Chapter 4 Fire-Repellent Hairpin

The market is a place for low-level monks to trade cultivation items. There are many categories and varieties, including elixirs, formations, and spiritual tools, but the grades are generally not high, and the quality varies.

It is close to the end of the year. There are many monks in the market, and people come and go, noisy and noisy.

Mo Hua walked straight to a small stall at the end of the street. The stall owner is an old man named Sun. His acquaintances call him Old Man Sun. His son is a small manager in Wanbao Building. Occasionally, there are some inferior goods that Wanbao Building doesn’t want. His son takes them at a low price and gives them to him to sell on the street.

Old Man Sun was shouting, and when he looked up, he saw Mo Hua running over breathlessly, with a flushed white face. He couldn't help but joked:

"What spiritual weapon are you looking at today, little brother? You won't just look and not buy like the last few days..."

Mo Hua waved her hand, "Buy!"

Old Man Sun was surprised: "There are still a few days before the end of the year, your family gives you New Year's money so early?"

Mo Hua said unhappily: "What New Year's money? I earned it myself!" After saying that, he patted the pocket on his waist.

Old Man Sun listened to the crisp sound of the spiritual stones in his pocket, and his spirits lifted. He hurriedly said:

"I have all kinds of pill arrays and talismans here, they are good quality and cheap, and they are all from Wanbaolou, with high quality. What do you want to buy?"

If it was really of high quality, Wanbaolou would sell it by itself, and it would never be sold in the market. But Mo Hua didn't care, he couldn't afford the things from Wanbaolou.

"Are there any spiritual tools for warding off fire?"

Old man Sun showed an expression of "as expected", took out a linen bag, and spread it out in front of Mo Hua.

"You mentioned it a few days ago, and I paid attention to it. I went back and found a few more. They are all excellent spiritual tools for warding off fire, and they are easy to carry and exquisite in style. What do you think?"

Mo Hua looked at Old Man Sun in surprise, thinking that he was worthy of setting up a stall in the market for decades. He was so well prepared when there was a little opportunity to buy and sell.

There were all kinds of spiritual tools in front of Mo Hua, including rings, jade pendants, lampstands, a cover and a silk scarf... Just looking at the styles, it was the most complete in this market.

Mo Hua looked at it carefully, then picked up a hairpin with a simple but exquisite shape and asked, "What kind of hairpin is this?"

Old Man Sun said, "This is called a fire-proof hairpin. It is a standard spiritual tool. The materials and craftsmanship are all standardized. It is engraved with a primary fire-proof formation. It needs to be charged with spiritual stones. When used, activating the formation can isolate the fire and make the whole body refreshed. Although it consumes spiritual stones, one spiritual stone can be used for three months, which can be said to be quite economical and practical..."

Mo Hua said suspiciously, "Wanbaolou standard spiritual tool, if it can be sold here, it must have defects..."

Old Man Sun smiled and said, "Yes, you know a lot. I won't hide it from you. If it has no defects, it will be at least twice as expensive as mine in Wanbaolou, but it is not that defective..."

Old Man Sun pointed to the peony pattern on the hairpin, "Refining Tool When the master was carving this peony, he drew a few more strokes, which was not in compliance with the standard, so this hairpin was classified as a defective product, but the formation inside was intact and the effect was still the same. "

Mo Hua nodded, and he also felt that this hairpin was the most suitable, so he asked: "How many spirit stones?"

Old Man Sun stroked his beard, "One price, fifteen spirit stones!"

Mo Hua shook his head, "Five!"

Old Man Sun widened his eyes, "Who taught you to bargain like this?"

Mo Hua was a little embarrassed, "I heard it at other stalls, they all bargained like this..."

Old Man Sun was distressed, "The world is really going downhill, good children are all led astray!" He said again: "Fourteen, no less!"

Mo Hua also tentatively added a little, "Six?"

...

After some bargaining, the price was finally set at ten.

Old Man Sun felt that the price couldn't be any lower, not even a single spiritual stone less, and Mo Hua had previously inquired about the prices of spiritual tools at other stalls, and basically there was no cheaper price, so he agreed.

Old Man Sun took the spiritual stones from Mo Hua's hand, wrapped the hairpin in a cheap but exquisite paper box and handed it to Mo Hua, muttering:

"If my grandson was half as smart as you, I would let him help me run the stall. Unfortunately, my grandson is very stupid and dares not speak to strangers."

Mo Hua was satisfied with the hairpin, waved goodbye to Old Man Sun, and then walked away briskly.

The stall owner next to him laughed and said, "Old man Sun, you're losing money this time!"

Old man Sun stroked his beard, "It's not a loss, it's just that I made less money."

The stall owner asked curiously, "Ten spirit stones is not a small amount. I wonder who this child bought the hairpin for."

"The fire-proof hairpin is for avoiding fire, which is the fire on the stove. Who else can it be given to?"

Looking at Mo Hua's figure gradually going away, Old man Sun sighed slightly, "What a good child!"

Mo Hua's home is on a remote street on the edge of Tongxian City. The house is old and not big. It is just enough for a family of three. The people living nearby are all casual cultivators at the bottom of Qi Refining. They make a living by doing odd jobs and short-term jobs. Although they are not rich, they have a strong sense of fireworks.

In the evening, smoke rises from every house and yellow lights are lit.

Mo Hua ran in and shouted, "Mom, I'm back!"

A woman with a plain cloth and a beautiful face came out of the inner room. When she saw Mo Hua, she was full of surprise. She couldn't help but pull Mo Hua in front of her, touching her head and pinching her face. After a while, she said, "Is it because you practice too hard? You have lost a lot of weight."

Mo Hua said, "No," and then took out a box, "Mom, this is for you!"

The woman was stunned for a moment, took the box and opened it, and found that it was a hairpin.

"This is a fire-proof hairpin. Mom, you help in the kitchen of the restaurant. You are exposed to the heat for a long time, which is not good for your health. This hairpin can ward off the heat and make you feel much cooler."

The woman's surname is Liu, her name is Ruhua, she is Mo Hua's mother, a casual cultivator in the Qi Refining Period in Tongxian City.

The life of casual cultivators is hard. There is no good job to earn spirit stones. If you have children, it is even more difficult to raise them. Food, clothing, and expenses, especially the tuition for joining the sect, and various materials for cultivation, are all expensive expenses for ordinary cultivators.

Liu Ruhua is good at cooking and helps out in the kitchen of a small restaurant in the city.

Large restaurants usually use stoves made by equipment refiners, which have formations on them, consuming spirit stones and converting spiritual energy into firepower.

In order to save costs, small restaurants do not use spirit stones to supply fire, but let cultivators with fire spiritual roots consume spiritual power to condense into cooking firepower. Over time, the body will inevitably be invaded by fire, the meridians will dry up, and there will be symptoms of lung pain and dry cough.

When Liu Ruhua helped out in the restaurant, she had to consume spiritual power to supply fire from time to time. She was paid about 30 spirit stones a month. Although it was harmful to her body, it was already a good job for a casual cultivator. Many Qi-refining cultivators wanted to do it but had no chance.

Looking at the hairpin in her hand, Liu Ruhua pursed her lips and said nothing.

Mo Hua said quickly, "I earned the spiritual stones for the hairpin by helping my fellow disciples. I didn't cheat, steal or rob!"

Liu Ruhua couldn't help laughing, feeling warm and a little sour in her heart, "Mother, you can't have this hairpin. You are still young. You will need a lot of spiritual stones for cultivation in the future. Save as much as you can. Mother can take care of herself. You don't need to worry about it..."

Mo Hua said confidently, "Let's talk about the future. Maybe I will become a great cultivator of the Golden Core Yuanying stage in the future. I will have as many spiritual stones as I need."

Liu Ruhua laughed out loud and pointed at Mo Hua's forehead, "You are so young, and you have learned to brag."

"Mother, just take it. I bargained with others for a long time before buying it. If you don't want it, then I have wasted half a day's work."

After saying that, Mo Hua took the hairpin and inserted it into Liu Ruhua's bun, then ran into the house to take out a mirror.

"Look, is it pretty?"

Liu Ruhua saw the woman in the mirror wearing a simple and elegant hairpin, looking dignified and beautiful, and saw her son's big eyes flickering, so she softened her heart and said softly: "I accept this hairpin, but I won't accept it next time."

"Yeah," Mo Hua agreed repeatedly, "Mom, is the meal ready? I'm hungry."

"Okay, all your favorite food, eat more!"

Liu Ruhua's cooking skills are very good. Although it is a simple vegetarian dish and does not contain any spiritual energy, it is exquisite and delicious. After eating, Mo Hua talked with his mother and went back to the house to read.

After midnight, Mo Hua entered the sea of ​​consciousness again and practiced the formation on the stone tablet all night. When he woke up, it was already the hour of Mao.

Mo Hua closed his eyes and meditated, holding a spiritual stone in his hand, practicing routinely.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was slightly bright, and the bright sunshine shone into the house. Mo Hua stretched out and prepared to get up, then heard heavy footsteps outside the house.

Mo Hua turned over and lay on the bed, poked his head through the crack of the door, and saw a bloodstained and dusty man walking into the house. This man was Mo Hua's father, Mo Shan.