Chapter 237: Settlement

Mo Hua asked Ji Qingbai, "Uncle Ji, do you have a place to stay?"

Ji Qingbai only then snapped out of his daze, yet his heart remained unsettled for a long while.

He had only heard that Xiancheng was no longer what it once was, gradually thriving—but never imagined it could have thrived to this extent.

His heart was both stunned and envious.

Hearing Mo Hua's words, Ji Qingbai paused slightly, thought for a moment, then said:

"An elder mentor, a lifelong friend of my father's, can let me stay temporarily."

Mo Hua nodded. "If you run into any trouble, you can seek out my father."

Ji Qingbai's eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you for looking out for me all along this journey."

"It's nothing," Mo Hua said.

He'd only scared off some people and shown the way—simple favors, no effort at all.

As long as everyone is safe and sound, that's enough.

The young female cultivator named Fu Lan, after taking the pill, felt her injuries improve somewhat; though her face was still as pale as paper and she could barely move, she still bowed deeply to Mo Hua and thanked him:

"Thank you, young brother!"

Mo Hua saw that though she was a woman, alone and battered by hardship, wounded yet still resolute, and secretly admired her; he said:

"Sister, can you cook?"

Mo Hua's question was oddly unexpected; Fu Lan froze, took a long while to recover, then said:

"My mother ran a tofu shop—I know how to prepare some meals."

Tofu!

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Once you've recovered and have nothing else to do, go to Fushan Restaurant on the southern street—make some tofu, earn some spirit stones."

Fu Lan blinked, her heart warmed, and she said softly, "Thank you, but Fushan Restaurant is a major establishment—unlikely to take in someone like me."

"No problem," Mo Hua said casually. "Just say my name."

After all, half of Fushan Restaurant was his.

Mo Hua's tone was bold; Fu Lan was stunned.

Mo Hua said no more, waved goodbye to them, and left.

They had traveled tirelessly, their injuries still unhealed—their immediate priority was finding a place to settle.

After parting, Mo Hua walked side by side with Yu Chengwu toward the city.

After walking a while, Yu Chengwu frowned. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you—I'm going to find Elder Yu."

Yu Chengwu froze, thinking: No way.

Mo Hua being familiar with the demon hunters was one thing—but could he really be familiar with his father too?

Yet Mo Hua walked with him all the way, all the way to Elder Yu's home.

Yu Chengwu pushed open the door; Mo Hua followed right in, as if entering his own courtyard—familiar, completely at ease.

Elder Yu was drinking tea in the parlor; seeing the two, his eyes brightened and he stepped forward to greet them.

After more than a year, Yu Chengwu saw his father and his emotions stirred—he was about to step forward, when he saw his father, Elder Yu, walk right past him and begin chatting with Mo Hua.

"Mo Hua, what's up?"

Mo Hua nodded. "There's something I need to discuss…"

Mo Hua recounted what he had encountered on the road.

More and more outside cultivators were arriving, their identities unknown, unmanageable—the demon hunters' risks in hunting demons were growing.

For now, they still dare not target local demon hunters.

But if this continues, conflict and incidents are inevitable.

Robbing prey, murdering for loot—such acts will only increase.

More conflict means more disruption to Mo Hua's collection of demon blood to make spirit ink.

Less spirit ink means fewer arrays drawn; Mo Hua's spiritual sense grows slower, delaying his Foundation Establishment progress.

Elder Yu nodded. "I've heard of this already—I've spoken with Zhou Zhangsi of Dao Ting Si. In a few days, they'll come up with a solution…"

Mo Hua spoke at length with Elder Yu, received his assurance, and took his leave.

Elder Yu personally saw Mo Hua to the door, warning him: "Be careful on the road."

Yu Chengwu, standing there for ages, finally couldn't hold back: "Father, I'm back!"

Elder Yu glanced at him, frowning. "You're back? Do you think I didn't see?"

Yu Chengwu was speechless.

After a moment, he asked quietly: "Father… am I really your son?"

Elder Yu's eyes flared. "What nonsense—aren't you my son? Do you think I picked you up off the street?"

Yu Chengwu thought of how gently his father had spoken to Mo Hua just now, then compared it to his current tone—suddenly exhausted.

But he also sighed in relief.

This temper, this way of cursing—it was familiar, comforting, undeniably his father—this wasn't a dream.

"Finally home."

Yu Chengwu thought with quiet emotion.

Mo Hua went to Nancheng's Artificer Shop and found Master Chen, who was clanging away at his forge. "Master Chen, forge me a spirit weapon."

"Have you decided what kind of spirit weapon you want?"

"Yes."

Master Chen, halfway through tempering his blade, handed it to Chen Dazhu, stepped aside, drank some water, and asked Mo Hua: "What do you want forged?"

Mo Hua gestured with his hands, "A wolf-tooth club this long!"

Master Chen choked on his water and couldn't help asking, "What do you need a wolf-tooth club for?"

"Wolf-tooth clubs are useful—you can use them to ambush people, and since they have no blades, you won't hurt yourself."

Mo Hua had already decided: if he chose a knife or sword, his strength wasn't enough to wield them properly, and he might accidentally cut himself—that would be a huge loss.

A club or staff was just right; even if he missed and hit himself, it wouldn't matter much.

"By the way, the wolf-tooth club can't have any wolf teeth," Mo Hua added.

Wolf teeth are sharp and too dangerous.

"If it has no wolf teeth, is it still a wolf-tooth club?" Master Chen blinked.

"Then it won't be called a wolf-tooth club—I'll give it a new name," Mo Hua said.

"Fine, since it's for you, whatever you say goes," Master Chen replied, then added with some concern, "Wolf-tooth clubs are heavy—can you even swing one?"

"It doesn't need to be heavy—just sturdy and durable."

"Then what's the point of this… whatever-you-call-it club?" Master Chen asked, puzzled.

No wolf teeth, not heavy—when you hit someone, won't it just tickle them?

Mo Hua said, "I'll just draw a formation on it."

Formation?

Master Chen understood: a regular staff might be useless, but with a formation drawn on it, it would be different.

"As long as you've got an idea, that's fine."

Master Chen nodded; he didn't ask what formation—it wouldn't make sense to him anyway.

"I have some forging blueprints for staffs and clubs—flip through them and see if any match your idea. Pick one as a template, and I'll modify it according to your design."

"Thank you, Master Chen!"

Mo Hua took the forging blueprints and flipped through them one by one, and sure enough, he found a spiritual weapon close to his vision: about four or five chi long, forged from refined iron, just the right length and not too heavy.

"This one—remove the spikes on top."

Mo Hua pointed to it for Master Chen, then pulled out a sheet of paper and sketched a rough diagram, marking several spots, saying:

"I'll draw the formation here, here, and here."

Master Chen glanced over it roughly and nodded, "No problem. Come back in five or six days to pick it up."

"Great!" Mo Hua said happily.

After returning home, Mo Hua told Mo Shan about Ji Qingbai's situation.

Mo Shan sighed and shook his head, "I never expected the plight of cultivators in Qingxuan City to be this dire."

Mo Hua asked, "Do all cultivators in the world suffer oppression from clans?"

"Even if they aren't oppressed by clans, there are still sects and Dao Ting Si."

"Is it because cultivators without sects are too weak?"

Mo Shan nodded, "Correct. The strong bully the weak—that's human nature. And some Zuhuoshi Sects exist precisely to compete for resources with cultivators without sects, exploiting them to gain profit, and only through profit can they grow stronger."

"Much of the world's wealth isn't created from nothing—it's merely concentrated from the hands of some cultivators into the hands of others."

Mo Hua nodded slowly, understanding.

I've been posting ten thousand characters daily for a month already, and I've earned the badge—now I need to take a break.

Ten thousand characters every day is truly tiring.

The current plot progress is still just the beginning.

Xiancheng is merely a tiny fraction of the vast cultivation world; many characters, plots, and settings remain unexplored.

Xiao Mo Hua's growth has only laid some groundwork.

Many stories have been floating in my mind for a long time—I need to write them down, and I need to give my characters their due.

Writing a novel is truly a long and grueling process.

But the hardest part is getting started—now that the beginning is done, all that's left is to keep writing.

Going forward, I'll update twice a day with lazy posts, and after a while, gradually increase the frequency.

Originally, I planned to start the two-chapter lazy schedule today, but thanks to everyone's support, subscriptions have been steadily rising.

So to thank everyone, I'm still doing five updates today.

Lastly, wish everyone happiness every day~