"I'm so sorry! Really, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, it's fine... I was just startled. I didn't expect you'd be so unaccustomed to it."

We were talking through the bathroom door.

After that, Sinan Xiao called a servant to take away the dress covered in my vomit for washing. She also went to the adjacent bathroom to clean herself.

Ugh, what a failure! Even as someone who's read countless books, I've never seen a male lead vomit on a girl. What kind of plot twist is this... wait, am I the female lead now, not the male lead?

Never mind the vomiting; right now, my heart was racing like crazy! After all, an exceptionally beautiful girl my age was showering just a wall away—how could anyone not be excited!

But excited as I was, I didn't dare to peek. From what I observed, Sinan Xiao was extremely sensitive to such things. Just being pinned down by me could make her lose control. If she caught me peeking, she'd probably summon an army to tear me apart.

"It's getting late. You keep showering; I'll take my leave." With no chance to peek, staying longer was pointless, so I decided to leave.

"Okay, good night... wait!"

"What is it?" Sometime during this, the sound of water from next door had stopped.

"Um... I really enjoyed talking with you today, so... uh... let's read books together again sometime."

Her voice was a little tense. For someone not good at socializing, this was probably her limit.

"Yeah, I had fun too! Let's do it again when we get the chance!"

Since she'd tried so hard, I naturally responded with a bright, cheerful tone to match her expectations.

"Ah, one more thing!"

"What now?"

"Please say hello to my little sister for me... I rarely played with her when I was young, and now we talk even less. So, if you could..."

"Got it. Leave it to me!"

Sinan Family, Central Garden—

Compared to the garden-style complexes of the other four gardens, the Central Garden was much more orderly. It had only four large buildings—north, south, east, west—and the ancestral shrine in the center. The north building housed the family head's residence and office. Sinan Zheng and his trusted aides were there—it was the Sinan Family's power center. The south building was the archive room, containing classified documents of the entire Heavens Origin Kingdom—it was the intelligence center. The east building was the imperial guard barracks, home to the elite fighters including Sinnan Chozeng—it was the military center. The west building stored equipment, holding various spiritual and treasure artifacts, including one of only two holy artifacts in the entire Heavens Origin Kingdom—it was the equipment center.

The power center, intelligence center, military center, and equipment center—if any one of these four suffered, the Sinan Family would be severely weakened.

So every force opposing the Sinan Family racked their brains over one thing: how to destroy these four centers, even just one of them.

But they didn't know that by thinking this, they were playing right into the hands of the Sinan Family's inner circle.

Except for those in the know, no one would suspect that these four crucial centers, vital to the Sinan Family's survival, were merely expensive decoys.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the four centers, so no one noticed the truly important place.

That was the ancestral shrine.

With a creak, the ancient wooden door of the shrine opened, and two people walked in. One had snow-white hair and a calm face—it was Sinnan Chozeng. The other was about forty or fifty, with a square, dignified face. Though slightly haggard, he radiated an irresistible aura of authority.

He was the current head of the Sinan Family, Sinan Zheng.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Elder Chozeng."

"Don't mention it. It's our duty."

After this brief exchange, the two fell silent.

Compared to other Sinan Family buildings, the ancestral shrine was pitifully small and plainly decorated. Inside were only portraits and memorial tablets of past ancestors, and ever-burning candles casting dim light. At first glance, it was less impressive than some minor families' shrines.

The two walked to a small altar deep inside the shrine. Sinan Zheng circled behind it and lifted the third tile from the left, fourth from the top. Beneath the tile was a small keyhole, and below that, a compass emblem.

Sinan Zheng took out his own compass—not a magnetic compass, but the ancient directional device. He carefully brought the spoon handle close to the compass emblem. With a *ding*, the emblem glowed faintly golden, and golden patterns appeared on the small altar—a highly complex spiritual array.

Sinan Zheng placed his hands on the altar and channeled spiritual energy in a special way. The golden patterns deepened in color. Moments later, with a *click*, the altar split in two, revealing a dark passageway.

That keyhole was actually a trap. If an unsuspecting person tampered with it, a spiritual bomb beneath the shrine would blow them and the entire shrine to smithereens.

The two descended the passageway one after the other. On the walls were spirit stone lamps set by ancestors, still functional after a thousand years. The downward stairs were damp and slippery; a misstep could send you tumbling down with broken bones. Moreover, some steps were clever traps that triggered deadly mechanisms when stepped on. Extreme caution was required.

They walked in silence. Along the way, they encountered several more golden spiritual arrays, which Sinan Zheng deactivated one by one. After what felt like ages, they finally reached the bottom.

Before them stood a massive stone door, over ten meters tall, nearly filling the entire underground space. Strangely, this giant door was sealed by a thin golden chain and a tiny golden lock no bigger than a thumb. Yet the two treated it with utmost respect.

Because this set of golden chain and lock was the Sinan Family's hidden second holy artifact, not publicly known, called the Heaven-Guarding Holy Lock.

What lay behind the stone door that required a holy artifact to guard it?

Sinan Zheng and Sinnan Chozeng—the highest authority and strongest fighter of the Sinan Family—now knelt humbly on the ground, prostrating themselves before the stone door.

The Heaven-Guarding Holy Lock seemed to sense them. It emitted a golden light that swept over the two, then trembled slightly and unlocked automatically.

The two stood up, bowed again, and stepped inside.

Behind the door was a vast space. The floor, walls, and ceiling were paved with obsidian-like tiles, emitting an unusual pressure. At the center of this black space was a point of golden light, guiding them forward like a lighthouse in the night.

As they neared the golden light, the pressure intensified. Sinnan Chozeng's eyes narrowed. The space around them warped slightly, forming an invisible barrier that resisted the ocean-like pressure. Up close, the true form of the golden light came into view.

It was a compass. A square base with a spoon-shaped pointer—identical in shape to an ordinary compass. But this compass was covered in liquid-like golden light patterns. The golden patterns coiled, transformed, and flowed across it, shifting into profoundly mysterious designs that could easily mesmerize anyone who stared too long.

This was the Sinan Family's treasure, the only true divine artifact in all of Heavens Origin Kingdom and even the Eastern Emperor Continent—the "Guide of the Myriad Phenomena"—the Glimmering Golden Compass.

"Truly beautiful... No matter how many times I see it, I can't help but be captivated," Sinan Zheng sighed.

"Indeed. But we've looked long enough. It's time to go. After all, this is just the monthly routine check," Sinnan Chozeng said.

"Yes... But I still don't understand why the Glimmering Golden Compass pointed to the Winteredge Mountains on its own last time. What's your opinion, Elder?"

"What opinion could I have?" Sinnan Chozeng said with a bitter smile. "I know no more about it than you do. Moreover, the Glimmering Golden Compass acting on its own without the family head's activation has no precedent in our history. If you want to know why... you'll have to activate it yourself again."

"Don't joke, Elder. A divine artifact like this isn't something you just use. Many generations of family heads have died from exhaustion after forcing it to activate with their mortal bodies. As for me, a sickly man who won't live past fifty-one, I'd probably last only seconds before kicking the bucket."

"If it were my younger self, I'd have enough strength to wield it freely. Unfortunately, only the family head can activate it. Otherwise, our Sinan Family would have dominated the continent long ago."

The two exchanged a sighing glance and left the underground.