Chapter 98: The Request
Yesterday, Mo Shan had hunted down a demon beast. After skinning it, removing its bones, and taking its demon core, he packed everything up neatly and was about to head home when a fellow demon hunter—someone he knew fairly well—approached him, looking rather polite.
"Brother Mo, there's something I'd like to ask your help with…"
The demon hunter's name was Zhou Cheng—medium height, a bit on the thin side.
Mo Shan, being a straightforward and generous man, thought Zhou Cheng must be in some sort of trouble. "Go ahead, if it's something I can help with, I'll do it."
Zhou Cheng rubbed his hands awkwardly. "It's not that I need you to help, Brother Mo… It's that I was hoping to ask your son for a favor."
"My son? Mo Hua?" Mo Shan blinked.
"Yes, yes," Zhou Cheng nodded quickly. "I've known you for a while, Brother Mo, but I've never met your son. I felt it'd be rude to just go knocking on his door out of nowhere, so I figured I'd come to you first…"
Mo Shan gave him a puzzled look. "My son Mo Hua's only at the fourth layer of Qi-Refining. What could he possibly help you with?"
"He can! He definitely can!" Zhou Cheng said eagerly. "You see, I've got a boy—about fifteen, sixteen—just reached the sixth layer of Qi-Refining, recently became a demon hunter. But his talent's pretty average, and he's not great at combat arts either. I'm worried he'll run into a tough demon beast in the mountains one day, and if something happens…"
Zhou Cheng sighed deeply. "He's been lucky so far, hasn't run into anything dangerous, but you and I both know, once you step into the Black Mountain Range, anything can happen. Just thinking about it keeps me up at night."
Mo Shan nodded heavily, sharing the same worry every father would.
"I heard a while ago," Zhou Cheng continued, "that there's a little formation master in your area who can draw some kind of formation onto vine armor. When things get rough, it can block a beast's attack, maybe even save a life. Then I asked around and found out this little array master's surname was Mo, and his father's name was Mo Shan. So I figured, what a coincidence! I just had to come and ask for your help."
He looked at Mo Shan hopefully, clearly terrified of being turned down.
Mo Shan hesitated. "It's not that I don't want to help… It's just that, well, I only know Mo Hua's been studying formations, but I don't really understand that stuff myself. I've no idea how far along he is. The formation you're talking about doesn't sound simple, he might not know how to draw it."
"He does! He definitely does!" Zhou Cheng said hastily.
Mo Shan raised a brow. "And how would you know that?"
"I heard it from Old Xu, you know, the guy who used to hunt beasts with me? The one who wasn't too polite to you before, wanted to spar, and got flattened by one punch?"
Mo Shan chuckled. "Ah, that Old Xu."
"Yeah, him," Zhou Cheng grinned. "He said that lad Da Hu from the Meng family got his chest pierced by a Scorpion Demon recently, but because his vine armor had a formation drawn on it, his heart wasn't hit, and he survived. Old Xu even said you were lucky to have such a capable son, though he was grumbling about it with that usual sour tone of his. Can't really blame him though, considering you once knocked him flat."
Mo Shan smiled faintly, remembering that story. He had heard about Da Hu's injury but hadn't paid much attention, demon beast hunters getting hurt was just part of the job. As long as they didn't lose limbs or their lives, it wasn't anything special.
But if it was Da Hu's vine armor that had the array… then it made sense. Mo Hua and Da Hu had grown up together; helping him by drawing a formation was only natural.
Zhou Cheng grabbed Mo Shan's hand tightly. "Brother Mo, you have to help me with this! Otherwise, I just can't rest easy about my boy!"
Mo Shan thought for a bit and finally nodded. "Alright. I'll ask him when I get home. If Mo Hua really knows how to draw the formation you're talking about, I'm sure he'll help. But if he doesn't, then there's nothing I can do."
Zhou Cheng's face lit up. "Thank you, Brother Mo! If he can draw it, I'll pay however many spirit stones it takes!"
Then, looking embarrassed, he added, "But… things have been tight lately. If I don't have enough right now, could I maybe owe you until I head out hunting again next month? I'll pay you back then."
Mo Shan waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that. We'll sort it out later."
If it were him helping, he wouldn't care about payment. But since this involved Mo Hua, he'd have to ask the boy first.
Still… what kind of armor formation was this? Did Mo Hua really know how to draw it?
...
When Mo Shan got home, he asked straight away, "Do you know how to do it?"
"I do," Mo Hua nodded.
"And you've got time in the next few days?"
"I do."
"You can help him draw it?"
"Sure."
Mo Shan hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
Yesterday, Zhou Cheng had been so earnest he'd assumed this was something complicated—but Mo Hua looked at it like it was nothing special.
"How long will it take?"
"Not long. Half a day," Mo Hua said.
In truth, it wouldn't even take an hour. His Divine-Sense was strong now, his control precise, and he was already quite practiced at drawing the Iron Armor Formation. It was almost effortless, but leaving a bit of extra time never hurt.
Mo Shan nodded, then asked, "And… how much do you usually charge for drawing formations?"
Seeing his father's hesitant expression, Mo Hua smiled. "Dad, you've got something on your mind, right?"
Mo Shan hesitated, then admitted, "His family's not well off. His boy just became a demon hunter, had to buy weapons, armor, talismans, pills… probably doesn't have many spirit stones left. If you can, maybe take less from him. But it's your call. It's your work."
At first, Mo Shan had thought Mo Hua's formations were just basic stuff, simple sigils to help neighbors, where taking or not taking spirit stones didn't matter.
But now he realized it was different. Formations useful to demon hunters weren't simple, they had to be advanced, containing several runes.
And the fact that Mo Hua could draw such a formation meant he was basically on par with an official formation master.
Mo Shan knew how difficult that was. Even the lowest-ranked formation masters needed ten or twenty years of study.
And his son—barely eleven or twelve—had achieved this already. Clearly, he'd spent every spare moment learning arrays. While other kids whined about cultivation or played outside, Mo Hua spent every night drawing formations.
Mo Shan remembered all those nights returning from the mountains, seeing Mo Hua bent over his desk, light still flickering through the window.
His heart tightened with pride, and a trace of sadness.
Mo Hua, unaware of his father's thoughts, did a quick calculation. "Have him bring the vine armor and a bottle of metal-element spirit ink. The better the ink, the stronger the formation, but if he can't afford the high-grade stuff, normal ink will do. As for payment… Dad, how many spirit stones does a demon hunter make in a day?"
"About five per person."
Five stones a day, but that assumed they actually found a demon beast, which didn't happen often. Plus, injuries meant expenses for healing pills. In truth, the profit wasn't much, and the job was dangerous.
"Then charge him five spirit stones," Mo Hua said.
Mo Shan blinked. "Just five? You won't be losing out?"
Hiring a formation master was expensive. Even Mo Shan, who'd never done it, knew that much from living in Tōngxiān City.
Mo Hua smiled. "I'm still learning. It's fine if I don't earn much, each job's a good chance to practice. And didn't you always tell me that rogue cultivators should help each other out? Back when we were struggling, plenty of the neighbors lent us a hand. Now that we're doing better, it's only right to return the favor."
He grinned. "I get to help someone, practice my formations, and earn some spirit stones. Three benefits in one, what's not to like?"
Mo Shan couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to ruffle Mo Hua's hair. "Alright then. I'll tell him to prepare the materials tomorrow."
After dinner, Mo Hua went to rest.
Mo Shan sat alone for a long time, a smile spreading on his usually steady face. The words his son had just said echoed in his mind, and the thought that his boy was now essentially a true formation master filled him with quiet pride.
Even a calm man like Mo Shan couldn't hide the joy in his eyes.
...
Author Notes: Tired today. As usual, five chapters scheduled.
(End of Chapter)