Yuan Gang emerged from the rear hall into the back courtyard, warily scanning his surroundings. As he neared the well, he suddenly sprang up and plunged straight into it, swift as lightning, vanishing abruptly.
The moment he entered the well, Yuan Gang spread his legs and braced them against the walls on either side. Controlling his pressure, he slid downward at an unhurried pace, arms spread for balance as he watched the bricks lining the well shaft. After descending to a depth of three zhang, he pushed off the walls with both legs and held himself in place, his gaze settling on a brick ahead whose corner was slightly chipped.
Many of the bricks had chipped corners, and this one was nothing unusual. But having been tipped off, Yuan Gang could spot what was strange about it: the damage above and below the brick was symmetrical.
Yuan Gang leaned forward and lunged at it, pressing a hand against the brick and exerting force. It was solid enough that, without the hint, one would never suspect a mechanism even when pushing it. Only after using considerable strength did he shove the brick inward with a dull sound. Once it had gone in, Yuan Gang pushed hard against the entire curved wall. A large section of the wall turned like a pivoting door, opening a gap—though it could only open halfway.
Grabbing the slanted wall, Yuan Gang slipped inside. He struck a firestarter and, by its light, found torches placed nearby. He lit one and looked around, discovering why the door could only open halfway. A stone trough stood behind it, holding a massive long stone bar. That was evidently what he had just pushed. No wonder it had been so heavy.
With a brief inspection, he understood how the mechanism worked.