"Cough, cough, I'm not here for revenge, but that old man is one of my family's elders. He saw Nancy making a 'lover's knot', and then saw Nancy planning to teach Linda how to make one, so he became emotional and couldn't control himself, which caused him to faint," Micheal explained.

With a sigh, he continued, "I won't hide it from you, the 'lover's knot' technique is actually a secret of our family, not known to those outside. We were puzzled about how Nancy knew this technique, so the elder sent me to Liverton to meet Nancy and find out why she could make the 'lover's knot'."

"So that's how it is."

Nancy and Linda exchanged glances, finally understanding why they had caused the old gentleman to faint that day.

It was a family secret.

With her suspicions allayed, Nancy stood up, "Since that's the case, I can lend you the book to look at, but let me make it clear: even though it has the Thompson name on it, it is my possession. I can only lend it to you for viewing. If you intend to take it, I won't agree."

Micheal had no thoughts of forcefully taking the book, especially with Charlie, Henry, and Henry's two friends around. Even if they were not martial artists, the four of them together could easily overpower him.

He waved his hand with a smile, "Don't worry, I just want to take a look, I absolutely won't have any ideas about taking the book, at least not today."

Nancy smiled, turned around, and went upstairs. After a while, she came down holding an old, yellowed book.

Thanks to Charlie's previous instructions, Nancy was taking good care of the book. Though it was old, it was still in a condition to be read.

She held out the book to Micheal.

Micheal did not take the book's age lightly. He reached out with both hands, taking it as if it was a priceless treasure, touching the pages with utmost care, even more reverently than Nancy.

Indeed, there was nothing on the cover page except for the word "Thompson," which, to his surprise, was not printed but handwritten, eliciting a shocked and puzzled expression from him.

"Hand-drawn?"

Nancy returned to sit beside Charlie and nodded gently, "Yes, the content inside is also hand-drawn. You can look through it, but please be careful since the book is quite old."

"I understand."

Micheal looked up at Nancy with a smile, "You should know, I cherish this book even more than you do."

Nancy smiled helplessly. Yes, she found the book important, but for Micheal, it might even be a family heirloom. Why would she need to remind him?

Micheal, treating the book with great care, turned the first page and began to read each word in front of everyone. Everyone watched him intently, seeing from his expression how much he valued the book and its contents.

Linda waved at Nancy and, when Nancy looked over, Linda covered her mouth and whispered with a laugh, "Nan, why do I feel like he's looking at a long-lost lover? Look at his expression, my goodness, I no longer doubt the importance of this book to him."