The Array of Qu Estate

Jiang Ruoyun broke from her usual manner and let out several cold laughs. Her icy, resolute voice rang through the entire hall.

"Over these years, you have driven me from the manor time and again..."

"Today, I will do as you wish."

"From this day forth, I, Jiang Ruoyun, will have nothing more to do with Jiang Manor!"

"You..." Jiang Aotian's face turned deathly pale with rage.

Jiang Batian watched the resolute back of the granddaughter who had once been closest to him, his heart aching.

The Third Manor Lord, Jiang Juetian, who had remained silent all along, instructed the servant beside him, "Go investigate the identity of the man beside Jiang Ruoyun."

From beginning to end, Lu Feng had not uttered a single word. He merely stood quietly at Jiang Ruoyun's side, respecting every decision she made.

On the way back to the Side Courtyard, Lu Feng noticed tears glimmering at the corners of Jiang Ruoyun's eyes. Clearly, breaking with Jiang Manor had not been her intention. Perhaps she had truly had enough of the indignities of these past years.

Jiang Ruoyun stroked the Storage Ring on her hand, her expression somewhat sorrowful. Though she could not bear to part with her grandfather as he gradually receded into the distance, reality was simply this helpless.

"Young Miss, you're back." Xiao Rou greeted her.

"Xiao Rou... from today onward, go back to wherever you came from. I'm leaving Jiang Manor."

Jiang Ruoyun gave a bitter smile. Though she had gotten along harmoniously with Xiao Rou over the years, she had never truly placed much trust in this maid of unknown origins.

The joy on Xiao Rou's face instantly vanished when she heard this. Her face filled with sorrow as she began to cry, sobbing, "Young Miss doesn't want me anymore. Xiao Rou has nowhere to go."

Jiang Ruoyun laughed at herself. "If you follow me, I have nowhere to go either."

"Besides, if you follow me, you won't be able to collect wages from Jiang Manor anymore. You should stay here."

Xiao Rou grew even more anxious upon hearing that. At last, she burst into tears and explained through her sobs, "I know Young Miss has always been wary of me."

"At first, Master Jiang He and Young Master Jiang Feng truly did arrange for me to watch Young Miss. But when they saw that Young Miss had never recovered her strength, they gradually forgot about it. Xiao Rou swears that I have never once wished to harm Young Miss."

"So it was that father and son." Only now did Jiang Ruoyun understand Xiao Rou's origins. Thinking of how difficult it must have been for her, caught between them all these years, perhaps she had earned trust from neither side.

"And what if they tell you to harm Young Miss again?" Lu Feng asked Xiao Rou, whose face was streaked with tears like pear blossoms in the rain.

"Even if they put a knife to Xiao Rou's neck, Xiao Rou would never harm Young Miss again," Xiao Rou choked out.

Seeing Xiao Rou's anxious, nervous expression, Jiang Ruoyun could not bear it. Faced with this frail maid, she did not know how to deal with her for a moment.

"Xiao Rou won't harm Young Miss. Let Xiao Rou follow you," Xiao Rou pleaded through her sobs, looking so pitiful that even the heartless would be moved.

"Mm." Jiang Ruoyun's heart softened, and she nodded. "If you insist on following me, I won't stop you. But you must be prepared to suffer. Life from now on won't be as leisurely as it was in Jiang Manor."

"Thank you, Young Miss." Xiao Rou wiped away her tears and agreed. "I'll help Young Miss pack her belongings." With that, she hurried into the room, as though afraid Jiang Ruoyun might change her mind.

"You went to Shi Manor? Did you uncover any clues?" Jiang Ruoyun asked.

Lu Feng waved his hand. "We'll ask when we deliver the prescription tomorrow. For now, let's go to Qu Estate and inquire around. Are you familiar with Qu Estate?"

Jiang Ruoyun shook her head. "Qu Estate is devoted wholly to studying the Dao of arrays. They have always kept their doors closed and refused visitors. It won't be easy to enter."

"The Dao of arrays? Qu Estate has array masters?" Lu Feng asked in surprise. He had not expected this tiny Azure Dragon Town to have Soul Masters who specialized in cultivating the Dao of arrays.

"Most have only just entered the door. There are very few who truly understand arrays," Jiang Ruoyun explained.

Lu Feng was relieved to hear it. If a small town like this could produce large numbers of array masters, then array masters would not be so rare across the continent.

"If it's arrays, I know a little. Let's visit under the pretext of exchanging pointers." Lu Feng was somewhat expectant as well. Since leaving Exquisite Valley, he had not seen anyone use an array.

After Xiao Rou finished packing, Jiang Ruoyun instructed her to find any inn near Gathering Fragrance Garden and stay there while she waited.

Until they found a new place to live, they could only stay at an inn for the time being.

After settling Xiao Rou in, Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun headed toward Qu Estate.

Qu Estate was not located in the center of Azure Dragon Town. On the contrary, it lay much farther out, an excellent residence removed from the bustle of the streets.

Prison Manor, Jiang Manor, and Yan Manor all had household guards standing watch at their gates, but Qu Estate did not have a single guard.

Perhaps because arrays had been set up, the family was completely at ease about the manor's security and had no need for guards at all.

"Should we just push the door open and go in?" Jiang Ruoyun asked. After speaking, she stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door several times.

Lu Feng smiled and pointed toward the distant wall. "The door is over there."

Outside Qu Estate was a very crude obscuring array. Lu Feng saw through it at a glance.

The real gate had been hidden, while a false one had deliberately been set up. If Jiang Ruoyun pushed open the fake gate and entered, she would effectively step into the array, and the people inside would surely know.

Under Jiang Ruoyun's astonished gaze, Lu Feng led her in dodging steps and strange movements, then "crashed" through the "wall."

The moment Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun entered Qu Estate, a gentle, elegant zither melody drifted over. Long and lingering, clear and pleasing to the ear, it calmed both body and mind.

Just as the two were becoming absorbed in the music, the sound of a flute arose as well, resonating with the zither. Zither and flute played in harmony, their melody bright and ringing, refreshing the heart and soul.

The two became somewhat dazed, as though their minds had been washed clean by the zither and flute. There was not the slightest light in their eyes.

The zither's music bewitched the heart.

The flute's music enchanted the soul!

Lu Feng's consciousness was drawn elsewhere, and the scene before him suddenly changed. He had actually returned to Worryfree Village.

Lu Feng shuddered all over and woke at once in fright.

If it had been somewhere else, he naturally would not have awakened so quickly.

However, Worryfree Village was a place he had pondered over a hundred times. If he returned there again, it certainly would not look as it did in his memories.

And this "Illusory Sound Array" was clearly lacking in refinement. It could only conjure things from one's memories. Once an intruder determined that those memories had already changed, the array would collapse without being attacked.

The method of setting the array was still rather clumsy.

After being tempered by the illusion array, a flash of understanding crossed Lu Feng's mind, and a bold conjecture formed in his heart.

Could Worryfree Village itself be a massive illusion array? Was that why he had experienced all that after accidentally entering it back then?

Lu Feng came back to himself and looked at Jiang Ruoyun, only to find her face blank. She was slowly walking forward step by step, while a pond lay directly ahead.

"Ruo Yun..." Lu Feng called out, but he seemingly could not awaken her.

Perhaps Lu Feng's shout drew the attention of someone in the manor. An elderly voice sounded out, "Let them in."

At once, the zither music faded and the flute fell silent.

Jiang Ruoyun gradually woke up and looked around at the scenery in surprise. A trace of confusion flashed through her eyes, and only after seeing Lu Feng did she finally feel somewhat at ease.

"Please follow me, you two." A household servant stepped forward and led Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun into a separate courtyard.

After entering the courtyard, Lu Feng looked up and saw a familiar figure in a pavilion not far away.

The figure looked to be around fifty or sixty, his body slightly bent. A hint of delight showed through his wrinkled face as he smiled broadly at Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun.

It was precisely that strange Old Man they had seen earlier in the Array Core As You Wish shop. Only now, his body was no longer hunched, and he appeared far more spirited. It seemed the Poisonous Miasma Qi within him had nearly been cleared away.

"Young brother, why have you come to my home?"

"I was just preparing to go to Jiang Manor in the next few days to offer my thanks," the old man said eagerly.

Jiang Ruoyun watched in shock and surprise. When had Lu Feng come to know so many important people?

"Did the jade work well?" Lu Feng asked calmly. Upon seeing the old man again, he knew it would no longer be difficult to inquire about Qu Estate.

"Haha!" The old man laughed and patted his chest. "This old body of mine is much stronger than it was a few days ago. That is all thanks to you, young brother, for pointing me out of the maze when I was lost."

Learning recognized no age; the accomplished were teachers. Though Qu Qianli was older, he greatly admired Lu Feng's knowledge and insight.

Lu Feng smiled. "Stop calling me young brother every other breath. Just call me Lu Feng." He then looked at Jiang Ruoyun and continued, "This is Jiang Ruoyun."

Lu Feng did not mention her relationship with Jiang Manor. At this point, she no longer had any relationship with it.

"What brings you two here today?" Qu Qianli did not beat around the bush and directly asked Lu Feng. The old man had already spotted Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun outside the gate, and he had watched them make their way in. He greatly admired Lu Feng's ability to see through the array at a glance.

"To be frank, Senior, we came today to ask about Qu Estate's recent circumstances. Have any sudden accidents occurred?" Lu Feng asked directly.

"Accidents?" Qu Qianli froze for a moment, then said with some regret, "Isn't this old body of mine being reduced to such a state an accident?"

"If it had only been me, that would have been one thing. But I even dragged my unfortunate grandson into it."

Qu Qianli slapped his thigh remorsefully.

"Senior, were these injuries caused by someone trying to harm you?" Lu Feng asked in surprise.

"Not at all. It is simply that, at some point, Sky Wolf Mausoleum gained a great deal of Poisonous Miasma Qi. When my unfortunate grandson and I went there to collect jade, we accidentally entered the miasma. That is how we ended up like this."

The old man thanked Lu Feng again as he spoke. "Had I not met Young Brother Lu and learned of jade's effects, my grandson likely would not even be awake by now."

Through their conversation, Lu Feng learned some things about Qu Qianli's grandson, Qu Huai. Because his strength was shallow, Qu Huai had become like a living corpse after being poisoned by the miasma. He had only awakened recently, but his body was hunched like an old man's and would be difficult to restore in a short time.

From afar came a rather overbearing voice.

"I heard an expert in the Dao of arrays has come to the manor?"

Qu Qianli looked at the young man approaching from around the corner and sighed. A trace of affection shone in his eyes as he explained to Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun, "That is my unworthy grandson, Qu Kan."

There were two brothers in Qu Estate: the First Manor Lord Qu Li Su and the Second Manor Lord Qu Qianli. Neither elder's children were skilled in the Dao of arrays, preferring instead to study ancient texts.

Yet the grandchildren's generation was deeply devoted to the Dao of arrays, especially the brothers Qu Kan and Qu Huai.