Chapter 48: The Guest

In front of Ji Wang Ju's door, down the mountain road, stood three cultivators.

Among the three cultivators, two children stood in the front, and behind them was a woman wearing a veil.

The two children, one boy and one girl, looked slightly older than Mo Hua. Their clothes were bright and luxurious, unlike ordinary items, suggesting their identity was not ordinary. At this moment, the two of them were respectfully standing on the steps of the door, bowing towards the mountain.

The boy had a handsome appearance, his eyes sparkling with light.

The girl was extremely beautiful. The sunlight shone on her face, and her skin was even whiter and more translucent than snow.

From a distance, the two of them looked like the golden boy and jade girl who served under an immortal.

Behind the two children stood a tall woman wearing a veil, her face hidden. She looked like a family steward or guard. There were no spirit power fluctuations around her, but she had an oppressive feeling that Mo Hua had never felt before.

"It seems like disciples from a worldly family have come to seek learning from Mister Zhuang…"

Mo Hua guessed inwardly, but this matter was clearly for Mister Zhuang to decide and had nothing to do with him.

All Mo Hua had to do was follow Mister Zhuang and learn array methods well. After all, he was just a nominal disciple, and he didn't know how long Mister Zhuang would teach him.

Mo Hua went up the mountain absorbed in his own thoughts. The three people at the doorway naturally also saw Mo Hua, but seeing that he was plainly dressed and his spirit power was weak, they all just lightly glanced at him and didn't pay much attention.

That is, until Mo Hua walked directly past them, stepped onto the distant mountain road, and reached the courtyard in the cloud mist.

Then he stretched out his small hand and gave a push, opening the bamboo door that they had waited at all night for several hours without it opening. As if entering his own home, he casually walked in…

The three people's faces then had complex expressions.

The two children involuntarily glanced at the woman behind them. The woman secretly shook her head, indicating for them to be patient. The two children then quieted their thoughts and continued to wait respectfully.

Mo Hua entered the courtyard, put down the bamboo basket he was carrying, took out a dish of braised meat and several dishes of pastries from the bamboo basket, and placed them on the small table in the courtyard. This way, when Mister Zhuang woke up, he could enjoy wine or tea while facing the courtyard scenery.

Mo Hua secretly glanced towards the inner room. Indeed, Mister was still sleeping lazily.

Mo Hua then gave two boxes of fried pine nuts to Kui Lao. Kui Lao had woken up early and was playing Five Elements Chess alone, his face expressionless. He didn't know if it was interesting or boring.

Mo Hua placed the pine nuts to the side. Kui Lao tasted one nut, his expression slightly changing. "The taste is different."

"These are two kinds of flavors. When frying, one used licorice for a light fragrance, and the other used spicy seasonings. My mother said to let you try them and change the flavor."

Kui Lao tasted one nut from each box, nodded, and said, "You should learn array methods first. When you're tired, come play chess with me."

Mo Hua then ran to the study to find the several array books he hadn't finished reading, and then ran to sit under the big locust tree in the courtyard. He sat on a small wooden stool, leaned on a small stone table, and learned array methods.

This small table and wooden stool were specially made for Mo Hua by Kui Lao and placed where Mo Hua liked. The height of the table and stool were also very suitable.

Mister Zhuang was lazy and didn't have many requirements for Mo Hua, but Mo Hua knew this opportunity was rare. It was unlikely he would have another opportunity to get pointers on array methods from such a high-level person as Mister Zhuang in the future.

So Mo Hua learned very seriously.

For a loose cultivator like Mo Hua, even being just a nominal disciple was already a great opportunity.

Mo Hua was full of gratitude and never had a bit of negligence.

Researching array books and copying array methods all required the consumption of divine sense. After Mo Hua's divine sense was exhausted, he would use meditation techniques to recover, then continue looking at and drawing array methods, exhausting his divine sense again, and then continuing to meditate to recover. When it was exhausted again, it was no longer suitable to continue meditating.

As Mister Zhuang said, "Too much is not enough." Although Mo Hua didn't feel any problem, he still strictly followed Mister Zhuang's teachings.

When his divine sense was exhausted at such times, he couldn't read books or draw arrays, so Mo Hua would go find Kui Lao to play chess.

Five Elements Chess was simple and easy to understand, and didn't require much thinking, so playing it was relaxing.

After Mo Hua and Kui Lao played several games of chess, the sky gradually grew late. Mo Hua then bid farewell to Mister Zhuang and went back, conveniently taking the empty dishes and food boxes with him.

The sun set in the west, and the evening glow was beside the mountain. When Mo Hua left Mister Zhuang's courtyard, he found that the three people he had seen in the morning were still standing at the door. Although their postures and expressions were still respectful, they all looked somewhat tired.

Even for cultivators, standing for a day without eating or drinking like this would more or less cause some discomfort, let alone two children who were not much older than Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs.

They had stood at the door for a day, and it was impossible for Mister Zhuang not to know. The current situation obviously meant that Mister Zhuang didn't want to see them.

Whether to see them or not, Mister Zhuang had his own plans. It wasn't his place to worry blindly.

So Mo Hua simply bowed in greeting to the three people, then without a word, carried his small basket down the mountain.

The next day, when Mo Hua went up the mountain, he found that the three people were still standing at the door.

It was hot during the day on the mountain, but cool and the dew was heavy at night.

The three people had stood for a day and a night. The woman wearing the veil was fine, as her cultivation was deep enough to resist the cold and heat.

The two children were a bit haggard. The boy's expression was weary, obviously struggling to hold on with clenched teeth, his eyes full of stubbornness.

The girl's face was even paler, looking like a pear blossom with dew, but her clear eyes also revealed firmness.

Mo Hua secretly glanced again, unable to help but sigh. Good-looking people are really good-looking no matter when.

But Mo Hua's heart was calm.

In this world, the more beautiful a woman, the less she has to do with you.

Mo Hua, just like yesterday, as if no one else was there, pushed open the bamboo door and, under the complex and somewhat resentful eyes of the three people, walked into Mister Zhuang's courtyard carrying his small basket.

Mo Hua felt that these three people should leave in at most three or four days, but they waited at the doorway for seven days. The two children's faces were as white as paper, but they still showed no sign of retreating. Mo Hua couldn't help but admire their perseverance.

Especially when he thought about how he hadn't encountered any obstruction when he visited Mister Zhuang, while these three people had stood for seven days without eating or drinking and hadn't even entered the door, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

The next day, Mo Hua prepared several questions about array methods and specifically went to ask Mister Zhuang.

Mister Zhuang's expression was as usual, and he patiently answered. Only occasionally would he look towards the door, his eyes deep, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Mo Hua then said, "Does Mister not want to see the people outside the door?"

Mister Zhuang came back to his senses. He originally didn't want to say anything, but looking at Mo Hua, he still said:

"Descendants of old friends, entangled in karma. I don't want to inquire, so it's better not to see them."

Mo Hua said, "Then I'll ask them to go back."

Mister Zhuang's expression slightly changed. "They've stood for seven days. If they could retreat, they would have done so long ago. Having reached this point, will they still listen to your words?"

"How do you know if you don't try?" Mo Hua smiled. "They've stood outside for seven days and disturbed Mister's peace. Mister hasn't even slept well."

Before, he mostly slept lazily until the afternoon. Now, he just woke up at noon…

Mister Zhuang said with some interest, "Okay, you go and try. Ask them to go back and not disturb the peace of this mountain."