Chapter 50: Siblings

After this, the three of them would visit Mr. Zhuang early every morning. They would bow from a distance at the door, wait for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and if the door remained tightly shut, they would descend the mountain.

Mo Hua actually wanted to tell them that Mr. Zhuang slept late in the morning, always until the afternoon, so they were coming at the wrong time.

But then he thought again, at least for the time being, Mr. Zhuang didn't really want to see them.

If they came early and couldn't see Mr. Zhuang, they still couldn't see him if they came late. Since they ultimately couldn't see him anyway, the time of their visit wasn't really important.

They entered the mountain early in the morning and could still see the mountain colors wrapped in the light of the rosy clouds, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Mo Hua would occasionally bump into them when he went up the mountain. Sometimes they would exchange greetings, and if there was ample time, they would chat casually.

Although both of them were children from aristocratic families and looked proud, they were both quite easy to talk to.

During their casual chats, Mo Hua learned that the two of them were surnamed Bai. Both were a few years older than Mo Hua. The dignified-looking boy was named Bai Zi sheng, and the exquisite girl, like a porcelain doll, was named Bai Zi xi.

They were siblings, and they had come from a distant place following the orders of their family elders to study array methods under Mr. Zhuang.

Bai Zi sheng talked a lot, while Bai Zi xi spoke very little.

The two of them looked somewhat similar, but Bai Zi xi was clearly more attractive.

And beautiful to a slightly ridiculous degree...

When Mo Hua looked from afar, he only felt she was delicate and exquisite. Looking up close, he would discover that although Bai Zi xi was young, the skin on her face was so fair and flawless it looked like it could be broken by a gentle touch, and her appearance was absolutely stunning.

Could a human face really grow like this?

Mo Hua was utterly shocked.

The common saying goes that Nu Wa kneaded earth to create people. In this world, some people were clearly made of earth, but some were clearly not. At least the current Bai Zi xi was not.

When Nu Wa made her, she probably kneaded snow, moon, wind, and flowers, and created ice skin and jade bones.

Mo Hua secretly glanced at Bai Zi xi again and thought silently to himself:

"The common saying goes that beauty brings disaster. Where Nu Wa Niang niang is creating people, she is clearly creating trouble..."

The woman following beside the Bai siblings, with her face covered by a veil, was called Xue Ayi. She should have been dispatched by the family to accompany and protect them.

Mo Hua was unclear about Xue Ayi's realm, but her cultivation was definitely not low. There was a kind of obscure oppressive feeling about her that Mo Hua had never felt from other cultivators.

The highest realm cultivator Mo Hua had seen before was the old sect master of Tongxian Gate, who had mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. However, the old sect master had a kind temperament, and his spiritual power had declined with age, so the oppressive feeling was not as strong as the current Xue Ayi.

"She should at least have Foundation Establishment cultivation..."

Mo Hua secretly guessed.

And to have a Foundation Establishment cultivator as a guard, the identity of this pair of siblings was definitely not ordinary. The Bai family was probably also a prominent large aristocratic family from outside Li State. As for exactly what kind of large aristocratic family, Mo Hua very sensibly did not ask.

Aristocratic families and sects were far from Mo Hua's world.

It was very difficult for cultivators of rogue cultivator origin to break through and become Foundation Establishment cultivators. And Foundation Establishment period cultivators, in this small Tongxian City, could be said to have quite prominent identities and statuses.

His cultivation in this lifetime might not even be higher than that of someone else's guard.

Mo Hua remembered his original intention, concentrated on learning array methods, becoming a first-grade array master, and only then would it be possible to gain a foothold in the cultivation world in the future.

The Bai family siblings visited every morning, and Mr. Zhuang did not say anything. He seemed to default to this matter, but still had no intention of seeing them.

However, Mr. Zhuang also seemed to have relaxed. His daily routine also returned to normal.

Every day he still slept until the afternoon to get up, then sat in the courtyard, drinking wine with beef, or having snacks with tea, looking at the mountain scenery and pondering.

Mo Hua still learned array methods, drew array methods, meditated, then drew array methods again, and if he had doubts, he would go and ask Mr. Zhuang.

One day, Mr. Zhuang suddenly asked Mo Hua to draw an array called the San cai array.

This array contained six array patterns. With Mo Hua's current divine sense, he could not draw it completely. The structure also looked very special, and the array patterns were different from the Wu xing array Mo Hua had encountered before.

Mr. Zhuang only gave Mo Hua one day's time. The next day, he wanted Mo Hua to draw the array for him to see, drawing as much as he could.

During the day, Mo Hua single-mindedly researched the San cai array diagram and tried drawing it several times. In the evening, he went back to practice on the remnant stele in his sea of consciousness all night.

The next day, in front of Mr. Zhuang, he drew the array intermittently, with great effort, but because his divine sense was insufficient, several strokes of the array patterns were invalid.

Mr. Zhuang didn't say anything. Seeing Mo Hua's tired expression and slightly pale face, he knew this was the result of overusing his divine sense. He then lit an incense stick. Faint white smoke rose and swirled, with a clear and cold fragrance that was refreshing to the heart.

Mr. Zhuang said: "This is calming incense. It can nourish your divine sense. Sit here and meditate. When the incense burns out, go back to rest early. Don't draw any more array methods today."

"Thank you, sir."

Mo Hua thanked him, then sat in meditation. He indeed felt his divine sense recover faster. After about two cups of tea, the calming incense burned out, and Mo Hua bowed and took his leave.

After Mo Hua left, Mr. Zhuang looked at the San cai array drawn by Mo Hua, frowned in thought, and didn't say a word for a long time.

Kui Lao entered the door and asked when he saw the situation: "Not drawn well?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "It's not a matter of good or bad... His divine sense is not enough, and time is short. It's impossible to draw this array well. No matter what, there will be mistakes, it's just..."

Mr. Zhuang wrinkled his brow slightly. "Mo Hua, this child, learns too fast."

"What's wrong with learning fast?"

"Not fast, but too fast..."

Mr. Zhuang unfolded the San cai array and said:

"This San cai array uses completely different array hubs from the Wu xing array, and the array patterns are also different. I just gave him the array diagram yesterday. He only spent one day and learned seven or eight out of ten. If his divine sense hadn't been insufficient, he really might have managed to draw this array stumbling along..."

Mr. Zhuang's gaze slightly condensed. "The strangest thing is, in one day, with Mo Hua's divine sense, he could practice this array at most three or four times, but looking at the brushwork of this San cai array now, it's already quite familiar. I'm afraid he practiced it about ten times."

Kui Lao's expression remained unchanged, but his tone sank down: "You mean... Mo Hua, this child, is hiding something from you?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "I haven't asked, so there's no question of hiding or not. It just seems that Mo Hua, this child, probably has some other opportunity."

Kui Lao flipped his eyelids slightly: "Cultivators, who doesn't have an opportunity? How few opportunities have you had yourself? All the myriad creatures in the world, as long as they can be born into the world, are themselves carrying a great opportunity."

Mr. Zhuang fell into thought upon hearing this.

Kui Lao said: "If you truly care, ask him then."

Mr. Zhuang was slightly startled. "Ask him?"

Kui Lao said impatiently: "You kind of person, saying you're thoughtful, but you just have too many thoughts. You always feel that everyone else is like you, hiding and tucking everything away without telling. I think Mo Hua, this child, is quite good. He's not like you, with eighteen hidden orifices in your heart, doing things hesitantly."

Mr. Zhuang lay on the chair and said in a calm tone: "If I really had too many thoughts, I wouldn't have fallen to this state."

"Things of a kind come together, people flock together. You thought yourself clever, liked to deal with people who had many thoughts, but your heart wasn't as dirty as theirs, so you were naturally schemed against. This is a drink and a peck, you brought it upon yourself, don't blame others."

Mr. Zhuang smiled bitterly: "Yes, ah, so now I can only stay with you kind of heartless person, and then I will be peaceful."

Kui Lao's face was wooden, and he stopped speaking.