Chapter 13: The Lamp

For the next few days, aside from eating, Mo Hua locked himself in his room to draw the Bright Fire Array.

Five days later, Mo Hua had used up all ten sets of materials. Unfortunately, he had only succeeded in drawing eight. One failure was due to carelessness, and the other was a brushwork error he hadn't noticed before.

The Bright Fire Array was already the simplest and most basic array in the cultivation world, yet even after drawing it so many times, Mo Hua still made mistakes occasionally—some of which he had even made before.

"Arrays are truly profound; one cannot be sloppy in the slightest!" Mo Hua warned himself silently.

Mo Hua took some time to deliver the completed arrays to the chubby manager at the Youyuan Pavilion.

The manager was slightly more satisfied this time. He believed that Mo Hua’s... elder brother had a diligent attitude and that his brushwork was significantly more proficient than before. He was happy to continue the partnership, and after handing Mo Hua six spirit stones, he gave him another ten sets of materials.

Mo Hua had already earned twelve spirit stones. At this rate, he could complete another batch before the end of the year, earning at least another six spirit stones.

Mo Hua drew with even greater focus, becoming more adept at the Bright Fire Array. His divine sense had also strengthened considerably; he could now complete a full Bright Fire Array without exhausting his divine sense, which greatly reduced the time he spent drawing.

A few days later, after finishing dinner and preparing to return to his room, Mo Hua suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Mo Hua got up to open it and found two people standing outside.

One was a young man wearing clean, neat Taoist robes. His cultivation level didn't seem low, and his manners were very polite.

The other was a middle-aged cultivator with a few shallow scars on his face. His eyes looked calm, yet there was a sharpness in his gaze. His spiritual energy was clearly much more robust, suggesting he was at least an eighth or ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.

"Little friend, does a brother named Mo Shan live here?"

"Are you looking for my dad?" Mo Hua asked, tilting his little head.

The middle-aged cultivator’s expression softened as he looked at Mo Hua. "You must be Mo Hua!"

Mo Shan also came out to greet them, cupping his hands. "Brother Ji!"

The middle-aged cultivator returned the gesture. "Brother Mo, apologies for disturbing you so late! My son and I traveled overnight from Black Mountain City and only just arrived."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yes, a brother from my father's generation lives here. I’m going to pay him a visit and stay there for the time being. I came to find you to discuss that matter we talked about before..."

"Come inside."

Mo Shan welcomed them in. Liu Ruhua cleared the table, poured tea, and served it. Mo Shan invited the two to sit and then introduced them to Mo Hua

"This is your Uncle Ji, named Qingbai. Beside him is your Big Brother Ji, whose given name is Li."

Mo Hua bowed formally. "Hello, Uncle Ji. Hello, Big Brother Ji!"

Ji Qingbai nodded with a smile. He had intended to offer a compliment, but looking at the tall, sturdy Mo Shan with his sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, and then at the delicate, well-behaved Mo Hua with his fair skin, the phrase "like father, like son" didn't quite fit.

Usually, that phrase was used when a father was tall and sturdy and the son was also robust and energetic.

As a monster hunter, he was used to fighting monsters and didn't have much experience with flowery language. He usually relied on that one generic phrase, but since it didn't apply here, Ji Qingbai was momentarily at a loss for words.

"This child..." Ji Qingbai hesitated for a moment before coming up with, "He looks so good!"

To avoid sounding perfunctory, Ji Qingbai added, "He is handsome and looks just like Brother Mo, but his eyes are gentle, and his temperament is similar to your wife's—well-mannered and refined. I’ve never seen such a good-looking child."

Mo Shan didn't think too much about it; as long as someone was praising Mo Hua, he was happy to hear it.

Mo Shan exchanged a few pleasantries and then said to Mo Hua, "Dad and Uncle Ji have some things to discuss. Go back to your room and play."

"Okay!"

Mo Hua bowed to Ji Qingbai and returned to his room.

Ji Qingbai was likely a monster hunter as well; coming to see his father must be about monster hunting.

Mo Shan was burly with great talent for body refining. At the eighth layer of Qi Refining, he practiced several powerful body-refining martial arts like the Rending Gold Claw and Blazing Fist, and he had extensive experience in hunting monsters. Combined with his righteous nature, he was quite famous among the Qi Refining monster hunters in Tongxian City.

"Uncle Ji coming to find Dad... they’re probably discussing hunting in the inner mountains of the Great Black Mountain after the new year..."

The inner mountains must be very dangerous...

Mo Hua thought for a moment and sighed.

These weren't things he could worry about right now. His cultivation was only at the second layer of Qi Refining, he couldn't practice body-refining martial arts, he hadn't even chosen a cultivation technique, and he didn't know any spells. He couldn't help at all.

Better to focus on drawing arrays.

Mo Hua took out his paper and brush, poured ink into the inkstone, and began to draw, hoping to complete a full Bright Fire Array diagram before falling asleep and entering his sea of consciousness.

He dipped his brush in ink, and with the flow of the brush, the pale red ink traced out one array pattern after another.

He was so familiar with the Bright Fire Array that he could draw it effortlessly.

After a few joss sticks' worth of time, the flame on the lamp suddenly flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness.

Is the lamp broken?

Mo Hua stopped his brush. Borrowing the light from the main room, he picked up the lamp and examined it, muttering, "Did I use it for too long?"

It was still a long way from midnight, and Mo Hua wanted to draw for a while longer.

What should he do?

Clutching the lamp, he walked to the door and peeked through the crack, seeing Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai still chatting in the main room.

Mo Hua didn't want to disturb them, but just as he was about to pull back, he heard Mo Shan say, "Hua'er, is something the matter?"

Mo Hua realized he had been discovered.

Mo Shan was at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, and Uncle Ji was likely even higher. Of course, his peek through the door crack wouldn't escape their divine sense.

Mo Hua had no choice but to say, "Dad, the lamp is broken."

Mo Shan beckoned him over. "Bring it here and let me see."

Mo Hua handed the lamp over.

Mo Shan took it, twisted it hard, opened the base, and took a look. "It’s been used for too long; the array inside has faded. I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow. Go to sleep early tonight."

"The array?" Mo Hua’s eyes lit up. "Dad, let me see."

Mo Shan was slightly surprised but handed the lamp to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took it and found the array on the base looked familiar. It was very similar to the Bright Fire Array, but clearly much cruder, and it only had two lines.

It must have been a cut-rate version of the Bright Fire Array to save costs.

Mo Hua was very familiar with the Bright Fire Array.

"Dad, wait a moment."

Mo Hua ran back to his room, grabbed his brush and ink, and traced a few strokes over the faded array on the base. He looked at it, then moved to another spot and added a few more strokes.

Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai stopped talking and watched intently from the side.

After a while, Mo Hua finished. "Dad, try it again."

Mo Shan took the lamp, screwed the base back on, and flicked the small switch. The lamp lit up again, and the room became brighter.

"It's fixed?" Mo Shan was slightly surprised, then patted Mo Hua’s head with affection. "Not bad. Take it back, and remember to rest early. Don't study too late."

Mo Hua nodded. "Dad, Uncle Ji, keep talking. I'm going back to my room." With that, he grabbed the lamp and ran back to his room.

Mo Shan said to Ji Qingbai, "Apologies, Brother Ji. Let's continue."

Ji Qingbai, however, seemed to hear nothing. He stared at Mo Hua’s retreating back, stunned for a long time, before finally saying cautiously, "That child, Mo Hua... he should only be at the second layer of Qi Refining, right?"