Chapter 11: Fire Chick

The meat in the bowl was a pale golden color, its texture crystalline and translucent. It looked like chicken leg, but the size was comparable to the pork knuckles Mo Hua had eaten in his past life.

The broth was clear with a thin sheen of oil, rich but not greasy, garnished with some mushroom side dishes and small, chopped pieces of emerald-green herbs.

Mo Hua hadn't eaten meat for a long time; the last time was half a year ago during the Monster Hunting Festival.

Meat is very expensive in the cultivation world. Unless it’s a holiday, ordinary cultivators rarely get to eat it.

The meat consumed by cultivators is generally divided into two categories. The first is the meat of spirit beasts.

Spirit beasts are different from monsters; they are raised by cultivators, fed with spirit herbs and various other natural spirit treasures. Their meat is delicate, easy to cook, and contains spiritual energy, making it extremely expensive—far beyond the reach of rogue cultivators.

The other category is the meat of herbivorous monsters.

All monsters kill people, but not all monsters eat people. Monsters that feed on various spirit herbs, even if they are violent by nature and slaughter cultivators, will not eat human flesh.

As for carnivorous monsters, they have basically all eaten humans. If one hasn't, it’s not because it doesn't eat them, but simply because it hasn't encountered a cultivator it could eat yet.

Therefore, while the meat of herbivorous monsters has a strange odor, it is still edible for cultivators. Conversely, the meat of carnivorous monsters is bloody and foul, making it difficult to swallow. If a cultivator accidentally consumes it, it easily pollutes their blood and energy, leading to chaotic meridians, and in some cases, even madness.

Although the meat of herbivorous monsters is not expensive, most cultivators still won't eat it.

The bodies of monsters are far stronger than those of cultivators, and herbivorous monsters are no exception. Their meat is too tough to chew. To eat it, one must stew it over a furnace fire for a long time before it becomes soft enough to swallow.

Rogue cultivators simply cannot afford the time and effort, and those who can afford such effort would rather choose to eat the meat of spirit beasts directly.

Thus, regardless of the type, meat is a rare sight on a rogue cultivator's table.

The bowl of meat before him had wisps of white steam rising from it. Although faint, it clearly contained a trace of spiritual energy.

Liu Ruhu waved Mo Hua over. "This is Fire-Pheasant meat. Your father bought it to help you build up your strength."

After saying this, she couldn't help but pinch Mo Hua's fair, chubby cheeks. "Look at how thin you've gotten lately."

Mo Hua was a bit reluctant and couldn't help but ask, "This meat must be quite expensive, right?"

Mo Shan waved his hand. "I only bought half a bird; it didn't cost many spirit stones. Besides, I bought it from a friend in the hunting squad. We’ll be working together next year, so it’s a gesture of goodwill—half-sold, half-gifted."

Mo Hua asked, "Dad, are you going into the inner mountains next year?"

Mo Shan nodded. "It’s getting hard to make a living in the outer mountains now. The returns from killing a monster are too low, and if someone gets injured, we might even end up losing money. Although the monsters in the inner mountains are stronger, if we get anything good from them, we can live comfortably for a while. So, next year..."

Mo Shan suddenly stopped and couldn't help but laugh at himself. "Why am I telling you all this?"

Liu Ruhu gave Mo Shan a light look and used a ladle to serve a bowl of meat soup for Mo Hua. "Taste it and see how it is."

Mo Hua took a sip of the soup and a bite of the meat. The soup was fresh, the meat was fragrant, rich but not greasy—a perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste.

This was the best meat Mo Hua had ever eaten.

Mo Hua squinted his eyes and praised, "Mom, you made this so well!"

Liu Ruhu couldn't help but laugh. "If it's good, eat more. This whole bowl is yours, you must finish it." After saying this, she walked toward the kitchen. "There are some other dishes; I'll go bring them out..."

Mo Shan stood up. "I'll help you..."

Seeing his parents go to the kitchen, Mo Hua picked up several pieces of the Fire-Pheasant meat and put them into his own bowl, then divided the rest into his parents' bowls.

When Mo Shan and Liu Ruhu returned with the dishes, they saw their bowls piled high with meat.

Liu Ruhu was both touched and amused. "This meat was bought specifically for you. At our age, your father and I don't expect any further progress in our cultivation; eating this meat with spiritual energy is just a waste..."

Liu Ruhu picked up the meat, intending to put it back into Mo Hua's bowl, but Mo Hua covered his bowl with both hands and shook his head. "I've had enough; I can't finish any more."

Mo Hua kept his bowl covered, refusing to eat any more.

Mo Shan and Liu Ruhu were helpless and had to give up, but then the couple began to push the meat back and forth between themselves.

Mo Shan added meat to his wife's bowl and said softly, "You've worked hard all these years; eat more to build up your strength..."

Liu Ruhu moved the meat back into her husband's bowl and said gently, "You're the one running around outside, braving the elements; you're the one who's worked hard. You eat more..."

Mo Hua felt his teeth ache from the display and couldn't help but say, "Mom, Dad, if you don't eat the meat, it'll get cold."

The two of them had forgotten their son was nearby. Seeing their son's large, watery eyes watching them, Liu Ruhu's face turned slightly red, while Mo Shan gave a light cough and pretended to eat as if nothing had happened.

Seeing his parents eat the meat in their bowls, Mo Hua nodded with satisfaction.

He then thought, although the Fire-Pheasant meat is delicious, it's too expensive.

Monster meat, while lacking spiritual energy, can replenish blood and vitality, which must be beneficial for cultivators. It's just that monster meat is truly hard to chew...

I wonder if there's any way to help Mom and Dad eat more meat?

Mo Hua set this thought aside for now. The most important thing currently was to finish drawing the Bright Fire Array and take it to the merchant house to exchange for spirit stones with the fat manager.

After the meal, Mo Hua returned to his room and meditated to digest the Fire-Pheasant meat. Since there wasn't much spiritual energy, it didn't take long.

Once the energy was refined, Mo Hua began to draw the Bright Fire Array again. Finally, before going to sleep that night, he successfully completed another one.

Afterward, Mo Hua went to sleep and continued to draw arrays on the Dao Stele, consolidating his memory of the array over and over, reflecting on the problems in his brushwork.

After waking up at dawn, he meditated, then continued drawing arrays. He drew one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both were successful, but the consumption of his divine sense was quite high, so he had to rest for a while after dinner. At night, he entered his dreams to continue drawing arrays on the Dao Stele.

By the fourth day, Mo Hua's brushwork had become much more proficient, and his divine sense seemed to have grown a bit stronger. Perhaps because he understood the Bright Fire Array more thoroughly, the consumption of his divine sense decreased. After drawing two arrays during the day, he still had the energy to draw another one after dinner, but because he was a bit impatient, his brushwork went wrong, and the array failed.

At night, after Mo Hua fell asleep, he continued to reflect and summarize in his sea of consciousness, using the Dao Stele to practice drawing arrays.

On the fifth day, Mo Hua spent the whole day drawing three Bright Fire Arrays, all of which were successful. His divine sense was quite depleted, leaving him feeling a bit dizzy, but he no longer felt the splitting headache he had the first time. Closing his eyes to focus and rest for a while was enough.

By this point, Mo Hua had used up all ten sets of array materials entrusted to him by the merchant house, successfully drawing a total of 8 Bright Fire Arrays.

Although there were some flaws and room for improvement, he was generally satisfied.

That night, Mo Hua indulged himself a little. He didn't continue practicing arrays on the Dao Stele, but instead drew a few comic strips on it just for amusement.

The next day, after Mo Hua woke up and finished breakfast, he met up with Dahu and the other two to go to the market.

Mo Hua put the completed arrays into his storage bag and slung it over his shoulder. Before leaving, Liu Ruhu stuffed a spirit stone and five fragments of spirit stones into his hand, telling him to buy something good to eat or play with if he saw it, and carefully reminded him to be safe.

Dahu and the others patted their chests, promising to protect Mo Hua and not let anyone bully him.

Mo Hua waved goodbye to his mother and headed out with his three little friends.

Dahu and the others were energetic, skipping and jumping along the way.

On the bustling stone-paved road, three boisterous little boys and one porcelain-doll-like little boy walked along, skipping and jumping...

(End of chapter)