Chapter 80: Bustling
At dusk, just as the hour of You(5 p.m. – 7 p.m) arrived, Mo Hua reached the big tree on West Street.
Bai Zisheng hadn't come yet, so Mo Hua, bored, picked up a twig and started drawing formation patterns in the dirt.
He was still practicing the Earthfire Formation. Since offensive formations were a different beast altogether, he had to spend more time grasping the nuances, and the more he practiced, the better.
Just when Mo Hua thought Bai Zisheng wasn't coming, he looked up and saw Aunt Xue approaching with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.
Mo Hua waved politely.
"Aunt Xue, long time no see!"
"Long time no see, indeed."
Aunt Xue's slender white hand couldn't help but reach out and pat Mo Hua's head. Mo Hua wasn't thrilled about it, but he didn't pull away either.
"Zisheng and Zixi have been working hard at cultivation," Aunt Xue said gently. "Since today's a festival, I thought they could relax a little. I'll trouble you to show us around."
"It's no trouble," Mo Hua said, shaking his head. Then, waving his small hand, he grinned. "Come on, today's the last day of the Demon-Hunting Festival—it's super lively!"
Bai Zisheng gave a delighted "wow" and hurried up to Mo Hua, looking left and right curiously. Every time he saw something new, he bombarded Mo Hua with questions.
The cultivation world was vast and varied, and with the Bai Clan's strict rules, there were plenty of things he'd never seen before.
Bai Zixi quietly followed beside Aunt Xue. She wore the same style of conical hat as Aunt Xue, though smaller, with a veil of white gauze hiding her exquisite face—only her delicate, fair chin peeked through. She rarely spoke but listened attentively to every word exchanged between Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng.
The streets glowed with lights, not luxurious, but filled with the warm bustle of mortal life.
On both sides of the road, stalls stretched endlessly—selling pills, spirit tools, jewelry, snacks, formations, trinkets, toys, herbs, spirit ink, and even hides, bones, and cores of demon beasts. It was a dazzling display of everything imaginable.
The crowd moved slowly along the stalls, flowing into the distance beneath a sea of swaying lanterns that seemed to stretch into infinity.
Even Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi—no, even Aunt Xue herself—were momentarily dazed by the scene.
She was born into a great clan and had seen far grander immortal cities. But she had never seen a place so alive—so joyously noisy and real. For the first time, she felt that these cultivators were truly living.
Even an immortal who'd long abandoned mortal desires might rediscover the joy of the human world amid such clamor.
Bai Zisheng strolled excitedly, buying one thing after another: a fire-breathing ox, a winking monkey, a tail-wagging dog—all wooden toys, painted in vivid colors. Inside each was a simple formation that made them move when infused with a touch of spiritual energy.
He even bought a "majestic" sword—engraved with dragons and phoenixes, glowing in seven colors. Completely useless, not even a proper spirit tool—but he adored it.
Mo Hua's arms were full of all the things Bai Zisheng had bought. The deal was simple—Mo Hua carried them, and later he could pick one he liked to keep.
Bai Zixi received a tiny white rabbit toy, no bigger than a fingernail. When placed on her palm, it scampered adorably, tap-tap-tap, across her hand. Mo Hua had bought it for her.
She'd been staring at the rabbit at a stall earlier, though she said nothing. Feeling slightly guilty for freeloading off the Bai siblings, Mo Hua had spent one spirit stone to buy it and gifted it to her.
Bai Zixi merely thanked him softly, giving no hint whether she liked it—but the entire way, whenever she had a moment, she'd open her jade-like palm and watch the tiny rabbit scurry about.
Besides shopping, Bai Zisheng also loved watching performances.
One was shadow puppetry. A large screen showed puppets—men, women, elders, children, even ghosts and demons. Cultivators controlled them with spiritual power, making them move gracefully, while others recited lines to tell the story.
The story usually went like this: a heroic male cultivator saves a beautiful female cultivator from danger in the wild. They fall in love, swear eternal devotion, and elope against their sect's wishes. Then, in some desolate place, the woman removes her robes… and turns into a demon beast, devouring him whole.
Mo Hua found the story deeply educational—and endlessly entertaining.
Bai Zisheng, however, preferred something simpler: beast-fighting shows.
There, on a raised stage, cultivators dressed as demon hunters fought "demon beasts"—other cultivators wearing puppet armor made of real bones and hides. Fire roared, spells flashed, and the crowd cheered as they fought dramatically.
Mo Hua thought it was all pretty fake. His father, Mo Shan, being a real demon hunter, had told him how tense and deadly real hunts were—how even weak beasts could kill you if you let your guard down.
Still, as festival entertainment, no one took it seriously—well, except Bai Zisheng.
He dreamed of going up the mountains himself to duel beasts one-on-one—but of course, Aunt Xue would never allow that.
As they wandered, they unexpectedly ran into Zhang Lan.
He was walking with a group of elderly cultivators—most with little hair but plenty of authority. They were clearly Dao Court Division officials and clan leaders from Tōngxiān City.
A procession of cultivators moved grandly down the street, Dao Court robed attendants clearing the way, with rows of young cultivators respectfully following behind.
Those youths must have been elite clan heirs; Mo Hua recognized a few from the Qian and An families—both top-tier lineages in the Tōngxiān Sect.
Among the white-haired elders, Zhang Lan looked completely out of place, his fake smile stiff as he made polite small talk.
Mo Hua spotted him—but Zhang Lan was too busy to notice.
Then suddenly, Zhang Lan whispered something to the oldest, baldest elder, bowed, and quietly slipped away. When Mo Hua turned his head again, Zhang Lan was already standing nearby, waving.
"Aren't you supposed to stay with them? Those people look like big shots," Mo Hua asked.
"Don't remind me. I took leave and snuck out for a stroll—then got caught halfway by my supervisor and dragged into babysitting those family heads for half the day."
"Oh, so you do work sometimes," Mo Hua teased. "I thought you were just lazy—but turns out you're lazy with style. Even your fake politeness looks convincing."
Zhang Lan ruffled Mo Hua's hair with a grin.
"Kid, you don't understand. It's called acting along with the play. I'm lazy, not stupid."
Mo Hua gave him a look of mild disgust. "Well, I've got stuff to do, so you go have fun yourself."
Zhang Lan chuckled. "You? Busy? With what..."
He stopped mid-sentence as his gaze fell on the Bai siblings beside Mo Hua—the strikingly pretty youth and the veiled girl—and then on Aunt Xue behind them, her elegance unmistakable even behind the veil.
His smile froze for a beat.
Author's Note:
Confirmed with my editor—the novel officially goes up tomorrow!
Once it's live, we're going full burst with updates!
How many chapters? Well… we'll see tomorrow~ (=^_^=)
(End of Chapter)