Misty Rain of the Old Times

The night was cold as a knife, thick fog filled the air, and it was so quiet inside that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, which sent chills down your spine.

Mr. Gao, Mrs. Gao, Gao Jingyu, Zhou Jinlin and their group were chatting and laughing as they headed toward where Chen Xuan and the others were. But as they walked, they suddenly fell into endless darkness. People who were right next to them disappeared without a trace. It was as if they were the only ones left in the world. They could not see or hear anything.

The fog array has the effect of isolating sound and affecting the six senses, especially at night when there is no light inside. Once trapped inside, one is disoriented and helpless.

"Master, Yu'er, Jinlin... where have you gone? How could this happen? Could someone be trying to harm the Gao family?" Madam Gao cried out in a deep voice in the pitch-black darkness.

She didn't practice martial arts, was a weak woman, and had a personal maid at home, so she didn't even have a lantern in her hand.

Even in such a bizarre situation, she remained calm and composed. Old Master Gao had been away from home for many years, and she had single-handedly supported the Gao family for so long. She still had this kind of composure. While shouting, she quickly thought of a way to escape. Hundreds of thoughts flashed through her mind. She considered all kinds of people with whom she had grudges and wondered who might want to harm the Gao family.

The person who was just beside her a moment ago had vanished in the blink of an eye, which horrified her. In this bizarre situation, she instinctively pulled a sharp hairpin from her head and held it in her hand warily.

'Who exactly is it, Prince Jiang? His Majesty? A remnant of the Wu family… My son's wedding is imminent, and with this turn of events, no matter what happens afterward, Xiao Xuan will avenge the Gao family.'

Su Roujia is the most qualified to speak about the mist array. Once inside, Chen Xuan, who was originally close at hand, would inexplicably drift away and disappear from sight. And that was during the day. Madam Gao, a weak woman, would be utterly desperate if she were trapped in it at night.

Mr. Gao also got separated from his family. They were just a step away, but in the blink of an eye, where did they go?

"Madam, Yu'er, Jinlin..." he shouted loudly in the darkness, but received no response. He immediately realized that something was wrong.

Having served as an official for many years, Master Gao possessed both composure and insight. He roughly guessed that the person was either trapped in a formation or under the influence of a drug. Despite his panic, he remained calm and drew a concealed soft sword from his belt, his gaze sharp and wary of his surroundings.

He was, after all, a proper scholar who had passed the imperial examinations and possessed considerable martial arts skills. Although he was not a Xiantian (a high-level martial artist), he was still capable of fighting on horseback and governing the people with his pen. However, no matter how much he shouted for vigilance, it was useless because he could neither see nor hear anything. This made him a little panicked. Who exactly wanted to harm my Gao family? Did they want to wipe them all out in one fell swoop? Weren't they afraid of Xiao Xuan's revenge?

Gao Jingyu was in the same predicament. When she turned around, she found that her loved ones had disappeared and she was plunged into darkness. This terrified her, who was full of scheming thoughts, and she immediately thought of countless terrible scenarios.

However, she was at least a cultivator with innate cultivation, so she didn't panic. She circulated her cultivation technique, which rose up and emitted a cold white light, but it couldn't illuminate the area within three feet around her, as if everything was swallowed up by darkness.

'A formation? Who dares to set up a formation at my mother's house? What are they trying to do!'

Her face was ashen. A short sword slid from her sleeve into her hand, its blade gleaming. She did not attack indiscriminately, knowing that she might accidentally hurt her family members in the formation. While calling out to her loved ones, she moved around trying to escape the predicament.

But no matter what she did, she couldn't escape the endless darkness, and she couldn't even use her lightness skill to reach higher places.

The fog formation is a legitimate formation that affects the senses and thinking. If one could escape from a high place, it wouldn't deserve the name of a formation.

In a short while, she was filled with fear. She had seen array formations before, but this was the first time she had encountered one so sophisticated. What were the intentions of the person behind it? If they took advantage of the situation to make a move, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Her parents, younger brother, and son are all here. If something were to happen to them, she didn't even want to think about it; the thought of the consequences made her feel like she would go crazy.

In the darkness, a little boy dressed in silver brocade looked surprised, but not too panicked. He was just a little helpless and frightened, using his shallow cultivation to be vigilant, knowing that someone would come to save him.

He is Zhou Jinlin, the eldest son of Prince Qing. He is thirteen years old and has a handsome face. His eyebrows and brows are somewhat similar to Gao Jingming's. He has been highly regarded since childhood and has already shown great poise. In fact, because Gao Jingyu, Prince Qing's concubine, gave birth to him first, he was once privately referred to as the heir apparent by those around him.

However, the title of heir apparent requires official appointment by the royal family; mere words are insufficient. Over the years, Prince Qing's principal wife and other concubines have given birth to sons, but for some reason, no one has been officially appointed as Prince Qing's heir apparent. In other words, nothing is certain, and anyone could have the opportunity to become the heir apparent. As the eldest son, he still has a very good chance.

Establishing the eldest son as heir is a complex matter with many intricacies.

"Mother, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle...where are you? I...I'm a little scared," Zhou Jinlin called out. After all, he was young and could remain calm at first, but the endless darkness was too eerie. He couldn't see or hear anything, and each day felt like an eternity. After a while, he started to break down...

When most of the Gao family's area was shrouded in a fog array, and a number of key members were trapped inside, the entire Gao family descended into chaos.

The housekeeper, who had been dealing with some trivial matters, was completely bewildered. What had happened?

Having been a steward for many years, he was still able to keep things in order. He calmed the servants and guards, while arranging for people to go into the fog to check the situation. He even considered reporting it to the authorities, but then he suddenly realized something was wrong. Xiao Xuan was in the mansion, so how could such a thing have happened?

As a trusted confidant of the Gao family, he certainly knew how terrifying Chen Xuan's cultivation was. With Chen Xuan here, what villain would dare to cause trouble?

'Could it be that Xiao Xuan did this?'

Thinking of this, he was both amused and exasperated, and immediately calmed down. It turned out to be a misunderstanding, and everything should be fine soon. In the west courtyard, Chen Xuan introduced the mist array to Gao Jingming, thus setting up an array that covered most of the Gao family's residence. Even he, as the one in charge, was affected to some extent within the array. After all, he didn't have X-ray vision, and unless he manipulated the array, his sight and hearing couldn't reach beyond ten zhang.

Xiao Cai and Xiao Ye were panicked, Gao Jingming, who was slightly drunk, looked bewildered, while Su Roujia, who had experienced it before, looked calm. She had just gone through it at noon, and now she just needed to stay still.

Looking at Gao Jingming, who was standing a few meters away with a bewildered expression through the fog, Chen Xuan made a few inaudible sounds. As a result, the fog density within a three-zhang radius around him decreased to less than one-tenth of its original level, and he could see his surroundings clearly with the help of the lamplight.

As the fog thinned, Xiao Cai and Xiao Ye were able to see their surroundings more clearly and calmed down a bit.

"Don't panic, ladies, everything's alright," Chen Xuan reassured them, then looked at Gao Jingming and asked with a smile, "How's it going, young master? This fog formation is working well, isn't it?"

Gao Jingming knew there was no danger, so he wasn't flustered at all. Instead, he drank a cup of wine with Chen Xuan and looked around, saying, "Xuan, your formation is more than just good. If used well, it can even be more powerful than a thousand troops!"

"That's right. When it comes to reading, I can't even compare to you, young master. But when it comes to such skills, you're no match for me. However, young master, you're wrong. This isn't my formation; it's yours," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

Gao Jingming immediately said without any politeness, "Ah Xuan, I'll accept this gift. It's the only one. You won't need to prepare anything else when I have a son. Quick, quick, teach me how to use this thing."

"You said it yourself, haha. It's actually very simple. With your intelligence, young master, I guarantee you'll learn it in no time," Chen Xuan said, manipulating the formation while explaining. Gao Jingming listened and nodded from time to time.

He even had a mischievous thought: with this formation, he would be able to more easily solve the bandit problem in Zhoushan County when he took office soon, which would be a great achievement.

He went there to build up his political achievements in preparation for a rise to power after the change of dynasty. Chen Xuan's formation was clearly giving him an advantage, and he was sure to make it a success.

After he quickly learned how to operate it, Chen Xuan said, "That's roughly it. Try it yourself. If you don't understand anything now, just ask me. I won't provide after-sales service afterwards."

“Okay, then I’ll try it myself,” Xiao Gao said, and began to try it out with great enthusiasm.

He used his internal energy to manually control the fog concentration in the courtyard, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing it, having a great time. In his joy, he also drank with Chen Xuan.

After becoming familiar with it, he was no longer satisfied with the small courtyard and began to control the entire formation. When he adjusted the fog concentration in the area covered by the formation to the lowest level, just a thin fog, Chen Xuan and he were dumbfounded, and the slight intoxication they had been experiencing was mostly sobered up.

When the fog concentration was adjusted to the lowest level, a chaotic and panicked sound came from the Gao family. Under the dim light, panicked figures ran around in a frantic manner.

Noticing this, Gao Jingming and Chen Xuan subconsciously exchanged glances and swallowed hard. Their eyes conveyed the same message: things had gotten out of hand!

In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared there. Gao Jingyu, holding his sword and looking at Chen Xuan and the others with surprise and uncertainty, quickly realized what was going on. Speechless, he asked with concern, "Little brother, Xuan, are you alright?"

"No...it's nothing," Gao Jingming said awkwardly.

Chen Xuan stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Miss."

He was naturally calm and composed towards Gao Jingyu, but when his gaze fell on Madam Gao outside the door, who was holding a hairpin and looking surprised, he immediately shrank his neck and his eyes darted around.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! Is it too late for me to run away now?
I had a few drinks and got carried away, causing this mess. What should I do?
Madam Gao, despite her mere presence in the mist, had certainly seen what was happening in the courtyard. Losing her composure in the darkness, she rushed over in a panic, asking with concern, "Ming'er, Xiao Xuan, Yu'er, are you alright? Where are Master and Jinlin?"

"Mother, we're alright," Gao Jingming, the top scholar in the imperial examination, was at a loss and didn't dare to look up at his mother.

The incident happened suddenly and strangely, and it didn't last long. Madam Gao and the others first thought that the hostile forces were trying to achieve their goals. They never thought that Chen Xuan would harm the Gao family, so they never associated them with the two of them.

At this moment, Madam Gao and the others were not stupid; how could they not realize what was going on?

With a sigh of relief, Madam Gao, both amused and exasperated, put one hand on her hip and pointed at the two boys, angrily saying, "You two brats, look what you've done! Is this how you behave? You scared me to death! And you still have the nerve to stand there? Get over here! You're so unruly, you're like dogs climbing on the roof if you're not disciplined for three days! I'll teach you a lesson today, you two are no trouble at all!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan shrank back again, secretly exchanging a glance with Gao Jingming; both of them wore bitter expressions.

Well, it looks like I'm in for a beating today... (End of Chapter)