Yuegong Lake was located at the northernmost tip of Huyin Town. After the three of them had walked for a long time, the barrier enclosing Yuegong Lake finally came into view.
“Did you know? This barrier was also set up by Lilith. It’s very difficult to establish a smaller barrier within a larger one, but Lilith is an extremely sophisticated barrier master and can pull it off.”
Wei Yang reached out and touched the barrier. A soft resistance met her fingertips, feeling exactly like pressing against jelly.
“How are Namei and I supposed to get in? I heard that only you and Lilith can pass through this barrier.”
“It’s simple,” Ah Li reached out her hand, “just hold hands. The barrier treats the authorized person and everything she touches as a single target.”
Namei raised a question.
“When collecting Zhuji normally, does Miss Ah Li also lead the others inside by the hand?”
Hearing this, Ah Li looked at Wei Yang with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“No, Lilith usually handles that. I only want to be touched by Wei Yang~”
Wei Yang rolled her eyes.
“Fine, fine, let’s just get in there.”
She took Namei’s hand in one and Ah Li’s in the other.
This time, they entered the barrier smoothly.
Upon seeing the true face of Yuegong Lake, Wei Yang was struck with awe.
Outside the barrier, it was afternoon and the sunlight was still brilliant, but inside the barrier, it was a frigid, moonlit night.
Stars sparkled on the deep blue canopy of the sky, with a full moon hanging directly in the center. Moonlight stretched for 3,000 feet, and the lake’s surface looked like countless pieces of shattered silver scattered across a bright mirror, save for the autumn frost beneath the lotus leaves.
“Incredible,” Namei murmured softly to herself, “this place is certainly much better than under the bridge…”
“We put a lot of effort into maintaining it like this to provide the best environment for the Zhuji to grow,” Ah Li said with a hint of pride. “Now then, it’s time to change~”
She handed Wei Yang the swimsuit she had personally selected.
“The cabin over there is the changing room. Go on~”
Wei Yang handed Namei her swimsuit and took the one Ah Li had prepared for her, feeling speechless.
‘Is the fabric of this swimsuit a bit too small?’
“Don’t just stare at it, go put it on,” Ah Li urged, pushing her toward the changing room. “I’m looking forward to it~”
Wei Yang was helplessly pushed into a small room, where she could only sigh as she stared at the swimsuit in her hands.
‘Whatever. I’ve already worn her intimate clothing; a swimsuit won’t be any worse than that.’
Wei Yang resigned herself to fate and began to undress.
First, she pressed the top piece against her chest, wrapping the strings around her back to tie them. It was a bit tight, and the lace at the edges left faint marks on her skin. She adjusted it, trying her best to cover what needed to be covered, but she felt as if it would slide off with the slightest movement.
Then came the other piece. First her left leg, then she lifted her right leg. The thin strings on both sides pulled taut against her hip bones. The change was complete.
Wei Yang looked down at herself, her face heating up rapidly. She reached out to tug at the fabric, trying to make it less tight, but it was useless.
‘Forget it, this is it.’
She pushed open the door and walked out. Ah Li and Namei were already waiting.
Wei Yang’s gaze first fell on Ah Li, and she felt something about to surge from her nose.
Ah Li was wearing a black and white striped bikini. Both her figure and the pattern couldn’t help but make Wei Yang think of a cow…
She quickly looked away and turned her gaze to Namei, but that was just as stimulating.
Namei wore a light yellow, ruffled, cutout one-piece swimsuit. Unlike Ah Li’s sexy style, although the ruffles partially covered her, they still highlighted the curves of her chest, which swayed gently with her breath. The cutout design also showcased her slender waist.
Namei’s face was beet red. She didn’t know where to put her hands, covering her chest one moment and letting them hang the next. Sensing Wei Yang’s gaze, she lowered her head and eventually tucked her hands behind her back, trying to act more natural.
Wei Yang desperately suppressed her stray thoughts and quickly changed the subject.
“A-Ah Li, how do we collect the Zhuji!”
“Simply put, we tie a special magic cord around our bodies and clip one end to the anchors on the shore. Then we just dive to the bottom of the lake and look for white clams.”
“White clams? Are there other colors?”
“Yes. Only the white ones can be harvested; those are the mature ones. Picking other colors is useless as the Zhuji hasn’t formed yet.”
She took out goggles and a small oxygen tank from her bag, then picked up a coil of shimmering rope, skillfully wrapping it around her waist to secure it.
‘Ah Li must be very good at bondage play.’
Her preparations complete, Ah Li gave Wei Yang a wink and dove into the lake.
*Splash.*
Water sprayed as Wei Yang and Namei walked to the water’s edge. The ripples on the surface gradually calmed.
About 1 minute later, Ah Li surfaced and returned to the shore, displaying a white clam harboring a Zhuji.
“To get the shell to open, you must inject it with gentle magic. But be careful not to touch the Zhuji at this point. Only creations of the Golden Fleece can touch them; otherwise, the energy inside will dissipate instantly.”
A faint blue light glowed from her hand, and magic flowed slowly into the clam, causing the shell to open a crack. Following the moonlight, Wei Yang finally saw the Zhuji.
It was a transparent bead that glowed with a green light, feeling like amber in texture. Inside it, several tiny bolts of lightning flashed continuously, making a faint crackling sound.
Namei couldn’t help but lean in to admire it.
“Excuse me, but what is its connection to this town?”
“The lightning inside is a threat that actually exists in Huyin Town,” Ah Li explained. “You could say that these beads are bearing the natural disasters of this town. If too many Zhuji are harvested, thunderstorms will truly descend upon this place and destroy everything.”
Wei Yang more or less understood.
“So that’s why Lilith established the barriers for Huyin Town?”
“Exactly. Alchemists from Jiuzhou and Shendu are very desperate for Zhuji because the alchemical products made from them have various uses. It’s practically a universal material. To protect the town and the Zhuji, we had to set up a double-layered barrier.”
Namei remained silent, staring at the Zhuji, but Wei Yang could sense her dejection.
Huyin Town feared natural disasters, while Jiuzhou feared the plague. Both sides were in the same situation.
The princess likely hadn’t realized before that the Zhuji were tied to the survival of the entire town. She probably thought it was just a simple matter of money and resources, assuming Huyin Town was just being difficult to drive up the price.
That “greedy malice” was likely the reason Lulu wanted to seize the Zhuji by force.
But that wasn’t the case; they were wrong. The Zhuji were the lightning rods of Huyin Town, which was why this deal could never have succeeded from the very beginning.
“I want to try diving to the bottom to collect a clam,” Namei finally spoke after a long silence. “Is that okay?”
Ah Li agreed.
“You can.”
“Then I’ll try it too,” Wei Yang said, eager to try. “It seems quite fun.”
The two of them adjusted their equipment, and Ah Li checked them over to ensure there were no issues.
“You can enter the water once you’re ready.”
Two splashes sounded as they both jumped into the lake at the same time.
Wei Yang dove to the bottom. Her vision under the goggles was fairly clear. She looked around, searching for a white clam.
The lake wasn’t very deep. Clam shells of various colors were scattered about like escaped gemstones.
Wei Yang failed to find her target. She had to swim further out before she finally spotted a flash of white in a patch of water weeds in the distance.
‘Found it!’
Wei Yang quickly swam toward it. That flash of white became clearer and clearer—
No.
It wasn’t a clam. It was a pure white cube. Its uneven surface was covered with eyes, all looking at her as she swam closer.