Xiong Xi, belly round and bulging, turned back to bow, then spun around and dashed off, his face lit with excitement.
Liu Xiaolou leaned against the doorway, watching him go, then turned to the big white goose. “Big White, did you get that?”
The goose let out a honk, shook its head, and paddled off toward the dripping pool to float.
Liu Xiaolou rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “You didn’t get it, but I sure did. This guy’s just like Yun Ao. I bet both of them came for our illusion formation. Odds are they’ve got… problems, and our formation can cure impotence. Hey, show some manners, I’m talking to you…”
That same night, Xiong Xi stormed back into Huagou, spear leveled straight at Lady Xiong Wu, brimming with bold energy. Feeling rather pleased with himself, he couldn’t help but bring it up to a certain like-minded friend; because men struggling with the same problem usually had a circle of sympathetic companions, known among themselves as the “impotence crowd.”
“Hey, Brother Lei, you heard about that son-in-law the Su family married in?”
“The Su family took a son-in-law? Since when? How come I never heard of it?”
“Brother Lei, you really live under a rock. I’ve told you before, shutting yourself in for cultivation gets you nowhere. Cultivation isn’t just about your body, it’s also about timing, place, and the ways of the world…”
“Xiong, my friend, you’ve been wandering all over, yet I don’t see you reaching enlightenment either. Aren’t you in the same boat as me? Doesn’t your wife still call you Rice Ball? Rice Ball, Rice Ball... round and solid at a glance, but grab it and it falls apart…”
“Call them what you want, Brother Lei, but your pills don’t cut it. You should make some time to visit Shenwu Manor and challenge him yourself…”
Under Xiong Xi’s coaxing, Daoist Lei Ming set off for Shenwu Manor. But this time, no matter what “Su Liu style” tactics he copied, nothing could spark Liu Xiaolou’s interest in a duel.
“No fight!” Again and again, Liu repeated those two words until Daoist Lei Ming was on the verge of losing his temper. Just then, Liu Xiaolou suddenly added two more words after “no fight.”
“Unless…”
“Speak!”
“Demonstrating a formation takes focus and true qi… and the formation disk itself consumes spiritual materials every time I use it.”
“I’ll pay!”
“Heh, does Daoist Lei think I’m short on money?”
“Then what do you want?”
“Spirit stones.”
“Impossible! All I want is to step into the illusion formation and take in the sights. How could that be worth spirit stones? You’re making them way too easy! Just for a moment’s time and already…”
“One spirit stone, three demonstrations.”
“Still no! Too expensive. You should know I can barely scrape together a few spirit stones in an entire year. I’d rather pay silver, five taels a session!”
“One spirit stone, five demonstrations.”
“Ten taels!”
“I can increase the number of uses.”
“Twenty taels!”
“Daoist, you’d best be on your way.”
“You…”
After a tense pause, Daoist Lei Ming finally gave in. “One spirit stone, three months, unlimited sessions! But I get to try it once first. If it works as you claim, then we have a deal.”
Liu Xiaolou thought back to how often Yun Ao came—roughly once every half a month. He kept a straight face as he agreed, but inside he was overjoyed. His actual bottom line had been one spirit stone for ten uses. Now this was a real profit!
With the deal settled, he immediately activated the Abyssal Blackstone Formation. Daoist Lei Ming stepped in, half-skeptical. Barely a cup of tea’s time had passed before Liu Xiaolou withdrew the illusion, leaving the Daoist scratching his head in frustration. Desperate for more, Lei Ming quickly handed over the spirit stone, only then buying himself another stick of incense’s worth of time inside.
It wasn’t that Liu Xiaolou was stingy. Since the spirit stone was already in hand, he had intended to give Daoist Lei Ming a full hour. But the Daoist couldn’t handle it and cut things short himself, so that wasn’t on Liu Xiaolou.
Word gradually spread through the “impotence circle” that the Su family’s son-in-law was skilled in formations. Bit by bit, the SunRain Hibiscus Garden came back to life. Visitors kept arriving to pay their respects, and before long, each was handing over spirit stones to purchase ten sessions of formation demonstrations.
Even Yun Ao on his third visit, and Xiong Xi on his second, obediently paid up. No matter how many times they shouted “Su Liu style,” a hundred, a thousand, it wouldn’t make Liu Xiaolou lift a finger. The two young masters had little experience beyond street brawls, and before Liu Xiaolou they were clearly out of their depth. In the end, all they could do was hand over spirit stones.
Of course, after comparing with Daoist Lei Ming’s deal, they decided on the rate of one spirit stone for ten sessions. Both secretly laughed at him for not knowing the going price, convinced he’d been thoroughly swindled. Ten sessions were enough to last five months! So when it came time to pay, the two were far more cheerful, feeling as if they’d gotten the bargain of a lifetime.
Winter passed, spring arrived, and life stirred once again. In the SunRain Hibiscus Garden, the green came back in full force. Insects and birds were busy breeding, and even Big White and Little Black seemed affected by it. At night they would call back and forth—“honk, honk” and “meow, meow”—so loudly that Liu Xiaolou could hardly sleep.
One day, after ten months of seclusion in the Danxia Grotto-Heaven, Su Xi finally returned to Shenwu Manor with Xiaohuan and Susu in tow.
When she pushed open the gates of the garden, she froze for a moment. In front of the archery target, Liu Xiaolou sat cross-legged on the ground, fingers forming seals, casting a technique. Sweat dripped steadily down his forehead. Facing him were three cultivators, seated in midair with nothing under them, gazes fixed on some unseen point, their faces flushed red, their breathing heavy.
On either side of Liu Xiaolou sat Big White and Little Black. When the goose saw Su Xi and her companions, it stretched its neck proudly, while the cat sprang away in a flash, darting up to the roof beam and vanishing from sight.
Susu hadn’t seen her young master-in-law in so long that she missed him dearly. She was just about to call out and rush over, but Su Xi caught her by the arm. The Shenwu Manor did have a protective mountain formation, but it was rarely activated, and the Su clan had never been a family of formation masters. Susu hadn’t seen much of such things and didn’t understand, but Su Xi was experienced. She stopped her and whispered, “He’s in the middle of a duel. Don’t disturb him.”
Xiaohuan asked, “A few days ago I heard Ninth Sister mention that the young master-in-law has some skill with illusion formations. Is this what she meant? Why does it look so… strange?”
Su Xi said, “It is an illusion formation. Once inside, everything you see and feel is born from your own heart. The formation itself isn’t strange, those three are.”
Xiaohuan stuck out her tongue. “Young Master-in-law fighting three at once; how amazing! And isn’t that Second Master Xiong from Huagou? What’s he doing here, joining with others against Young Master-in-law?”
The situation was indeed puzzling. Su Xi had no answer, so she only shook her head and went upstairs by another way. Xiaohuan followed behind her to unpack their things, while Susu went off to tidy the rooms in Yiling Hall at the back.
Standing at the second-floor window, Su Xi quietly watched the duel below.
Another half-hour passed. Suddenly she saw Liu Xiaolou put away the formation disk. Inside the formation, Xiong Xi and the others rose to their feet, hastily bowed to Liu Xiaolou, then turned and bolted.
She watched Liu Xiaolou draw a wooden tablet from his sleeve and begin inscribing something on it with his fingers, though she couldn’t tell what.
Xiaohuan, somehow now standing beside Su Xi, also saw what had happened. She exclaimed in surprise, “How is this possible? Young Master-in-law won? That can’t be… Second Master Xiong is at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, and it was three against one! Why would they run?”
Su Xi was equally puzzled. “Have him come upstairs,” she said.
Soon, a thoroughly exhausted Liu Xiaolou was brought up to the second floor by Xiaohuan. He bowed to Su Xi. “Fifth Lady, you’re back? I sensed it earlier, but I couldn’t spare the time to meet you. Please don’t mind.”
Seeing his pale face and the way he could barely stand upright, Su Xi knew the formation had taken a heavy toll. The duel below must have been intense. She waved her hand. “Sit down.”
It was Liu Xiaolou’s first time upstairs. Even though Su Xi had been away for half a year, he had faithfully stayed within his bounds and never dared break the lock to enter. Now, curious, he took in the rooms filled with feminine touches and furniture, and faintly caught the scent of flowers in the air.
He chose a small rug to sit on. Su Xi asked about what had just happened, and Liu Xiaolou explained, “It wasn’t a duel. There’s no grudge here, so what reason would I have to fight? They came to observe the formation. My illusion formation is unique, and they were just curious to see it. That’s all.”