At Old Ma's house, only Old Ma himself was weaving baskets.

An Moxue went into the room, casually placed her things on the kang (a heated brick bed), took a stool from the wall, sat down next to Old Ma, grabbed a handful of strips, and handed them to Old Ma one by one.

Old Ma didn't even look up and said, "Why are you taking things again? Keep the good stuff for yourself. You're at the age where you're growing, so you should eat more good food to nourish yourself."

"Uncle Ma, I have some. These are authentic Beijing Eight Delicacies. You rarely get to eat them these days, so please keep them. Where's my aunt?"

"I went to chat with your Aunt Meihua."

"My aunt rarely goes out, what's going on? It's quite a rare sight!"

"It's all thanks to the medicine you gave me. I've felt much better these past few days, so I couldn't stay home any longer."

"It's finally working! This medicine needs to be taken for a long time, about a year or two, and Auntie's health will improve a lot."

"It's all thanks to you."

"Uncle Ma, how are you? Are your legs alright?"

"It's alright, I'm perfectly fine, don't worry, I'm still taking the medicine you gave me!"

"What about my Uncle Li? You're all getting on in years, how come you don't trust me at all? Why are you going to go into that old forest at your age?"

"He's perfectly fine! Like a bull, he'd be fine even if something happened to me. Besides, what's so special about that forest? Why can't I go through it!"

"Okay, okay, okay! You've done drilling, alright? You'll live to be a hundred!"

"How was the trip? Did you find anything?"

"you guess?"

"Guess if I'm going to guess? Hurry up and tell me, you're so cheeky!"

An Moxue handed Old Ma another note and said, "I took down a commander and half of the Tang family. How about that, Uncle Ma? Pretty awesome, right?"

"Hmm, awesome? You've got the style of your maternal grandfather!"

An Moxue's eyes widened in disbelief. "Uncle Ma, what are you saying!"

"What do you mean? Why do you think your parents let you come back here!"

"Uncle Ma, why didn't you tell me?!"

"Why do you have to tell anyone? Even your aunt doesn't know, and you're not allowed to tell either. The more people involved, the more dangerous it becomes! Do you understand?"

"Huh? So you're the only one who knows this! How did you find out, old man?"

“One year, your father came here on a mission. He told us about you. We made an agreement that if the situation became unfavorable, he would leave a message for you to come back here. But I never expected that in the end, both of them would leave, leaving only you.” As Old Ma spoke, his eyes reddened.

“My dear lady! You left home at a young age, and your last wish was to return one day to pay respects to your ancestors, but that wish was never fulfilled. You don’t know how much you resemble your mother, especially your eyes. Those are the eyes that all women of the Nalan family have. You can tell who you are just by looking at those eyes.” Old Ma said, his voice choked with emotion.

"Uncle Ma, so you know who I am since this isn't our first meeting?"

"Yes, you and your maternal grandfather are so alike. Seeing you is like seeing him. Of course, you are equally magnanimous."

"Uncle Ma, since Aunt Ma isn't home, could you tell me about the Nalan family's ancestral home?"

"Why did you suddenly ask about the ancestral home?"

"I went for a walk around yesterday when I got back, just out of curiosity." An Moxue blinked her big eyes at him.

She didn't know that when she looked at him like that, Old Ma would think of her mother, Nalan Dieyi, and would feel sorry for her.

"What are you doing there! Don't go there again."

"Why can't we go?"

Do you know how that place became ruins?

"I've heard some things from the residents nearby."

"Then you should know that the old house was bombarded by the enemy with artillery. But what you don't know is that they not only hate the Nalan family for hindering their invasion, they are also looking for the Nalan family's treasure. That's the key point. Don't go there again, or you'll be spotted by spies."

"Uncle Ma, does the Nalan family really have a treasure?"

"I don't know, but there probably are! Back when we were fighting against foreign enemies, the Nalan family's treasures were loaded onto carts and sent to the front lines in exchange for supplies."

"Oh! I've never heard my mom mention that!"

"Maybe your mother doesn't know either! After all, she was only a few years old back then."

"Then, what about the land deed for the ancestral home?"

Why are you asking it?

"I'm thinking that once the situation improves, I'll want to get my ancestral home back."

"That's for later, we'll talk about it later, there'll always be a way, but you're not allowed to go again, understand?"

An Moxue now understands why her mother didn't tell her about the ancestral home. Perhaps the main reason was her concern for her safety, rather than the legend of the ancestral home being a forbidden place.

"Uncle Guo, where did the legend of the ancestral home being a forbidden land come from?"

"How did it come about?" Uncle Guo sneered, "Hmph! It was propaganda spread by the invaders, a rumor that gradually spread, making it easier for them to find things. Unfortunately, they didn't find a single thing."

"Uncle Guo, do you have a layout plan of the ancestral home?"

"what?"

"Look, what if the situation improves in the future, and I want to restore my former status? What do you think?"

"Not good! Given the current situation, staying alive is the best way to repay the An and Nalan families. As for anything else, I believe the Nalan family members are magnanimous and won't care. We'll talk about the future later!"

"Uncle Guo, I've always had a question. My father has never told me about the An family's ancestral graves, and I don't even know where they are. The Nalan family and the An family are old friends, did you know that?"

"I know a little, but not clearly. Did you know that the An family ancestors were Mongolian nobles, whose titles were hereditary?"

"I know. My dad said so too."

"When foreign enemies invaded, both the An family and the Nalan family contributed manpower and resources, but in the end, only your father was left; everyone else perished in battle. However, the An family's ancestral graves were on the grasslands, and the An family lacked the strength of the Nalan family. Their graves were razed to the ground, and they lost everything. This is also a source of pain for the An family, which is why he probably doesn't want to talk about it!"

"Ah! So that's how it is!"

"I told you, where are you going to look?"

"really."

"Remember, living well is more important than anything else!"

"Yes, Uncle Ma, I will."

An Moxue leaned closer to Old Ma and asked, "Uncle Ma, did my parents or the Nalan family leave me anything?"

"What are you going to do? Don't worry, I'll give it to you when I'm about to die. I don't have it now."

"Oh, there really is! Can you tell me what it is?"

"cannot."

"It wasn't left to me by your second uncle, my maternal grandfather, was it?"

Old Ma smiled mysteriously and said, "It's yours, and it will naturally come into your hands in due time. It's not safe now."

“Uncle Ma, you and my aunt came back to the village instead of the city. Could it be because you have something here and came back to keep an eye on it? It's inconvenient to retrieve it now. That's why my aunt didn't leave all those years ago, even though she had the chance. And you came back here after you recovered.”

Old Ma's silence was a tacit admission of the matter.

An Moxue was incredulous. Just how many backup plans did the Nalan family have?