A Hero's Heart - Chapter 6

After putting out the fire starter, I noticed a faint glimmer of light coming from somewhere else.

I would never have seen it if I had not pressed myself against the wall and looked closely.

There was also a breeze.

This had to be the way out.

The stone door seemed to be controlled by a mechanism on the other side. To open it, I would have to trigger the mechanism from within.

On an ordinary day, I would have simply summoned my inner force and struck it open.

But the poison had drained most of my strength. I had to find another way.

“Hey! Is anyone out there?” I shouted.

“Whoever lets me out will be handsomely rewarded!” I tried bribery.

“If you don’t let me out, just wait until your grandmother gets free. I’ll beat every one of you into a pig-headed mess!” I threatened.

…

Clearly, none of it worked.

I would have to rely on myself.

I searched through everything I was carrying. In the end, my hand closed around an unusually ugly, extremely thin hairpin.

The Carefree Sect was not famous for its study of mechanisms, but it did have a few related books in its collection. I had happened to read through them during idle moments.

Every mechanism of this kind had a weak connecting point.

Once I found that point, I would not need inner force. I only had to apply the right amount of pressure and the lock would yield.

It sounded simple. In practice, it was as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

The gap in the door was narrow. Only the faintest light passed through, and even after I pulled out a strand of hair, I could do nothing with it.

I did not know how long I had been working when I felt the other end of the strand, wound around the hairpin, catch on the slightest resistance.

Success!

But hair was too soft. Even if it caught, it could never bear enough force to pull the mechanism open.

In the end, I could only rely on my hands.

The hairpin was not an ordinary hairpin. It was a gift my brother had given me years ago.

He said it had been forged from black iron.

Who would make a hairpin from black iron?

Still, it could be used as an ornament, and it could protect me in a fight. Two uses in one.

Thinking of that, I smiled.

No wonder all the senior sisters who had tried to flirt with my brother had been ignored. He had probably treated them as if they were blind.

My stomach suddenly growled and dragged me back to reality.

If I did not get out soon, I would starve to death in here.

I began using the hairpin to probe the mechanism I had found in the wall.

It was easy to describe, but far harder to execute. I worked at it again and again.

After I had no idea how long, a rich, savory smell drifted toward me.

It was the aroma of roasted meat.

How tempting was the smell of a roasted rabbit to a girl who had not eaten properly for who knew how many days?

I gritted my teeth and worked the hairpin faster.

At that moment, there was only one thought in my mind.

Get out of this place, eat the roasted rabbit, and steal the rest of the roasted rabbit.

Justice?

Kindness?

To hell with them all!

My convictions were remarkably strong. At last, I felt the hairpin catch on the mechanism.

With a click, the stone door opened.

Blinding light flooded in like a bursting river, and white filled my vision.

I did not even have time to close my eyes. I sniffed the air, desperate to find the roasted rabbit.

When I rushed out, I found myself in a room glittering with jewels.

There stood a well-dressed man.

Beside him was a pile of rabbit bones, picked completely clean.

Damn it!

Not a scrap of meat remained!

I furiously looked up at the ugly, sharp-featured man.

He blinked innocently. “Oh. I thought it was a rat making noise in the pit. I didn’t realize it was a person.”