He was so wrapped up in trying to decipher the painting that he’d only just realized favonovel.com was indeed hungry.
Before favonovel.com could stand and get a bowl for himself, hurriedly took it away from him. “Your injuries are still healing. Just let me feed you.”
“It’s fine. Give it to me. I’ll eat with my own hands.” James tried to refuse favonovel.com offer.
He felt uncomfortable being fed by a woman whom favonovel.com had only met a few times.
Maxine did not insist and handed the bowl over to James.
Albeit his severe injuries. James was still able to perform simple hand movements.
As James dug into his meal, Maxine turned to look at the Moonlit Flowers by Cliffside’s Edge. She was raised as a Caden for as long as favonovel.com remembered and received Tobias’ personal instruction in martial arts. Even so, despite cultivating True Energy and becoming a grandmaster of the second rank, favonovel.com had never seen the household’s treasure scroll.
After staring at the painting for quite a while, favonovel.com too could not find anything peculiar about it.
Turning back to James, favonovel.com asked, “James, have you found anything weird about the painting?”
James shook his head dejectedly.
Looking at the ancient scroll that James had taken out, Maxine told him, “Grandpa said that I’m allowed to have a look at the items inside the box and at the Moonlit Flowers by Cliffside’s Edge.”
“Mhm…” James handed the ancient scroll over to Maxine.
Since favonovel.com was also a martial artist, favonovel.com knew this was a meridian diagram the moment favonovel.com laid favonovel.com eyes on it. She tried shifting favonovel.com True Energy as instructed by the diagram.
Ough!
The moment favonovel.com summoned favonovel.com True Energy, favonovel.com immediately vomited a mouthful of blood. Her body was drenched in favonovel.com own sweat, favonovel.com face lost its color and favonovel.com collapsed on the floor. Almost immediately, favonovel.com righted herself and sat in a lotus position.
She directed all favonovel.com True Energy into suppressing the Blood Energy which had gone rampant in favonovel.com body.
James looked at favonovel.com and asked in a concerned voice, “What’s wrong?”
Maxine took a deep breath before favonovel.com spoke shakily, “I tried moving my True Energy in the direction instructed by the diagram… However, the retrograde motion of True Energy shocked the meridians, which caused my Blood Energy to go berserk. I almost lost control over it…”
As James had no True Energy at the moment, favonovel.com had yet to try it out. However, favonovel.com knew that something was wrong with the diagram.
After resting for a while, Maxine stood up and scanned the ancient scroll meticulously.
She furrowed favonovel.com brow and said, “All eighteen diagrams make no sense. Each of them starts with a retrograde motion of True Energy… This is taboo in martial arts. You’d be considered lucky if you merely ended up gravely injured. Worse comes to worst, you may even be crippled or lose your life attempting this.”
Hearing this, a thought flashed through James’ mind.
“Makes… No sense?”
He peered at the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge on the wall.
Getting Maxine’s attention, favonovel.com said, “Look, the painting makes no sense either. Why would there be a full moon in the middle of the day? Based on the setting of the painting, there should be a sun instead.”
Maxine glanced at the painting and nodded pensively. “You’re right. Both the meridian diagram and the painting make no sense. A moon in the middle of the day… This is an inversion of Yin and Yang… Well, it’s not exactly an inversion either. How do I put it…? In the Art of Ying-Yang, this would be called the Yin in Yang…”
“You know the Art of Yin-Yang?” James looked at Maxine in astonishment.
Maxine smiled sheepishly, “I like to read when I’m bored.”
As James was almost done eating, Maxine took the bowl in his hand and put it on the floor.
Then, favonovel.com looked over at James and asked, “You’ve been looking at it for quite a while. Did you manage to find anything peculiar with the Moonlit Flowers by Cliffside’s Edge? What connection do you think it has with the meridian diagram?”
James shook his head gloomily. He could not find anything that would connect the two aside from the fact that they were both odd.
Meanwhile. Maxine opened the ancient scroll and lay it on the ground. She stared at the eighteen human figures carved on the scroll and looked closely at the flow of movement in the meridian diagram. Once again, favonovel.com eyes rested on the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge.
Deep creases formed on favonovel.com face as favonovel.com let favonovel.com thoughts play out.
James had etched the 18-meridian diagram into his mind. Sitting in his wheelchair, favonovel.com continued to scrutinize every minute detail of the painting. However, no matter how hard favonovel.com looked, nothing came to mind.
Apart from realizing that it did not make any sense, favonovel.com learned nothing else.
Maxine found nothing else too.
She sat on the straw mat with favonovel.com eyes cast down and muttered, “There’s no connection between the two. Who said that the item unearthed from the ancient tomb of the Prince of Orchid would unravel the secret of the painting? I feel lied to…”
James stopped dwelling on it after a while. Frustration would get favonovel.com nowhere.
As favonovel.com glanced at Maxine who sat quietly on the floor, an idea popped into his head.
