"Of course I want to learn it," Chang Lili said without hesitation, her gaze firm. "If I can learn mechanical arts in this life, I will have no regrets."
Meng Yuxiu's expression became complicated. In Chang Lili's view, this was a sign of a change of heart. He had promised her several times that he had passed the second test. Why would the great general go back on his word?
"You're not thinking of going back on your word, are you? You promised me, and if you go back on your word... if you go back on your word... I'll tell the whole world about this!" Chang Lili stood up and put her hands on her hips.
She had a strong presence, but she couldn't help feeling guilty. She knew that if Meng Yuxiu really went back on his word, she probably couldn't do anything to him. If this got out, there would be no witnesses, and who would believe it?
Her heart pounded as she waited for Meng Yuxiu's reaction.
To everyone's surprise, Meng Yuxiu only glanced at her with concern, then lowered his head, revealing a worried expression, his two sword-like eyebrows furrowed together.
Even though he had gone back on his word, Chang Lili felt as if she were making things difficult for him. She slowly sat down on the stone bench and asked gently, "Is there something wrong?"
Meng Yuxiu sighed softly and said, "The mechanism array is not as simple as you think. I admit that the three challenges I mentioned before were indeed meant to make things difficult for you, but it was also for your own good."
Chang Lili snorted softly, swallowed a crystal cake, and said, "I guessed it long ago."
"The first two levels are actually irrelevant. If you want to learn mechanical arts and enter the Light Machinery Department, there are no first two levels at all," Meng Yuxiu said with a slightly somber voice, as if sighing.
"Then you made me waste so much effort. Look how much effort I put into getting through these two levels! And I even painstakingly made a divine weapon for you!" Chang Lili said, feeling both indignant and aggrieved.
Meng Yuxiu's gaze softened, and he said softly, as if in a murmur, "It wasn't all for nothing. Haven't you achieved some success now? You are the youngest imperial blacksmith, with a bright future ahead of you."
“No, my life will be incomplete if I don’t learn mechanical arts. I know that mechanical arts are completely different from these weapons. Mechanical arts give all weapons a soul. Without learning mechanical arts, I can only make soulless things,” Chang Lili said regretfully, her voice full of remorse.
Meng Yuxiu realized the seriousness of the matter and knew that this was probably Chang Lili's faith.
"The Light Machinery Department is where our Yun Kingdom manufactures machinery and studies mechanical arts. It was originally overlooked, but it has developed very well in recent years, and more and more people want to enter the Light Machinery Department. Once you enter, you become a member of the Light Machinery Department. Every member of the Light Machinery Department is capable of withstanding thousands of troops, but it is very difficult to get in."
Meng Yuxiu's voice echoed in the night, telling of an alluring and mysterious place, making Chang Lili even more eager to go.
"How difficult is it?" Chang Lili not only didn't back down because of the difficulty, but instead looked expectant and rubbed her hands together eagerly.
Meng Yuxiu turned to look at her, his expression grave, and said, "The only condition for entering the Light Machinery Department is to pass through the mechanical array, but since the establishment of the Light Machinery Department, very few people have passed the test."
Chang Lili was stunned for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up with surprise: "Then I must try! If I get in, not only will I rise to prominence, but I can also learn mechanical arts, meet a bunch of amazing people, and reach the pinnacle of life!"
Meng Yuxiu rubbed his forehead in exasperation, and after a long while said helplessly, "Why can't you understand what I'm saying? Very few people pass through the checkpoints, and those who fail all die in the traps. These traps are extremely dangerous, no joke."
Chang Lili was stunned. She hadn't expected that this was a life-or-death game, not just a test.
In other words, success would lead to entry into the Light Machinery Division, while failure would result in becoming a pile of bones.
“But learning mechanical arts is what I’ve wanted to do all my life. The mechanical arts of Yun Kingdom are now only mastered by a few people. If I don’t go to the Light Machinery Department to learn, there’s nowhere else to learn.” Chang Lili lowered her head, feeling infinitely frustrated.
The idea that she would have nowhere to learn if she didn't go to the Light Machinery Department was undoubtedly an attempt to persuade her to give up.
Seeing her sad expression, Meng Yuxiu felt a pang of heartache and wanted to comfort her by patting her head.
Suddenly, she raised her head and pressed on, asking, "Is this trap formation really that difficult and dangerous? How many people have passed through it? Is there any chance I can pass through it?"
Meng Yuxiu reluctantly withdrew his hand and sighed. He knew she really wanted to learn mechanical arts, but he had to tell her just how difficult and cruel it was.
"Do you know that a few years ago there was a genius boy named Zhang Zicheng?" Meng Yuxiu said solemnly.
Chang Lili didn't know why he brought this up, so she honestly replied, "I know, he was very famous. I admired him a lot. It's just a pity that he was so talented. He seemed to have contracted some incurable disease and died."
She felt quite regretful when she talked about it.
Meng Yuxiu solemnly said, "He did not die of illness, but died in the trap formation."
Chang Lili was slowly eating her pastries when she heard this, and suddenly lost the desire to put the pastries in her mouth.
She put the half-eaten pastry back on the plate, her previous anticipation finally gone, and she looked hesitant.
Even a genius like her died in the traps, can she really get through? What if she never comes back? What will happen to her mother-in-law?
Looking at Chang Lili's dejected appearance, Meng Yuxiu suddenly felt a pang of pity. He had clearly wanted her to back down, but now he felt a strange mix of emotions.
“I’m sorry,” he suddenly said, “but even as a general, I cannot break the rules of the Light Machinery Department. The Light Machinery Department is different from the Military Construction Department. If you cannot get in with your own strength, even if you do get in, you will not be able to learn mechanical arts.”
Chang Lili suddenly looked up at him in surprise and laughed, "Why are you apologizing to me? These rules for entering the Light Machinery Department weren't set by you."
Unexpectedly, Meng Yuxiu lowered his eyelids upon hearing this and said with difficulty, "These rules were set by me."
Chang Lili was speechless, and the atmosphere froze for a moment. She felt she had to say something, so she said, "These rules are too...cruel, aren't they?"
"This is a rule set many years ago. The Light Machine Department wasn't like this before. Back then, the Light Machine Department had a large force, but on one battlefield, the crossbows they manufactured malfunctioned. A million-strong army of Yun Kingdom died at the hands of their own people because of those out-of-control crossbows. My father, the Great General of Yun Kingdom at that time, also died under the crossbows." Meng Yuxiu sighed, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.
The tall, upright man sat there, his face, illuminated by the firelight, its features sculpted yet filled with sorrow.
Chang Lili finally understood the reason why he set this rule. She did not know about that war, but she had never heard of the annihilation of the million-strong army of Yun Kingdom when she was young.
But only now does she know the truth about that matter.
He disbanded the Light Machine Department and re-established this rule so that the people in the Light Machine Department would know that this was something that required risking their lives, and that if they were not careful, the hell of the past would reappear.
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