From then on, the three of them would visit Mr. Zhuang every morning, bowing respectfully outside his door and waiting for the time it takes to finish half a cup of tea. If the door remained closed, they would descend the mountain.
Mo Hua actually wanted to tell them that Mr. Zhuang liked to sleep in until the afternoon, so their timing was off.
But then he thought again—at least for the time being, Mr. Zhuang didn't seem keen on seeing them.
They came early, they couldn't see Mr. Zhuang; they came late, they still couldn't see him. Since they couldn't see him anyway, the timing of their visits didn't really matter.
Entering the mountain in the early morning, they could still see the mountain bathed in the light of dawn, which wasn't a total loss.
Sometimes Mo Hua would encounter them on his way up the mountain. If he had time, he would exchange a few words with them.
Although they were children of a prestigious family and looked proud, they were quite easy to talk to.
Through chatting with them, Mo Hua learned that their surname was Bai. The boy, dignified and handsome, was named Bai Zisheng, while the delicate girl, resembling a porcelain doll, was named Bai Zixi.
They were siblings who had come from afar under the orders of their elders to study formation techniques under Mr. Zhuang.
Bai Zisheng was talkative, while Bai Zixi was quieter.
They bore a resemblance to each other, but Bai Zixi was clearly more attractive.
And she was remarkably attractive...
From afar, Mo Hua thought she was charming and delicate, but up close, he noticed that despite her young age, her flawless face was extraordinarily beautiful and fair.
Could such a face really belong to a human being...? Mo Hua was astonished.
As the saying goes, Nuwa created humans from clay—some people clearly were, but others were not. At least Bai Zixi was not.
When Nuwa created her, she must have used the essence of snow, moonlight, and elegance, crafting her with icy skin and jade bones.
Mo Hua stole another glance at Bai Zixi and silently thought to himself:
"The proverb says beauty is a disaster; Nuwa wasn't creating people, she was clearly creating calamities..."
The woman accompanying the Bai siblings, who wore a veil and was called Xueyi, was likely sent by their family to protect them.
Mo Hua wasn't sure of Xueyi's cultivation level, but she definitely had a strong aura that he had never felt from other cultivators before.
The highest-level cultivator Mo Hua had previously encountered was the Elder of Tongxian Sect, who was at the Foundation Building stage. However, the Elder was kind and elderly, with declining spiritual power, so the pressure he exerted was not as strong as Xueyi's.
"At least she should be at the Foundation Building stage..."
Mo Hua speculated silently.
Having a Foundation Building stage cultivator as a bodyguard indicated that the Bai siblings' status was definitely extraordinary. The Bai family was probably a prominent clan from beyond Li State. Mo Hua tactfully didn't inquire further about the specifics of their prestigious family.
Noble families and clans were worlds away from Mo Hua.
For a self-cultivating cultivator, breaking through to become a Foundation Building stage cultivator was extremely difficult. In this small city of Tongxian, the status and position of a Foundation Building stage cultivator were quite prestigious.
His cultivation throughout his life might not necessarily be higher than the guards around others.
Mo Hua remembered his original intention, focusing on studying formations to become a first-rate formation master, which would pave the way for his future in the cultivation world.
The Bai siblings visited Mr. Zhuang every morning, and although he didn't say anything, it seemed he tacitly accepted their visits. However, there was still no indication that he wanted to see them.
But Mr. Zhuang also seemed to relax a bit, and his daily routine returned to normal.
He still slept until the afternoon every day, then sat in the courtyard, pairing beef with wine or having snacks with tea, contemplating the mountain scenery.
Mo Hua continued his study of formations, drawing formations, meditating, drawing formations again, and consulting Mr. Zhuang whenever he had doubts.
One day, Mr. Zhuang suddenly asked Mo Hua to draw a formation called the "Three Talents Formation."
This formation included six array patterns, which Mo Hua's current spiritual awareness couldn't complete. Moreover, its structure looked quite unique, different from the Five Elements formations Mo Hua had encountered before.
Mr. Zhuang gave Mo Hua only one day. The next day, Mo Hua was to show him the drawn formation, however much he managed to complete.
During the day, Mo Hua focused entirely on studying the "Three Talents Formation," trying to draw it several times. At night, he practiced on the remnants of the monument in his sea of consciousness.
The next day, in front of Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua managed to sketch out the formation intermittently and barely. Due to insufficient spiritual awareness, some of the array patterns he drew were ineffective.
Mr. Zhuang didn't say anything. Seeing Mo Hua looking tired and slightly pale, he knew it was the result of excessive use of spiritual awareness. He lit an incense stick emitting a pale, fragrant smoke with a refreshing aroma that was soothing to the senses.
"This is a calming incense, which nourishes spiritual awareness. Meditate here and rest early after the incense burns out. Don't draw formations today."
"Thank you, sir."
Mo Hua thanked him, then meditated. He felt his spiritual awareness recovering faster. After about the time it took to finish two cups of tea, when the calming incense burned out, Mo Hua bowed and took his leave.
After Mo Hua left, Mr. Zhuang looked at the "Three Talents Formation" he had drawn, frowned, and pondered for half a day without saying a word.
Old Kui entered the room and, seeing this, asked, "Did he not draw it well?"
Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "It's not about whether it's good or not... His spiritual awareness is insufficient, and the time was rushed. It's impossible to draw this formation well. However..."
Mr. Zhuang furrowed his brow. "This child Mo Hua learns too quickly."
"What's wrong with learning quickly?"
"It's not about being quick, it's too quick..."
Mr. Zhuang spread out the "Three Talents Formation" and said, "This 'Three Talents Formation' uses completely different array hubs and has different array patterns from the Five Elements formations I just gave him yesterday. He learned it in just one day, with his spiritual awareness, he could have stumbled through drawing this formation despite all odds..."
Mr. Zhuang's gaze hardened slightly. "What's most puzzling is that in one day, with Mo Hua's spiritual awareness, he could have practiced this formation about three or four times at most. But looking at this 'Three Talents Formation' now, his strokes are already quite familiar, perhaps practiced ten times over."
Old Kui's expression remained unchanged, but his tone became subdued. "Are you saying... this child Mo Hua is hiding something from you?"
Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "I haven't asked, so there's no question of hiding or not. But looking at it this way, this child Mo Hua probably has some other stroke of luck."
Old Kui blinked. "People in cultivation, who doesn't have their own stroke of luck? Do you have fewer opportunities yourself? Among the myriad beings in the world, anyone born into it already holds a grand opportunity."
Mr. Zhuang pondered at the words.
Old Kui said, "If you really care, just ask him."
Mr. Zhuang was taken aback. "Ask him?"
Old Kui impatiently said, "You're the type who thinks you're insightful, but you're actually scheming. Always thinking everyone's like you, hiding and not telling anything. This child Mo Hua seems good to me, not like you, hiding eighteen holes, twisting and turning in everything."
Mr. Zhuang lay back in his chair, calmly saying, "If I were really so insightful, I wouldn't have fallen into such a situation."
"Things gather in kind, people part in kind. You consider yourself clever, you like dealing with people with many thoughts, and the result is your heart is no dirtier than others', naturally someone will calculate against you. This drink and this peck, you're asking for it."
Mr. Zhuang smiled wryly, saying, "Yes, so now I can only be with you, who has no heart, and it's quieter."
Old Kui's face was wooden, saying no more.
(End of the chapter)