Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 418 Exploring the Huo Mansion
Lu Xingzhou headed towards the ancestral hall, which was also the only road inside the Huo family mansion that he recognized.

The last time I deliberately had Huo Xingyuan take me to the ancestral hall, it wasn't to see the ancestors; the real purpose was to familiarize myself with the path and observe any defensive vulnerabilities. It wasn't to have Huo Xingyuan relocate my deceased wife's soul ring—what practical significance would that have?

If that alchemy furnace were in the Huo residence, it would undoubtedly be a heavily guarded, off-limits area. Cost-wise, it would almost certainly be located in the same area as the ancestral hall, a place of great importance, and guarded together.

And it doesn't arouse suspicion. It's perfectly normal for the ancestral hall area to be heavily guarded, but it's strange that another place is also heavily guarded. It's obvious that something is amiss.

Therefore, if the Huo family didn't do anything special, then it's almost certain that the alchemy furnace is located near the ancestral hall.

When Lu Xingzhou came here last time, he paid special attention to the surrounding area. There were other buildings, but he wasn't sure if it was inside one of them. There might be a secret room at the bottom of the ancestral hall.

If it's a hidden room inside the ancestral hall, it's much more complicated; if it's in another building nearby, it's much simpler.

Jiang Yuan followed behind Lu Xingzhou and watched as he suddenly stopped, pulled her behind a pillar, and waited for a patrol of guards to pass before darting out again.

Before long, they saw a heavily guarded courtyard, with people even on the walls.

Lu Xingzhou crouched by the corner wall, observing and calculating the guard's blind spots.

Jiang Yuan looked at him for a while, then whispered in his ear, "Hey, with this level of security, even if we sneak in, it'll be hard for you to use our wandering in as an excuse if we're discovered."

Lu Xingzhou's expression was cold and stern, devoid of his usual gentle smile. He replied indifferently, "As long as you're here, Huo Xingyuan will probably think that Gu Zhanting is secretly investigating him."

Jiang Yuan narrowed her eyes: "You used me."

"Ah."

"Then why are you telling me this? Aren't you afraid I'll just turn around and leave?"

“Girl, you don’t think that just because I’m competing with Huo Xingyuan, I can definitely win this marriage, do you? This marriage is a bridge between you and Gu Zhanting, and I can’t achieve that effect. If you don’t cooperate with my schemes, then you can only obediently continue to change your birth chart.” Lu Xingzhou said calmly, “Since you want to fight for your own life, even if I’m using you, you have to accept it.”

Jiang Yuan remained silent.

A moment later, she suddenly pulled out a piece of light gauze and threw it into the air.

Lu Xingzhou watched as if the air itself had distorted, and Jiang Yuan pulled him like a wisp of smoke as they swept over the wall: "Their vision was distorted, they can't see anymore."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and glanced at her. The wind blew in his face, and a few strands of hair clung to her forehead and eyes. At this moment, her peach blossom eyes did not show any charm, but rather a firm and heroic spirit.

Heh... Lu Xingzhou chuckled inwardly, and together they skimmed over the wall and arrived at the side wall of the ancestral hall.

Once inside the courtyard, there were fewer guards, with only a few individuals occasionally moving around. Lu Xingzhou hid behind the wall, silently sensing his surroundings. There were no particularly unusual energy reactions—of course there wouldn't be, as there would always be array formations or restrictions isolating them.

He thought for a moment, then quietly pried open the window of the ancestral hall and slipped inside in a flash.

Looking at the row of memorial tablets inside, Jiang Yuan lowered her voice and asked, "What exactly are you here for?"

Lu Xingzhou shook his head and remained silent, pressing his hand against the floor as he silently sensed the situation.

This was perhaps the first time in Lu Xingzhou's life that he had fully unleashed his divine sense. Jiang Yuan watched from the side, her eyes narrowed, somewhat startled.

His divine sense, having just entered the second rank... was almost of the first rank in quality. His divine sense wasn't the domineering type, with its violent and overwhelming impact; rather, it was persistent and gentle, like water seeping in.

Some people are like him; they appear gentle and refined, but in reality, they are resolute and unwavering, and will not give up easily.

After a moment, Lu Xingzhou withdrew his hand, frowning in thought.

"How is it?" Jiang Yuan asked.

“There’s a secret room… but the restrictions are extremely heavy. Someone must be cultivating inside, probably Huo Liancheng.” Lu Xingzhou said in a low voice, “I didn’t dare to go in because I was worried that he would notice my divine sense intrusion.”

"So what are you looking for..."

"It should be inside... most likely." Lu Xingzhou had a bit of a headache, because simply guessing "most likely" wasn't very meaningful...

Currently, my strength is insufficient to directly infiltrate the Huo family. Even if I were to ask my mentor for help, the emperor would certainly intervene. Ideally, I should uncover the Huo family's hidden alchemy furnace in one fell swoop; once the emperor sees it, the Huo family will collapse. This requires confirming the location of the furnace and striking decisively. If, after all that effort, I find nothing inside, the emperor's intervention will prevent me from trying again, wasting a chance.

Jiang Yuan took out a box.

Lu Xingzhou was taken aback: "What is this?"

“Our secret weapon. There are about a dozen mechanical insects inside the box. They won't leak any scent and can easily burrow into some restrictions,” Jiang Yuan said. “They can't burrow underground, but we can check other houses around here. If we can confirm that none of the other houses have them, wouldn't that indirectly prove that the thing is down there?”

Lu Xingzhou gave her a deep look: "Yes."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan asked seriously, "What are you looking for?"

"A pill-making furnace."

"If you see multiple alchemy furnaces... is there any special feature you're looking for?"

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment. Although he remembered the aura of the alchemy furnace, he couldn't describe it. So he took out paper and pen from his ring and drew a pattern: "This pattern."

Jiang Yuan squinted at the pattern: "Dragon, Tiger, Auspicious Clouds, Purple Gold Furnace..."

"Do you recognize it?"

"It's a fake, isn't it? How could the real thing be in this lower realm?"

"If you're so powerful in the upper realm, why did you sneak in?"

"How could you..." Jiang Yuan's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth. "Alright." Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "Whether it's genuine or a replica, help me find it, and there will be a generous reward. As you said, it's also fine if you can confirm that it's not in other buildings."

Jiang Yuan nodded and opened the box.

Then more than ten small wooden insects crawled out, each only half the size of a fingernail, and disappeared in a flash.

Lu Xingzhou looked at Jiang Yuan's face nervously, his lips pressed tightly together.

Jiang Yuan turned her head and found his expression somewhat amusing. She usually saw him as someone who was always in control, but it turned out he could be like this sometimes.

"Is this important to you?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked.

"Yes." Lu Xingzhou took a deep breath: "Very important."

"If I asked you to punch me in the stomach before I'd tell you the result, would you do it?"

"..." Lu Xingzhou tilted his head: "Then go ahead and hammer it."

"Never mind." Jiang Yuan sighed. "Several of the buildings next to us are actually alchemy rooms, each with an alchemy furnace, and all of them are carved according to the patterns you described. So you can say we got nothing."

Lu Xingzhou was taken aback: "Aren't you going to fight?"

"I've already left you with nothing, and I'm still going to beat you up with this? I bet you're not happy about that."

"Not necessarily a complete loss." Lu Xingzhou relaxed instead: "At least it proves that this thing is indeed in the hands of the Huo family, right?"

Jiang Yuan looked at him with interest: "Yes."

"Secondly, the Huo family is not known for alchemy, yet they have set up so many alchemy rooms in important locations and kept a group of top alchemists. Doesn't that also say something?"

“Yes.” Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “Even I, a newcomer, feel that there’s something fishy about the Huo family.”

"Heh..." Lu Xingzhou was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed, and he grabbed Jiang Yuan and pulled her into a corner.

Jiang Yuan was startled and was about to struggle when she heard a voice from outside: "Grand Elder, you have a feeling there's something wrong here. Everyone, be alert and investigate!"

Immediately following was a series of footsteps circling around. Jiang Yuan tensed up, no longer caring that she was being pinned down by a man.

Lu Xingzhou had no interest in experiencing the feeling of pressing down on a woman... The Grand Elder had a gut feeling that the Huo family must have another first-rank, or even peak, half-step super-rank level, to have such an heaven-defying "intuition".

The two entered without leaving any trace, and Jiang Yuan's mechanical insects couldn't alert anyone. But powerful cultivators might have a keen sense that something is amiss, yet they can't pinpoint the problem.

Lu Xingzhou quickly pulled out a set of array flags and set up an array. This array could block divine sense detection; if one only scanned with divine sense, they would mostly find that there was nothing here. Then he took out the Myriad Soul Banner, released a ghostly spirit, and it darted out the window, trying to make a commotion in another direction and divert attention.

The ghost was no ordinary insect; its aura was cold and malevolent, and it was soon noticed. Someone shouted and chased after the ghost, "There it is!"

Jiang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and tried to crawl out from under Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou, however, continued to hold it down.

Jiang Yuan: "?"

Suddenly, the window was pushed open, and someone peeked out.

Jiang Yuanxin was on the verge of tears.

The man's eyes swept over the two people's location, but he seemed to find nothing. He then closed the window and left, saying, "There's nothing here. Let's go check over there!"

Jiang Yuan sighed again: "Your formation can also block vision?"

“No.” Lu Xingzhou smiled. “It’s just that he knows me.”

Edward Yang.

It seems that Edward Yang has other ideas in mind, so it might be worthwhile to find an opportunity to discuss them.

Only then did Lu Xingzhou release Jiang Yuan and whisper, "Let's go."

Without saying a word, Jiang Yuan went out the window, and the two of them instantly left the backyard and rushed back to the garden.

They had only taken a few steps into the garden when they were confronted by the Huo brothers, Huo Qi and Huo Heng, who stood expressionless.

The two men's hearts skipped a beat when they saw Huo Qi grit his teeth and say, "So, you adulterers, actually enjoying yourselves under the moon and flowers! Come with me to see Father, and let's see what you have to say then!"

Lu Xingzhou felt relieved and leisurely took Jiang Yuan's small hand: "Please do as you wish, don't disturb your mother and me while we admire the flowers."

Damn, I thought you saw us running out of the ancestral hall, but it turns out this is all there is.

Jiang Yuan blushed, unsure whether she should shake off his hand, so she turned her head away.

In Huo Qi and Huo Heng's eyes, it was nothing short of a shy and timid affair, a clear case of infidelity. The two of them, unsure whether to be angry or overjoyed, quickly ran off to tattle on it.

Lu Xingzhou watched the two figures disappear into the distance, finally releasing Jiang Yuan's hand and bowing, saying, "Thank you for today's events, Miss Jiang."

Jiang Yuan wiped her hands, expressionless: "Isn't it about mutual help? You said it yourself, to fight for myself, and to be used if necessary."

Lu Xingzhou looked at the figures of Huo Xingyuan and Jiang Duxu hurrying towards him in the distance and smiled slightly: "Now it's my turn to help you fight for it."

(End of this chapter)