Mu Canglan strode out of the shadows, glanced at the token embedded in the central hub, then at the motionless Puppet Armor around him, and exhaled a long breath. "The central hub is destroyed?"
"Temporarily paralyzed." Snow Empress straightened up, wiping the blood from the electric sparks burning the back of her hand. " Liu Yanzhao said that only by combining the three tokens can the Armor Vault be fully activated. We used one token to embed into the central circuit to create Spiritual Power clash, which is equivalent to putting a 'lock' in the central circuit. But this is not permanent. The Spiritual Power clash effect will last for a maximum of seven days. After seven days, the central circuit will automatically recover."
"Seven days is enough." Mu Canglan picked up the unconscious Zhou Jing from the ground and hoisted him onto his shoulder. "Within seven days, we will return to the capital and compile the confessions of Liu Yanzhao, Meng Qi, and Zhou Jing, and submit them to the court. At that time, the Court of Judicial Review will shut down the workshop, and the hundred sets of Puppet Armor will be irrefutable evidence."
Snow Empress nodded, taking one last glance at the desolate armory. The Puppet Armor stood there silently, like a lurking beast with its claws locked. She turned and went up the stone steps, the hem of her white robe torn by the edge of the Xuantie floor, the strip of cloth trailing behind her like a tattered flag.
When the two returned to the middle assembly area, Snow Empress suddenly stopped. Her gaze fell on the row of iron cages, where the miners were still huddled up, but a few of them seemed to have heard the commotion outside and were raising their cloudy eyes to look in this direction.
"Take them with you," Snow Empress said. "The workshop is already paralyzed. If we leave them here, no one will care for them; they'll starve to death."
Mu Canglan didn't say much. He put Zhou Jing down temporarily and went over to use his Spiritual Power to unlock the iron cages. The miners in the cages were still in shock. Some looked around blankly, some huddled in a corner with their heads in their hands, and some shakily stood up, holding onto the iron bars. Snow Empress walked up to them, her voice not loud but clear to everyone.
" Xuan Abyss Workshop has been sealed off. You are free. Now come with us out of the mountains."
Her words were like a stone thrown into stagnant water. After a moment of silence, suppressed cries and shouts of gratitude erupted from the iron cage. Those people, supporting themselves against the walls and helping each other, walked out of the cage. Their emaciated bodies appeared particularly fragile under the light of the spirit stone. Snow Empress did not look back, but walked at the front to lead the way, the tear in her white robe caused by the iron arm fluttering gently as she walked.
When the group crossed the poisonous vine belt, they had run out of Vine-Repelling Powder, so Mu Canglan had to find another way, leading them along a treacherous path halfway up the mountain. There were many crevices in the rock walls along the edge of the poisonous vine belt. Although they were narrow and steep, allowing only one person to pass sideways, they were free from the poisonous vines. Snow Empress divided the more than twenty miners into several groups, with her Mu Canglan taking turns leading each group, and they slowly bypassed the dark green barrier along the crevices in the rock walls.
On the way out of the mountains, Snow Empress led the way at the head of the procession. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to Mu Canglan and asked, "Have you heard of Song Xuanwei's daughter? Ten years ago, she was detained in a secret dungeon in the Southern Frontier by Liu Yanzhao."
Mu Canglan paused slightly, pondered for a moment, and then replied, "I have a vague recollection. When the Seventy-Two Caves were still around, I heard that Liu Yanzhao was holding some kind of hostage, but I don't know exactly who it was or where he was being held."
"The Dark Prison is located thirty miles outside Yuanzhou, beneath a dry well. I gave Song Xuanwei Formation-Breaking Talisman and a map; he should have already gone to rescue people." Snow Empress's tone was calm as usual, but Mu Canglan could sense a hint of concern in her slightly quickened pace.
"You feel sorry for that little girl?" Mu Canglan asked.
Snow Empress was silent for a moment before saying, "She should be seventeen this year. She's been imprisoned for ten years; I wonder if she can still remember what the outside world looks like."
Mu Canglan did not ask any further questions. The two led a group of emaciated miners through the rugged mountain path of the Falling Rosy Clouds Mountain Range in the twilight. The setting sun stretched their shadows long and long, casting them onto the moss-covered rock walls, like a group of silent migrants.
At dawn the next day, they finally emerged from the miasma-filled area of the Falling Rosy Clouds Mountain Range. More than twenty miners washed off the mud and blood from their bodies by the stream at the foot of the mountain. Some knelt on the ground, scooped up handfuls of water and drank it down, then collapsed by the stream and wept uncontrollably. Snow Empress sat on a large rock, closing her eyes to meditate. A thin scab had formed on the wound on her shoulder, and the burn marks on the back of her hand from the electric sparks were still throbbing.
Mu Canglan walked over and sat down beside her, handing her a piece of dry food. Snow Empress took it, took a bite, and ate it slowly, her gaze fixed on the gradually brightening morning light in the distance.
"Are we going back to the capital next?" Mu Canglan asked.
"Hmm." The Snow Empress swallowed her dry rations. "Take Zhou Jing back and interrogate him with Liu Yanzhao. We need to thoroughly investigate the activation mechanisms of the three tokens, the personnel list within the workshop, and the communication methods of the secret agents in the court. Then, compile the information into a dossier and submit it to the Dali Court of Judicial Review. As long as the chain of evidence is complete, even if Meng Qi holds a high position of power in the capital, he won't be able to turn things around."
Mu Canglan nodded, looked up at the faint outline of the capital city, and after a moment of silence, whispered a sentence.
" Snow Empress, you've arrested Liu Yanzhao and Zhou Jing, and destroyed the workshop, but Meng Qi is still in the capital. The token he possesses is one of the keys to activating the armory. As long as he remains at large, the matter is not truly over."
Snow Empress finished the last bite of her dry rations, dusted off the crumbs on her hands, and stood up. Her gaze turned towards the capital, the morning light reflecting in her eyes, turning her clear eyes a pale gold.
"So let's go back now," she said. "First, we'll compare Liu Yanzhao's and Zhou Jing's testimonies, then we'll take the irrefutable evidence to Meng Qi. He can't escape."
Yin Wujou kept watch in the safe house in the east of the city for two whole days and two nights. After the first interrogation, Liu Yanzhao fell into a deep sleep again. Even after the effects of the calming incense wore off, he did not wake up naturally. Yin Wujou checked his pulse and found that the three sealing silver needles had sealed his Spiritual Power too thoroughly, suppressing his essence as well. Since he couldn't wake up, it was impossible to get a confession. Yin Wujou had no choice but to stay by his side, changing the calming incense every two hours to maintain Liu Yanzhao's unconscious state and prevent him from struggling and resisting after waking up.
As night fell the next day, there was a gentle knock on the wooden door of the safe house. Yin Wujou got up alertly and released his Spiritual Power to sense the presence outside the door. The cool yet familiar Spiritual Power fluctuations instantly put his mind at ease. He quickly pulled open the door latch, and Snow Empress's figure flashed in, followed by Mu Canglan Mu Canglan, who was carrying an unconscious man in a gray robe on his shoulder.
" Zhou Jing?" Yin Wujou recognized the person at a glance. The portrait of Zhou Jing drawn by Yun Su in the file was nine-tenths similar to this person.
"Alive."