Xiangli Youming took Yuan Qi to Jiuxiao Tower and had Xuan Yu bring over a floor plan of Xiangli Mansion and spread it on the table.
“Now many people in the manor are under the control of Second Uncle. I’m not quite sure how many of my father’s, eldest brother’s, and second brother’s men are still around, so let’s not go out for a stroll. This is a floor plan drawn up these past two days. Take a look and see where we should bury the array stones.”
Yuan Qi smiled and looked at him: "You've even studied formations? You've made progress."
Xiangli Youming scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "I had no choice. My second uncle has been practicing powerful evil techniques in order to become the head of the family. My father, my eldest brother, my second brother, and I can't just do nothing and watch him grow stronger. If he kills us, who can we blame? Of course we have to do something."
His smile didn't reach his eyes; he was noticeably more composed than before, and his gaze towards Yuan Qi was much more resolute.
Yuan Qi nodded approvingly: "You're right. The enemy is working so hard, so there's no reason for us to just sit and wait for trouble to come to us. Let's take action and see who's stronger in the end."
She looked down at the floor plan of Xiangli Mansion. Xiangli Mansion covered a large area and had many courtyards. Xiangli Youming's residence was located in the center of the entire mansion, very close to the patriarch's courtyard.
Xiangli Youming hummed in agreement, then voiced his concerns: "I suspect that some of the guards in the manor have been corrupted by Second Uncle's evil aura. They might even pledge their loyalty to Second Uncle without his orders."
The residence of Xiang Lilin, the second son, and his sons was in the west courtyard, where the malevolent energy was relatively stronger, but it was far from affecting people's minds.
Yuan Qi shook his head in disagreement: "How could that be? Although there's a lot of malevolent energy in the manor, it's not enough to change people's minds. It's possible that those guards received bribes, or that they have some kind of leverage over you. You don't want the malevolent energy..."
Thinking of this, Yuan Qi realized a problem: "Perhaps your second uncle used some kind of evil magic to control those people. He has mastered the evil magic to a certain extent and is testing it on the guards in the manor."
Based on his observations along the way, Yuan Qi confirmed that Xiang Lilin's skills had indeed reached a certain level, making him untouchable by ordinary Taoists.
Xiangli Youming nodded slightly, indicating that he understood a little. He suddenly realized, "You mean, it wasn't those guards who betrayed us, but rather that their minds were controlled by someone?"
Yuan Qi chuckled: "You're so smart, you understand so quickly."
Xiangli Youming felt embarrassed by the praise. Even though Yuan Qi was three years younger than him, he had the illusion that he was younger and was always being praised and coaxed by the other party.
Yuan Qi looked down at the floor plan, her fair fingers pointing here and there. Each time she pointed, Xiang Li Youming used a brush to circle the spot.
After an incense stick had burned, nine more circles appeared on the floor plan.
Yuan Qi earnestly told Xiangli Youming his idea: "I plan to set up a Nine Killings Formation. This formation is a very ominous formation. Anyone who enters the formation will suffer from severe pain all over their body and lose all their power. The key to opening the ominous formation is in your courtyard."
Xiangli Youming frowned slightly: "Then wouldn't we also be restricted within the formation?"
Yuan Qi nodded: "You're right to worry. This Nine Kill Formation is very powerful, and it doesn't recognize people. But it has a very strong function: it can suppress the power of those who possess evil energy. Once the formation is activated, Xiang Lilin will immediately notice. So, you must not let anyone notice after you set up the formation. This will be extremely advantageous for you. Plus, with the Soul-Returning Whip I gave you, your chances of defeating your second uncle are still very high. Now, I'll draw some formation-avoidance talismans. When the final battle comes, you can give them to someone you trust, and that will ensure everything goes smoothly."
She bent down and took out nine jade talismans that she had prepared beforehand from her cloth bag. The talismans on them were different, and the positions on them were also different.
Yuan Qi summoned Xuan Yu and the other three, explaining in detail where each jade talisman was buried. Then he handed the talisman to Xiang Li Youming: "You can't make a mistake. If you do, all your efforts will be in vain, the formation won't work, and you'll be the ones who suffer."
Xiangli Youming nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I've remembered everything, there won't be any mistakes. Your method is excellent. When the formation is activated, Second Uncle's men will all become crippled, and our chances of winning will be much greater. This idea is really brilliant."
He was so happy he almost laughed out loud.
The four members of the Xiangli family, including Xiangli Mu and his sons, already knew that Xiangli Lin was practicing unorthodox martial arts. They had been studying countermeasures for a long time and concluded that no matter how skilled their men were, they could not defeat Xiangli Lin's unorthodox techniques and were doomed to defeat. The four were at their wits' end, and Xiangli Mu even lost the will to attend to family affairs.
Yuan Qi also believed that the people of Xiangli Prefecture would not make a mistake on such a small matter.
She took out cinnabar ink, a talisman brush, and yellow paper from her cloth bag and began to draw talismans.
Xiangli Youming quietly rested his chin on his hand, gazing at her exquisite face, feeling that this was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Just as he was finishing the painting, Xiangli Baoyu ran in from outside, complaining angrily to Xiangli Youming: "Brother is bad! You didn't even tell me that Sister Yuanqi was coming, humph!"
Two maids followed behind Xiangli Baoyu, carrying several kinds of sliced fruit and dried meat.
She didn't care what Yuan Qi was busy with, and picked up a piece of dried meat with her small hand and put it into Yuan Qi's mouth: "This was made by the new chef in our mansion, and it tastes really good."
Yuan Qi hummed in agreement: "The taste is indeed quite good."
Xiangli Baoyu was overjoyed and lay on the table watching Yuan Qi draw talismans intently.
Yuan Qi's movements were very fluid, his strokes were smooth and flowing, and in the blink of an eye, he completed many strokes, including circles and horizontal and vertical strokes that were difficult to understand.
After she finished drawing the last one, Xuan Yu and the others had already dried the rest.
"Fifty sheets in total should be enough; too many would only make mistakes."
Xiangli Youming told Xuanyu and the others to put away the talismans, and then had someone bring a basin of water for Yuan Qi to wash his hands.
Yuan Qi showed off several pieces of dried meat in one go.
Xiangli Baoyu asked her, "Sister, when can I go and play with Shenxun for a few more days?"
"Didn't I say you could come anytime?" Yuan Qi was a little puzzled. She had said that, but Xiangli Baoyu had never taken the initiative to come to her door.
Xiangli Baoyu chuckled, "Sister, why don't you marry my brother? When you marry him, bring Shenxun with you, so I can come and play with her every day."
Yuan Qi glanced at Xiangli Baoyu indifferently, thinking that someone had instructed her to say this on purpose.
She looked at Xiangli Youming with a resentful gaze.
Xiangli Youming innocently explained, "I didn't encourage her to say that. Don't look at me like that. She's been bothering me every day, asking me to come see you. I was afraid you'd get annoyed with me, so I said that unintentionally. Who knew she would remember it?"
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