Lamp

Over the next few days, aside from meals, Mo Hua shut himself in his room and drew Bright Fire Formation array patterns.

Five days later, Mo Hua had used up all ten sets of materials. Unfortunately, he had only successfully drawn eight arrays. One had failed due to carelessness, while another had contained a brushwork error he had never noticed before.

The Bright Fire Formation was already the simplest and most basic array technique in the cultivation world, yet even after drawing it so many times, Mo Hua still occasionally made mistakes. Some of those mistakes were even ones he had made before.

"Array techniques truly are vast and profound. I can't be careless in the slightest!" Mo Hua secretly cautioned himself.

Mo Hua found time to deliver the finished arrays to the Fat Manager at Fate Pavilion.

This time, the manager was somewhat more satisfied. He felt that Mo Hua...'s older brother was diligent and hardworking, that his brushwork had become noticeably more practiced than before, and he was quite willing to continue working together. After giving Mo Hua six Spirit Stones, he handed him another ten sets of materials.

Mo Hua had already earned twelve Spirit Stones. At this pace, he could complete another batch before the New Year and earn at least six more Spirit Stones.

Mo Hua drew even more carefully, becoming increasingly adept with the Bright Fire Formation. His divine sense had also strengthened considerably. He no longer needed to exhaust it to complete a full Bright Fire Formation, greatly reducing the time he spent drawing arrays.

A few days later, after Mo Hua finished dinner and was about to return to his room, he suddenly heard someone knocking at the door.

Mo Shan rose to open it and found two people standing outside.

One was a young man dressed in a clean, neat Daoist robe. His cultivation seemed rather high, and his manner was polite as well.

The other was a middle-aged cultivator with several faint knife scars across his face. His gaze appeared calm, yet there was an edge to his every glance. The Lingli throughout his body was clearly much more abundant; he was likely at least an Eighth- or Ninth-Layer Qi Refining cultivator.

"Little one, does a Brother Mo Shan live here?"

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

The middle-aged cultivator's gaze softened when he looked at Mo Hua. "You must be Mo Hua!"

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

The middle-aged cultivator returned the gesture. "Brother Mo, sorry to disturb you so late! My son and I came from Black Mountain City and traveled through the night without rest. We only arrived at this hour."

"Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Yes. One of my father's old brothers lives here. I happened to be paying him a visit, so we have a temporary place to stay. I came to find you to discuss the matter you mentioned before..."

"Come inside and talk."

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

"This is your Uncle Ji, named Qingbai. The one beside him is your Brother Ji; his given name is Li."

Mo Hua bowed with proper solemnity. "Greetings, Uncle Ji. Greetings, Brother Ji."

Ji Qingbai smiled and nodded. He had wanted to offer a few compliments, but when he saw the tall, burly Mo Shan, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, then looked at the delicate, well-behaved, fair-skinned Mo Hua beside him, the phrase "a tiger father has no dog son" would not come out.

Usually, when a father was tall and sturdy, his son would be sturdy and tiger-headed as well. Only then would that phrase be fitting.

But he was a Monster Hunter. In his daily life, all he knew was fighting monsters and killing beasts. When complimenting someone's child, "a tiger father has no dog son" was basically the one all-purpose phrase he used. Now that it did not fit, Ji Qingbai was instantly at a loss for words.

"This child..." Ji Qingbai hesitated for a while before finally coming up with, "He's truly lovely!"

To avoid sounding perfunctory, Ji Qingbai added, "He has handsome features and resembles Brother Mo greatly, but his brows and eyes are gentle, and his temperament is also like his sister-in-law's. He's cultured and sensible. I've never seen such a good-looking child."

Mo Shan did not think so much about it. As long as someone was praising Mo Hua, he was happy to hear it.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mo Shan said to Mo Hua, "Your Uncle Ji and I need to discuss some matters. Go back to your room and play for now."

"Okay!"

Mo Hua bowed to Ji Qingbai, then returned to his room.

Ji Qingbai was probably a Monster Hunter too. Since he had come to see Father, they were likely discussing Monster Hunting.

Mo Shan was burly and had great talent for Body Refining. He was at Eighth-Layer Qi Refining, cultivated several powerful Body Refining martial arts such as Gold-Splitting Claw and Blazing Flame Fist, and possessed extensive Monster Hunting experience. Coupled with his loyalty and righteousness, he had gained quite a reputation among the Qi Refining Stage monster hunters of Immortal City.

"Ji Qingbai probably came to discuss hunting monsters in the Inner Mountain of Great Black Mountain after the New Year..."

The Inner Mountain was probably very dangerous...

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then sighed.

None of that was anything he could worry about now. He was only at Second-Layer Qi Refining, could not practice Body Refining or learn martial arts, had not even chosen a cultivation method, and did not know a single spell. He simply could not help with anything.

He should just focus on drawing arrays.

Mo Hua took out paper and brush, poured ink into the inkstone, and began drawing his array with full concentration. He hoped to finish a complete Bright Fire Formation diagram before falling asleep and entering his Sea of Consciousness.

He dipped his brush in ink. With each opening, carrying, turning, and closing stroke, pale-red ink followed the brush tip, outlining one Array Pattern after another.

The Bright Fire Formation was already etched into his mind. Drawing it required almost no effort from him.

After several incense sticks' worth of time, the flame in his lamp suddenly flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness.

Had the lamp broken?

Mo Hua put down his brush. By the light from the lamp in the main room, he picked up the lamp on his desk and examined it from every angle, muttering, "Did I use it for too long?"

There was still a long while before the Midnight Hour, and Mo Hua had wanted to draw arrays for a little longer.

What should he do?

Holding the lamp, Mo Hua walked to the door. Through the crack, he saw Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai still chatting in the main room.

Mo Hua did not want to disturb Mo Shan at a time like this. Just as he was about to pull his head back, he heard Mo Shan say, "Hua'er, is something wrong?"

Only then did Mo Hua realize he had been noticed.

Mo Shan was probably at Eighth-Layer Qi Refining, while Hall Master Ji was only stronger. If Mo Hua merely glanced through the door crack, naturally their divine senses would not miss him.

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

Mo Shan beckoned. "Bring it over for me to take a look."

Mo Hua handed him the lamp.

Mo Shan accepted it, twisted hard, and opened the lamp's base. After taking a look, he said,

"It's been used too long. The array inside has faded. Father will buy you a new one tomorrow. Go to sleep early tonight."

"An array?" Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Father, let me see it."

Mo Shan was slightly taken aback, but he still handed the lamp to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took the lamp and found that the array on its base looked somewhat familiar. Its Array Patterns resembled those of the Bright Fire Formation, but they were clearly cruder, and there were only two of them.

It was probably a Bright Fire Formation that had cut corners to save costs.

Mo Hua knew the Bright Fire Formation very well.

"Father, wait a moment."

Mo Hua ran back into his room, brought out brush and ink, and copied a few strokes according to the faded array on the base. After examining it, he changed to another spot and drew several more strokes.

Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai both fell silent, watching attentively from the side.

A moment later, Mo Hua finished. "Father, try it again."

Mo Shan took the lamp, screwed the base back on, then flipped the small mechanism on the lamp. The lamp lit once more, and the room became a little brighter.

"It worked?" Mo Shan was mildly surprised. Then he fondly rubbed Mo Hua's head. "Not bad. Take it back. Remember to rest early, and don't study too late."

Mo Hua gave an affirmative hum. "Father, Uncle Ji, please continue talking. I'll go back to my room first." With that, he grabbed the lamp and ran back to his room.

Mo Shan said to Ji Sihai, "Sorry, Brother Ji. Let's continue."

Yet Ji Sihai seemed not to have heard a thing. He stared blankly at Mo Hua's retreating figure as he entered the room. After being stunned for a long while, he finally chose his words carefully and said, "Mo Hua should only be at Second-Layer Qi Refining, right?"