233: Chapter 233 Yunfei sets the stage, Old Mo goes into seclusion

Chu Yunfei arrived at Blue Moon Island at noon.

He did not dock with the main Royal Capital Fleet. He arrived on a separate fast ship that had departed from the main port of Zhenhai Fortress—the hull was nearly half the size of the Royal Capital Fleet warships, but it had a very shallow draft, and its speed was nearly thirty percent faster than the main fleet.

The fast ship docked at the temporary anchorage outside the North Corner Berth—when Chu Yunfei jumped off the ship, the sound of his feet hitting the stone embankment was nearly half as light as that of military boots.

He was wearing casual clothes—a dark blue cloth garment, with no military rank or Inspectorate cloud patterns on the cuffs.

Hanging from his waist was not a long sword—but a Storage Pouch and a scroll of Array Pattern diagrams stuffed into a bamboo tube.

Leng Feng met him at the Pier.

The first thing Chu Yunfei saw when he looked at Leng Feng—was the fresh scratch on Leng Feng's left shoulder armor.

The scratch had been gouged out from the side by a bone spear during close-quarters combat in a narrow alley last night—Leng Feng had not yet repaired it.

"Last night—did you take action?"

"The flank. Private Soldiers and stragglers—finished cleaning them up." Leng Feng took the bamboo tube from Chu Yunfei's hand. "The Lord is in the Chart Room."

Chu Yunfei hummed in acknowledgement.

As he walked toward the Lord's Mansion—his gaze lingered for less than half a breath on the few people in casual clothes at the North Corner of the Pier.

The people in casual clothes were posting temporary inspection notices from the Inspectorate on the outer wall of the Inner Harbor warehouse area.

The seal on the notice was Special Commissioner Wei Yuan's—the official seal of the Inspectorate's External Affairs Archive Room.

"The people who came off the ship—a few of them are asking about Shen Qinghan." Chu Yunfei's voice dropped to a level only Leng Feng could hear.

"They are very careful in how they ask—they don't ask for her name, they only ask 'has a female Cultivator in blue ever appeared on the island'. They are asking the cargo handlers at the Pier—the cargo handlers said they didn't notice. They left as soon as they heard that—they didn't press for more information."

Leng Feng did not respond. He lifted the bamboo tube by half an inch—the Array Pattern diagrams inside lightly brushed against the tube wall.

Lord's Mansion, Chart Room. Lu Changyuan was sitting in front of the chart table—there were three things spread out on the table.

On the left were the latest monitoring data of the Receiving Formation just sent over by Su Qingli—the main force of the Haiyuan Clan was moving slowly toward the east side, at a speed of less than two li per hour.

In the middle was a simplified diagram of the pipeline blast locations, drawn after the return of Leng Feng's twenty-nine-man assault team—the diagram marked the specific locations of the pipeline breaches and the decline curve of the spiritual energy injection speed.

On the right was the network of Special Commissioner Wei Yuan's connections, transcribed by Shen Qinghan—seventeen names, with lines still extending outward.

Chu Yunfei entered the room—first, he placed the bamboo tube on the corner of the chart table.

Then he started taking things out of his Storage Pouch.

The first item—a thick cloth bundle wrapped in three layers of oil paper.

The bundle was opened—inside were the highest-grade Formation bases that could be bought in the Royal Capital's Formation Materials market.

The specifications of the Formation bases were one grade higher than the standard military Formation bases currently used on Blue Moon Island—after a Cultivator at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage injected their spiritual power, the conduction speed of the Formation paths could be increased by nearly twenty percent.

These were not military supplies—the Ministry of War in the Royal Capital did not issue this level of Formation Materials.

He had paid for them with his own Spirit Stones.

The second item—a stack of Array Pattern diagrams.

Drawn on the paper were the opening moves for ancient Formation deductions of several different schools—replicated from old files in the Capital Ministry of War Array Bureau.

The original files were incomplete copies left over from the Sealing Era two thousand years ago—most of the active Array Master in the Array Bureau no longer used these old deduction methods.

But Chu Yunfei had an old acquaintance in the Array Bureau—an old Formation Master nearing retirement had dug them out for him.

The third item—a slip of paper.

An address was written on the slip: Zhenhai Fortress Logistics Area—the far east side—at the foot of the mountain—the seventh old stone house in the third row.

Written on the back of the slip were three characters: Surname Mo.

"You mentioned in your letter a coral box that couldn't be opened—the Array Pattern on the surface is a double-ring reverse seal." Chu Yunfei pushed the slip of paper toward Lu Changyuan.

"I spent nearly ten days investigating in the Royal Capital—there are no more than three people among the active Array Master who can decipher this kind of ancient Array Pattern. All three are in the Capital Ministry of War Array Bureau—all are on the official roster. People on the roster cannot take this kind of work privately—doing so is a violation of regulations. But there is one who has retired—surname Mo. A Formation Master at the Late Golden Core Stage—twenty years ago at the Capital Ministry of War Array Bureau, he specialized in researching ancient Array Patterns from the Sealing Era. Later, during a Formation base maintenance accident, he was backlashed by an ancient Restriction—his Dantian dropped from the Peak of the Golden Core Stage to the Late Golden Core Stage—and he was never able to advance further. After his Dantian was damaged—he was ostracized in the Array Bureau for nearly two years. In the end, he was ostracized to the point of being transferred to the Zhenhai Fortress to manage the logistics Formation Materials warehouse. He held a nominal position as a warehouse manager—but in reality, he was exiled."

"A Formation Master at the Late Golden Core Stage—exiled to a logistics warehouse." Lu Changyuan turned the slip of paper over and looked at the three characters.

"An old matter from twenty years ago. That Formation base maintenance accident involved an ancient Sealing Formation base on the outskirts of the Royal Capital—many people were injured after the Formation base collapsed. Old Mo was the only one who could get out alive while still on the scene. But his Dantian was backlashed—his Realm fell—and his rivals and superiors took this opportunity to clear him out of the Array Bureau. The transfer order stated 'transferred to a logistics idle position due to injury'—it was stamped with the recommendation seal of colleagues from the Capital Ministry of War Array Bureau. A Formation Master at the Late Golden Core Stage—exiled by colleagues with a single recommendation seal."

Chu Yunfei's tone did not change—but when he said "colleague recommendation seal," his finger tapped on the table.

"After he retired—he has been living in that old stone house on the very edge of the fortress logistics area. He doesn't take jobs from the military—doesn't participate in any factions—usually, he only helps low-level Cultivators around the logistics area repair broken Formation Plates to exchange for some Spirit Stones. But his ability to deduce ancient Formations—cannot be matched by any active Formation Master in Zhenhai Fortress. The old case from twenty years ago made him lose heart with the military—but his obsession with ancient Formations—has never ceased."

Su Qingli came over from the Formation Affairs Room.

When she entered the room, she was holding the coral box—the surface of the box had been marked by her with a charcoal pencil, drawing a circle outside the Array Pattern.

The markings indicated the twelve key turning points of the double-ring sealing Formation—the path of the Array Pattern at these turning points was different from any active school she knew.

"Chu Yunfei—this Old Mo you speak of. The deduction opening moves he uses—how are they different from the active schools?" Su Qingli placed the coral box on the chart table—and pressed her finger on the third turning point of the outer Array Pattern.

"Active Array Master opening a Formation—use the standard deciphering opening move. The sequence is to dismantle it layer by layer from the outer circle to the inner circle—each node is deciphered individually. Ancient Formation deduction is not dismantling—it is deducing. Deducing backward from the convergence direction of the Array Pattern—deducing the Formation sequence before it was locked. Once deduced—the deciphering method naturally appears. The biggest difference between the two—the first reaction of an active Formation Master when seeing an ancient Array Pattern is 'What kind of Formation is this?'. Old Mo's first reaction is 'How was this Formation laid out?'"

Su Qingli was silent for about three breaths. Then she withdrew her finger from the coral box—took out a charcoal pencil from her sleeve—and drew an arrow pointing backward next to the outer Array Pattern of the coral box.

The direction of the deduction—was completely opposite to the direction of dismantling.

Lu Changyuan stood up—and walked to the chart table. "Go find him now?"

"Not now." Chu Yunfei shook his head. "Old Mo hasn't seen guests for over a decade. If you go directly to knock on the door—he won't open it. A full circle of miniature warning Formations is carved on the wooden door of his stone house—the Array Pattern is so fine that it can scan the spiritual power fluctuations of the person knocking on the door from outside. If it scans military spiritual power fluctuations—he won't open the door. If it scans the spiritual power of a Cultivator he doesn't recognize—he won't open it either."

"Then how do you get him to open the door?"

Chu Yunfei pulled out the thinnest roll of paper from the bamboo tube—on the paper was drawn one of the twelve Array Pattern turning points that Su Qingli had just mentioned.

He unfolded the paper—the turning point of the Array Pattern on the paper surface was enlarged to nearly ten times its original size—every stroke of the Formation ink was clear enough to see the convergence direction of the brush tip when the Formation was laid out.

"You go find him—don't bring any official military documents. Don't bring Spirit Stones. Bringing two things is enough. First—a complete rubbing of the coral box's double-ring sealing Array Pattern. Second—a fragment of an ancient Array Pattern clipped from the rubbing data of the Main Hub of the Sealing Formation. Once these two things are placed in front of him—he will have to look, even if he doesn't want to. Because what he specialized in researching at the Array Bureau twenty years ago—was the Array Pattern path of this era."

Chu Yunfei pushed the slip of paper toward Lu Changyuan. "After he looks at it—he will ask you. Answer the questions he asks—yourself. Don't say that I told you to go. Don't let anyone know that there is a connection between Chu Yunfei and Old Mo. After Old Mo retired—what he feared most was people knowing that his ancient Formation deduction ability still existed."

Lu Changyuan tucked the slip of paper into the inside of his belt. Then he turned to look at Su Qingli. "Rubbing the coral box Array Pattern—how long will it take?"

"One hour." Su Qingli had already taken the charcoal pencil out of her sleeve—and spread a new piece of paper on the table. "The double-ring sealing Formation has a total of twenty-four Array Pattern nodes. Each node needs to be rubbed twice—once forward, once backward—to clearly see the stacking direction of the Formation ink. Once all are rubbed—plus the annotations—one hour. The ancient Formation fragment from the Main Hub of the Sealing Formation—I have already clipped it from the data Leng Feng brought back last time—it is stored in an independent Formation Plate in the Formation Affairs Room. Engraving a copy—same time as rubbing the coral box."

"Do it."

Su Qingli picked up the Coral Casket and walked toward the Formation Affairs Room. When she reached the door, she paused and turned her head to look back at Chu Yunfei. "Have you ever seen Old Mo's deduction opening move?"

"I haven't. I only know the general idea—it was recorded in a short passage from a remnant manuscript unearthed from the old archives of the Array Bureau. The opening move is a reverse deduction—tracing backward from where the Array Pattern converges toward the direction of the Formation setup. The first arc of the opening move is drawn at the position where the Array Pattern converges on the outermost ring. It's not drawn at the starting position used by any active Array Master—their starting position is the dead center of the Formation eye. Old Mo's starting position is where the Array Pattern ends."

Su Qingli didn't ask any more questions. She turned and pushed open the door to the Formation Affairs Room. After the door closed, the faint, scratching sound of a charcoal pencil drawing tracing marks on fresh paper drifted from inside.

Lu Changyuan and Chu Yunfei remained in the Chart Room. Chu Yunfei rearranged the high-grade Formation Materials from the Royal Capital on the table, then pushed nearly a third of them toward Lu Changyuan. "These are for Blue Moon Island. The other two-thirds are for Su Qingli's Formation affairs upgrade—keep them in her Formation Affairs Room for now."

Lu Changyuan glanced at the Materials on the table. The quality of the Formation bases was higher than he had expected—so high that it exceeded what a Golden Core Cultivator at a fortress could afford with their own Spirit Stones. "How much did you spend?"

"Not much." Chu Yunfei didn't mention the figure. He hung the Storage Pouch back on his waist, then picked up his cup and took a sip of cold water. After finishing, he set the cup back on the table and let his fingers linger on the rim. "Lu Changyuan—Special Commissioner Wei Yuan is on the island."

"I know."

"When do you plan to make a move against him?"

"No move. Not now." Lu Changyuan picked up the paper where Shen Qinghan had written down the network of connections and tapped his finger on the first name below Special Commissioner Wei Yuan's. "Special Commissioner Wei Yuan is on Blue Moon Island—all his people are in the shadows. There are at least a dozen legitimate investigators from the Inspectorate—they have proper reporting channels to the Royal Capital's Ministry of War. If I expose Special Commissioner Wei Yuan now, it's equivalent to openly admitting in front of a dozen real investigators that Blue Moon Island holds evidence of corruption within the Inspectorate. Once it's public, Special Commissioner Wei Yuan's superiors will act. If I don't make it public, Special Commissioner Wei Yuan can only guess. He'll be guessing whether I have the ledgers, the Image Recording Beads, or Shen Qinghan. The longer he guesses, the more cautious his actions will be. A cautious person won't do anything out of line."

Chu Yunfei looked at him for about two breaths, then nodded. "Your pace—is faster than mine."

Outside the Chart Room, the midday sun beat down directly onto the reef bricks of the Lords Mansion's outer wall. The salt frost in the brick crevices was baked from white to translucent, and after further exposure, it began to seep downward. The seeping brine accumulated into a very thin layer of damp marks at the base of the wall.

Su Qingli spent one hour and a quarter in the Formation Affairs Room finishing the tracing of the Coral Casket's double-ring sealing Array Pattern. Once spread out, the tracing paper occupied more than half of the stone table in the Formation Affairs Room—the surface depicted the front and back lines of twenty-four Array Pattern nodes with an extremely fine charcoal pencil. Next to each node, she had noted the direction of the Formation ink and the convergence point—the characters were tiny, but every stroke was distinct. She carefully rolled the tracing paper up from the stone table, slipped it into a bamboo tube, and added a partial copy of the ancient Array Pattern carved from the data of the sealing Main Hub. The two bamboo tubes were placed side by side on Lu Changyuan's chart table.

At three-quarters past the Shen hour, Lu Changyuan put both bamboo tubes and the Coral Casket into his Storage Pouch, then headed to the shed area.

Shen Qinghan sat on the wooden board against the wall inside the shed; Gu He had just changed her dressing for the third time. A thin, hard crust had already formed over the wound on her left rib from the gray-green medicinal film, and the burn marks around the edges of the wound had faded from dark brown to light brown. New skin was growing out. She spread the paper with the network of Special Commissioner Wei Yuan's connections on her knees—the number of names on the paper had increased from seventeen to twenty-one. For every new name added, she had noted the person's specific address in the Royal Capital, the teahouses they frequented, and the names and code names of the personnel responsible for the ledger handover.

Lu Changyuan picked the paper up from her knees and read it from beginning to end. Twenty-one people—names, positions, code names, contact persons—all were there. The handwriting was denser and smaller than the one from the morning—as she wrote toward the end, the strokes converged even more tightly. It was a habit of secret agents when writing intelligence—the closer they got to the crucial parts, the smaller the writing became.

"This is enough."

Shen Qinghan looked up at him. Her eyes were a little brighter today than they had been last night—the dilation from blood loss was gradually recovering. But she didn't speak.

"Special Commissioner Wei Yuan has brought over a dozen men to the island. He is looking for you—and also for the ledgers. As long as you don't leave the shed area, he won't find you. He already searched the perimeter of the shed area today—he searched it very carelessly. He won't search it a second time."

"I know." Shen Qinghan's voice was nearly half a tone higher than last night—her Qi had recovered. "The Inspectorate has a fixed procedure for undercover searches. The first pass is a preliminary sweep—scanning each area once. Only on the second pass do they turn things over. But if they don't find anything suspicious during the preliminary sweep, they won't come back for a second pass. The shed area is currently marked as 'No Anomalies Detected' on the preliminary list—no one will come again for at least three days."

"Three days is enough time to do a lot of things." Lu Changyuan rolled up the paper and tucked it into his sleeve, stacking it together with the Image Recording Bead, the soul-searching fragment diagram, and the first draft of the connection network. The inner pocket of his sleeve was now stuffed with four items—it was already quite bulging.

Then he turned and left the shed area. On the stone path from the shed area back to the Lords Mansion, the evening sunlight slanted in from the direction of the Ring Reef, stretching his shadow out extremely long. The sea was at low tide—the water line on the reef wall had receded nearly forty feet from its highest point. The surface of the exposed reef was covered with sun-dried, whitened seaweed shells—the shells reflected a very faint orange hue in the setting sun.

In the evening, Lu Changyuan went alone to the Zhenhai Fortress logistics area.

The fortress logistics area was on the east side of the main mountain range of the fortress, about forty miles from Blue Moon Island. Lu Changyuan rode a military horse—the horse was part of the Sin Battalion's authorized establishment, and its horseshoes clattered with a cold, clear echo on the stone road outside the logistics area. The outermost ring of the logistics area consisted of rows of supply warehouses—between the warehouses were extremely narrow stone alleys. The width of the alleys could only accommodate two and a half people walking side by side—the gables of the warehouses on both sides blocked the light in the alley, leaving only a thin sliver of sky visible from above.

After passing through the supply warehouse area, the stone path began to incline upward. It rose toward the foot of the mountain—the stone houses at the foot of the mountain were nearly twice as sparse as those in the warehouse area. The further east one went, the fewer the stone houses. By the third row on the far east side, there were only five stone houses. Four of them were already uninhabited—the doors and windows were damaged, and the dust accumulated on the door panels was nearly half a finger thick.

The seventh stone house was at the very end—leaning against the foot of the mountain. Old vines crawled all over the outer wall of the stone house—the vines climbed from the eaves to the roof, covering nearly seventy percent of the entire stone wall. But the vines did not cover what was on the wooden door. In the center of the wooden door was carved a miniature warning Formation. The lines of the Array Pattern were extremely fine—so fine that an ordinary Cultivator could not see the lines from five steps away. But Lu Changyuan was in the Late Foundation Establishment Stage—his Divine Sense had already scanned the complete trajectory of the Array Pattern when he approached within three steps of the door. The carvings were extremely shallow—the depth of each line was less than half the thickness of a hair. However, the spacing between the lines, the curvature, the convergence direction—the precision of every detail was far superior to the standard military warning Formations currently used on Blue Moon Island.

The person behind this door—their mastery of Array Patterns was at least one level higher than his rank in the army.

Lu Changyuan stood three steps outside the door. He did not knock. He raised his right hand—his fingertips hovered about three inches to the right of the door frame—and then, following the ancient Formation deduction opening move Su Qingli had discovered on the Coral Casket tracing, he drew an arc in the air with his finger. The direction of the arc was from left to right—drawing backward from the direction of the Array Pattern's convergence. It was completely opposite to the opening move used by all active Array Master, who drew circles in the dead center of the Formation eye.

The person inside the door remained silent for three breaths.

Then, the wooden door opened a crack on its own. The width of the gap was less than a palm's breadth—the light leaking out from the door crack was extremely dim. It was a miniature cold light stone lamp powered by old Spirit Stone fragments—the light was a very faint warm yellow. The lamp was located in the deepest part of the stone house—it did not reach the doorway.

An aged but extremely steady voice came from the door crack.

"Who taught you to draw this arc—"

Lu Changyuan did not answer. He took the bamboo tube out of his Storage Pouch, pulled out the outermost layer of the Coral Casket double-ring sealing Array Pattern tracing paper, and passed it through the door crack.

The door crack widened by nearly a palm's breadth. A hand reached out from behind the door—and took the tracing paper. The hand was extremely thin—the skin on the back of the hand was loose, but the fingertips were extremely steady—there was not a hint of trembling when it pinched the edge of the paper.

After about ten breaths.

The door opened completely.