Xiao Hua remembered that, in reality, snakes do not rely on their eyes but rather on heat and scent to detect targets. So it was no wonder that the bicephalic snake could discover the illusion's trail!
The bicephalic snake obviously detected the illusion. Its body contracted and then stretched, transforming into a black shadow, and it leaped towards the illusion with lightning speed!
The illusion was also in a weakened state, so it was impossible to completely avoid the sudden attack of the bicephalic snake.
-1200!
In a weakened state, all attributes halved, the illusion was undoubtedly instantly killed by the bicephalic snake!
"The attributes are manageable, but my current state…" Xiao Hua looked helplessly at the three-hour weakened status.
The bicephalic snake did not seem overly monstrous. If he weren't in a weakened state, Xiao Hua might have had some confidence to gradually wear it down. But now, he was very vulnerable, and if the bicephalic snake found him, it could send him back to the city at any time.
Naturally, Xiao Hua wouldn’t just sit and wait for death. If he were to die, he'd at least try to get something out of it—after all, the cost of using the substitute card was 200,000!
Based on the distance between him and the bicephalic snake, the snake should not have detected him yet. The hall was divided into two halves by the central magic array. Tiegote retreated to the left side, waiting for the bicephalic snake to patrol down one side of the hall, so he could take the opportunity to run along the other side and check out what was ahead.
The illusion had originally snuck up from the left side of the hall, and after eliminating the illusion, the bicephalic snake naturally continued to patrol the left side. Just as Xiao Hua was about to move to the right, a figure appeared from the magic array in the lower-left corner—Lady Hassan.
Seeing Lady Hassan, Xiao Hua was stunned, unable to understand why she would appear here. Lady Hassan appeared in the stone chamber, scanned the hall, and her cold gaze locked onto the bicephalic snake ahead!
A dagger emitting a faint blue light appeared in Lady Hassan’s left hand. She lifted the hem of her seemingly bulky black dress with her right hand, revealing a pair of small feet clad in expensive high heels, and then ran swiftly. Xiao Hua only saw a blur before Lady Hassan reached the bicephalic snake and slashed upward with her dagger, dealing nearly a thousand HP of damage to the snake.
Xiao Hua was surprised to see that Lady Hassan was such a capable NPC, but he soon recovered from his shock. With Lady Hassan dealing with the bicephalic snake, it was a golden opportunity for him!
Without hesitation, Xiao Hua stealthily ran up the other side of the hall.
Along the way, he faced no obstacles and quickly arrived at the end of the hall, about thirty to forty meters away.
At the end of the hall, there was only a wooden table and chair against the stone wall. On the table were some books with parchment covers, and on the chair lay a skeleton, apparently the owner of the stone chamber.
"Damn it, how can there be nothing here!" With so many valuable magic crystals in the middle of the hall, Xiao Hua had assumed there would be plenty of valuable items here, but he found nothing worth taking, which was frustrating!
"Hmm, what's this?" After searching the entire desk fruitlessly, Xiao Hua noticed a shiny black stone on the ground and picked it up.
System Notification: You obtained the item "Obsidian"!
Obsidian: A stone that dark creatures love to eat, it can enhance the strength of dark creatures!
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
This item seemed to be useless to him!
But he didn’t care; rare things might come in handy someday.
"There's no need to search anymore. That wizard probably didn't leave anything valuable behind. She spent all her valuables on buying magic crystals." Lady Hassan had already defeated the bicephalic snake and shouted to Xiao Hua, who was still searching.
Xiao Hua's stealth broke when he touched the items on the table. Seeing Xiao Hua was still alive, Lady Hassan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at him. When she first entered, she couldn't find Xiao Hua and thought he had been killed by the bicephalic snake. If Xiao Hua had died, it would have been very bad for her.
"Bad luck," Xiao Hua could only lament his poor fortune. He had searched even the skeleton on the chair but found nothing valuable, just as Lady Hassan said.
"Lady Hassan, you said you didn’t know how the castle’s curse came about. Why do you know these details?" Curious, Xiao Hua asked cautiously.
"That was a lie. This information is useless to you. We've known these details for years, yet we still haven't entered this stone chamber. However, since you've managed to get here, I will tell you everything."
"Let's leave this place first. The magic array in this room is too dangerous. A wrong move could cause a massive explosion. This person was truly a genius to use so many super-grade magic crystals on such a small array!" Lady Hassan approached the triangular metal pillar in the center of the hall, observed it for a moment, and then exclaimed in admiration.
She then extended a delicate finger and pressed it against the metal pillar. Xiao Hua felt the ground shake, and a section of the left wall began to collapse, revealing a staircase leading upwards! The staircase was narrow, only wide enough for one person.
"Come on. I'll explain everything upstairs. There's also an important task I want you to undertake, and you'll receive a substantial reward upon completion!" Lady Hassan lifted her dress and walked briskly towards the stairs, seeming eager to proceed.
Xiao Hua nodded and followed. There was nothing else to gain in the stone chamber. Lady Hassan’s meaning was clear—the magic crystals in the hall were off-limits, but there seemed to be follow-up tasks.
"By the way, Lady Hassan, did I pass or fail this evaluation task?" Xiao Hua recalled his unfinished task. Finding this hidden chamber suggested that the monsters in the three rooms were generated by the central magic array, indicating that he had solved the curse problem.
"Of course, you passed. I'll give you an evaluation letter, and when you return it to Lina, she’ll process your Assassin Badge."
"Oh, that's good, at least it’s not a total loss!" Discovering such a secret place and gaining nothing was painful, but passing the evaluation was a decent result.
The stone chamber seemed to be deep underground, and the spiral staircase extended upwards. After nearly twenty minutes, Lady Hassan and Xiao Hua finally reached a narrower room. Inside, there was a dim magic lamp, but strangely, the room was entirely sealed with no apparent doors.
Lady Hassan showed no signs of panic, calmly drawing out a pale blue dagger. She walked to the side of the wall and began tapping it gently with the dagger, listening intently to the sounds it made.
Xiao Hua knew she was checking for hidden doors, so he remained silent and inspected the walls himself.
After a while, Lady Hassan stopped at a section of the wall, seemingly having found a way out.
She stepped back a few paces and then thrust her dagger, causing blue light to flash in the dimness. The wall crumbled like tofu, revealing another room full of miscellaneous items and a wooden door further in.
"I didn’t expect it to connect to this storage room. Let’s go; staying in such a dark place is unhealthy." Lady Hassan lifted her dress and stepped over the rubble, leading the way out.
Xiao Hua followed. After leaving the storage room, they walked through a long corridor and turned several corners before returning to the castle's main hall.
"Finally out. This castle is really a headache." Lady Hassan, who hadn’t moved much in a long time, sat down beside a wooden table and took a sip of tea.
"Here's your evaluation letter."
System Notification: You received "Lady Hassan's Evaluation Letter"!
Lady Hassan's Evaluation Letter: Lady Hassan's assessment of the assassin undergoing evaluation. From the content, you’ve received a good evaluation. Return it to Lina for a surprise!
Xiao Hua expected a lengthy story before getting the evaluation letter, but Lady Hassan gave it to him immediately.
"The evaluation is done. Now let's talk about other matters. First, let me resolve your doubts."
"Regarding the cursed storage room, in fact, it wasn’t cursed, but the effect of the magic array in the underground stone chamber. We said it was cursed to justify issuing quests from Lina. As for why we did it, you'll find out soon."
"The owner of the skeleton in the stone chamber wasn’t a wizard but a genius mage who specialized in magic arrays. The underground array is the most intricate I’ve ever seen—oh, forgot to mention, besides being an assassin, I’m also an alchemist with expertise in magic arrays."
When mentioning she was an alchemist, Lady Hassan wore a proud look, indicating considerable proficiency in alchemy!