Special Arrow Fletchings

Lu Feng parted ways with Jiang Ruoyun and headed alone toward the weapon shop. The matter was urgent. Although the arrow fletchings had not all been completed yet, some had been made, more or less, and taking them early for an emergency should be enough.

At the weapon shop, the clerk recognized Lu Feng at once. Customers like him, ordering arrow fletchings in such large quantities, were hardly common.

"Is the shopkeeper here?" Lu Feng asked.

"Please wait a moment." The clerk set down his work and headed into the back room.

Before long, the shopkeeper hurried over. There were scorch marks from forge-fire on his face, clearly showing that he had just come out of the workshop.

"Young brother, didn't we agree that you would collect the goods in two days?" the shopkeeper asked in confusion.

"My apologies. An urgent matter has come up. May I take some of the arrow fletchings first?" Lu Feng said.

"Your blueprints are far too exquisite and strange. There aren't many craftsmen in the shop capable of making them. At present, we've only completed the first four or five types of arrow fletchings shown in the drawings." As he spoke, the shopkeeper brought over one of each completed type and handed them to Lu Feng for inspection.

Lu Feng checked them over. They were roughly identical to the ones carved into the stone wall in Worryfree Village, and he was very satisfied.

"How did you come up with these drawings? They're simply too ingenious," the shopkeeper said in amazement. Pointing at one of the arrow fletchings in Lu Feng's hand, he continued, "Take the one you're holding. The arrow shaft is made of bamboo and wood, carved with dozens of uneven holes of different shapes. Can an arrow like this really be useful? I'm afraid it would snap the moment it was fired."

Lu Feng smiled faintly without explaining. How could ordinary people understand the use of a Sound Arrow?

Seeing that Lu Feng was unwilling to answer, the shopkeeper pointed at the arrowhead of another arrow fletching and said, "And arrowheads with such strange shapes—the central ridge is so high while both sides are so hollow. They would be hard to shoot far."

"And this one... this one..."

Seeing the shopkeeper's face full of incomprehension, Lu Feng gave no answer. He merely gestured for the shopkeeper to bring over the completed arrow fletchings.

"Should I settle the payment now, or wait until everything is finished?" Lu Feng asked.

"We'll settle it all together then. With your jade pendant here, it's not as though you can run away," the shopkeeper said with a chuckle.

Lu Feng nodded. The jade piece he had left as collateral was worth far more than these arrow fletchings. Thinking of the dangers in Sky Wolf Mausoleum, Lu Feng gave a brief farewell. "I'll be leaving on a long journey for the next few days. I'll come back to your shop and settle the account then."

"No problem. This is a century-old establishment. We'll always be here," the shopkeeper said.

Lu Feng put away the arrow fletchings, but these alone were not enough. He still needed other preparations.

For instance, those strangely shaped arrowheads were meant to conceal poison, and he still needed to buy some See Blood Seal Throat poison.

Ever since encountering danger on Azure Mushroom Mountain, Lu Feng had discovered the shortcomings in his archery. No matter how good his archery was, it was all in vain if he could not injure his enemy.

His current weakness was that the arrow fletchings he fired lacked killing power. This was certainly related to the fact that, as an array master, the power he possessed was too weak, but it was not without a solution.

Strength was difficult to change, so the draw weight of the Netherworld Bow could only rise along with his strength. But a light bow had its advantages too: it could be fired swiftly, in rapid succession.

In that case, he could only work on the arrow fletchings, and coating them in poison was one way to increase their might.

After making all his preparations, Lu Feng once again went to Array Core As You Wish and purchased some materials for setting arrays. Only after finishing did he hurry to meet up with Jiang Ruoyun.

After meeting Jiang Ruoyun, Lu Feng asked, "How was it? Did you run into any trouble?"

Jiang Ruoyun shook her head. "The pharmacy shopkeeper knows me. He was only surprised by the price and did not say much else. He only said that if it wasn't sold after three days, the consignment fee would still have to be paid."

After a pause, Jiang Ruoyun asked, "Why are you stockpiling only this one medicinal herb? If you stockpiled more, then wouldn't that..."

Lu Feng explained, "There are dozens of medicinal ingredients in the prescription. This Lotus Insect Grass is the rarest and also the cheapest. There are too many of the other herbs, and their average prices are all above a thousand Copper Soul Coins. They aren't suitable for stockpiling."

"Oh, then consigning this Lotus Insect Grass for eight hundred Copper Soul Coins is reasonable." Jiang Ruoyun understood much more now. Even when the next year's harvest season came, the price would likely only rise, never fall.

Sky Wolf Mausoleum lay northeast of Azure Dragon Town. It was famous for the packs of wild wolves that roamed there year-round and was an extremely dangerous place.

At the same time, it was a place with exceptionally dense spiritual energy. Beneath this dangerous sky lay many precious medicinal herbs and rare spirit stones.

By the time Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun arrived at Sky Wolf Mausoleum, it was already noon. There was only one mountain road leading in and out of Sky Wolf Mausoleum. They did not see any trace of Tang Yuan, which meant he was still inside Sky Wolf Mausoleum.

"Let's go," Lu Feng said. The two stepped into Sky Wolf Mausoleum and headed deeper inside.

"By the way, haven't you always mentioned Worryfree Village? It's on the other side of Sky Wolf Mausoleum. Once we find Tang Yuan, if we have time, shall we go take a look?" Jiang Ruoyun said as she looked toward the distant mountain peaks.

Lu Feng nodded. Raising his head to look into the distance at the somewhat gray and gloomy peaks, he murmured wistfully to himself, What exactly happened in Worryfree Village? Why are my memories growing blurrier and blurrier...

The two walked for a long time before suddenly discovering that the road ahead was blocked by trees, apparently due to a mudslide after rainfall.

"The way ahead is blocked. I'll clear it," Jiang Ruoyun said, taking out her long whip and preparing to swing it.

"Wait. Let's go around it," Lu Feng stopped her. Seeing Jiang Ruoyun's confusion, he explained, "Wolves have keen senses. If we leave traces behind, we may draw a pack of wolves onto our trail."

"But it'll be such a long detour..." Jiang Ruoyun muttered, though her feet still followed Lu Feng as he took the longer way around.

"Those obstructions have been here for many days. Tang Yuan clearly passed through here as well. Since he did not clear the road, he must have taken a detour too. Let's follow this route and keep searching," Lu Feng analyzed.

Only then did Jiang Ruoyun realize it, secretly praising Lu Feng's meticulous mind.

"It seems to be getting foggy," Jiang Ruoyun suddenly said after they had walked for a while.

Lu Feng was not too surprised. Fog rising deep in mountain valleys was normal. Where there was fog, there was most likely a water source ahead, making the nearby air overly damp.

"Be careful. It's wet and slippery ahead." Lu Feng took out a long wooden stick and handed it to Jiang Ruoyun, signaling for her to use it for support so she would not slip.

After taking the stick, Jiang Ruoyun asked, "Are there really wolves in Sky Wolf Mausoleum?"

Lu Feng did not answer. He simply raised his hand and pointed ahead to the right.

"Ugh..." Jiang Ruoyun stepped forward to look, let out a nauseated retching sound, and immediately covered her nose.

Where Lu Feng pointed lay the corpse of a dead wolf. Judging from its degree of decay, it had died only within the past few days. All kinds of insects crawled over its body, gnawing at it, and even from far away they could smell a strange, fishy stench.

Jiang Ruoyun deliberately avoided the wolf corpse and walked to the other side. Her beautiful shawl-length hair had been drenched by the mist for so long that the tips had clumped together, so wet they seemed ready to drip.

"The fog is getting thicker and thicker." Jiang Ruoyun turned around and nearly could not make out Lu Feng's figure.

"Hold on. Don't get separated." Lu Feng extended his right hand.

Jiang Ruoyun hesitated, a trace of shyness flashing over her face. In all these years, when had she ever held someone else's hand? Let alone the hand of a man.

"Don't just stand there. Hand me half of the wooden stick. Once we get through this foggy forest, we'll reach the place where Qu Huai of Qu Estate was injured," Lu Feng said, somewhat puzzled as to why Jiang Ruoyun had frozen.

"Huh? The wooden stick?" Jiang Ruoyun stared blankly for a moment, then hurriedly passed it over in fluster, her face turning even redder. She muttered inwardly, He clearly didn't mean to hold hands. Why did my thoughts go in that direction? How embarrassing!

"What else would it be?" Lu Feng smiled and reached out to grasp the stick. Feeling the force Jiang Ruoyun exerted from the other end, the two finally had their most direct connection.

"No... no, I meant the wooden stick." Jiang Ruoyun gave it a tug and said it as cover.

"What if, after we pass through this foggy area, there really is miasma? Will we be harmed by it too?" Jiang Ruoyun asked worriedly.

Lu Feng took out a gray-black jade stone, handed it to Jiang Ruoyun, and said, "This jade has already been inscribed with array patterns. It can absorb miasma. Hold it in your hand, and the miasma will not be able to harm you for a short time."

Since he knew they might encounter miasma, how could Lu Feng have failed to prepare? The most important reason he had gone to Array Core As You Wish had been to purchase several pieces of Black Jade Cloud Stone. Their effect was inferior to the Cloudmist Jade in Qu Qianli's possession, but after being inscribed with array patterns, their absorbing power was not weak either.

"If you give it to me, what about you?" Jiang Ruoyun asked.

"Don't worry. This black jade may be a little small, but it's enough to protect both of us." Lu Feng lifted the wooden stick they were holding, his unspoken meaning being that the two of them were now one.

The two endured the dampness in the forest and walked carefully. By the time they emerged from the foggy woods, both of them were drenched.

"Strange," Lu Feng said in confusion.

Jiang Ruoyun, who was still tidying her clothes and shaking off the moisture clinging to her body, replied, "What's strange?"

"This should be the place where Qu Estate and Shi Manor were injured, yet it seems..." Lu Feng explained.

Jiang Ruoyun looked around and understood what Lu Feng meant. There were neither wild wolves nor miasma here. If this really was the place, then how had the people from the two estates been injured?

Very soon, they learned the reason.

"Quick, retreat..."

A somewhat anxious voice rang out. Lu Feng instinctively pulled Jiang Ruoyun back into the foggy forest.

Looking ahead, they saw Tang Yuan holding up a palm-sized golden object, pressing it toward some unknown thing in front of him as he backed away toward the damp, foggy woods.

Yan Mingchi followed closely behind him.

"No wonder there's no miasma here," Lu Feng said in slight surprise. He had seen the golden object glowing in Tang Yuan's hand before. It was precisely what Tang Yuan's father, Tang Xuan, had thrown to him before he left. Lu Feng had not expected it to be capable of driving away miasma.

"Back off!" Tang Yuan shouted. The spiritual energy suppressed within his body surged wildly, and the muscles all over his body instantly swelled. Disregarding the exposure of his beastified arm, he suddenly exerted force. An eagle's cry rang out around the golden object in his hand.

The vast gray miasma was shaken, slowing its spread. Tang Yuan and Yan Mingchi seized the chance, taking huge strides as they fled the dangerous area and entered the damp, foggy forest.