Chapter 104: Flowing-Water Step
Mo Hua was indeed surrounded mostly by low-visioned rogue cultivators, but that didn't mean all the people around him were the same.
For instance, the teacher who taught him formations was definitely no ordinary cultivator; that veiled lady he called "Aunt Xue," with her hazy allure, she probably knew illusion arts, maybe even more advanced spells; those two kids he went shopping with that day—both surnamed Bai—just from their bearing alone, it was obvious they came from extraordinary backgrounds; and then there was his father, Mo Shan, though his cultivation wasn't remarkable, years of hunting demons in the mountains had honed his insight and instincts.
Zhang Lan thought grimly, if these people found out he'd only taught Mo Hua some common footwork technique, the one who'd lose face wouldn't be Mo Hua... it'd be him.
Mo Hua was just a kid; what would he understand?
If anyone got sneered at, it'd be Zhang Lan himself.
Just imagining that veiled female cultivator giving him a disdainful look made Zhang Lan's heart tighten.
No! I can't lose face like that!
'This isn't just about my personal pride,' he justified to himself. 'It concerns the honor of the entire Zhang Family! I can't let anyone think we're some shallow clan with no foundation in the Dao!'
"These movement techniques are too ordinary," Zhang Lan said to Mo Hua. "I'll teach you something different."
"Something different?"
"Yes, something unlike any common footwork you've seen."
Mo Hua looked troubled. His intention had only been to get Zhang Lan's opinion on which spell was worth learning, preferably something well-known and widely practiced.
If everyone learned it, it had to be useful. No one would bother practicing a spell that was completely useless, right?
And a common spell also meant it was stable, less likely to go horribly wrong. Even if Zhang Lan stopped teaching him halfway, Mo Hua could still ask others for help.
But now Zhang Lan wanted to teach him something "different." Mo Hua couldn't help worrying, what if this spell required rare spiritual materials? He couldn't afford that kind of cultivation!
"What's with that face?" Zhang Lan slapped the table lightly. "Why do you look so reluctant? Others beg me to teach them, and I refuse. You, kid, don't act ungrateful when fortune knocks!"
"I'm just worried about troubling you, Uncle Zhang," Mo Hua scratched his head. "How about… you pick something from this book instead?"
He opened 'Qi-Refining Spells Compendium,' a collection of common Qi-Refining stage arts well-known among lower-ranked cultivators. Mo Hua felt safer with those.
"No way! I won't be shamed like that!"
No matter what, Zhang Lan refused.
Mo Hua didn't understand, how could teaching a spell make someone lose face?
Zhang Lan gritted his teeth. "I'll teach you Flowing-Water Step! It's my Zhang Family's secret art!"
Mo Hua hesitated for a long moment before meekly asking, "Your family's secret art… is it really that cheap? You're just giving it away like this?"
Zhang Lan nearly coughed up blood. He grabbed Mo Hua by the collar and lifted him effortlessly with spiritual power. "Come with me!"
Liu Ruhua, watching nearby, saw them leave but didn't intervene. She knew Zhang Lan was a Dao Court Division Law Enforcer and got along well with Mo Hua. He wouldn't harm the boy.
She merely thought to herself, Enforcer Zhang's temper is just as childish as Mo Hua's.
Zhang Lan carried Mo Hua out of Tōngxiān City to the foot of a forested mountain.
The woods were dense and quiet, secluded, seldom visited.
Mo Hua felt the force of spiritual energy carrying him through the air. The world spun around him—scenery blurred and receded—and before he knew it, they'd already arrived outside the city.
"Uncle Zhang, what are we doing here?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.
"Stab me with this sword."
Zhang Lan tossed him a black lacquered sword inlaid with gold, its surface engraved with ancient pine patterns, a clearly extraordinary weapon.
Mo Hua's jaw dropped. "That… doesn't seem right."
"Just stab me."
"What if I hurt you?" Mo Hua said anxiously.
Zhang Lan stared at him in silence until Mo Hua realized, perhaps he'd slightly overestimated himself.
With Mo Hua's cultivation, even if Zhang Lan stood still and let him stab for a day, he wouldn't leave a scratch.
"Alright then," Mo Hua nodded. If Zhang Lan wasn't worried, why should he be?
He gripped the sword and prepared to thrust, but after testing its weight, he muttered, "No, it won't work."
"What now?" Zhang Lan asked, exasperated.
"I… can't lift it."
Mo Hua's voice was small.
What kind of sword was this? How could it be so heavy? Was it even meant for human use?
Zhang Lan sighed and pointed upward. Before Mo Hua could react, a branch dropped from a nearby tree.
"Use this."
"Oh." Mo Hua nodded.
He took the branch, calmed his breath, and thrust it toward Zhang Lan with all his might. Granted, Mo Hua's strength as a non-body cultivator was negligible, his "attack" was more like a gentle poke.
But the next instant left him utterly dumbfounded.
The branch pierced straight through Zhang Lan's body.
Mo Hua froze, eyes wide, there was no resistance, no feedback from the strike. When he looked closer, Zhang Lan's figure blurred, then vanished entirely, only to reappear a step away.
Mo Hua didn't understand what happened, but—wow, that was amazing!
"Is… is that a movement technique?"
Zhang Lan smiled faintly. His form shimmered like mist and dissolved, splitting into numerous afterimages encircling Mo Hua. Not only could Mo Hua's eyes not follow them, his Divine-Sense couldn't lock onto Zhang Lan at all.
Moments later, all the spiritual energy dissipated, and Zhang Lan stood again in the same place, as if he'd never moved.
Mo Hua was utterly stunned.
Zhang Lan looked at the boy's wide-eyed awe and felt immensely satisfied, but kept his expression calm.
"So… want to learn now?"
Mo Hua nodded quickly.
"This movement technique is called Flowing-Water Step. It's the Zhang Family's secret art, never taught to outsiders. It's a body technique for spiritual cultivators, allowing one to control the body with spiritual power, moving within a narrow space to dodge attacks. At advanced levels, you can create afterimages to confuse an opponent's vision, and even disrupt their Divine-Sense."
Mo Hua listened intently, then frowned with concern.
"But if you teach me, won't that count as leaking your clan's secret? Won't the Zhang Clan punish you? If so, maybe… better not."
"Why? You don't like the technique?"
"I do! It's great! But I don't want to cause you trouble." Mo Hua looked conflicted.
Zhang Lan blinked, then chuckled. "Don't worry. If I dare teach you, it means it's fine. Those stubborn old fossils in the clan can't do anything to me."
At worst, I'll get confined for a few months… maybe kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days, he added silently, but of course, he'd never say that aloud.
"Oh, okay…" Mo Hua nodded. Then, after a pause, he asked nervously, "If I learn it, will your Clan… you know, try to kill me to keep the secret?"
Zhang Lan sighed and rapped Mo Hua lightly on the forehead. "What goes on in that little head of yours? How do you even come up with this nonsense?"
(End of Chapter)