Strangely, for each of those mechanical figures, there was always an empty square in the array beneath their feet, and no matter how the mechanical figures moved, they would never step on that square.
And these reserved squares are all different.
Chang Lili watched the strips of cloth burning on the tiny silver needles, and saw Meng Yuxiu's eyes filled with admiration.
Before she could say anything, Meng Yuxiu quickly said, "Hurry up and take a look."
Chang Lili then turned her head and looked over with wide eyes. She saw that there were ten mechanical figures in total, five in front and five behind, with each group of five forming a circle.
The empty squares under the feet of the five mechanical figures seemed random, yet there was a pattern to them. Each of the five mechanical figures had a different empty square, representing the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. She could clearly see that the five mechanical figures behind them also had the same empty squares under their feet.
Soon, the small strip of cloth burned out, and the passageway returned to darkness.
Meng Yuxiu, holding the remaining silver needles, saw Chang Lili's confused look and said, "I'll throw some more over."
Chang Lili pulled him back: "No need, I saw it clearly, but I just can't figure out the mystery behind it."
What followed was a long period of contemplation. Chang Lili paced back and forth for a while before saying, "How come these mechanical figures have inexhaustible energy? If we keep waiting like this, will they run out of power first, or will we starve to death first?"
Meng Yuxiu, who was sitting to the side with his eyes closed, looked at her with a hint of disappointment: "You promised to take me out safely. Are you going to let the First General of Yun Kingdom starve to death here? What will happen to the people of Yun Kingdom?"
Chang Lili slapped her forehead and said, "Alright, alright, I was just joking, don't take it so seriously."
After saying that, she scratched her head and continued to ponder: "The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation..." she mused, "It's all about the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. The mechanical figures are standing on the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams diagram. The empty squares under their feet can form a new Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation. It's really one after another, one after another, but what does it all mean?"
She stared at the tireless, unyielding mechanical figures, her eyes filled with despair: "When will they finally stop? Are we really going to be worn out to death by these mechanical figures?"
Meng Yuxiu opened his eyes, frowned, and looked at her: "You're not really planning to waste time with them, are you?"
“I was just thinking, what motivates them? If we can cut off their food supply, the formation will collapse on its own.” Chang Lili’s eyes gleamed with cunning.
But in the blink of an eye, she became worried, sighing and muttering, "Metal overcomes wood, wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal... all things are mutually generating and mutually restraining... mutually generating and mutually restraining?"
Chang Lili slapped her forehead and exclaimed in surprise, "Everything in the universe has its counterparts, and I've been so focused on mutual restraint that I forgot about mutual generation!"
Meng Yuxiu opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze calm.
“I think I know where these mechanical beings’ power comes from. I can sense that they are different from Chan’er. There’s a reason why they can’t leave that formation. I guess that once they come out, they will lose their power,” Chang Lili said excitedly, pulling Meng Yuxiu along.
"So you mean," Meng Yuxiu pondered, "to drive them out of the formation?"
He looked at the mechanical figures, a worried expression on his face. He was afraid that he was willing but unable to move these ten mechanical figures out of the formation.
Chang Lili immediately waved her hand: "Don't be nervous, it's not that difficult." She pulled Meng Yuxiu closer and said with great interest, "Look at these formations, they seem to have no rules, but they are actually quite ingenious."
Meng Yuxiu raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to explain in detail.
“I was wrong just now. I kept thinking about the mutual restraint between the five elements and forgot that the five elements also generate each other, which is the source of power for this formation to operate,” Chang Lili said mysteriously.
"The five elements generate each other?" Meng Yuxiu seemed to understand but not quite.
Chang Lili said solicitously, "Look at the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation. It looks very complicated, but in fact, it is to make this formation work. The so-called metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, and earth generates metal."
Her hand pointed to the array beneath the feet of the five mechanical figures, revealing that the empty squares beneath their feet represented the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
“Five smaller arrays can form this larger array. It can operate with just a little external force and is inexhaustible. However, if one of the smaller arrays fails to operate, the entire array will be broken,” Chang Lili said with great enthusiasm.
Meng Yuxiu felt as if he had been enlightened. Looking at the formation in front of him, he felt as if he were looking at a game of chess that he had the upper hand.
“However, another problem arises: what can we use to immobilize them?” Chang Lili said, looking around. Apart from some dust and small pebbles, there was nothing there, let alone anything that could be of use.
Chang Lili fell into a new round of contemplation. While racking her brains, she walked around looking for something useful.
“I think I might know where to find something to stop this array from functioning,” Meng Yuxiu suddenly said.
Chang Lili grabbed his arm in surprise: "Really? Where? What is it?"
Meng Yuxiu smiled gently: "Wood, wait for me here, I'll be back soon."
"Where are you going?" Seeing him take a few steps, Chang Lili sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to stop him. "The direction you're going is that secret room from before. If you go there, you'll run into Chan'er again!"
"I'm just going to get some wood. I'm on my own, it won't be hard for me to get away," Meng Yuxiu patted the back of her hand, comforting her softly.
Chang Lili slowly released her grip, but her eyes still held a lingering worry.
"Wait a minute!" she suddenly exclaimed as if she had remembered something. "Chan'er is different from these mechanical puppets. She can move freely. What if she chases after you if you take the wood? Then we'll be attacked from both sides!"
Meng Yuxiu then stopped and said with shame, "It was my oversight. I will do what you did before and let her sleep for a while."
Chang Lili clung to her like a leech, stubbornly saying, "I'll go with you."
"I'll take you with me..."
As soon as Meng Yuxiu opened his mouth, Chang Lili grabbed his arm and said with an expression that showed she would never admit defeat, "I can't leave you alone. There are even more mechanical people here. How can you trust me? I promise I can help and I won't cause any trouble."
Meng Yuxiu was speechless, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
The two walked back to the door of the secret room. They saw light shining through the crack in the door, and heard melodious music. Through the crack, they saw Chan'er dancing gracefully.
Unlike the dance she performed for Meng Yuxiu and Chang Lili, Chan'er's face was adorned with a shy smile as she rose and fell, as if the dance was for her beloved husband.
Chang Lili swallowed hard: "Are we just going to rush in like this?"
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