Rong spoke softly, "There are rumors… some say Jing Ke was killed by Gai Nie. But the truth—no one truly knows."
Yue Shen turned to Tianming. "Child, do you really not know your own origin?"
"You know who I am? Then tell me! Who am I?!" Tianming blurted, agitated.
Yue Shen glanced at Goku; seeing he made no move to stop her, she said evenly, "Your family name is Jing. Your given name is Tianming. Now—who do you think you are?"
"My surname is Jing… Jing Tianming…" Tianming stared, dazed, at the carved pillar before him.
"No way!" Shaoyu gaped, stunned. "This kid… could he be… Jing Ke's son?!"
"My father is Jing Ke? Brother Goku, is that true?!" Tianming turned, eyes burning with urgency.
Goku nodded lightly. "Mm. Your father was indeed Jing Ke."
"My father… a great hero… but he's dead. Was it Uncle Nie—did Gai Nie kill him? That can't be true! Brother Goku, tell me it isn't!" Tianming's voice shook as he clutched Goku's sleeve.
Gai Nie was the elder he respected most. If Gai Nie had killed his father, Tianming didn't know how he could bear it.
"Rest easy," Goku said. "Before your father died, he entrusted you to Gai Nie. For your sake, Gai Nie defected from Qin and opposed Ying Zheng. I don't need to say more, do I?"
"So Uncle Nie didn't kill my father? That's… that's wonderful." Tears of relief welled in Tianming's eyes. "I knew it—Uncle Nie is the best man in the world!"
Shaoyu exhaled a long breath. "Your background is something else. To think you're the son of the hero I admire most—Senior Jing Ke."
Tianming lifted his chin proudly. "Of course! Now you see how amazing I am. One day I'll surpass even my father and become an even greater hero!"
Shaoyu rolled his eyes. "Boast a little more, why don't you."
"Let's keep moving. The next trial should be Dragon Throat," Goku said, taking Yue'er's hand and leading the way. The others followed close behind.
They soon entered a narrow, throat-like passage. Coiled along the rock walls were lifelike carvings of a mechanized Azure Dragon.
A deep, bestial bellow—half wind, half roar—echoed from within, raising gooseflesh and pressing on the chest.
As the sound swelled, a violent gale screamed down the corridor, whipping hair and clothes, making it hard to keep their eyes open. Torches guttered wildly, throwing monstrous shadows on stone.
"What is that awful noise?" Tianming squinted into the wind. "Is there some giant monster in there?"
"Come on. No monster—just a mechanical beast," Goku said mildly. He flicked his hand. The howling wind ceased at once; calm returned to the corridor.
Rong studied him, brow faintly knit. "You seem to know our Mohist mechanisms very well."
Yue'er beamed. "There's nothing Brother Goku doesn't know. If he pinches his fingers and calculates, the world hides no secrets from him!"
Yue Shen's eyes narrowed slightly. "You practice astrology as well?"
"Only a little," Goku replied with a small smile—careful not to reveal how he had teased Yue Shen through her own divination.
—Click—ka-cha——
A sudden clatter of gears. The stone slab beneath their feet dropped away, revealing a black shaft below.
"Careful!" Rong cried. She, Tianming, and Shaoyu plunged downward—
Goku flashed forward and caught Rong in his arms. Two thuds sounded below—Tianming and Shaoyu had hit ground.
Yue Shen merely tapped her toe and alighted to one side, unruffled. Yue'er hung suspended in midair, the flying technique carrying her without effort.
"Are you two alright?" Goku called down.
"We're fine!" Shaoyu answered. "Neither of us is hurt."
"There's a big cavern down here… and—huh? That sound from before—it seemed to come from below," Tianming said, peering through a crack in the fallen slab.
He stood, spotting a small chest not far away. "Hey, a box! What is—"
"Don't touch anything!" Shaoyu grabbed his wrist. "This place is packed with traps."
"Behind you!" Yue'er shouted from the lip of the pit.
They spun around. All around them, rows of spinning serrations slid out of the walls—jagged saw-teeth closing in. The sight made the scalp crawl; at that range, they'd be shredded to paste.
Above, the mouth of the shaft began to seal.
"Not good—we're being sealed in!" Tianming cried.
"The opening's too small; we can't jump it… Tianming, I'll throw you up!" Shaoyu said urgently.
"Brother Goku, hurry!" Yue'er flashed to his side, voice tight with worry.
"This array does look dramatic," Goku said, amused. He tapped his foot. Boom! The closing stone hatch shattered into chunks and crashed down.
"Wah—!" Tianming yelped, scrambling with Shaoyu to avoid the rain of stone.
Goku descended slowly with Yue'er and the others, landing in the cavern.
"Brother Goku, could you maybe be a little less violent? Those rocks nearly flattened me and Shaoyu!" Tianming huffed—though relief was plain on both their faces. With Goku here, nothing felt impossible.
Ignoring Tianming's grumbling, Goku walked to a central pillar where a lacquered box sat in a niche. "So this is the Phantom Music Box."
"Phantom Music Box?!" Yue Shen's composure cracked for an instant. The Yin–Yang Clan had searched for it for centuries… and it was hidden here in the Mohist city?
"You haven't even opened it. How do you know what it is?" Tianming asked, curiosity piqued.
Yue'er puffed her cheeks. "If Brother Goku says so, then it is. Why would he need to check?"
"I—I'm just curious," Tianming said quickly, hands raised.
The box clicked open on its own. Tiered pavilions rose from within, spinning as a delicate melody chimed through the cavern—clear and airy, lifting the spirit.
When the tune ended, the miniature pavilions sank. At the same time, the serrated rings around the chamber began to move again, tightening their circle.
"Not good—the mechanism's reactivated. We should move!" Shaoyu warned.
Yue Shen's eyes glimmered, surprise flashing and fading. "It really is the Phantom Music Box. Who would have thought… The Yin–Yang Clan has sought it for hundreds of years, and it was here in the Mohist Mechanical City."
Tianming glanced at Shaoyu. "What is it, exactly?"
Shaoyu shot him a look. "Why are you asking me?"
Yue Shen answered, gaze fixed on the box. "The Phantom Music Box is a supreme treasure of our Yin–Yang Clan. We searched for it for centuries. It can play countless melodies—sounds that hover between illusion and reality, ever-shifting. But it also hides great peril. Those 'fated' to hear it can gain strength; those without fate may become lost… even driven mad."
For just a heartbeat, longing flickered in her eyes. Then her expression was once again calm as ice.
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