Chapter 176: Building Prosperity
The next day, Mo Hua went to visit Mister Zhuang. After all, he was Mister Zhuang's registered disciple, and having been trapped in the spirit mine for so long without paying a visit, he felt somewhat guilty.
Mister Zhuang was still asleep, so Mo Hua played a round of Five Elements Chess with Old Kui.
After all this time, neither of their skills had improved in the slightest; both were equally terrible.
Yet Five Elements Chess was a simple game, thinking too deeply ruined the fun. Playing it casually, cutting and countering back and forth, was what made it enjoyable.
The two were evenly matched, locked in a fierce and endless battle.
When Mister Zhuang finally awoke, Mo Hua reluctantly stopped, bid farewell to Old Kui, and went to pay his respects.
Mister Zhuang had always allowed Mo Hua to learn freely, only answering questions when asked. He said nothing more this time either.
Before Mo Hua left, however, Mister Zhuang said, "Well done."
Mo Hua's face lit up with joy, his eyes squinting into a smile.
Only after leaving Mister Zhuang's bamboo chamber did he feel puzzled.
He hadn't said anything to Mister Zhuang, yet the man seemed to know everything…
And even praised him.
Mo Hua frowned slightly. How did Mister Zhuang know?
After thinking a moment, he decided it was not strange. Mister Zhuang was a man of great ability, perhaps he could divine things. Moreover, the commotion they had caused with the Qian Family was no small matter. It was only natural that Mister Zhuang would know.
Mo Hua nodded to himself and put the thought aside.
He then went to visit Bai Zisheng and his sister.
When Bai Zisheng saw Mo Hua, his eyes brightened, but soon turned to complaint, demanding to know where Mo Hua had been all this time.
Mo Hua recounted what had happened in the spirit mine.
Bai Zisheng listened with fiery excitement and open envy.
Beside him, Bai Zixi pretended to read, but her clear autumn-water eyes shimmered with interest. The book in her hands had tilted without her realizing it.
"Next time something like that happens, you must call me! I'll help you!" Bai Zisheng declared with great enthusiasm.
"It's useless calling you. Aunt Xue wouldn't let you go," Mo Hua replied flatly.
That one line struck Bai Zisheng like a bucket of cold water.
He instantly deflated, lying limp on the ground like a frostbitten eggplant, his world suddenly grey.
Mo Hua sighed. "Tomorrow I'll bring you something to eat."
Bai Zisheng shot upright. "Make it spicy!"
"Fine, fine," Mo Hua said helplessly, then turned and caught Bai Zixi's bright gaze fixed on him.
Thinking for a moment, he added, "My mother's making Jade Crisp Cakes. I haven't tried them yet, but they smell amazing. I'll bring you some tomorrow to taste."
Bai Zixi nodded lightly, her expression calm and content.
...
The next day, Mo Hua kept his word and brought food over.
Bai Zisheng devoured his share ravenously, while Bai Zixi nibbled delicately at the snow-white, fragrant cakes like a small cat, her eyes narrowing with quiet pleasure.
Seeing how happy they were, Mo Hua could not help smiling himself.
...
A few days later, Elder Yu summoned Mo Hua to the Monster-Hunting Guild's warehouse to collect spirit stones.
The spirit mine had produced a great quantity of spirit stones, but distributing them all at once would lead to waste or invite robbery and conflict. To prevent chaos, the guild held reserves for emergencies and released the stones gradually, according to merit.
Thus, spirit stones were withdrawn periodically, in measured batches, a strategy of steady flow ensuring longer-term sustainability.
Mo Hua queued outside the warehouse. Before long, he received a storage pouch heavy in his arms, containing over three hundred spirit stones.
Three hundred!
That would last him a very long time. For once, he would not need to worry about resources.
And this was only the first batch, there would be more to come.
Mo Hua was delighted.
Every hunter receiving their share wore a wide smile. Some stared at the stones in disbelief, even weeping with joy.
For wandering rogue cultivators who had struggled bitterly at the bottom, this was unprecedented wealth.
With these spirit stones, their children would not go hungry, their cultivation could continue, and they would no longer need to risk their lives every day just to survive.
At last, the crushing pressure eased.
For once, they could live like this, perhaps for ten years.
Mo Hua felt gratified, yet a shadow crossed his heart.
Ten years later… what then?
When the spirit stones were gone, would everyone not return to that same life—licking blood from the blade's edge, struggling, suffering, and dying for scraps?
He thought of Madam Meng, Aunt Jiang, Da Hu and his brothers, and the other familiar hunters.
He remembered their tears in life, their blood in battle, their pain and their peril.
Mo Hua's heart grew heavier.
Was there no way to make these good days last longer?
That thought lingered in his mind day and night, at meals, during cultivation, even while sketching formation diagrams.
One day, while flipping through formation manuals, inspiration suddenly struck him.
He ran straight to the guild's warehouse to find Elder Yu.
Elder Yu, unwilling to leave the vast stockpile of spirit stones unattended, had been stationed there personally for days.
Mo Hua asked, "Elder Yu, how did the Qian Family become so wealthy?"
Elder Yu looked mildly surprised but answered after a pause.
"The Qian Family's ancestor started as a monster hunter too. Later, after saving some spirit stones, he stopped hunting and went into crafting and alchemy."
"When hunters slew beasts, he'd buy their materials cheaply, hire rogue cultivators to refine them into spiritual tools and pills, then sell them back at high prices."
"As business grew, he paid less for materials, worked the hired cultivators longer, and charged ever higher for his wares. Naturally, the Qian Family became richer and richer."
Mo Hua frowned. "Didn't anyone compete with them?"
"They couldn't," Elder Yu said, shaking his head. "Others didn't have their black hearts or ruthless means."
"I heard they started from nothing," Mo Hua said.
Elder Yu sneered. "That's just self-glorifying nonsense."
"Isn't it true?"
Elder Yu swept his Divine-Sense around, confirming they were alone, then sat down, sipped tea, and said quietly,
"I said their ancestor saved a pile of spirit stones, guess how he did it?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then his eyes widened in shock.
Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "All hunters, yet only he managed to save enough to open smithing and alchemy shops? That much spirit stone is a fortune most never earn in a lifetime."
Mo Hua's gaze sharpened. "Then what did he do?"
Elder Yu said coldly, "The old-timers told me the Qian ancestor was crooked from the start. He went hunting with others, then betrayed and killed them, keeping the beast cores for himself. Later, he disguised himself as a bandit, robbing travelers in Black Mountain, swindling and cheating at every chance. Anything that earned spirit stones, he'd do it. That's how he got his first fortune."
Elder Yu gave a dry laugh. "A horse doesn't grow fat without night grass, and a man doesn't grow rich without ill-gotten wealth. Where in this world is true 'self-made' success?"
Mo Hua listened, secretly stunned.
After gossiping a while, Elder Yu finished his tea and finally asked, "You didn't come just to hear old tales, did you? What do you want?"
Mo Hua's eyes brightened. "Elder Yu, let's open a smithing and alchemy business ourselves to earn spirit stones!"
Elder Yu laughed. "Silly child. The Qian Family got rich by killing, cheating, and robbing. Where would we get that kind of capital?"
Mo Hua smiled. "We don't need to kill or cheat. We already have the capital."
Elder Yu shook his head, ready to dismiss the idea, but then his gaze suddenly flicked toward the warehouse.
Inside were countless spirit stones, freshly mined and exchanged from the Dao Court Division.
"Still, crafting and alchemy aren't simple," he muttered.
"If we lack craftsmen, we can just hire rogue cultivators with spirit stones," Mo Hua suggested.
Elder Yu frowned, thinking. "The biggest problem is the furnaces. To run a large operation, we'd need high-quality smithing and alchemy furnaces."
"Are furnaces difficult to make?"
"They require enormous manpower, resources, and refined iron, but the most critical, the true core, lies inside the furnace…"
Elder Yu froze mid-sentence, his eyes slowly turning to Mo Hua.
The core of the furnace... was its formation.
His thoughts snapped into perfect clarity.
Everything they needed was already in place.
They had spirit stones. They had manpower. And for the most difficult part—the formation—they had Mo Hua.
For a moment, Elder Yu could scarcely believe it.
(End of Chapter)