# Chapter 48: The Concealment Array

At the dining table.

Qin Lu, Zhang Meng, and Xiao Ziyun sat around a spread of three delicate dishes and a soup, the food filling the room with mouth-watering aromas.

Due to his frequent sword practice, Xiao Ziyun’s appetite had grown considerably. At the moment, the boy was entirely focused on devouring his meal. Meanwhile, Qin Lu and Zhang Meng chatted as they ate.

Qin Lu didn’t hide anything. He recounted the conflict with the Jishan Shop in detail, including the reason behind his injury the previous night.

“Ah…”

After listening, Zhang Meng let out a long sigh, her face clouded with worry. “I never imagined those people could be so petty and vindictive. Brother Qin, we must take good care of Ziyun.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on Ziyun. You need to be careful in your daily life as well,” Qin Lu advised.

“Mhm.”

Zhang Meng nodded gently, though the anxiety in her eyes didn’t diminish in the slightest.

…

After the meal, Qin Lu brought out the large bundle of items he had purchased the night before. Inside were numerous sets of clothing and shoes, along with several talismans and miscellaneous items like toys.

“Xiao Meng, the weather has been getting colder lately. I specifically bought some clothes, including winter wear. You and Ziyun should try them on to see if they fit.”

Autumn had passed, and the biting winds of winter were beginning to sweep through the market district. It was time to start adding layers.

Seeing the new clothes, Zhang Meng was delighted. She immediately began trying them on with an excited Xiao Ziyun. It had been a long time since they had owned anything new. Watching the joyful mother and son, a warm feeling gently spread through Qin Lu’s heart.

After a moment’s thought, he picked up two talismans from the bundle and stepped out to the outer wall of the courtyard.

These were 【Warning Talismans】.

They cost five Spirit Stones each and were simple defensive tools. True to their name, their sole purpose was to warn of approaching enemies.

Qin Lu scanned the area, searching for suitable spots to place them.

Every courtyard in the market district came equipped with a standard concealment array. Not only did it guard against spiritual sense detection by cultivators, but it would also emit a loud sound if someone tried to force their way in. Qin Lu’s courtyard was no exception.

However, he felt this array alone wasn’t secure enough. The two 【Warning Talismans】 were a necessary redundancy.

Finding two suitable spots, Qin Lu activated the talismans and concealed them in inconspicuous locations. With that done, he dusted off his hands and walked back into the courtyard.

“Brother Qin, come try this robe on too!” Zhang Meng called out with a smile, holding up a set of men’s robes.

“Alright.”

Although they were just ordinary clothes and not magical robes, they brought joy to all three of them for quite some time.

…

Late at night.

After Zhang Meng carefully applied healing elixir liquid to Qin Lu’s wounds, they each returned to their rooms. Although their relationship was established, because Xiao Ziyun was still very young, Zhang Meng continued to sleep in the child’s room to keep him company.

Due to his injuries, Qin Lu fell into a deep sleep shortly after lying down.

The courtyard was located in a remote part of the market district. Usually, aside from the occasional bark of a dog, the nights were scenes of utter desolation.

But tonight, the silence was shattered.

Tap, tap, tap!

“After her!”

Disorderly footsteps thundered from the end of the street, interspersed with men’s shouts and roars. The commotion caused lights to flicker on in many previously dark houses. Some bolder cultivators even opened their courtyard gates to peek outside.

The distant shouts were too far away to disturb Qin Lu’s sleep.

However.

He was abruptly jolted from his slumber by a sudden, spiking sense of foreboding!

He sat up sharply, all sleepiness vanishing in an instant.

This sensation came precisely from his connection to the 【Warning Talisman】!

Someone had breached the courtyard!

With a look of high alertness, Qin Lu slowly got out of bed. He grabbed his 【Shangqing Sword】 from the bedside and crept cautiously toward the door. His heart was filled with unease and tension, though his arms no longer trembled violently as they once had. Having experienced two life-and-death struggles, his mental fortitude had improved considerably.

Gripping his longsword tightly, Qin Lu slowly pushed open his bedroom door.

Swish!

A flash of sword light!

A longsword appeared out of thin air, thrusting toward him with lightning speed. Before Qin Lu could react, the cold steel tip was already pressed against his neck.

“This…”

Cold sweat broke out all over his body. He hurriedly lowered his own sword and stammered nervously, “Fellow Daoist… please remain calm…”

This person’s speed far exceeded that of an ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. He had absolutely no ability to resist.

“Stay silent if you wish to live.”

A cold, emotionless female voice came from beside the door.

A woman?!

Qin Lu couldn’t help but swallow hard. His entire body tensed up. Feeling the chilling cold at his neck, he immediately shut his mouth.

Before long, a series of hurried footsteps approached from the street outside.

“We must catch her tonight!”

“Everyone after her!”

“Listen for the sound of arrays breaking!”

Cultivators kept shouting. The voices grew from distant to near before gradually fading into the distance again. Hearing these shouts, Qin Lu instantly understood: those people were definitely pursuing this woman.

Wait!

Qin Lu’s expression suddenly turned grim.

Only Wuji Market’s patrol teams would dare make such a loud commotion while chasing someone in the middle of the night. And this sword-wielding fugitive was a woman…

Then it couldn’t be… Mother Tiger!

This person was none other than Mother Tiger—the one who had recently gained such notoriety?!

Unable to contain his curiosity, Qin Lu stole a glance sideways.

He saw she was dressed entirely in form-fitting black attire that accentuated an extremely curvaceous figure. Her hair and face were wrapped in black cloth, revealing only a pair of eyes beneath tightly furrowed brows—eyes filled with intense wariness.

Shhhk!

The black-clad woman withdrew her sword and sheathed it directly.

With the sword tip no longer threatening his neck, Qin Lu instantly breathed a sigh of relief before cautiously observing her.

A strange thought arose in his mind: Logically speaking, when she breached the courtyard walls earlier, shouldn’t she have triggered or broken through its built-in concealment array? That should have produced a loud warning sound.

Yet, all he had felt was the specific sense of foreboding from the 【Warning Talisman】. There wasn’t even a whisper of sound from the concealment array itself. It had provided absolutely zero warning.

“You’re quite vigilant—how did you detect me?”

Once she sensed that the patrol teams were moving further away, the black-clad woman relaxed considerably; her tone lost much of its previous cold severity.

“Uh… might you be… Mother Tiger?” Qin Lu ventured tentatively.

“Hmph!”

The woman suddenly snorted coldly. “Shut up! I dislike that nickname intensely!”

Upon hearing these words, Qin Lu felt his heartbeat accelerate uncontrollably.

This person truly was Mother Tiger—the one causing such an uproar throughout Wuji Market recently!

Upon confirming her true identity, all thoughts of fighting back vanished instantly. Not even the slightest desire to resist remained.

One had to realize: For over a month, Mother Tiger had managed to evade capture repeatedly despite numerous patrol teams scouring the entire marketplace. Her own cultivation level must be at least the late-stage Qi Refining realm—or perhaps even the Great Perfection stage.

As merely a fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator, he stood absolutely no chance against someone like her.

“How exactly did you detect my presence?” Mother Tiger asked again, seeming genuinely curious about this particular point.

“Well… I buried some 【Warning Talismans】 outside my courtyard earlier… You probably triggered one when entering just now. That’s how I sensed someone breaching the perimeter,” he explained carefully, choosing his words wisely.

“So that explains it…”

Mother Tiger visibly relaxed further, her tone carrying a hint of relief mixed with slight satisfaction. “Good then—my magical artifact isn’t malfunctioning after all.”

Qin Lu remained silent. Presumably, she referred to a magical artifact that enabled silent entry past concealment arrays.

“Alright then—I just borrowed your courtyard briefly for shelter. Leaving now!”

With swift movement, Mother Tiger leaped over the courtyard wall effortlessly; her figure appeared exceptionally graceful and agile under the moonlight. Within moments, she disappeared completely into the night sky.

Qin Lu watched silently until she vanished from sight entirely.

He turned around slowly and closed the bedroom door behind him once more. An expression full of resignation spread across his face.

“What kind of mess is this, anyway?!”