Chapter 219: New Year's Gifts
A few days before the year's festival, Mo Hua went early in the morning to visit Mister Zhuang, bringing along New Year's gifts personally prepared by Liu Ruhua.
Items such as spirit stones and spirit tools were of no use to Mister Zhuang.
After thinking for quite a while, Liu Ruhua could not decide what would be appropriate, so she followed custom and made a large assortment of delicious foods to express her gratitude.
She had begun preparing more than ten days earlier, working busily until everything was finally ready.
There were braised meats from various demonic beasts—ox, sheep, pig, goat—different parts, and different flavors; multicolored pastries made from assorted grains; and wines brewed from osmanthus, peach blossoms, and wild mountain fruits.
Even the well-traveled Mister Zhuang could not help but be surprised when he saw it all.
"So much! How will I ever finish it?"
Then, in good spirits, he began tasting everything one by one. At times he would frown slightly and ask, "What meat is this? I've never tasted it before…" At other times, he would nod and praise, "This flavor is excellent."
Mo Hua sat beside him, chatting while he ate.
He told Mister Zhuang which demon beasts the meats came from, what spices had been used, and whether they were cooked over high or low flame, and for how long.
Sometimes he would ask small questions about formations, and at other times, he would share amusing happenings from the city.
Many of those stories came from An Xiaofu.
An Xiaofu was now the young shopkeeper of the Fortune Dining House. Every day he interacted with customers, gossiping freely, and had gathered a stomach full of tales. Whenever he had time, he would tell Mo Hua those stories, exaggerated, lively, and full of color.
Mo Hua found them amusing and would retell them to Mister Zhuang, who listened with great interest as he drank and ate.
After chatting for a while, Mo Hua noticed that the bamboo residence, though tranquil and elegant, felt rather lonely, and so he asked,
"Sir, will you go out to see the festivities during the New Year? It's quite lively outside."
It seemed Mister Zhuang had always stayed within the Forgetful Meditation Abode, either resting in his bamboo chamber, watching the water from the bridge, or sitting in the courtyard, gazing at the mountains, the breeze, the sunrise, and the evening glow.
Mo Hua had never seen him leave.
Mister Zhuang smiled lightly. "It's quiet here. I do not enjoy noise."
"Oh, I see." Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully. "Then when I come to talk with you, does that disturb your peace?"
Mister Zhuang shook his head. "Too much quiet becomes dull. Talking with you is pleasant enough."
Mo Hua felt reassured.
A cool breeze drifted through the room; outside, the bamboo forest rustled, and the flowers swayed gently.
The two conversed for a long while, their clear and mellow voices mingling and fading into the mountains.
When Mo Hua noticed that Mister Zhuang seemed slightly weary, perhaps drowsy from the meal, he rose and said with courtesy,
"I won't disturb your rest, sir. My mother also made some New Year's rice cakes: soft, sweet, and chewy. I'll bring some for you to try in a few days."
Mister Zhuang smiled. "Go on then."
After leaving Mister Zhuang, Mo Hua went to visit Old Kui, bringing gifts as well.
He knew Old Kui's preferences.
Although Old Kui looked elderly, he disliked soft and sticky foods; he preferred crisp things, snacks that crackled when eaten.
So Mo Hua brought crunchy pastries and several boxes of pine nuts, original, five-spice, and spicy varieties.
Old Kui tucked everything into his sleeve, then drew out a chessboard and glanced at Mo Hua.
Seeing that it was still early, Mo Hua nodded. "Let's play!"
The breeze stirred; fallen leaves drifted past; the sound of chess pieces landing echoed back and forth in the courtyard.
The two hopeless chess players spent half a day playing Five Elements Chess.
...
That evening, Da Hu and his brothers called Mo Hua to watch a "Beast-Slaying Play."
They were the ones performing it, along with Da Ping and Dazhu from the Artifact Workshop.
They already had prop weapons and vine armor, while the demonic beast costumes were borrowed. The performance was partly for fun and partly to earn some reward money.
Originally, Da Hu and Daping were to play the Demon beast hunters, since they actually were hunters.
The beasts were supposed to be played by Dazhu and the disciples from the Artifact Workshop, but Da Hu and his brothers felt their acting was too stiff, the beasts looked like fools rather than ferocious creatures, so they decided to play the beasts themselves.
After all, demonic beasts in Black Mountain were savage and violent, not dull-witted.
Thus, in the end, the three Meng brothers played the Demonic beasts, while Dazhu the artifact forger became the Demon beast hunter.
The result was surprisingly convincing.
Mo Hua stood among the crowd, clapping and even tipping them.
The onlooking cultivators, eager to join the fun, each tossed a few fragments of spirit stones as encouragement.
After the play, the Meng brothers led Mo Hua to various food stalls and amusements, eating and playing as they went.
Da Hu had already reached the seventh layer of Qi-Refining—late stage.
Mo Hua humbly asked, "When breaking through to late Qi-Refining, what must one pay attention to?"
He was now at the sixth layer; one more step would make him late stage as well.
Though his cultivation method differed from Da Hu's, advice was still useful as reference.
Da Hu scratched his head. "Just cultivate as usual. You'll need some spiritual materials. My method uses Falling Sun Grass and Molten Fire Stones, plus some pills, that's how I broke through."
"That simple?"
"Not every breakthrough succeeds. I was lucky. Otherwise, I'd have had to try several times."
Shuang Hu added, "I failed once already. Otherwise, I'd be late stage too."
"What happens if you fail?"
"You just keep cultivating, save more spirit stones, buy more spiritual materials and pills, and try again," said Shuang Hu carelessly. "As long as a cultivator isn't dead, that's what we do—over and over—unless you give up, go broke, or settle down with too many burdens."
Mo Hua nodded. "Sounds simple, but to persist all one's life... that's not simple at all."
Xiao Hu sighed. "The worst part is how expensive spiritual materials are. Rogue cultivators can hardly afford them, and some are hard to find. A single breakthrough attempt drains everything, and if it fails, you need to start over."
Daping and Dazhu both nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Rogue cultivators don't have that many spirit stones or the connections to get those materials."
Everyone looked worried.
Mo Hua also frowned, then suddenly remembered, his Celestial Evolution Art did not require such materials. It consumed very few spirit stones at all. He secretly exhaled in relief.
The bottleneck of the Celestial Evolution Art lay in the Sea of Consciousness and formations, not in spiritual materials.
That was precisely why he had chosen it.
Mo Hua silently praised his foresight.
Then again, though his method required no resources, each breakthrough required solving a puzzle formation.
Those formations were complex and abstruse, their patterns ever-shifting, no easy task to decipher.
The Heavenly Dao was fair in its own way; it would not let one slip through cheaply.
He wondered what kind of puzzle formation would appear in his Sea of Consciousness next time.
Mo Hua mused to himself:
"I've already reached the sixth layer of Qi-Refining. It shouldn't be long before I perfect this stage. When that time comes and I attempt a breakthrough, I'll finally see what sort of puzzle awaits this time."
(End of Chapter)