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The night grew deeper, and the Liao Family Ancestral Hall loomed under the moonlight, eerie and foreboding. I approached cautiously, my heart pounding like a drum. There was still a moment before midnight, but Liao Yanzhi's words left me restless. He said he would reveal the truth to me, but what kind of truth could it be?
Suddenly, a loud clang echoed through the air as an ancient bronze bell struck, startling me. The sound reverberated in the night sky, as if heralding some ominous omen.
"They're here," I whispered to myself as I pushed open the heavy wooden door of the ancestral hall. The decaying door creaked loudly, warning me not to trespass into this forbidden place.
Inside, darkness enveloped everything, save for a few oil lamps flickering in the wind, casting a dim yellow glow. I moved carefully through the faint light. The walls were adorned with portraits of the Liao Family's ancestors, their gazes cold and piercing, as if watching my every move.
As I wandered, I noticed a loose floor tile. Beneath it lay an old family genealogy book. Curiosity piqued, I opened it to find records of each patriarch's birth dates and death years. Strangely, every patriarch had lived exactly forty-nine years.
"Forty-nine... seven times seven..." I murmured. "Could this be the key to the Liao Family curse?"
On the last page of the genealogy, I discovered a yellowed talisman. It depicted a golden dragon coiling around a hexagram symbol; its eyes were positioned exactly where my Vermilion Birthmark was located on my forehead.
Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the hall. I quickly hid the genealogy and talisman and crouched behind a thick pillar.
"The time has come," I heard the patriarch's deep voice say. "Let us begin."
Peeking from behind the pillar, I saw the patriarch enter with several men who appeared to be servants. They carried incense candles and began to set up an altar.
"These are all trusted confidants of the patriarch," Liao Yanzhi's voice suddenly whispered in my ear, startling me. "They have served the Liao Family for generations and assist in performing life-renewing rituals."
I turned to see him standing in the moonlight, his face even paler than before. His figure seemed somewhat ethereal, as if he could vanish at any moment.
"You said you would tell me the truth..." I took a deep breath. "What is this truth?"
"Look there," he pointed toward an ancient painting in the center of the hall. It was an old landscape painting featuring a massive golden dragon coiled among towering mountains.
"This is..." I observed closely and suddenly realized that the dragon's eye in the painting matched perfectly with my Vermilion Birthmark.
"Dragon Vein," Liao Yanzhi said solemnly. "The Liao Family has guarded this Dragon Vein for generations. But a century ago, someone coveted its power and placed a curse upon it. Since then, the Liao Family must perform 'Reverse Life Stake' rituals to sustain its strength."
"So I..." I touched my Vermilion Birthmark, feeling a chill run through me.
"You are not an ordinary 'Reverse Life Stake,'" Liao Yanzhi gazed deeply into my eyes. "Your bloodline is special; you can bear the Dragon Vein's power. The patriarch chose you not only for life renewal but also for..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden gust of cold wind swept through, extinguishing all the oil lamps. In the darkness came the patriarch's sinister laughter: "Well said, my dear son."
"Patriarch!" I gasped instinctively retreating.
"Girl, do you think your meeting with my son was mere coincidence?" The patriarch's figure emerged from the shadows. "Everything has been under my control. Your bloodline is precisely what my Liao Family needs as our final ingredient!"
A chill gripped my heart as I looked at Liao Yanzhi: "You... you have been deceiving me all along?"
"No!" Liao Yanzhi exclaimed urgently. "I truly wanted to save you..."
"Enough!" The clan leader shouted, forming a seal and chanting an incantation. Liao Yanzhi's figure suddenly twisted, emitting a painful groan.
"Stop!" I rushed forward, but was repelled by an invisible force. At that moment, the Xuanming Manual in my arms began to heat up, and the Vermilion Birthmark throbbed violently.
An unprecedented power surged within me, and countless images appeared before my eyes: ancient battlefields, a golden dragon, a woman in white wielding a long sword...
"The bloodline... has awakened!" The clan leader's voice was filled with ecstasy. "The Dragon Vein Power will ultimately belong to the Liao Family!"
However, his laughter quickly froze. He saw that my eyes had turned golden, and the Vermilion Birthmark on my forehead was radiating a dazzling light...
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