Chapter 219: Exchanges

But this will all be after the New Year anyway.

Lately there have been too many things, chaotic and exhausting, and drawing arrays has been tiring; at least this year, Mo Hua can take it easy and not worry too much.

But Mo Hua soon realized that even without considering cultivation or arrays, there were still many things to attend to.

Because of gift-giving and returning gifts.

And many gifts needed to be delivered by Mo Hua himself; many others needed to be returned by him.

Previously, he had been an obscure ordinary cultivator, so he didn't need to manage anything.

But now he was a slightly famous minor array master, knew many cultivators, and social exchanges were unavoidable.

For instance, Dao Ting Si's old Zhou Zhangsi had given him a jade pendant; the An family had sent fine wine and spirit meat; other smaller clans had also sent some New Year gifts.

None were overly valuable, but all carried heartfelt intentions.

Mo Hua then visited several families and cultivators he was close to, one by one, to personally thank them.

For instance, the old Zhou Zhangsi and Old Master An were both prominent cultivators in Xiancheng; since they had given gifts, Mo Hua could not possibly neglect returning them.

Mo Hua also brought some gifts.

These gifts were simple—bought casually with spirit stones—but what made them unusual was that he had drawn arrays onto them.

For example, a lantern shaped like the character "Fu" contained a Bright Flame Array; once lit, the "Fu" emitted brilliant light. There was also a small screen painted with a Cold Qi Array, and a blanket painted with a Warm Qi Array, and so on.

Neither luxurious nor extravagant, yet highly practical; though appearing simple, they clearly showed thought and effort.

Perfectly suited to his identity as a minor array master, and most importantly, suited to his finances—he simply didn't have enough spirit stones to buy expensive gifts.

The old Zhou Zhangsi and Old Master An were both very pleased.

Other cultivators, already satisfied just to receive a return gift from Mo Hua, were overjoyed to find arrays personally drawn by him inside the gifts.

Mo Hua also gave some gifts to Master Chen.

As the New Year approached, Master Chen was still busy at the forging shop, and all the forgers were crafting spirit weapons; they wouldn't finish until just before New Year's Eve, then could finally rest for the holiday.

Though tiring, they earned more spirit stones from selling spirit weapons, so they didn't find it overly burdensome.

Master Chen had no children, only one disciple, Chen Dazhu, so he had no particular concerns.

Mo Hua brought Master Chen plenty of delicious food and several jars of fine wine; Master Chen grinned from ear to ear.

"These wines are good—having wine is enough!"

Living alone, with wine and meat as companions—that was celebration enough.

Master Chen had lived this way for many years and never felt lonely; besides, after the New Year, a crowd of disciples would come to pay their respects, and it would be lively then.

Mo Hua chatted with Master Chen for a while, then Master Chen said:

"Do you want a spirit weapon?"

"What kind of spirit weapon?"

"Any kind—just avoid swords; they're hard to forge, and I'm not good at making them."

"Something like a knife, spear, staff, or club?"

Master Chen nodded. "Thanks to your forging furnace, my forging skills have improved greatly—I can now forge a Grade One spirit weapon. Pick one, and I'll make it for you, for self-defense."

Mo Hua thought hard but still couldn't decide.

"I'm not a body cultivator—choosing these wouldn't be very useful…"

"No problem," Master Chen smiled. "Mainly, I'm just itching to forge more spirit weapons and test my skills."

Mo Hua didn't know what to say…

"Don't you forge for others?"

"Some have asked me, but those aren't urgent—it doesn't matter when they're done. I'll make one for you first."

Mo Hua really wanted a "Eight-Foot Steel Spear" or a "Green Dragon Crescent Blade," but even if he got one, he couldn't use it—he wasn't a body cultivator.

"Then could you make one for my father?"

"Don't rush that—Elder Yu has his own arrangements; you don't need to worry about it."

Mo Hua frowned.

Master Chen said, "If all else fails, I'll make you a small knife—for slicing beef or peeling fruit."

Mo Hua looked troubled. "I'll think about it."

It's rare to forge a Grade One spirit weapon—better to make something decent; making a fruit knife is ridiculous…

Master Chen nodded. "Alright, let me know when you've decided."

Mo Hua bid farewell to Master Chen and went to see Old Master Feng.

Previously, Old Master Feng only worked at Xinglin Hall and never left except for consultations.

Now that the alchemy hall is built, Old Master Feng comes over when he has time; some sick cultivators even come to the alchemy hall to ask him for diagnosis and pills.

Old Master Feng was in the adjacent alchemy hall, sorting pills, organizing formulas, and checking the quality of finished pills.

Mo Hua gave Old Master Feng his New Year gift; Old Master Feng, in return, stuffed a pile of pills into Mo Hua's hands.

Pills to treat fire poison and water poison, pills to ward off miasma, pills to calm the mind and focus the spirit, pills to suppress hunger—Bìgǔ Pills—and pills to stop bleeding—Zhǐxuè Pills—and a few Xiao Huan Dan for emergency life-saving use.

Each type was neatly categorized, labeled, and marked with its purpose.

Mo Hua thanked Old Master Feng; just before leaving, Old Master Feng called him back and slipped him another vial of pills.

Mo Hua sniffed it and asked:

"Old Master Feng, what kind of pill is this? Sweet and sour, smells nice."

"Digestive Pills—good for the stomach and digestion. I'm afraid you'll eat too much and get a stomachache; take a few after meals. When you're craving snacks, you can eat them too."

Mo Hua beamed. "Thank you, Old Master Feng."

After the flurry of gift-giving and returning gifts, Mo Hua sighed in relief, thinking he was finally done—then he received another New Year gift, delivered by Master Luo's messenger.

It was stored in a vermilion-and-gold-inlaid storage chest, placed in Mo Hua's courtyard, and looked extremely generous.

Mo Hua opened it and was startled.

Inside were not only Master Luo's gift, but also a gift from Master Qian…

Probably afraid others would find out, he used Master Luo's name to send them together.

Master Luo's gifts were conventional, mostly related to arrays.

Master Qian's gifts were far more valuable, covering everything from food to clothing to daily necessities—he likely wanted to apologize to Mo Hua and express his stance.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and accepted them.

He had no direct conflict with Master Qian; cultivating goodwill was beneficial, and he might need Master Qian's help later.

Since Master Luo had sent a gift, Mo Hua prepared some in return and went personally to pay his thanks.

Master Luo was much older than him; this was basic etiquette.

Master Luo's cave dwelling was one of the most luxurious in Xiancheng, magnificent and splendid.

Before the gate stood many cloud-carriages and horses, belonging to the sons or stewards of various families who had come to deliver gifts.

But Master Luo was a graded first-grade array master, with a high threshold, so they either could not gain entry or had to wait in line outside for Master Luo to receive them.

The congestion of carriages and horses outside was so grand it opened Mo Hua's eyes.

The status of array masters was indeed high, especially those truly rated as graded first-grade by the Dao Court.

But there were too many people outside; Mo Hua estimated he wouldn't even get through the gate.

Just as Mo Hua considered returning first and coming back in a few days, one of Master Luo's disciples spotted him.