"You... why did you chase the horse away?" Chang Lili asked, puzzled.

Meng Yuxiu pulled her aside the waist-high weeds in front of them, a doting smile on his lips: "Don't worry, this horse has recognized its master, and we can call it back later. We don't know when we'll come out, so let it find some food on its own."

"Recognizes a master? Does that mean you don't let anyone ride this horse easily? Then what I just did was..." Chang Lili looked at the horse's rump disappearing into the woods with a sigh.

Meng Yuxiu laughed and said, "Yes, you have tamed a divine steed, but now is not the time to be happy about that, is it? Have you forgotten why we came here?"

Chang Lili turned around and followed him into the dense jungle.

We're about to go to the machine array, a place Chang Lili has been longing for and looking forward to for a long time. Although she's quite disappointed with the location and feels it lacks grandeur, she's still nervous.

They walked for an unknown amount of time. Originally, Chang Lili thought that such a powerful mechanism was being used too casually in this place.

But now I realize that this place is truly hidden and surprising enough.

Meng Yuxiu parted the last row of grass that was blocking his view, and a crooked door appeared in front of him.

The enormous door, made of some unknown material and engraved with intricate patterns, was covered with a thin layer of moss due to its age and the fact that it was in such a secluded and dark place. This pale green, massive door looked mysterious and alluring.

"Is this the entrance to the trap array? It looks... amazing!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining. "How do we get in?"

Meng Yuxiu crossed his arms and looked at Chang Lili with a leisurely air, saying, "This is the first hurdle: entering the trap formation."

Chang Lili paused for a moment, then jogged over to the tightly closed gate, touching and looking at it. After a while, she finally wiped away a patch of green moss from the gate and found the huge keyhole.

“A key…” she murmured, enchanting the enormous keyhole, “It actually requires a key to open this door, which is so big and heavy… How novel!”

Chang Lili glanced at Meng Yuxiu subconsciously, who was looking at her with great interest.

“It will take some time,” she said, raising her head.

As she spoke, she looked around, feeling clueless. She took a few steps back, her dark brown pupils darting around quickly. Her gaze swept over the gate several times, and she felt that there was something to be done with the patterns on the gate.

She leaned over and wiped the moss off the door. Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but walk over and raise his hand as if to wipe the moss off as well.

"No, no, no! I'll do this!" Chang Lili quickly grabbed his hand and said nervously.

Then she released Meng Yuxiu's hand, seeing his puzzled expression, and continued wiping the moss off the door while muttering, "You're a great general, how can you do something like this..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw Meng Yuxiu reach out and grab the moss off the door with his bare hands. He smiled and said nonchalantly, "Back in the day, I did things that were dirtier and more tiring than this when I was leading troops into battle. The general is no different from an ordinary person."

He spoke so matter-of-factly and nonchalantly, yet for some reason, Chang Lili felt a pang of sadness.

Meng Yuxiu is now respected and holds a prestigious position, but he earned it all by risking his life. His outward glory is built on blood, sweat, and countless near-death experiences.

Watching him quietly and intently picking at the moss, she felt that it was something to be grateful to God that he was standing beside her like this.

After wiping away the moss, Chang Lili shooed Meng Yuxiu aside, then stepped back a few paces herself and began to ponder the patterns on the door.

The ancient gate's intricate patterns had faded, but Chang Lili's pupils constricted as she excitedly pointed at it, exclaiming with delight, "I know this! The Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the Black Tortoise of the North—these are the Four Symbols!"

But after a while, she said with a puzzlement, "However, this Azure Dragon is one of the Seven Mansions of the East. It looks like there are seven mansions, but one is missing."

She approached the gate, reached out with a puzzled expression, and began to feel around Qinglong's body, muttering to herself, "It seems like the last night was... here?"

Her hand traced the outline of the Azure Dragon's body, finally stopping at its tail. At that moment, there was a click, and the door trembled slightly.

Startled, Chang Lili immediately stepped back, only to find herself in someone's arms. Meng Yuxiu quickly caught her and pulled her back several steps.

"It's okay, it's okay, look, there's no movement!" Chang Lili looked around in surprise and broke free from Meng Yuxiu's embrace.

Then, a small, grayish-white stone pillar slowly rose from the area covered by weeds.

Chang Lili immediately went over and looked around the pillar, where she saw the intricate patterns again.

At first glance, the patterns seemed to be just some random flowers and plants, nothing special. But after thinking about it for a while, Chang Lili felt something was off.

The four sides of the stone pillar are decorated with spring orchids, summer lotus, autumn chrysanthemums, and winter plum blossoms, respectively.

"This...represents the four seasons? What does that mean?" she asked, puzzled.

Meng Yuxiu also went over, fearing that something might go wrong.

After circling the pillar a few times, Chang Lili couldn't help but look up at the patterns on the giant gate, and then at the stone pillar.

“These four symbols also correspond to the four seasons,” she said, half-squatting down and touching the patterns on the stone pillar. “These flowers and plants are not only intact, but they also look about 80% new…”

“Very few people can find the location of the mechanism array, and even fewer can find the stone pillar. This stone pillar is always hidden underground, so it is naturally brand new,” Meng Yuxiu explained.

"Can this rotate?" Chang Lili asked, getting up and pulling on the stone pillar. The pillar actually moved. "It can rotate! I understand!"

As she spoke, she excitedly used all her strength to hug the stone pillar and turn it to one side.

“The Azure Dragon of the East, the Azure Dragon symbolizes spring, so it faces east…” She spoke as she turned the stone pillar, but her voice trailed off at the end, and her face turned bright red from the force of her movements.

Meng Yuxiu reached out to help her, but stopped her, saying, "No! I have to manage on my own!"

She enunciated the last word with extra force, using every ounce of her strength, her face turning red as she clung to the pillar, panting.

Just as she uttered her last word, a soft clicking sound was heard, as if a key had been accurately inserted into a lock.

Chang Lili looked expectantly at the giant gate, but the giant gate did not react. The pillar slowly sank, and she sank along with it while holding onto the pillar. Meng Yuxiu saw this and quickly picked her up.

"What's going on?" Chang Lili asked, puzzled, her face showing some anxiety.

The pillar sank downwards without stopping, continuing to sink into the ground until it was no longer visible, leaving a hole.

"How did it go down like that..." She looked at Meng Yuxiu with a wronged expression, while the latter looked amused.

The next moment, something slowly emerged from the hole; it was a round wooden barrel.

The small, round wooden bucket felt very light in my hand, as if someone had hollowed it out from the middle.

"What is this? Getting through this door is really difficult!"