Chapter 690: Where did you come from? Go back where you came from!

Several people entered in single file and took their seats.

"Master," Tuan Tuan hugged Chu Yuan's neck, "because of us, your Guoshi Residence has been burned down—those two bastards are really terrible!"

"But it looks like they're building you a new one!"

"Right," Xiao Er nodded, "these past few days we've been hearing noises; Feng Zhou says it sounds like they're filling earth to prepare a new residence."

Chu Yuan shook his head: "External things aren't worth worrying about."

"National Preceptor, the young lady has been thinking of your love for this ancient book from the previous dynasty," Lu Qi took out a book from his bosom and placed it on the table, "here, I've brought it for you."

"So good!" Chu Yuan rubbed Tuan Tuan's little head: "No wonder you're my beloved disciple!"

Tuan Tuan smiled sweetly.

Chu Yuan scanned the crowd: "You've come at just the right time; something big has happened in Jingcheng these past two days."

Everyone was startled: "What happened?"

Chu Yuan briefly explained the matter of repairing the moat.

"Are they going to flood Jingcheng?" Xiao Ningyuan's brows knotted into a lump, "Terrible! What about Second Brother and them?"

"Ningchen came to see me last night and asked me to tell you that he has decided to abandon the secret passage and ordered everyone to withdraw from Jingcheng."

"Abandon?" Everyone looked at each other.

Chu Yuan nodded: "He has no choice; now only four secret passages have been cleared, with just a few hundred troops."

"If they stay in the secret passages, how many days can they last without food?"

"If everyone goes into the city, all males fourteen and older must go outside to dig the moat, roll call daily according to the roster—they have nowhere to hide."

"These past few days Jingcheng has been in total chaos; teahouses and taverns are all closed, less than thirty percent of shops remain open, and the people are full of complaints."

"If it weren't for my being the National Preceptor, even the Taoist priests here wouldn't be spared."

"What a vicious scheme!" Xiao Ningyuan sighed, "They can't find the secret passage, so they want to make it unusable for us altogether!"

"Young Master," Xiao Er's face darkened further, "if the great army reaches the foot of Jingcheng, won't we be completely unable to enter, only able to besiege from outside?"

"The Prince dislikes prolonged warfare the most; the longer it drags on, the lower the troops' morale."

"Given time, even if the Prince still wanted to wear them down, the Western Regions army probably can't wait."

"Is Second Brother going to leave?" Tuan Tuan listened, feeling dull, "I haven't even seen him yet!"

"Good, your elder brother and them are discussing warfare," Chu Yuan casually flipped open a page of the secret manual on the table, "take a look at this—does it look good?"

"Oh, okay." Tuan Tuan listlessly flipped through the pictures in the secret manual.

The crowd discussed for a long time, but couldn't find a good countermeasure.

The room gradually grew quiet.

Chu Yuan took out a small porcelain bottle that Mo Zhanggeng had given him from his bosom: "This is what your Divine Doctor master left for you."

He recalled what Mo Zhanggeng had said that day and laughed: "That Divine Doctor is truly interesting."

"He had two people following him; I can't speak plainly, but I can only say this medicine is called 'Chan Chan'."

"It's for a round, lively little thing."

"After taking it, one can stay calm for twelve shichen, and recover the next day."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Master!" Tuan Tuan dove into Chu Yuan's embrace: "I'm not round at all!"

"Fine, my disciple isn't!" Chu Yuan laughed, patting her little back, and stuffed the porcelain bottle into her sachet.

A burst of laughter dispelled the earlier heaviness.

But after the laughter, the adults fell back into silence.

This move of theirs shattered all our plans; even the Western Regions reinforcements might return empty-handed.

"Master, what is this?" Tuan Tuan pointed at a peculiar pattern.

Three concentric circles nested layer by layer; the outermost ring is dense with star dots, the middle ring depicts mountains and rivers, and the innermost ring is a large blank space, with only a small vermilion red dot at the very center.

"Why is the innermost ring completely bare, with nothing at all?"

Chu Yuan lowered his gaze, slightly startled.

He reached out and slowly traced the three concentric circles, his eyes flickering: "This is, the Guiyuan Formation."

"Guiyuan Formation?" Xiao Ningyuan leaned in to take a look: "What is it used for?"

Chu Yuan said nothing, flipped forward a page, then back two pages, remained silent for a long while: "This formation was created by Taoist Priest Xuanwei."

He lifted his head and looked at everyone: "It is a unique technique he devised after seeing the city damaged and the people displaced, capable of restoring damaged land to its original state."

"Has it been completed?" Lu Qi couldn't help but ask.

Chu Yuan shook his head: "Taoist Priest Xuanwei exhausted his lifelong learning to draw this formation, but has never used it."

"Since the formation is complete," Xiao Ningyuan asked, "why not use it?"

"Because this formation requires an extremely rare formation eye." Chu Yuan turned to a later page, pointing at the obscure text: "It needs one who bears great destiny, holding an object."

"This object is born here, its fate intertwined with the land; it is the pupil of the formation eye."

"Such a person of destiny can be encountered but not sought; thus, although the formation is complete, it has never been activated."

As his words fell, the room fell silent for a moment.

Then everyone's gaze turned toward Tuan Tuan.

"What's wrong?" Tuan Tuan blinked, "Are you all looking at me?"

"One who bears great destiny," Chu Yuan softly recited, "isn't that just my disciple!"

Tuan Tuan pointed at her own little nose: "Me?"

Chu Yuan nodded.

Xiao Ningyuan sprang to his feet: "National Preceptor, you're saying that with Tuan Tuan, this formation can be used?"

"Yes." Chu Yuan nodded his head, "Since there's no other method now, we might as well give it a try."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance, their breathing grew a little heavier.

"Can this Formation restore the besieged city's moat to its original state?" Xiao Ningyuan's voice trembled, "Can it revert it to before it was dug?"

"If this Formation succeeds, it should." Chu Yuan's finger lightly touched the vermilion red dot, "Once this Formation is activated, the land associated with the object held at the Formation's eye will return to its state before the damage."

"Then what is the object for the Formation's eye?" Xiao Er fretted, "Now that we have the Miss, where can we find this thing?"

Chu Yuan furrowed his brows slightly: "Since this Formation was created by Taoist Priest Xuanwei, it's best to use an object from the previous dynasty for the utmost stability."

"Something from the previous dynasty? Master! I have one!" Tuan Tuan untied his waist's embroidered pouch, took out the small porcelain tile painted with the Big Dipper, and handed it to Chu Yuan.

"Will this work, Master? I picked this up from the wall of the secret passage two days ago!"

Chu Yuan received the porcelain tile, examined it back and forth for a moment, and the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Good! This is an object from the previous dynasty found in the secret passage; using it couldn't be more suitable."

Xiao Ningyuan asked, "National Preceptor, how long will this Formation take to complete?"

Chu Yuan examined it again carefully: "Two days."

"Excellent!" Everyone's faces lit up with joy.

Xiao Ningyuan said, "There's still time to go tell Second Brother, have him wait a bit, don't withdraw yet."

"Master, but I don't understand Formations!" Tuan Tuan looked up at Chu Yuan.

"You don't need to understand," Chu Yuan's gaze gentle, "I will set up the Formation; you just need to add the finishing touch."

"Oh." Tuan Tuan nodded firmly.

"I will set up the Formation these two days," Chu Yuan placed Tuan Tuan into Xiao Ningyuan's embrace, "In two days, at the zi hour, come back then."

He smiled, pinching Tuan Tuan's little cheek: "Master and disciple, working together, let them return that ditch they dug to where it came from!"