Chang Lili looked in the direction from which the cold, hard voice came from. Master Liu had just stopped what he was doing and was looking at her with a solemn expression and sharp eyes.

He was always a cold-faced person, so it wasn't surprising that he looked at her like that, but he kept staring at Chang Lili as if he wanted to pierce through her small body.

This look was even more terrifying than the one Chang Lili had seen when she first arrived at the Military Manufacturing Bureau, making her feel a little uneasy.

Confused, she forced an awkward smile, but Master Liu maintained the same expression.

"There's almost no one in the entire Military Manufacturing Department who knows about something like Yuyan. Even Master Yang and Master Xue, who are about as senior as me, have never heard of it. How did you, at such a young age, find out about it? Who exactly are you?" he questioned in a cold voice.

Chang Lili looked surprised. She thought to herself, "So Yuyan is such an unknown thing?"

She only remembered knowing about this metal since she was a child, as if it had always been in her mind, but she had no recollection of where it came from.

"I...I...know this...is that strange?" she asked innocently.

Master Liu remained expressionless: "It's very strange."

The blacksmith who wanted to steal the nine-section whip collapsed to his knees in despair.

When he heard Master Liu mention the name Yu Yan, his heart sank. Now, judging from the conversation between Master Liu and Chang Lili, it seems that this sinister thing really exists.

He took out his cut finger and looked at it. It had stopped bleeding, but he looked pale and as if he might collapse and die at any moment.

"Help me...help me..." He looked pitifully at Chang Lili, then at Master Liu.

Master Liu remained unmoved, his gaze fixed intently on Chang Lili.

Chang Lili, however, found a way out of the awkward situation and shouted, "It was you, it was you who wanted to steal my... the weapon I made, why did you do such a thing?"

She successfully diverted everyone's attention to that person, while Master Liu still looked at Chang Lili with a solemn expression, as if she were a spy sent by the enemy.

"I...I had no choice, please save me, I don't want to die," the man pleaded as he crawled to her feet.

"Isn't this Chen Lu? What's gotten into stealing?" people started whispering.

“They don’t work properly normally, and now they’re doing this kind of thing.”

"That's right, they actually stole Master Chang's things, they're incredibly audacious."

Chang Lili choked on the sudden flattery and coughed a few times.

While lifting Chang Lili up, they ruthlessly trampled Chen Lu into the dust. The latter should have been indignant, but compared to his own life, he obviously chose to give up his dignity. Chen Lu continued to beg.

Master Liu never looked away, while Chang Lili pretended not to see.

She crossed her arms and raised her head, saying, "That's right, I can indeed save you. Since I will be using this, I will naturally prepare some antidote. It's inevitable to have bumps and knocks when blacksmithing, so it's always better to be prepared."

Chen Lu's eyes lit up, and he begged even more earnestly: "Please give me the antidote. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Miss Chang, please save me. We're colleagues after all!"

Upon hearing this, Chang Lili felt disdain and immediately thought of Xiao Shuer. The theft of the nine-section whip and the injury to her mother-in-law were crimes that she had temporarily pinned on Xiao Shuer, who was the prime suspect.

A wave of disgust washed over her as she said coldly, "If you want me to save you, fine, but tell me who sent you to steal my things?"

Almost everyone gathered around, eager to see what would happen, curious to know Chen Lu's answer, but Chen Lu hesitated.

Master Liu's face turned cold. Others might not know, but he did. There was no antidote for Yu Yan's poison.

He learned blacksmithing and weapon forging from a young age, and by chance, he learned some secrets about the previous dynasty.

This Yuyan rock was discovered during the Da Shun Dynasty.

Someone discovered this strange metal while mining, unaware of its toxicity, until dozens of people died in succession before it was discovered that the metal was poisonous.

If this metal were made into weapons, they would be invincible, but they would also be far too cruel and vicious.

Empress Da Shun, being a woman of kindness, ordered a ban on mining and using this substance after learning of its existence. She even went to great lengths to destroy it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

She also forbade anyone who knew about it to spread the word, telling them that the fewer people who knew, the better.

But Chang Lili was just a young girl. Looking at her slightly immature appearance, one would wonder if the Great Shun Dynasty still existed when she was born. How did she know about Yuyan?

"Don't even think about getting the antidote if you don't tell me," Chang Lili said resolutely.

Those who were watching the spectacle seized the opportunity to curry favor with Chang Lili, and naturally, they spoke up for her at this moment.

"Chen Lu is a sly fellow. He's probably in debt from gambling and is trying to steal Master Chang's things to pay it off!"

Others chimed in.

Upon hearing this, Chen Lu grasped at a straw and said urgently, "Yes, Miss Chang, I owe gambling debts and wanted to steal to pay them off! If you... if you let me die like this, you won't be able to escape responsibility!"

Chang Lili frowned, a little impatient. She had a feeling that things weren't that simple. Chen Lu hadn't been able to beg for mercy, and instead he was threatening her. Her tone grew colder and colder.

"You walked right into my clutches, and now you're blaming me? You won't tell me who ordered you to do it? Then you can forget about getting the antidote. Just wait to die with your intestines ruptured. I'll stand by and watch you die. Let's see which upright official comes to judge me!"

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