Chapter 28: The Copper Door of Mechanisms

Evil fish? When the old fortune-teller shouted, everyone was startled and quickly became alert.

At that moment, the shadows in the water grew in number, one after another bursting from the surface to attack the people.

Chaos swept through the group instantly.

"Run, don't stop!" Gu Mingyu made a quick decision, shouting loudly.

In truth, she didn't need to shout; the party was already fleeing, but not all in the same direction—some rushed into the cave, others outwards.

Zhang Kai paid no heed to anyone else, heading alone into the depths of the cave. He ran fastest, unaffected by the darkness, leaving the others trailing far behind in moments.

Before long, Zhang Kai reached a large door.

It was a massive copper door, dimly yellow, as if cast from brass.

The door was set into stone walls, surrounded by an expanded cave chamber, with no other paths in sight.

Zhang Kai reached out to push, but it wouldn't budge, as if locked from within.

Gathering over a hundred years of internal strength, he struck the copper door with his palm.

Bang!

The door quivered, emitting a muffled thud, but still did not open in the slightest.

Damn, there must be a Dragon Severing Stone behind it.

Now things were troublesome.

He was pondering whether to retrieve some equipment from his phone to break the door when he heard footsteps approaching. Eyes flickering, he moved aside and crouched down, sticking out his tongue and panting heavily.

Soon, several figures appeared: the old fortune-teller, the youth, Master Chongming, and the girl with twin ponytails.

Seeing Zhang Kai, they paused, surprised that he had outrun them all.

"You finally made it. I was scared to death—I swear I've never run so fast in my life," Zhang Kai spoke first, his face showing lingering fear.

"Master Zhang, are you unhurt? Those evil fish are poisonous," Master Chongming asked.

Zhang Kai shook his head, "Lucky for me, I just kept my head down and ran ahead, so I wasn't hurt. But what exactly are those evil fish?"

"Evil fish are the remnants of spiritual fish whose souls, after death, merge with baleful energy to form a kind of wicked creature. It's disgusting—no consciousness, just an instinct to attack living things. And it's poisonous; contact is troublesome," Master Chongming explained. Then, turning to the old fortune-teller, he asked with concern, "Brother Zhou, are you alright? I saw you got attacked by the evil fish?"

The old fortune-teller managed a bitter smile and raised his now blackened right hand, "My right hand was hit, but I sealed the blood vessels. For now, it's not serious, though the poison lingers. I won't be able to do much from here on."

Master Chongming paused, looking at him speechlessly.

What an act.

Evil fish are indeed wicked, but among the lowest kind. Even when spiritual energy is gone, as long as there is baleful, sinister, or filthy energy, these things persist.

Not all wicked creatures are formidable; evil fish are just that—poisonous, but if an ordinary person is prepared, they can handle them easily.

You are a disciple of Wudang's secret arts and possess detailed information about this forbidden place—how could you not be prepared? At the very least, you must have a protective talisman to ward off evil once. Why pretend here?

But since he had said so much, it wouldn't do to contradict him; that would tear the façade.

"Hey, where's Miss Gu? Why isn't she here?" Zhang Kai asked curiously.

"My cousin got separated from us, but she has a protective talisman, so she should be fine. Let's focus on getting inside—how do we open this door?" the girl with twin ponytails replied calmly, still sucking on her lollipop.

Zhang Kai was speechless.

At a time like this, you're eating? Are you practicing your tongue's agility?

"Yes, this must be the tomb gate. Once inside, we're within the forbidden grounds. But something feels odd. Brother Zhou, would you like to take a look?" Master Chongming gazed at the door.

Zhang Kai glanced at him.

Your disciple didn't make it either—aren't you worried at all?

"Brother Chongming, this is likely a mechanism gate. Force won't open it; it might even cause a collapse. Only by activating the mechanism will the copper door open itself," the old fortune-teller replied weakly, as the youth beside him bandaged his hand, looking for all the world like an invalid.

"A mechanism? Let's look around. All mechanisms follow the principle of leaving a thread of hope, never a dead end," Master Chongming said, scanning the surroundings.

Zhang Kai also searched curiously.

Over a hundred years of internal strength couldn't move it—the mechanism must be formidable.

The cave walls were stone, nothing conspicuous, no sign of any switch.

"Wait, this copper door isn't the entrance."

Suddenly, the girl with twin ponytails spoke, her tone certain.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Master Chongming asked, the others also turning their curiosity to her. She stood by the copper door, seemingly studying it.

She continued, "This copper door is too conspicuous, almost as if it's meant to draw attention. Look, the seam isn't obvious or deep. If you look closely, you can see it's actually a single piece, not meant to open. Entering from here would be extremely difficult. But that only makes people more eager to try. I suspect if you force it open, there'll be deadlier traps inside."

Her words stunned Zhang Kai.

He'd just been considering breaking the door by force. Now, hearing this, he was glad they arrived—otherwise, he'd have walked right into a trap.

"If this isn't the real door, isn't this a dead end?" Master Chongming frowned.

"Not necessarily. Though the copper door isn't the true entrance, these cave walls are oddly smooth, as if deliberately shaped. If we search the stone walls, we might find something," she said, moving to the wall and tapping around.

As she tapped, suddenly one spot sounded hollow.

Their eyes lit up.

"The real door is here," she said confidently after a few more taps, having found the general area.

Zhang Kai was dumbfounded.

Damn, I thought I was the most understated expert here.

Turns out she’s no simple character either—quiet all the way, now suddenly a detective, sharp-minded, solving the door with a single observation!

Damn, is this just to broaden your horizons?

Master Chongming hurried over to check, then exclaimed in delight, "It's hollow! This must be a disguised stone wall—the copper door really is just a distraction."

He then pulled a bottle from his pack, opened it, and poured some liquid onto the stone wall.

The liquid hissed as it touched the stone, emitting green smoke and a sizzling sound. Soon, a pit was corroded into the wall, revealing a new copper door inside.

"So it was here," Master Chongming's eyes shone, and he took out a dagger to gouge away the stone covering the copper door, exposing a smaller copper door.

Yet this small door differed from the large one.

The large copper door bore only intricate patterns.

But the smaller door, on its left side, had a small dial with a groove and pointer, surrounded by the eight trigrams.

On the right side, a phrase was engraved:

"Who enters here must kneel three times and bow nine times."