Chapter 383: Chapter 56: Late Night, Mouse, Compass (Part 2)
The mouse’s body seemed exceptionally supple, squeezing itself flat without any apparent issue.
After squeezing through the window, it glanced at the transparent, invisible Arrays in the room. It was as if these hidden Arrays were clearly visible to its eyes.
It watched for a moment. A faint Spiritual Light flickered on its pointed, mousy nose before quickly fading. After doing this, it hopped down from the window soundlessly.
In the process, the tip of its nose touched the transparent, invisible Arrays in the room. However, neither the Defense Arrays nor the warning arrays had any effect.
When the tip of its nose touched the Arrays, it passed through effortlessly. In that instant, it was as if the Defense Arrays didn’t exist, and the warning arrays remained completely silent.
After passing through several of the Spirit Tower’s Arrays, it discovered that the room’s owner had set up even more Arrays inside. Its tiny mouse eyes rolled in exasperation at the owner’s extreme caution.
It paused, carefully examining these Arrays. Only then did it move forward again, passing through layer after layer of obstructions until it reached Zhang Deming’s clothes rack. Just as it was about to climb up, its entire body went rigid.
On the bed, Zhang Deming seemed to have unconsciously turned over in his sleep.
The little white mouse stiffly turned. It looked at Zhang Deming, who had rolled over to face it. His eyes were tightly shut and his breathing was even; he still seemed to be sound asleep.
But the little white mouse remained frozen for a long while before it suddenly spoke. "Oh, my. Where am I? How did I end up sleepwalking here?"
Just then, the "sleeping" Zhang Deming opened his eyes. His pitch-black pupils stared indifferently at the little white mouse, a cold, deep smile on his face. "Is that so?" he said lightly. "How about I help you wake up, friend?"
"That won’t be necessary. For some reason, I just jolted awake on my own," the little white mouse said, its body still rigid.
"Really? Because I feel it’s quite necessary," Zhang Deming said coldly. His expression suddenly shifted, and he tilted his head to the side. "What’s this? You pay me a visit late at night without so much as a greeting, and now you want to leave without saying goodbye?"
As Zhang Deming spoke, the stiff little white mouse before him turned into an incredibly lifelike clay figurine. At the same time, another white mouse quietly materialized in front of the Array Light Curtain by the bed.
"An Array Cultivator?" the little white mouse exclaimed in astonishment, its murine face full of confusion.
’If I remember correctly,’ it thought, ’when we first met at the city gate, the No Seal Technique he used was a Vine Technique. Shouldn’t his Rune Core be Wood Dao Vine Technique?’
’How did he suddenly become an Array Cultivator? If I had known, I never would have been so reckless as to just barge in!’
By now, Zhang Deming had sat up and was staring coldly at the little white mouse.
The little white mouse turned, rising up on its hind legs to face Zhang Deming. "How did you discover me?"
Zhang Deming replied calmly, "Although your fur is white, not the characteristic gold of a Treasure-Seeking Rat, and your body is much more petite, your appearance is naturally deceptive.
"However, I enjoy reading in my spare time. I once happened to read that when the Bloodlines of a Breaking Forbidden Rat Monarch and a Treasure-Seeking Rat Monarch combine, there’s a high probability they will produce offspring with a delicate, white-furred form, just like you.
"Add to that how I saw you at the city gate, constantly maintaining your rat form. It was obvious you major in this Skill as part of the Bloodline Transformation Path.
"Therefore, the Bloodline for your Skill must be extremely precious. Making a few educated guesses isn’t so strange then, is it? After all, there are only a handful of ordinarily precious rat-type Bloodlines.
"That’s why I added a little something extra to the Arrays in this room.
"After all, if you really were some kind of Treasure-Seeking Rat, the storage pouch I carry wouldn’t be able to block your keen, instinctual Perception, would it?
"And you lot at the city gate were so inexplicably friendly toward me. When you’re away from home, you have to be extra careful!"
"Heh heh, you really are a cautious one, aren’t you?" the little white mouse said.
Zhang Deming gave it a smirk. "Are you trying to stall for time, waiting for your teammates outside to rescue you?"
After a moment, Zhang Deming nodded. "That must be it. You have a Tai Chi Cultivation, but you major in a rat-type Bloodline meant for treasure-seeking and theft. I imagine your Combat abilities aren’t very strong."
The little white mouse’s expression darkened at his words.
Zhang Deming looked at it and continued, "Actually, I’m chatting with you for the same reason. You want to stall and wait for rescue from the outside.
"As for me..."
"...I’m afraid you might have some desperate Escape Skills like Blood Escape, Earth Escape, or Aerial Escape. After all, you major in rat-type Skills. Escape must be a method you’ve thoroughly mastered, right?"
The little white mouse’s expression changed drastically at his words. Its Spiritual Power surged, and it charged directly at the Array Light Curtain in front of it.
"Law Order: Sky-Breaking Techniques are forbidden in this place!" Zhang Deming declared, activating his Tier Three Oratory.
The previously prepared Array Light Curtain slowly materialized, spurred on by the Tier Three Oratory. Within the Array Light Curtain, a Yin Yang Fish pattern gradually appeared.
This change startled even Zhang Deming himself. ’Can Oratory activate the Yin Yang Chess Dao like this, allowing its Trapped Position characteristic to attach itself to a Trapping Array?’
Seeing this change, Zhang Deming was pleasantly surprised. This was no small discovery. Among all Trapping Skills, the Yin Yang Extreme Chess Dao was a prime example.
And if using it in conjunction with the Array Dao could eliminate its greatest initial drawback—the need to establish a Trapped Position before one could trap an enemy—then for him, this Skill would truly transform from a useless Technique into a signature move.
’And doesn’t this mean that the Mastery Level Yin Yang Chess Dao can be used in a different way, hidden within other Trapping Skills?’
