About ten days later, thanks to Mr. Feng's elixirs, Xiao Hu and Da Hu had fully recovered from their injuries and were back in the mountains hunting demons.
Demon hunters inevitably got injured and bled. Da Hu and his brothers were still young and relatively new to this, but from the moment they wore their demon hunting tokens and entered the mountains, they had to gradually adapt to the life of demon hunters.
This was how demon hunters from Tongxian City had always lived. Every day, demon hunters went into the mountains; every month, demon hunters got injured; and every year, some demon hunters died in the mountains.
Mo Hua could only silently wish Da Hu and the others good luck.
Unfortunately, Mo Hua's wishes didn't come true. Half a month later, Da Hu was carried out of the mountains, his body covered in fresh blood.
Mo Hua was at home drawing formations when he suddenly heard commotion. Upon investigating, he learned that Da Hu had been seriously injured while hunting demons and his life hung in the balance.
Mo Hua felt as if cold water had been poured over him, chilling his limbs.
He rushed to the Wondrous Pavilion and saw Mr. Feng with a grave expression, treating Da Hu's injuries.
Da Hu lay on the bed, eyes tightly shut, his face pale like paper, barely showing any signs of life. There was a large pool of blood on his chest, soaking his outer garments crimson red.
Mo Hua's heart raced with fear.
Mr. Feng, upon seeing Mo Hua, picked up a set of Vine Armor, his expression serious. "Did you inscribe formations on this?"
The Vine Armor was also stained with blood, with a hole on one side, as if pierced by a demon beast's fang or claw. Inside the armor were some array patterns.
Mo Hua nodded.
Mr. Feng fell silent for a moment, then heaved a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for this Vine Armor. Otherwise, this kid might not have made it..."
Mo Hua was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then he too breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lifted off his chest.
If Mr. Feng said that, then at least Da Hu's life should be out of danger. As long as he was alive, everything else could be dealt with.
Mo Hua had grown up playing with Da Hu, always standing in front of Mo Hua, always helping him fight. If anything happened to Da Hu, Mo Hua couldn't bear to think about it.
Shuang Hu and Xiao Hu arrived in tears. They silently wiped away their tears upon hearing that Da Hu was okay.
Uncle Meng had also been hunting demons in the mountains. Upon hearing about Da Hu's injury, he hurried back. His expression was relatively calm, though his hands trembled slightly.
Aunt Meng had been helping out in the East Street, and with the shortage of spirit stones at home, she was busier than before. Upon hearing about Da Hu's accident, she hurried over as well.
Aunt Meng stood at the door, hesitating for a long time before finally gritting her teeth and staggering inside. When she heard that Da Hu's life was not in danger, all the strength seemed to drain from her body. She sank to the ground, burying her head in her sleeves and crying.
Mr. Feng said that it was thanks to the Vine Armor Mo Hua had given that saved Da Hu's life.
Earlier that day, Da Hu and the others were hunting a Clawed Crimson Wolf Demon in the mountains when suddenly, another long-tailed demon appeared from the bushes.
Da Hu shielded his two brothers behind him and confronted the long-tailed demon head-on. But with his cultivation level, he was no match for the demon. The tail of the long-tailed demon was long and spiked, vicious and swift. It instantly aimed for Da Hu's heart, and Da Hu couldn't dodge in time. The tail pierced his chest.
Fortunately, the Vine Armor on Da Hu's chest had the Iron Armor Formation inscribed on it, making it tougher than regular Vine Armor. It wasn't pierced through immediately. Although Da Hu couldn't evade the attack completely, he managed to lean slightly to the side, causing the demon's tail spike to veer off course after piercing the Vine Armor, avoiding his heart.
Although Da Hu was pierced in the chest and bleeding heavily, his heart wasn't damaged, so his life was not in danger. With timely treatment from Mr. Feng, even though he was unconscious for a while, he would gradually wake up after some time.
Aunt Meng thanked Mr. Feng profusely, then tightly gripped Mo Hua's hand, filled with gratitude but choked up, unable to utter a word...
In one's lifetime, one inevitably faces hardships, and some endure more than others.
Mo Hua looked at Aunt Meng's weary appearance, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart.
Luckily, the Iron Armor Formation Mo Hua inscribed worked, and Da Hu was out of danger. That eased Mo Hua's mind a little.
Ten days later, Da Hu's injuries had healed, and the three brothers were ready to venture into the mountains again to hunt demons. Mo Hua specifically went to see them off.
Da Hu had just recovered, looking a bit pale, but his eyes were resolute. Shuang Hu and Xiao Hu had serious expressions, but no signs of fear.
Despite losing so much blood and suffering such serious injuries, almost losing his life, the three of them showed no hesitation or fear, still intending to hunt demons after recovering.
"Dad and mom treated our injuries, and we owe them a lot of spirit stones. We should repay them as soon as possible."
"I don't want mom to suffer anymore."
"Me neither..."
They bid farewell to Mo Hua and walked towards the mountains along the small path.
Mo Hua watched their diminishing figures until they disappeared into the vast, endless Black Mountain.
In the days that followed, Mo Hua lived quite frugally.
Except for freely drawing formations on the Dao Stele in his Sea of Consciousness at night, every drop of spirit ink during the day was carefully considered and sparingly used by Mo Hua.
For familiar formations, Mo Hua staunchly refused to use spirit ink to avoid wastage. For unfamiliar formations, Mo Hua also carefully chose which ones were worth opening the ink bottle for, meticulously sketching and comprehending them bit by bit.
After some time passed, one evening during dinner, Mo Shan suddenly said to Mo Hua:
"Painter, someone asked me to request your help in drawing a few formations..."
Mo Hua was somewhat surprised, and Mo Shan's expression was also somewhat complex.
Mo Shan had never been very involved in Mo Hua's affairs regarding formations.
Firstly, hunting demons itself was arduous work. Mo Shan was still the captain of the demon hunting team, responsible for leading a group of cultivators into the mountains for hunting, ensuring their safety, and distributing the rewards from demon hunting according to regulations. Mo Hua's family relied almost entirely on the spirit stones earned from Mo Shan's demon hunting. Amidst his busy schedule, Mo Shan had no time to spare for anything else.
Secondly, Mo Shan wasn't very knowledgeable about formations. His understanding was limited to recognizing a few common formations or sensing where cultivators had set up traps using formations. He wasn't familiar with the intricacies of formation paths and naturally didn't know what to inquire about.
Thirdly, Mo Shan wanted Mo Hua to be worry-free, whether in cultivation or formations. Mo Hua knew what needed to be done without Mo Shan saying anything, and Mo Shan didn't want to add unnecessary pressure to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua was still young and had low cultivation. Even with talent, it would take time to truly excel in formations. It wasn't possible to achieve it so quickly.
Learning formations as a cultivator was difficult, becoming a formation master was even more so, and Mo Shan was well aware of this.
Among the slightly renowned formation masters in Tongxian City, none had hair or beard left; some had entirely white hair, and some even had bald heads.
Now it seemed that Mo Hua had good potential. If he could become an ordinary formation master before the age of thirty, making a living through formations, even if he couldn't enter the ranks of the elite, he would be quite content.
As long as he was a bit more careful, Mo Hua only needed to avoid dying in a demon's belly before he grew up.
Until yesterday, a demon hunter found Mo Shan and formally requested Mo Hua's help in drawing some formations. Moreover, the hunter's tone was extremely polite, showing no doubt that Mo Hua could accomplish the task.
Only then did Mo Shan realize something was amiss.
Being sought out to draw formations, wasn't that a privilege reserved for formation masters?
Could this child... already be a formation master?
(End of the Chapter)