The Sorrow of the Kongming Lock: Brute Force!

(This chapter is free.)

The little girl was meticulous. After thinking it over when she returned, she realized the human had said he could make "one or two" little things, while Huarong Dao was only one kind. So she had sent Jia to the laboratory the day before yesterday and told Chen Rui to make another "interesting" gift.

Chen Rui was under someone else's roof and had no choice but to bow his head. He pulled Aldas in and made another item. Alice had come today specifically to see this gift, and she had brought along her best friend, Athena.

"Wood again. What will it turn into this time?" Alice curiously examined the wooden pieces of various shapes.

"Little Princess, watch me." Chen Rui placed the wooden strips on the table and skillfully began assembling them. Before long, the blocks had formed a beautiful three-dimensional heart. Even more amazingly, its exterior fit together seamlessly, as though it had naturally been one whole piece.

Alice gasped in amazement and carefully accepted it. It was clearly just a pile of wooden strips and blocks, yet once assembled, it became something so compact and sturdy. Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought Chen Rui had glued it together. Athena leaned closer, staring at it in surprise, while Jia's charming eyes were also filled with curiosity.

"This is called a Kongming Lock. It's made from Black Flame Wood, which is as hard as metal and extremely sturdy." A trace of nostalgia flashed through Chen Rui's eyes. This type of Kongming Lock was also called a Love Lock, and its structure was actually quite complicated, yet he knew it inside and out. It was because this had been the first gift he received on Valentine's Day. However, like so many romances in college, despite all the effort he had put in, things with that girl had ultimately come to nothing.

When Aldas first saw the assembled Kongming Lock, he had been utterly amazed. Then he lamented that he was only proficient in potion-making. If it had been a master craftsman instead, this seamless assembly technique would surely have inspired even greater insights.

Alice loved delicate little trinkets like this most of all. She played with it fondly and asked, "Can this Kongming Lock be taken apart again?"

"Of course. The fun of it lies in assembling and disassembling it. With the Little Princess's intelligence, I'm sure it won't be a problem." In truth, Chen Rui had left one thing unsaid: this Kongming Lock was a complex model, and without any hints, it would be difficult.

Let this scheming little girl keep fiddling with it. It'll give me a chance to settle down and focus on grinding that activation progress.

Alice carefully fiddled with it, looking as though she was afraid of breaking it. But the Kongming Lock was assembled extremely tightly, and after a long while, she still could not find the key point for taking it apart. Athena, who had been eager to try, spoke up. "Little Princess, let me have a go."

Alice pretended not to hear and continued trying. After calling out several times without getting a response, Athena changed tactics. "It seems the Green Dragon Fruits by Blue Wave Lake have ripened. I was just thinking of taking you there..."

Before her words had even faded, a small, fair hand holding the Kongming Lock was already extended before her.

Chen Rui's vision blurred. The Kongming Lock had somehow vanished from the pale little hand and appeared in Athena's hand instead. Athena turned it over as she smugly said, "Though I'd really like to take you, Shea found out about the time you followed us to the Rainy Jungle. Shea specifically told me that I can't take you out of the city again. So, hmph..."

That pale little hand suddenly clenched into a fist, then relaxed a moment later. An innocent smile appeared on Alice's face, revealing two adorable dimples. It was exactly the angelic smile Chen Rui had seen when he first met her.

Chen Rui knew someone was about to be unlucky. Fortunately, this time, it was Athena.

"Athena Wells, daughter of George Wells, the First General of the Empire, and New Moon City's strongest Swordswoman—do you have the ability to solve this Kongming Lock?" The little girl's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression that carried a hint of princely authority.

At the mention of her father's name, Athena's blood surged. "Of course!"

"Then, for the honor of the Wells Family, please make sure to solve this Kongming Lock within one hour!" The little girl's next words revealed her true purpose. "If you cannot do so, then you must take your best friend, Alice Lucifer, to Blue Wave Lake. No matter how dangerous the journey may be, you must protect her. Can you do that?"

Athena froze, then immediately shook her head. "That won't do. Shea said—"

"Aren't members of the Wells Family supposed to keep their word?" Alice looked disappointed and shook her head. "Forget it. It's only a tiny Kongming Lock, after all."

With her family's honor at stake, Athena's heroic spirit flared. Recalling how easily the human had assembled it earlier, she figured it could not be that difficult and shouted, "Fine! Athena Wells accepts this challenge! This tiny wooden thing won't even take an hour!"

Alice smiled with pursed lips, her sly gaze making her look exactly like a little fox. Even Jia could not help sighing. Just like the bet involving the Rainy Jungle last time, poor Athena was about to repeat the same mistake.

The sand in the hourglass trickled away minute by minute. Chen Rui sat at the table reading the Fundamentals of Herbalism Aldas had given him. Alice, meanwhile, played with that Demon Realm version of Huarong Dao. The new board Aldas had made still could not escape her clutches, while Jia watched from the side and occasionally offered a little suggestion. Poor Master Aldas could only draw circles in the corner.

The Kongming Lock remained intact. The impatient Athena was already drenched in sweat, as though this "tiny wooden thing" weighed more than the greatsword on her back.

Seeing that she was close to losing control, Alice suddenly called out, "Time is almost up!"

Those words completely ignited the fuse of the Swordswoman's outburst. Athena's eyes instantly became like flames, her skin began to redden, and two curved horns faintly emerged from her head. A powerful aura radiated from her body as she gritted out, "How can the honor of the Wells Family be shamed by a piece of junk like this..."

Crack! Cracks began appearing across the tightly fitted Kongming Lock. Immediately afterward, the Black Flame Wood, as hard as metal, was torn apart and shattered by immense force.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the Kongming Lock, now reduced to a pile of splintered wood. Aldas pointed at Athena with a trembling hand, too furious to speak for a moment. In his heart, he had already placed her on the laboratory blacklist—this was Blasphemy against a Grandmaster's priceless wisdom!

A chill ran up Chen Rui's spine. Mars is way too dangerous. I should get back to Earth as soon as possible.

After Athena brute-forced the Kongming Lock, she came back to her senses and returned to normal, only then realizing what she had done in her impulsiveness. Tears already glimmered in Alice's eyes, and her voice choked up. "Athena, that was my favorite gift..."

"Alice, I'm sorry, I..." Athena began explaining in a fluster, but no amount of explanation could bring the shattered Kongming Lock back to life.

Alice did not cry aloud. She lowered her head in grievance, her slender body trembling slightly as though she were trying her hardest to hold it in. Knowing she had acted rashly, Athena said guiltily, "Don't be sad, Little Princess. Let's go to Blue Wave Lake."

Alice raised her head, her eyes red, and shook her head. "No. You were already scolded by my sister over what happened at the Rainy Jungle last time. I don't want to drag you down too."

She was obviously trying to make someone else take the blame, yet she was playing hard to get! Watching this unfold, Chen Rui gained a new appreciation for just how devious the little girl was.

"Rest assured, Little Princess. You are Athena's best friend. What does a little punishment matter?" Athena thumped her chest, heedless of the magnificent swell and fall, and declared righteously, "Not just Blue Wave Lake—even if we were going to Xilang Mountain Cave, I would protect you!"

"You said it! Besides Blue Wave Lake this time, you have to take me to Xilang Mountain next time too!" Alice finally broke into a smile through her tears. Athena vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but she had not fully figured it out yet. She crouched down and carefully began gathering the shattered pieces of Black Flame Wood.

Eager to go to Blue Wave Lake, Alice urged, "What are you doing, Athena? Let's hurry to Blue Wave Lake now."

"Wait. These fragments... I'll see if I can find someone to restore them."

"That's easy," Alice said unconcernedly. "Chen Rui made the Kongming Lock in the first place. Just have him make a few more."

Athena's fingers suddenly froze in midair, and the fragments scattered all over the floor. Seeing that she had finally caught on, Alice quickly added, "Dear Sister Athena, members of the Wells Family always keep their word."

Athena stood up dejectedly. Chen Rui had just concluded that this Swordswoman was all brawn and no brains when Alice said to him, "Chen Rui, I hereby grant you special permission to come along."

Chen Rui hurriedly shook his head. Going out with beautiful women should have been a delightful and romantic experience, something he would normally have leaped at. But one was a scheming girl, one was an essence-draining girl, and one was a violent girl. It would be a miracle if he came back alive in one piece.

"Are you going to reject your princess's kind offer?" Alice snorted in displeasure.

"Chen Rui, you haven't been outside since arriving in the Demon Realm. Since the Little Princess is offering such kindness, go with them," Aldas suddenly said. "Remember to continue reading Fundamentals of Herbalism when you return. Tomorrow, I'll teach you the most basic methods of identifying herbs."

Aldas's words made Alice and the other two girls reveal surprised expressions. His meaning was perfectly clear: Chen Rui had become his apprentice, rather than merely an experimental subject!

Aldas was one of the foremost potion masters in the entire Demon Realm. Even Shea, the Eldest Princess and ruler of New Moon City, treated him with great courtesy. Yet now he had taken a human captive like Chen Rui as his apprentice—and his only formal apprentice at that!

Though being a potion master's apprentice was nothing much to Alice and Athena, for Chen Rui, it was equivalent to gaining a lifesaving talisman. It would allow him to live in the Demon Realm with a legitimate identity. Otherwise, with his original identity as a human, he would likely be killed the moment he left the laboratory.

All right, this guy's a real friend. I didn't talk him into all this for nothing. Chen Rui gave Aldas a grateful look and agreed despite himself.

This time, Alice did not lead Chen Rui around in circles as she had last time. Instead, she headed straight out.

Only then did Chen Rui learn that this "manor" was actually the outer courtyard of New Moon City's royal palace, while the inner courtyard was where the two princesses lived and was heavily guarded. He had been lucky to run into Alice last time. If the inner courtyard guards had spotted him, he might already have been dead.

Chen Rui was also somewhat curious about the terrifying Demon Realm, which was said to be filled with man-eating demons. What was the real Demon Realm actually like?