Linyue had, unfortunately, seen it. Just a peek, but that was enough. Her calm expression twitched slightly, and her ears turned a very suspicious shade of red. The drawings were… not scholarly. Not medicinal. Not cultivation-related in any respectable way. And far, far too detailed. That book was definitely not for children. Or teenagers. Or anyone unprepared for life. The drawings were… educational. In the worst and most scandalous sense.
Shu Mingye slowly turned his head toward Soup Man, his eyes narrowing dangerously. His voice was low and sharp. "Are you doing this on purpose?"
Soup Man raised both hands in surrender. "Hey! I told you… I only opened one scroll as a kid. I didn't check the rest!"
Linyue cleared her throat, her voice carefully professional. "Let's try another one."
Shu Mingye gave her a long look. Then he sighed heavily and reached for another book. He read the title aloud without much hope. "Most Effective Ways to Cultivate Body and Mind."
Song Meiyu lit up instantly and leaned in again. "Ooh, that one sounds more promising."
Shu Mingye flipped it open, and froze.
Again. Illustrations. Step-by-step. Very helpful. Very naked.
With an audible snap, he slammed the book shut and hurled it straight at Soup Man's face.
Soup Man dodged like he had been through this before. Unfortunately, the book sailed past him and smacked directly into the unsuspecting face of Master Tian Mo, who had just returned holding a dusty old wooden box of his own.
Whack.
Silence fell.
The book slid off Master Tian Mo's face and landed on the floor with a soft thud. He stood there, motionless. Then he looked down at the offending item. Then back up at the room full of guilty faces.
In a voice calm enough to be terrifying, he said, "I will pretend I did not just see a fully illustrated chapter titled Dual Cultivation: The Friendly Way."
Song Meiyu, without hesitation, pointed a very accusing finger at Soup Man's direction. "It's him! He brought that book!"
Soup Man raised both hands in a perfect picture of surrender. "I didn't know! But…" He bent down, picked up the fallen book carefully, and studied the cover. "… don't you think it… kind of makes sense?"
Master Tian Mo, now visibly intrigued despite himself, leaned slightly over and peeked inside the wooden box on the table. His eyes glinted with amusement. "So that's why I never reached enlightenment," he muttered under his breath.
Shu Mingye rubbed his forehead. "Do we continue this?"
Linyue, sitting very straight, replied calmly, "Of course."
Her tone was steady. Her face serene. But her mind was still spinning from the illustrations. Very detailed illustrations. Anatomically informative. Spiritually jarring.
Shu Mingye caught the slight twitch of her brow and smirked. "Alright," he said, voice full of dark amusement. He leaned back like he was enjoying a play.
And so, they continued. Within moments, the room filled with the sounds of chaos, mostly from Song Meiyu.
"Gasp!"
"Wha—!"
"Is that even physically—?!"
"WHY is there a diagram??"
Book after book revealed its true scandalous nature. Sure, a few were about real cultivation techniques, but even those had oddly generous illustrations that left very little to the imagination.
Linyue didn't even glance at them anymore. Her focus stayed on her tea. Master Tian Mo, on the other hand, had no such restraint. He zeroed in on the useful ones and clutched them to his chest.
"These are genuine ancient techniques!" he declared proudly.
Soup Man shrugged and handed the rest over freely. "Take them all. My father would want his legacy to be… shared."
Master Tian Mo beamed. "A true filial son."
Meanwhile, Shu Mingye whispered to Linyue, "Still want to continue?"
Linyue did not answer. Her ears were far too red to allow words to form.
From behind Shu Mingye, Soup Man chimed in helpfully, "We haven't gone through the scrolls yet."
Linyue cleared her throat with great dignity, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "That's right. We should check."
The mountain of cursed books in the middle of the room was now tragically ignored. Everyone was too preoccupied with their new discoveries.
With great caution and even greater suspicion, Shu Mingye picked up one of the scrolls. He opened it slowly, as if it might explode or start moaning. And what welcomed him was exactly what he feared. The title, written in fancy brush strokes, declared proudly: "99 Ways to Ascend to Heaven Realm." The illustrations were, once again, extremely creative. Very artistic. Painfully descriptive. Without a word, Shu Mingye rolled it back up and smacked Soup Man with it.
Thump.
"Hey!" Soup Man yelped, rubbing his shoulder. "What was that for?!"
Shu Mingye held up the scroll. "Are these the symbols and diagrams you said you saw?"
Soup Man looked at it and quickly shook his head. "No, no! Not this one! I swear! The one I saw didn't have… um… legs in the air. I remember it clearly!"
Linyue coughed lightly into her sleeve, face composed but ears still not recovering. "There's still a few more scrolls left."
The room fell into a silent but shared sense of dread. Even the cursed books seemed to judge them now. Still, for the sake of scholarly pain and questionable curiosity, they continued opening the scrolls. One by one, new titles appeared.
"Merging of Spiritual Energy and Passion."
"Ultimate Dual Path to Inner Peace."
"Mind, Body, and... Flexibility."
Each time, Song Meiyu gasped loudly. Each time, Shu Mingye smacked Soup Man with a scroll like he was punishing a naughty child. And each time, Master Tian Mo laughed harder, sipping tea as if this were his favorite afternoon comedy show.
At this point, Linyue had lost all hope. Her ears had gone from red to pink to ghostly pale from secondhand embarrassment. Clearly, the Soup Man's father had one hobby and it wasn't collecting ancient secrets.
Finally, there was only one scroll left.
Everyone paused.
Shu Mingye reached out and picked it up. The title read: "Deep and Shallow Understanding of Hidden Cultivation Technique: The Dragon's Roar." That sounded… not right. Still, he opened it. Another illustration. Of course. And this one… written dramatically in red ink, as if the author had bled passion directly onto the paper.
Shu Mingye slowly rolled it shut and turned his head toward Soup Man, who was already trying to look innocent behind him. "So this one?" Shu Mingye asked, voice dangerously calm.
"I swear it's different!" Soup Man said quickly, hands up in defense.
Shu Mingye's eyes narrowed. "We've opened them all. This is the only one with red ink."
Soup Man waved his hands. "I don't know! But the one I saw didn't have a… uh… dragon with that kind of roar. I'm sure of it!"
Linyue covered her face with both hands. "We're all going to prison," she muttered.
Master Tian Mo sipped his tea and said thoughtfully, "Not before I finish these sesame snacks."
Song Meiyu let out a long, dramatic sigh. "We all need holy water. And maybe a blindfold."
Soup Man, still unconvinced, reached for the red-ink scroll again. "Why is it like this?" he muttered, reopening it, hoping the content had magically changed. "I swear it was different back then."
"Maybe it was just your imagination," Song Meiyu offered, half-laughing. "Or maybe you read it upside down that time."
"There's no way," Soup Man insisted, squinting at the scroll. "I clearly saw patterns. Symbols. Not... whatever this is."
He turned the scroll left, then right. Then flipped it upside down. Then sideways. At one point, he even squinted and leaned so close his nose almost touched the parchment. Nothing changed. The illustrations were still there, in glorious detail. Unblinking. Judging.
Linyue raised an eyebrow. "So?"
Soup Man froze, then slumped. "Ugh. I don't know anymore," he groaned, tossing the scroll back onto the table.
Song Meiyu threw her arms up. "So, nothing! No information. Not even a cursed scroll. Just… just spiritually cursed art!"
The scroll gently rolled itself open again, as if refusing to be ignored.
Master Tian Mo glanced at it, unfazed. "Well, at least the illustrations are consistent."
Linyue squinted at the scroll. Her expression grew thoughtful.
Shu Mingye narrowed his eyes. "Why are you looking at it so seriously?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she reached out toward the scroll.
He immediately caught her hand. "Are you that eager to learn?"