After bidding farewell to Vice Director Yu, Mo Hua went to find Tusheng again and gave him a few instructions, telling him to listen to a certain Uncle Gu, who always had a cold face but a very kind heart.
He told Tusheng to work diligently, cultivate hard, and not cause trouble, and that he would come to see him again after some time.
Tusheng nodded, then asked with some confusion, “Mo—Sir, isn’t the Dao Court Department full of lackeys and running dogs?”
Mo Hua said helplessly, “Don’t say that again. At least inside the Dao Court Department, don’t say such things.” If someone overheard, you’d be targeted to death.
“Mm—” said Tusheng.
Mo Hua looked at him and patiently explained, “You’re still young and don’t know the complexity of this world. Good and evil are interwoven into gray. There are bad people in good places, and occasionally good people in bad places. Each contains the other.”
“Inside the Dao Court Department, most are idle, corrupt, and greedy, but there are also some with upright hearts.”
“To accomplish things, you must befriend good people and kill the evil ones, and not be constrained by circumstances or identity.”
Tusheng didn’t fully understand, but felt that Mo Hua’s words had some crooked reasoning, so he nodded.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, took out a bag of spirit stones, and handed it to Tusheng. “Take this.”
When Tusheng touched the heavy bag and saw the shimmering spirit stones inside, he was startled. It was an amount of spirit stones he had never seen in his life. The Great Spiritual Field Realm was poor, with low prices and low income, and the amount of spirit stones the clans allowed to circulate was very, very small.
Tusheng hurriedly said, “I can’t take this, I—”
Mo Hua stuffed the spirit stones into his hand and said, “You need spirit stones for cultivation, clothing, food, and daily expenses. Take them.”
Mo Hua’s attitude left no room for refusal. Tusheng could not decline and finally held the spirit stones in his hands.
“Alright, take care of yourself,” Mo Hua said.
Tusheng, with a complex expression, nodded and said, “Sir, take care too.”
Mo Hua smiled gently, then left.
Tusheng held the heavy spirit stones, watching Mo Hua’s receding figure for a long time until he completely disappeared, then he wiped his reddened eyes.
After parting with Tusheng, Mo Hua went to the main hall to drink tea and wait for a while, but Uncle Gu still hadn’t returned. Not knowing when he would finish handling his case, and seeing that it was getting late, Mo Hua had to get up and leave the Dao Court Department.
Leaving the Dao Court Department, Mo Hua did not linger and went straight back to the Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land.
Entering the blessed land and walking along the mountain path, he soon saw a little figure in a gold-threaded jade garment. Little Orange had apparently just been digging around the orange trees. She was carrying a small hoe, with mud still on her face. As soon as she saw Mo Hua, her face lit up. “You’re back!”
“Mm.” Mo Hua started taking things out of his storage pouch. They were gifts from his little junior brother Zhu Muchen—fruits, game, and pastries from his villa.
Little Orange’s eyes began to sparkle at the sight. “Oh my, we’re all so familiar, why be so polite—”
Even as she said that, she deftly picked a melon, and took a bite—it was sweet and fragrant—and squinted her eyes in pleasure.
Mo Hua wiped the mud from Little Orange’s face with his sleeve and said, “Take it all and share it with Junior Sister.”
“Mm-hmm,” Little Orange nodded repeatedly, stuffing the storage pouch full of fruits and snacks into her bosom, hugging it like a little bandit.
“What about you?” Little Orange asked Mo Hua. “Aren’t you going to see Sister Zixi?”
Mo Hua said, “I need to see Rong Zhenren first. I have some matters.”
“Okay, then go ahead,” Little Orange said. “I’m not going.” She didn’t want to see Rong Zhenren and get lectured.
Seeing Little Orange run off happily, Mo Hua turned and headed to the study where Rong Zhenren often cultivated, read, and calculated the art of causality.
Outside the study, Mo Hua paused and did not knock to disturb. Soon, Rong Zhenren’s voice came from inside. “Come in.”
Mo Hua entered the study and looked up to see Rong Zhenren at a simple and elegant red jade desk, holding a brush and seemingly calculating something. Mo Hua didn’t know what she was calculating or whether her method was proper, but it wasn’t convenient to ask, afraid of displeasing her.
Rong Zhenren looked up at Mo Hua and asked, “Back?”
“Mm.” Mo Hua nodded.
“No trouble?” Rong Zhenren asked.
“Not bad—” Mo Hua said.
Rong Zhenren glanced at him again, thought for a moment, and then understood. She asked, “You—need something?”
Having known Mo Hua for so long, Rong Zhenren knew he was a “busybody,” always bustling about without rest. If he had nothing to do, he generally wouldn’t come to see her. And once he did, it was rarely good. That was just how troublemakers were.
“There is something—” Mo Hua said.
Rong Zhenren thought, “I knew it,” and nodded. “What is it?”
Mo Hua took out a bottle and handed it to Rong Zhenren.
Rong Zhenren took the bottle and saw that it contained a small piece of flesh. She was slightly surprised. “What is this?”
Mo Hua said, “This is flesh from a cultivator. I would like to ask Rong Zhenren to study it and see if there’s something wrong with this person.”
Rong Zhenren said flatly, “Why come to me for something like this?”
Mo Hua said, “Rong Zhenren is proficient in alchemy and has consummate medical skills. You must know the methods to analyze flesh.” Besides, in all of Kun Prefecture, he only knew one medical dao Zhenren.
But Rong Zhenren found it troublesome and shook her head. “You came to the wrong person.”
Mo Hua insisted, “No, I didn’t.”
Rong Zhenren’s face darkened slightly, obviously unwilling to agree.
Mo Hua then said, “By the way, that time a small piece of flesh was missing from my body—wasn’t it taken by Rong Zhenren for slicing and dicing?”
Rong Zhenren’s heart tightened, and she sighed deeply. Since Mo Hua had “called her out” on it, what else could she do? Not agreeing would be hard to justify.
“Alright—” Rong Zhenren took the jade bottle and asked, “Whose flesh is this?”
Mo Hua only said, “It’s from a cultivator I happened to encounter. He lost his soul but didn’t die—quite strange.”
Lost soul but not dead? Rong Zhenren looked surprised. There was such a person in the world? But seeing that Mo Hua didn’t want to reveal more, she didn’t ask further and silently put away the bottle. “I understand.”
Mo Hua asked again, “How long will it take to get results?”
Rong Zhenren asked, “Is it urgent?”
Mo Hua thought for a moment. “Not that urgent, but the sooner the better.” He really wanted to know what Rong Zhenren could discover from Tusheng’s flesh.
Rong Zhenren mused, “I don’t have much free time these days. I have some miscellaneous matters to handle. It will take seven days before I can analyze this flesh with a spirit mirror. I’ll tell you the results then.”
Mo Hua nodded. “Alright, thank you, Rong Zhenren.”
Rong Zhenren picked up her brush again. “Anything else?”
“No.” Mo Hua cupped his hands tactfully. “I’ll take my leave.”
“Mm.” Rong Zhenren nodded.
Mo Hua glanced at the causality deduction diagram under Rong Zhenren’s brush, sighed inwardly, and turned to leave.
Leaving Rong Zhenren’s study, Mo Hua returned to the familiar small courtyard to see his Little Junior Sister.
In the elegant bamboo room, Bai Zixi was sitting at a desk. Her snow-white fingers held a jade brush, and with flawless grace, she was tracing a formation stroke by stroke. A mountain breeze blew, stirring her ink-black hair, adding life to this ethereal beauty scene.
Mo Hua was momentarily distracted. To avoid disturbing her formation drawing, or perhaps to avoid breaking this beautiful scene, he just stood to the side.
After who knows how long, Bai Zixi finished the formation and withdrew from her focused state. She turned to look at Mo Hua.
They hadn’t seen each other for over ten days. Now their eyes met, and for a moment there was a sense of unfamiliarity, and also a flutter of the heart.
After a while, Bai Zixi said softly, “Back?”
Mo Hua nodded gently. “Mm.”
In the quiet atmosphere, there was an indescribable affection. For a moment, both forgot what to say.
After a moment, Mo Hua asked, “Where’s Little Orange?”
Bai Zixi said, “Brewing tea.”
“Mm.” Mo Hua nodded.
After another moment, Bai Zixi asked, “What is the Great Spiritual Field Realm like?”
“The Great Spiritual Field Realm—” Mo Hua began, then paused, thinking it was too far to talk to his Little Junior Sister like this. So he walked over to her desk and sat beside her, shoulder to shoulder, as usual.
Sensing Mo Hua sit beside her, Bai Zixi suddenly remembered that day at the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, when their faces had been so close. Her fingers trembled, but she controlled herself and showed no sign of unease.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua’s clear, slightly magnetic voice spoke: “The Great Spiritual Field Realm—there are villas, farmsteads, and in the courtyards, clear streams, winding waters, ponds, and fruits. During the day it’s very leisurely; at night there are bonfires. The village head offers some game, roasted over the fire, with sizzling oil and fragrance drifting all around—”
Though these were simple rural things, when spoken by her little junior brother, Bai Zixi inexplicably felt a longing. That kind of life seemed very good too.
Mo Hua trailed off.
Bai Zixi looked at Mo Hua beside her and suddenly noticed a trace of melancholy in his eyes. She asked, “And then?”
“That’s all,” Mo Hua said. “Just that.”
But Bai Zixi shook her head. “There’s more—” Otherwise, her little junior brother wouldn’t look so burdened. Mo Hua could hide many thoughts from others, but not from her, his Little Junior Sister.
Mo Hua sighed, thought for a moment, and said, “In the Great Spiritual Field Realm, demonic sects are starting to emerge—”
Bai Zixi’s pupils constricted.
Mo Hua said, “A group of demonic cultivators killed over thirty refugees outside a villa.”
“With so many refugees, it’s probably inseparable from the deeds of the clans—”
“Even the relationship between the clans and demonic cultivators is murky, though it doesn’t show on the surface—”
Bai Zixi listened thoughtfully.
“And—” Mo Hua hesitated but finally said softly, “I also encountered an underworld emissary.”
Bai Zixi was surprised. “There really are underworld emissaries?”
“Yes,” Mo Hua nodded. “It had an ox head, walked the yin path, and seemed to be able to reel in souls.”
“Did it reel your soul?” Bai Zixi asked curiously.
“It did,” Mo Hua said quietly.
“Was it taken away?” Bai Zixi asked again.
Mo Hua sighed. “If it were taken, could I still come back?”
Bai Zixi looked into Mo Hua’s eyes again, seeing his clear, bright gaze, still her little junior brother, so she nodded and relaxed.
Mo Hua frowned. “Underworld emissaries are not good things—they open the path and dare to arbitrarily reel in people’s souls, which means the rules of the Divine Path have also become chaotic—”
“To the clans, the Great Spiritual Field Realm might just be a leisurely place for amusement.”
“But for the native spiritual farmers, it might be completely different—”
Mo Hua’s expression darkened.
Bai Zixi looked into Mo Hua’s eyes and asked, “What are you planning to do?”
Mo Hua started to speak, then stopped, and finally sighed helplessly. “I don’t know either.”
Perhaps feeling tired, or perhaps letting down his guard in front of his Little Junior Sister, Mo Hua felt drowsy and slowly lay back on the floor.
Bai Zixi glanced at Mo Hua. Though it went against Rong Zhenren’s teachings on etiquette, she couldn’t help but follow suit and lie down on the floor.
The master and junior siblings lay shoulder to shoulder on the floor, gazing at the distant sky outside the window. Just like when they were young.
Mo Hua’s thoughts were chaotic. He said slowly, “Little Junior Sister—”
“It’s just Junior Sister.”
“Mm, Junior Sister—”
Mo Hua was silent for a while before continuing to speak from his heart: “There are some things I don’t know who to tell—”
“Back when I was young, cultivating in Tongxian City, looking at the lights of ten thousand homes, I actually made a Dao heart vow.”
“At that time, the rogue cultivators of Tongxian City were poor and struggling, with no hope on the Great Path. I wanted to work hard at cultivation and formations, so that one day I could change my own fate with my own strength, and then change the fate of all the low-level cultivators in the world—”
Bai Zixi’s heart trembled, and she couldn’t help turning her head to look at Mo Hua.
But Mo Hua’s gaze was melancholy. “But—over these years, I’ve worked hard and made many attempts—”
“Though I can’t say I’ve achieved nothing, it seems I’m getting farther and farther from this Dao heart.”
“The vastness of the cultivation world, the complexity of the situation, the hardship of the common people—may far exceed my understanding.”
“The more I do, the more I feel how little I’ve done. In many matters, I am powerless and cannot change the overall situation.”
“Sometimes, I can’t even see what the overall situation is.”
“I don’t know if, in this lifetime, I will ever have the day I can attest to my Dao heart—”
Bai Zixi’s eyes quivered. She asked softly, “Have you told anyone these words?”
Mo Hua thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. I’m only telling you now, Junior Sister.”
Some things must be done personally; before they are accomplished, they cannot be casually spoken.
But back then in Tongxian City, he had his parents’ company, neighbors and friends.
Later, when he traveled with his master, he had Kui Lao, his little senior brother, and his little junior sister.
At Taixu Sect, he had Old Master Xun, the Sect Leader, and a group of little junior brothers.
Many times, though his Dao heart was special, he did not feel alone.
But ever since the Great Wilderness incident, Mo Hua had been alone. Even though he became the Divine Priest of the Great Wilderness and unified the Divine Path, revered by ten thousand people, beneath the heavy divinity, his heart was still extremely lonely.
Many things, he had no way to speak of.
Until now, arriving in Kun Prefecture and reuniting with his Little Junior Sister, living some stable days, he felt a little comfort. Only then could he speak these secret thoughts buried deep in his heart.
Bai Zixi looked into Mo Hua’s eyes, seeming to feel his Dao heart. Her heart felt warm, and she couldn’t help gently taking his hand. She said softly, “You are still young and not yet high in cultivation. To have done all this is already remarkable. It’s still too early for such lamentations.
“The difficulty of the world’s affairs is within reason.
“Wait until you cultivate to Feather Transformation, and after a hundred or even a thousand years of fruitless effort, then it’s not too late to sigh.
“The grander a cultivator’s Dao heart, the more arduous the road ahead. If you find it difficult, it may precisely mean that your Dao heart is correct.
“If it is correct, then just persist in doing it—”
The usually aloof Little Junior Sister’s voice had an indescribable tenderness.
Holding his Little Junior Sister’s warm, delicate hand, Mo Hua felt a warm current flow from her soft palm all the way to his heart, burning away all loneliness and confusion, even melting his heart.
“Mm, I understand, Little Junior Sister—”
Mo Hua said softly, unable to help tightening his grip on her hand.
Thus, the two lay side by side on the floor, gazing into each other’s eyes, as if in the vast world, there was only each other.
The sky outside the window was clear and pure, with two clouds drifting leisurely.
Yet farther out on the horizon, unseen gloom was gathering.