"Why does he only write a thousand words every time? Why can't he write more? Why can't he make things clearer?!"
Ning Zhongze almost shouted in her heart.
Far away in Fujian, Yue Lingshan felt the same frustration.
After finishing the second diary entry, Yue Lingshan was trembling again. Especially when the diary mentioned her death once more.
Even though nothing had happened yet, and even though she still couldn't confirm whether the diary was real, reading those words again and again left a mark in her heart.
Linghu Chong, who had always felt like a real older brother to her, slowly began to feel a little different.
It was only a thin layer of distance. Very faint. But it was there.
At the same time, she missed her mother more than ever.
"The day after tomorrow. We'll go back the day after tomorrow. So before that, nothing must happen. Please don't let me meet Lin Pingzhi. Don't let me meet Yu Renyan either."
She kept praying silently.
Lao Denuo watched her distracted state over the past two days and couldn't understand it.
Yes, Fujian was far from Mount Hua. Yes, this was her first time traveling so far. But she had walked around Mount Hua territory before. She wasn't completely inexperienced. Why had she suddenly become so fragile here?
A trace of disdain rose in his heart. Still, he was also worried. If Yue Buqun saw Yue Lingshan like this, would he blame him? As second senior brother, he was responsible for taking care of her.
"Junior Sister, I prepared some calming medicine for you."
He brought over a bowl of dark herbal soup.
"Thank you, Second Senior Brother."
Yue Lingshan accepted it obediently. But when she saw the black liquid and smelled the bitter scent, she frowned slightly.
"Drink it. Your condition really isn't good lately. After that, get some proper rest."
"…Alright."
Even though she disliked bitter medicine, she closed her eyes and gulped it down in one breath. The bitterness spread across her tongue, and her small face immediately scrunched up.
"Here, have some candy."
"Thank you, Second Senior Brother."
…
On the training ground, sword light flashed.
The blade moved with the man, and the man moved with the blade. Cold glints scattered in the air.
In Ye Xiu's hands, the Mount Hua sword technique had already become quite smooth and steady. In terms of pure sword skill, he was no worse than Liang Fa or Lu Dayou now.
Of course, compared to Linghu Chong, there was still a clear gap.
Linghu Chong had exceptional talent and had trained for nearly twenty years.
Ye Xiu had only been at Mount Hua for three years.
For those three years, before his golden finger awakened, he practiced diligently out of pure passion. Sword training, internal cultivation, lightness skill. Day after day. Yet because his aptitude was average, all of it remained at beginner level.
In Ning Zhongze and Yue Buqun's eyes, he was simply a quiet and hardworking young man with limited talent. At best, he might become a second-rate figure in the jianghu in the future.
If not for his sincere attitude when asking to join, and Mount Hua's current decline, Yue Buqun might not even have accepted him.
But now things were different.
He had awakened his golden finger. The diary system.
His swordsmanship improved. His internal energy increased. Even his lightness skill advanced rapidly.
At this pace, within one month, even his weakest area, internal energy, would catch up to Liang Fa and Lu Dayou. He might even surpass them.
They had trained for eight to over ten years.
He would need only a month.
This showed how powerful his cheat was.
It also showed how mediocre they were.
Average talent. Not serious about training. Most of their time spent fooling around with Linghu Chong, who could afford to slack off because of his natural gift. But could they?
After finishing sword and lightness practice, Ye Xiu allowed himself a faint smile.
Years of disciplined habit could not disappear overnight. Even with the golden finger, he still trained.
But now, he no longer felt that desperate pressure. He practiced because he wanted to, not because he feared falling behind.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhongze continued secretly observing Gao Genming.
Although she had watched him for a full day and found nothing unusual, among all the disciples he still seemed the most suspicious.
Perhaps one day wasn't enough.
She decided to keep watching him for a few more days. If she still found nothing, she would change targets.
After all, besides Linghu Chong, Lao Denuo, and Yue Lingshan, there were only six disciples left on Mount Hua. One by one, she would eventually find the diary's author.
But once she found him, what then?
She hadn't truly thought that far.
The diary itself seemed to prevent her from telling anyone that she could read it.
Would she be able to speak to the writer directly? If she could, what would she say? If she couldn't, what then?
Did he mean harm to Mount Hua? Or did he care about it? Would confronting him drive him away?
These were all questions she would need to face.
But those were matters for later.
First, she had to find him.
Only then could she decide what to do.