Chapter 71: Apricot Medicinal Hall
When Dazhu delivered the Water Fuling to the Mo household, Mo Hua was at a food stall, happily slurping down a steaming bowl of beef noodles like the rest of the diners.
When Liu Ruhua opened the box and saw the faintly glowing blue Water Fuling, she immediately shook her head. "This is too valuable, I can't accept it."
"Aunt Liu, please take it. My master told me to bring it over—Mo Hua helped him a lot recently."
Liu Ruhua smiled. "That little one? What kind of big help could he give?"
Mo Hua spotted Dazhu, ran to the door still holding his bowl, and peeked at the box. "What's that?"
Dazhu puffed up his chest proudly. "That's Water Fuling—it clears heat and fire, calms the mind, and soothes the spirit. A herb gatherer asked my master to forge a spiritual tool for him but didn't have spirit stones, so he paid with this instead. Aunt Liu's health isn't great, so this will be perfect for her recovery."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up and he accepted it without hesitation. "Thank Master Chen for me!"
"No problem!" Dazhu waved it off grandly.
Liu Ruhua sighed, realizing she couldn't refuse anymore. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come in and have a bowl of noodles."
"I'm not hungry," Dazhu said weakly.
Mo Hua grabbed him by the arm. "Eat first, go later."
Liu Ruhua filled him a huge bowl of noodles, topped with beef, the aroma so rich it made the air itself smell delicious.
Dazhu ate until sweat beaded down his forehead.
Knowing these kids usually worked hard and didn't get full meals often, Liu Ruhua added another bowl.
Dazhu grinned from ear to ear.
Liu Ruhua glanced at the box of Water Fuling and said to Mo Hua, "This Water Fuling is very precious. When you have time, go thank Master Chen. And if you can ever help him, do it."
"Don't worry, Mother. Whatever formation Master Chen needs drawn, I'll handle it," Mo Hua promised solemnly—then paused and added, "As long as it's under first grade."
He still couldn't manage a full formation containing nine formation runes.
"One should be humble," Liu Ruhua said, touching his head. "Don't boast about things you can't do."
"Little Brother Mo is amazing! His formations are incredible! My master even said he might become a first-grade Formation Master someday!" Dazhu said proudly.
"Nothing is certain in cultivation," Liu Ruhua chided gently, though her eyes glowed with motherly pride. She prepared a plate of beef and a jug of rice wine for Dazhu to take back to Master Chen, along with some pastries for his fellow apprentices.
Dazhu left beaming, arms full of food boxes.
That evening, under Mo Hua's "supervision," Liu Ruhua brewed and drank the Water Fuling decoction. Her meridians felt noticeably cooler, though she still felt guilty about using something so valuable.
If not for Mo Hua's insistence, she'd never have used such an expensive herb on herself.
Seeing his mother's condition improve, Mo Hua finally returned to his room to study formations again.
"The quality of spiritual ink affects a formation's potency…"
"Different formation media have varying degrees of rune adherence and spiritual power conduction…"
"The spiritual power of Qi-Refining third layer is still too weak…"
"Practical application truly strengthens comprehension, when I first practiced the six-rune Molten Fire Array, I was unfamiliar, but now the strokes feel instinctive, engraved into my mind…"
Learning by doing, Mister Zhuang was absolutely right!
Actually inscribing and activating formations on various materials revealed many issues and deepened his understanding immensely.
The problem was: such opportunities were rare. No one would ask a third-layer Qi-Refining boy to draw formations for them. The low-level formations most casual cultivators used were simple—usually with only two or three formation runes. Anything beyond four was uncommon.
What to do, then?
He needed a formation with at least five runes, preferably using refined iron as the base, and from someone he knew, since strangers wouldn't risk it.
After some thought, only Master Chen and his furnace fit the bill.
But that furnace had just been repaired; he couldn't exactly take it apart again.
Were there other furnaces?
Mo Hua glanced stealthily at his family's kitchen stove. The flame… seemed a bit small.
The next day, he timidly brought up his idea to his mother, and was instantly shut down.
"This stove isn't just for business; it's what we cook your and your father's meals with. The fire's just fine. Unless it breaks, don't you dare touch it."
Liu Ruhua knew her son too well, one glance and she saw through all his little schemes.
Mo Hua could only give up.
A few days later, Liu Ruhua went to the Apricot Medicinal Hall to have Elder Feng check her condition. Mo Hua tagged along.
Elder Feng took her pulse through the hanging thread, then nodded approvingly.
"Good. The heart and lungs are well-nourished. You can try circulating spiritual power occasionally to let your meridians adapt, but don't overdo it, or you'll risk injury again. As for the remaining fire poison, it's mostly gone."
"I'll prescribe a few herbs. Fetch them for me; I'll refine them into pills for you to take home."
Elder Feng wrote down several names, and Liu Ruhua went to the dispensary, reminding Mo Hua to stay put and chat with the old man.
After she left, Elder Feng took a sip of tea and noticed Mo Hua staring intently at the pill furnace.
"Little Hua, what are you looking at the furnace for?"
Mo Hua asked curiously, "Grandpa Feng, do you think this pill furnace could break?"
"All spiritual tools can break," Elder Feng said, stroking his beard.
"Has it broken before?"
He nodded. "Indeed, a few times."
"Then… if it breaks again, can I fix it?" Mo Hua asked softly.
Elder Feng blinked. "You've learned artifact forging?"
Mo Hua waved his little hands. "No, no. Not the outer part, I mean the formation inside! If that breaks, can I fix it?"
Elder Feng smiled warmly. "Alright. If the formation inside the pill furnace breaks, I'll let you repair it."
Mo Hua grinned until his eyes turned to crescents. "It's a deal!"
"It's a deal," Elder Feng chuckled.
Just then, Liu Ruhua returned with several paper packets of herbs. Seeing the two of them chatting happily, she smiled. "What are you two plotting?"
"Just struck a little business deal with Grandpa Feng," Mo Hua said cheekily.
"Planning to earn spirit stones off your Grandpa Feng now?"
"Only friendship, no spirit stones involved," Mo Hua replied earnestly.
Liu Ruhua shook her head with a laugh and handed the herbs to Elder Feng. "Thank you for your trouble, Elder Feng."
Elder Feng smiled, took the herbs, and walked into the alchemy room. He placed the herbs into the pill furnace and was about to ignite it when he suddenly paused, his expression turning oddly complicated.
"Grandpa Feng, what's wrong?" Mo Hua asked.
Elder Feng ran his hand along the furnace edge, checked the spirit stones, and sighed helplessly.
"The pill furnace is broken."
Mo Hua froze, then murmured after a long pause:
"Uh… it didn't break because I said that, did it…?"
(End of Chapter)