"Mm. We'll handle it once we're out," Goku said with a light nod.
"Great! I can finally be rid of this cursed seal!" Tianming leapt up, grinning—then paused, eyeing the woman behind Goku. "Who is she? She looks… familiar." He scratched his head, chasing a feeling he couldn't place.
"Yin–Yang Clan's Yue Shen," Goku replied evenly. "Don't worry—she's one of us now."
"Yue… Yue Shen? No way!" Shaoyu's jaw dropped. "You mean the Yin–Yang Clan's Right Protector, the most trusted national preceptor at Ying Zheng's side? You… even subdued her?"
Tianming snorted at Shaoyu's shock. "What's the big deal? Is she really that strong?"
"You know nothing," Shaoyu snapped. "She's in the same league as your grand-uncle's level of masters. You tell me—strong or not?"
"Seriously? That strong?" Now even Tianming was stunned.
"Yue Shen, Da Siming, and Shao Siming… that's three top experts gone from the Yin–Yang Clan in one stroke," Shaoyu muttered, still reeling.
"Let's move. We're going in," Goku said calmly. He stepped to the edge of the Tiger Leap and looked ahead.
They followed, staring at the miasma-filled chasm bristling with spear-like stakes. The sight alone made one's scalp prickle—falling meant being skewered a dozen times over.
"What kind of mechanism is this? Looks terrifying," Tianming whispered, a chill running down his back.
"This mechanism is called Tiger Leap," Rong explained quietly. "They say only a born, heaven-strength hero can pass."
"Heaven-strength? That must be Shaoyu, right? He lifted that giant… pot earlier," Tianming said, glancing at him.
"That wasn't a 'pot.' It was a bronze cauldron," Shaoyu sighed. Tianming rubbed the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly. Then he jabbed a thumb at himself. "Anyway, that 'heaven-strength hero' is obviously me, yeah?"
"You sure can boast," Shaoyu said dryly.
Yue'er giggled. "With a mechanism like this, I can just fly over." She rose gracefully, gliding across the forest of spears as if it were nothing.
"For Yue'er, this trap may as well not exist," Shaoyu admitted.
"I doubt our Mohist ancestor ever imagined someone in this world would one day fly freely through the sky," Rong murmured, equal parts calm and awed.
"So Yue'er can fly over… how do we cross?" Shaoyu looked to Goku. (Since Yue'er learned the art from him, Goku clearly could fly as well.)
Goku pointed to a bronze pull-ring set into a nearby wall plate. "See that? The Thousand-kilograms Bronze Tiger. If someone can pull it, stone planks will extend from the cliff walls. Follow the planks, and you can pass."
"I'll try!" Tianming grabbed the ring with both hands and hauled with all his might. Nothing budged—he ended up sprawled on the ground, panting.
"Sigh." Shaoyu stepped up. "Move aside, kid. Let big bro handle it." Pinching the ring with one hand, he tested it—then with a soft grunt, drew it open.
Mechanisms rumbled. A stone plank slid out from the distant wall. Above it, another bronze pull-ring appeared.
"So that's what 'heaven-strength hero' meant," Shaoyu said, understanding at last.
"Tch, I knew it from the start. But those planks are several meters apart—how do we jump that?" Tianming wilted.
"With Shaoyu, you could manage. But since I'm here, no need to make it hard," Goku said, smiling. He raised a single finger—an invisible force lifted Tianming and the others smoothly into the air.
"Wah—! What's happening?!" Tianming flailed, startled.
"Can you be quiet for once? brother Goku is taking us across," Shaoyu said, arms folded, doing his best to look composed.
"Off we go." Goku stepped forward—and simply walked on air, one calm stride at a time.
Watching the spear forest below, Tianming felt a cold shiver race down his spine. If we fall… we're done.
'Walking on air… This is already beyond human,' Shaoyu thought, heart pounding. He remembered the secret manual Goku had given him and silently vowed to train twice as hard once they were out.
"Hurry, Big brother Goku! You're so slow!" Yue'er waved at the far end of the Tiger Leap, already darting toward the next trial,
"Being able to fly freely… that's amazing," Tianming sighed, eyes full of envy.
"To soar the skies has always been humanity's dream," Rong said softly. "Yet for thousands of years—who could truly do it?"
"Brother Goku can," Tianming said hopefully. "Brother Goku, could you teach me how to fly? Even if I take you as master?"
"It's not that I refuse. Even if I teach you, you won't be able to cultivate it," Goku answered.
"Why?" Tianming blinked.
"Why so many questions?" Shaoyu chided. "If Brother Goku says you can't learn it, then you can't. He already gave you a sword manual. You want to be a great hero? Train hard. You'll get there."
"I… looked at that manual," Tianming mumbled. "I can't read a single character…"
"That's because you're hopeless," Shaoyu said, utterly done.
They reached Ape Flight, a chasm like a bottomless abyss. Shaoyu swallowed hard, falling silent—he had a fear of heights. Still, carried by Goku's power, they crossed with ease.
With Goku around, every trap inside the forbidden ground might as well have been disabled.
They landed before two branching corridors. Tianming peered at the carved characters on a stone pillar. "Huh? There's writing. What does it say?"
Shaoyu read aloud: "'The wind is bleak by the Yi River's bend; the hero who departs will not return.'"
Noticing the figure carved there—and the sword at his waist—Shaoyu's eyes widened. "Is that… Yuanhong?"
"Who's this guy?" Tianming asked. "And why does he have Uncle's sword?"
"'The wind is bleak by the Yi River…'" Shaoyu's eyes flashed with realization. "He's Jing Ke!"
"Jing Ke?" Tianming echoed.
"Jing Ke is the legendary greatest assassin—my most admired hero," Shaoyu said earnestly. "Back then, Ying Zheng waged war ceaselessly, plunging the Six States into misery. Prince Dan of Yan sought to end the tyrant by assassination. But Xianyang Palace was an iron fortress. Only one man could get close."
"This Jing Ke?" Tianming asked.
"Within five steps, Jing Ke's killing sword spared no one," Shaoyu said. "So Prince Dan and Jing Ke devised a plan: use the head of Fan Yuqi—the Qin general Ying Zheng most desired—and the Dukang Map as bait. Jing Ke would pose as Yan's envoy to enter Xianyang. Only then could he pass layer upon layer of guards and approach the tyrant."
Tianming looked up at the carving, an inexplicable sorrow welling in his chest.
Shaoyu patted his shoulder. "Hey—you alright?"
Tianming lowered his head. "But… Ying Zheng is still alive."
"They say Jing Ke did unleash his deathblow in the throne hall," Shaoyu replied. "Why Ying Zheng didn't die—no one knows."
"That's because Gai Nie was there," Yue Shen said at last, voice cool and even. "If anyone in this world could block Jing Ke's death strike, it would only be Gai Nie."
"Uncle Nie? How could that be!" Tianming cried.
___
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