Chapter 29

The shopkeeper went upstairs and came down a moment later, politely inviting Mo Hua up.

When Mo Hua saw An Xiao Pang, An Xiao Pang was drinking with several well-dressed young men. On the table were various kinds of fresh, tender spirit fruits that looked as if they were dripping with juice. Maidservants fanned them, and a fragrant breeze blew slowly. There were also singing girls singing songs, their voices lingering.

The room was cool and comfortable, completely free from the summer heat. There was even an ice-element array engraved on the screen to cool and ventilate the room.

Mo Hua thought of the loose cultivators who were enduring the intense heat and setting up stalls on the street, scrambling for a living. For a moment, he sighed in his heart.

They were all Qi Refining period cultivators living in the same Immortal City, yet it was as if they lived in two different worlds.

"Mo Hua, it really is you!"

An Xiao Pang seemed a bit happy when he saw Mo Hua. He waved his hand and said, "Come on, have a drink with us."

An Xiao Pang’s face was flushed from drinking, but he wasn't old, and he was probably drinking fruit wine, so even if he got drunk, it wouldn't harm his body much.

Mo Hua, however, was not in the mood to drink. He said directly, "Young Master An, I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Oh," An Xiao Pang came back to his senses. He waved at the other young men and said, "You all keep drinking first, I have something to do."

After that, the shopkeeper led Mo Hua and An Xiao Pang to a quiet private room. Mo Hua got straight to the point, "Young Master An, I want to ask you for a favor."

An Xiao Pang was clearly still a bit drunk. He patted his chest and said, "Just tell me, as long as I can help!"

Mo Hua looked at the opulent decorations inside the private room and asked, "This restaurant belongs to your family, right?"

An Xiao Pang said proudly, "It does!"

"In your kitchen, when the chefs cook, do they use a stove furnace, or do they use cultivators' spiritual power to provide the fire?"

An Xiao Pang looked confused for a moment. He thought for a while but had no idea. Then he shouted, "Shopkeeper!"

A moment later, the shopkeeper pushed the door open and came in. An Xiao Pang pointed at the shopkeeper and said to Mo Hua, "Ask him."

Mo Hua then repeated his earlier question to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper replied, "Originally, we did use cultivators' spiritual power to provide the fire, but this practice is easy to damage cultivators' hearts and lungs, and the fire supply is also not stable. The East Wing decided not to use it anymore. Last year, we specially invited a refining master to refine a stove furnace and also invited an array master to draw an array. Since then, we have always used the stove furnace."

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Is the cost of the stove furnace higher than hiring cultivators?"

The shopkeeper answered truthfully, "In the long run, the stove furnace is better. In the short term, hiring cultivators is definitely more cost-effective. And when you hire cultivators, you can press the price. Sometimes, when the market is bad, you can hire a Qi Refining period loose cultivator for half a spirit stone."

Mo Hua felt a little unpleasant in his heart.

Even when they become cultivators, they are still inevitably exploited.

"Can I go see the stove furnace?"

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, then looked towards Young Master An. He couldn't make a decision on this matter, as outsiders were generally not allowed in the back kitchen.

An Xiao Pang was a little more sober now. He asked the shopkeeper, "Can't others see this?"

The shopkeeper said, "Recipes are confidential, but many restaurants actually have stove furnaces. Those that don't simply don't want to spend spirit stones to refine one. It's not a secret."

An Xiao Pang said, "Then let's go see it. I'll go too. I haven't even seen that stove furnace myself."

"Alright, I'll lead the two young masters there now."

The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. With Young Master An accompanying them, even if something went wrong, it wouldn't all be blamed on him.

The shopkeeper led Mo Hua and An Xiao Pang to the back kitchen. He pointed to a large furnace-like tool that was two people high and said, "This is the stove furnace. After putting spirit stones inside, the array within the furnace will convert the spirit stones into fire power. The fire power will extend to each stove platform, providing the cultivators with fire to cook ingredients."

"There are also arrays connecting the stove furnace and the various stove platforms. And each stove platform also has a specially engraved array to control the size of the fire power..."

Mo Hua found it very novel. This was the first time he had seen refining and arrays used in this way.

An Xiao Pang also looked on with wide eyes. He usually only knew how to eat, but he didn't know how the food was made.

The shopkeeper introduced the stove furnace to Mo Hua and An Xiao Pang with a proud expression.

Mo Hua carefully examined the stove furnace, looking left and right, not missing even the gap between the furnace mouth and the furnace body.

Seeing that he looked like he wanted to strip the stove platform to see what was inside, the shopkeeper couldn't help but say, "Young Master Mo, what is it that you want to know?"

Mo Hua asked, "Shopkeeper, do you know which arrays are engraved inside the stove furnace?"

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, knowing which arrays were used was useless. The most important thing was being able to draw the arrays, and arrays were not that easy to draw.

"The array inside this stove furnace is not complex. There is only one Melt Fire Array containing five array patterns. However, the position of the Melt Fire Array is quite specific; it must be drawn at the bottom of the stove furnace so that the fire power is even. Outside the stove furnace, a gap must be left to place spirit stones. This way, the spirit energy of the spirit stones will seep into the Melt Fire Array and stimulate the array's fire power..."

The shopkeeper told Mo Hua everything, one by one.

"Oh, oh," Mo Hua nodded continuously.

After looking and chatting for half a day, Mo Hua had probably clarified everything he wanted to know. He sincerely thanked the shopkeeper and was about to leave.

An Xiao Pang pulled Mo Hua back, "Don't leave in a hurry, I'll treat you to some good food."

Mo Hua still had things to do, so he didn't agree.

"Are you not giving me face?" An Xiao Pang was a little angry.

Mo Hua praised An Xiao Pang a little, saying he was generous, and then quietly told An Xiao Pang, "Next time there's homework for practicing array arrangement, I'll help you draw it for free."

An Xiao Pang was overjoyed and nodded quickly, "Okay, okay."

He didn't care about spirit stones; he cared about face. Mo Hua being able to help him draw arrays for free made him feel like he had face.

The shopkeeper watched Mo Hua leave and asked An Xiao Pang, "Young Master, what is this Young Master Mo's identity?"

"He's considered a fellow disciple of mine. His arrays are drawn extremely well, even better than mine. To be honest, all of my array homework is drawn by him!"

An Xiao Pang even felt a little proud.

The shopkeeper's face was expressionless, and he was speechless in his heart. What was there to be proud of?

"Shopkeeper, go back to your work. I'm going to drink."

An Xiao Pang finished speaking and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, grabbing the shopkeeper's sleeve and staring at him intently.

The shopkeeper was a little nervous under his gaze. "Young... Young Master..."

An Xiao Pang lowered his voice and said, "This matter must absolutely not be known by my father!"

"This matter?"

"That my homework is done by someone else. This matter must absolutely not be known by my father!"

The corner of the shopkeeper's mouth twitched. "Okay, okay..."

An Xiao Pang patted his chest. "That was close. Luckily I'm smart, otherwise it would have been exposed." Then he made the shopkeeper swear not to tell his father before feeling relieved and going upstairs.

The shopkeeper felt a little helpless and thought to himself, "Can the An family's businesses be guarded by this unreliable young master?"

The shopkeeper then thought of the child named Mo from earlier.

He didn't look like a child from a wealthy family, just the child of an ordinary cultivator. He didn't know why he was asking about the stove furnace.

The shopkeeper walked a few steps, then remembered Young Master An's words. He suddenly stopped. "Draws arrays well? He wouldn't want to draw the array of the stove furnace, would he?"

"Young Master An is at Qi Refining third layer, and that child named Mo is his fellow disciple, which means that child is at most also Qi Refining third layer. Where would a Qi Refining third layer cultivator get the divine sense to draw an array?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and went to find a place to drink tea.