Chapter 81: Chapter Eighty-One: Qian Xing

Watching the outstandingly graceful Aunt Xue, Zhang Lan's eyes couldn't look away.

Mo Hua's gaze at him grew even more contemptuous.

Zhang Lan coughed once, tidied his appearance, looked at Aunt Xue, and said with a solemn face that nonetheless carried a hint of flattery:

"I am Zhang Lan. May I ask this fellow Daoist…"

Aunt Xue didn't pay him any attention at all, and said directly to Mo Hua: "Mo Hua, we'll wait for you up ahead." Having said that, she took Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi and left, leaving Zhang Lan standing alone in a daze, that slightly flattering expression still frozen on his face.

Mo Hua's gaze at Zhang Lan turned somewhat sympathetic. He wanted to pat Zhang Lan's shoulder, but he wasn't tall enough to reach it, so he made do with patting his waist, and said:

"Everyone goes through setbacks, Uncle Zhang. Try to take it in stride…"

These words of comfort, spoken in his childish voice, didn't provide the slightest bit of comfort.

Zhang Lan was still puzzled: "I'm not bad-looking, my cultivation isn't low, and my every gesture carries the etiquette and bearing of a noble family's disciple. Why won't she say a single word to me?"

Mo Hua couldn't stand his narcissistic look, but felt he had a point.

"Maybe Aunt Xue heard your name as 'scumbag' too, so she's avoiding you? How about you try changing your name?" Mo Hua suggested.

Zhang Lan looked at Mo Hua with a face full of speechlessness.

Mo Hua comforted him a few more times, and only then did Zhang Lan stop dwelling on what had just happened. After a few more words, Zhang Lan finally left with a look of regret.

Mo Hua then found Aunt Xue and the other two, and they continued to stroll the streets for a while. By the time it was past the middle of the chou hour, they each went home.

Bai Zisheng returned fully laden, and even stuffed a pile of things on Mo Hua—many strange and curious items that Mo Hua couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.

Mo Hua also bought some gifts for his parents. The one for Liu Ruhua was still a Fire-Warding Hairpin, bought the day before yesterday, with much finer craftsmanship than the one he'd given before.

The array inside the hairpin had been erased by Mo Hua, and he had drawn a new one himself—an array with more pattern lines.

For this purpose, before going home he had specially sought out Master Chen, asking Master Chen to help him take the hairpin apart. After redrawing the array, he asked Master Chen to reassemble it.

The gift for Seeing Mo Shan was a jade pendant, which he had also taken apart and redrawn with a Miasma-Clearing Array. Once activated, the array could to a certain extent dispel the poisonous or miasmal air in the mountains, though its range wasn't large.

Both Seeing Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua were very happy—not only because of the gifts Mo Hua gave, but also because the gifts contained arrays personally drawn by Mo Hua.

The bustle of the Monster-Hunting Festival passed, and Xiancheng grew quiet again, with cultivators living their lives as usual.

Mo Hua was no exception. His cultivation needed to advance, and there was still a great deal to learn about arrays.

That day, Mo Hua was walking home from Mr. Zhuang's place, pondering Mr. Zhuang's teachings while thinking about which arrays he still needed to learn. As he walked, he was suddenly blocked by a group of people.

Mo Hua looked up and saw a thin young master standing before him, dressed in splendid brocade, fanning himself with a gold-flecked paper fan, his features frivolous.

"Young Master Qian?"

Qian Xing, the youngest son of the Qian family head.

The Qian family was the most powerful and the wealthiest clan in Xiancheng. Qian Xing was the family head's son, the most legitimate of the legitimate line, and the youngest in rank, so he was the most spoiled.

Being the youngest, Qian Xing didn't need to consider inheriting the family business, so all he had to think about was food, drink, and pleasure. Mo Hua's only interactions with him were at Tongxian Gate, where he'd written a few array assignments for him.

"Is something the matter?"

Qian Xing smiled very amiably. "There is indeed something. I need to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?" Mo Hua had a feeling he wasn't up to any good.

Qian Xing coughed lightly a few times and said: "That night during the Monster-Hunting Festival, I happened to run into you. There was a little girl with a veil behind you. Do you know her?"

A little girl with a veil? Was he talking about Bai Zi Xi?

"I suppose I know her…"

Qian Xing was overjoyed, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes. "Call her out for me. Let's get to know each other, be friends."

That night of the Monster-Hunting Festival, Qian Xing had been mingling among the family's disciples and had spotted the little girl behind Mo Hua from afar. Though she was still young and wore a veil, that otherworldly bearing of hers—once he laid eyes on it, he simply couldn't forget it.

He had sent people to inquire about the little girl's background, but no news had come. So he thought to start with Mo Hua, and these past few days had been bringing his entourage along to look for Mo Hua. Now at last he'd run into him.

"We're not close. I can't call her out," Mo Hua said dismissively.

Qian Xing said: "You were strolling the streets together, and you say you're not close? I don't believe it. Don't worry—as long as you agree, I won't treat you badly. What do you want, spirit stones or a spirit artifact?"

Mo Hua said calmly: "What if I don't agree?"

The smile gradually faded from Qian Xing's face. "I'm giving you face here."

Your face isn't worth anything—drop it on the ground and no one would bother to pick it up…

Mo Hua had no intention of dealing with him, and simply said: "I need to go home. Can you move aside?"

"Move aside?"

Qian Xing was stunned for a moment, then sneered coldly: "Go ask around. In this Xiancheng, it's always been others making way for this young master. No one has ever dared to make me move aside!"

Qian Xing's expression grew sullen:

"I'll say it one more time. Call that little girl out and let me get to know her, and I won't pursue your offense just now. Otherwise, I'll make your parents regret giving birth to you, make you suffer pointlessly in this world!"

Mo Hua's gaze also gradually turned unfriendly, and he said disdainfully:

"If anyone's going to regret, it's your father first—for giving birth to a piece of trash like you, who pointlessly embarrasses himself in this world!"

As for cursing—who couldn't do it? Since Qian Xing had opened his mouth first, Mo Hua held back no longer.

Mo Hua felt he had only uttered an ordinary insult, but Qian Xing's reaction was beyond his expectations.

Qian Xing's face went deathly pale, then gradually contorted.

The surroundings also instantly fell much quieter.

The gang of underlings behind Qian Xing were momentarily dazed as well. They'd been running amuck alongside Qian Xing for so long, yet this was the first time they'd seen anyone dare to curse Qian Xing in broad daylight.

Mo Hua was also a bit stunned.

He didn't seem to have cursed much—how had this already broken through his defenses?

If he couldn't even handle this, then if Mo Hua unleashed the filthy words he'd been brewing in his stomach, wouldn't Qian Xing spit blood on the spot?

As expected, those spoiled rotten from birth have rather fragile Dao hearts…

Qian Xing's blood instantly surged upward, his eyes bloodshot, blood vessels even appearing in them. His fingers trembled as he pointed at Mo Hua, his face savage as he howled:

"I want him dead! I want him dead!"

Mo Hua frowned. Kill someone just because of a few harsh words?

Qian Xing was so furious he was going mad, but the lackeys behind him hesitated. "Young Master, are we really going to beat him to death?"

Qian Xing stared at them with blood-red eyes. "He dies, or you die. Choose for yourselves!"

Most of them were concubine-born members of the Qian family, or outsiders who had attached themselves to the Qian family. By sticking with Qian Xing, they could get a share of the meat and soup, so they had no choice but to obey Qian Xing. If they displeased Qian Xing, they'd be tossed out of the Qian family like a dead dog.

Still, they'd followed Qian Xing long enough that dirty work wasn't anything new, so they didn't feel much burden in their hearts.

One Qian family disciple said with a sinister air, "Kid, consider yourself unlucky. In your next life, learn to read the room." With that, he threw a punch straight at Mo Hua's forehead.

The punch was both vicious and ruthless—clearly meant to kill.

But when the fist was still a few chi away from Mo Hua, it was seized by someone.

The Qian family disciple whose fist had been grabbed tried to break free, but couldn't. Instead, he felt his bones creaking. Before he could cry out in pain, a fist slammed into his face. Blood spurted from his nose, and the powerful force sent him staggering backward. Finally, he crashed against the wall like a torn burlap sack and collapsed unconscious.

The others were momentarily cowed. They looked up and saw a sturdy youth who had, at some unknown point, already taken his place behind Mo Hua.

It was Chen Master's apprentice from the Refining Hall—Chen Dazhu.

The usually simple, grinning Chen Dazhu now wore an expressionless face. The muscles on his arms were like iron, and his whole being radiated an imposing, wrathful aura as he silently stood behind Mo Hua.

Mo Hua's expression remained as usual.

In this stretch of Nandajie in Xiancheng, when it came to fights, his "network" was fairly wide.