Tengyang, Central Region, Yizhou Prefecture.
The Mohist School's dungeon.
This place had originally been used to imprison disciples who had committed monstrous offenses within the Mohist School, or villains who dared commit grave crimes against its disciples.
In recent years, however, the Mohist School had governed its own strictly, and no one so blind as to provoke a Mohist School Disciple had appeared. Very few had ever received the "honor" of being imprisoned here.
Thus, the iron-barred cells all around stood empty.
Deep in the dungeon, in the northernmost cell, a small, thin figure lay curled up.
Light fell sparingly, barely illuminating her outline and appearance.
An oversized black martial robe hung loosely around her.
A battered bamboo hat hung diagonally across her back.
She sat on the ground with her arms around her knees, her face buried deep between her legs, muttering something quietly.
In the dim light, the exposed skin of her slender arms and calves had a peculiar sheen.
It was fine as white mutton-fat jade, hard as cold refined metal, and even possessed the solidity of wood.
Regular lines and fissures marked every joint-her elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles.
She was actually a mechanical person.
Just then, a faint sound seemed to come from the distant entrance to the passage.
It was so soft that ordinary ears would probably have failed to catch it.
But the mechanical person curled up on the ground shuddered violently and immediately raised her head.
The light finally revealed her face, an exquisitely crafted puppet's face, clearly carved with painstaking care by a skilled artisan.
It was smooth and delicate, but sadly lacked blood and warmth.
A character was engraved at the corner of her forehead.
"Zhi."
Her eyes turned toward the sound coming from the passage.
Those footsteps were