Chapter 9: Array

Chapter 9: Array

On the morning of the third day, Xiao Wu arrived at the western courtyard, informing Liu Le'er and Liu Shi that Daoist Master White Stone's preparations were complete, and that he was ready to treat Liu Shi.

With Xiao Wu leading the way, Liu Le'er led Liu Shi through a series of corridors, passing through four small courtyards and emerging from an archway before finally arriving in the backyard of the Yu Manor.

Liu Le'er was already in awe of all of the winding courtyards and corridors, but only after seeing the small lake in the backyard, which was laden with lush lotus leaves, did she truly realize just how massive the Yu Manor was.

The lake was referred to as a small one, but only relative to all of the large rivers and lakes that Liu Le'er had seen in the past. In reality, the lake was at least 3,000 to 4,000 feet in area, certainly far larger than a pond that one would find in the backyard of the average wealthy man's estate.

"That's where Daoist Master White Stone cultivates and refines pills," Xiao Wu introduced as she pointed at a small island at the center of the lake.

Liu Le'er cast her gaze toward the direction that Xiao Wu was pointing in, and she was greeted by the sight of a bridge constructed from white marble, arching over the teeming lotus leaves and leading all the way to the small island.

The island wasn't very large, but it was filled with lush greenery and enshrouded in cloud and mist, making it impossible to get a clear look at it.

The thought that the island could hold the key to curing Liu Shi immediately filled Liu Le'er with excitement, and her thoughts began to wander with her emotions.

Xiao Wu could see that Liu Le'er was rather distracted, and she smiled as she said, "Servants like me aren't allowed to encroach upon Daoist Master White Stone's territory, so you'll have to go on your own from here."

Liu Le'er returned to her senses upon hearing this, and she hurriedly said, "Thank you, Sister Xiao Wu."

Seeing Liu Le'er so excited put Xiao Wu in a good mood as well, and she gave Liu Le'er a cheerful wave before departing.

Liu Le'er cast her gaze toward the small island, and she laid a hand onto the railing of the bridge, but she didn't immediately step onto it. For some reason, a thought had suddenly occurred to her.

Will Brother Rock leave me once he's cured?

A hesitant look appeared on her face as this thought occurred to her, but her heart was immediately put at ease again as she looked up at Liu Shi's familiar features.

"Let's go, Brother Rock."

With that, she stepped onto the bridge, leading Liu Shi toward the small island.

As the two drew closer and closer to the island, Liu Le'er began to feel rather anxious. In contrast, Liu Shi's expression was as calm as ever, and his gaze was occasionally drawn to the carp popping up out of the water beneath the lotus leaves.

After arriving on the island, Liu Le'er was struck by the feeling that the mist wasn't actually as dense as it had seemed from afar. There wasn't much sound on the island, and it was a very peaceful and elegant environment.

The end of the stone bridge was connected to a small, winding path that was paved with stone slabs, extending all the way into the heart of the island.

Liu Le'er and Liu Shi made their way along the path, and there were no other branches that diverged from the path, so they arrived directly in front of an archaic daoist temple with black and white walls.

Daoist Master White Stone was waiting for them outside the temple, and upon their arrival, he instructed them to come in before making his way toward the temple's rear hall.

The two of them followed Daoist Master White Stone through three halls before arriving at the temple's backyard, where a huge fake mountain was standing.

Daoist Master White Stone made his way over to a certain part of the mountain, then pressed a hand onto its surface, and a thick and heavy stone door slowly opened to reveal an opening tall enough to fit an adult human.

The two followed Daoist Master White Stone into the fake mountain, following which the stone door behind them slowly fell shut.

A cave had been excavated into the interior of the fake mountain, and it wasn't a very large space, only slightly larger than the room that Liu Le'er and Liu Shi were staying in. There were several lit lanterns on each of the four walls, and they weren't releasing any smoke, leading Liu Le'er to wonder what type of oil was being burned in the lanterns.

There was an octagonal diagram engraved onto the ground at the center of the cave, and it resembled the eight trigrams, but was somewhat different.

The engravings on the ground were extremely deep, and not only did it hold designs of some peculiar birds and beasts, there were also some strange lines interspersed among those designs. Liu Le'er had a feeling that this was some type of ancient text.

There was a dark red triangular flag situated at each corner of the octagonal design, and these flags also bore peculiar patterns inscribed in golden thread.

Daoist Master White Stone took a glance at Liu Le'er, who was inspecting the array, then urged in a cold voice, "What are you waiting for? Get him to sit down at the center of the array!"

"Yes, Daoist Master!"

Liu Le'er hurriedly withdrew her gaze before guiding Liu Shi to the center of the array, where there was a ring-shaped design.

"You're definitely going to be cured, Brother Rock. I'll be here with you," Liu Le'er said in an earnest voice as she looked into Liu Shi's eyes, then stepped out of the array and planted herself against one of the stone walls off to the side, where she looked on with an anxious expression.

"Stay there from now on. Don't make any sound to distract me, and don't move even a single inch, do you hear me?" Daoist Master White Stone instructed with a serious expression.

Liu Le'er hurriedly nodded in response.

Only then did Daoist Master White Stone make his way over to the array, and he raised a hand in front of his own chest in a daoist prayer, then walked a lap around the array while chanting an indecipherable incantation.

As he began to chant the incantation, the golden lines on the eight small flags around the array lit up with dazzling golden light in unison, then extended toward Liu Shi from all directions.

Liu Shi was inspecting his surroundings, and his body abruptly shuddered as the golden light enveloped his body. It was as if he had been electrocuted, and he instantly sat bolt upright.

Liu Le'er's heart jolted upon seeing this, and her eyes were filled with concern and anticipation.

The golden light began to swirl around Liu Shi's body, forming a series of strange golden patterns. At the same time, there also seemed to be specks of golden light converging within his eyes, presenting quite a peculiar sight to behold.

All of a sudden, Daoist Master White Stone's chanting drew to an abrupt halt, and he suddenly switched to a different hand seal as he yelled, "Restrict!"

The golden light that was revolving around Liu Shi abruptly solidified before enveloping Liu Shi like a layer of golden paper.

Through the golden light, it could be seen that Liu Shi's brows had furrowed together, indicating that he was in some pain.

A loud sizzling sound rang out as bright golden light radiated from the eight flags around the array, and plumes of black mist surged out of the flags before converging toward the center of the array.

Liu Le'er's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and for some reason, she was struck by an instinctive sense of discomfort as soon as the black mist appeared.

All of a sudden, Liu Shi gave a muffled groan as his facial muscles spasmed slightly.

Liu Le'er couldn't help but let loose a cry of alarm upon seeing this, but she then immediately clapped a hand over her own mouth with a fearful expression.

"Shut up! I told you not to make a sound!" Daoist Master White Stone scolded in a cold voice.

Liu Le'er's heart shuddered slightly, and she didn't dare to say anything, but the fear in her eyes didn't abate in the slightest.

The plumes of mist were like living creatures, forming a series of tentacles that wrapped around Liu Shi before completely inundating him.

Immediately thereafter, Daoist Master White Stone made a hand seal and resumed his chanting.

More and more black mist poured out of the flags, and it was becoming denser and denser.

A perplexed look appeared on Liu Shi's face, following which his eyelids began to droop, and he slowly closed his eyes, falling asleep in an upright position.

An elated look appeared on Daoist Master White Stone's face upon seeing this, and he switched to another hand seal as he opened his mouth to release a ball of blood essence, which disintegrated into specks of crimson light that vanished directly into the black mist.

A strong bloody scent immediately began to waft out of the mist, and a series of crimson runes rapidly appeared.

Liu Le'er's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and her instincts were screaming at her that something wasn't right. However, she was rather hesitant about how to proceed for fear of offending Daoist Master White Stone.

However, right at this moment, Daoist Master White Stone let loose a low cry, and the temperature of the black mist abruptly plummeted, forming a giant black of black ice that sealed Liu Shi within.

"Stop! What are you doing?" At this point, Liu Le'er could see beyond a doubt that Daoist Master White Stone's intentions were impure, and she stepped toward the array with an alarmed expression as she made a grabbing motion. A palm-sized pellet drum appeared in her grasp amid a flash of light, and she immediately attempted to shatter the block of ice to save Liu Shi.