A Familiar Stranger

Even ordinary array masters were like this, let alone Lu Feng.

Although Lu Feng had not stayed in Prison Manor for long, he had cultivated there before. His training volume had been terrifyingly high; casually setting up more than a dozen ordinary arrays at a time was perfectly normal for him.

Moreover, when Bai Li had paid a midnight visit, she had not caused much damage, but Wang Wei had fallen into a heart demon after all. This made Lu Feng realize how weak Prison Manor's defenses were, so he had deliberately reinforced several arrays.

With such deliberate and inadvertent arrangements combined, there were no fewer than twenty or thirty arrays of varying sizes throughout Prison Manor's courtyard. Though none were of high grade and could only restrict and delay to a certain extent, in Lu Feng's hands, they possessed the power to turn decay into magic.

The Exquisite Profound Meaning of Chaos Spirit was a method that borrowed the immense spiritual energy within source stones or natural spirit jade to throw an enemy's spiritual energy into disorder. Its might was far inferior to another profound meaning Lu Feng had used before—the Burst Array. But when used properly, the Chaos Spirit Technique was not to be underestimated.

Take tonight, for instance. Lu Feng used three source stones as triggers to draw the dozens of arrays in the courtyard into competing for spiritual energy and interfering with one another. While each array alone could not have much effect, once they were mixed together, under the chaos of "you fight, I snatch," they could amplify the overall array formation without limit, gradually forming a vast Chaos Spirit Forbidden Land.

The key reason Lu Feng had succeeded in using the profound meaning of Chaos Spirit was Feng Yan's carelessness and disdain. She had failed to notice that his hands, held behind his back, had been secretly making little moves in the dark.

Otherwise, tonight's outcome would truly have been difficult to predict.

Wang Wei and the other three listened intently as Lu Feng explained the strange phenomenon in the courtyard. None of them noticed that a figure had silently drawn near from not far behind them.

"Whoosh—" A sharp sound of wind rushed over. The next moment, Wang Wei and the others felt their vision blur, and Lu Feng's body flew backward. When the four of them looked closely, they discovered that he had been dragged away by a red whip wrapped around his waist.

Greatly alarmed, Wang Wei and the others immediately reacted and gave chase. Dust suddenly billowed in the distance, but when they passed through it, they found that the person who had abducted Lu Feng had long since vanished without a trace.

At that moment, Lu Feng felt his head buzzing and his mind going blank. Though his consciousness gradually cleared, his body remained unable to move, as though his acupoints had been sealed. What left him even more speechless was that he had been tossed into a Living Creature Pouch.

Lu Feng tried hard to recall the earlier details and finally understood what had happened. He had definitely been ambushed by an extremely powerful soul-type attack.

The fleeting glimpse of that red whip surfaced in Lu Feng's mind, and he vaguely guessed the identity of the person who had kidnapped him.

After roughly one incense stick's time, Lu Feng was released from the Living Creature Pouch. Yet before he could even land and steady himself, his cultivation was sealed once more.

A chain of red shadows swirled before his eyes. The next moment, Lu Feng was tightly bound to a wooden chair.

Lu Feng lowered his head to look at the red whip binding him and stopped struggling. There was not the slightest panic on his face. He had been brought into a dimly lit wooden cabin.

A woman with a light veil over her face and an exquisite figure stood quietly before him. Her clear eyes held thirty percent hostility and seventy percent curiosity.

"Yun'er," Lu Feng called gently. The one who had abducted him was none other than Jiang Ruoyun.

"Shut up." Jiang Ruoyun gave a cold snort, her face carrying a trace of chill as she sternly demanded, "Answer a few questions honestly. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite. Do you hear me?" Lu Feng looked at Jiang Ruoyun's frosty face and fierce expression, and the affection in his eyes deepened unconsciously. He had never seen Jiang Ruoyun like this before; she possessed quite a different sort of charm.

Perhaps to others, Jiang Ruoyun, brimming with Wrathful Intent, was terrifying at this moment. But Lu Feng felt only reassurance, with no other thoughts in his mind.

Seeing the smile on Lu Feng's face, Jiang Ruoyun mistook him for a lecherous frivolous man, and the anger in her heart surged even higher. She tugged at the hem of her clothes, as if unwilling to let him look any longer. A cold-glinting dagger suddenly appeared in her hand. She bent down and stepped forward, holding it against Lu Feng's neck.

"Do you believe I'll kill you right now?" Jiang Ruoyun pressed the dagger forward, already cutting through the skin of Lu Feng's neck.

Sensing the aura Jiang Ruoyun emitted, a flicker of surprise crossed Lu Feng's heart. She had clearly reached the threshold of the Half-Step Earth Soul Realm, yet her true strength seemed to remain at the level of the second or third Five Elements Qi Realm?

The Five Elements Qi within Jiang Ruoyun was extremely thin, like five water-filled pillars standing tall and supporting her entire realm. Yet each of the five elemental qi within those pillars was only filled less than halfway.

Could this be some strange cultivation path again? Lu Feng wondered inwardly.

Jiang Ruoyun coldly demanded, "Who exactly are you?"

Jiang Ruoyun had heard every word of Lu Feng's earlier conversation with Feng Yan in Prison Manor's courtyard. Along the way, she had carefully considered how much of it was true. Even if Lu Feng had fabricated things, how could Feng Yan's tacit acceptance be explained?

Could I truly have formed a Mandarin Duck Union Array with him? Jiang Ruoyun could not help secretly sizing Lu Feng up. Judging by his appearance and attire alone, he was not unpleasant to look at.

Lu Feng gave a bitter smile. "Who am I? Didn't you hear clearly when you were hiding off to one side just now? You should already have an answer in your heart."

Jiang Ruoyun's expression changed, as though Lu Feng had struck at her hidden thoughts. She had indeed subconsciously accepted this explanation just now and guessed that she might have lost a portion of her memories. But now that he had exposed it, she felt somewhat embarrassed.

Lu Feng sighed, raised his neck slightly, and said, "If you still do not believe it, you may inspect it. Though the Union Array between us has now become extremely weak and can no longer affect either of us, you can still identify it if you sense it carefully."

"Inspect it..." Jiang Ruoyun was tempted upon hearing this, but she remembered that the Mandarin Duck Union Array was generally formed with both parties facing each other forehead to forehead. To inspect it, she would need to lean close, and they would inevitably touch intimately, skin against skin. She could not help feeling shy and hesitant.

Bang—

Just as Lu Feng was about to speak, a Palm Blade suddenly came chopping down at his head. The next moment, he fainted again.

Jiang Ruoyun nodded in satisfaction, greatly admiring her own approach. "This way, it won't matter."

Jiang Ruoyun took a few graceful steps and came directly before Lu Feng. Extending a pale, slender finger, she gently lifted his chin.

Leaning down, she slowly pressed closer with great tenderness. Jiang Ruoyun and Lu Feng's foreheads touched tightly together as Soul Power quietly began to circulate.

"It's actually real!"

Though Jiang Ruoyun had already had an answer in her heart, when she personally saw the red "Yun" mark on the forehead of Lu Feng's Life Soul within his soul sea, she could not help being startled.

Jiang Ruoyun recognized the careless handwriting as her own, and that familiar essence blood could not possibly be false. Her heart instantly fell into turmoil.

How could this be... Could I really be... in a bonded relationship with him?

Jiang Ruoyun wore a complicated expression as she slowly withdrew her Soul Consciousness. But the instant she recovered her clarity and opened her eyes, she discovered something even more terrifying than the existence of the Union Array—Lu Feng... had already awakened.

Their eyes met, their breaths audible at the tips of their noses.

Their foreheads remained pressed together, warmth spreading through their bodies.

"Ah!"

Jiang Ruoyun leaped back in alarm with a cry, her face flushing completely red.

Lu Feng stared dazedly at the scene, his heart filled with delight. He had indeed been knocked unconscious by Jiang Ruoyun earlier, but the moment she tested her way into his soul sea, his consciousness had instantly returned.

Whether it was his own Soul Strength or the self-protective ability of the Spirit Soul Array, both had instinctively protected his soul sea from intrusion.

Along with Jiang Ruoyun's startled cry, Lu Feng discovered in surprise that the Union Array, which had lain dormant for so long and stood on the verge of collapse, had actually reacted slightly, becoming just a little more stable.

Lu Feng understood that the Union Array was tied to the feelings between them. As Jiang Ruoyun had lost her memories, the Union Array had also become perilously unstable. Now that it had suddenly recovered somewhat, did that mean Jiang Ruoyun's memories...

"Did you remember something?" Lu Feng asked expectantly.

"No... I didn't remember anything," Jiang Ruoyun replied nervously, unsure how to face this "stranger partner" of hers.

Lu Feng frowned, filled with disappointment.

Since her memories had not returned, then why had the Mandarin Duck Union Array...?

Little did Lu Feng know that he had fallen into a misunderstanding. The stability of the Union Array had nothing to do with memories, but rather with the emotions of both parties. Though Jiang Ruoyun's memories had not returned, she had developed a faint favorable impression of Lu Feng once more.

When Jiang Ruoyun caught sight of Lu Feng's disappointed expression from the corner of her eye, she did not know why, but her heart felt somewhat sour and unwilling to see it. Still, she said, "I don't know what happened between us before. I will find a way to recover those memories. If, after my memories return, you are no longer in my heart, I will erase the mark of the Union Array."

"It doesn't matter." Lu Feng smiled confidently. "Even if your memories can never return, I will make you fall for me again."

Jiang Ruoyun pursed her lips in a smile. "You have that much confidence in yourself?"

"No. I have confidence in you."

"In me?" Jiang Ruoyun froze. "I have no confidence that I can recover those memories."

Lu Feng shook his head firmly. "What I believe in is my heart toward you."

Jiang Ruoyun's face turned red. She had never faced such blunt words before, and for a moment, she was overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Feng began recounting the moments they had shared.

"Azure Dragon Town... Water Bamboo Pavilion... Fengyun Secret Realm... nighttime talks by the stream... joining hands against enemies..."

Jiang Ruoyun listened seriously, and the expression on her face grew increasingly moved. Though it sounded like someone else's story, a voice rose from deep within her heart, telling her that she was the story's heroine.

At daybreak, Jiang Ruoyun released Lu Feng and returned him. She herself headed for Azure Dragon Town, which Lu Feng had mentioned in his story.

As for Fan Yuchun's death, Lu Feng was also very curious why Jiang Ruoyun had not mentioned a single word about it. Was it because she knew he had been forced to act in self-defense? Or because the bond between them had not been very deep, and they had merely been ordinary companions?

In truth, it was just as Lu Feng had guessed. Fan Yuchun and Feng Yan were merely two people casually assigned by Jiang Ruoyun's master.