Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 81 Death Arrives
Zhou Zhao glanced at Su Changying and Liu Huang on his left and right sides.

“In the past, Qin Tianying and Tian Shu had personally entered the city at night. Qin Tianying is highly skilled in martial arts, and there is a high chance that he would discover us if we went in. He is not in the city tonight, which may be our only chance.”

"If you enter and find it to be a trap, leave immediately; survival is the priority."

Su Changying and Liu Huang nodded in unison, both thinking that if they encountered a desperate situation, they would never abandon Zhou Zhao.

Just now, she said she received a message from Cheng Yuyuan that Qin Tianying had left the city. Su Changying, who had been watching the cave entrance, even witnessed that Tian Shu and Yu Heng were on duty tonight. Although it might be a trap, they had no choice but to try.

Otherwise, there might not be a next time.

Zhou Zhao didn't see through their thoughts. She made a gesture and, like a nimble cat, darted to the stone statue. She skillfully took out the prepared token, while Su Changying and Liu Huang had already arrived at the stone wall.

Su Changying pressed her ear against the wall, listened to the sounds, and made the gesture she had agreed upon with Zhou Zhao.

There was no one behind the door.

Without hesitation, Zhou Zhao first placed the replica of the Jade Balance piece on the table, and then immediately placed the Tianquan piece on top.

The door opened silently, and Zhou Zhao took down two tokens, then slipped inside.

Once the stone door closed, a huge weight was lifted from Zhou Zhao's heart. Although she was very confident in herself, the fact that they had successfully opened the door mechanism proved that the patterns she had memorized were completely accurate.

Time was of the essence, and with the token to open and close the door, they didn't have to wait until dawn.

Zhou Zhao glanced at Su Changying, and the two nodded in unison. Each of them grabbed one of Liu Huang's hands and flew out like an arrow released from a bow.

Since it was his second time there, Zhou Zhao knew exactly how to avoid the patrol team and get to the location of the mechanism pillar with his eyes closed.

"Changying is in charge of keeping watch. Ah Huang, whichever one I point to, you take it down."

Zhou Zhao made a simple arrangement and quickly pointed his finger at the mechanism pillar. Liu Huang pursed his lips and pointed exactly where he wanted to, almost instantly shattering all the wooden blocks into pieces that fell into the gaps inside the mechanism pillar.

The mechanical pillar, which had been as hard as iron, became utterly vulnerable under Liu Huang's immense strength.

"next."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he glanced at the already-marked mechanism pillars. A total of thirteen pillars had been removed. The cave was extremely dark, and at first glance, it was impossible to see anything. Unless someone carefully inspected the area.

With that initial setup, things went smoothly from there. If the three of them encountered patrols from Tian Shu or Yu Heng, Zhou Zhao and Su Changying would each grab Liu Huang by the arm and hide him. If not, they would hurry up and poke him...

Tian Shu and Yu Heng are seasoned veterans; their patrol frequency is noticeably lower than the last time they came.

Only after all the pillars had been pierced did Zhou Zhao lead Su Changying and Liu Huang to the blood pool in the center.

"They're moving fast, the footsteps are coming from both directions."

Su Changying lowered her voice to remind him, and Zhou Zhao nodded. Together with Liu Huang, they took out a small bottle, carefully removed the cork, and poured in the clear liquid inside. This was a modified version of the "One-Touch Poison" that Liu Huang had prepared based on the toxins in Cheng Dong's body.

Time was too short for them to find the seventh pillar.

Zhou Zhao then thought of using poison. If Qin Tianying were to place the tortoise shell on the seventh pillar, which was the blood pool, he would die immediately upon contact with the poison. It was another desperate measure.

After all this was done, Zhou Zhao and Liu Huang heard footsteps even without Su Changying's intervention.

The three of them did not dare to stop and rushed straight towards the road where there were no footsteps, and then rushed to the gate with their last breath.

Zhou Zhao skillfully placed the token and led the three of them out the gate. When they saw the nearly round moon, they still felt a sense of unreality.

Is that all?

Zhou Zhao turned around and looked at the stone wall that showed no cracks whatsoever, and his heart began to pound.

After tonight, she will have less than twenty-four hours to live. If something goes wrong, where could it be?

Should she tell Su Changying about the bamboo slip?
"Zhou Zhao?"

Zhou Zhao steadied himself and, upon hearing Su Changying's voice, lowered his voice and said, "Let's retreat first and talk about it tomorrow."

Even if she dies, it will be on July 15th; there's still time tomorrow.

When Zhou Zhao woke up the next morning, the sunlight was already streaming in. She was a little surprised that she had been able to sleep for so long.

After Zhou Yan and Su Changying's incident, she devoted all the time she used to spend wandering around Chang'an to studying the Nine Chapters of Law, reviewing cases, and practicing martial arts. In fact, her dedication went far beyond mere self-discipline. She read the books over and over again, breaking the hemp rope binding them several times.

Her time in Tianying City was a rare period of relaxation for her.

Zhou Zhao stood up, opened the window, and found the morning air exceptionally fresh. The goldenrod in the corner of the wall was blooming with small blue-purple flowers, and the dew on it had not yet evaporated.

Zhou Zhao rested his chin on his hand and looked in that direction, his thoughts drifting away.

She had so much to say to Su Changying, about every day she had spent in Chang'an over the past four years. She told him that she had "turned over a new leaf" and become the most beautiful young lady in Chang'an; she told him that her grandmother had made Zhou Yan turn back because of her, blaming her for killing her brother.

She talked about what had become of the Six Heroes of Chang'an, and how she had never given up on him for the past four years...

However, if she is going to die, it's better not to say anything.

If she doesn't die, there's still a long way to go.

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, she suddenly noticed a familiar figure in front of the door. She rubbed her eyes, and a long sentence almost slipped out.

Once he had calmed himself down, he asked, "What brings you to Tianji today, Hall Master Yaoguang? Do you perhaps wish to challenge me to a fight?"

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. He said coldly, "The city lord has a distinguished guest. He asked us to go up to the mountaintop to meet him. I heard that it is his old friend, the master of mechanical engineering, Zang Zang. Tian Quan has also returned."

Zhou Zhao nodded; the mechanic had indeed come to Tianying City.

It seems Zhao Yizhou couldn't stop him.

Tianquan must have been on his way to meet the mechanic, but why didn't he kill him halfway there?

Despite having countless questions in his mind, Zhou Zhao did not engage in much conversation with Su Changying. The two of them walked up Tianying Mountain one after the other, separated by a long flight of steps.

Zhou Zhao was lost in thought when he reached the top of the mountain and nearly bumped into Su Changying.

Curious, she turned to the side and saw Su Changying standing there, her hand already quietly resting on the hilt of her sword.

She was startled, and the bluefish dagger slipped from her hand.

“Miss Zhou Zhao, I haven’t even had avenged what happened in prison! I never expected to meet you here.”

The man's voice was booming, like a great bell.

Zhou Zhao looked around and saw a huge figure standing at the entrance of Qin Tianying's farmhouse.

He stood by the wall, rhythmically pounding it with one hand, thumping and thumping, causing dust to fall to the ground.

Zhou Zhao's pupils contracted sharply, and her blood froze instantly. Her right eyelid, which had been twitching violently, stopped twitching.

She recognized the man in front of her; he was the burly man in the Tingwei Temple prison who had nearly strangled her to death, and whom she had retaliated by piercing her hand with coffin nails.

He recognized her and knew that she came from the Zhou family of the Court of Justice.