Zhang Qiling knew there wouldn't be a shortage of bronze bells in this sacred place once he learned that the legendary clan heirloom was a six-holed mother bell.
However, the sheer quantity before him still surprised him slightly.
In the space ahead, countless thin, transparent threads hung silently, forming a dense, interwoven spiderweb. Above these threads, an innumerable number of bronze bells were strung!
These bronze bells resembled exquisite, harmless ornaments, remaining silent in the stillness of the threads. Their patterns reflected a faint, eerie green light when illuminated by the beams.
The bells were placed one after another, and it seemed that even a slight touch to one would trigger a powerful resonance.
"There are so many bronze bells here..." Zhang Haike had already composed himself. He surveyed the formation before him and quickly realized that the narrow gap was insufficient for passage. Even the bone-shrinking technique would be useless here.
Zhang Qiling scanned the area and found no skeletal remains. It seemed that all the Zhang family members who had reached this point had successfully passed through.
The light finally settled on a slightly rough, circular area on the ground. Zhang Qiling glanced at Zhang Haike, who immediately and understandingly took the flashlight, diligently providing illumination for the clan leader to decipher the mechanism.
This mechanism was much more intricate than the previous ones. Zhang Qiling began operating it after observing for a while.
But just as he was halfway through disarming it—
Zhang Haike suddenly heard a rustling sound from above, which was exceptionally jarring in the utterly silent space.
He looked up abruptly and saw a vividly colored snake coiled on the ceiling! The snake flicked its tongue, slowly slithering over the ancient decorative patterns of the ceiling, appearing to pose no threat.
But Zhang Haike's body stiffened, and he instantly hurled his cold saber!
...The snake itself posed no threat, but in its path was a slightly protruding miniature Qilin sculpture!
Zhang Haike immediately recognized the sculpture as a mechanism. Although he didn't know what it controlled, the clan leader was at a critical juncture of deciphering a mechanism, and no unexpected events could occur!
The cold saber, like a silver thread, pierced the snake's seven-inch mark in the blink of an eye, pinning it firmly to the stone wall.
But it was still a moment too late.
With a "click," the Qilin sculpture was touched by the snake's head at the last second and its eyes slowly opened.
And the instant the Qilin's eyes fully opened—
A rumbling sound erupted, the stone blocks above slowly parted, and a yellow substance poured down like seawater!
Quicksand!!!
This was bad. If the quicksand touched the bronze bells!
Before Zhang Haike could fully process his fear, he saw Zhang Qiling suddenly turn and stare at him!
As the bad premonition arose, Zhang Haike felt a sharp pain in both ears, followed by a buzzing tinnitus, cutting off all external sounds.
...Zhang Qiling's extremely swift action had temporarily deafened him.
Zhang Haike didn't know whether to praise the clan leader's thoughtfulness or protest. He only saw Zhang Qiling nod with satisfaction, point to the unfinished mechanism on the ground, and then dart out like a shadow!
The bandages that had just been placed were scattered under the blade of the Black Gold Ancient Sword before they could even warm, turning into a streak of white that fluttered to the ground.
Qilin blood was instantly smeared onto the blade. With a hum, fierce flames erupted, condensing in mid-air to form a massive fire Qilin!
The fire Qilin descended on clouds, its mane adorned with leaping golden sparks that exploded into embers with its movements, illuminating the entire space!
This place, long shrouded in darkness, was visited by light for the first time. It seemed to tremble, as if awed by this power.
The Black Gold Ancient Sword surged forward in Zhang Qiling's hand, and the fire Qilin, summoned, swooped down. Bright fire and burning light intertwined, breaking through the bronze spiderweb in an instant!
The snapping of threads and the shattering of bronze bells were incessant. Just as all the bells were about to be swept away and destroyed—
A grain of quicksand fell, landing precisely on a bell at the edge.
"Ding—"
Zhang Haike, deafened, was unaffected.
But Zhang Qiling paused slightly, falling into an illusion.
At this moment, the fire Qilin had devoured all the bells. The space was left with only scattered debris dotted with embers and a stunned Zhang Qiling standing there.
...Zhang Qiling knew it was an illusion.
The bell had only rung once, and the illusion was not finely crafted. Moreover, Zhang Qiling had prepared himself. He paused for a moment and intended to break the illusion and escape.
He gripped the Black Gold Ancient Sword tightly.
"Xiao Ge, time to eat!"
"Good heavens, why are you holding your sword?" There were two people, their voices carrying laughter and ease.
Zhang Qiling slowly turned his head. The world, which had appeared pale under the excessively bright sunlight, gradually revealed its colors.
And within these colors, two figures were clustered.
A young man and a胖子 (pangzi - fatty) wearing ordinary white tank tops and black shorts stood before him. The young man carried a bucket, and the胖子 held a hen. Both looked at him with puzzled expressions.
Behind them was a small, unremarkable village, with water flowing along its edge.
"Alright, Xiao Ge," the young man came closer to pull him, "What's wrong? Still arguing with that stray cat that stole the chicks a few days ago?"
"You've even brought out the Black Gold Ancient Sword. Look how angry our Xiao Ge is, hahahaha," the胖子 said, carrying the hen. The hen let out a resigned cluck. "Don't worry, we'll help you catch the cat later!"
"Once we catch that little thing, we'll eat right in front of it, and won't feed it. That'll really tick it off, hahahaha!"
Zhang Qiling silently watched the two men, unsure how to react. After a long while, he slightly relaxed his tense posture and said softly:
"Not raising it."
"Hahahaha, of course not raising it, hahahaha!" This sentence seemed to strike a funny bone in the young man, who almost doubled over with laughter. "This is what they call, 'one courtyard cannot hold two cats,' hahahaha!"
This illusion was not finely crafted.
Villagers walked by on the roads on both sides. Zhang Qiling watched them, watching the blurred faces of the villagers, as if covered by a layer of gauze.
But the two people before him greeted those indistinct human figures familiarly, as happy as if they belonged to the same world.
"Let's go, Xiao Ge, we're going home!"
They carried their buckets and hen and walked away. As they moved further away, their receding figures blurred.
Zhang Qiling did not follow.
He stood in place, watching the white boundary swallow the two figures, and finally swung down the Black Gold Ancient Sword in his hand!
The illusion melted away like ice and snow, and the memories from the illusion also dissipated like snow.
Zhang Haike had deciphered the mechanism. He hurried over the thin layer of quicksand to catch up with Zhang Qiling.
"Clan leader, are you alright—"
"Clan leader?"
A soft smile was playing on Zhang Qiling's lips.
Zhang Haike froze for a moment, countless thoughts flashing through his mind: "Clan leader, did you see something good in the illusion just now?"
The smile vanished.
Zhang Qiling returned to his familiar state of blankness and confusion. He remained silent for a few seconds.
"I forgot."