As Lin Qingge was about to speak, Leng Ningyue suddenly opened her eyes.
The killing intent that burst from her eyes forced Lin Qingge back a step.
"Madam, you've been poisoned by the Illusory Flower, did you see anything?"
"Nothing."
Leng Ningyue was unwilling to say more, and Lin Qingge did not press further. Instead, she asked Lu Mingxuan, who appeared the most innocent and harmless, to go out and invite Lin Yan's group in.
It was unclear what Lu Mingxuan told Lin Yan, but this group stepped into the cave completely unprepared.
Except for Lin Yan and a few of his more resilient subordinates who quickly regained consciousness, the rest of them had their pupils dilated and their minds were in a daze.
"Qingge, you did that on purpose?"
Before Lin Qingge could answer, Hua Jinrong interjected with schadenfreude:
"Clerk Lin, your words are unfair~
We all walked in on two legs, no one has an extra one, so how could it be on purpose~
If Clerk Lin insists on blaming someone, then blame your subordinates for their poor skills and greed~"
Fearing that the two sides would clash on the spot, Liu Chenfei stepped forward:
"Master, our people are still guarding outside.
Why don't I send a brother back to call for reinforcements, and we can continue our journey?"
Lin Yan nodded in agreement.
Seeing Leng Ningyue slightly narrow her eyes, and based on their tacit understanding during this period, Lin Qingge felt that the latter intended to use this opportunity to eliminate Lin Yan directly.
However, the signal for the success of Lin Moyuan's plan had not yet arrived, so it was not advisable to alert them now.
With this in mind, Lin Qingge hooked her arm through Leng Ningyue's, and affectionately nuzzled her head against her:
"Madam, it's pitch black in here, be careful of your footing."
Yan Tinghao, who felt inexplicably stifled, looked around and asked:
"Sir, how were these walls carved? They are so exquisitely crafted!"
"Constable Yan, I suggest you refrain from touching things here, as it's easy to get into trouble."
After Lu Mingxuan's timid suggestion, he pointed to a spot not far away.
Yan Tinghao followed his gaze under the torchlight and saw a skeleton!
Thus, he quickly retracted his hand from touching the wall.
The entire treasure hunting team was led by Lin Qingge and Leng Ningyue at the front, with Hua Jinrong, Yan Tinghao, and others in the middle, and Lin Yan and his subordinates at the very back.
Perhaps it was due to Lin Yan's presence as an outsider, or perhaps treasure hunting was more suited to a tense and solemn atmosphere.
In any case, Lin Qingge's team was unusually quiet.
After walking for a long time along the not-so-narrow passage, just as Yan Tinghao felt he would suffocate if he didn't speak again, Lin Qingge suddenly stopped.
The path ahead was still a narrow passage, but it differed slightly from the previous ones.
Besides the abnormal dark red color on the walls, the air was filled with a pungent smell of decay.
"Stay put, there might be danger nearby."
Lin Qingge said, and then carefully inspected the area.
As expected, as she leaned forward, she discovered many dense small holes on the wall ahead.
Due to the passage of time, the arrows in the small holes had oxidized to a dark color, mingling with the blood-stained walls, making them difficult to detect.
"It seems the road ahead will be quite difficult."
Lin Qingge was skilled at breaking mechanisms, but this one was embedded entirely within the wall, leaving her with no way to start.
"By the way, sir, I heard my master say.
Under normal circumstances, the creators of such mechanisms, to avoid accidentally harming the owner, would leave a switch to temporarily disable the mechanism beforehand."
"Yes, yes, I heard my father say the same thing!"
After Lu Mingxuan and Wu Suowei spoke, they began searching the vicinity in unison.
But Lin Qingge waved her hands at the two of them.
"Don't waste your energy.
You both said 'under normal circumstances,' so it doesn't apply to our current, clearly abnormal situation."
With that, Lin Qingge pointed into the distance, where a lever-like object could be faintly seen on the wall.
"Sir, what is abnormal?"
Due to the limited illumination of the torches, Yan Tinghao had to squint.
Even so, he couldn't see very clearly, so he instinctively took a large step forward.
But before his foot could be lifted from the ground, four arrows shot out from the walls on both sides.
Due to an instinctual reaction to danger, Yan Tinghao suddenly squatted down and rolled, only then returning to the safe area.
"Oh my heavens!
You scared me to death!"
Yan Tinghao let out a cry of survival while hugging his master's leg for comfort.
However, when Lin Qingge saw this simpleton, she was reminded of the sleep-talking he had done earlier, and out of sheer annoyance, she kicked him away.
"Through Constable Yan's live demonstration, I believe everyone has seen it clearly.
As long as you step onto the path ahead, you will be shot like a honeycomb.
But if you don't advance, you won't find the treasure."
"Sir, by saying that, you've already found a way to break it, haven't you?"
"It's not a method I've broken, but a method the creator of this mechanism has prepared for us."
Seeing everyone looking at her in confusion, Lin Qingge pointed again:
"If I'm not mistaken, pulling that lever down should stop the mechanism here.
Of course, it's also possible that it's another trap.
But for now, we can only try our best and give it a shot.
As for who will do it—"
Lin Qingge paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping over Lin Yan. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, her eyes grew colder.
At this moment, Wu Suowei stepped forward and volunteered:
"Sir, my Qinggong is decent, let me go!"
Lu Mingxuan, unwilling to be outdone, said:
"Sir, my Qinggong isn't good, but my cousin's Qinggong is exceptionally powerful, please let my cousin go!"
Lu Huaiying, who was serving as a background prop: ...
"I'll go."
Dropping these two words, Leng Ningyue darted towards the distance like a swallow.
During her movement, her toes lightly tapped the ground.
The next moment, dense arrows shot out from the stone walls on both sides.
But Leng Ningyue advanced instead of retreating, relying on her lightning-fast speed to rush past before the arrows could hit her.
"Swish~"
Hearing Hua Jinrong's whistle in her ear, Lin Qingge, who had snapped back to reality, realized her back was already drenched in sweat.
On the other side, Leng Ningyue pulled the lever, and two heavy 'clack' sounds echoed from the walls on either side.
When Yan Tinghao cautiously stepped forward to test it again, he was pleasantly surprised to find that no more arrows were shot from the walls.
Subsequently, thanks to Lin Qingge's sharp mind and Leng Ningyue's heaven-defying combat power that could disregard any trap, the group finally reached the final treasure chamber without any major mishaps.
However, when Lin Qingge deciphered the Nine Palaces formation on the stone door and opened it, she was met with a different scene...