Chapter 406: An Old Acquaintance

Mo Hua and the others were invited into the parlor, where disciples served fresh fruit and tea steeped in qi mist.

The array master introduced himself:

"I am surnamed Su, a First-Rank Array Master, and humbly serve as a senior elder of the Nan Yue Sect. May I ask, young master…"

Mo Hua said: "I am surnamed Mo, a First-Rank Array Master; no one has yet invited me to be an elder…"

The array master smiled. "Young Master Mo, you speak with quite a sense of humor."

Mo Hua was gifted beyond ordinary, yet not arrogant; his speech was innocent and his smile warm and likable. He thus relaxed, sipped his tea slowly, and asked:

"May I ask, young master, what brings you here?"

Mo Hua replied: "Master Su…"

"No, no, call me Elder Su…"

Elder Su quickly waved his hand.

As a fellow First-Rank Array Master, he found it improper to be called "Master."

Mo Hua nodded and asked:

"Elder Su, do you know an array master surnamed Yan? His array skill is at the half-step First-Rank level—or perhaps already First-Rank…"

Elder Su paused, stroked his beard, and murmured:

"Surnamed Yan…"

He pondered for a long while, then shook his head and said:

"I truly don't know him."

"Nan Yue City is large, yet also small—especially among array masters. Anyone with even a modicum of skill has crossed paths with others at least once."

"There are array masters surnamed Yan in Nan Yue City, but none at half-step First-Rank or higher—I've never heard of any."

Mo Hua felt disappointed and added:

"He's an outsider."

Elder Su pondered:

"If an outsider array master stayed long enough and mingled with others, I would have heard of him."

"Since I haven't heard of him, he may have only stayed briefly before leaving…"

"Of course, if this array master came here and secluded himself, avoiding all contact with other array masters, then my not knowing him is perfectly normal…"

Mo Hua slowly nodded.

Master Yan had come here to hunt down a traitor from his sect; it was entirely possible he concealed his presence, kept to himself, to avoid alerting anyone.

Elder Su hesitated, then asked:

"May I ask, what is your relationship with this Mr. Yan?"

He added apologetically: "Of course, if it's inconvenient to disclose, consider it as if I never asked."

"Mr. Yan is my senior teacher; I happened to pass through here and thought to pay him a visit."

Mo Hua gave only a general answer.

Elder Su understood.

Visiting one's teacher was a natural thing.

He sighed regretfully: "Pity—I've never met this array master. I can't assist you, young master."

Mo Hua replied politely:

"Elder Su, you're too kind. We're the ones who intruded."

Since he could not learn anything about Master Yan, Mo Hua rose to take his leave—he still needed to ask other array masters.

Elder Su thought for a moment, then ordered a disciple to fetch a formal invitation and handed it to Mo Hua, saying:

"This is my invitation…"

"When you visit other array masters, you may not be admitted without showing the Tian Shu Ring."

"But the Tian Shu Ring is precious—it draws attention and invites envy. Better not to display it lightly."

"With this invitation, your visits will be much easier."

Mo Hua took the invitation and saw it bore Elder Su's name, written in elegant script, dusted with gold ink, and marked with the emblem of the Nan Yue Sect.

It looked both valuable and prestigious.

Mo Hua thanked him: "Thank you, Elder Su!"

Elder Su smiled: "If you stay in Nan Yue City and have spare time, feel free to come to my residence for tea and discussion of array techniques."

Mo Hua thanked him again, but hesitated:

"Won't I disturb your guests?"

Elder Su was an array master and a senior elder—he likely had many visitors and was always busy.

Elder Su shook his head:

"No problem. Any time you come, you are a honored guest."

Mo Hua smiled too: "Thank you for your kindness, Elder Su. I'll certainly come when I have time."

Afterwards, Elder Su personally escorted Mo Hua to the gate.

Once Mo Hua was far away, Elder Su stroked his beard and muttered to himself:

"What the hell—where did this First-Rank young array master come from? So young—could he have started learning arrays in the womb? But that doesn't make sense…"

The disciple who had been standing beside Elder Su whispered:

"Master, could he be fake?"

"Impossible," Elder Su shook his head.

"Array skill can't be faked—it's either real or not. The moment he drew an array, I knew—he's unquestionably a First-Rank Array Master."

The disciple felt a pang of bitterness: "Even if he's a Grade-One Array Master, he's still young—aren't you being too courteous to him?"

"What do you know?"

Elder Su glared at the disciple.

The disciple dared not speak.

Elder Su furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly:

"That young Mr. Liao Zheyan… I can't see through him."

"Not just him—I can't see through the two young cultivators beside him, either, with their extraordinary appearances and demeanors…"

"They clearly show only Qi Condensation cultivation, yet my spiritual sense detects nothing…"

"I'm still Foundation Establishment, yet I can't see through Qi Condensation…"

"This means they must be wearing some spiritual artifact that conceals their aura."

"Such spiritual artifacts aren't something just any cultivator with ordinary background could possess."

The disciple's heart tightened: "Could these three young cultivators have powerful connections?"

Elder Su nodded, then shook his head, suddenly froze, his expression darkening as he said to the disciple:

"Why do you care so much? Go study your array techniques!"

"If you'd devoted even half your mind to arrays, you wouldn't still be nothing but an apprentice."

"Of all my disciples, you're the dumbest."

"If it weren't for your mother's face, I'd have kicked you out long ago."

"Look at him—he's a Grade-One Array Master at barely ten. Look at you—you won't amount to anything even if you live to a hundred…"

…

Elder Su launched into a scathing reprimand.

The disciple, crestfallen, quickly said:

"I'm wrong—I'll go draw arrays right away."

Then he dashed off, yet his expression showed no real panic.

Seeing this, Elder Su sighed helplessly:

"Back in my day, how did I ever let myself get tangled up in such a romantic mess?"

…

Mo Hua left Elder Su's residence; Bai Zisheng asked:

"Shall we visit the other Array Masters too?"

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded. "Even if there's likely no lead, we still need to go—just to get our faces known."

They were strangers here; in Nanyue City, knowing more cultivators couldn't hurt.

Besides, all these cultivators are Array Masters.

Local Array Masters are usually prominent figures.

Building even a little rapport helps when conflicts arise.

Without connections, trouble usually ends in fists.

Even a nodding acquaintance makes things easier to handle.

He learned this from Master Luo.

Master Luo thrived in Tongxian City, getting along smoothly with every Array Master—listening to his advice is always right.

Bai Zisheng nodded.

The group then used Elder Su's letter of introduction to visit every prominent Array Master in Nanyue City.

They asked about Yan Jiaxi's whereabouts, and also built some rapport.

Elder Su was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a Grade-One Array Master, and a senior elder of the Nanyue Sect—apparently even an Inner Sect elder.

His letter of introduction was indeed very effective.

Mo Hua smoothly visited every Array Master's residence in Nanyue City.

Everyone was polite and amiable.

With Elder Su's letter, Mo Hua didn't need to reveal his own Grade-One Array Master status—it wasn't necessary.

Elder Su's status was enough.

Even if some Array Masters were arrogant, after a few words exchanging array knowledge, they'd grow friendly.

Array Masters get along well with each other.

Especially when discussing arrays—whether someone's an insider or not becomes clear in two sentences.

Mo Hua's age and array mastery left them all astonished.

Mo Hua spent the whole day visiting everyone and became familiar to all.

As the saying goes: a strong dragon doesn't suppress local snakes.

Mo Hua, once barely a "cross-river dragon," now, after this round of visits, had become a "local snake" in Nanyue City's array circle.

Walking through Nanyue City, Mo Hua held his waist even straighter.

Bai Zisheng was puzzled.

He had seen with his own eyes: every Array Master, no matter how arrogant at first, ended up treating Mo Hua with kindness.

They all seemed eager to give him face.

Was his popularity really that good?

Or was it because Mo Hua was an Array Master?

But Mo Hua hadn't even said he was a Grade-One Array Master—he'd only claimed he knew "a little bit" of arrays…

Bai Zisheng did not understand.

Mo Hua did not know what Bai Zisheng was thinking.

He was still thinking about Teacher Yan.

As expected, every array master he asked knew nothing of Teacher Yan's whereabouts, and none had even heard of him…

Mo Hua frowned.

Where had Teacher Yan gone?

Was he still even in Xiancheng?

…

After returning, Mo Hua told everything to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang was not surprised, as if he had already anticipated it, and merely nodded slightly.

"Then, Master, should we keep looking?" Mo Hua asked.

He feared wasting Mr. Zhuang's time.

"Keep looking," said Mr. Zhuang. "Let's search a little longer."

"Understood."

…

In the following days, besides his daily cultivation and drawing arrays, Mo Hua spent all his other time with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi, wandering the streets and alleys of Xiancheng, asking about Teacher Yan's whereabouts.

After five or six days, there was still no lead.

Although they had not found Teacher Yan, Mo Hua encountered other acquaintances.

One day, as Mo Hua walked the streets, he saw several people arguing; among them was a beautiful female cultivator who looked familiar.

Mo Hua couldn't help but glance at her several times.

Bai Zi Xi looked at him curiously.

Mo Hua blinked, suddenly remembered, his eyes brightened, and he waved and called out:

"Sister Situ!"

The woman was Situ Fang.

Several years ago, outside Xiantong City on Great Heishan, she and Zhang Lan had been hunting down evil cultivators when they met Mo Hua.

Mo Hua guided them to the evil cultivators, lent a small hand in subduing them, and even broke one of the evil cultivator's legs.

Mo Hua remembered that Situ Fang had treated him kindly, and later, together with Zhang Lan, had invited him to dinner at Ling Shan Restaurant.

A whole table full of dishes!

Situ Fang, wearing the black Dao Ting Si Gu Diansi robe, turned in surprise upon hearing the call, and saw a fair-lipped, white-toothed young cultivator waving at her and calling out "Sister" in a clear voice.

Situ Fang stared for a long moment before recognizing him, and her mouth opened slightly:

"Mo… Mo Hua?!"

(End of Chapter)