Chapter 5: Mount Mo

Mo Shan is a demon hunter master at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. He makes a living by hunting and killing demon beasts and stripping their materials. This sounds quite impressive, but it's actually very difficult and the risks are immense. In the cultivation world, most demon beasts are far stronger than human cultivators, making hunting them extremely challenging.

Generally, hunting demon beasts of the same realm requires a small team of at least five to ten cultivators and success is not guaranteed. Even if a hunt is successful, some more valuable parts of the demon beast are easily damaged during the battle, which means they won't sell for much in terms of spirit stones. The final earnings are then distributed according to each teammate's contribution, and the divided spirit stones are quite meager. If a hunter is not careful and gets injured, the cost of healing pills is also not small, and it's very possible that the input outweighs the output. And once heavily injured, it's often very difficult to make a living by hunting demons again.

Mo Shan has a burly physique; he is a body cultivator. His face is valiant and sharply defined. By cultivator age standards, he is not yet middle-aged, but due to long-term demon hunting, being exposed to the elements, and sleeping outdoors, his face already bears the marks of hardships.

After entering the door, Mo Shan put down his knife and the fur of some unknown demon beast that he had been carrying on his shoulder, then let out a sigh of relief. His outer clothes were already worn out and stained with blood, some fresh, some dark. This was mostly demon beast blood, but also some of his own or his companions'. Mo Hua guessed that this hunt had not gone smoothly. Mo Shan's eyebrows were unconsciously furrowed, his expression heavy, and the bloodstains on his clothes made him look somewhat unapproachable and fierce.

However, this hint of fierceness dissipated the moment he walked through the door and saw his wife, as if a battle-hardened soldier returning home had taken off his heavy, scarred armor. Mo Shan's voice was somewhat hoarse from fatigue, but he still used a gentle tone to ask: "Everything alright at home?"

Liu Ru Hua helped him unpack his things, while also taking out a clean cloth towel to wipe his face. "Everything's fine at home, you don't need to worry." Seeing his face covered in dust, she couldn't help but say: "When you go out, you must take care of yourself."

Mo Shan smiled, then looked inside the room. "Hua'er is back?"

"He just came back yesterday. The sect also gave a holiday. He's probably still snoring. I'll go call him, he'll be so happy to know you're back."

Mo Shan looked at the bloodstains on his clothes and the wounds on his body, and stopped his wife. "Let him sleep a little longer. Cultivating at the sect isn't easy either. I'll wash up first, apply some herbs, and change these clothes."

Liu Ru Hua nodded and said, "Alright, then eat something first."

Mo Shan had been rushing all night and his stomach was already rumbling with hunger. Liu Ru Hua's cooking skills were very good. Despite it being only simple meals, Mo Shan still ate ravenously. When hunting demon beasts, he often slept outdoors and was exposed to the elements. When hungry, he would eat cold, hard dry rations and was even reluctant to eat fasting pills. At this time, returning home and eating his wife's meals, he suddenly felt all the hardships and fatigue just disappear.

Mo Shan ate a lot, then drank a large mouthful of fragrant glutinous porridge, exhaling a long breath. Liu Ru Hua looked at the bloodstains on his clothes and worriedly said: "Was someone injured again this time?"

Mo Shan sighed and said: "Three injured, Old Chu is still seriously injured." Mo Shan continued to talk about the demon hunt: "Our group of eight chased a wolf demon over one zhang tall. We had originally trapped the wolf demon and were waiting to slowly exhaust its demon power to kill it. Unexpectedly, other demon hunting teams passed by. Most of them were newcomers who hadn't shed much blood yet, but they boldly and recklessly learned from others to pick up scraps. When they rashly acted, two were eaten alive by the demon beast..."

"That evil creature ate people to replenish its blood energy and then went mad. Old Chu and I exhausted our spiritual power, only then did we kill that wolf demon, but the losses were heavy. Old Chu broke an arm, lost a lot of blood, and his vitality is greatly damaged. I'm afraid he won't be able to make a living from demon hunting anymore..."

Mo Shan said bitterly again: "Old Chu's child is only two years old, and his wife only grows some vegetables to supplement their household. Now that he is seriously injured, they still need to spend a large sum of spirit stones to heal him. Even if his injury is healed, after that, I don't know how their family of three will live."

Liu Ru Hua also sighed and said: "When our family was in difficulty before, although Old Chu himself wasn't wealthy, he still lent us spirit stones. We still have some spirit stones at home, why don't we give them to Old Chu first, at least to heal his injury."

Mo Shan nodded, "That wolf demon hasn't been dealt with yet. When it's sold, it should be worth around three hundred spirit stones. At that time, we'll give Old Chu a larger share, and we'll also lend him some spirit stones. We'll help them get through this time, but..."

Mo Shan felt a little guilty, "Hua'er's tuition fees for entering the sect next year... I originally thought that killing the wolf demon would be enough, but now this has happened..."

Liu Ru Hua held Mo Shan's hand and said: "It's good that the family is safe. There's always a way to earn spirit stones. I've also saved some from helping out in the restaurant kitchen, and we can borrow from others. It won't delay Hua'er entering the sect next year."

Mo Shan silently looked at his wife. Her once young and beautiful face already showed some haggardness, and his heart was filled with more self-blame. "Don't do that kitchen job anymore. Fire energy invading the body will harm the heart, lungs, and meridians. Next year, I'll find a few more people and several more demon hunting masters with higher cultivation, find a way to enter the inner mountains, kill a few more demon beasts, earn more spirit stones, and not let you live so hard anymore. And I also have to find a way to give our son a good future."

Mo Hua, in his room, heard everything his parents said. He, a young boy, sighed. Unbeknownst to him, his parents had always endured the hardships of cultivation life like this. Perhaps in any world, the burdens parents carry are far greater than what children can imagine. Even as cultivators, they still have to be busy for spirit stones and run around for their livelihood. Cultivators and ordinary people seem different, yet they also seem to be the same.

Mo Hua sighed, then silently pondered in his heart: "Are there any ways I can also earn spirit stones?"