Chang Lili helped Meng Yuxiu sit down: "Let's rest for a bit. But is this tea safe to drink? Didn't you say there was no poison here?"

Meng Yuxiu sat down, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing. He said calmly, "Of course it's not poisonous, but I don't know how long this tea has been sitting here. Drinking it will make you feel a little uncomfortable."

Chang Lili, who was holding a teacup and inhaling the aroma of the tea with great interest, immediately put down the teacup upon hearing this, feeling glad that she hadn't drunk it.

She rubbed her hands together, walked over, and half-squatted down to examine the woman closely. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Such an exquisite person, actually made of machinery! How skilled must one be in mechanical engineering to create a dummy that can fool the human eye? You know, this thing is much more powerful than weapons. If I master mechanical engineering in the future and create an army like this... just thinking about it is terrifying."

After she finished speaking to herself, she got up to look at the only wooden door, removed the bolt, and opened the door. It was pitch black outside, and she couldn't see anything, but a cold wind was blowing.

She shuddered and closed the door again.

“Let’s move on after you’ve rested. We need to proceed cautiously, step by step,” she said, sitting back down at the table.

Meng Yuxiu remained silent, focusing on regulating his breathing.

Chang Lili looked at the two books she had tossed aside and couldn't help but pick them up again.

When she went to get the book, she was worried that the woman might suddenly get up and take her head. She was on guard while getting the book, but fortunately the woman did not get up again.

Chang Lili was naturally more interested in the book "Inside and Outside the Machine". Although the name was a bit strange, it sounded like a book about mechanical arts.

She opened the book, and on the title page it read: "Hello, kindred spirit."

On the first page of the book, there was something that looked like a letter. The handwriting was so bad that even Chang Lili found it unbearable to look at, and she struggled to read it.

"You fell in here because you couldn't solve the trap above. But you passed the first two levels. Either you're highly skilled in martial arts, or you're only half-baked in terms of trap-solving skills?" Chang Lili said, puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. "What this person is saying... even though it's true, it's really unpleasant."

She glanced at Meng Yuxiu and continued reading, "However, you are already a rare talent." She smiled, clearly pleased, "This place was originally a deadly trap, but I've turned it into a secret room. Since you've entered this secret room by chance, I'll take you as my disciple."

She blinked and said incredulously, "This person... is too arrogant. He didn't even introduce himself before saying he wanted to take people as his apprentices."

As she continued reading, she could no longer utter those words.

"The fact that you can hold this book and read it now means you've found the mechanism on Chan'er's body and temporarily stopped her from working... temporarily?" Upon reading this sentence, Chang Lili's heart skipped a beat. She looked at the woman lying on the ground as if asleep, and only felt relieved when she saw that the woman was not moving.

The person who wrote the letter seemed to be able to read Chang Lili's mind and continued writing: "That's right, it's only temporary. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chan'er will start working again."

When Chang Lili saw this, she immediately panicked. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but even if it wasn't the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, it was almost that time.

Meng Yuxiu's forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and after this moment of breathing adjustment, his complexion had improved somewhat.

She whispered, "Meng Yuxiu... Yuxiu, we have to leave here."

Meng Yuxiu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze gentle yet filled with doubt.

"Let's go out first." Chang Lili pulled Meng Yuxiu and was about to walk towards the wooden door, but after taking two steps she stopped and took the remaining "Martial Arts Manual" with her.

The two of them walked and ran out of the wooden door. As soon as they stepped out, Chang Lili heard a clicking sound in the silence.

The sound was particularly abrupt in the empty space. Chang Lili was so nervous that her palms were sweating. The woman's melodious voice came from inside the room.

"Muyun, are you thirsty? I'll make you some tea." The woman seemed to be speaking to someone.

Chang Lili pulled Meng Yuxiu to hide outside the door. Unable to contain her curiosity, she carefully opened the wooden door a crack and peeked inside.

Chan'er was alone in the room, but she spoke to the air with an air of seriousness: "Would Mu Yun like Longjing or Biluochun tea today?"

No one answered. The lights flickered, and the woman smiled radiantly: "I knew you liked Tieguanyin tea. You wouldn't choose either of these. I'll brew some for you right now."

This was probably something Chan'er would do every day, as it was already planned out, but Chang Lili felt a pang of sadness seeing this scene.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Meng Yuxiu stood silently to the side as well.

"Where's the tinderbox?" Chang Lili asked in a low voice.

Meng Yuxiu handed it over silently, and Chang Lili, leaning against the wall, handed the tinder to Meng Yuxiu, saying, "Hold this for me."

Then, filled with curiosity, she reopened "Inside and Outside the Machine" and wanted to finish reading the letter.

The title page reads: "I am the creator of Chan'er, a person who once stood at the pinnacle of mechanical arts. Perhaps you have not heard of my name, but that is alright. This book is my painstaking work, and I am now giving it to you in the hope that you can learn all my skills and benefit the world in the future. I am also including a copy of 'Martial Arts Manual'."

Chang Lili looked at another book, thought for a moment, and handed it to Meng Yuxiu, saying, "Why not take it? But I don't need it, so I'll give it to you."

Upon seeing the book title, Meng Yuxiu reluctantly accepted the book.

The last sentence of the letter read: "Now that we have a master-disciple relationship, there is one thing I hope you can do: do not tell the world about Chan'er's existence, and do not try to take her away. Let her stay quietly in this trap array. However, I think you can't take her away anyway."

After reading the last sentence, Chang Lili felt a pang of sadness for some reason.

The person who created Chan'er is said to be at the pinnacle of mechanical arts, and Chang Lili believes it.

But where did this person go? Why did he leave such an exquisitely crafted mechanical figure here?

The woman's voice continued from inside the room: "Mu Yun, are you bored? Then I'll dance for you."

Although they were some distance apart, Chang Lili could clearly see that the mechanical figure's face was slightly flushed, and she looked shy, as if she were saying these words to the man she admired, with an undisguised smile on her lips.

After speaking, the woman stood up, stood in the center of the room, and began to dance gracefully. Music emanated from her body, a completely different tune from the one she had used to dance for Meng Yuxiu and Chang Lili earlier.

Fresh and graceful, exquisitely beautiful, the mechanical worker's face wore a satisfied yet shy smile.

It's like a girl dancing for her beloved.

Her shadow rose and fell with the woman's dance, but it made Chan'er's figure appear even more slender, frail, and lonely.