Chapter 207

Someone was inquiring about the array master; Elder Yu informed Mo Hua and warned him to be cautious.

Do not harbor ill intentions toward others, but do not neglect vigilance against them.

Mo Hua thought it over and felt it unlikely he was suspected; unless it was someone familiar, no ordinary cultivator would believe a boy of ten or so could draw a Grade-One array.

Mo Hua was instead worried about Mr. Zhuang—he feared the Qian family might suspect Mr. Zhuang and that he himself would bring trouble upon him.

Mo Hua went to see Mr. Zhuang and briefly explained the matter.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang merely smiled and said, "Do what you believe is right; do not worry about my affairs."

"Won't the Qian family cause you trouble?"

"They won't find me."

"What if they do?" Mo Hua still felt uneasy.

"'Originally, not a single thing exists; where then can dust settle?' They cannot possibly find me," Mr. Zhuang said calmly.

Mo Hua nodded, half-understanding, feeling Mr. Zhuang's words were obscure and unclear—yet he still didn't grasp what he meant…

But since Mr. Zhuang had said so, he must have confidence; Mo Hua thus felt reassured.

Mr. Zhuang was profound and inscrutable, perhaps not even regarding the Qian family as worthy of notice—but if the Qian family stirred up trouble and disturbed his quiet cultivation, that would be unfortunate.

"How are your array studies progressing?" Mr. Zhuang asked.

"I've mastered the Grade-One Melting Fire Spirit-Controlling Array and the Grade-One Fire-Wood Twinborn Array, and I've applied both to my furnace," Mo Hua said cheerfully.

Mr. Zhuang nodded in approval.

Mo Hua smiled, then asked, "Master, which arrays should I study next?"

"Find some compound arrays and study them casually," Mr. Zhuang said. "When you break through to Qi Refinement Seventh Layer, examine the riddle array in your consciousness sea, then decide your next steps."

"Understood," Mo Hua nodded.

What riddle array would the Tian Yan Jue's Qi Refinement Seventh Layer bottleneck bring?

Mo Hua felt both anticipation and unease.

After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua returned home as usual, but encountered An Xiaofu on the way.

"What a coincidence," Mo Hua greeted An Xiaofu.

An Xiaofu hung his head, frowning, "Not a coincidence—I was specifically told by my grandfather and father to wait for you nearby."

"Huh?" Mo Hua blinked.

"They wanted me to pretend to run into you by chance and strike up a conversation," An Xiaofu explained. "But you're too smart—you'd see right through it, so I gave up pretending. My grandfather and father also told me to…"

An Xiaofu spilled it all out—everything his grandfather and father had instructed him to do, whether he was supposed to say it or not.

Mo Hua was torn between laughter and exasperation.

After speaking, An Xiaofu felt much better.

He felt his mission accomplished—he had delivered every word and performed every task his grandfather and father had ordered.

Though his method differed slightly from their instructions, the outcome was the same.

An Xiaofu sighed with relief.

"By the way, here are some gifts my grandfather asked me to give you—take them."

An Xiaofu handed over a storage pouch containing several array texts, a few array brushes, and a good deal of spirit ink.

Not overly valuable, but carefully chosen to suit his tastes—clearly a great deal of thought had gone into them.

Mo Hua politely declined.

An Xiaofu shoved it into his hands. "If I take it back, my grandfather will scold me; if I give it to you, he'll probably praise me. It's not even expensive—just take it. Refusing a free gift makes you a little fool."

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded. "True."

Not wanting to be a "little fool," Mo Hua accepted the gift and said, "Come on, I'll treat you to food!"

An Xiaofu waved his hand. "How could I let you spend?"

"No expense," Mo Hua said. "My family owns it."

An Xiaofu grew curious; since returning to his clan offered no amusement, he decided to follow Mo Hua for a bit.

An Xiaofu walked with Mo Hua through several streets, around a few corners, and saw a restaurant at the intersection, its banner fluttering in the wind, its spacious floor laid with plain tables and long benches.

Patrons gathered in small groups, some devouring meat, others drinking heavily, clinking cups and bowls, lively and noisy.

The scent of meat and wine wafted toward them, carried by the breeze into the distance.

This was an atmosphere An Xiaofu had never seen before.

"Mother," Mo Hua called out from afar, waving.

Liu Ruhua stepped out smiling, saw Mo Hua—and beside him, a plump boy in brocade and jade robes—and asked with slight confusion, "Who is this…?"

An Xiaofu bowed politely. "Madam, I'm An Xiaofu."

"The An family?"

An Xiaofu nodded. "My father is the head of the An family."

Liu Ruhua was surprised, then turned to Mo Hua, wondering how he had come to know the young master of the An family.

Mo Hua said, "Mother, I'm treating Xiaofu to a meal—make something delicious."

"You're so young and already treating guests to meals…" Liu Ruhua laughed, then asked An Xiaofu, "Young Master An, what would you like to eat?"

An Xiaofu quickly waved his hand. "Just call me Xiaofu. I'm not picky—anything's fine."

Liu Ruhua nodded. "Then play for a while—I'll prepare something."

Mo Hua pulled An Xiaofu to a bright, open table and sat down.

An Xiaofu looked around and said, "So this is your family's restaurant?"

"Exactly!" Mo Hua was proud.

He had helped greatly in getting this restaurant started.

An Xiaofu felt a touch of envy. "How nice."

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Aren't you from the An family, which runs the Spirit Cuisine Tower? That's bigger and more imposing, isn't it?"

"It's different," An Xiaofu thought for a moment and said. "The Spirit Cuisine Tower is large and quiet, but it always feels cold and empty—eating there is dull."

An Xiaofu looked around at the diners.

There were demon-hunting cultivators, artifact-crafting alchemists, pill-refining alchemists, local free cultivators, passing peddlers, and traveling merchants from afar—all different in appearance, yet gathered together, eating and chatting, laughing and talking.

Sometimes, strangers would strike up a friendly conversation, raise a cup to each other, and wish, "Safe travels."

"Eating together like this, lively and noisy—that's what's truly enjoyable," An Xiaofu said.

Mo Hua agreed. "Then eat plenty later—my mother's cooking is delicious."

"Thank you," An Xiaofu replied politely.

But he only said it out of courtesy, grateful for Mo Hua's hospitality—he didn't truly expect the food to be anything special.

The An family ran the Spirit Cuisine Tower, where they hired master chefs who studied exquisite recipes and crafted rare, exquisite delicacies.

He ate such dishes every day—what had he not tasted?

But when Liu Ruhua brought the dishes out, An Xiaofu realized—he truly hadn't tasted anything like this before…

An Xiaofu took a bite and asked, "What kind of meat is this?"

"It's demon beast meat," Mo Hua picked up a chopstick and tasted it. "Probably some kind of sheep—if it were in Great Heishan, I'd recognize it. But now it's on the plate, I can't tell."

An Xiaofu exclaimed in surprise, "Can demon beast meat really be made this delicious?"

"Heh, didn't see that coming, did you?"

An Xiaofu took another bite, savoring it carefully. "The spices here are different too."

"You can taste the spices?"

An Xiaofu nodded.

"Which ones can you identify?" Mo Hua asked, curious.

"Hmm…" An Xiaofu thought. "Cassia leaves, mustard seed, plum, flower ginger…"

An Xiaofu listed several, then added, "There are others with unique flavors I've never tasted before—I can't name them."

Mo Hua was astonished. "You're amazing!"

Some of these spices were bought from the marketplace; others Mo Hua had gathered from the outer slopes of Great Heishan—these were obscure and hard to mass-produce, so it was normal An Xiaofu didn't know their names.

But being able to identify so many spices was already impressive.

An Xiaofu, flattered by Mo Hua's praise, felt a little shy. "I… I just eat a lot, so I can tell the flavors—it's not useful. I can't compare to you…"

Mo Hua could wield formation arrays—and his skill was extremely high, even his grandfather found it unbelievable.