Chapter 49: Sunset

In the evening, Mo Hua first went home. He asked his mother to make some food: two steaming bowls of hot noodles, some sauced beef, refreshing pickled vegetables, several plates of pastries, and several pots of osmanthus wine brew. Afterward, he packed all of these foods into a food box, put it into his storage bag, and brought it up the mountain.

Halfway up the mountain, the two children, a boy and a girl, and the veiled woman were still standing there.

Mo Hua, carrying his storage bag, walked up to them and, opening the "door" (referring to the mountain opening), said:

"You've disturbed Mister Zhuang's peace. You should go back. Mister Zhuang doesn't want to see you."

The two children's expressions were somewhat dejected when they heard this. The veiled woman then said:

"Please trouble the little friend to report again. Just say it's an old friend come to visit, with an important matter to discuss. Please, Mister Zhuang must see us."

Mo Hua said: "Why you've come, how could Mister Zhuang not know? If he doesn't want to see you, he naturally won't see you. Waiting any longer will also be in vain."

The boy said with a firm expression: "As long as we can see Mister Zhuang, we will wait here as long as it takes."

The girl beside him didn't say anything, but her eyes also didn't show the slightest intention of retreating.

Mo Hua curiously asked: "What if that Mister Zhuang never sees you? Will you really keep waiting? Even for ten or a hundred years?"

The boy stiffened his neck and didn't speak.

"He's quite handsome and looks quite smart, just a bit too stubborn," Mo Hua thought to himself.

"Then what will you eat?"

"I have Bigu Dan."

"Eating too much Bigu Dan will harm your body," Mo Hua said.

Bigu Dan is a pill refined by alchemists. It's made by condensing ordinary ingredients with preservation drugs into a pill. It's easy to store and has the effect of filling hunger and supplementing blood energy. It's one of the essential pills for cultivators traveling long distances or in long-term seclusion. However, eating it for a long time can damage a cultivator's blood energy.

Of course, there's another reason why loose cultivators don't eat Bigu Dan: Bigu Dan isn't cheap. Using Bigu Dan to fill hunger is not cost-effective.

"Hmph," the boy snorted, "You don't need to worry about it."

However, he still secretly glanced towards the veiled woman beside him.

The veiled woman said: "We appreciate the little friend's good intentions, but we must see Mister Zhuang on this trip. Otherwise, we won't go back."

"You're staying here to see Mister Zhuang, but no matter how long you stay here, you won't see him. With Mister Zhuang's temperament, the longer you stay, the less he'll want to see you," Mo Hua said.

The veiled woman hesitated for a moment. Although she hadn't seen Mister Zhuang, she had heard a little about his ways and knew that what the young man in front of her said was very likely true.

If Mister Zhuang didn't want to see them, even if they waited here until they turned into dry bones, they still wouldn't see him.

Seeing her slight wavering, Mo Hua continued: "Cultivators emphasize fate in all things. Mister Zhuang not seeing you is because the fate has not yet arrived. Since fate has not yet arrived, no matter how much you persist, it will be against the will."

The woman couldn't help but ask: "Then when will we have the fate to see Mister?"

Mo Hua said: "That depends on Mister's mood. You can choose a fine day with good wind and sun to visit Mister. You don't need to wait long, just perform a ritual in front of the door. If the door opens, then Mister wants to see you. But if the door remains tightly closed, then fate has not yet arrived, Mister does not want to see you, and you should leave on your own."

The woman was still somewhat hesitant, "Madam instructed that we must bring the young master and young lady to see Mister Zhuang. Leaving now..."

"If you endure hardship and wait for ten or eight years, delaying your cultivation, not sleeping or resting, damaging your blood energy, even if you see Mister Zhuang and worship him as your teacher, if your foundation is damaged and it's difficult to glimpse the great dao, then what's the meaning of all this?" Mo Hua countered.

The woman nodded, then suddenly frowned and said: "We didn't say we wanted to worship Mister Zhuang as our teacher. How do you know?"

Mo Hua thought to himself: You bring two children of enlightenment age to visit Mister, if not for worshiping a teacher, what else could it be for?

If it was purely a visit to an old friend, they wouldn't have lingered here for seven days and not left.

However, on the surface, Mo Hua still maintained a calm and casual demeanor, bringing up Mister Zhuang:

"As I said before, everything is within Mister Zhuang's expectation. You should go back. When Mister Zhuang is willing to see you, he will naturally see you."

After Mo Hua finished speaking, he felt the time was right and opened the food box. The fragrance wafted out.

"Do you want to eat something?"

The girl was okay, but the boy immediately became somewhat unsteady. Although he pretended to be calm, his eyes couldn't help but glance towards the food box.

Bigu Dan doesn't taste good, and eating too much inevitably makes one feel unwell. Its color, fragrance, and taste are all incomparable to the wine, meat, and pastries in Mo Hua's food box.

Seeing that the young master and young lady's faces were paler than paper, and their lips had no color, the veiled woman thought of how the two children had always been raised with respect, and when had they ever endured hunger and appeared so haggard? Her heart softened.

She had watched the two children grow up. Even if they couldn't worship Mister Zhuang as their teacher and she had to violate Madam's entrustment, she could go to Madam and accept punishment herself. She absolutely couldn't bear to let the young master and young lady suffer.

Moreover, what the young man in front of her said was right. If they ate Bigu Dan every day, didn't sleep or rest, and were harmed by the cold and hot qi on the mountain, damaging their foundation and affecting their future cultivation, it would be something they could never make up for.

"Then, many thanks, little friend."

The woman thanked Mo Hua, then said to the two children:

"Young master, young lady, please eat something first. Since Mister Zhuang is not willing to see us, the time has naturally not yet arrived. We will choose another day to visit again."

The two children also thanked Mo Hua.

Then they took out the noodles and various small foods from the food box and ate. Although their stomachs were rumbling with hunger, they still maintained dignified manners with every chopstick and every piece of food. It was clear at a glance that they were children of a well-educated aristocratic family.

The boy tasted a mouthful of fragrant and spicy beef. At first, it had a strange smell in his mouth, then the fragrant taste spread out as he chewed. He couldn't help but ask: "What kind of meat is this?"

"Demon beast meat."

The boy widened his eyes, "Demon beast meat can also be eaten?!"

Mo Hua rolled his eyes at him, "Aren't you eating it now..."

"Didn't they say that eating demon beast meat will harm blood energy and cause one to lose their heart and intelligence?"

"This is wild ox demon's meat. It eats grass and plants, so it won't harm a cultivator's blood energy. The meat of demon beasts that eat meat and eat people cannot be eaten."

Mo Hua had rarely seen such a strange expression.

The boy looked at the meat in his hand, a little scared, but he didn't want to be looked down upon by Mo Hua. He ate a few more mouthfuls, then discovered that the more he ate this meat, the more fragrant it became. As he ate, he simply couldn't stop...

The girl beside him looked at the pastries in Mo Hua's food box, "These pastries..."

"My mother made them herself. They're delicious!" Mo Hua said proudly.

"Your mother... will make pastries for you to eat..."

"Besides pastries, there are many other delicious things," Mo Hua nodded and said.

A hint of envy appeared in the little girl's clear, cold eyes. Then she picked up a pastry from the dish, her lips slightly parted, and gently took a bite.

Crispy, fresh, and sweet.

The little girl slightly lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes covering her eyes, making it impossible to see her thoughts. After a moment, she lifted her head and praised Mo Hua: "Very delicious."

Her voice was clear and pleasant. The sound of immortal music played by celestial beings in legends was probably just like this.

Mo Hua was also very happy, his eyes narrowed in a smile:

"Mm, my mother's cooking is the most delicious!"

After they finished eating, before leaving, Xue Yi took out a magnificent jade pendant with flowing light and handed it to Mo Hua:

"This is a first-grade clear heart pendant. Wearing it on your body can help you focus your mind during cultivation. It's not considered precious, but I'll give it to you as thanks."

Although Xue Yi said it wasn't precious, looking at the flowing light on it, it was clearly no ordinary item. To a loose cultivator like Mo Hua, it seemed even more precious.

Although Mo Hua wanted it a little, he also knew he couldn't take it.

Their politeness towards him was actually all due to Mister Zhuang's face. If not for that, given the difference in their identities, they probably wouldn't have said a word to him.

He had already received Mister Zhuang's favor by following him to learn arrays. He couldn't use Mister Zhuang's face to gain benefits.

Mo Hua then politely refused. Xue Yi still wanted to give it, so Mo Hua said:

"If you really want to give something, just give me the meal money. Five spirit stones will do."

Xue Yi was stunned for a moment, as if she had never heard such a request. However, she still took out a storage bag containing fifty spirit stones.

Mo Hua only took out five from it, then returned the bag to Xue Yi. Without waiting for Xue Yi to say anything, he waved his small hand and went straight down the mountain with his own storage bag.

Xue Yi looked blankly at Mo Hua. Just as she saw Mo Hua was about to walk far away, the little girl suddenly opened her mouth, her voice clear and pleasant:

"What's your name?"

Although her voice was light, Mo Hua still heard it.

Mo Hua turned back and said with a smile: "My name is Mo Hua."

At this time, the evening glow was like spilled ink, and the scenery between the mountains was like a painting.

In the splendid glow, Mo Hua stood between the mountains, looking like he was standing in a brocade painting of mountain colors.

The name Mo Hua, along with this sky full of colorful glow, remained in her sea of consciousness.