Chapter 49: Evening Glow

At dusk, Mo Hua returned home first, had his mother prepare some food—two bowls of steaming noodles, some braised beef, crisp pickled vegetables, several plates of pastries, and a few flasks of osmanthus wine.

He then packed all the food into a lunch box and stored it in his storage pouch before bringing it up the mountain.

On the mountainside, two children, a boy and a girl, and the veiled woman still stood rigidly in place.

Mo Hua slung his storage pouch and walked up to them, speaking bluntly:

"You've disturbed Master Zhuang's peace. Go back—he doesn't wish to see you."

Upon hearing this, both children looked dejected, and the veiled woman said:

"Kindly inform Master Zhuang that an old acquaintance has come, with urgent matters to discuss—please ask him to grant us just one meeting."

Mo Hua said, "You think he doesn't know why you're here? If he doesn't want to see you, he won't—waiting longer will only be wasted time."

The boy declared firmly, "As long as I can meet Master Zhuang, I'll wait however long it takes."

The girl said nothing, but her gaze showed no hint of retreat.

Mo Hua asked curiously, "What if Master Zhuang never sees you? Will you really wait forever? Ten years? A hundred?"

The boy clenched his jaw and stayed silent.

He was quite handsome and seemed intelligent, but stubborn to a fault. Mo Hua muttered inwardly.

"What do you eat, then?"

"I have Void-Fasting Pills."

"Eating too many Void-Fasting Pills harms the body," Mo Hua said.

Void-Fasting Pills are one of the alchemical pills crafted by alchemists, made by refining ordinary ingredients with preservative herbs into compact pills—easy to store, they relieve hunger and replenish blood-qi, making them essential for cultivators on long journeys or during extended seclusion; but prolonged use damages the cultivator's blood-qi.

Of course, free cultivators avoid them for another reason: Void-Fasting Pills aren't cheap, and using them as meals isn't cost-effective.

"Hmph," the boy snorted, "none of your business."

Yet he stole a glance at the veiled woman beside him.

The veiled woman said, "We appreciate your kindness, young friend, but we must meet Master Zhuang—otherwise, we will not leave."

"You're here to meet Master Zhuang, but no matter how long you wait, you won't see him. Given his nature, the longer you stay, the less likely he is to meet you," Mo Hua said.

The veiled woman hesitated a moment; though she had never met Master Zhuang, she had heard of his ways and suspected the boy's words were true.

If Master Zhuang didn't wish to see them, even if they waited until their bones turned to dust, they would never meet him.

Seeing her wavering, Mo Hua continued, "Cultivators rely on fate. Master Zhuang refuses to see you because the connection hasn't formed. If the fate isn't there, no amount of persistence will change it."

The woman asked, "Then when will fate allow us to meet him?"

Mo Hua said, "That depends on Master Zhuang's mood. Come on a day with gentle wind and bright sun, pay your respects at his gate, and leave without lingering. If the gate is open, he wishes to see you; if it's shut, the fate hasn't formed—he doesn't wish to see you, so go home."

The woman still hesitated, "Lady instructed us to bring Master and Young Lady to meet Master Zhuang—leaving now…"

"If you wait ten or eight years, neglect your cultivation, stay awake and hungry, ruin your blood-qi, and even if you finally meet Master Zhuang and become his disciple, your foundation will be damaged—you'll never reach the True Dao. What's the point?" Mo Hua countered.

The woman nodded, then frowned, "We never said we wanted to become Master Zhuang's disciple. How did you know?"

Mo Hua thought: You brought two children at the age of enlightenment to visit him—what else could you possibly want?

If it were just a visit to an old acquaintance, you wouldn't have lingered here for seven days.

Yet outwardly, Mo Hua maintained a calm demeanor, invoking Master Zhuang:

"I've said it before—everything is within Master Zhuang's foresight. Go home. When he's ready to see you, he will."

After speaking, Mo Hua felt the moment was right and opened the lunch box—the aroma drifted out.

"Would you like something to eat?"

The girl was fine, but the boy immediately grew restless; though he feigned composure, his eyes kept darting toward the lunch box.

Void-Fasting Pills taste awful, and eating too many causes discomfort—they can't compare in color, aroma, or flavor to the meat, wine, and pastries in Mo Hua's lunch box.

Seeing the boy and girl's faces paler than paper, their lips bloodless, the veiled woman recalled how they had always lived in luxury—when had they ever endured such hunger and exhaustion? Her heart softened.

She had raised these two children since infancy; even if she defied Lady's orders by failing to bring them to Master Zhuang, she would accept punishment herself—she could never bear to let them suffer.

Besides, this young boy was right: if they ate Void-Fasting Pills daily, stayed awake and exhausted, and absorbed the mountain's cold and heat, damaging their foundations, no remedy could undo the harm.

"Then thank you, young friend."

The woman thanked Mo Hua, then turned to the children:

"Master and Young Lady, eat something first. Since Master Zhuang doesn't wish to see us, the timing isn't right—we'll return another day."

The two children also thanked Mo Hua.

Then they took out the noodles and snacks and ate, though ravenous, each bite and chop remained dignified—clearly well-bred aristocratic children.

The boy tasted the spicy beef—it had a strange initial flavor, but as he chewed, the fragrance spread, and he asked, "What kind of meat is this?"

"Beast meat."

The boy's eyes widened, "You can eat beast meat?!"

Mo Hua gave him a look of disbelief. "You're eating it right now…"

"But isn't it said that eating beast meat ruins blood-qi and clouds the mind?"

"This is wild ox beast meat—it eats grass and plants, so it won't harm a cultivator's blood-qi. Only beasts that eat flesh and humans have meat that's forbidden."

Mo Hua wore an expression of "you've never seen anything like this."

The boy stared at the meat in his hand, wary, yet unwilling to appear ignorant—he ate a few more bites, then realized the meat grew more delicious the more he ate, until he couldn't stop…

The girl beside him stared at the pastries in Mo Hua's lunch box. "These pastries…"

"Made by my mother—delicious!" Mo Hua said proudly.

"Your mother… makes pastries for you?"

"Besides pastries, there's plenty more good food," Mo Hua nodded.

A trace of envy flickered in the girl's cold eyes; she picked up a pastry, parted her lips slightly, and took a delicate bite.

Crisp and sweet.

The little girl lowered her eyes slightly, her long lashes covering her gaze, unreadable. After a while she lifted her head, looked at Mo Hua, and praised, "It's delicious."

Her voice was clear and lovely — the legendary celestial beings plucking their qin and playing immortal music could hardly be more so.

Mo Hua was also very happy, squinting as he smiled and said:

"Mm, the things my mother makes are the tastiest!"

After they finished eating, before leaving Aunt Xue took out a jade pendant flowing with radiant light and handed it to Mo Hua:

"This is a first-grade Clear Heart Pendant. Wearing it can help one focus the mind during cultivation. It isn't anything precious — a small token of thanks."

Though Aunt Xue said it wasn't precious, just the flowing light on it showed it was no mortal grade item; for a loose cultivator like Mo Hua, it was all the more valuable.

Mo Hua did want it a little, but he knew he couldn't accept it.

Their politeness to him was entirely because of Mr. Zhuang's face. Without that, given the gulf in their statuses, they probably wouldn't even have spoken a word to him.

Learning array formations from Mr. Zhuang was already a favor he owed; he couldn't trade Mr. Zhuang's face for personal gain.

Mo Hua politely declined. Aunt Xue still wanted to give it, so Mo Hua said:

"If you really must give something, then just give me the meal money — five spirit stones will do."

Aunt Xue paused, as if she had never heard such a request, but she still took out a storage bag containing forty or fifty spirit stones.

Mo Hua only took five from it, then returned the bag to Aunt Xue. Without waiting for her to say anything, he waved his small hand, slung his own storage bag over his shoulder, and headed down the mountain on his own.

Aunt Xue stared blankly after Mo Hua. Just as he was about to walk far away, the little girl suddenly spoke, her voice clear and lovely:

"What is your name?"

Though the voice was soft, Mo Hua still heard it.

Mo Hua turned back and said with a smile, "My name is Mo Hua."

At that moment the evening clouds were like splashed ink, and the mountain scenery was like a painting.

Amid the brilliant glow of the clouds, Mo Hua stood among the mountains, as if standing within a painting of brocade mountain scenery.

The name Mo Hua, along with the skyful of colorful clouds, remained in her sea of consciousness.