Chapter 10: Mechanism Upgrade

Chapter 10: Mechanism Upgrade

"Good!" Panzi nodded. But just as he stepped forward, the fat man had already pulled out a rope. "Master Pan, this little lady is no ordinary person. To avoid getting tricked later, it’s safer this way."

"Heh! Fatty, you’re thinking ahead!" Panzi agreed. After binding Anning, he began administering treatment.

After two injections of adrenaline, Anning quickly opened her eyes.

"What do you want... it’s you!" Anning was momentarily stunned, but when she saw Wu Tianzhen, she seemed to realize something. "So you’re after the secret of King Lushang too?"

"We..."

"Hehe, is this the secret you mean?"

Before Wu Tianzhen could speak, the fat man shook the purple jade box and laughed, "Sorry, little lady, this belongs to us now! Hahaha!"

"You damn fatty!" Anning glared fiercely, wishing she could skin him alive.

"You’d better behave. The fat master holds the power here!" The fat man looked at Anning with a playful yet sharp gaze, a hint of cruelty flashing in his eyes.

Once you’re in this line of work, there’s no room for mercy. Although the fat man seemed carefree, he had to have some tricks up his sleeve to thrive. If it weren’t for seeing that Wu Yu and his group were all experts without any losses—something he alone couldn’t handle—he would have made his move long ago.

Besides, having suffered such a heavy loss at Anning’s hands over the ox-headed matter, nearly losing his life, it was impossible for him not to hold a grudge.

Wu Yu couldn’t help but smile. "See, Miss Anning, it’s smarter to be cautious; otherwise, you’re the one who ends up losing!"

"Who are you?" Anning turned to look at Wu Yu, curiosity piqued.

Everyone present was well-known in their circle, including the mysterious young man. But this young man looked gentle and approachable, though Anning, seasoned by countless battles, sensed a coldness and murderous aura beneath his kind exterior.

"Another expert not weaker than the young man!" Anning thought, intrigued.

Such a master couldn’t be a nobody.

"I’m Wu Yu, just a humble junior. Miss Anning, with your company’s grand standing, why would you pay attention to a small fry like me?" Wu Yu smiled.

Anning frowned, confirming no information about this name in her mind, which surprised her greatly and sparked a desire to recruit him.

Having such a master on their side would certainly make their upcoming task much safer.

As for the relationship between Wu Yu, Wu Sanshu, and Wu Tianzhen—she didn’t think much about it. After all, everyone knew the Wu family of the Nine Gates had only three branches, each with a single heir.

At this moment, Wu Tianzhen was the most envious.

There was no helping it; Anning’s beauty struck a chord in Tianzhen’s heart, which explained his sadness. Since Anning woke up, she hadn’t even glanced his way, which wounded Tianzhen’s pride.

"Young man, let’s open this purple jade box!" Wu Tianzhen said.

Though innocent, he wasn’t foolish. Among everyone present, the only one likely to have the skill to open the box was the young man.

The young man nodded and then looked at Wu Yu. "You or me?"

"Better trouble you, young man," Wu Yu smiled. "I can’t quite accept the technique needed to get it out."

The female corpse hadn’t decayed on the surface. The qilin jelly only worked partially; the other half was because after a woman’s death, someone had to perform preservation work on the corpse, so inside and out it remained intact.

The most common preservation method was to remove all the internal organs, then block the neck and lower parts to create a vacuum inside, thus completing the process.

But how could this be done without damaging the body?

For men, it was easier to approach from behind, but for women, it was more complicated, making the preservation process cruel and bloody.

To retrieve the key, one had to be fast and precise—pulling it from the mouth and piercing the neck’s blockage. But this would let air in, causing rapid decay and triggering the mechanism again.

He wasn’t afraid of the mechanism but felt that after doing this, he’d have to wash his hands for a year to forget the shadow of it.

So, it was better to leave this task to the young man.

He nodded. Only he and Wu Yu had the skill to retrieve the key within such a short time and evade the mechanism.

Since Wu Yu declined, he would do it.

Having experience, but unable to use the wire he’d prepared this time, he extended his slender fingers directly into the corpse’s mouth.

Watching the young man’s expression grow serious, everyone in the tomb held their breath.

Time passed, and suddenly the young man’s face changed sharply. The next moment, he leapt into the air, flipping over the corpse’s head, then with his middle finger hooked onto a small ring, he landed steadily.

Almost simultaneously, several arrows shot out from the corpse’s chest at lightning speed, startling everyone.

"A mechanism left in the tomb for thousands of years, still this fierce?" Tianzhen stepped forward, watching the arrows embed in the rock, gasping.

"Now you know the danger. Don’t touch anything in the tomb lightly," Third Uncle said, rolling his eyes.

"Quick, get out!"

At that moment, Wu Yu suddenly sensed that after the mechanism was disabled, the corpse, which should have rapidly decayed into ashes, instead began to writhe continuously, looking as if it were coming back to life.

The young man instantly pounced, pinning Third Uncle, Panzi, and the fat man to the ground.

Wu Yu waved his hand, knocking the others down with the music box, then hid behind it.

At the same time, the corpse, sitting up like a hedgehog, sprouted hundreds of sharp spines.

Anning rolled away, hiding beneath a boulder, using the shadows to avoid notice—safe for the moment.

"Everyone okay?" Wu Yu peeked out.

"Fine, but damn, Fatty nearly scared me to death. That King Lushang is truly rotten, all tricks and traps!" The fat man patted dust off his face. "But Wu Young Man, your moves were a bit too harsh. My handsome face nearly got flattened."

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