# Chapter 1620: Mu Linxue
Mu Xiao showed Lin Feng an apologetic smile, then turned his gaze to the crowd and spoke: "You've all heard what Miss Qingying said. This jade slip contains a set of formations. You can carve them into formation talismans. After you're done, I'll hand them over to Miss Qingying. For now, first use your divine sense to imprint the formations into your minds."
"Brother Mu Xiao, could it be that Miss Qingying plans to select someone from among us to assist her in artifact refining?" One person spoke with a smile in his eyes, looking slyly at Mu Xiao.
"Don't daydream. Miss Qingying might really be choosing a personal guard to assist her, but it won't be you. Brother Mu Xiao's comprehension in the Array Dao is far beyond what we can compare to. It seems we should congratulate Brother Mu Xiao first." Another person said with a laugh.
"That's right, that's right. Brother Mu Xiao, from now on you'll be by Miss Qingying's side constantly." The crowd whispered among themselves, lowering their voices, but they clearly all showed expressions of envy. Once chosen by Miss Qingying, one could stay by her side forever and accompany her in artifact refining. Who knew, feelings might even develop over time. What a wonderful prospect, but unfortunately it wasn't meant for them.
"Brother Mu Xiao, if you can win Miss Qingying's heart, your future will be boundless." Another person snickered.
"All of you, behave yourselves." Mu Xiao scolded the crowd, rolling his eyes at them. "One by one, memorize the formation. As long as you work hard, you'll all have a chance."
As he spoke, Mu Xiao tossed the jade slip to one of them, but a sharp glint flashed through his eyes, revealing a hint of excitement. He was also very much looking forward to this matter. Miss Qingying wasn't just talented; she was also tall and beautiful, with an extraordinary aura that made her desirable. If he handled things well and was selected by Miss Qingying to participate in the artifact refining competition for the Mu Clan, he might really have a chance.
The crowd laughed and joked with Mu Xiao, but one by one they extended their divine sense into the jade slip, memorizing the formation within. When it was Lin Feng's turn, he did the same as the others, extending his divine sense into the jade slip. After seeing the formation recorded inside, a hint of surprise flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. This formation was already quite impressive, possessing no small amount of power. It seemed this was indeed a test for these guards.
After everyone had gone through the jade slip, Mu Xiao took it back and said to the crowd: "Alright, don't fool around these next few days. I'll give you three days. Carve it a few more times, try to improve the quality of the formations as much as possible, so that Miss Qingying will be pleased."
"Hehe, Brother Mu Xiao, you're already thinking about Miss Qingying." One person joked, but turned and walked toward his own room.
The crowd dispersed one after another, but Lin Feng didn't leave in a hurry. He still lounged lazily, basking in the warm sunlight.
"Lin Feng, why aren't you going yet?" Seeing that Lin Feng hadn't left, Mu Xiao couldn't help asking.
"Don't we have three days? No need to rush." Lin Feng said casually with a smile.
"Lin Feng, this attitude of yours won't do. If you have extra time, you should strive for perfection and carve the formation more flawlessly." Mu Xiao said with some displeasure, lecturing him. This made Lin Feng pause, and he looked deeply at Mu Xiao. In previous days, Mu Xiao hadn't treated him this way, but now his tone carried a hint of reproach.
Lin Feng smiled inwardly. It seemed this formation carving really might affect Mu Xiao's status, just as the crowd had said — perhaps he would become Mu Qingying's personal guard.
"Alright, I'll do my best." Lin Feng nodded slightly, then walked into his own room. The formation that Mu Qingying had asked them to carve was an offensive formation. For someone proficient in the Ruin Array Dao, this was hardly difficult at all. He only needed to rearrange some minor formations to produce this one. All changes stem from the same principle. Since Lin Feng could successfully carve the Ruin Grand Array, he could handle these minor formations with ease.
Lin Feng didn't take long to carve this formation, but he still waited until three days later to come out, handing over the carved formation talisman to Mu Xiao along with everyone else.
Mu Xiao numbered everyone's formation talismans, then said to the crowd: "I'll remember your numbers. If Miss Qingying takes a liking to any of your talismans, I'll let you know."
"Brother Mu Xiao, don't tease us. We're just here to make up the numbers. Everyone knows your Array Dao is far stronger than ours." The crowd responded with laughter. Then Mu Xiao took everyone's formation talismans and walked toward the inner courtyard to report back to Mu Qingying.
"Hehe, looks like Brother Mu Xiao is in for some good fortune. Just imagine — being able to spend day and night with Miss Qingying, maybe even sharing a room at night. Tsk tsk..." One person snickered, watching Mu Xiao's retreating back. Another couldn't help scolding: "Dream on, it's not you. What are you daydreaming about?"
"Just imagining is nice too." The previous person chuckled awkwardly. His gaze inadvertently fell on Lin Feng, and he patted Lin Feng's shoulder, laughing: "Lin Feng, I heard you begged Miss Qingying to get into the Mu Mansion. How do you feel, knowing your dream girl is about to spend every day with Brother Mu Xiao?"
Lin Feng rubbed his brow with his finger and smiled: "Maybe a little bitter."
"Haha!" The crowd burst out laughing at Lin Feng's words. Meanwhile, Mu Xiao had already arrived at the inner courtyard. He walked up to Mu Qingying and said: "Miss, these are the formation talismans everyone carved. Please take a look."
"Detonate them directly. Let me see their power." Mu Qingying said casually to Mu Xiao.
"Alright." Mu Xiao stepped back a few paces, then detonated the formation talismans one by one. Mu Qingying's face remained expressionless. These people had made some progress in formation carving, but it was far from enough to be of help to her. Perhaps only the formation talisman Mu Xiao had carved could assist her.
"Whoosh!" At that moment, a formation talisman filled with dense flames shot straight into the sky, like several fire dragons about to devour the heavens and earth. A flash of brilliance appeared in Mu Qingying's eyes.
"Nine dragons... carved so perfectly." Mu Qingying's expression focused, and a gleam finally appeared in her beautiful eyes. Even Mu Xiao was stunned, staring at the dragons in the sky. How was this possible? This formation...
"Mu Xiao, your Array Dao has improved again. You can assist me in artifact refining now." Mu Qingying's voice snapped Mu Xiao out of his daze, causing his heart to pound slightly. He lowered his gaze from the sky to look at Mu Qingying. That beautiful face was actually smiling at him. So beautiful. It made him want to reach out and pinch it.
"What's wrong?" Mu Qingying asked, seeing Mu Xiao's expression.
"Nothing." Mu Xiao came back to his senses. His mind raced rapidly as he stared at the beautiful face before him. His heart hardened, and he said: "Being able to serve Miss is my blessing."
"Good. From now on, you may come and go freely in my personal inner courtyard. Stay in the room next door, so I can call on you whenever I need." Mu Qingying said.
"Yes, Miss." Mu Xiao nodded. His right hand clenched into a fist. In his palm was still the last formation talisman, but he would never detonate it. This last one was the one he had carved himself.
"Go pack your things and inform the others." Mu Qingying instructed Mu Xiao. "Call me if you need anything."
With that, Mu Qingying returned to her room, while a gleam of brilliance appeared in Mu Xiao's eyes. He put away the formation talisman and turned to walk back to the outer courtyard.
Everyone in the outer courtyard was waiting. Seeing Mu Xiao, they immediately crowded around, laughing: "Brother Mu Xiao, how did it go?"
"Work hard on your own from now on. I might not have time to supervise you anymore." Mu Xiao said with a smile. Immediately, brilliant light appeared in everyone's eyes. They laughed: "Brother Mu Xiao, don't forget us in the future."
"Keep it up." One after another, they stepped forward, some envious, some jealous.
Only Lin Feng showed a slightly strange expression, but he quickly understood what had happened and revealed a faint smile. Just then, Mu Xiao's gaze also turned to Lin Feng. He said: "Lin Feng, Miss said you have some potential. You need to work harder."
"I will." Lin Feng nodded. Then Mu Xiao looked away, packed his things, and moved into the inner courtyard, making all the other guards green with envy.
Lin Feng's days were quite leisurely. He continued to wait for his opportunity. Another month passed in the blink of an eye. Mu Xiao had come to see everyone a few times, and had just recently returned to the inner courtyard.
At this moment, Mu Qingying stood in the courtyard, stretching lazily. Her full, voluptuous figure was faintly visible, making Mu Xiao, who was walking over, swallow his saliva. But seeing Mu Qingying's gaze turn toward him, he quickly looked away. Still, a hint of heat stirred in his heart. If only he could enter Miss Qingying's private chambers one day — how perfect that would be.
"Mu Xiao, you've been tired these past few days, but there's something I need to mention. The formation ability you've been showing lately doesn't seem to match the formation talisman from that day. You need to practice more diligently and return to your peak level." Mu Qingying said seriously to Mu Xiao.
"I understand, Miss." Mu Xiao nodded. "Miss, there's one more thing I'd like to bring up."
"Go ahead." Mu Qingying said casually.
"These past few days, I've been supervising the others in carving formations. But Lin Feng seems to lack ambition. His ability in the Array Dao is very weak, and he never asks for guidance. I'd like to expel him from the Mu Mansion." Mu Xiao said slowly to Mu Qingying.
Mu Qingying pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "The Mu Mansion doesn't keep useless people."
"Then I'll go handle it now." A sharp glint flashed in Mu Xiao's eyes as he prepared to turn around.
"Qingying." At that moment, a voice came from not far away. Mu Xiao turned his gaze to see a figure walking slowly toward them. Slender jade-like feet, a waist like a willow, eyes like water, long hair draping over her shoulders — dignified, noble, beautiful. Mu Xiao felt slightly breathless.
"Sister Linxue." Mu Qingying showed a smile upon seeing the newcomer. "Linxue, you've come out of seclusion?"
"I came to borrow a guard from you." Mu Linxue's voice was crisp and clear. Hearing her words, Mu Qingying rolled her eyes at her and said: "Linxue, you should have had the family recruit a batch of guards for you long ago. You do everything yourself, without even anyone to assist you."