Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 76 Mechanical Wooden Pillar
"Let's go," Yuheng said, taking off his half of the token and putting it in his pocket. Seeing Tianquan standing there motionless, he said impatiently, "Take this off, we'll need it when we come out."

As she spoke, she rolled her eyes at Tianquan on her left.

His eyes flickered, and his expression changed in alarm. He saw a young man in a long robe standing on the steps leading up the mountain not far away.

He turned his head and looked at her with a smile, revealing a pair of cute little tiger teeth. Although he didn't make a sound, his mouth opened and closed.

Yuheng knew that Yan Junyu was saying, "Auntie, I've found you!"

Her expression darkened, and she said to Tianquan, "You go in first, I'll be right back."

Upon hearing this, Tianquan was overjoyed.

They had made several preparations. The first was that when he and Yuheng entered the room, he would deliberately ask about Yan Junyu to attract Yuheng's attention. Then, before the door closed, Zhou Zhao and Su Changying would take the opportunity to enter the room using their superb lightness skills.

If that doesn't work, then during his midnight patrol, when he gets close to the outer city's underground wall, he'll try to distract the patrol and see if there are any mechanisms he can use to enter. If neither of these works, there's still time until the fifteenth of July. He'll figure out the situation and try again next time he's on duty.

If none of the above works, then he will take his shift on the night of July 14th, and then the group will force their way in.

Unexpectedly, that kid Yan Junyu gave them a stroke of genius.

Tianquan didn't speak. As Yuheng walked towards the steps with his back to the cave entrance, he immediately made a gesture with his fingers hidden behind his back.

The wild grass beside them swayed slightly, and then two dark figures flashed by and entered the cave first.

As Yuheng walked, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned his head and looked over. He saw that it was pitch black all around. Tianquan slowly took out the token and put it into his sleeve pocket, then walked steadily toward the cave entrance.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, lightly touched the ground with her foot, and stepped onto the stairs.

Just as Tianquan reached the cave entrance, Yuheng returned. Her face was even paler than before, her lips were somewhat bluish, and she carried a bloody stench that even incense couldn't suppress. "That Yan Junyu has two sharp teeth, like a mountain demon; he probably sucks people's life force," Tianquan thought haphazardly.

Why don't you go in first?

Tianquan raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "This is my first time here, so it's better to wait for you to come along."

Yuheng nodded somewhat perfunctorily, without mentioning Yan Junyu at all.

She plunged into the cave, and when Tianquan came in, he touched the wall on the right, and the cave closed up again, leaving not even a crack.

Yuheng took a step forward, then suddenly turned around and looked at both sides of the cave entrance, only to find it empty and deserted. She slowly raised her head.

Zhou Zhao, perched atop the cave ceiling, stretched out her legs and braced herself against the stone walls on either side. Her left hand gripped the ceiling, while her right hand held the Green Fish Dagger. She was taut with tension, ready to strike the moment Yu Heng looked up and saw her…

"Yuheng, are you ever going to stop? I've tolerated you all night. In the ranking of the Seven Inner Halls, I am ahead of you; in terms of martial arts, I am even stronger than you; if it weren't for the sake of the city lord, I would give you the face of a young girl like you... This is Tianying City, not your Yan Mansion in Nanyang."

Yuheng immediately looked ahead, his gaze toward Tianquan as if it were pierced with knives.

She glared at the old man fiercely and cursed, "We've never even fought, how do you know you're stronger than me? Don't try to act tough just because you're old! If the city lord didn't dislike our infighting, I'd kill you right now!"

As she spoke, she stomped forward angrily, her footsteps making a loud thud. "In a little while, we'll each go our own way. We don't need to say anything. Just follow behind that group of people in blue robes."

As she spoke, she strode forward past Tianquan and walked ahead on her own.

Yuheng was just a hair's breadth away from seeing her.

This woman's perception was exceptionally sharp; anyone who could become the head of the Inner Seven Halls was truly no simpleton. Zhou Zhao thought to himself, as he gently floated to the ground.

He and Su Changying exchanged a glance, and the two followed silently.

The underground routes were intricate and complex. When Zhou Zhao and Su Changying reached a fork in the road, they heard footsteps. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a protruding point on the rock wall. Su Changying lightly touched the ground and stood on it first. Zhou Zhao did not hesitate and stepped on the instep of Su Changying with one foot and grabbed his arm.

She held her breath and looked down, only to see a small squad lined up in neat rows. They wore red hooded cloaks that covered them completely, with only their black boots showing.

Yuheng, who had been sulking, followed behind the team at a leisurely pace. Suddenly, she looked up sharply and gazed at the top of the cave.

Seeing that the top was empty and there was nothing special about it, Yuheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense body relaxed.

She took out a small white porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured a red pill into her hand, and put it into her mouth.

The group of red-robed men continued walking towards the cave entrance. Once they were far away, Zhou Zhao turned to look at Su Changying and found that his body was unusually stiff, almost as if he had merged with the stone wall. Because she was so close, she could clearly hear the thumping sounds coming from his chest.

Zhou Zhao was stunned for a moment, then remembered that he had stepped on Su Changying's instep and left a footprint in his boot.

She smiled shyly and landed lightly on the ground.

Su Changying pursed her lips and then jumped down.

“Next, I’ll go first, and you follow. If I’m not mistaken, the passageway below also has patterns representing the Six Paths of Reincarnation.”

Zhou Zhao's voice was low. Although the path she had taken was winding and not a straight one, it had become an open secret to her ever since she learned what Qin Tianying was planning. The intricate patterns of the Six Paths of Reincarnation were now as if etched into her mind.

The moment you enter the cave, the patterns merge with the passageway, forming a clear map.

After Zhou Zhao finished speaking, without waiting for Su Changying's reply, he chose the path that the red-robed man had taken earlier. If she was not mistaken, they had already patrolled this side, and next they would go to the other side.

Sure enough, the two of them did not encounter anyone as they walked along.

After winding their way for a while, the two suddenly found themselves in a wide-open space.

Zhou Zhao's ears twitched, but he didn't hear any footsteps. Only then did he feel relieved and peek over. Four torches were hanging on the stone wall, and next to each torch was a passageway leading in a different direction.

In the center of this circular cave stood a strangely shaped wooden pillar with a mechanism she couldn't understand.

I don't know if it was soaked in blood, but the wood was dark red and had a faint, unpleasant smell.

The pillar reached to the sky and touched the ground... Although he didn't know its purpose, Zhou Zhao was certain that this was exactly why Qin Tianying had invited the master of mechanical arts.

That is also where they need to destroy.

With a thought, she lightly leaped inside.

Zhou Zhao's eyes flickered, and she used her inner strength to stab the Green Fish Dagger at the wooden pillar. But to her surprise, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make any progress. The wooden pillar was even harder than iron.

This is going to be difficult.

“Someone’s coming,” Su Changying suddenly said from the side.