âOld Mo⦠Mo Shan, no, Big Brother Mo!â a Monster Hunter clapped a hand on Mo Shanâs shoulder.
âTell me, with the friendship between us, if I swallow my pride and ask your son to draw a Formation for me, would he agree?â
Before Mo Shan could reply, another Monster Hunter interjected:
âYour face is big?â
âYouâre not young anymore, stop thinking about relying on your looks to earn a living.â
Others laughed and joined in teasing.
âMo Shan, just tell me, how many Spirit Stones itâll take to draw this Formation, give me an idea.â
Mo Shan replied with a wry smile, âIâll have to go back and ask my son; this Formation probably isnât easy to draw.â
The crowd thought it over and nodded in agreement.
A Formation capable of withstanding the blow of a late first-grade Monster Beast indeed wouldnât be easy to draw.
Another Monster Hunter whispered to Mo Shan, âYour son, he isnât betrothed yet, is he?â
Mo Shan nodded his head, âHeâs still young.â
âHeâs not that young, not that young. These things should be considered early on.â
âWhat are you getting at?â
The Monster Hunter chuckled, âI have a daughter, sheâs quite a looker. How about our families become kin through marriage?â
âMo Shan, donât listen to his nonsense. My niece is the real beauty.â
âBig Brother Mo, these matters canât be rushed. In my opinion, wait a bit longer, until next year⦠my daughter will be born thenâ¦â
âHow old is your daughter, you shameless man!â
Mo Shan watched them all talking at once, and smiled helplessly.
Although this Monster Hunting expedition had some twists, it went smoothly overall and didnât take too much time.
After coming down from the mountain, they sold the Monster Beasts, distributed the Spirit Stones, and each went their own way home.
As dusk fell, streetlights lit up one by one.
Mo Shan walked down the familiar streets and pushed open the gate to the familiar courtyard, returning home.
Liu Ruhua had already prepared the meal; on the table were green vegetables, beef, and steaming rice porridge.
During dinner, Mo Shan asked Mo Hua, âDid you draw a Formation inside the rattan armor?â
âMhm.â Mo Hua, with a pale bun in one hand and meat stuffed in his mouth, nodded and said:
âI drew the Golden Armor Formation!â
âGolden Armor Formation? Is it a higher grade than the Iron Armor Formation?â
âYes, its effect is significantly better than the Iron Armor Formation.â
After thinking for a moment, Mo Shan then asked:
âSome of the uncles from your Monster Hunting Team also want to ask for your help drawing this Formation.â
âThatâs possible, but theyâll have to wait a while.â
Mo Hua needed to spend time learning a new First-grade Formation Method. Once his skill in Formation drawing stabilized, he would go back to drawing the Golden Armor Formation to increase his proficiency.
Thinking it over, Mo Hua added, âTo draw the Golden Armor Formation, they will need to prepare some Golden Series pen and ink. They can give some Spirit Stones as they see fit, just as a token of appreciation for the hard work.â
After all, Loose Cultivators generally werenât wealthy.
Mo Shan was reassured and smiled,
âIâll let them prepare in advance. When you have free time later on, you can help them draw it.â
âSure!â Mo Hua agreed, then asked curiously,
âDad, is the Golden Armor Formation on the rattan armor effective?â
He wanted to know how effective a first-grade Golden Armor Formation was.
Mo Shan was about to say âeffectiveâ, after all, even the late-stage Kui Wood Wolf had not managed to tear through the rattan armor.
In his life, he had never worn armor more durable than this.
But as the words reached the tip of his tongue, Mo Shan hesitated.
Saying âeffectiveâ would mean that he had encountered danger in the mountains.
And the perils he had faced, to prevent his wife and child from worrying, were things Mo Shan had never spoken of.
After a momentâs hesitation, Mo Shan said, âIt should be effective, but todayâs Monster Hunting went well, without any real danger. Weâll talk about it if we encounter any next time.â
Mo Hua nodded, feeling a tad disappointed.
But then I thought again, not encountering danger is always a good thing.
Rattan Armor or Golden Armor Formation, both are meant to reduce danger, but no matter how much itâs reduced, thereâs still some risk.
The best scenario is to not face any danger at all.
Thinking this way, Mo Hua put her mind at ease and started to eat happily.
As Mo Hua was eating, another question occurred to her, âDad, how is Uncle Zhao doing?â
Mo Shan furrowed his brows, âNot too well, he hasnât woken up yet.â
Old Zhao went into the mountains and was chased by an unknown cultivator. He fell off a cliff while fleeing and got tangled in branches, and was later found by Mo Hua using Divine Sense.
The critically injured Old Zhao was lucky to survive; otherwise, his chances would have been slim.
âWas it the Qian Family who did it?â
âThereâs no conclusive evidence, but itâs very likely.â
Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, âIs the Qian Family pursuing Uncle Zhao to vent their anger, or to cover up something?â
âElder Yu is investigating, but there are no leads. Weâll probably know everything once Uncle Zhao wakes up,â Mo Shan sighed.
Mo Hua was somewhat worried, âWhen can Uncle Zhao wake up?â
Mo Shan patted Mo Huaâs head and said,
âDonât worry, Old Mr. Feng has seen him and said it should be within the next two days. You can go visit him whenever youâre free.â
âMm,â Mo Hua nodded.
The next day, Mo Hua went to Apricot Forest Hall.
Old Zhao, who was in a coma from serious injuries, was laid in a side room of Apricot Forest Hall.
Old Zhaoâs wife was pregnant and couldnât overexert herself, so she could only find a little time each day to visit her husband.
Elder Yu often came to visit too and would arrange for people to take care of Old Zhao. Despite Zhaoâs life being out of danger, he showed no signs of awakening.
When Mo Hua arrived, she found Elder Yu was also there.
The normally stern Elder Yu brightened up upon seeing Mo Hua, âMo Hua, youâre here.â
âYes, I came to check on Uncle Zhao.â
Mo Hua approached the sick bed and saw Uncle Zhao still lying pale as paper, which made her worry. She then quietly asked Elder Yu:
âElder, any findings regarding the Qian Familyâs actions?â
Elder Yu hesitated for a moment, then also spoke in a low voice,
âIâve sent someone to investigate. For the past month or so, people from the Qian Family have been sneaking into Big Black Mountain, acting very suspiciously, and itâs unclear what they are doing.â
Mo Hua frowned, âI also went into the mountain, but I donât seem to have encountered them.â
âThey mostly sneak in under cover of darkness and disappear as soon as they enter the mountain; itâs natural that you didnât encounter them. Not only you, but other Monster Hunters havenât noticed them either,â Elder Yu explained.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then suddenly said, âUncle Zhao encountered them?â
Elder Yu nodded, âHe went up the mountain in the evening and may have run into the Qian Familyâs people. Itâs also possible he knew what they were doing, so the Qian Family wanted to silence himâ¦â
Silence him!
Mo Huaâs heart skipped a beat.
What exactly was the Qian Family doing in Big Black Mountain that they would kill to keep it a secret?
At that moment, Old Mr. Feng walked in, and Elder Yu and Mo Hua stopped chatting.
Old Mr. Feng was holding a tray, on which were Pills, acupuncture needles, and a small stove emitting steam.
âGrandpa Feng, what are you going to do?â asked Mo Hua.
âIâm going to use acupuncture to open up the meridians and stimulate the efficacy of the medicine. He should be able to wake up after that.â
âOh, okay.â Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, watching curiously.
Old Mr. Feng used the stove to extract the medicinal properties, then used the Golden Needle to infuse the medicine, and pierced Uncle Zhaoâs acupoints.
Uncle Zhaoâs skin gradually flushed, blood oozed out from his congestion, and the chaotic spiritual power within his body steadied. Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
Everyone was overjoyed.
Elder Yuâs expression eased slightly, and just as he was about to comfort him to ârest well,â his arm was suddenly gripped tightly by Old Zhao.
Old Zhaoâs breath was unstable, and he couldnât speak.
But he still clung to Elder Yu, his teeth clenched, using all his strength to finally get the words out:
âBig Black Mountain⦠has Spiritual mines!â
Upon hearing this, Elder Yuâs pupils shook.