Chapter 6: Spirit Stones

Mo Hua thought for a while in his room. Once Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua finished talking, he changed into casual clothes and, pretending to know nothing, walked out of the room happily.

The family of three ate together. Mo Shan had already eaten, so Mo Hua pestered him for interesting stories about hunting demons.

Mo Shan picked and chose a few to tell: there were one-eyed wolves, two-headed tigers, and three-legged wild boars.

There were teams that hunted an adult demon beast, but instead of harvesting the demon core, they peeled off some worthless fur. When they realized their mistake and went back, the demon core had already been taken by someone else. The captain was so regretful that he vomited blood and fainted on the spot.

There were also people who caught a strange beast with an ancient bloodline, which was immediately bought by a large sect for a high price, ensuring them a life free from worry. But one day, the person simply vanished entirely...

Mo Hua listened with great interest. He knew that these stories must contain blood, danger, and cruelty, but his father had deliberately omitted those parts.

Parents never want their children to know the cruel reality; they want them to have a simple and happy childhood.

After Mo Hua finished listening to the stories, three little heads poked out from outside the gate. Their dark, round eyes peered into the room. Seeing Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua at home, they stood in a neat row and greeted them

"Hello, Uncle Mo! Hello, Auntie Liu!"

The three children were surnamed Meng and lived on the same street. Their families also made a living by hunting demons.

The elders of the Meng family were on good terms with Mo Shan, and since they lived nearby, Mo Hua had played with them since he was a child. Their names were also similar; according to their birth order, they were called Meng Dahu (Big Tiger), Meng Shuanghu (Double Tiger), and Meng Xiaohu (Little Tiger).

Among the demon beasts near Tongxian City, tiger-type beasts were the most powerful. Naming the children with the word "Tiger" was a wish for them to have the strength and majesty of a tiger in the future.

The three children were indeed true to their names, looking quite sturdy and "tiger-headed."

Mo Hua was the youngest and had been weak and sickly since birth. Mo Shan felt it was unlikely he would grow up to be like a tiger. Seeing that he had delicate features and looked like a clean, white porcelain doll, he took the character "Hua" (Painting) from his wife Liu Ruhua's name and named him Mo Hua.

When Liu Ruhua saw the three children, she gave each of them a steamed bun. The three children said they didn't want them, but their hands reached out uncontrollably. They took the buns, stuffed them into their mouths, and said with bulging cheeks, "Thank you, Auntie Liu!"

Liu Ruhua's cooking was the best in the neighborhood, which made the three children envy Mo Hua endlessly.

Mo Shan waved his hand, "Go play together, and remember to come back for lunch!"

Mo Hua and the three children nodded in agreement and dashed out the door in a flash.

Among the three Meng children, Dahu was honest and kind, Shuanghu was clever, and Xiaohu was a chatterbox. All three were older and taller than Mo Hua, so they usually led the way when they played.

Dahu and the others talked non-stop along the way—where there were dragon lanterns, where there were fireworks, where it was crowded, and where there were flashy little girls who could dance...

But they talked so much that they didn't know where to go to play.

In the end, they decided: adults make choices, but children want everything! They would visit every place!

With the end of the year approaching, disciples studying in sects were on break, and cultivators working abroad were returning home. Tongxian City was much livelier than usual, and the streets were significantly more crowded.

Some Qi-refining body cultivators showed off their martial arts, dancing with knives and guns, while spirit cultivators performed flashy but useless spells, drawing envy and gasps from the children.

Those who knew artifact refining and mechanical arts made small toys—wooden rabbits, puppies, and kittens that would run on the ground with a little spiritual energy, along with all sorts of other things that were dazzling to behold.

Dahu, Shuanghu, and Xiaohu were having a blast, finding everything fresh and exciting, shouting with joy. Mo Hua played and watched, but in his heart, he was keeping an eye out for ways to earn spirit stones.

After looking around, he discovered that basically everything that could earn spirit stones was already being done by others, and the things no one was doing, Mo Hua currently lacked the ability to do.

Watching the cultivators on the street performing and shouting to sell their wares, Mo Hua sighed to himself that making a living was indeed not an easy task.

Seeing that Mo Hua wasn't very happy, Shuanghu asked, "Mo Hua, do you have something on your mind?"

When Dahu heard this, he immediately said, "Is someone bullying you? I'll go beat them up!"

Xiaohu also nodded repeatedly, "Beat them up! Beat them up!"

The elders of the Meng family had instructed them since they were young to take care of the weak and sickly Mo Hua. Plus, whenever Liu Ruhua made something delicious, she would specifically set aside a portion for the three children.

The three children were both grateful and loyal. Whenever someone tried to bully Mo Hua, they would roll up their sleeves and charge into a fight without a second thought.

Mo Hua was recognized as the smartest among the neighborhood's rogue cultivators. Sometimes, when they didn't understand the assignments given by their instructors, they would come to ask Mo Hua, so the children had a very good relationship.

Seeing them looking eager to start a fight, Mo Hua was left between laughter and tears. He said

"No one is bullying me. I'm just thinking about whether I can earn some spirit stones."

Earn spirit stones...

Dahu and the others became troubled as well. They didn't really know how.

They could help with a fight, but they were helpless when it came to earning spirit stones.

Mo Hua's heart stirred, and he asked

"Do you know how array masters earn spirit stones?"

The cultivation world was vast and boundless. Mo Hua only practiced and drew arrays every day, so his exposure was limited, and there were many things he had no way of knowing. He only knew that becoming an array master meant not having to worry about food or clothing, but he really didn't know how ordinary array masters, especially low-level apprentices, earned spirit stones.

Dahu and the others played around often; perhaps they knew something Mo Hua didn't.

Dahu thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "The qualification assessment for array masters is very difficult. There isn't a single First-Grade array master in our neighborhood, so I'm not really sure..."

"Don't talk about our neighborhood; even in the whole of Tongxian City, there aren't many array masters, and even fewer who can truly pass the assessment to become a First-Grade array master. We have a distant uncle in the Meng family who studies arrays every day, and he hasn't passed the First-Grade assessment even after twenty years of trying..." Xiaohu shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"You heard wrong. Uncle Meng is just an array apprentice. He wants to apprentice under an array master to learn, but when others give him a test, he can't answer, so they don't take him."

Shuanghu curled his lips and counted on his fingers

"Apprentice, ordinary array master, First-Grade array master... Uncle Meng isn't going for a qualification assessment; those who can go for an assessment are already somewhat famous array masters. He is still a hundred thousand miles away from that!"

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Then how does he make a living?"

"I heard he helps merchant firms draw some simple arrays to earn some spirit stones, then uses the spirit stones to buy brushes and ink to practice arrays, then continues to fail at finding a master, then helps the merchant firms draw arrays again..."

"Merchant firms, huh..."

"Yes, I heard that even if you can't get a grade or become a First-Grade array master, just being an ordinary array master and drawing arrays for merchant firms can still earn you quite a few spirit stones, enough to live comfortably."

Shuanghu said, then asked Mo Hua

"Mo Hua, do you want to be an array master?"

"Mm," Mo Hua didn't hide it. "My constitution is too weak. I'm afraid I can't be a demon hunter. If a demon beast swiped at me, I'd probably lose half my life. I have to find a way to make a living. But it's too early to talk about that now. I'll see if I can earn some spirit stones first. If I can, I'll treat you all to pastries!"

When Dahu and the others heard this, they were instantly happy.

"Great, great!"

"You're so smart, you'll definitely be able to earn spirit stones and become an array master in the future!"

"Pastries, pastries!"

As children of ordinary rogue cultivator families, they rarely got to eat even the most common pastries from the roadside.

The group wandered around for another round. Except for the flashy little girls they didn't see, they had visited everywhere else. Near noon, they all went home satisfied to have lunch.

After finishing his lunch, Mo Hua told his parents he was going out to play, then went alone to the North Street of Tongxian City.

The North Street of Tongxian City was prosperous, while the South Street was bustling.

The South Street had many markets, mostly consisting of peddlers and small stalls, while the North Street had many merchant firms. They had everything from spirit talismans to pills and artifacts. The goods sold there were more formal and of better quality, and of course, more expensive.

However, Mo Hua wasn't there to buy anything; he didn't have the spirit stones for that.

Mo Hua walked from one end of the street to the other, looking at all the merchant firms. Then, he found a firm that had an array hanging outside its door, but it was the most shabby and simple-looking one, and its business was the quietest. He walked inside.

(End of chapter)