Chapter 203: Identity

Yu Changlao's proud smile froze halfway as he finally realized what Mo Hua had just praised him for; he glared at Mo Hua:

"How is this risky? This is called 'a rabbit with three burrows'! Learn from this—always think ahead."

Mo Hua nodded quickly, "I'll definitely learn!"

Thinking ahead in everything is always good—otherwise, you'll surely suffer losses in the future.

"But things can't possibly go so smoothly…" Mo Hua frowned again.

"Naturally," said Yu Changlao. "Plans are just plans. Reality changes endlessly—you must adapt on the fly. All this is what I've learned over the years from scheming against the Qian family, always getting the worse end of it."

Mo Hua couldn't help asking, "With all your scheming, how do you still end up losing?"

Yu Changlao sighed, "What good is scheming if you have no cards in hand? Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice."

He had few Spirit Stones, and only one Foundation Establishment cultivator—just holding his own against the Qian family was already a miracle.

But now it's different.

Yu Changlao looked at Mo Hua.

Now that he had Mo Hua, who could draw arrays, his hand of cards had grown—and he wouldn't let everyone keep suffering losses to the Qian family!

Thinking of this, Yu Changlao couldn't help patting Mo Hua on the shoulder and said with emotion:

"I owe it all to you."

Mo Hua didn't understand why Yu Changlao was suddenly praising him, but he still smiled happily.

What happened afterward proved exactly what Yu Changlao had said: plans were just plans—they always changed.

The events followed Yu Changlao's plan, but with slight deviations.

Some armorer-craftsmen left the Qian family and defected to Yu Changlao; others were kept by the Qian family with higher offers.

The hunter-tribe's materials mostly weren't sold to the Qian family anymore, yet some market stalls still secretly traded with them.

Though things weren't ideal, they had indeed thrown the Qian family into chaos.

Qian Hong had to deal with these trivial matters daily; only when he finally looked up did he realize something was wrong.

They were suppressing prices—and Yu Changlin was matching them.

They had suppressed prices this far, and most of the Spirit Tools they'd previously forged were already used up, yet Yu Changlin was still matching their price cuts.

And it seemed Yu Changlin still had plenty of Spirit Tools left…

Why?

The hunter-tribe's armory had only just started operations—how could they have forged so many Spirit Tools?

Qian Hong couldn't fathom it.

He sent Qian family cultivators to secretly investigate, but Yu Changlao guarded the secret of his furnaces tightly—he couldn't get any information.

Then, when he saw the Spirit Tools the other side had forged, a ridiculous thought surfaced in his mind.

Could it be… that the hunter-tribe's furnaces weren't inferior to the Qian family's?

Or rather, even better than the Qian family's artifact-forging furnace?

Qian Hong asked Master Qian, who examined the Spirit Tools, looked solemn, and after a long silence, sighed:

"Only a first-rank furnace with a first-rank Melting Fire Array can forge Spirit Tools of this quality."

Qian Hong's eyelid twitched. "So… the array expert among the hunter-tribe…"

Master Qian sighed slowly: "He's a genuine first-rank array expert!"

Qian Hong's heart turned cold, and he stared blankly:

"How great a price did Yu Changlin pay to hire a first-rank array expert?"

Master Qian also shook his head.

He couldn't understand it either—a first-rank array expert was no ordinary person; even if he came to the Qian family, they'd rush to welcome him. Why would he help those hunter-tribe folk? What could he possibly gain?

Master Qian frowned: "We must find this array expert and uncover his identity—otherwise, we'll suffer more hidden losses."

Qian Hong's gaze sharpened. "I will find him…"

Master Qian glanced at Qian Hong and warned: "Find out his identity—but don't offend him."

Qian Hong frowned. "He's repeatedly opposed our Qian family—should we still treat him with courtesy?"

"This array expert is no ordinary man. If he's willing to join our Qian family, we'll gain wings like a tiger—our rise to second-rank clan status will be within reach."

"He probably won't agree."

"Then don't offend him yet. Try to win him over—if you can't, at least keep him neutral, uninvolved in either side. Only as a last resort should we make it a fight to the death," said Master Qian.

Qian Hong didn't understand. "Is this array expert really that important?"

Master Qian said: "This array expert is known to use the first-rank Earth Fire Array, the first-rank Earth and Stone Array, and the first-rank Melting Fire Array."

"Even if he knows these three first-rank arrays, so what?"

Master Qian sighed. "Knowing three first-rank arrays is rare—but not extraordinary. The problem is… what if he knows far more than these three? What if some of the arrays he knows are ones you and I have never even heard of?"

Qian Hong's expression turned solemn.

"Before he reveals his stance, don't provoke him lightly," Master Qian said gravely. "The art of arrays is vast and profound. Some array experts wield techniques whose power you can't even imagine…"

Qian Hong's pupils contracted slightly, and a look of wariness crossed his face.

Meanwhile, this array expert whom Qian Hong feared was perched on a wall, gnawing on a chicken leg, swinging his legs idly as he chatted with Master Ban.

The armory had been built and was already operating; construction of the alchemy hall was still ongoing.

Yu Changlao had already paid Master Ban the first installment of Spirit Stones.

With the Spirit Stones in hand, Master Ban felt secure and worked harder.

The overall layout of the alchemy hall matched the armory: first build the basic structures, then have Mo Hua draw the arrays, and finally let the craftsmen finish the repairs.

The basic structures weren't finished yet, so Mo Hua came first to confirm the layout and inspect the array diagrams.

But since the armory's layout had already been surveyed, and the two were identical, inspecting the alchemy hall's array diagrams didn't take much time.

Mo Hua only needed to look it over a few times before he more or less understood it.

With nothing else to do for the moment, he climbed up onto the wall, gnawing on a chicken leg and chatting with Foreman Shi.

Foreman Shi was genuinely grateful to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua's array formations were drawn quickly, so the Refining Hall could finish its work roughly on schedule, and once their project was done, they could settle the spirit stones owed to them.

Besides, a child as young as Mo Hua already had such a solid foundation in array formations — that too was something Foreman Shi had only ever seen once in his life.

He was also happy to chat with little Mo Hua; basically whatever Mo Hua asked, he would answer.

From craftsmen and architecture, to a cultivator's life story, from family members, to the customs among cultivators.

What good food and fun things there were in other places, what strange customs, what bad people there were and what bad deeds they did — they basically talked about everything.

Mo Hua satisfied his curiosity and broadened his horizons.

Every cultivator's life was like a scroll painting — no matter how ordinary, there were always some colors others had never seen.

These stories, if Mo Hua didn't chat with them about it, he probably would never know them.

One day in the future, would he be able to travel the Nine Provinces, meet more people, hear more stories, and see those not-so-ordinary colors hidden within more ordinary scroll paintings?

Mo Hua yearned for it in his heart.