Many things happening behind the scenes were unknown to Mo Hua, and on his parents' side, he thought they had kept things well hidden.
It wasn't until a few days later when Mo Shan and his wife prepared some gifts and took Mo Hua along to deliver them to Master Chen that he realized he hadn't kept his secret.
"Rain leaves traces, geese leave sounds. Uncle Zhang was right. Once something happens, there will always be clues. You may not know, but someone will eventually find out," Mo Hua sighed quietly.
Mo Shan didn't blame Mo Hua. He believed that a real man should take responsibility for his actions and be able to keep things to himself without airing everything out.
Despite his young age, Mo Hua could handle crises independently and remain calm afterwards. He showed courage and responsibility. Thinking of this, Mo Shan felt a bit relieved.
Liu Ruhua was both worried and heartbroken. She felt a bit resentful too, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she pinched Mo Hua's cheek forcefully, as a way to vent.
The Mo Shan family of three brought the gifts to the Forge.
Among the gifts were several large pieces of wild bull meat, from two wild bull demons that Mo Shan had recently killed. They chose the thigh meat and after several days of cooking and stewing efforts by Liu Ruhua, they were pickled.
The meat of wild bull demons wasn't expensive, but the effort in pickling and the spirit stones spent on cooking it were. If bought directly with spirit stones, it wouldn't be cheap, especially since Master Chen couldn't bear to spend spirit stones easily, given his many needs for them.
With so much bull meat, even the young men at the Forge, who had hearty appetites, would have enough to eat for over a month.
Big Zhuo and the others were amazed. They had never seen so much meat before, and their mouths watered incessantly, unable to wipe their drool away fast enough.
Master Chen received a large jar of wine and laughed heartily.
He enjoyed drinking a few sips normally but couldn't bring himself to drink much due to the cost. Now with this jar of wine, he could afford to be more generous and enjoy it for a long time.
Two calm months passed thereafter, until Zhang Lan found Mo Hua again and said, "Qian Xing's injuries have healed."
"Healed?"
"The alchemists in Tongxian City refused to treat Qian Xing's injuries. The Qian family spent a lot of spirit stones to hire several first-grade alchemists from outside, and it took two months of effort to finally heal him. I heard they refined dozens of furnaces of elixirs, not to mention the cost of spiritual herbs," Zhang Lan remarked.
"So many spirit stones..." Mo Hua sighed regretfully. It seemed like a waste to use so many spirit stones to save Qian Xing.
"Be careful," Zhang Lan warned.
Mo Hua pondered and asked, "If Qian Xing doesn't necessarily know it was me who injured him, would he still come after me?"
"You refused his demands, which made him furious. In the end, he was blown up into that sorry state, lying in bed for two months and spending so many spirit stones to heal. Most importantly, he lost a lot of face. Regardless of who injured him, you started it all, and he'll remember that," Zhang Lan explained to Mo Hua.
"He was the one who provoked me first. If you really think about it, isn't he the one who started it? Doesn't he ever think about his own problems?" Mo Hua frowned.
"He's the favored heir of a prestigious family, pampered since childhood. It's hard for his temperament not to be extreme. He won't think he's wrong; it's always someone else's fault. I've seen many people like him..."
Zhang Lan played with his wine glass. "Moreover, if he wants your life and you refuse, he'll think you're defying him and become even more angry."
Mo Hua widened his eyes in surprise. "Are there really people like that?"
"You'll encounter them sooner or later," Zhang Lan said, "In this world, not everyone treats others as equals."
Zhang Lan finished his drink in one go and got up. "I'm leaving. You don't need to worry too much about this matter. With so many eyes watching, the Qian family won't dare to act. But Qian Xing, being the person he is, still harbors some malice. Be vigilant just in case."
"With so many eyes watching..." What did that mean, who was watching?
Mo Hua wanted to ask, but Zhang Lan had already left.
Mo Hua furrowed his brow and touched the array formations stacked in his storage pouch, along with the spiritual liquids and stones prepared according to Zhang Lan's advice to eliminate and confuse traces. He thought silently to himself:
"Qian Xing, you better not come. Otherwise, your parents may never see you again."
Afterwards, Mo Hua went to learn array formations from Master Zhuang, helped repair array patterns for others, or went to the market to buy things. On these trips, he always felt the gaze of some cultivators.
They thought Mo Hua hadn't noticed, but after practicing array formations for so long, his spiritual awareness was much deeper than cultivators of the same realm. He was well aware of these undisguised prying eyes.
Some people's scrutiny carried malicious intent, like venomous snakes lurking in the grass, their gazes filled with malice. Others seemed to be following orders, keeping an eye on Mo Hua to monitor his movements.
There were also those who were more indifferent and subtle, whom Mo Hua could only vaguely sense, not clearly discern.
This indicated that the spiritual awareness of these cultivators might be stronger than Mo Hua's, suggesting they were likely cultivators of the late Qi Refining stage or higher.
In addition, there were friendly glances as well, not hiding their intentions. Mo Hua noticed that when he looked back at them, they would greet him. They were familiar faces, either uncles and aunties from the neighborhood, patrons from the eateries, or demon hunters from the hunting teams.
Some he recognized from occasional encounters. Others he didn't know, but they seemed to recognize him, smiling and acknowledging him when their eyes met.
So this was what Zhang Lan meant by "so many eyes watching"...
Mo Hua felt both vigilant and comforted in his heart.
The cultivators watching Mo Hua had not made a move for a long time. Just when Mo Hua began to suspect they had given up, Qian Xing unexpectedly sought him out himself.
Mo Hua had just left Master Zhuang's place and was preparing to go home when he met Qian Xing at the foot of the mountain.
They hadn't seen each other for several months, and Qian Xing looked in poor health—of course, anyone who had been blasted by a Earthfire Formation wouldn't look well.
He still had bandages in some places, his face was scarred, and he no longer carried that gilded broken fan. He had a terrifying look in his eyes, as if he wanted to devour Mo Hua.
"Don't think you can rest easy just because someone is protecting you. The humiliation I've suffered, I'll make you pay back a hundredfold. When the time comes, even if you want to die in peace, it won't be possible!" Qian Xing threatened fiercely.
"Then take care of yourself and don't die prematurely," Mo Hua couldn't help but say as he looked at Qian Xing's miserable appearance.
Qian Xing's expression twisted again.
Mo Hua sighed inwardly. After all, he had experienced life and death, yet Qian Xing's mentality was still so poor that he could be provoked so easily.
Although Qian Xing was angry, he didn't dare to act. Even though they were at the foot of the mountain, there were cultivators passing by, most of them demon hunters.
By the time they finished speaking, several demon hunters nearby had already looked over, their sharp gazes fixed on Qian Xing.
Qian Xing knew his limits. He muttered darkly, "Just you wait." Then he left with a few Qian family disciples.
Mo Hua shook his head. Seeing Qian Xing's current state, it seemed he wouldn't let things go easily.
Wouldn't it be better to live a life of ease? Just eat, drink, and have fun every day without worrying about livelihood or spirit stones. Indeed, when life is too easy, people tend to seek trouble.
Mo Hua bowed to the nearby demon hunters, thanked them, received kind responses, and then went home.
At this moment, on the mountain road behind him, Bai Zixi watched Mo Hua's figure with a slightly furrowed brow. After a moment, she gently opened her lips and softly said, "Aunt Xue, check and see what happened."
Aunt Xue, standing behind Bai Zixi, nodded.
(End of the Chapter)