"I say, Jojo... is it the case in your Eastern context that weapons and alcohol are the same thing?" Aya reached out and took out a long knife, which had a straight blade and was about two and a half feet long. Judging from its appearance, it seemed to be equipment for infantry close combat. The faint light coming through the door reflected a cold color on the blade, indicating that both the material and forging work were top-notch military-grade equipment.

Moreover, there seemed to be some kind of liquid soaked into the sponge-like substance used as padding, likely to prevent the metal from rusting. What was the intention behind camouflaging a batch of excellent weapons as fine wine to sneak into the palace?

"Of course not, how could there be such a strange meaning..." Jojo hadn't fully reacted to the swords and instinctively replied to Aya's question.

"So, is your old man planning to make a big fuss? Sneaking weapons disguised as gifts into the palace under the guise of wine, is he planning a rebellion?"

"Impossible! Dad wouldn't do such a thing!" Jojo said firmly. Whether as a father or an imperial minister, although Jo Sida was sometimes stern and traditional, he was undeniably excellent. Jojo couldn't believe that his father would do such a thing.

Aya stared at her for a moment and then shrugged, "Well, it doesn't matter, I'm just planning to enter the palace anyway. But what about you?"

Jojo realized that regardless of what Jo Sida intended to do, once she found the Star Seal, she could just run away. It was a human matter, especially among Eastern humans, and she didn't want to get involved. On the other hand, Jojo's mood might change after unexpectedly discovering these items.

"...I'm going." Jojo became even more resolute than before. If earlier it was simply because she didn't want to plagiarize and flee, now her purpose was much clearer.

"I need to ask Grandpa Wu."

"Grandpa Wu?" Aya tried to recall, "The Prime Minister?"

"Yes! Since the emperor fell ill, Grandpa Wu has been acting on behalf of the state affairs in the palace. He must know what's going on with these weapons, and if they weren't smuggled in by dad, he would know the reason."

"Alright, since you've decided, we need to be quick, it seems these things are meant to be sent into the palace at daybreak." Aya glanced through the crack in the door, it seemed to be well into the late night, the sky slightly brighter than before.

Aya picked two buckets near the wall and started emptying the swords and padding cotton out. Luckily, the padding was quite loose, so pressing it down allowed them to fit into other buckets. It should be easy to hide two buckets without drawing attention.

It took half an hour to empty the two buckets. Aya first had Jojo hide inside one, tightly sealing the lid, before jumping into the other one prepared for herself. As she closed the wooden lid, all she could see was pitch darkness. Even with Dragon's strong vision, seeing in the dark required light Yuan, but the well-sealed wooden bucket had no gaps, and Aya regretted her decision instantly.

It was just too dark in here?!

The fear of darkness, which hadn't occurred since the underground dungeon, resurfaced for Aya, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the bucket was relatively small and with the ability to touch the surrounding walls, Aya didn't feel too panicked. After forcing herself to calm down, Aya began to think about how to find Xingjian once inside the palace. Even if she managed to sneak in, the imperial city was undoubtedly heavily guarded, and wandering around alone seemed a bit too ambitious... Perhaps causing a commotion to attract Xingjian out? But if luck wasn't on her side and she attracted some other skilled expert who would eliminate her, it could end up being a huge loss...

The wooden barrel still exuded the smell of rust-proof coating, similar to industrial lubricant, which made Aya feel agitated. Being in a dark and confined environment, the two common reactions besides claustrophobia were an inexplicable sense of comfort. It was said that such environments resembled the time spent in the mother's womb, and after momentarily forgetting her fear of the dark, Aya, due to lack of sleep that night, slowly drifted into a dream as her consciousness faded away.

"Ugh..."

What woke him up was the rocking and bumping sensation, along with a slightly uncomfortable feeling of suffocation. The air inside the sealed barrel was becoming quite unbearable. By listening to the outside sounds at this moment, one could clearly hear the crisp sound of horseshoes hitting the ground, indicating that the carriage had already set off. Not knowing if anyone was inside the carriage guarding, Aya hesitated to lift the lid and instead only slightly shifted it to allow some fresh air to flow in.

Fortunately, the suffocating feeling would not last long. The Foreign Minister's mansion was located in the central area of ​​the Capital, merely a few streets away from the palace. Soon, Aya noticed the frequency of the horseshoe sounds decreasing, and eventually, the carriage came to a stop.

Outside, soldiers were questioning and the coachman was responding, causing Aya's heart to beat a little faster. However, things proceeded smoothly, and after a minute or so of halt, the carriage resumed moving forward.

There were three checkpoints to enter the palace, but fortunately, they did not rigorously inspect the goods inside the vehicle. The most dangerous inspection was when soldiers boarded the carriage at the second checkpoint and casually knocked on two barrels.

The roads inside the palace were much more intricate, with Aya feeling the carriage constantly maneuvering and changing speed. Once it completely stopped, the footsteps outside immediately increased.

"Unload quickly!"

Someone commanded sharply, and more than a dozen strong palace servants swiftly began moving the weapons equipment disguised as barrels — including the barrel where Aya and Jojo were hiding.

When the barrel she was in got moved, Aya braced against the barrel's walls to prevent herself from rolling around inside and being discovered. She dared not even open the gap of the lid when people came close, making her discomfort more pronounced.

Fortunately, the unloading process did not take long. After ensuring that no steps were heard from outside, Aya cautiously lifted the lid of the barrel. Judging from the surroundings, it seemed to be a wine cellar specially treated to maintain humidity at a level that would not make the stored wine moldy, with a comfortable and cool temperature.

Coming out, Aya was somewhat surprised to find the vast scale of this cellar, with hundreds or even thousands of identical barrels like the one she hid in, indicating that more than just the Foreign Minister's carriages were transporting goods. If they were all weapons, they could arm an entire army.

Oh, no, now was not the time to think about that. Jojo still didn't know where she was!

The surroundings were filled with neatly arranged wine barrels, and Aya could not tell which one Jojo was hiding in. The main concern was that she might pass out if she stayed inside for too long without coming out.

"Jojo? Jojo?"

Aya tentatively called out in a hushed tone, praying that the guards and servants wouldn't notice. In theory, the barrels where she and Jojo were hiding should not be placed too far apart. After all, they were part of the same batch. As expected, three barrels away, the barrel there gently swayed twice.

Hurrying over to open the lid, the wooden barrel popped open like a jack-in-the-box, revealing a head taking in deep breaths of fresh air, "Whew... I've never felt so happy breathing normal air. I thought I was going to suffocate earlier..."

"In any case, we're in."

Aya felt a bit embarrassed. Lack of oxygen was bearable for her with Dragon's body, capable of flying at an altitude of ten thousand meters. Although it was uncomfortable, she had decent tolerance. But for Jojo, being a human, it was much tougher.

"Then let's each find our way to the target."

Having entered the palace, Aya's heart calmed down a bit. Today was the day to find Seimei and lift the seal!