"Strange..."
As they walked, Qin Xuanji asked in puzzlement, "Mohist mechanisms make wood and stone walk; to make bronze speak, you must ask the Gongshu... Why would the Mohist School encase its treasures and books in bronze blocks? And make them into a Mo Cube? It just feels like such a mishmash..."
"That bronze isn't ordinary. The weight is wrong."
Cao Jinxing said, "The blocks show signs of casting, and they're hollow inside. If I'm right, they should contain a corrosive poison. Any attempt to force it open would destroy the Intricately Carved Ball. This Mo Cube was probably made by the Mohist School too. Perhaps they lost to the Gongshu Family and, facing extinction, devised this trick to spite them, so even if they got the treasure, they couldn't see what was inside. A ninth-order puzzle is exponentially harder than a third- or fourth-order one... Or perhaps they used the bronze layer to make the Gongshu Family let down their guard, preserving their legacy for later generations. In any case, that thing probably has quite a history..."
"Oh..."
Qin Xuanji had not understood a few of his terms, but she did not dwell on them. She asked softly, "Do you need another look?"
"No."
Cao Jinxing smiled. "The moves are all in my head. If I can't master them right away, I can take my time thinking them over."
"Good!"
Reassured, Qin Xuanji hugged Cao Jinxing's arm and walked openly toward the Cloud-Swallowing Mist-Spitting Tower.
Even helping someone walk did not require this much contact. Her whole body was practically pressed against him!
The servants following them hastily lowered their heads, pretending not to see.
The islanders of other surnames and the Qin Family servants they passed stared in astonishment. First, the mountain-sized Gyuki stunned them, then Qin Xuanji's