Chapter 206

How could Liu Liu Xiaolou dare to go up the mountain? He begged for mercy on the spot: "Zhao Zhishi, you are magnanimous. Please spare me this once. Whatever you command, I..."

Zhao Ru Yu shouted: "Where did all these words come from?" As he spoke, he flew out a rope that coiled around Liu Liu Xiaolou's shoulder: "Tie yourself up!"

Seeing this Eight-Prohibition Rope, various thoughts flashed through Liu Liu Xiaolou's mind. In the end, looking at the bronze sword hovering above his head, he had no choice but to comply, wrapping the rope around his body and aligning it with several meridians.

With Zhao Ru Yu's cultivation, if he really wanted his life, he wouldn't go to such great lengths; wouldn't it be easier to just take off one of his legs? There should be no threat to his life; he just didn't know what kind of suffering he would have to endure.

Zhao Ru Yu pinched a hand seal, and the Eight-Prohibition Rope immediately locked his meridians. Liu Liu Xiaolou felt his true qi stagnate, unable to mobilize even a fraction.

The two returned the way they came, Liu Liu Xiaolou walking in front, still carrying his basket, and Zhao Ru Yu following behind. They passed through Green Glow Valley and returned to Huashou Terrace.

Passing through ruins after ruins, they arrived before a collapsed palace. Zhao Ru Yu pushed Liu Liu Xiaolou inside and said: "Stay here and don't run around."

After he left with Liu Liu Xiaolou's basket, Liu Liu Xiaolou's heart stirred. He poked his head out to look around. By now, the sky was already bright, and the broken walls and ruins on Huashou Terrace could be seen clearly. Looking around, he didn't find any suitable hiding place. He thought to himself: What did that man surnamed Zhao go to do? Could he be testing me? If I run away, will he pop out and strike me down?

He thought again: I didn't kill anyone or set any fires, nor did I destroy the ten-thousand-year-old pine, and I didn't even destroy that Earth Gate Formation. The pine resin essence I collected was all returned, and I didn't cause any losses to the Luo Fu Sect, nor did I resist. The Luo Fu Sect is one of the top ten sects in the world; the possibility of them dealing with me severely is relatively small.

A moment later, he thought: I can't get this Eight-Prohibition Rope off myself; I can only escape the mountain and find someone to help. But tied up by the Eight-Prohibition Rope, can I have a chance to escape Luo Fushan?

What he thought about more was: What exactly does that man surnamed Zhao want to do by bringing me here?

For a time, all kinds of thoughts came one after another, his heart was in a state of turmoil, anxious and uneasy.

By noon, Zhao Ru Yu finally returned. The basket he had taken was not with him, but he was holding an oil-paper package in his hand and carrying a wine jar on his shoulder. Entering the main hall, he spread the oil-paper package on the ground, set the wine jar to the side, and nodded: "Not bad, being honest is the right thing to do. Stay here properly; perhaps there will be a day when I let you down the mountain."

Liu Liu Xiaolou said with fear and trepidation: "Whatever Zhao Zhishi commands, I will surely obey. I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Zhao Ru Yu laughed: "It's not as difficult as going through fire and water. Come, this is a freshly roasted chicken. I saw you busy for half the night at Huang Long Ravine without even a bite of food or water. You're hungry, right? Let's eat and talk."

Given food and wine, Liu Liu Xiaolou's uneasy heart finally settled. He let out a long breath, picked up the roasted chicken, and stuffed it into his mouth. While eating, he was moved to tears: "Zhao Zhishi is truly the style of a great sect. I have traveled for many years and have seen quite a lot, but I have never seen a kind-hearted person like Zhao Zhishi. Not only is your cultivation profound, but you are also generous to us loose practitioners..."

Zhao Ru Yu said: "Ha, flattering me? It won't be comfortable if you flatter me too high and then fall! Don't flatter me blindly. I know very well what kind of paths you wild cultivators take—inconsistent in heart and mouth, not a single word in ten is true!"

Liu Liu Xiaolou swore to the heavens: "If there is half a word of falsehood..."

Zhao Ru Yu couldn't be bothered to listen to his oath and slapped the wine jar open: "Alright, alright, this is old wine brewed by villagers at the foot of the mountain. You can make do with it to quench your thirst."

Liu Liu Xiaolou hurriedly took it and drank several large gulps. He felt that this wine was indeed as Zhao Ru Yu said—it was brewed by villagers, sour and light, which made him, a former son-in-law accustomed to the Su family's sweet-scented osmanthus wine, very unaccustomed: "I have been drifting for more than ten years and rarely have the chance to drink. Since this wine is a gift from Zhao Zhishi, I only feel it is sweet and mellow. Even the best spirit wine, how can it compare..."

Zhao Ru Yu waved his hand, interrupting him: "Eat and drink quickly."

Liu Liu Xiaolou said no more and drank the wine and ate the chicken in large mouthfuls.

Then he heard Zhao Ru Yu ask: "Tell me, where are you a loose practitioner from? What is your name?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou gnawed on a chicken rack and said: "Zhao Zhishi, once you hear my accent, you might know. I am a loose practitioner from Jingxiang, originally a disciple of the Row Sect, surnamed Li, named Mu."

Zhao Ru Yu asked: "Which branch of the Row Sect?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou said: "I was once of the third branch of the Row Sect. You also know that the Row Sect is different from great sects like the Luo Fu Sect. The disciples in the sect are too numerous and mixed, with all kinds of people; it can be said to be a place that hides filth and dirt. I really couldn't stand it and left many years ago. Now I am all alone, drifting to the ends of the earth."

Zhao Ru Yu said: "Ha? Does that mean it would be very difficult for me to find out your background if I sent someone to the seventh branch of the Row Sect to ask?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou laughed dryly: "That's not what I meant. I really have been gone for many years, hehe."

Zhao Ru Yu said indifferently: "I don't care about your old affairs. You eat while I ask. I observed you lurking by Huang Long Ravine for half the night, waiting until dawn to enter the formation. What was your consideration?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou blinked and answered truthfully: "I am an array master. After seeing the formation, I subconsciously wanted to figure it out. Looking at it, I only felt that this formation was excellent, but it also had flaws to be found. That is, when dawn is about to break, the operation of the formation might show signs of stagnation."

Zhao Ru Yu pursued: "Then did you figure it out? What is the reason?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou hesitated: "This..."

Zhao Ru Yu frowned: "What are you worried about?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou took a deep breath: "Zhao Zhishi, this is my first time at Luo Fushan. I don't know your sect's style of conduct, but I have heard many old stories about other sects. Many loose practitioners were killed and their bodies destroyed after confessing to those sects."

Zhao Ru Yu said: "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. Ha, this is an opportunity for you to perform a meritorious service. If you say it correctly, I guarantee you won't die."

Liu Liu Xiaolou probed: "Then many thanks to Zhao Zhishi. Will you imprison me on the mountain forever?"

Zhao Ru Yu said: "That depends on whether the merit you perform is great or not, ha?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou gritted his teeth: "Then I will trust Zhao Zhishi once. Actually, it's simple. At dawn, a mountain mist often drifts over Jade Goose Peak. This is called the Earth Gate Formation, right? This Earth Gate Formation has three formation gates, one of which faces exactly the direction from which the mountain mist drifts. It's equivalent to opening the main gate to welcome the mountain mist. The mist is confusing, and this gate is the pointing gate in the formation. Once you enter the mountain mist, the pointing will go wrong. Of course, the problem is not big; once the mountain mist drifts out of the formation, everything can be restored."

Zhao Ru Yu listened to Liu Liu Xiaolou's explanation, his expression showing no change, only pondering in silence.

Liu Liu Xiaolou didn't know what he was thinking, so he had to lower his head to drink wine, was caught off guard and choked by the sourness of the wine, and then picked up the roasted chicken to chew on it again.

After a while, he heard Zhao Ru Yu ask: "You brat... who did you learn array formations from?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou answered: "I said before, I taught myself. I happened to have an opportunity and read a few array books."

Zhao Ru Yu pursued: "What array books?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou casually mentioned a few array books he had heard of when chatting with a group of array masters at the foot of Jin Jin Tingshan: "For example, 'Strategy of the Yellow Stone Array', 'Seven-Star Array Diagram', and the like."

"You, this array master, what level do you count as among array masters, ha?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou said: "I am just ordinary."

Zhao Ru Yu nodded: "Also true. An array master at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement... if another array master were to change it, could they see it?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou thought for a while and said: "I dare not guarantee for array masters at the Qi Refinement stage, but if it were an array master at the Foundation Establishment realm, they should all be able to see it."

Zhao Ru Yu suddenly got up and left. When he reached the palace gate, he turned around and asked: "How did you get down the mountain?"

Liu Liu Xiaolou was puzzled: "Ah?"

"Which mountain path did you take?"

"The same way down the mountain... Green Glow Valley."

"The same way? How did you walk?"

"Walking along the edge."

"Walking along the edge?"

"That is, walking against the edge of the cliff."

"Ha."

Zhao Ru Yu suddenly laughed, shook his head, and left quickly, leaving Liu Liu Xiaolou feeling baffled and unable to figure it out: Walking along the edge of the cliff, is there any problem with that?