Chapter 34: Repairing the Array

"It's the Melt-Fire Array…" Mo Hua said.

"That's right," Master Chen nodded. Seeing Mo Hua recognize the array at a glance, he felt a flicker of approval and his tone grew more serious:

"Young Master Mo, take a look—did this array go wrong? I know nothing about it and can't see a thing."

Master Chen had someone wipe the black soot off the smelter, and Mo Hua leaned over the opening, studying the Melt-Fire array markings on the furnace wall.

Though he still couldn't fully draw it from memory, he had practiced day and night until the stroke patterns were etched into his mind; soon he pointed to several spots and said to Master Chen:

"It's definitely an array issue—these array markings are worn down; the spiritual energy can't flow, so the array has failed."

Master Chen, hearing Mo Hua speak with such clarity, looked at him with new respect, but then frowned:

"Then we'll have to hire an Array Master to fix it. Sigh—business hasn't been good lately; I wonder how many spirit stones this will cost…"

Mo Hua asked: "Is it expensive to hire an Array Master to repair an array?"

"Naturally," Master Chen replied. "Array Masters are rare. For repairs like this, you have to pay extra spirit stones—or no one will come."

Mo Hua hesitated, then said: "What if I try?"

"You?" Master Chen was stunned. "You're already an Array Master?"

Mo Hua modestly waved his hand: "Not yet. I've only been studying arrays under the sect's Mr. Song Yiyi, and this particular array happens to be one I've learned."

Master Chen looked at Mo Hua—barely half a man's height, face still childish—and said gently: "Better not. You're just a child; don't tire yourself out."

Mo Hua knew Master Chen still had doubts; his eyes shifted, and he asked: "Master Chen, the ones you've hired—were they really Array Masters?"

"Well…" Master Chen said, "Some are just apprentices—not true Array Masters yet. But when you're begging for help, you say nice things. Whether they're masters or not, calling them 'Array Master' makes them happy and the work goes smoother. We don't know much, and we don't ask too many questions—as long as the array gets fixed."

"And did they always fix it?"

Master Chen thought a moment. "Sometimes it went smoothly and was done quickly. Other times they fiddled for hours and still failed—until someone else came and fixed it."

"Then that's it—most of them are just apprentices. Even if their array skills are better than mine, they're not much better." Mo Hua said confidently.

Of course, proper apprentices should be slightly better than Mo Hua—but some apprentices' skill was indeed no match for his.

Mo Hua added: "They fix it, I fix it—it's the same. Worst case, if I fail, you just hire them again."

This… actually made some sense…

Master Chen was somewhat persuaded, but still hesitant. Seeing this, Mo Hua pressed on:

"Even if you hire an Array Master, they won't come right away—you have to wait for their availability. One day lost means one day less income. If it drags on, you'll be spending more than you earn."

The smelter's business was decent, but profits were slim. Master Chen refused to cut corners, so he earned every coin through hard labor. Besides, he had to feed these apprentices—prolonged downtime made cash flow difficult.

Master Chen's head ached. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said: "Fine, young master—give it a try."

He added cautiously: "But just try—don't force it. Don't break the array…"

Mo Hua assured him: "Don't worry—it'll be fine. Worst case, I just won't fix it."

Master Chen felt somewhat reassured—but not really.

Mo Hua asked Master Chen to wait while he went home to fetch his brush and fire-element ink, along with the Melt-Fire Array diagram. Back at the smelter, he first showed the diagram to Master Chen.

Master Chen saw the array on the diagram matched the one on the smelter—his relief eased slightly; at least Mo Hua wasn't completely clueless.

This was the first time Mo Hua had drawn an array on a spiritual artifact. He was slightly nervous—but since he'd practiced the Melt-Fire Array so many times, once he picked up the brush, his mind calmed.

Repairing an array differed from drawing one: it didn't require much spiritual insight, because the array itself was intact—only the damaged markings needed to be reconnected with ink.

It tested the Array Master's eyesight, attention to detail, and familiarity with the array.

Mo Hua leaned against the furnace, utterly focused as he painted.

Less than half an hour later, Mo Hua finished repairing the array. Then he spent another cup of tea's time checking it thoroughly. Only when he was certain did he sigh in relief.

Master Chen had watched nervously, terrified Mo Hua had ruined the array. Now he hurriedly asked: "Is it… fixed?"

Mo Hua's clothes were dirty, his face streaked with soot. He wasn't sure: "Probably. Should we light a fire and test it?"

Master Chen's expression was complicated, but he and the apprentices resealed the array, reassembled the smelter, inserted spirit stones into the furnace, and activated the spiritual energy to ignite it.

But no fire sparked.

Mo Hua froze, rubbed his chin—his already soot-streaked face now even dirtier:

"Why no fire? The array should be repaired."

Master Chen asked: "Young master, are you certain the array is fine?"

Mo Hua pulled out the Melt-Fire Array diagram and compared it again carefully, then nodded: "The array is correct."

Master Chen touched the smelter, sensing its temperature, then told the apprentices: "Spirit energy's too weak. Add a few more spirit stones—and throw in a heated iron."

The apprentices did as instructed. Soon, the smelter's temperature began to rise.

A moment later, fire suddenly "whooshed" to life.

Master Chen beamed. "It's fixed!"

The apprentices cheered too. With the smelter working, they had work—and could learn from their master. Their gazes toward Mo Hua now held admiration.

Mo Hua was delighted. "Let's forge a spiritual artifact—see if there are any issues."

Master Chen tossed in a sword, forged it for a while, then said with slight regret: "No major problems—it works. But the heat's weaker than before. It'll take longer to forge."

Mo Hua frowned. "Same array—why is the heat weaker? Does repairing an array reduce its effectiveness?"

Master Chen shook his head. "We've repaired it several times before—heat never dropped this much."

"Then why?"

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, wondering if he'd drawn some part of the array poorly.

Master Chen thought a moment, then pointed to Mo Hua's inkstone:

"Maybe it's the ink? When we hired others, their ink was much darker—bright red, like it was burning."

Mo Hua realized—he'd bought the cheapest fire-element ink to save money and effort. Fine for practice, but on a spiritual artifact, the effect was clearly inferior.

"For the array to work well, you need higher-grade spiritual ink."

Mo Hua silently noted this, then said apologetically: "It must be the ink—I bought the cheap kind. Its spiritual energy activation is probably weak."

Master Chen said, "Why say such a thing? The firepower is a bit weak, but as long as it works, that's good enough. When all is said and done, this old man should be thanking you."

Master Chen thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "For that stove you wanted, I won't charge you the refining fee — I'll refine the stove for you free of charge. Of course, I won't refund the material costs. After all, I've got this big group of young fellows here, and they still need to keep food in their mouths."

Mo Hua looked at the spacious but crude refining shop, then at the soot-blackened Master Chen and the refining disciples beside him, drenched in sweat with black ash smeared on their faces. He knew earning spirit stones wasn't easy for them, so he said:

"Grandpa Chen, just give me a fifty percent discount on the refining fee."

Master Chen shook his head. "That won't do. Even this way I'm still getting the better end of the deal. If I hired someone else to repair this formation, it would cost at least a hundred or two hundred spirit stones."

"You really don't need to give so much."

Master Chen's stubborn streak flared up. "A cultivator's word is his bond — once said, it's set in stone. How can I take back what I've said so easily? Since I said I wouldn't take your spirit stones, then I absolutely cannot take them!"

What a stubbornly honest temper this was…

Mo Hua had no choice. A thought struck him, and he said with a smile, "How about this then — I won't pay the refining fee, but once the stove is done, I'll give you some spirit stones as hard-work compensation for you and everyone."

"This…"

Master Chen couldn't sort it out for a moment — the refining fee and the hard-work fee seemed the same, but somehow felt a little different.

"It's like asking friends for help — sometimes you still need to give them hard-work compensation," Mo Hua added.

"Then… alright."

Master Chen felt this reasoning was indeed sound.

The few disciples also looked at Mo Hua with gratitude.

Their families weren't well-off to begin with. Working as disciple laborers let them earn a little to supplement the household; if they couldn't earn spirit stones, their already difficult lives would become even harder.

But being able to earn spirit stones — even one more coin — would make life that much easier.

"Then it's settled! It's getting late, I need to go home for dinner!"

Mo Hua waved his little hand in farewell.

Master Chen urged Mo Hua to be careful on the road, and added, "In the future, if you need anything refined, come find me anytime — I'll give you a discount!"