The weapon storage building had three levels in total. From the outside, it appeared to have only two floors, but there was also a cellar beneath. The Blue Light Crossbow that An Jiu and the others needed was located in the southeast corner of that cellar.
The entrance to the cellar was at the very center of the first floor. To reach the cellar, one had to first bypass the traps on the first level.
An Jiu circled around to the southeast corner and used the Mud-Cutting Iron Dagger to carve out a small window in the wall. She then took out a small bag to collect the scattered stone fragments. The walls of this building weren’t as thick as she had imagined. It seems only the cellar is the truly secure area, she thought to herself.
She sheathed the dagger and picked up a handful of pebbles, tossing them through the small window. Inside, the sound of tearing air signaled the release of a Rain of Arrows.
As the noise gradually subsided, she threw in another handful.
The weapon storage wasn’t particularly large. Even with thousands of arrows, they would eventually run out—especially at such a rapid firing rate.
An Jiu continued throwing pebbles inside until there was no more sound.
She raised her arm and fired the Rope Crossbow, climbing up the rope to the beam of the corridor. Gently prying open a ventilation window above, she dodged to the side and tossed in a few more pebbles with varying force.
No arrows flew out this time, but An Jiu didn’t rush to act. Before long, thick smoke began billowing from the ventilation window.
An Jiu immediately leaped down, swallowed an Antitoxin pill, and waited quietly for the smoke to dissipate. She didn’t dare rely solely on the medicine to charge through the unknown fumes. After all, the so-called "Antitoxin pill" only countered a hundred poisons—or at most, nine hundred and ninety-nine. Yet the world held far more toxins than that.
Only when not a wisp of smoke remained did An Jiu return, tossing in another stone.
After waiting a while longer and confirming no further movement, she cautiously peered inside. It was pitch black, without a single trace of light.
Fortunately, no more Hidden Weapons were triggered. An Jiu mused, The ancients spoke of "testing the waters with a stone"—truly a great wisdom.
She climbed through the window. The further she advanced, the more she sensed something amiss. The passage was narrow and stretched a full zhang in length, barely wide enough for one person. It didn’t resemble a window at all. By the time most of her body was inside, a sharp clicking sound suddenly echoed behind her! Retreating was no longer an option. In that critical moment, her Mental Strength surged abruptly. Without even turning her head, she "saw" with perfect clarity as the entrance rapidly closed—the descending object unmistakably a guillotine blade!
Gritting her teeth, An Jiu immediately pulled her legs in.
To her dismay, the passage was funnel-shaped, narrowing further ahead until even her head couldn’t fit through! Lying motionless, she took several deep breaths before accepting the fact that she was now completely trapped in this "cage." "Can’t blame the ancients. Live and learn—next time, I’ll throw in a bigger rock..."
She retreated a few inches until she could slightly maneuver her upper body, then drew her dagger, intending to carve her way forward.
Sparks flew as the dagger scraped against the walls. An Jiu tapped the walls with the hilt—all four sides were reinforced with metal!
Damn! Is this meant to crush me into paste?!
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than a faint creaking sound arose around her. The walls began slowly closing in.
Pressing her hands against the walls, she abruptly jerked her body backward, creating enough space to move freely. She swiftly retrieved the Dragon Subduing Bow and wedged it horizontally, forcibly halting the walls’ advance.
Relieved that the bow could hold, An Jiu silently praised her luck. Thankfully, the walls were moving inward from the sides. If they had been pressing from above and below with a narrower gap, the Dragon Subduing Bow wouldn’t have been long enough to stand upright.No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than another cracking sound reached her ears, and the wall above began to tremble.
She yanked hard on the Dragon Subduing Bow, forcing it to turn and slant diagonally against the opening of the hole.
This time, all four walls paused for a moment—but only for an instant. The wall above faintly showed signs of pressing down again, as if its gravity were overwhelmingly strong. Then, something even more shocking happened!
—The left and right walls actually retreated on their own, causing the Dragon Subduing Bow to slip toward the ground and lose its supporting effect on the four walls!
This meant the wall above could now press down without any resistance.
So this was how the mechanism worked—once triggered, the walls would repeatedly advance and retreat, squeezing from all directions until two sides successfully closed in on the small exit.
An Jiu quickly analyzed the situation: when the left and right walls squeezed, the one above couldn’t descend. If the mechanism wanted to crush vertically, the left and right walls had to retreat, creating enough space for the upper wall to come down.
But the Dragon Subduing Bow was too long to stand upright!
“Damn it!” An Jiu’s violent temper flared up completely. The ingenuity of the ancients truly couldn’t be underestimated!
Sweat beaded on her forehead. Just as she was at her wits’ end, a flash of inspiration struck her—if the Dragon Subduing Bow worked, what about the Evil Feather Arrows?
An Jiu thought she must be insane to pin her hopes on two slender arrows, but at this point, even if she weren’t insane, there was no other choice. She decisively pulled out the Evil Feather Arrows and wedged them between the walls.
The moment the walls touched the arrows, they were indeed held back. But those two arrows truly lived up to their reputation as divine artifacts—their arrowheads were slowly piercing through the iron walls!
The penetration wasn’t fast, perhaps because the upper and lower walls were still moving. The left and right walls, however, remained motionless.
An Jiu saw a gap open up ahead. She immediately grabbed the Dragon Subduing Bow, slid forward, and began frantically hacking at the left and right walls with her dagger. Sparks flew, some landing on her skin, but she felt no pain at all.
Wei Yuzhi! Wei Yuzhi! Wei Yuzhi! Wei Yuzhi!
An Jiu imagined the two walls as Wei Yuzhi, and her strikes grew even more ruthless.
Before long, the hole was cut open.
An Jiu grabbed the Dragon Subduing Bow and tossed it out first, then flipped herself through the opening.
The room was eerily quiet.
An Jiu took deep breaths to steady herself, cautiously scanning her surroundings. When she finally took in the room, she froze—it was completely empty, devoid of even a single bow or sword. This didn’t look like an armory at all!
Had Sang Nu tricked her? Suspicion gnawed at her as her gaze darted around the room.
No! One zhang, two zhang, three zhang, four zhang, five zhang…
Why was it only five zhang? An Jiu had observed the building’s exterior earlier and estimated its internal space to be much larger. Then, recalling the hole she had just escaped from, she suddenly understood—if the windows were one zhang deep, the walls had to be at least one zhang thick. The real storage space must be inside the walls.
Did that mean the first wall she had cut through led directly to the first-floor armory?
The realization made her uneasy. This place was too exposed, with no sign of a cellar entrance.
She slowly crouched down, picked up the Dragon Subduing Bow, and stowed it in her back pouch. Just as she was about to use her dagger to cut into the wall behind her, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded from above.
“It’s been a long time since anyone came in here.”
Strangely enough, hearing a human voice—rather than those eerie, seemingly sentient mechanisms—made An Jiu breathe a sigh of relief.Compared to this, An Jiu would rather fight someone, even if they were in the Transformation Realm.
"Child, come here." The voice trembled, as if stirred by emotion or sorrow. "Don't be afraid, child, come closer..."
An Jiu didn’t move. She lifted her gaze toward the sound and couldn’t help but widen her eyes slightly. (To be continued...)
PS: I’ve had a lot going on lately, and my health hasn’t been great. It’s been a while since I took a proper look at the page, but today when I logged in, I saw that last month I was actually ranked 10th in popularity! And so many friends even sent gifts. My feelings right now are complicated—gratitude, excitement, guilt, shame… With such terrible updates and so many rambling trivial matters, you all still showed me such kindness! I’ve seen many authors get scolded for hiatuses, but not only did you not scold me, you were even more supportive. How can this unworthy one bear it… At this moment, I suddenly feel bathed in divine light, free from worries, free from pain, my mind clear… filled with passion. Thank you all for standing by me—I, Sleeve, must not let you down. Moved by the moment, and after breaking promises before, I’ve decided not to make any more update pledges. Just know that I’ll do my utmost!!!
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