The silence in the hidden sanctuary was brittle, broken only by the rhythmic, heavy rasp of Lu Yan's breathing and the distant, muffled stomping of horses in the stables above. Lin Xiyao stood by the heavy oak table, her "Heavenly Forensic" system flickering at the edge of her vision. In the architecture of a long-form web novel, this is the stage of "Creating a Sense of Crisis". If she failed to secure this room, the "Survival" trope would end before the first volume was complete.
"They are closer," Lu Yan rasped. He tried to sit up, but the violet veins on his neck pulsed with a fresh wave of toxicity, pinning him back to the chair. His transformation had left him powerful but drained—a "weak-to-strong" cycle that would repeat as he struggled for control.
"Don't move," Xiyao commanded, her voice surprisingly firm. "You gave me the samples I needed. Now, let me provide the defense."
She turned her attention to her medical chest and the sparse supplies in the sanctuary. To succeed on a platform like GoodNovel, a protagonist must utilize their "Golden Finger" in innovative ways.
[Heavenly Forensic System: Defensive Analysis] Current Assets: 4 oz. Crushed Cinnabar (Mercury Sulfide), 2 Vials of Concentrated Acetic Acid, 1 Bundle of Dried Aconite. Environmental Advantage: Narrow entryway, low ventilation. Proposed Solution: 'Alchemical Miasma' Trap.
Xiyao's fingers moved with the "immersion-increasing" speed of a professional physician. She mixed the cinnabar with a volatile solution she had extracted earlier from the stables' cleaning supplies. In traditional novels, style is formal and refined, but in web novels, the focus is on the "interactive reading experience"—the reader must feel the weight of the chemicals and the ticking clock.
She placed the mixture in a shallow porcelain bowl near the base of the false wall's door. Then, she rigged a thin silver wire—usually used for acupuncture—to a heavy jar of vinegar perched above the lintel.
"If they force the door," Xiyao explained to the shadows, "the vinegar will drop. The reaction with the treated cinnabar will release a cloud of mercury vapor. To a normal man, it will cause instant lung spasms and blindness. To those with 'Wolf-Spirit' blood, it will be agony."
A sudden, sharp thud vibrated through the ceiling. Dust sifted down from the rafters. Above them, the searchers were no longer just looking; they were dismantling the stalls.
"Lin Xiyao," Lu Yan's voice was a low growl, his amber eyes tracking her every move. "You are more than a physician. Most would be praying to the gods. You are building a tomb."
"In the Forbidden City, the gods are often busy," she replied, her "mental growth" as a character becoming evident. She moved to his side, checking the prototype tonic she was brewing over the tallow candle. It was a dark, bubbling decoction of Lingzhi and the wolf-blood extract.
Suddenly, the muffled voices above became clear.
"The scent stops here," a cold, high-pitched voice drifted through the floorboards—the unmistakable tone of a palace eunuch. "The Commander is wounded. The girl is a nuisance. Burn the stables if you must, but bring me his heart."
Xiyao gripped a scalpel, her knuckles white. This was the "Time-limited Crisis" that builds reader anticipation. She looked at Lu Yan. He was watching her, not with the hunger of the beast, but with a "complex personality" that blurred the lines between protector and predator.
"When the door opens," she whispered, leaning close to him, the scent of cedar and ozone filling her senses, "cover your face with this damp cloth. Don't breathe until I tell you."
The sound of a heavy latch being thrown above echoed like a gunshot. The false wall groaned.
[System Warning: Breach Imminent] Enemy Strength: 3 Jinyiwei Traitors, 1 Eunuch Assassin. Strategic Recommendation: Deploy 'Alchemical Miasma' now.
Xiyao didn't wait. She kicked the support of the wire herself. The jar of vinegar shattered into the bowl of cinnabar just as the stone door began to slide. A thick, white, acrid mist billowed upward, filling the narrow entrance.
The screams that followed were not human.