A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 105 Navigating the Mechanisms and Emerging from the Hidden Door

"The road was uneven and the light was dim. I was worried about falling, so I held hands." Song Shuyu had already prepared her explanation and took the initiative to cut off Mu Qingcheng's questioning.

After saying that, he reluctantly let go, wishing the road were never too short.

The man's warmth still lingered on her fingertips and palms. Mu Qingcheng unconsciously pulled her fingers back. She lost her mother at a young age and wandered in Jiangnan with her father for nine years. She then hid alone in the capital for three years. No one had ever taught her how to get along with men, nor had anyone told her how to protect a woman's reputation.

Moreover, she works as a coroner, and regardless of whether it is a male or female corpse, she has to look at, touch, press, and squeeze it from the inside out. Therefore, for her, there is nothing wrong with physical contact between people.

However, there are also differences.

The corpses were cold and stiff, offering no personal emotional response; all their actions were driven by her, without any interaction. But the adult was alive, warm, and would elicit strange physical reactions from her, as well as inexplicably stirring emotions within her.

Is this the difference between the living and the dead? Would it be the same if it were a different man?
Seeing her staring at her fingers, lost in thought and silent, Song Shuyu felt a little flustered and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have acted so rashly..."

"My lord, I am not angry."

Mu Qingcheng is an emotionally stable person and would never get angry over trivial matters, especially since this person is an adult who values, supports, and appreciates her.

"I was just thinking..." She wanted to discuss the things she didn't understand with the lord, but she felt that it would be a waste of time to talk about irrelevant things while investigating the case, so she stopped the topic and only said, "This humble servant's martial arts skills are not bad, I won't fall down, please rest assured, sir."

Song Shuyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then a cunning thought arose in his mind. "I'm worried that I might fall. Although I have practiced martial arts, I am usually taken care of by Song Li and have not had many opportunities to practice, which has caused my martial arts skills to gradually decline. Moreover, I was seriously ill yesterday and my body is still weak. If I fall and get injured, wouldn't that implicate you and delay the progress of the investigation?"

The sight of the master in his illness last night had broken Mu Qingcheng's heart, so when she heard him say this, she immediately felt compassion. "Don't worry, this humble servant will protect you, sir."

The smile on Song Shuyu's lips lingered for a long time.

Mu Qingcheng's martial arts skills were all inherited from her father. Although she was young, her internal strength was amazing. She gently struck the crevice with her palm, and the broken stones flew up. The gap between the two stones widened into a round opening as thick as a bucket!
"My lord, I will go ahead and scout the way first. Once I've confirmed it's safe, I'll bring you back."

Mu Qingcheng looked pleased. After giving her instructions, she quickly bent down and crawled through the hole!

Song Shuyu dared not let her take the risk and go first, so he quickly followed behind. The two landed one after the other. When Mu Qingcheng saw this, she scolded, "My lord is really disobedient."

"You just need to lend me a hand when we're walking, that's all," Song Shuyu said with a smile, while taking out a few pieces of silver from his sleeve pocket to use as hidden weapons in case of emergency.

The passageway was short and still built of mud and stone, with a torch soaked in tung oil stuck in each of the two walls.

Song Shuyu estimated that the passageway was about half a foot wide and six feet high, only wide enough for one person to walk through. He then said, "Wait for me where you are."

"My lord, please don't! Let me go first..."

"obedient!"

Song Shuyu regained his superior's authority and ordered, "Wait until I get through and confirm it's safe before you proceed!"

He threw out a silver ingot, which flew through the passageway with the force of a strong wind!

The mechanism was triggered, and arrows rained down from the top of the passageway!

About ten seconds later, the silver ingot struck the wall at the end of the passage and fell to the ground. The rain of arrows stopped, and it was during this gap that Song Shuyu leaped up and rushed out!

The second mechanism was then activated!
From both sides of the passageway, countless spearheads controlled by iron chains were launched out!
Mu Qingcheng was so nervous that she forgot to breathe, staring intently at Song Shuyu!
Unexpectedly, Song Shuyu was agile and possessed superb lightness skills. His moon-white robes fluttered up and down, as graceful and unrestrained as if he were passing through trees and flowers. His perception of danger and his ability to react were also first-rate. It was as if he had eyes in front and behind him. He avoided all the spearheads and landed steadily on the ground! "Qingcheng, come here!"

"Yes!"

Although the roadblocks had been cleared, there were still hidden weapons. Mu Qingcheng flew across the passage at an extremely fast speed, while Song Shuyu held a silver ingot, fully focused and ready to provide assistance at any time!
Fortunately, Mu Qingcheng arrived without any hindrance.

At the end, another passageway connects.

The two continued onward. Song Shuyu tested the mechanism in the same way and found that it was no longer there. However, the passage seemed to have no end. After many twists and turns, they walked for more than a mile before finally seeing the stairs!

……

Meanwhile, after some research, Bai Zhizhi found the real secret door in the inner room of the study!

Song Shuyu would never have imagined that the wall he had carefully examined, which was adorned with Li Yunyao's paintings, was actually a double-layered wall, with the hidden door concealed in the second layer!
What Song Shuyu and Mu Qingcheng overlooked was that the two hand-carved kittens on the desk were actually the key to the mechanism!
Bai Zhizhi rotated the two kittens counterclockwise at the same time, and the first wall slowly moved forward. Bai Zhizhi then rotated the two kittens clockwise back to their original positions, and a door opened inward in the second wall!

Registrar Zhang exclaimed in amazement, "My goodness, this design is absolutely ingenious!"

"Thank you Miss Bai!"

Jiang Zhan bowed and then hurriedly rushed into the hidden door!
Bai Zhizhi followed closely behind.

Zhang, the registrar, was not skilled in martial arts. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and followed.

Behind the hidden door was a relatively wide secret passage illuminated by several candlesticks. After the three of them passed through, they went down several dozen steps and entered a narrow passage made of mud and stone, which could only be walked in a line.

This path was clearly for Li Mu's daily use. They traveled smoothly without encountering any dangerous hidden weapons.

They walked for a very long time but did not encounter Song Shuyu and Mu Qingcheng.

Bai Zhizhi was extremely anxious, but she couldn't show it, lest the two lose confidence and start crying their eyes out.

There are stairs!

"It's the stairs leading up!"

"Could this be the exit?"

The three of them exchanged a glance, quickened their pace, and rushed up the stairs!

Upon reaching the top floor, Jiang Zhan found himself at a dead end. He pushed the lid above his head, only to discover it was loose!

The three were overjoyed, lifted the lid, and climbed out one after another.

All I could see was pitch black!
Before Jiang Zhan could find a tinderbox, a deep shout rang out: "Who goes there?"

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(End of this chapter)