Chapter 12: Reward
Chapter 12: Reward
After wandering around for a while, Xiao Hu suddenly asked, "Where are we going next?"
Mo Hua patted the storage bag on his body and said, "Let's go to North Street first!"
The group arrived in front of Youyuan Pavilion on North Street. As Mo Hua stepped up to the door, he turned around only to see his three little friends standing still, reluctant to enter. "Aren't you coming in?" he asked.
The three friends shook their heads together.
"I get dizzy when I see arrays..."
"Me too..."
"I have no talent for arrays in this life, so I'm not going in either..."
Mo Hua had no choice but to say, "Then wait here for a while. I'll be right out."
The three friends nodded together.
Mo Hua entered the shop, and the bell above the door chimed. The manager, hearing the bell, saw Mo Hua standing proudly at the door with his storage bag slung over his shoulder and couldn't help but smile. "It's you again. So, has your brother finished drawing all the arrays?"
Mo Hua nodded, "Yes."
The manager's eyes lit up. "Oh? It's only been five days, and you're quite fast," he said, waving Mo Hua over. "Let me see them."
Mo Hua took out the arrays from his storage bag and placed them on the counter, standing on tiptoe to reach.
The manager picked up the arrays, examined them, and frowned.
Mo Hua's heart sank. "Did I draw them incorrectly?"
The manager pondered for a moment and said, "They are correct, but the skill level doesn't seem like that of an experienced array master. A few are passable, but these few..."
He flipped through and showed Mo Hua the first few arrays he had drawn.
"These are quite far off. The brushwork is rough and disjointed, as if they were pieced together bit by bit. Is your brother really studying arrays with an array master? This skill gap is a bit too much..."
Mo Hua felt a bit embarrassed. This was his first attempt, and he had already tried his best to achieve this result.
"Can this array still be used?" he asked.
The manager pointed at the table with his finger and examined the array carefully. "Although the brushwork is lacking, the array itself is fine. It can still be used... it's just the brushwork that's the problem."
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good." Then he added, "Maybe my brother was drawing this array for the first time and wasn't familiar with it, so it seems a bit rough at the start. Look, the latter arrays are much better, aren't they?"
The manager slowly nodded as he examined the latter arrays. "That's true. These latter arrays are indeed better and at least meet the basic standards."
"See?" Mo Hua assured him. "Rest assured, my... brother will definitely get better and better at drawing them!"
The manager couldn't help but laugh at Mo Hua's confidence. "You really believe in your brother. Alright, fine. For your sake, we'll consider this order completed. But next time, the arrays must be at the level of these latter ones. No more handing in practice arrays to make up the numbers."
Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.
The manager put away the array drawings and placed several spirit stones on the table after counting them.
"Eight successful arrays, two failures. Deducting the two spirit stone deposits, your reward is six spirit stones."
"If your brother wants to continue drawing, the deposit remains ten spirit stones. Your brother already has the array diagrams for the Minghuo Array. I'll give him ten more sets of paper and ink materials."
The manager handed Mo Hua a storage bag containing paper and ink.
Mo Hua put away the materials and picked up the six spirit stones, unable to contain his happiness.
Earning six spirit stones in five days was almost equivalent to the income of a mid-to-late Qi Refining cultivator.
Mo Hua's mother, Liu Ruhua, worked as a kitchen aide in the Catering Pavilion, earning only one spirit stone per day. His father, Mo Shan, earned more from hunting demons, but his income was unstable. Sometimes he earned more by hunting valuable demons, and sometimes he earned less if he couldn't find any valuable prey.
Mo Hua thanked the manager and left Youyuan Pavilion. His three friends at the door gazed at him eagerly.
Mo Hua patted his storage bag, waved his small hand, and said, "Let's go! I'll treat you all to snacks!"
Dahua and the other two cheered in excitement and surrounded Mo Hua, leading him to a pastry shop on the street.
There were many pastry shops in Tongxian City, including those that used precious ingredients and were unaffordable to Mo Hua and his friends. They headed to a shop called "Wang's Pastries," a modest store run by an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator. The ingredients were not luxurious, but the pastries were very reasonably priced.
Lower-class cultivators had meager incomes, and many might not even earn a single Spirit Stone a day. So, they could only use shattered Spirit Stones. A whole Spirit Stone could be divided into ten fragments, and ten fragments of the shattered stone were equivalent to one whole Spirit Stone.
Shattered lingzhi was not recognized by the Dao Ting, sects, or clans and only circulated among low-level cultivators. Only impoverished cultivators in the Qi Refining phase would use this kind of fractional currency.
Mo Hua spent two lingzhi and bought ten pieces of the five-colored cake. The shopkeeper gave him two extra pieces because he bought so many and also because he was a child.
Mo Hua ate two pieces and kept the remaining four to take home to his parents.
As Mo Hua and his friends each held a piece of the fragrant, sweet, and steaming cake, walking and eating, Xiao Hu couldn't close his mouth from the delicious taste. But he kept on talking:
"These cakes are so good! When I earn lingzhi in the future, I'll eat them every day!"
Dahua said, "In that case, you might as well marry a girl who knows how to make pastries so you can eat them every day."
Xiao Hu exclaimed, "Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that? But I already like someone, and I can't be fickle..."
Dahua widened his eyes. "Who do you like?"
Xiao Hu said, "The girl selling tofu on the west side of the street. I'll tell you first that I like her, so you're not allowed to fight me for her!"
Dahua clicked his tongue and waved his hand. "Don't worry. She has such a bad temper that I wouldn't want to fight you for her anyway..."
As Xiao Hu and Dahua chatted, Dahu focused on eating his cake, quickly finishing his two pieces and even licking his fingers afterward.
Mo Hua gave him the piece he hadn't eaten yet.
Dahu smiled awkwardly but still took the cake and ate it.
Suddenly, Shuang Hu asked, "Mo Hua, did you really help that place draw formation arrays?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Xiao Hu's mouth fell open. "You can even draw formation arrays for others?"
Shuang Hu rolled his eyes at him. "Then where do you think the lingzhi for these cakes came from?"
Xiao Hu froze, still holding his cake. "So these cakes were bought with the lingzhi you earned from drawing formation arrays? Wow, Mo Hua, you might really become a first-rate formation master in the future!"
"It's too early to say that," Mo Hua said. "Becoming a formation master isn't that simple. Let's keep this between us. Don't tell anyone else. When I earn more lingzhi, I'll treat you to more cakes."
At the mention of cakes, the three friends eagerly nodded, and Xiao Hu vowed, "If I tell anyone, I'll never eat cakes again in my life!"
Mo Hua and his friends continued strolling on the street, looking at various curious and novel things. As evening fell, they each returned to their homes.
Mo Hua gave the cakes to Liu Ruhua, who steamed them and then put them in Mo Hua's bowl. Mo Hua firmly refused, but after some persuasion, he finally ate two, and Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua each tasted one.
The steamed cakes that Liu Ruhua made were hot and fragrant. Mo Hua thought they tasted even better than the ones he had at noon, and he couldn't help but ask, "Mother, do you know how to steam cakes?"
Liu Ruhua smiled. "What's so difficult about that? Every complex dish a mother can make. It's just that many meals require a specially forged stove made by an artificer, as well as a unique formation array. We just don't have the means to do that at home."
"Are stoves very expensive?"
"Stoves have to be crafted by artificers, so they're naturally not cheap. But what's even more expensive is the formation array. It's not easy to hire a formation master to draw an array, especially for something as large as a stove. So unless you're opening an eatery or an inn, no one would spend a lot of money on a stove..."
Mo Hua nodded. It seemed that formation arrays had even wider applications in the cultivation world than he had thought. He wondered what kind of formation array was used on stoves.
Mo Hua made a mental note to learn about it when he had the time.
(End of Chapter)
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