Chapter 676 The Past

"Master Gu?" Mo Hua was a little surprised.

Master Gu showed a kind smile to Mo Hua, cupped his hands and said:

"Little Mr. Mo."

"Aren't you in Gushan City?" Mo Hua asked.

"I have something to do and I have to come to Qingzhou City." Master Gu said in a kind tone.

"oh."

Mo Hua nodded.

Master Gu hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Last time in Gushan City, Mr. Gu did not provide good hospitality. This meeting was also fateful. Mr. Gu wanted to treat Mr. Mo to a glass of wine. I wonder if Mr. Mo is free..."

Even though Master Gu had already behaved very cordially, he was a Jindan cultivator and smiled apologetically at Mo Hua, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his face was still a bit inconsistent.

And it can be seen that Master Gu is not very good at doing this kind of flattery.

Mo Hua shook his head, "I don't drink."

Especially strong wine, it's too spicy.

Fruit wine is fine, but monks generally don't regard fruit wine as wine.

Master Gu's eyes were a little disappointed.

Mo Hua said: "It's okay to eat."

Master Gu was startled for a moment, then he felt relieved, and a smile appeared on his determined face: "Okay."

It would be great if you can agree.

It was still early at this time, so Master Gu guessed that Mo Hua still had something to do, so he did not disturb him and only agreed:

"There is a Xianhe Tower in Qingzhou City. The spiritual fish is delicious. At noon, I will prepare a banquet in the Xianhe Tower to wait for young Master Mo."

"Just call me Mo Hua, no need to call me 'Master'." Mo Hua said.

Master Gu nodded and said, "Okay, Mr. Mo."

Mo Hua doesn’t know what to say.

After saying goodbye to Master Gu, Mo Hua went to say hello to Aunt Wan again.

Wen Renwan is playing with Yu'er.

Yu'er's complexion is getting better and better day by day, and she is also more and more lively. Before, she was still weak and weak, but now she is bouncing around and is a little naughty.

Wen Renwan was very grateful to Mo Hua for this, and felt more and more that sending Yu'er into Taixu Gate and following Mo Hua was the right decision.

"If you encounter trouble in the sect and it cannot be solved, go to Elder Murong. Elder Murong and I are sisters..."

"For matters outside the sect, just go to Chang Huai."

Wen Renwan pointed to Gu Changhuai, who was sitting aside drinking tea.

"He is Diansi. Although he is only a third-grade golden elixir, he still has some prestige in the Daotingsi."

"You are in trouble. If Chang Huai doesn't take care of you, just come back and tell me..."

After Wen Renwan finished speaking, he looked at the ink painting again, feeling a little distressed for no reason, and sighed:

"In the entire Qianxue State, there are so many sects and so many disciples, but there is no one like you. At a young age, you study here alone. Your parents and relatives are not around, and you have no one to rely on. It hurts…”

"I'm afraid I'll be bullied in the sect, so I don't dare to speak out..."

Wen Renwan was still a little worried.

Gu Changhuai sat silently aside, expressionless and not wanting to speak.

Who would bully him?

Huo Buddha, a ferocious demon cultivator, pursued Mo Hua to no avail, and ended up having his chest blown through.

Not to mention others.

In this Ganxue state boundary, except for those sect elders and ancestors...

Among the four major sects, those who are direct descendants of truly great families, those who are born with spiritual roots, and those who are the most prodigious among the prodigies, who can bully him?

Furthermore, these big shots, truly talented people, are all aloof, living in another world entirely, and may never interact with ink paintings in their entire lives.

How dare you go so far as to come here specifically to bully a small Taixu Sect disciple like him.

Gu Changhuai sighed.

He had mentioned to Wen Renwan very tactfully before that the kid Mo Hua only looked innocent, but in fact he was full of bad intentions and was very cautious, so there was no need to worry about him at all.

There are countless evil cultivators who fell into his hands.

In the end, the persuasion was not successful, but Wen Renwan scolded him, saying that he was petty and shameless for speaking ill of a child behind his back.

People only want to believe what they want to believe.

Gu Changhuai was helpless, and he realized what was going on and stopped mentioning the matter.

Every time Wen Renwan cared about Mo Hua and worried that Mo Hua would be bullied, he would pretend not to hear.

Mo Hua was also a little embarrassed and said:

"Aunt Wan, the sect elders, brothers, sisters, and fellow disciples are all very kind to me. You don't have to worry."

Wen Renwan nodded happily.

Afterwards, the two of them chatted for a few more words, talking about some gossip in the sect and Yu'er's practice in Taixu Sect.

Wen Renwan was about to leave.

She will not be idle when she stays in Qingzhou City. In addition to taking care of Yu'er, she is responsible for the properties of the Shangguan family, Wenren family and Gu family in the dozen or so large and small fairy cities nearby.

But before leaving, Wen Renwan's eyes darkened slightly, but she still told Mo Hua:

"That Master Gu...if you have any appeal, you can ask him. If he has any intentions, you don't have to pay attention."

Mo Hua was startled.

Wen Renwan then said tactfully: "A few days ago, he asked some people to inquire about your identity from the Gu family."

Mo Hua suddenly understood and said with a smile:

"Thank you Aunt Wan, I understand."

Seeing that Mo Hua knew what was going on, Wen Renwan smiled gently, got up and left.

Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai were the only two people left in the living room.

Gu Changhuai sat in the corner, drinking tea with an indifferent expression.

Mo Hua quietly approached and whispered:

"Uncle Gu, why are you free today?"

Gu Changhuai didn't even raise his eyelids, and used the cup lid to skim the foam in the bowl, "The monks of Daotingsi are not donkeys pulling millstones, so they always have some days off."

Gu Changhuai took a sip of tea and put the cup down, "Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Mo Hua was puzzled, "How do you know that I have something to talk to you about?"

Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua, "Guess."

Mo Hua was stunned, "Uncle Gu, why are you imitating my way of speaking?"

Gu Changhuai choked and couldn't help saying:

"Are you going to tell me or not? If not, I'll leave."

"Yeah," Mo Hua said repeatedly Nodding, he did not hide anything, but came straight to the point:

"Uncle Gu, if I have clues about the criminal, can you directly issue a reward from Daotingsi?"

"Then I will accept the reward, complete the task, earn merit, and Daotingsi will also catch the criminal, killing two birds with one stone!"

Gu Changhuai was stunned, and could not help but glance at Mo Hua: "You have a good plan..."

Mo Hua said modestly: "It's okay..."

Gu Changhuai shook his head and refused: "This is against the rules."

Mo Hua curled his lips, with a look of disbelief.

He compared it, and his plan was obviously similar to the process of Daotingsi from beginning to end.

There is no difference between Daotingsi getting clues from other places and issuing rewards and getting clues from himself and issuing tasks.

There is no bribery in the middle.

What's more, he didn't have spirit stones to bribe Uncle Gu.

It was just that Uncle Gu was unwilling to help.

Mo Hua bargained, "Uncle Gu, if you don't help me, I won't help you in the future."

Gu Changhuai snorted, "What do I need your help for?"

After saying that, he was startled and realized that something was wrong.

Mo Hua smiled cunningly, raised his fingers, and counted them one by one for him:

"Like clues of the sinner, the investigation of the formation, the restoration of the book order, the cracking of the seal pattern and the secret pattern..."

"And I am only in the early stage of foundation building now, and I will definitely get better and better at the formation."

"If you don't help me now, don't blame me for not talking about friendship when you come to me for help in the future!"

Mo Hua frowned.

Gu Changhuai felt that the fresh tea in his mouth was a little bitter.

Being threatened!

He, the dignified Taoist court official, was threatened by a ten-year-old kid...

It's really unreasonable.

Gu Changhuai was silent for a long time, his mind turned, but after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't do it.

And what Mo Hua said is right. With his current level of formation, he might be needed for help in the future Daotingsi affairs...

Gu Changhuai sighed, "Even if I offer a reward, it's hard for you to accept it..."

"The reward is for the sect, not just for you. If you can accept it, others can accept it. Even if I offer it, the task may not fall on you..."

Mo Hua asked in confusion, "Don't you have to agree?"

Gu Changhuai said, "There are requirements for the reward. If others meet the requirements, it's generally not easy for us to refuse."

"Then set stricter requirements?" Mo Hua said.

Gu Changhuai raised his eyebrows, "For example?"

Mo Hua thought for a while, "For example: in the early stage of foundation building, knowing the art of concealment, knowing the second-grade formation, knowing the water prison... these?"

Gu Changhuai had a blank expression on his face, "Or, I will just mark it, this reward is only for a disciple named "Mo Hua" in the early stage of Taixu Sect's foundation building."

Mo Hua was a little embarrassed and said, "Isn't it... too obvious?"

Gu Changhuai said unhappily, "You still know obvious?"

Mo Hua muttered in a low voice, "It doesn't matter..."

Gu Changhuai was helpless, pondered for a moment and said:

"I'll think of a way, and tell you later."

Mo Hua was overjoyed, "Thank you Uncle Gu!"

Gu Changhuai nodded slightly.

He thought about it...

Although this kind of thing has some suspicion of backdoor, it is not completely "unconventional". Exchanging merits for achievements is the principle of Daotingsi.

Moreover, Mo Hua's attainments in formations are so profound... a little scary.

In the future, some of the tricky cases of Daoting Division involving tricky and complicated formations may really be asked to go to Mo Hua.

This is definitely not a threat, but a "mutually beneficial" cooperation conducted by Daoting Division in order to attract "special formation talents".

Thinking of this, Gu Changhuai felt much more at ease.

He picked up the teacup, drank a sip of tea, nodded slightly, and felt that the taste of the tea was not so bitter.

The goal was achieved, and it was not too early, it was almost noon, and Mo Hua said goodbye to Gu Changhuai.

"Master Gu wants to treat me to dinner, I'm leaving first."

Gu Changhuai was slightly stunned, "Master Gu?"

"Yes." Mo Hua nodded.

"Which Master Gu?"

Gu Changhuai frowned, he thought of the "Master Gu" mentioned by Wen Renwan just now, and said: "Our Gu family's weapon refining master?"

Mo Hua nodded and said: "Gu family's Gushan third-grade weapon refining shop, Master Gu in the Golden Core Realm!"

Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua and was a little stunned for a while.

Remote Gushan City, a third-grade weapon refinery, Master Gu, who is still in the Golden Core Realm...

"Invite you to dinner?"

Gu Changhuai's expression became even more puzzled.

Mo Hua sighed, "Alas, there is no way, Master Gu's kindness is hard to refuse, and I can't refuse."

Gu Changhuai was speechless for a moment.

He couldn't figure it out.

In the Gu family, cousin Wan'er treated Mo Hua as her own nephew;

Aunt Hong Elder also often said that Mo Hua was well-behaved, smart and handsome, and when he grew up, she must personally find a marriage for him;

Gu An took care of the two of them, and talked about "Little Master Mo" from time to time.

Now even in a remote place, a third-grade weapon refiner from the Gu family has to specially invite Mo Hua to dinner...

Gu Changhuai took a slight breath.

How long has this child been here? It has taken more than a year to become like this...

If more than ten years pass, the Gu family won't just change their surname to "Mo", right?

Seeing Gu Changhuai's melancholy expression, Mo Hua thought he was being invited to dinner but no one was inviting him, so he felt disappointed and said quietly:

"Uncle Gu, how about... you go too?"

"I heard that I went to Xianhe Tower to eat spiritual fish. It tasted delicious..."

Gu Changhuai's face suddenly turned dark.

Mo Hua wisely stopped talking and muttered in a low voice, "If you don't want to go, then I won't go. I don't know good people's hearts..."

Gu Changhuai heard this.

Seeing that Gu Changhuai's face turned darker, Mo Hua immediately stood up and said, "Master Gu can't be kept waiting, I'm leaving first!" Then he ran away quickly.

The living room was empty, leaving only Gu Changhuai sitting there, sighing helplessly.

…

Qingzhou City, Crane Tower.

Private room on the third floor.

There are four dishes and one soup on the table that are full of color, flavor and flavor.

The dishes are different kinds of spiritual fish, and the soup is crystal clear and delicious fish soup.

Mo Hua ate the tender fish meat and sipped the delicious fish soup. He narrowed his eyes slightly and was very happy.

Master Gu was silently relieved when he saw that Mo Hua was eating happily.

While the two were eating, they talked nonsense like boiled water, and then Mo Hua got down to business:

"Master Gu, there is something I want to ask you for help."

Not only did Master Gu not find it troublesome, he was very happy and said generously:

"Young Master Mo, just say that as long as it is within your power, Gu will spare no effort."

Mo Hua smiled and asked: "Master Gu, can you help me refine some formation matchmakers?"

"Media array..."

Master Gu was not surprised, nor did he ask any more questions, but said cheerfully:

"no problem!"

Then he asked: "I just don't know, what kind of matchmaker does the young master want?"

Mo Hua was already prepared. He took out a few drawings from his storage bag and handed them to Master Gu.

On the drawings, he took the time to design some array media by himself based on the array structure and his own needs.

The types of formation media are also relatively simple, most of them are some basic formation flags and formation disks.

As soon as Master Gu saw it, he felt that it was a bit rough, and it did look like something designed by a novice, but he also said nothing.

Although it is a bit rough and some refining materials will be wasted, it has complete functions and complete structure, so there is no problem in using it.

"How much do you want, young master?" Master Gu asked.

Mo Hua himself is not rich, and he doesn't like to pretend to be "rich", so he asked honestly:

"How many spiritual stones are there?"

Master Gu was a little surprised. He rarely met a "gongzi" with a simple and simple behavior like Mo Hua.

"Young master, you only want a few dozen items. I will give you the bento."

"If you want more, hundreds or thousands of pieces, I will only charge the cost..."

Master Gu looked at the drawing again and made a brief estimate:

"Because they are all second-grade formation matchmakers, the materials used are not expensive, and the price is not too high. The formation plate costs about fifty spiritual stones each, and the formation flag is made of special material, costing sixty-five spiritual stones each..."

Mo Hua nodded slightly.

This was cheaper than he had expected.

But he was a little confused.

Originally, he just wanted to refine a dozen pieces of array media for fun, but Master Gu was a third-grade weapon refiner, so he was really embarrassed to speak up about this.

He practiced too much, but it was too much of a waste of spirit stones. He was not a member of a noble family, so he didn't have that much spirit stones to waste.

Master Gu seemed to notice Mo Hua's concerns, he thought for a moment and said:

"Let's do this. I will refine 20 pieces of each kind first, and then send them to the young master to check the quality and judge the quality. I will use it as an exchange of experience as a matchmaker..."

There is no matchmaking experience in ink painting.

His several sets of formation media drawings were all copied from the weapon refining book and modified by himself.

The only formation matchmaker he has any experience with is the "soil" on the ground.

But he also knew that Master Gu was showing his kindness.

"Isn't this too troublesome for you..." Mo Hua asked in a low voice.

Master Gu waved his hand, "No need to worry, just a few pieces of second-grade array matchmaking. I have nothing to do, so I'll just use it as a hot hand..."

Mo Hua stopped being pretentious and said, "Thank you so much, Master Gu."

Master Gu cupped his hands and said, "Young Master, you're welcome."

After that, the waiter served two more dishes, one steamed big head fish and one deep-fried large goldfish, both of which Mo Hua had never eaten before.

"Try it, Master." Master Gu greeted.

Mo Hua tasted it and nodded in praise: "It's delicious."

Master Gu was smiling.

After that, the two chatted for a while, with Mo Hua asking questions and Master Gu answering.

If Mo Hua didn't ask, Master Gu would pick up food for Mo Hua, but he wouldn't take the initiative to ask or say anything.

Mo Hua originally thought that Master Gu must have something to do when he invited him to dinner.

But now it seems that he is just treating guests and has no other purpose.

After eating and drinking, Mo Hua thought of another question and took the opportunity to ask:

"Master Gu, Gushan is the boundary of the third-grade state, why does it look like..."

Mo Hua paused for a moment, then decided to tell the truth, "...so poor?"

Master Gu was startled, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"Can't you say it?" Mo Hua asked.

Master Gu shook his head, "There's nothing I can't say. Since the young master is asking, it doesn't matter if I say it..."

Master Gu sighed and said slowly:

"This matter is actually simple..."

"Hundreds of years ago, Gushan City had continuous mines and rich mineral resources. It was actually very wealthy."

"And at that time, the ore produced has a high degree of spiritual compatibility and is very suitable for refining the 'array medium'."

"As the saying goes, the mountain depends on the mountain. Gushan City relies on the mines. Most of the monks in the city make a living by refining weapons, especially the 'array matchmaker'."

"Although I can't be rich, my life is pretty good."

"What happened next?" Mo Hua took a sip of fish soup and asked curiously.

"later……"

Master Gu sighed, "Later, some big families in Qianzhou took a fancy to the vast mines in Gushan City and thought of buying them to refine some luxurious spiritual weapons."

Mo Hua frowned, "A luxurious spiritual weapon?"

Master Gu said: "It's just some glazed tiles, colorful lamps, magnificent masonry, gilded carriages, etc..."

"These things are expensive to make and even more expensive to sell."

Mo Hua was puzzled, "Aside from looking good, do these things have any other use?"

Master Gu sighed: "This is used to show one's identity. For some people, it is more useful than anything else."

"Do the monks from Gushan City agree?"

Master Gu frowned, "Some agreed, some disagreed, but those who disagreed were forced to agree in the end."

"In front of the giant aristocratic family, the monks in Gushan City, including casual cultivators, and some small families, have no room for resistance at all."

Master Gu looked bitter.

"Does Daotingsi not care?"

Master Gu did not dare to say it clearly, so he asked tactfully: "Where do you think the monks who serve in the Daoting Division come from?"

Mo Hua's eyes darkened slightly.

Master Gu sighed, "And on the surface, all the procedures for this matter are in compliance with the law."

"The big family indeed 'bought' or 'rented' these mines from the monks of Gushan City."

"On the spiritual deed, the spiritual fingerprints are clearly visible."

"The big family 'acts according to the rules', the Dao Tingsi 'acts according to the rules', the monks in Gushan City have nothing to do."

"Since then, major aristocratic families have established weapon refining shops in Gushan City and mined ores day and night."

"At the beginning, the monks in Gushan City would still protest and make trouble, causing some riots."

"Later, the big family decided to mine the mines and only hire local monks, and the price they offered was not low."

"After the local monks got the spiritual stone, they gradually calmed down their dissatisfaction and settled down."

"But……"

Master Gu shook his head, "The aristocratic family, with the help of large spiritual weapons and formations, mined too hard."

"It has only been mined for less than a hundred years, and all the veins have been mined to waste."

"Then the big family left, leaving only an abandoned mine."

"The foundation for the monks' livelihood in Gushan City was destroyed in one day, and it has gradually declined since then."

"Some small families went bankrupt. They got together and couldn't even afford a meal. They had to make a living separately, split up again, and became casual cultivators again."

"As for casual cultivators, they are asking for more blessings."

"Those who can leave can leave. Those who cannot leave, there is no livelihood outside, so they can only stay in Gushan City, pick up some broken ores from abandoned mines, go to the dilapidated weapon refining shop, and exchange them for one or two spiritual stones. Living hand to mouth..."

…

Mo Hua looked stunned.

He was obviously in Qianzhou, but in a daze, he returned to Lizhou, to those low-quality, poor small states in Lizhou.

The way of man is to lose more than you can give...