Chapter 396: Slow down, even slower

"I am your mother." Jiang Yunchu gave him an annoyed look; not to mention him bringing them, even those two little rascals definitely brought theirs.

No need for her to see; just thinking about their personalities tells you that.

"Oh." Ning Hanmo pulled a black pouch from his bosom, inside lay a compact brush, ink, paper, and inkstone; the brush was tiny, and the characters it wrote were tiny as well.

"Grind." Jiang Yunchu took the items, gave an order, and Ning Hanmo began grinding.

Jiang Yunchu wrote on the white paper characters that nobody could understand, each glyph looking like demonic talismans, yet no one raised a question, and no one spoke.

All around was silent; time passed bit by bit, the stone door and stone ball remained jammed tight, with no movement whatsoever; the two caves on Ning Qiancheng and Jia Chuan's side had been fully explored, and whatever was hidden inside opened everyone's eyes.

The middle cave was filled with food.

Another cave housed artisans forging fine-iron weapons; when they entered, they hardly had time to react before the fiery glow bathed the surroundings in red.

"All right."

After half an hour, Jiang Yunchu rubbed her wrist and finally withdrew her hand.

"Set an obstacle every eight meters."

She lifted her head; although the slope and the stone ball's weight were her estimates, lacking precise numbers, she biased all data toward safety—the ball could move very slowly, even pause midway, but their people had to make it out alive.

"Are you ready?" Jiang Yunchu glanced at everyone.

No one knew what the Princess Consort had written, nor how she arrived at those numbers, but that didn't matter; her every move had already won over the hearts of the Wang Fu army.

Previously resisting the Princess Consort's orders—after all, having them obey a woman's command seemed unreliable in any view, even though deep down they trusted their general.

But now they were completely convinced by the Princess Consort.

"Ready." This time there was no enthusiastic shout.

They feared the ball might be unstable; during setup, a companion could fall.

"Action: split into three units—I'll lead the first unit, Ning Hanmo will lead the second, and you will lead the third."

The designated person was the leader of this Wang Fu army operation; he startled for a moment, then immediately said, "Yes."

After Jiang Yunchu finished selecting the people, she said, "Those I chose will go with me; the others stay put—no one may leave this area, even if the sky falls."

Jiang Yunchu gave Bai Zhi a deep look; Bai Zhi immediately replied, "Yes."

Her fists were clenched tight, yet her voice was firm.

Jiang Yunchu led the group and immediately headed outward; the area of corpses lay within the first stone gate's zone.

"The first one is here."

"The second one is here."

"The third one is here."

……

Jiang Yunchu led the unit; the action proceeded swiftly, with nobody hesitating in the slightest—aside from her commands, there was no other sound, and everything unfolded in orderly fashion.

"Rotate personnel." Jiang Yunchu spoke.

Ning Hanmo led his people and immediately sprang into action.

The stones below were also hauled up, though they were kept at a proper distance apart.

For a while, the three units kept laying the deceleration strips all the way to their hiding spot, then they stopped.

"Now there's a new problem: the stone ball is still jammed tight; I need to go operate the mechanism." Jiang Yunchu smiled, then glanced at Ning Hanmo and said, "If the mechanism breaks, it'll be even more troublesome—we'll have to find a way to smash the stone door so the ball can roll down."

Earlier we halted for this stone ball; now we must get the ball down.

"You figure it out; I'll go activate the mechanism first." Jiang Yunchu looked at Ning Hanmo; at any time she gave him space to think and work out problems.

It might not happen, but we cannot neglect preparation.

Ning Hanmo nodded, without the slightest hesitation, "Yes."

The Wang Fu army leader said, "Princess Consort, let me operate the mechanism."

Jiang Yunchu smiled, "The previous two times were both me; if you don't react promptly, your speed will lag a bit, I'm afraid……"

…there is absolutely no chance of survival……

Human lives are equally precious.

Whoever gets flattened by the stone ball must forfeit their life; nobody can outrun it—so where does her nobility lie?

Having lived in modern times and being a battlefield medic, she cherishes life more than anyone—everyone's life.

She stepped out; everyone watched her retreating figure, their eyes gradually deepening.

Faith is not born of calculation; calculation may yield gains, but only temporarily—there will come a day when it is exposed.

Yet actions taken from one's true heart fear no scheming or conspiracy.

That departing silhouette seemed to shatter everything—an original, genuine force that pierces the heart.

Jiang Yunchu walked over, inspected the installed deceleration strips, confirmed there were no issues, turned to the crowd and said, "Everyone return to the safe zone."

Then she toggled the lights, one by one…… until the last light was flipped, the stone door began to sway slowly.

Jiang Yunchu, heedless of everything, sprinted straight for the safe zone.

The door swayed, swayed, lifting slightly; what Jiang Yunchu had anticipated did not occur—the stone hammer rolled down swiftly, showing its weight: even a slight slope accelerates it.

"Mother, the ball's moving—run!" Ning Hanmo poked his head out and shouted, his face full of anxiety.

Everyone in the safe zone clenched their fists, "Quick, quick……"

The stone hammer passed the first deceleration strip, paused briefly, then needed to regain speed—reaching the second deceleration……

Jiang Yunchu's speed was fast, but the ball's speed was faster.

For a moment, the stone ball's speed matched Jiang Yunchu's.

Yet the stone ball's speed, upon reaching the lower section, gradually increased.

"Quick!"

"Quick!"

In an instant, everyone's hearts leapt; Ning Hanmo didn't dare blink, fearing that in the time it took him to blink, something unexpected would occur.

The stone ball was getting faster and faster; the things below could slow it, but only a little—the lower it went, the steeper the slope, and the less effect they could have.

Jiang Yunchu's face had already turned red; the stone passage was very long, still eighty meters…

Now nobody dared to speak, for fear of disturbing her breathing and affecting her speed; everyone was shouting in their hearts, "Faster, faster, faster!"

Jiang Yunchu could hear the sound of the stone ball behind her; the noise grew louder, meaning the distance to her was shrinking.

Seventy meters…

Bai Zhi's voice was tiny, tiny—even those beside her might not hear it; she was willing to obey any order, please, let the master be safe.

She would no longer be willful; she would no longer oppose the master; whatever the master said, she would obey.

Please, let the ball slow down, just a little slower.