Chapter 398: Journey Through the New Year

On the mountain path, Daibai pulled the carriage, moving steadily toward Master Zhuang's predetermined destination.

According to Master Zhuang, the place he was heading to was a sect with which he had old ties.

Mo Hua asked what sect it was.

Master Zhuang teased without answering, saying they'd know when they arrived.

Mo Hua then stopped asking.

Along the way, Master Zhuang instructed Mo Hua to pay close attention and use his spiritual sense to calculate and seek traces of arrays.

Along the journey, Mo Hua indeed sensed the aura of several arrays, used his spiritual sense to calculate their patterns, and showed the array patterns to Master Zhuang for review.

Master Zhuang usually nodded.

Occasionally, he pointed out errors, urging Mo Hua to take care.

Some of these errors stemmed from Mo Hua's insufficient array experience and incorrect calculations of the array's core structure;

others from carelessness, missing a few array patterns;

still others from flawed calculation methods, causing the array's spiritual energy trajectories to veer off course…

Mo Hua memorized each problem, pondered them repeatedly, and vowed not to repeat them next time.

Thus, they traveled while sensing, calculating, and verifying.

Thanks to this, Mo Hua's spiritual sense calculations grew increasingly refined.

Unfortunately, the arrays he calculated, though some were unfamiliar to him, were mostly not rare.

The number of array patterns remained between seven and nine.

There were no second-grade arrays.

In a second-grade prefecture, only first-grade arrays were typically used.

Second-grade arrays consumed too many spirit stones; most families or sects below second-grade couldn't afford them.

Array masters capable of drawing second-grade arrays usually didn't stay in second-grade prefectures.

Moreover, there was not a single absolute array—exactly what Mo Hua sought.

At first, Mo Hua thought he had missed something.

But since Master Zhuang didn't order them to stop, it must mean none existed.

Master Zhuang couldn't have missed them.

Mo Hua thought about it and realized it made sense.

If absolute arrays were everywhere, they'd be commonplace.

How could a commonplace array be called an "absolute array"?

Besides, Mo Hua had already learned the Earth-Soil Array.

The Earth-Soil Array was an eleven-pattern absolute array.

Mo Hua's current spiritual sense was also eleven-pattern, perfectly suited to use the Earth-Soil Array to refine his spiritual sense.

Whenever the carriage stopped for rest,

Mo Hua would jump down, extend his spiritual sense to find fresh tender grass, pluck it, and feed it to Daibai.

Then, while watching Daibai graze, he'd practice the Earth-Soil Array on the ground.

The Earth-Soil Array could only be practiced this way.

Mo Hua had used the Dao Stele to contemplate the Dao essence of the earth, overloading the stele, and it still hadn't recovered.

He had thought it was broken.

Fortunately, after observing for several days, he found the stele's color had merely turned gray-white, its surface still void, with no other abnormalities.

The stele's aura was gradually recovering, as if it would be fine after some time.

Mo Hua finally relaxed.

But for now, he couldn't use the Dao Stele to practice arrays.

The Earth-Soil Array couldn't be drawn on paper.

So Mo Hua had to wait for rest periods, find a patch of earth, squat down, and draw the array.

He practiced the array, sensed the Dao essence, and strengthened his spiritual sense simultaneously.

Each time he drew the Earth-Soil Array on the ground, Mo Hua felt his spiritual sense align slightly more with the earth, deepening his understanding of its Dao essence.

With this strange insight, Mo Hua's spiritual sense growth wasn't slow.

Yet he was still some distance from reaching twelve-pattern spiritual sense.

……

That day, they sat inside the carriage.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi were reviewing the array Master Zhuang had taught them—

the very array Mo Hua couldn't learn.

Mo Hua was curious but held back from looking.

Master Zhuang's actions always had reason; this might involve karmic matters he wasn't meant to touch.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua himself studied the array book while practicing spiritual sense calculations.

Master Zhuang sat with eyes closed, resting.

Moments later, Master Zhuang suddenly opened his eyes and said:

"It's the New Year."

All three disciples were startled.

Mo Hua calculated the date—it really was New Year's Eve.

In the past, in Xiancheng, during festivals, red lanterns hung on the streets, markets overflowed with dazzling goods, people bustled about, and the scent of food drifted from every home…

But now, there was no village ahead and no inn behind.

Only a secluded mountain path, with cliffs on either side and wild grass along the roadside.

Thinking of Xiancheng, Mo Hua let out a quiet sigh.

"I wonder how everyone in Xiancheng is doing?"

"Are they celebrating the New Year in full festivity again?"

"And my parents—have they been healthy and safe?"

"I wonder if they've missed me…"

Mo Hua murmured silently to himself, feeling a pang of homesickness, his expression growing somber.

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua, his gaze tinged with pity, and said:

"While traveling, one must keep things simple. But since it's the holiday, we should still mark it in some small way."

Mo Hua was surprised, "Are we celebrating too?"

"Mm." Mr. Zhuang nodded gently.

"But… we have nothing," Mo Hua murmured.

"Whatever you want, ask Old Puppet." Mr. Zhuang said.

Mo Hua froze, turning to look at Old Puppet.

Old Puppet nodded, "Whatever you want, you'll get it."

Mo Hua immediately brightened.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi also looked excited.

The eyes of the three children sparkled.

As if infected by their emotion, a faint smile curled at the corners of Mr. Zhuang's mouth.

…

So the group—primarily Mo Hua—began preparing.

He counted off on his fingers to Old Puppet:

"Old Puppet, we need lanterns, firecrackers, 'may there be surplus every year'—must have fish, 'step higher each year'—need cakes…"

Mo Hua finished listing everything one by one.

Old Puppet nodded and said, "Wait a moment."

Then, right before Mo Hua's eyes, he vanished.

Half an hour later, Old Puppet reappeared as silently as he had left, dropping several storage bags on the ground.

Mo Hua looked—and everything he'd asked for was there, complete and ready.

Many items were new, as if freshly bought from some festive Xiancheng.

"Thank you, Old Puppet!"

Mo Hua beamed.

Old Puppet nodded, then handed him another storage bag.

Mo Hua paused, opened it, and looked inside.

Inside were all kinds of dried nuts—pine nuts, hazelnuts, torreya nuts—but most were raw.

"Roast some for me," Old Puppet whispered. "I finished the last batch."

Old Puppet drove the carriage every day and had nothing else to do but crack pine nuts.

So the pine nuts Mo Hua had roasted for him before were long gone.

Since it was the New Year, he decided to treat himself.

He'd eaten so many pine nuts he wanted variety, so he bought a mix of all sorts.

These were all Qi Condensation-level items he'd never tried before—he didn't know what they tasted like—but figured if sold together, they'd be roughly the same, so he bought them all.

He just wondered if they'd crack nicely when he bit into them.

Old Puppet watched Mo Hua with hopeful anticipation.

Mo Hua smiled and nodded:

"Alright!"

So in the afternoon, they stopped traveling.

The carriage halted by the roadside.

Mo Hua tied bright red lanterns to the carriage, pasted a few "Fu" characters on it, and hung a large red flower around Bai Bai's neck.

Bai Bai was reluctant, but couldn't resist Mo Hua.

After all, the one who eats is the one who submits.

He'd eaten so much grass that Mo Hua had fed him.

Besides, Mo Hua set up the firecrackers and arranged the fireworks formation for that night.

Next came preparing the New Year's Eve feast.

Mo Hua first roasted all the pine nuts and hazelnuts for Old Puppet.

Some were plain, others seasoned with various spices.

Old Puppet took out a portion, placed it on the table for everyone, and quietly stuffed the rest into his sleeves.

Then came cooking the dishes.

The ingredients came partly from what Old Puppet bought, and partly from the spirit farmers of Qianjia Town.

Bai Zisheng watched eagerly beside him, occasionally saying:

"Mo Hua, make this—it's delicious."

"This one needs to be fried, not boiled."

"This one tastes better with chili, add more…"

Mr. Zhuang didn't mind so much—he could eat anything—but he still ordered a "steamed sea bass," to keep Bai Zisheng from ordering all spicy dishes.

Finally, there were the steamed cakes and pastries.

There was New Year cake, along with all sorts of other wheat-based foods and dim sum.

Bai Zixi helped Mo Hua knead the dough; as she kneaded, she began pinching off little dough balls.

Her fair little hands pinched the white dough, no one knew what she was shaping.

Mo Hua asked curiously:

"Senior Sister, what are you pinching?"

Bai Zixi held a strange little dough ball in her palm and said crisply:

"A rabbit!"

Mo Hua was stunned.

Bai Zixi frowned, "Doesn't it look like one?"

"It does…" Mo Hua said against his conscience.

"It's just… a little chubby."

The little rabbit had gotten chubby into a little pig.

Bai Zixi looked again at the "little rabbit" in her hand and said, puzzled, "It's not chubby…"

She thought it was quite cute.

Mo Hua busied himself all afternoon and finally finished cooking all the dishes.

The morning glow had faded, and the night was gradually deepening.

It was time to set off the fireworks.

Before setting them off, Mo Hua was still a little worried, "It won't startle the demon beasts in the mountain, will it…"

Old Gu glanced around and said lightly, "It won't."

Mo Hua was reassured.

The fireworks array was very simple; with limited time, Mo Hua hadn't drawn it too complicated.

Moreover, this array was drawn directly on the ground.

It was the first array Mo Hua had drawn using "earth" as the array medium, apart from the Thick Earth Array.

In the night, the fireworks were brilliant.

Then it was time to eat.

Everyone sat on the ground.

On the soft grass, a silk cloth was spread, covered with dishes.

The dishes were abundant, and Mo Hua's cooking skills had improved.

Mr. Zhuang ate the most contentedly, Bai Zisheng ate the most joyfully, Bai Zixi ate the most elegantly, and Old Gu just kept cracking pine nuts and hazelnuts, eating with the most single-minded focus.

Under the cool moonlight, in the quiet mountain scenery, there was a lively festive atmosphere, noisy and warm.

Once he was full and satisfied, Mo Hua stopped missing home.

He lay on the grass, counting the stars in the sky.

For Mo Hua, this wasn't the liveliest year, but it was the first time he had spent New Year with his Master, senior brothers, senior sister, and Grandpa Gu.

It could be considered quite lively.

For Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, the New Year in a great clan looked prosperous but felt cold and empty.

Full of worldly ways and rules.

It was not as simple and lively as now.

Bai Zisheng also lay on the ground, chatting with Mo Hua on and off, occasionally bickering.

Bai Zixi's expression was calm and gentle, but in her heart she was wondering—had she really pinched a rabbit just now?

Why had it turned into a little pig after steaming?

Mr. Zhuang, surrounded by his three disciples, felt comforted in his heart, but a momentary wistfulness flickered across his face.

This was probably the liveliest New Year he had spent in these several hundred years of cold, quiet life.

Thanks to Daoist Priest gege o and Roadside Dull-Shelled Beast for the tips

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