Wow! The gift packs from this system are getting more and more advanced! The formations and stuff look incredibly powerful!

Although this time it was also a defective product, such a formation was already considered a heaven-defying creation in the mortal realm. As for saying that it could only work on mortals, she had never seen anyone who was not a mortal.

Moreover, being discreet is good; it's low-key and pragmatic, which is perfect for their current situation. Before they have absolute strength, they should keep a low profile.

She was just an ordinary woman with a large family of elderly people and children. She had no money or power and was almost powerless to protect herself in the chaos of the world. Just surviving was the best way for her family to stay alive.

Cheng Ruyi took out the Concealment Array, which consisted of four array flags and one array eye.

The four flags were dark and inconspicuous. The array's core, however, resembled an iron Bagua (a type of Chinese divination symbol), which felt heavy in the hand. There was a groove in the middle of the Bagua, presumably indicating that activating the array's core meant putting something inside. But what should be put inside?

Ruyi remembered that the system said the duration of this formation depended on the spiritual energy value... Spiritual energy value... that name sounds familiar...

That's right! Isn't this spiritual energy value the reward for completing the system task before?

Every time I asked the system what spiritual energy value was, it didn't respond. So that's what it's for. It seems the system had planned this all along. I guess this spiritual energy value will be very useful in the future.

Without further ado, Ruyi decided to try out the effects of this array tonight.

After finally waiting until her family was asleep, Cheng Ruyi secretly took the array flags and slipped out of the house. She placed the array flags at the four corners of the Cheng family's walls. These array flags were indeed products of the cultivation world. She didn't know what principle they were based on, but they stood firmly in place after she placed them. Ruyi tried various methods and found that unless she took the flags down by hand, they would not fall down or move no matter how she touched them. It was quite magical!

After placing the array flags, Ruyi returned to her room, picked up the array plate, and touched the groove in the middle. At this moment, the system suddenly prompted: "Please place an object containing spiritual energy to activate the array eye."

Cheng Ruyi was stunned.

An object containing spiritual energy? What is that? What if I don't have one? Isn't it enough to just have spiritual energy value?

Just when she was at her wit's end, she suddenly remembered that she actually did have something like that! The unknown jade pendant she found in the grain shop!

This jade pendant is indeed worthy of being a side quest item; its purpose is now revealed!

Ruyi placed the array eye under the bed in the room, then took out the jade tablet and gently placed it in the groove of the array eye. The array eye flashed a dazzling light for a moment, and then continued to emit a faint fluorescence. This means that it has been activated, right?

Touching the array eye again, the system gave a new notification: "Array eye activated, concealment array opened, current spiritual energy value is three points, which can maintain the array plate's operation for thirty days."

These three points of spiritual energy are inherent to the jade pendant. Currently, it seems that one point of spiritual energy lasts for ten days. Ruyi has a total of twenty-three points of spiritual energy left, which is more than enough!

She saw that the system displayed that the formation had been activated, so she immediately rushed outside to see the effect. But as soon as she stepped outside, good heavens, she got lost. No matter how she walked or looked, she just couldn't find where the Cheng family was.

It was clearly the same road they had walked for decades, but the Cheng family just wasn't there; it was like being lost in a maze.

The effect was so amazing, so amazing that she couldn't even find her way home...

Oh no, does that mean she won't be able to see the Cheng family again for another thirty days?

When Cheng Ruyi opened the system and saw that she could control the switch of the formation within the system, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the system was very advanced and could be remotely controlled. However, she would still have to be more careful next time she encountered such magical items!

After the formation was deactivated, Ruyi finally saw her back door again, as well as the formation flags in the corner of the wall.

This formation is indeed quite powerful, but it's a bit troublesome to use because the Cheng family still needs to be present openly during the day, otherwise it would be terrifying if the neighbors couldn't find it.

Therefore, Cheng Ruyi could only sneak out every night after everyone was asleep to set up the array flags, then go back to her room to activate the array, and then at dawn she had to go out to close the array before everyone got up, put away the array flags, and sneak back to her room.

In other words, for a period of time afterward, she would need to repeat this set of movements every day.

Although it's a little troublesome, repeating these simple actions ensures absolute safety, and compared to the lives of the whole family, everything else seems insignificant.

Ever since the wealthy family in the north of the city was robbed, everyone in the entire county lived in fear.

Sure enough, not long after, another wealthy family was robbed, but fortunately, this family had some connection with the Zhou family, so the Zhou family's guards arrived in time and saved the house and some of the property.

Later, I heard that the Zhou family, together with other wealthy merchants in the city, the county government, and the Zhang family at the dock, held several meetings and fought several times. After that, the group of thugs who openly committed murder and arson finally disappeared.

Occasionally, yamen runners would patrol the streets, which, while not very effective, at least nipped this unhealthy trend in the bud.

It is worth mentioning that the Zhou family never stopped distributing porridge during this period, regardless of wind, rain or shine, and distributed a limited amount of porridge at their doorstep every day.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ruyi truly admired the Zhou family. As the richest family in Huaishan County, they certainly had a long-term vision for development.

The Zhou family has been operating in the county for so many years, owning countless plots of land. Their businesses have long been spread throughout every corner of the county, so they are definitely the ones who least want the county to descend into chaos. Moreover, they have considerable influence here. Although the county magistrate has the most power in a county, each magistrate only serves a few years in office. How can they compare to the real local tyrants?

Moreover, the Zhou family's influence must have infiltrated the government offices. The county magistrate changes frequently, but the county assistant and the registrar are both seasoned veterans who have been in office for decades. Cheng Ruyi is unaware of the various power struggles involved, but she always felt that the Zhou family hadn't intervened before because they were giving the county magistrate face. Who knew that the county magistrate was not only bad but also stupid, so the Zhou family couldn't help but take action.

The Zhang family is ambitious and certainly not benevolent. Those murderers and arsonists must be connected to them, but whether it's a collaboration or something else is unclear.

Perhaps they planned to take advantage of the chaos to plunder the wealthy households in the city in preparation for future turmoil, but the Zhang family's foundation was not as deep as the Zhou family's, so they ran into a brick wall.

Hopefully, after this incident, those people at the dock will behave themselves a bit.

Regardless, Cheng Ruyi felt much more at ease after learning that the Zhou family was the pillar of stability in Huaishan County.

Although occasionally you can still hear people shouting and crying at night, after inquiring, it turns out to be petty theft, and no one is killed.

For a while, Ruyi would deliberately climb onto the roof at midnight and, sure enough, see several familiar figures appear again. This time, they even brought more than a dozen people with them. Unfortunately, they all seemed to be wandering around the Cheng family's house like ghosts in a maze, just brushing past it. After a few times, there were fewer and fewer people, and later no more suspicious people appeared.

Even so, she still dared not be careless and continued to obediently set up the formation every day.