating that the old man in front of him might have long passed away, and his body had decomposed into dust. Song Haowen’s entry into the cave had triggered the airflow, causing the humanoid ash pile to collapse.

To confirm his theory, Song Haowen gathered his courage and approached the ash pile, gently touching it with the wooden stick. Indeed, what he had seen earlier was not an illusion or a hallucination.

Feeling a deep sense of guilt, Song Haowen unintentionally disrupted the peace of the deceased. Overwhelmed with remorse, he bowed once more to the ashes of the departed, expressing sincere apologies.

Song Haowen surveyed the cave and discovered several burial items, mostly weapons and porcelain from the Tang and Song dynasties.

Despite being aware of their immense value, he resisted any temptation. He believed these artifacts were things that the deceased person enjoyed in his life and chose not to touch them.

He immediately exited the inner cavity and returned to the outer one.

Song Haowen moved stones to seal the cave entrance once again. To prevent others from discovering it, he damaged the stones above the entrance. Unexpectedly, with a rumble, over a thousand pounds of rocks fell, perfectly sealing the entrance. Startled, he hastily retreated, feeling something soft underfoot. Suddenly, his legs went weak with fear.

Lowering his head, Song Haowen realized he had stepped on a wrapped package – a cowhide parcel. He patted his chest in relief, muttering, “Geez, scared me to death!” Bending down, he picked up the mysterious object and quickly walked out of the cave. Afraid to linger, he immediately fled downhill.

Only when Song Haowen reached the valley floor did his wildly beating heart begin to calm. Remembering the package he found, he opened it to see what was inside.

To his disappointment, the cowhide parcel contained nothing but a sheepskin about the size of a basin. Due to its age, the sheepskin had turned dark and filthy, causing disgust. Song Haowen tossed it into the icy water, thinking it was time to head back, fearing his accompanying bodyguard might worry.

After walking about twenty to thirty steps, Song Haowen felt something was amiss and aimlessly retraced his steps. Coincidentally, he approached the discarded sheepskin and gave it a disdainful glance.

Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, his whole body trembled. He squatted down to examine the sheepskin in the water because he saw writing and meridian diagrams on it!

With trembling hands, Song Haowen took the sheepskin from the icy water, spread it out on a nearby rock, and examined it closely. In small seal script, it read, “Feng Qingyang presents ‘Tai Chi Profound Art’ to those with destiny.” Ecstatic, Song Haowen recognized it as a priceless martial arts manual.

He couldn’t help but wonder if this Feng Qingyang was the same person as the legendary character from Jin Yong’s novels in his previous life.

Without dwelling on it further, Song Haowen eagerly read through the text on the sheepskin. The script said, “Tai Chi Profound Art,” and he couldn’t contain his joy. Realizing that the martial art he obtained in his previous life was derived from this sheepskin, he understood why he had struggled to master it – the version he had was incomplete.

In his past life, the drawings in “Tai Chi Profound Art” were graffiti-like, while the version on the sheepskin contained eight meridian diagrams.

From this, Song Haowen deduced that the martial art he obtained in his previous life was likely a replica with many inaccuracies.

He speculated that the previous version might have been transcribed from memory by someone in the group, with the meridian diagrams possibly forgotten and replaced with doodles.

However, the meridian diagrams on the sheepskin were different from the “Twelve Meridians” or the “Eight Extraordinary Meridians.”

Following the instructions in the manual, Song Haowen began practicing immediately. Surprisingly, half an hour later, he felt true energy forming in his lower abdomen, a sensation that filled him with joy.

He diligently circulated the true energy along the eight meridian diagrams in “Tai Chi Profound Art,” finding that the energy continued to increase until his lower abdomen was completely filled.

However, no matter how he continued to practice, the true energy in his lower abdomen stopped increasing. Song Haowen decided to stop practicing and study the details later when he returned.

Realizing several hours had passed since he entered the valley, he worried that his bodyguard might be concerned, so he planned to take the sheepskin with him for further examination at the dormitory.

To his surprise, the sheepskin had deteriorated over the millennia, and due to moisture, it had frozen to the stones below. When he tried to pick it up, the sheepskin tore apart. In his heart, Song Haowen felt a sharp pain, looking at the shattered and irreparable sheepskin in his hands.

He reluctantly discarded it but took solace in the fact that the written content was already memorized.

Exiting the gorge, it was already past four in the afternoon, and there was no sign of the film crew’s bodyguards. He assumed they had grown impatient and left earlier.

Song Haowen chuckled, found some food at a nearby Taoist temple to satisfy his hunger, and slowly made his way back to the temporary residence at Yuxu Palace. Just a few hundred meters from the location, a group of people rushed towards him, exclaiming loudly when they saw him.

The bodyguards, worried about his prolonged absence, had returned with colleagues and a young Taoist to search the gorge.

On the way back, they coincidentally encountered the anxious director, Wang Bolong, and his team. Although the bodyguards didn’t disclose the situation openly, Tang Wen had noticed their strange behavior.

After inquiring, she learned that Song Haowen was missing. Alarmed by the potential impact on the film and the company’s efforts, she immediately reported the situation to Director Wang. Panicking, Wang Bolong ordered the halt of filming and hurriedly headed in the direction indicated by the bodyguards.

When they saw Song Haowen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. In front of the group, Director Wang Bolong criticized Song Haowen sternly, “In the future, you can’t go out alone, especially not for exploration. You’re not just an individual working; you’re the lead actor, carrying the hopes of the entire crew. Your responsibilities are more significant than other actors.”

Tang Wen, concerned that Song Haowen, being young and sensitive, might find it difficult to accept criticism publicly and kindly advised him not to take it to heart.

In reality, Song Haowen didn’t dwell much on Director Wang’s criticism. After the reprimand, he realized that he had been a bit too stubborn that day, feeling a twinge of guilt. He earnestly accepted Wang Bolong’s critique, expressing that such incidents would not happen again in the future.

During dinner, Wang Bolong intentionally sat next to Song Haowen and raised a glass of wine to him.

He apologized for his stern words in the afternoon, making Song Haowen somewhat embarrassed.

To ease the awkwardness, Song Haowen mentioned the ice waterfall he saw in the canyon, describing its beautiful scenery and suggesting arranging an action scene there.

Wang Bolong, intrigued by the idea, immediately called a few crew members and instructed them to visit the location suggested by Song Haowen the next morning to see if it was suitable for an action scene.

Later, Wang Bolong mentioned that the Chinese New Year was just a few days away.

In order to complete the filming as soon as possible, the crew planned to take only a short break on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year. He asked if Song Haowen had any objections.

Understanding that the tight schedule was to accommodate his schooling, Song Haowen knew that he was the reason for the crew’s rush.

Although it was agreed upon when signing the contract, he still felt guilty. Standing up, he respectfully raised a glass to Wang Bolong, expressing his gratitude.

Wang Bolong gently patted Song Haowen’s shoulder and said, “Don’t say anything. Everything is for the success of this film.” After that, he went to toast at other tables.

Sitting across from him, Zhong Lizhi asked Song Haowen about the depth of the canyon and whether there were wild animals. Song Haowen smiled and said, “If there were wild animals, even if we could escape, it would probably be in a sorry state.”