Stove

The shopkeeper went upstairs and came back down shortly after, politely inviting Mo Hua up.

When Mo Hua saw Fatty An, Fatty An was drinking with several finely dressed, high-spirited youths. The table was piled with all manner of brightly colored, plump Spirit Fruits. Maidservants waved fans, fragrant breezes wafted gently, and singing girls performed tunes whose lingering notes wound around the beams.

The room was cool and comfortable, utterly free of the summer heat. An ice-element Array Technique had even been carved into the screen to cool and ventilate the room.

Mo Hua thought of the Rogue Cultivators outside, enduring the blazing heat as they set up stalls and struggled for their livelihoods, and he could not help feeling a pang of emotion.

They were clearly all cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage, living in the same Immortal City, yet it was as though they lived in two different worlds.

"Mo Hua, it really is you!"

Fatty An was somewhat happy to see Mo Hua. He waved him over and said, "Come, come, have a drink with us."

Fatty An's face was flushed red from drinking, but he was still young. He was probably drinking fruit wine, so even if he got drunk, it would not harm him too badly.

Mo Hua was not in the mood to drink. He said directly, "Young Master An, I need to ask you for a favor."

"Oh." Fatty An came back to his senses and waved at the other youths. "You guys drink first. I have something to do."

The shopkeeper then led Mo Hua and Fatty An to a quiet private room. Mo Hua got straight to the point. "Young Master An, I would like to ask for your help."

Fatty An was clearly still a little drunk. He patted his chest and said, "As long as it's something I can help with, just say the word!"

Mo Hua looked around the magnificently decorated room and asked, "This Dining Hall belongs to your family, right?"

Fatty An said proudly, "That's right!"

"Does your kitchen use stoves for cooking, or does it have cultivators use Lingli to provide the fire?"

Fatty An looked utterly confused. He thought for a while but had no clue at all, so he called out, "Shopkeeper!"

Before long, the shopkeeper pushed open the door and entered. Fatty An pointed at him and said to Mo Hua, "Ask him."

Mo Hua repeated his question to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper answered, "We originally had cultivators use Lingli to provide the fire as well, but that easily damages a cultivator's heart and lungs, and the fire was unstable too. So the owner decided to stop using that method. Last year, he hired an Artifact Refiner to specially forge a Stove and an Array Master to draw the Array Technique. We have used the Stove ever since."

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Does the Stove cost more than hiring cultivators?"

The shopkeeper answered truthfully, "In the long run, the Stove is better. In the short term, hiring cultivators is certainly more cost-effective. Besides, the price for hired cultivators can be pushed down. When the market is bad, half a Spirit Stone can hire a Rogue Cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage."

Mo Hua felt somewhat bitter inside.

Even after becoming cultivators, they still could not escape exploitation.

"May I take a look at the Stove?"

The shopkeeper hesitated and looked toward Young Master An. He could not make that decision himself. Normally, outsiders were not allowed into the kitchen.

Fatty An sobered up a little and asked the shopkeeper, "Can't other people see it?"

The shopkeeper said, "The recipes are what matter. Many Dining Halls have Stoves, and those that do not simply do not wish to spend Spirit Stones having them forged. It is not a secret."

Fatty An said, "Then let him see it. I'll go too. I've never even seen that Stove before."

"Very well. I will take the two Young Masters over at once."

The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. With Young Master An accompanying them, if anything happened, the blame would not all fall on his head.

The shopkeeper led Mo Hua and Fatty An into the kitchen, pointed at a huge furnace-like device as tall as two people, and said, "This is the Stove. After Spirit Stones are placed inside, the Array Technique within converts the Spirit Stones into firepower. The firepower extends to every cooking range, allowing cultivators to cook ingredients."

"There are Array Techniques connecting the Stove to each cooking range, and every range has an Array Technique carved into it specifically to control the intensity of the fire..."

Mo Hua found it extremely novel. It was his first time seeing Artifact Refining and Array Techniques used in such a way.

Fatty An also stared with his eyes wide open. He usually only knew how to eat, but he had never known how the things he ate were made.

The shopkeeper introduced everything to Mo Hua and Fatty An with a rather proud expression.

Mo Hua carefully examined the Stove, looking left and right without overlooking even the gaps between the furnace mouth and the body.

Seeing how he looked as though he wished he could tear open the cooking range to see what was inside, the shopkeeper could not help asking, "Young Master Mo, is there something you wish to know?"

Mo Hua asked, "Shopkeeper, do you know what Array Techniques are carved inside the Stove?"

The shopkeeper hesitated, but then thought that merely knowing which Array Techniques were used was useless. The important thing was whether one could draw them, and Array Techniques were not so easy to draw.

"The Array Technique inside this Stove is not complicated. There is only a Molten Fire Array containing five Array Patterns. However, the placement of the Molten Fire Array is rather particular. It must be drawn at the bottom of the Stove so that the firepower will be even. A gap must be left on the outer side of the Stove for placing Spirit Stones, so that the spiritual energy within the Spirit Stones can seep into the Molten Fire Array and trigger the Array Technique's firepower..."

The shopkeeper told Mo Hua everything in full detail.

"Oh, oh." Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.

After looking and talking for quite a while, Mo Hua had more or less asked everything he wanted to know. He sincerely thanked the shopkeeper, then prepared to take his leave.

Fatty An grabbed Mo Hua. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. I'll treat you to something delicious."

Mo Hua still had things to do, so he refused.

"Are you saying you won't give me face?" Fatty An was a little angry.

Mo Hua praised Fatty An, saying he was generous, then quietly said to him, "The next time Instructor assigns Array Technique homework, I'll draw it for you for free."

Fatty An was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded. "Mm-hm, mm-hm."

He did not care about Spirit Stones. He cared about face. Mo Hua was willing to draw Array Techniques for him for free, and he felt his face shine with glory.

Watching Mo Hua's departing figure, the shopkeeper asked Fatty An, "Young Master, what is Young Master Mo's background?"

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"He is more or less a fellow disciple of mine. He draws Array Techniques extremely well, even better than I do. To be honest, he drew all of my Array Technique homework for me!"

Fatty An even seemed a little proud of it.

The shopkeeper remained expressionless, utterly speechless inside. There was nothing to be proud of at all...

"Shopkeeper, go get busy. I'm going back to drink."

After saying that, Fatty An turned to leave, but suddenly jolted in alarm. He grabbed the shopkeeper's sleeve and stared at him with blank, unblinking eyes.

The shopkeeper grew a little nervous under his gaze. "Y-Young Master..."

Fatty An lowered his voice. "You absolutely cannot let my father know about this!"

"About this?"

"That someone else does my homework! You absolutely cannot let my father know!"

The shopkeeper's mouth twitched. "All right, all right..."

Fatty An patted his chest. "That was close. Good thing I was clever, or it would have been exposed." He then made the shopkeeper swear not to tell his father before finally heading upstairs in relief.

The shopkeeper felt helpless. Can the An Family's businesses really be kept safe in the hands of this unreliable Young Master...?

The shopkeeper thought again of that child surnamed Mo.

He did not seem to be from a wealthy family, merely the child of an ordinary cultivator. Why had he asked about the Stove?

After taking a few steps, the shopkeeper recalled Young Master An's words and suddenly stopped. "He draws Array Techniques well? Could he be planning to draw out the Stove's Array Technique?"

"Young Master An is at Qi Refining Level Three and is a fellow disciple of that child surnamed Mo. That means the child can be at most Qi Refining Level Three. How could someone at Qi Refining Level Three have the divine sense to draw Array Techniques?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and went off to find somewhere to drink tea.