Chapter 15: A Token Gift
Chapter 15: A Token Gift
> Sect schools would open their doors to recruits, imparting knowledge and skills for cultivation. In return, disciples were expected to pay a token fee known as "shu xiu."
The amount of shu xiu varied depending on the sect's ranking. The higher the sect's grade, the more expensive the fee.
Tongxian Gate was merely a first-rate sect in the cultivation world, but in Tongxian City, where all sects were first-rate, it stood as the largest. The annual fee was set at one hundred spirit stones, excluding various other charges.
One hundred spirit stones was not an insignificant sum. For an ordinary Qi-refining cultivator, it would take a year's worth of earnings to accumulate that amount, assuming no unforeseen illnesses or other expenses that demanded a substantial outlay of spirit stones.
The joy of the festive season could quickly turn to worry as the weight of the upcoming cultivation expenses bore down on one's shoulders.
Mo Shan placed a storage bag on the table, his expression guilty. "I borrowed some spirit stones from a few brothers. Together with my savings, I have over eighty..."
Liu Ruhua consoled him. "Don't worry. I'll go to the cafeteria manager tomorrow and ask for an advance."
Mo Shan was about to say something when he noticed Mo Hua eavesdropping at the door.
"Hua'er!"
Caught, Mo Hua could only smile sheepishly and scurry over to sit by her mother.
Liu Ruhua pinched her daughter's ear affectionately. "Such a little eavesdropper!"
"Dad, Mom, do we still need more spirit stones?" Mo Hua asked.
"We do need some more, but your Uncle Ji said he would lend me some yesterday. He also asked me to tell you to study hard at the sect," Mo Shan replied.
"Uncle Ji?" Mo Hua questioned.
"Yes, your Uncle Ji has been praising your intelligence and talent," Liu Ruhua said as she ruffled Mo Hua's hair.
"But Uncle Ji's family isn't exactly wealthy, is he?" Mo Hua asked.
Mo Shan sighed softly. "I'll repay him as soon as possible after the holidays. These days, who has extra spirit stones lying around?"
"I do!" Mo Hua replied with a mischievous smile.
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua froze.
With her small legs, Mo Hua ran back into the room and returned shortly, clutching a storage bag in her hand.
She opened the bag, revealing fifty spirit stones shimmering with multicolored light. It was a beautiful sight. However, the expected scene of her parents being moved to tears and praising her thoughtfulness did not unfold.
Instead, Mo Shan's expression turned solemn, and Liu Ruhua's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Perplexed, Mo Hua asked, "What's wrong?"
Mo Shan asked in as calm a tone as he could muster, "Hua'er, who gave you these spirit stones?"
"No one gave them to me. I earned them myself!" Mo Hua replied.
Mo Shan was taken aback. "You... earned them?"
Liu Ruhua's eyebrows relaxed, and she gently pulled Mo Hua into her embrace. "Then tell your mother how you earned them."
"I painted formation arrays for Youyuan Hall. But they were the simplest kind. I earned one spirit stone for each painting," Mo Hua explained.
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua exchanged glances, realizing that their son had spent most of his time before and after the holidays painting formations instead of playing. No wonder he kept coming back so soon after leaving the house.
They looked at the bag of spirit stones again. One spirit stone per formation, and there were almost fifty in the bag, meaning he must have painted at least fifty formations...
Liu Ruhua hugged Mo Hua tighter, unable to help herself.
Mo Shan opened his mouth several times as if to speak but couldn't find the right words. Finally, he simply reached out and gently stroked Mo Hua's head.
"These spirit stones are your hard-earned money. You keep them for your cultivation or to buy yourself treats. Don't worry about the Tongxian Gate fees. I'll figure something out," Mo Shan said.
Mo Hua, knowing her father would hesitate to use these spirit stones, quickly added, "Then, Dad and Mom, you keep these for me. I'm just a kid and don't need so many. Plus, it's easier for them to be stolen or robbed."
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua were speechless and couldn't think of a reason to refuse.
Finally, Liu Ruhua said, "Alright, your dad and I will keep them for you."
Mo Hua nodded vigorously. "Okay!"
"It's getting late, and you have school tomorrow. Go to bed now," Liu Ruhua said.
"Okay, good night, Dad and Mom!" Mo Hua got up to return to her room but turned back and added, "Dad and Mom, feel free to use them if you need to. Don't save them for me."
The couple couldn't help but find the situation amusing and exasperating at the same time.
After Mo Hua closed the door to her room, Mo Shan let out a sigh and shook his head. "I, as a father, am not as sensible as my child."
Liu Ruhua consoled him. "Don't say that. It's a good thing that Hua'er understands and cares for us. We should be happy that she can earn spirit stones with her own abilities. It's just..."
She trailed off, her eyes dropping to the spirit stones on the table before looking back up at her husband. "Can she really paint formations for others at such a young age?"
The next day, Mo Hua woke up on time, cultivated for a while, and then set off with his mother, Liu Ruhua, towards the outer gate of Tongxian Gate to pay the enrollment fee and register.
Mo Shan, on the other hand, had left early. According to Liu Ruhua, Mo Shan was going into the inner mountains with a few Demon Hunters, so he needed to get an early start.
Upon reaching the outer gate of Tongxian Gate, Liu Ruhua paid the enrollment fee and completed the admission process. She couldn't help but give Mo Hua a few extra glances, reluctant to part ways.
With Mo Hua's entry into Tongxian Gate for cultivation training, she wouldn't be able to see her son often, except during the sect's holidays and festivals.
Liu Ruhua gave Mo Hua some final words of advice—to cultivate diligently, get along well with his fellow disciples, take care of himself, and not bully others. Then, with a heavy heart, she bid him farewell and returned home.
Mo Hua stood at the mountain gate, waving goodbye until his mother's figure disappeared from view at the intersection. Only then did he turn around.
Instead of entering the sect, he first went to Youyuan Hall on North Street, where he met with the plump manager and collected the materials for twenty Bright Fire Formations. He agreed to submit the completed formations within half a month at the latest.
The sect had a one-day break during the upper, middle, and lower decans of each month, known as "decane breaks." Mo Hua planned to use these breaks to sneak out and trade with the plump manager.
For the twenty sets of materials, the manager only collected a deposit of ten spirit stones, just as he had with Mo Hua's brother. Given their pleasant past collaborations and the increasingly high-quality formations received, the manager was very satisfied. He also valued his relationship with Mo Hua, so the deposit remained unchanged.
After finalizing the arrangements with the manager, Mo Hua left Youyuan Hall content.
Unbeknownst to Mo Hua, a burly man had been quietly observing him from outside Youyuan Hall.
As soon as Mo Hua left, the man stepped inside.
The doorbell rang, and when the manager looked up, he was met with the sight of a man with a plain dress but a handsome and stalwart appearance. His sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes held a scrutinizing gaze, sharp enough to make the manager feel pressured.
The manager instantly recognized the man as a Demon Hunter—one who had seen his fair share of bloodshed! His attitude wasn't particularly friendly, and the way he looked at the manager was as if he were sizing up a captive demon beast.
In terms of cultivation, the manager believed he was no less skilled than this man. However, when it came to actual combat, it was hard to say who would come out on top. After all, Demon Hunters regularly faced life-or-death situations in their battles with demon beasts.
The manager, on the other hand, spent most of his days sitting behind the counter, and he couldn't remember the last time he had wielded a sword. His fighting skills had grown rusty over time.
Weighing his options, the manager adjusted his attitude and cautiously asked, "What kind of formation do you require, fellow Daoist?"
The burly man was none other than Mo Shan. He unfolded a crumpled piece of paper, revealing a sketched formation with a few corrections and smudges, indicating that it had been copied with some errors.
"What formation is this?" Mo Shan asked.
The manager glanced at it and replied, "It's the Bright Fire Formation."
"Do you accept this kind of formation?" Mo Shan's tone made the manager feel uncomfortable. On a regular day, he might have ignored such a customer, but today, he reminded himself that a customer was a customer, and they deserved courteous treatment.
"Of course we do. It's a commonly used formation, often needed by ordinary cultivator families, so the demand is quite high."
"Was the child who left earlier also painting formations for you?" Mo Shan inquired.
The manager said, "We can't disclose such information. Youyuan Hall values our customers' privacy, and that's our business principle."
Mo Shan's eyes narrowed, his gaze turning sharp as a knife. Feeling the pressure, the manager considered the situation for a moment. While it was important to adhere to principles, he also understood the need for flexibility.
"It wasn't the child," the manager admitted. "It was his older brother."
Mo Shan frowned. "Older brother?"
"Indeed," the manager confirmed. "This child is so young. How could he possibly know how to paint formations? He was just running errands for his brother. The formations are painted by the older brother."
"Did the child say that himself?" Mo Shan asked.
"Of course," the manager replied. "Otherwise, why would we do business with a child?"
After saying this, the manager eyed Mo Shan warily and added, "As for the child's name and residence, there's no way I'm telling you that."
Mo Shan gave the manager a sideways glance. 'As if I need you to tell me my own son's name and address,' he thought.
However, upon realizing that Mo Hua wasn't being taken advantage of, Mo Shan's attitude softened. He cupped his hands towards the manager and said, "Apologies for the disturbance. Farewell."
The manager heaved a sigh of relief and nodded slightly, his face now carrying a hint of arrogance.
Mo Shan turned and left. Only when his figure disappeared behind the door did the manager let out a long breath. He muttered under his breath, somewhat displeased, "Couldn't even buy something..."
(End of Chapter)
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