Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 346 - 338: Night Raid on Ouyang Mansion

"Hmm! Are the young master and young maidens alright?"

"Xiao Shi and Miss Xiao Liu couldn’t handle the cold and fell ill. Third Master has already seen them and said that there’s nothing seriously wrong as long as they rest well. Also, Young Master Xiao Jiu hurt his arm yesterday from playing too much and is being quite a handful, refusing to stay in his room."

"How can he still be throwing tantrums at a time like this? He needs to learn some patience. Punish him by making him copy ’Training Monks’ and ’Ouyang Family Rules’ once each."

Ouyang Qingsheng was quite impatient.

The middle-aged, beautiful woman doing needlework silently inside was displeased and stepped out with a few quick steps.

The old steward saw her, bowed, and greeted, "Madam."

The woman was resplendently dressed, with a beautiful and delicate face and a graceful, voluptuous figure. "Jiu’er is just a bit playful. Children at this age, which one isn’t playful? He’s already hurt his arm, how is he supposed to write?"

Ouyang Qingsheng glared at his wife, "An indulgent mother spoils the child."

"If you’re so capable, why don’t you personally educate him? You don’t even know what you’re busy with all day, and now you have the nerve to criticize me. You say you don’t play favorites, but you haven’t even arranged a proper task for Yun’er at this age. Is that Zhongli fellow so good?"

Lady Ouyang felt more and more aggrieved and started sobbing.

"Enough, unreasonable." Ouyang Qingsheng remarked angrily, slamming his chopsticks down and striding out of the courtyard.

The old steward, sensing the tension, quickly followed.

Lady Ouyang saw her husband not only didn’t explain but stormed off angrily. She swept the table messy with dishes to the floor, full of fury.

"Wretch! Just you wait."

One day, she’ll make her understand.

No matter how talented, the old ancestor only acknowledged legitimate offspring.

Humph!

Lady Ouyang’s face was full of hatred, her once exquisite features twisted and vicious, squeezing the handkerchief in her hand out of shape with rage.

The maids and old servants knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe heavily.

It was an older nanny who braved the pressure to enter the room, "Madam, please calm down; it’s not worth it to get upset over outsiders and harm your health."

As she spoke, she soothed Madam while signaling the maids to quickly clean up.

Outside, Ouyang Qingsheng walked briskly. The old steward had to jog with a lantern to keep up.

"How are the preparations on the old ancestor’s side?" Ouyang Qingsheng asked without turning his head, walking as he spoke.

"Rest assured, Master. Everything is prepared. Once the time arrives, the altar can be set."

"Hmm! Keep watch. Before midnight tonight, don’t let anyone from each house leave."

"Yes, guards have been increased everywhere to ensure nothing goes wrong."

The conversation between master and servant was relayed word for word to Cheng Xiaoxiao by the system.

’As expected, there’s something fishy.’

It’s now ten thirty, still more than an hour left to prepare.

’Let’s find something for the Ouyang Family to do,’ Cheng Xiaoxiao had an idea.

"The men in black have already crossed the previous mountain, but they’ve entered a bamboo forest. Once through the forest, they can reach the southwest side of the courtyard wall, but those people keep wandering around and can’t seem to get out, likely due to mechanisms or arrays in the bamboo forest."

’Let them wander a bit. We’ll make other arrangements first.’

Cheng Xiaoxiao moved cat-like through the night, with the Ouyang family guards being particularly vigilant tonight.

Now she was on the outer courtyard’s outer wall, creeping along with her back against the wall. After climbing over a high courtyard wall, she found herself in a place more ornate, with pavilions, rockeries, flower ponds—quite luxurious, and the corridors intertwined. Without the system’s guidance, it’d be easy to get lost.

The further in she went, the more guards there were, almost three steps a post, five steps a sentry.

"Host, you can’t go any further; masters are lurking in the shadows beyond the next courtyard wall."

"Then we’ll change tactics. Where’s the kitchen?"

"Why go to the kitchen so late? If it’s to poison, it should be before they eat," the system was puzzled.

"Of course, it’s to put things in place."

The kitchen was silent; the servants had long since put out the lights and gone to sleep, making it easier for her to act.

After pouring a bottle of powder into the well, she melted into the darkness.

"What’s the host placing? They’re not using water now; what effect will it have?"

"You’ll just wait and see."

The system didn’t get it. Why would the host put powder in the main kitchen’s well when such grand houses have small kitchens and water stored in barrels?

Next, Cheng Xiaoxiao scouted every scoutable area of the Ouyang Mansion, noting the inner and outer courtyard guard strengths, the positions of hidden masters, the combat effectiveness, the back mountain’s usefulness, the methods and paths of retreat—she simulated it all once.

She made a detailed layout map, even marking the hidden guard strengths clearly.

After preparing thoroughly, she detoured to the outer wall of the southeast corner, nearly being discovered several times—but fortunately, she dodged quickly, narrowly escaping danger.

Having done all this took over half an hour, and she couldn’t believe that the group of men in black were still wandering in the bamboo forest, their efficiency frustratingly low.

"Host, do you understand arrays or mechanisms? How can we assist these people?"

’I don’t, but I can cause some trouble.

No matter if it’s a mechanism or an array, there’s always something special—77, scan for any mechanism traces in the bamboo forest and its surroundings.’"

The system scanned carefully, finding nothing unusual.

’Then there must be an array here; unexpected that such things exist in this world.’

"Arrays are trickier than mechanisms. With mechanisms, you can just break the origin, but how to undo an array?"

’77, observe if there’s anything special about the forest.’

Cheng Xiaoxiao had moved to a rock not far from the forest.

The system observed a long time yet found nothing suspicious.

"Those inside are trying to break the array, but it’s futile, and some are already injured."

All this was seen by Cheng Xiaoxiao through the protective goggles. She noticed something peculiar, not visible to the naked eye.

After her careful observation, she found two stone lions at each entrance of the bamboo forest.

"77, look at those stone lions—can you move them?"

"Although these stone lions aren’t as grand as those before the gates of opulent houses, they’re still sizable and heavy. I can’t move them with my ability to retrieve things from thin air."

’Then see if there’s a position where some movement might be possible.’

"Master, the array here is too sinister, several brothers have been injured."

Ah Li approached with a bitter face, reporting that they’ve been circling for an hour and have yet to exit. The forest’s array has them exasperated, more potent than expected.

What can be done?

Gu Ming, who had dabbled in arrays, wasn’t very proficient. He hadn’t expected the Ouyang Family to be so hard to infiltrate: an array protected the outer mountain, while inside, the arrays became increasingly bizarre and variegated, unlike conventional ones.

Once inside, it’s hard to break through.