Chapter 474 - 268: Success (Part 2)
Chapter 474: Chapter 268: Success (Part 2)
Wait! A flying dagger!?
Hangzhi paused, a vague sense of familiarity washing over him.
A black robe, a white mask, a flying dagger... The voice undoubtedly belonged to the Third Young Master, but this appearance — isn’t it precisely the legendary Night Emperor!?
Could the Third Young Master and the Night Emperor be the same person!?
The thought terrified him even more.
But before these thoughts could even fully form, they flashed across his mind as Chu Qing flicked his wrist.
Hangzhi felt that what Chu Qing threw wasn’t a flying dagger, but a long rainbow.
Inside the cave, a dazzling light suddenly appeared.
Hangzhi stared intently at the light, speculating on its trajectory and potential power, wondering how to evade it, how to continue fleeing, what to say upon reaching Cyan Simurgh Villa, and how to face the Master of Asura Sea — all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind like a storm.
However, before he could make a single move, that long rainbow suddenly disappeared.
All his thoughts seemed like a joke at that moment.
A slight chill spread across his neck. When he reached up to touch it, he realized the flying dagger that had been in Chu Qing’s hand was now embedded in his throat.
His retreating motion abruptly stopped, and Hangzhi staggered back two steps, looked up at Chu Qing, seemingly wanting to say something more, but his body had already collapsed on the ground.
Died with eyes open in disbelief!
[Mission completed!]
[Successfully assassinated Hangzhi from the Vajra Sect, obtained one Random Martial Arts Treasure Chest.]
Seeing the system prompt float before him, Chu Qing extended his hand and heard a buzzing sound. The flying dagger flew out from Hangzhi’s throat and landed back in his palm.
He flicked off the blood, took out a cloth to wipe it clean, and then tucked it back into the sword pouch.
He glanced at the hidden desk and smacked his lips:
"Now it’s your turn."
He had already read through the initial sections on how to solve it.
Transmigrators usually have photographic memory. Although Chu Qing hadn’t reached the standard of a traditional transmigrator, he remembered most of it.
Immediately, he followed the instructions to start solving the mechanisms of the hidden desk.
This object was truly extraordinary, containing many intriguing secrets.
For instance, when one drawer was opened, it appeared empty.
But after closing it and turning the handle slightly and then pulling again, an item had mysteriously appeared inside.
In fact, it was just a small trick.
A wooden board inside the drawer remained stationary until the mechanism was triggered, after which it would be pulled out with the drawer, revealing the item hidden behind it.
And this item was the key to solving the next mechanism.
It could be said there wasn’t a single useless part on the whole desk. Any table leg, detachable surface, or even the intricate carvings around the desk might be used as a necessary tool.
Chu Qing solved the initial mechanisms quickly, but when he reached the dog-eared page in the book, his actions slowed down.
Comparing with the book, he fiddled for quite a while until all the mechanisms were completely disengaged.
By then, the desk had already been transformed beyond recognition.
Every location on the desk contained a hidden mechanism; with each new breakthrough, the desk’s structure changed.
Now, the entire desk resembled a flower bud, and the last item Chu Qing obtained from it was a piece resembling a water droplet, with several inconspicuous cutting lines.
He placed this item at the top of the bud and pressed down hard, hearing a cracking sound.
Another unknown mechanism was activated, and the bud started to open.
The cutting lines of the last item perfectly matched the base below.
As the cracks widened, the outermost ’petals’ bloomed sequentially, forming a lotus made of profound iron and wood.
It looked bizarre yet splendidly artistic.
As the object bloomed, Chu Qing stepped back.
Victory was in sight, and many might choose to relax and await the result.
But Chu Qing reasoned that if poison was hidden within, those solving the mechanism might not anticipate it.
He thought of it, so he retreated.
Even if the poison was long expired, Chu Qing wasn’t willing to take the risk.
The petals finally finished blooming before him, but the mechanical sounds didn’t stop.
The spinning base began to rise. Upon reaching the height of a normal lotus platform, there was another clicking sound, and the center suddenly contracted, presenting a square cavity.
In this cavity fit perfectly a square box.
Ensuring it was safe from poison, Chu Qing approached, lifted the raised top of the box, and removed it.
The small box wasn’t booby-trapped. After retrieving it, he looked at the hidden desk and thought... anyone who could piece it back together surely deserved to be called a true master!
The once-complete desk had been effectively reshaped into a lotus platform.
No one would believe it, not even after hearing so many mechanical sounds, if they hadn’t seen the exposed gears.
"Truly worthy of being the finest work of Secret Mechanism Art!"
Chu Qing murmured, placing the small box on the chair he had been sitting on earlier, then flicked his finger from a distance, gracefully opening the box lid with a gust of wind.
There were no traps or poison darts inside, so Chu Qing stepped closer.
Peering inside, Chu Qing was perplexed by its contents:
"Gold?"
He took out a piece for inspection — a gold sheet, thicker than regular paper, about the thickness of gold leaf.
There wasn’t just one piece; the entire box was filled.
Examining it by firelight, he noticed one side of the gold was smooth and blank, while the other was embossed, with each sheet having unique contours.
Spreading them out, he instantly understood:
"A map... Imprinted on gold, cut and hidden.
The ultimate direction likely leads to one of the Nine Treasures."
He placed the gold pieces back into the box for safekeeping, not attempting to assemble them there.
Even if he did, it wasn’t likely complete.
The leads pointed to two locations... One on Cyan Simurgh Mountain and another, Divine Sound Shadow Moon.
Should he secure clues from both, what he held was presumably half a map.
But whether that was true or not, he’d figure out once he returned to the inn and tried assembling them.
This time, the location concealing the Nine Treasures seemed overly intricate.
On reflection, it seemed perfectly logical.
After all, each of the Nine Treasures was extraordinary, often defying reason.
Such precious artifacts deserved this level of caution.
In contrast, the previous two Treasures had surfaced rather casually.
Although the Celestial Demon Robe was stored by the resident of Celestial Secret Valley,
the Chaotic God Saber had appeared directly in front of Chu Qing without the expected fanfare of a Nine Treasure item.
With two criticisms in mind, he approached Hangzhi’s corpse, delivering a slash that severed the head.
The traces of the flying dagger vanished beneath the blade.
Using Hangzhi’s clothing, he wrapped the head.
As for the body... Chu Qing then produced a small bottle, containing a poison he obtained from a disciple of the Hundred Corpses Demon Monarch.
Chu Qing wasn’t entirely sure of its effects and had no antidote.
He sprinkled the poison over Hangzhi’s corpse, just in case Prince Xue was impatient enough to check, perhaps he’d end up poisoned.
With this finished, he took the head and left the cave.
However, instead of climbing the mountain, he seemed to be propelled by lightning underfoot, dashing up the cliff towards the summit!