The Fairy Sets Up an Array

(Fellow Daoists, the animosity in the previous chapter was excessive, so it has been revised. Please refresh to read the updated version.)

The snow fell even harder.

Zhou Ning walked along the lakeshore and gazed into the distance. Cold mist hung over the lake, and heaven and earth were hushed.

Recalling how he had just asked for leave, Zhou Ning felt rather helpless. Cultivation was like this: without a good family background or talent, the only way to make progress was through self-restraint.

Perhaps some people disdained it.

But in that case, they might as well return to the secular world and live comfortably as wealthy masters.

Since he had already set foot on the immortal path, how could he be content with mediocrity?

He had vaguely sensed Jiang Xi's intentions, but Steward Su seemed to have many reservations and had stopped her.

Presumably, the eldest Miss Su still commanded considerable respect, and he also had ties to a disciple of the Azure Mystic Sect.

And then there was Jiang Xi. It must have been that woman's idea.

A woman who grew spirit lotuses and sold herself into marriage with the Su Household had transformed overnight into someone above others.

Ultimately, he was still too weak, and he possessed a Pill Furnace.

If he were a true Alchemist, Jiang Xi probably wouldn't dare harbor the slightest notion.

The great power of heaven and earth had to be held in one's own hands.

He walked all the way back to his courtyard, intending to enter seclusion and cultivate.

Suddenly, amid the snowflakes flying like jade blossoms, a strip of white silk appeared, nearly blending into the snow.

Standing on the white silk was a young woman in a white spirit-fur jacket, her beauty pure and peerless.

But the two multicolored pheasants dangling from her hand spoiled her beautiful, immortal air.

Zhou Ning stared in astonishment.

Then he forced a smile. "Fairy Su, is something the matter?"

Su Youyou stood amid the wind and snow, looking down from on high at Zhou Ning on Bamboo Creek Island.

She was quiet for a moment before parting her lips. "I recently planted some spirit rice, but it kept getting stolen and eaten, so I caught them."

"But the hatred in my heart is hard to dispel. Only by eating their flesh can I vent this anger."

Seeing her utterly serious expression, Zhou Ning felt much of the heaviness in his heart dissipate.

It was rather amusing.

You're an array master, and you let multicolored pheasants steal your food?

Are you kidding me?

Even so, Zhou Ning didn't expose her.

After all, she was an array master with a substantial fortune, which was captivating.

At the same time, Zhou Ning grew wary.

Fortunately, he only activated the Illusory Light Bewildering Shadow Formation Plate at critical moments and kept it in the Jade Space the rest of the time.

Even if the array were active, Su Youyou might not recognize its origin, but she would probably notice that an array had been set up here.

Illusion Arrays were expensive. Where would a mere retainer with no background get the money for one?

"Trouble!" Zhou Ning found it a thorny problem. "What if Su Youyou drops in without warning one day, just when the array hasn't been turned off..."

That wasn't all. Though Bamboo Creek Island was remote, there was no guarantee that a powerful cultivator wouldn't pass by one day and notice something amiss with a sweep of Divine Sense.

He had to eliminate this hidden danger once and for all.

His thoughts raced, and he soon had an idea.

Feigning ignorance, Zhou Ning asked, "So what do you mean, Fairy?"

Ever since Xu Qinghou had eaten the pheasant he cooked, he had praised it to everyone he met. Word had probably gotten around.

Judging by how she had given him a discount on the array after receiving the water chestnuts, she was probably a glutton.

Seeing that he couldn't take a hint, Su Youyou felt a little displeased and finally said:

"Help me kill them and make them into a meal, so I can settle my State of Mind."

"I see." Zhou Ning looked troubled. "I would love nothing more than to relieve you of this burden at once, Fairy, but I am kindhearted and cannot bear to take a life. I have eaten only vegetarian food for many years."

"Alas!" He sighed deeply, looking terribly guilty.

Su Youyou couldn't be bothered with more talk. She glanced around the courtyard and said, "You'll be rewarded."

Zhou Ning immediately shouted with righteous indignation, "How dare you, you barnyard chickens! You dared offend the Fairy? Die!"

Zhou Ning seized the multicolored pheasants and killed them in an instant!

Su Youyou watched the chicken blood drain into a porcelain bowl and thought, This man really forgets his principles at the sight of profit, and his tongue is slick with oil...

Half an hour later, Zhou Ning came back out of the courtyard.

A rich aroma wafted from the main room, and he was a little hungry himself.

The pheasants had been freshly slaughtered and the mushrooms freshly picked. After stir-frying them, he had specially rolled out flatbreads from spirit grain and stuck them to the side of the wok. They had baked to a fragrant golden crisp, with half of each soaked in sauce.

Zhou Ning had nearly failed to resist a taste.

Freshly cooked dishes like this didn't travel well; packing them up would only rob them of their flavor. They were best eaten on the spot.

Who was Fairy Su?

Zhou Ning wasn't worthy of sitting at the table, so he could only wait outside.

As the cold wind blew against him, he considered how to ask for an array.

Originally, he had planned to tell Su Youyou that whenever she came in the future, she could send a voice transmission talisman ahead of time to ask.

After all, he was sometimes away, and he didn't want the Fairy to make the trip for nothing.

As for refusing Su Youyou's request, Zhou Ning had never considered it.

A low-ranking retainer like him, refusing an array master's instructions?

That would be utterly unreasonable. Ordinary people would be falling over themselves to curry favor with her!

Besides, she had come through the snow, so she was probably genuinely hungry.

Even Old Jia said Su Youyou was eccentric and fickle. There was no telling how she might punish him.

Since Su Youyou had offered him a reward of her own accord, he had to strike while the snake was still on the stick.

Another half hour passed.

Only then did Su Youyou emerge from the house. Perhaps because she had enjoyed the food, a hint of color had appeared on her pale face. Even her lips were rosy, delicate and almost dewy.

That was natural enough. Zhou Ning had made the food quite spicy and had also prepared sweet fermented rice wine for her.

Su Youyou was in a good mood, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, her voice clear and gentle.

"Your cooking is to my liking."

Zhou Ning said modestly, "It's only a little mundane skill, hardly worth mentioning."

But Su Youyou said seriously, "You're too modest. The great Dao is hidden in the smallest things. Pleasures of the palate can also help stabilize the Dao Heart."

"Thank you for your guidance, Fairy."

"Mm. What do you want?" Su Youyou brought it up herself.

Zhou Ning said without hesitation, "Ever since you helped me set up the Fire-Gathering Array, Fairy, I've devoted myself to studying alchemy. Unfortunately, my neighbors often spy on me."

"Time and again, at the critical moment, all my efforts have come to nothing!" His face was full of regret.

At that point, he changed tack. "I hope to rent an Illusion Array from you, Fairy."

Su Youyou let out a snort, her gaze cool. "You've certainly worked out a clever scheme. Do you know that the most expensive part of an array isn't the flags, but setting it up?"

"Do you know how tedious setting up an array is? Expecting to exchange one meal for an array is a flight of fancy."

With that, she wouldn't even look at Zhou Ning, treating him with great distance.

Zhou Ning gave an awkward smile and cursed inwardly.

This woman forgot everything the moment she filled her belly!

"Only renting, renting," he stressed.

Then he offered his terms. "I'm willing to pay fifty jin of spirit rice as rent. In addition, while I'm renting it, if anything with no eyes offends you, Fairy, you can send it here to be dealt with."

"Oh," Su Youyou replied.

Compared with consumables such as Pill Furnaces, array flags were extremely durable. Even after years of use, as long as the array wasn't forcibly broken, they could be retrieved with almost no wear.

Besides, she had a pile of array flags sitting unused.

Su Youyou seemed to consider it for a long moment before giving a slight nod. "All right."

Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally dealt with this hidden danger, and he had also made a connection with a rich woman who was an array master.

Su Youyou moved her hand, and seven array flags appeared: three black, three white, and one blue-green, their surfaces embroidered with arcane runes.

"Given what you've asked for, a first-tier Bewildering Tracks Array is the most suitable. When an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator probes with Divine Sense, all they'll see is a bank of mist."

As cool and composed as ever, she lit her fingertips with a faint glow, and the seven array flags floated up, forming a bagua.

With a flick of her pale, slender finger, one array flag shot out trailing spirit light like a little rocket and landed on the eastern side of the courtyard wall.

Immediately afterward, the three black and three white flags planted themselves around the courtyard in succession, securely surrounding it.

She held the one remaining blue-green flag and waved it gently. The array flags blazed with light.

The next moment, a hazy ring of gray-white light appeared above the courtyard, covering the whole little yard.

"Done." Su Youyou's tone was calm and unruffled, as if it had been as easy as drinking water.

Zhou Ning had barely reacted. "It's finished?"

He released a portion of his Divine Sense and probed the courtyard. All he saw was a gray haze; sure enough, he couldn't see anything.

It really is done. Was it that quick?

Didn't she just say setting up an array was difficult?

Zhou Ning suddenly turned his head and saw the corners of Su Youyou's mouth curved upward, a sly, lively glint in her eyes.

"Heh, that's for playing the victim all day long."

Su Youyou caught his gaze and immediately pressed her lips together, as though that little thought had never crossed her mind.

She tapped a finger, and the little blue-green flag flew to Zhou Ning.

"This is a warning flag. Put it beside the Fire-Gathering Array from now on. If someone forces their way in, it will light up."

Zhou Ning was delighted. He hadn't expected it to have such a wonderful function as well.

"Thank you, Fairy. I will surely repay your great kindness in the future!"

Su Youyou looked at him and suddenly revealed something. "The Su Household is short of Alchemists lately. If you can refine Spirit Essence Pills..."

Before she finished, she stepped onto her white silk Law Artifact and flew into the wind and snow.