There were several beads that Ye Wuji vaguely recognized as belonging to his old toys. Ye Tiancheng and the others collected them, along with some prop books.
These were clearly prop books, as they contained no content and were as solid as bricks. However, their spines bore strange patterns. These patterns were not random; just as Ye Tiancheng had previously found patterns on the tomb chamber walls that could be pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, the patterns on the spines of these prop books could also be assembled to form a complete picture.
Ye Tiancheng and the others also found the corresponding bookshelf, with Ye Wuji guiding them.
Ye Wuji hadn't expected to find things he could remember. It was possible that these mechanisms had been in his home since he was a child, but due to his young age, he had never been aware of or discovered them.
This made Ye Wuji feel a sense of heaviness.
As Ye Tiancheng and the little fox followed Ye Wuji, they could see the extent of the white feathers on him. In this process, the white area seemed to have shrunk slightly.
Reflecting on what Ye Wuji had experienced in this short period, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox seemed to realize something.
The reason for the transformation of power within Ye Wuji, whether it was positive or negative, appeared to be linked to his experiences and psychological state, rather than changing inexplicably.
Previously, Ye Wuji had finally gained his freedom and met Ye Tiancheng and the others, with a brighter future ahead. His mindset had indeed improved, which was very evident, and then a small portion of his feathers had gradually turned white.
But now, Ye Wuji discovered that his memories of his former home held many unknown secrets, secrets that might even be difficult for him to accept.
This made Ye Wuji's mood exceptionally heavy.
Consequently, the white area on Ye Wuji's feathers had shrunk slightly again.
With a clearer understanding, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox felt somewhat relieved and knew what to do next. If the reason for Ye Wuji's feathers turning black and white was indeed related to this.
Furthermore, based on this, they might even find a way to help Ye Wuji return to normal, or at least not be as inconvenient as he was now.
Even achieving a positive transformation would be good.
Maintaining the previous state was not a long-term solution. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, purely out of concern for Ye Wuji, did not wish for this to continue.
They also found a foul-smelling bucket in Ye Wuji's home.
In fact, Ye Tiancheng and the others initially thought it might be something... well, something difficult to describe.
However, Ye Wuji knew the original uses of most things in the house.
Therefore, Ye Wuji recognized that it wasn't anything strange, just an ordinary bucket. The water inside had not been changed for a long time. Previously, this bucket was frequently replenished with clean water for the family's use.
Then, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox could also sense that although the bucket emitted an unpleasant odor, it wasn't the kind of stench they had anticipated.
So, it should not have been what they had mistakenly assumed at first.
It was simply that the water had been stored for too long without being replaced. When water was taken from it, the remaining water in the bucket would become stagnant, gradually developing a foul smell and a fishy odor, and its clarity would diminish. This was quite normal.
However, when light shone upon it, it was merely the flashlight beam inadvertently sweeping across the water's surface. The water was not so turbid as to obscure the bottom, so Ye Tiancheng and the others saw what appeared to be objects in the water.
Uh... there seemed to be something that could be used as a prop.
The shape was too familiar; they felt they had seen it before, something that could fit with a mechanism.
Thus, Ye Tiancheng and the others had no choice but to pinch their noses and find a way to retrieve the items. No matter how reluctant they were, they had to. At the very least, the current state of the bucket was much better than they had feared.
Still, no one was willing to reach in directly.
Even if they overturned the bucket, no one would willingly touch the water-stained items with their bare hands.
Unless there was no other choice.
The little fox suggested using something to clamp them, like using chopsticks to retrieve food from a hot pot.
Ye Tiancheng strongly objected to this comparison.
In fact, Ye Tiancheng stated that after hearing the little fox's description, he wouldn't want to eat hot pot for at least a month.
However, despite saying this, they still rummaged through their storage space and found those long chopsticks.
They actually had such items in their luggage.
When preparing fried or roasted food, or when eating hot pot, these long chopsticks were indeed very convenient and safe.
However, once these chopsticks were used today, they would definitely be missing a pair, as no one would want to use them for eating again.
The little fox, being considerate of his elder brother, put on a mask, found a container to hold the retrieved prop items, and personally used the long chopsticks to fish around in the foul-smelling water.
After a while, he fished out four parts.
Upon seeing this, Ye Tiancheng and the others confirmed that the effort was not in vain.
These were indeed usable items.
They had previously seen a statue with a mechanism, and the missing parts for that statue were likely these very parts they had retrieved.
The little fox couldn't help but grumble, "These are already growing mold..."
Ye Tiancheng chimed in, "After all, they've been in this water all along, it's hard not to grow mold."
As it turned out, while the little fox was storing these parts, he discovered that one part seemed to be hollow. When shaken, there was a clinking sound inside.
This discovery surprised them all.
The little fox, with a grim expression, picked up that part and shook it for a while. Then, from a gap in the part, a metallic object was shaken out.
When the metallic object fell to the ground with a ding, they all saw it clearly.
It was a key.
Why would a key be placed in such a location...
It was remarkable that this item, placed in such foul water, had not rusted. It was truly disgusting, and none of them were willing to touch it with their hands.
The little fox even looked at Ye Wuji with incomprehension.
Ye Wuji, looking at the key, could only weakly state that this key seemed to be used to open the mechanism of the cabinet in the main hall.
If they wanted to open that mechanism, it would be best for them to do so quickly.
According to Ye Wuji, if they waited any longer, his mother would come out and weave cloth in the main hall.
At that time, even if Ye Wuji's mother couldn't hear, it would be inconvenient for them to be active in the main hall, let alone open a mechanism and make such a commotion.
If she didn't see them, the scene would be even more like a haunting, potentially causing her mother some distress.
They took the key and went directly to open the cabinet's mechanism. It required a key to unlock the cabinet and then to activate the mechanism to open it.
As for the mechanism itself, it didn't require any additional clues, but solving it was somewhat challenging.
However, for the little fox, it was generally not a problem.
They easily opened the cabinet. Through the glass panes of the cabinet, which had two large glass doors, they could see that the prop books they needed were in a certain compartment of the cabinet.
In addition, they found another book inside, which contained some clues.
The little fox examined it carefully and found that it seemed to be a password for another mechanism.
The little fox quickly memorized the contents of the book. Fearing that the glass cabinet door was too conspicuous and that taking the items might be noticed, he took a photo with his phone and then put the book back.
As for the prop books, if they were used sooner, they would still need to be put back.
Regarding the magatamas, they found the second magatama in a crevice under another cabinet elsewhere. They quickly found the prop box related to the magatama, which was a Bagua box still placed on a counter.
Inside, there was a part.
Ye Wuji stated that this part, like the beads they had found earlier, belonged to one of his toys.
This part also needed to be stored carefully.
Ye Tiancheng and the others felt that the toy likely held some significant secrets, at least involving a mechanism.
Afterward, they assembled the parts for the statue. Quite coincidentally, they encountered Ye Wuji's toy, reattached the beads and the subsequently found part, activating the mechanism. A hidden compartment protruded from the toy's belly, allowing Ye Tiancheng and the others to obtain a new key.
Then, they found the location for the prop books on the corresponding bookshelf.
Since there weren't many prop books, they quickly finished assembling them. After arranging them on the bookshelf according to the patterns in the books, a grating sound was heard. The bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing a wall behind it. This wall had a door, and the door also had a mechanism.
Ye Wuji was truly astonished.
Although he was young then, he had lived in his home for several years after he could remember, and he never knew that his home had such a hidden door.
Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox to try and see if the bookshelf would return to its original position if the prop books were removed, as they needed to restore the scene.
The little fox tried it and found that even if the prop books were removed now, the bookshelf would not close.
Perhaps the method to close this mechanism required finding another trigger point.
However, since removing the prop books caused no issues, the little fox quickly took the books down. Ye Tiancheng and Ye Wuji, along with the little fox, divided the tasks. Ye Wuji couldn't carry much, so Ye Tiancheng took the lead, with Ye Wuji following him.
They quickly returned the prop books to their original positions and reset any other mechanisms they had triggered.
Then, they approached the hidden door.
They discovered that the hidden door required a password and a keyhole. The keyhole could be matched with the new key they had obtained after solving the previous mechanism. As for the password, this reminded them of the password clue from the book they had found in the cabinet in the main hall.
That password was likely meant for this hidden door.