Entering the Array

Qian Xin listened intently to Lu Feng's explanation. As usual, whenever she encountered something puzzling, she habitually spoke up to ask:

"Master~ What dangers will these rising and sinking water pillars bring?"

Lu Feng smiled calmly. "That depends on the methods of the one who set the array. Those water pillars are like traps a hunter uses to catch prey. Within the traps may be sharp barbs, or deep pits thick with thorns. Only by truly stepping in and falling into them will one learn what the danger actually is."

"How can we get through, then?" Qian Xin blinked her bright eyes, her gaze filled with thought.

Lu Feng patiently explained, "Generally speaking, the way to break an Officialdom Plum Blossom Array is related to the plum blossom stakes standing within it. The heart of this array lies in the stakes' arrangement, and its solution cannot be separated from the patterns governing their layout. So long as one sees through them, one should be able to pass through accordingly."

After a pause, Lu Feng looked toward the water's surface and said gravely, "However, judging from the array before us, its purpose should be to conceal the passage behind it. The patterns within likely will not be easy to discover. Indeed, if the one who laid this array never intended to let outsiders enter, they may have deliberately arranged it into a dead end, making it impossible to break even after discovering its patterns."

Qian Meng considered this and said, "Staring at them so directly, there is not the slightest pattern to be found in the arrangement of those water pillars. I fear we will only be able to discern the clues after entering the array."

Sun Fu gazed worriedly at the lake. "That may be so, but if we rashly