Chapter 12: The Reward
The group strolled around for a while before Xiaohu suddenly asked, "Where are we headed next?"
Mo Hua patted the storage pouch hanging at his side. "To North Street!"
They arrived at the entrance of Fated Pavilion on North Street. Mo Hua stepped up the stairs, then turned to see the three little companions still standing frozen at the bottom. He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you guys coming in?"
The three shook their heads in unison:
"I get dizzy just looking at arrays…"
"Same here…"
"I'm doomed to never have anything to do with arrays in this life. I'm out."
Mo Hua sighed. "Alright, just wait here. I'll be out in a bit."
The trio nodded in sync.
As Mo Hua stepped through the door, the bell above jingled lightly. The shopkeeper turned at the sound to see him walk in confidently with the pouch slung across his chest. He couldn't help but chuckle, "You again? What, your older brother finished drawing the arrays?"
Mo Hua nodded. "Yes."
The shopkeeper perked up a little. "Oh? It's only been five days, that's pretty quick." He beckoned to Mo Hua. "Let me take a look."
Mo Hua pulled the array diagrams from his storage pouch and stretched on tiptoes to place them on the counter.
The shopkeeper picked them up and examined them, frowning slightly.
Mo Hua felt a little nervous. "Is something wrong with the drawings?"
The shopkeeper muttered for a moment. "They're technically correct, but… this quality doesn't feel like it came from someone experienced. A few of these are alright, but these few…"
He laid out a few specific drawings—Mo Hua recognized them as the ones he'd done first.
"These are quite a bit off. The strokes are clumsy and broken up, like they were drawn bit by bit. Are you sure your brother's learning from an actual array master? These don't exactly scream 'professional'…"
Mo Hua felt a bit embarrassed. For his first time drawing arrays, he thought he'd done pretty well.
"Can they still be used?"
The shopkeeper tapped his finger on the counter and gave them a close look. "The strokes are subpar, but the structure of the array itself is fine. They'll work—they just won't win any beauty contests."
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good." Then added quickly, "Maybe it was my brother's first time drawing this array. He wasn't too familiar with it at first, but look—aren't the ones in the back much better?"
The shopkeeper glanced at the later ones, slowly nodding. "That's true. These are at least decent. Acceptable."
"Right?" Mo Hua beamed. "Don't worry, my… brother's definitely going to get better and better!"
The shopkeeper chuckled. "You really believe in your brother, huh? Alright then, I'll let it pass this time—for your sake. But next time, make sure all the arrays are at least up to the standard of those last few. No more practice doodles."
Mo Hua nodded furiously.
The shopkeeper collected the array diagrams and placed a few spirit stones on the counter.
"Eight successful diagrams, two failed—so I'm deducting two stones as deposit. That leaves six spirit stones as payment."
"If your brother wants to keep drawing, the deposit's still ten spirit stones. Since he already has the blueprint for the Flame Array, I'll just give you ten sets of paper and ink."
He handed Mo Hua another storage pouch filled with materials.
Mo Hua tucked them away, then happily scooped up the six spirit stones.
Earning six spirit stones in five days—this was already on par with the average income of a mid- to late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
His mother, Liu Ruhua, worked as a cook's helper at a food hall and only made one spirit stone a day. His father, Mo Shan, hunted spirit beasts and earned more—but the income was unstable. If he didn't catch anything valuable, he might make even less than Liu Ruhua.
Mo Hua thanked the shopkeeper and stepped out of Fated Pavilion, where the three kids stared at him expectantly.
He patted his storage pouch and waved. "Let's go! Snacks on me!"
The three of them cheered and huddled around him as they headed for a nearby pastry shop.
Tongxian City had many places selling pastries. The fancy ones used rare ingredients, far out of reach for Mo Hua and his friends. They headed instead to a humble shop called Wang's Pastries, run by a fellow Qi Refining cultivator. The shop was simple, and the ingredients were nothing special—but they were affordable.
During festivals, ordinary cultivators would often buy these pastries to treat their kids.
Wang's most famous treat was the Five-Color Cake, made by steaming five types of spiritual grains, each a different color. Soft, sweet, and chewy, one piece only cost two shards of spirit stone.
Low-level rogue cultivators earned very little—many didn't make even a single spirit stone a day—so they would slice their stones into pieces. One spirit stone equaled ten shards, and only poor Qi Refining cultivators used these.
Mo Hua spent two spirit stones to buy ten pieces of Five-Color Cake. The shopkeeper, seeing the kids and the bulk order, even tossed in two extra.
Mo Hua gave himself two pieces and set aside four for his parents.
Each of them grabbed a warm, fragrant slice and munched happily while walking. Xiaohu's mouth was full, but that didn't stop his chatter:
"This cake's amazing! When I start earning spirit stones, I'm gonna eat this every day!"
Shuanghu snorted, "You might as well marry a girl who can make pastries. Then you can eat them every day and save money."
Xiaohu lit up. "Yeah, why didn't I think of that? But… I already have someone I like. I can't just switch it up now…"
Shuanghu widened his eyes. "Who do you like?"
Xiaohu replied solemnly, "The tofu-selling girl on West Street. I called dibs, no stealing!"
Shuanghu scoffed, "Relax. That girl's got a temper. I wouldn't go near her."
While the two argued, Dahu focused on eating. He finished both slices in a flash and even licked his fingers clean.
Mo Hua handed him his own untouched piece.
Dahu smiled sheepishly but couldn't resist eating it anyway.
Suddenly Shuanghu asked, "Mo Hua, did you really draw those array diagrams for that shop?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Xiaohu's jaw dropped. "You can already draw arrays for people?"
Shuanghu rolled his eyes. "Where do you think the spirit stones for the pastries came from?"
Xiaohu stared at his cake. "This… this was bought with array money?! Mo Hua, you're incredible! Are you gonna be a top-grade array master one day?!"
Mo Hua chuckled. "It's way too early to say that. Becoming an array master isn't easy. Let's just keep this between us, alright? Once I earn more, I'll treat you to more pastries."
The three of them nodded eagerly. Xiaohu even declared, "If I spill the secret, I'll never get to eat pastries again!"
They wandered the streets a bit more, checking out some curious trinkets. As dusk fell, they each headed home.
Mo Hua gave the extra pastries to Liu Ruhua. She steamed them in the pot and served them in Mo Hua's bowl. Mo Hua insisted she eat them instead, but after some back-and-forth, he ended up eating two while his parents each had one.
The reheated pastries were warm and fragrant. Mo Hua took a bite and thought they were even tastier than before.
"Mom, you know how to steam pastries?"
Liu Ruhua laughed. "That's nothing. I can cook just about anything. But most dishes in the upper kitchens require special stoves refined by artifact forgers—and those use formation arrays too. We just can't afford them."
"Are the stoves expensive?"
"They have to be forged by an artifact master, so yes. But the formations cost even more. Hiring a formation master to inscribe arrays on a cooking stove isn't cheap. Unless you're opening a restaurant, no one would bother spending that kind of money."
Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully. Seems like arrays had more uses in the cultivation world than he imagined. He wondered what kind of array was used on cooking stoves.
He made a mental note—one more thing to study in the future.
(End of Chapter)