Chapter 127: Borrowing People
"Borrowing people?"
"Mm-hmm." Mo Hua nodded.
"What do you need people for?"
"I've got something to do, and I need some help. Qi-Refining Sixth Layer will do, five… no, four people are enough," Mo Hua said.
Yu Chengyi wanted to ask what Mo Hua was planning, but since Mo Hua was a formation master, it must have something to do with formations. Even if Mo Hua told him, he probably wouldn't understand, so asking would just make him look foolish.
His father, Elder Yu, had told him to look after Mo Hua. If he didn't, and his father found out, he'd definitely get skinned alive.
His father smiled at Mo Hua like spring wind but always gave him a face like thunderclouds.
Yu Chengyi's heart tightened. "It's a small matter, no problem," he said quickly.
Mo Hua had thought he'd have to persuade him more, but Yu Chengyi agreed immediately. Grinning, he said: "Thank you, Uncle Yu!"
Yu Chengyi pointed out a few Qi-Refining Sixth Layer cultivators, instructing them to follow Mo Hua, keep him safe, and help whenever he needed it.
Then, still uneasy, he turned to an older demon hunter and said: "Old Zhao, you go too. Keep an eye on things."
Old Zhao looked surprised but nodded. "Alright."
"Uncle Yu, that's enough. You don't need to send so many people," Mo Hua hurriedly said.
The one called Old Zhao had a thick, steady aura, definitely in the late Qi-Refining stage. Add in five mid-stage helpers, and that was already quite a crowd.
He just wanted to hunt a mid-grade Rank One demon beast, it really didn't need this much manpower.
Yu Chengyi waved it off. "It's fine. Let them go with you. It'll ease my mind."
Better too many than too few, if anything happened to this little formation master, his father would have his hide for a rug.
This was Black Mountain, after all, teeming with demon beasts, not a place for carelessness.
If he weren't tied up with duties, he'd have gone himself.
"Then… if I'm borrowing so many people, will you still have enough manpower, Uncle Yu?"
Mo Hua asked with concern.
Yu Chengyi's heart warmed. He patted Mo Hua's shoulder. "Don't worry. Were are all veterans. We'll be fine."
Mo Hua nodded. "Then we'll be off. Goodbye, Uncle Yu!"
"Go on." Yu Chengyi nodded, then added after a pause, "Finish your business quickly and head back early. Black Mountain is dangerous, don't linger."
Mo Hua led the group of demon hunters into the forested mountains.
"Brother Mo, what exactly are we doing?" one young demon hunter asked quietly.
Mo Hua turned and blinked in surprise. "Daping?"
The young man, surnamed Zhou—Zhou Daping—was the son of Zhou Cheng. He'd once asked Mo Hua to draw him an Iron Armor Formation and had personally come to thank him afterward.
Mo Hua had only met him once and hadn't remembered him among the group. But once Zhou Daping spoke, the familiar voice helped him recall.
Zhou Daping looked shy. "Brother Mo, you still remember me?"
"Mm-hmm." Mo Hua smiled. "I'm taking you all to hunt a demon beast."
Zhou Daping froze, and the others looked at each other in alarm.
Old Zhao, too, was startled.
This little kid's got guts!
With just a few Qi-Refining mid-stage cultivators? Even surviving would be a miracle!
No wonder Yu Chengyi had told him to watch closely.
Zhou Daping hesitated. "Brother Mo… with just us, I don't think we can kill a demon beast."
Then he cautiously asked, "What level of beast are we talking about?"
If it was Rank One Early Stage, that was manageable.
"Rank One Mid Stage, I guess. We can't handle late stage."
Zhou Daping's vision darkened. If they couldn't handle late stage, they couldn't handle mid stage either!
"Don't worry." Mo Hua patted his chest. "I've got it all planned out, leave it to me!"
Zhou Daping wanted to argue but didn't know how, so he followed with gritted teeth.
Old Zhao, meanwhile, was on full alert.
These youngsters had no idea how dangerous Black Mountain really was. Even a Rank One Mid demon beast was not something to take lightly.
Yu Chengyi had told him to protect them, if anyone died, he'd never be able to explain himself.
"Let's hope nothing goes wrong…" Old Zhao muttered inwardly.
Mo Hua followed the mountain path until he stopped before a forested cliffside.
It was a junction where two trails met, the only route beasts could take entering or leaving the forest.
Tall grass grew thick, and large boulders offered cover. Perfect.
Mo Hua set up traps, arranged formations, wiped away traces, and used Bloodscent Grass to mask their smell. Then he led the others behind a rocky outcrop.
"We'll wait here. When the demon beast comes and triggers the trap, I'll activate the formation. Then you all—no, you all—attack." Mo Hua said.
He wouldn't need to go charging in himself.
Zhou Daping and the others nodded, while Old Zhao raised an eyebrow.
He'd heard that Mo Shan's youngest son was talented in formations…
But this was a demon beast, hide like steel, bones like stone. Would formations really work?
Old Zhao frowned deeply.
Zhou Daping whispered, uneasy, "Brother Mo… are you sure this will work?"
Mo Hua reassured him, "Don't worry, I've tested it. It'll be fine."
Zhou Daping nodded but still gripped his blade tightly.
The others—all young—held their breath, too nervous to speak.
Waiting was torture. Everyone's faces were tense.
Only Mo Hua seemed relaxed, even bored, doodling formation runes in the dirt with a grass stem.
After an unknown stretch of time, Zhou Daping nudged him. "Brother Mo… it's coming."
His voice trembled slightly from nerves.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. He dropped the grass stem and peeked out, sure enough, a goat-shaped demon beast emerged from the forest.
Its eyes glowed red, its mouth stained with fresh blood, it had clearly just torn apart a kill.
But perhaps too full to be cautious, it wandered forward lazily, right into the trap.
Wooden vines shot up, binding it tight. Mo Hua flung a fireball, triggering the Earthfire Formation.
A deafening explosion erupted. Flames roared skyward, spiritual energy surged, and nearby rocks shattered into gravel.
Zhou Daping and the others gawked, slack-jawed.
Mo Hua shouted, "Go!"
That snapped them out of it, they drew blades and charged, fists and swords flashing.
Moments later, the demon beast lay motionless on the ground.
Mo Hua poked his head out. "Is it dead?"
Zhou Daping stared blankly at the corpse for a long time before stammering: "D-dead…"
Mo Hua ran up, casting the Blood Extraction Technique.
Scarlet demon blood flowed under his Divine-Sense, collecting neatly into a jade bottle.
"Brother Mo, what's that for?" Zhou Daping couldn't help asking.
"For drawing formations." Mo Hua replied while bleeding the beast.
"Oh, oh." Zhou Daping nodded and stopped asking.
When Mo Hua was done, he saw the others still standing dazedly. "Aren't you going to skin it?"
"Huh?"
"The demon beast, skin it, strip the bones, sell it!"
They snapped out of it and quickly began processing the carcass, storing the materials in their Storage Bags.
Mo Hua calculated everything—the cost of the formation, the spirit stones used to activate it—and split the profits evenly after deducting expenses.
Zhou Daping quickly waved his hands. "No, no! That was all your work, we can't take your spirit stones!"
The others echoed him in sentiment.
Mo Hua: "You helped me out, so it's what you deserve!"
"But…"
Mo Hua wouldn't take no for an answer. Waving them off, he said cheerfully, "I'm heading back first. If I need help next time, I'll come find you guys!" Then he skipped off, happy as could be.
Zhou Daping and the others stood there exchanging looks, their expressions complicated.
Once the beast was sold, each of them would get seven or eight spirit stones.
They'd never earned that much in their lives…
(End of Chapter)