The four of them poked their heads out from behind the stone wall, one stacked atop another, and saw several mechanical constructs wandering ahead.
"Those are constructs from the Artisanship Commission... This could be tricky. Should we go around?"
"If we go around, we might run into something else... Honey, I'll leave this to you."
Yaoshi, perched at the very top, nodded. Then she rested her body fully against the back of Zhang Xiu's head and extended her little hand.
The next instant, vines sprang from the ground, binding the constructs tightly and interfering with their data-transmission modules.
"Wow~ I never knew you were so strong, sis! One look at that trick, and anyone could tell you're no ordinary person."
Guinaifen marveled again and again, clearly surprised by the petite Yaoshi.
"Of course! My wife's the strongest in the whole world!"
"Hey, keep it down. If we get caught, we're done for."
But as they passed several ornamental archways, Zhang Xiu keenly detected a faint disturbance.
It went without saying that they had probably been discovered.
But he did not alert Guinaifen or Stelle. After all, to get into the plot, they needed to be discovered and arrested by the Netherworld Officers stationed here, which would draw out judges such as Huohuo.
Sure enough, as they followed the path from the mountains into the gardens, a sharp shout stopped Guinaifen in her tracks.
"Halt!"
She shuddered all over. Seeing people emerge around them, she hurriedly said, "Uh... F-folks, let me explain!"
"Who are you, and why have you come here? Arrest them immediately!"
But those people had no intention of hearing Guinaifen out and moved to seize all four of them.
Realizing it was his turn to act, Zhang Xiu naturally refused to stand idly by.
He stepped forward, his