"It seems that the outside world really must be a time of peace and prosperity now, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many young people with nothing better to do."
Yu Xuzi picked up the remaining little fish on the ground one by one, but this time he couldn’t be bothered to savor and chew each one. Instead, he tossed them into his mouth and swallowed them directly. Soon, he finished eating.
He stuck out his tongue, licking his lips with a sense of lingering satisfaction. Yu Xuzi walked back to the river, cupped the river water, and started to wash his face.
After washing, he raised his head and looked at his reflection on the river’s surface. His appearance had returned to normal.
"Four people, yet only the youngest one leads the way. That young man must be extraordinary, likely hiding his talents. He won’t be easy to fool."
Run Sheng walked in front, Yin Meng walked behind, and Tan Wenbin walked alongside Li Zhiyuan.
The young man pondered as he walked.
*He had come in aiming for a perfect score, but upon entering, he realized, ha, there were also bonus questions.*
*The bonus questions greatly increased the difficulty, but at the same time, they provided more known conditions.*
*The doubts that had been lingering in his mind were all resolved with these known conditions.*
*Once a tough problem has its "mystique" stripped away, it loses its charm, because from then on, it’s just a matter of following steps one by one.*
*As long as he ensured the steps continued steadily, he would be able to achieve all the points at the minimum cost.*
*This was a card table; he sat on one side and the monster on the other.*
*The cards in his hand might not be as good as the monster’s, but he had already seen through the monster’s real trump card.*
*Come on, play slowly.*
The four of them traversed the village, passed by the funeral home, and finally arrived at the end of the village, which was where they had entered earlier.
Yu Xuzi wasn’t wrong; normally, this array indeed only allowed entry but not exit.
But since Li Zhiyuan dared to bring his companions in, it meant he had a way to get them back out.
Earlier, when observing the array from the outside, he had mentally noted its crude and imperfect nature.
Getting out wasn’t difficult; he just needed to set up a targeted deceptive mini-array. Unless specifically targeted by the array, people or things could slip out that way.
Of course, this "wasn’t difficult" only applied to Li Zhiyuan himself.
Li Zhiyuan said, "Everyone, try and see if you can get out."
The young man gave the instruction, then sat down, taking some array flags from his backpack, along with a piece of paper, and started sketching and drawing.
Run Sheng, Yin Meng, and Tan Wenbin exchanged glances. Usually, no matter what happened, Brother Xiao Yuan would have a plan, and everyone would follow the plan.
*When did he ever just sit there and let everyone figure it out themselves?*
The three of them treated it like receiving a new script and began trying to leave this place.
They used many methods but all failed. They could see the stone table and stele ahead, but couldn’t reach them no matter how they tried.
*They grew increasingly "anxious," their expressions gradually "serious," even arguing with each other a few times.*
Finally, Li Zhiyuan set up the array and signaled everyone to pass through it, but they still failed.
Li Zhiyuan quietly packed the array flags and paper, put them back in his backpack, and then turned to walk back.
The three naturally followed him back, and during this, spurred on by Tan Wenbin, they continued to mock and banter with each other.
*Even though there were no visible cameras, they still acted seriously, because who knew if they were being secretly filmed?*
They retraced their steps, eventually returning to the riverside at the village entrance.
Six university students lay side by side under the distant old pagoda tree, supposedly still unconscious.
Yu Xuzi stood on the stone slab. Even with half his body covered in fish scales, his silhouette from afar still conveyed a certain grace.
The Big Fish was nowhere in sight, but coarse ripples occasionally appeared in the central area of the river, showing it was still swimming beneath.
As if hearing the footsteps, Yu Xuzi turned his head to look at Li Zhiyuan and the others, smiling kindly.
Li Zhiyuan spoke, "Daoist, I was presumptuous earlier."
Yu Xuzi said, "Do not say so, my young friend. Walking the Jianghu, one must be cautious. For you to help my three disciples’ descendants with the array outside and dare to step in here, such courage and responsibility are indeed commendable."
"Daoist, please teach me the way out."
Yu Xuzi reached under the river’s surface and retrieved a stone slab, engraved with intricate patterns.
"Have you ever studied arrays, my young friend?"
Yu Xuzi was delighted by the response and immediately continued to ask,
"Do you know how to walk the Underworld?"
Yu Xuzi gently clapped his hands in amazement, saying, "Heavens, truly the heavens’ will."
*In the Corpse Recovery profession, skill levels varied greatly; some could traverse rivers freely, while others became folklore figures like their own grandmaster.*
"What do you mean by this, Daoist?"
"The will of the heavens allows you to escape, and it will reduce this monster to ashes!"
"Please explain in detail, Daoist."
"Look at this." Yu Xuzi tossed the stone slab to Li Zhiyuan, and Run Sheng stepped forward, caught the slab, and handed it to the young man.
Li Zhiyuan took a glance. What was carved on it resembled the array formulas he had designed for Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng before.
Just required rote memorization with some basic array knowledge, and one could clumsily navigate through arrays for some control.
"What do you think, my young friend?"
"It’s a bit challenging, but manageable."
"No worries. Just hold onto it and read as you walk."