Meng Yuxiu coughed lightly and said, "Let's get through this trap formation as soon as possible, and we can talk about other things later."
Chang Lili raised an eyebrow slightly, becoming even more curious about this legendary figure. Who was this person who was causing Meng Yuxiu such a headache? She had to interrogate him thoroughly.
However, right now, the most important thing is to get through the traps as soon as possible. This place is fraught with danger. You can feel the eerie wind as soon as you enter. The longer you stay, the greater the danger.
Meng Yuxiu looked around and subconsciously started to walk forward, but Chang Lili's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly grabbed him, saying, "Don't go over there!"
Her panicked voice echoed for a while in the vast, empty space. Seeing her tense expression, Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but withdraw his foot.
“You can’t just wander around in places like this,” Chang Lili pulled him back and squatted down to examine the road ahead. “This soil feels different from other places. Other places look like old, dusty soil, but this soil looks like new soil.”
"Could there be something down there?" Meng Yuxiu also squatted down and picked up a bit of soil.
Chang Lili touched the pavement and murmured, "I don't know either. Just looking at it, I can't tell anything. If possible, it's best not to step on this pavement. The chains on it..." She pondered for a while, "and I don't know what they're for."
"Not touching the road surface? That's easy!" Meng Yuxiu smiled brightly.
He suddenly pulled Chang Lili, who was half-squatting, up. While Chang Lili was still confused, he suddenly pulled her into his arms. Then Chang Lili felt her feet leave the ground. In a few light leaps and bounds, she had already traveled more than ten feet.
The feeling was wonderful, but Chang Lili didn't have time to fully savor it. Meng Yuxiu thought it was time to stop, and the two of them put their feet back on the ground.
In an instant, the once stable ground tilted like a seesaw towards the two people standing there, and they fell down. In the rush, Chang Lili only saw a flash of silver light.
Meng Yuxiu reacted extremely quickly. He hugged Chang Lili tightly and used his feet to push off the seesaw, causing the already tilted seesaw to plummet downwards.
Meng Yuxiu, carrying Chang Lili, flew past and landed steadily on the ground.
Chang Lili, still shaken, gasped, "Just now...did you see that?"
Meng Yuxiu said with a solemn expression, "I saw it. On the surface, it looks like an ordinary road, but underneath are some sharp spikes. If you fall in, you'll die."
Chang Lili patted her chest. She had not only seen the spikes, but also the stark white bones piled on them.
"Have we passed the first hurdle?" Chang Lili asked nervously.
Meng Yuxiu took her hand, felt the light sweat on her palm, and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Chang Lili exhaled and looked at the chains that were rattling from their impact. She suddenly realized, "So these chains are for people to grab. If you don't have martial arts skills, you can grab them and swing them over. Now I know why that person with high martial arts skills can pass through the trap array. This is a bit unfair!"
Meng Yuxiu laughed and said, "I thought so before, but if someone can break through all the traps and arrays with just martial arts skills, that is also a kind of strength. If we don't acknowledge him, wouldn't that be unfair to him?"
Chang Lili blinked and looked at Meng Yuxiu in surprise: "What you said makes sense! Although it sounds a bit uncomfortable."
Although these words came from Meng Yuxiu, they were not his original thoughts. As a general, he should set an example and maintain strict military discipline.
But when he saw that man lying there covered in wounds, and heard that he wasn't allowed to work at the military factory, he actually tried to get up and argue with Meng Yuxiu, and even raised his fist.
He said something like this at the time: he had passed through the traps by his own strength. When the rules were set, there was no rule that said passing through by martial arts alone was invalid.
Meng Yuxiu had no rebuttal, and he genuinely admired the man, which is why he tacitly allowed him to join the Light Machinery Department.
“Let’s go,” he said, pulling himself out of his reverie. “There are still many more traps ahead.”
The two walked forward for a while, lighting all the oil lamps on the walls along the way, proceeding cautiously, afraid that a trap might appear at any moment.
After walking peacefully for a while, Chang Lili went up to light the oil lamp, only to find that the oil lamp on the wall had changed. The previously scattered lotus-shaped oil lamp had now become dragon-head shaped, with a small round plate in the middle of the dragon horn, holding the lamp oil and wick.
The dragon head opened its mouth, revealing fangs, and in the swaying light and shadow, it looked somewhat sinister, rather than the noble and majestic presence of the imperial palace.
Moreover, there are rows of dragon-head shaped oil lamps on both sides of the wall, arranged very densely, which looks abrupt and bizarre.
The two looked at each other with suspicion, and Meng Yuxiu said solemnly, "There's something fishy about this."
"Could lighting this lamp trigger a mechanism?" Chang Lili frowned as she looked at the two rows of eerie dragon heads.
As she spoke, she tentatively took a step forward, her breathing becoming very slow due to nervousness.
Meng Yuxiu pulled her back abruptly: "I'll go take a look. You stay here and don't move."
Chang Lili tried to stop him, but Meng Yuxiu said firmly, "I can get away unscathed, but you can't. Don't worry about me."
"Then...then be careful!" Chang Lili swallowed nervously and handed the tinder to Meng Yuxiu.
Meng Yuxiu gave her a gentle smile before turning and walking forward.
He walked slowly, his expression focused, as if he were observing everything around him. The first step was uneventful, and the second step was also calm.
Chang Lili clenched her fists tightly, feeling as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
She watched as Meng Yuxiu slowly walked into the passageway where the two rows of dragon heads were located. At this moment, Meng Yuxiu lifted his foot and took his third step.
Chang Lili felt a little relieved at this moment, thinking that they had already traveled such a distance, and any traps should have been triggered by now.
The light on the wall flickered, and Meng Yuxiu abruptly pulled his foot back. Chang Lili didn't see what happened at all; she only saw Meng Yuxiu turn around and run towards her. She felt a slight pain on her face, and then Meng Yuxiu caught her and rolled away with her for a distance.
Compared to the stinging pain on her cheek, Chang Lili felt only dizzy and disoriented.
"What's wrong?" Her eyes darted around anxiously, and she was panting, still shaken.
But then he heard a muffled groan from Meng Yuxiu.
Chang Lili broke free from Meng Yuxiu's embrace, sat up, and saw that Meng Yuxiu's shoulders and back were covered with many shiny silver needles.
She froze for a moment, then said in a flustered manner, "How...how could this be? Where did these needles come from?"
Turning back to the passageway, silver fragments lay scattered on the ground, and silver needles were still shooting out of the dragon's mouth at great speed, leaving only a trail of silver light in their wake.
"Help me pull the needle out," Meng Yuxiu said, frowning as he stood up.
This was probably the most disheveled Chang Lili had ever seen Meng Yuxiu.
A sense of guilt welled up in her heart. As she pulled the dense cluster of silver needles from Meng Yuxiu's body, she asked worriedly, "These needles, are they poisoned?"
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