The Quest for Immortality - Chapter 1148 (Patreon)

Chapter 1148: Miss Hua

Mo Hua was a man of principle.

Debts should be repaid — that was only right.

Although at the time he had impersonated “Mr. Yuan,” dealt with Elder You, and in the end sold Elder You out so that the Qianxue Demon Sect was utterly destroyed, one thing was one thing: the spirit stones were indeed owed by Elder You.

If Elder You had died, of course the debt could be written off. Mo Hua felt some regret, but there was nothing to be done.

Now Elder You was not dead — he was standing right in front of him.

That old debt could not be left unmentioned.

After all, one hundred and eighty thousand spirit stones was no small sum.

Mo Hua came from a poor family and was frugal by nature; what should be reclaimed ought to be reclaimed.

Still… Mo Hua felt puzzled.

How had Elder You not died?

The Demon Sect had been destroyed — yet he survived. The Blood-Pattern Array had gone through so much turmoil; how had he managed to keep his life? In the great calamity that struck the Qianxue region, how had he remained unscathed?

Who exactly was this “Elder You”?

And why was Li San mixed up with him? Li San seemed extremely loyal to Elder You.

Questions piled up in Mo Hua’s mind and the more he thought about them the more confused he became.

After a moment he stiffened his gaze and decided, “Doesn’t matter. If I get the chance I’ll find Elder You and press him for that debt.”

Right now Elder You was a walking “one hundred and eighty thousand.”

“And this Li San… is he really loyal to ‘Elder You’?” Mo Hua’s expression took on a hint of calculation.

At that moment Elder You cupped his hands toward Young Master Tuoba and said, “The young lady will arrive shortly. Young Master Tuoba, please wait a moment.”

Tuoba, who was usually arrogant, actually showed a trace of a smile and waved a hand. “Very well — Elder You, please be seated. Serve tea.”

Mo Hua went over and poured tea for Elder You, the man who owed him one hundred and eighty thousand spirit stones.

As Mo Hua poured, Elder You felt a coldness in his chest.

It lasted only an instant and then disappeared.

Elder You glanced around and noticed there were no other guests in the hall besides Young Master Tuoba and a few servants. He frowned slightly but did not pay it much mind.

Li San, merely at Foundation Establishment and of low standing, had no right to sit and remained standing behind Elder You with a fanatical, devout expression, silently obedient.

The hall fell quiet for a short while.

Tuoba and his circle seemed to be waiting for someone.

Mo Hua thought: Tuoba is proud and short-tempered — yet he waits patiently? Who could possibly be worth his patience? Was it the “young lady” Elder You mentioned?

Mo Hua stayed silent and waited too.

Less than half an hour later many footsteps approached outside. Draped in swirling clouds of silk and with the jingling of ornaments, a woman in the most resplendent brocade walked in, chin held high, flanked by a group of guards.

Elder You immediately rose and bowed respectfully.

Tuoba’s eyes were briefly stolen by the woman’s beauty; after a moment he rose and bowed, smiling and cupping his hands. “Miss Hua, truly a beauty that could overturn a kingdom, a face that shames the moon and flowers. Meeting you today is my triple blessing.”

Miss Hua seemed used to such flattery and merely gave a faint “hm.”

Tuoba spoke politely, “Please, Miss Hua, take the seat.”

A faint perfume trailed behind her as she moved; jade and gold chimed. Miss Hua took her place at the head table.

Her seat was even half a step above Tuoba’s.

Mo Hua was curious but dared not stare for fear of drawing attention.

When everyone had taken their places and the feast began with clinking cups, he subtly glanced up at the woman on the high seat.

She was of extremely noble bearing; her robes were lavish and she clearly had been raised with great care. Gold thread and jade trims adorned her garments, moonlight and wind seemed to make up her veil. A brilliant gold phoenix hairpin with red jade set off her thick black hair and fair skin.

Her face was exquisitely carved, like powdered jade.

Only her eyes carried a trace of haughty contempt, capricious and superior, looking down on others.

Mo Hua’s expression slowed. He quietly compared in his mind and shook his head a little.

Miss Hua had a fine face, but her gaze was shallow and her bearing lacked depth — she seemed all show and no substance. Compared to his gentle, caring junior sister, she fell far short.

Mo Hua felt mildly disinterested.

But there was no denying Miss Hua’s beauty.

Throughout the meal Tuoba’s arrogant, predatory gaze rested almost entirely on Miss Hua.

Accompanying her were elders, guards, and several talented scions from prominent families who were clearly her suitors. Miss Hua sat like the moon among stars — her every frown and smile shaped the atmosphere of the banquet; others watched her closely.

She relished the vanity.

Mo Hua thought, “Miss Hua… is she from the Hua family? Which great clan? Qian Prefecture? Kun Prefecture? Or Li Prefecture? Surely not the Great Wilderness…”

“The Great Wilderness couldn’t produce such aristocratic airs.”

“Why is she here in the Great Wilderness? And Elder You bows to her so — is he part of the Hua family? Then why did he become an elder in a Demon Sect?”

The connections tangled further the more he considered them.

No wonder Uncle Gu had always told him that the families’ politics ran deep, like vines interwoven — you never knew whose hand linked to whom or which plots lurked behind them. The banquet at the Underground Demon-Fighting Arena showed only the tip of the iceberg.

As Mo Hua pondered, he caught a glimpse that made his heart jump.

Among Miss Hua’s suitors he recognized one face.

It was the same Young Master Shi he’d run into and sparred with at Little Post Town.

Young Master Shi bore an Undying Talisman and must be a holy scion or quasi-holy scion of the Yin-Corpse Valley. He had participated in the slaughter that birthed the corpse-city there, using it to establish the valley’s present return to the world.

It was clear Shi was highly valued by the Yin-Corpse Valley.

Mo Hua had not expected to meet him again in the Great Desert City just a few months later.

Now Shi wore silk robes, his features handsome and pale; his manners were refined, like a noble scion — not the slightest corpse-path grimness. At the table he repeatedly poured wine for Miss Hua, his gaze fixed on her as he whispered tender, attentive words like a lovesick fool.

Mo Hua found this perplexing.

“You are a core heir of the Yin-Corpse Valley, an undead-marked quasi-holy scion — and now you’re acting like a lovestruck puppy? Do you know what you are doing? Have you been turned dumb by corpse-refining or had your head eaten by zombies?”

Mo Hua frowned, deeply puzzled.

But Shi was completely engrossed, infatuated and delighted.

Mo Hua’s mouth twitched, then he stiffened.

Shi had seen him before.

Although Mo Hua’s appearance had changed — his skin a bronzed tone from cultivation and now a body-refiner’s look — if Shi got a clear look and suspicion stirred, trouble would follow. It would be difficult for Mo Hua to remain in the arena.

The big tiger would be impossible to rescue.

Mo Hua lowered his head, subdued his presence, and silently thought, “Just enjoy being your lovestruck self — don’t recognize me…”

As if fate mocked him, something happened.

A faint, clear copper-bell sound came from Shi’s sleeve.

It was so slight that most cultivators at the table did not hear it. A few did, but could not identify what kind of bell it was. Mo Hua — who had studied corpse-refining — recognized it immediately: the copper bell of the corpse path. A zombie was signaling Shi.

At the next moment Shi’s expression went blank, and then his eyes sharpened as he looked toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua kept his breathing low and his presence faint, but he had not vanished. If someone deliberately looked, they could still see him.

Shi saw the servant in simple livery, his skin a little sallow, eyes bright and obedient — Mo Hua’s face.

For an instant Shi’s mind jolted. The face was very similar.

From the facial contours alone, the servant resembled the thief who had escaped from him, the one who had ruined Yin-Corpse Valley’s plan and indirectly caused Elder Xu’s inexplicable death — the man Shi wanted dead.

But looking again, the two were completely different.

Only some resemblance in the face. This clearly was a low-born Qi Refining body cultivator; the other was deep, inscrutable, with a sinister aura. And that youth of such standing would not stoop to be a mere servant, would he?

Still, the bronze-copper corpse’s alarm would not sound for no reason…

Shi frowned.

Miss Hua seemed to sense Shi’s exception and fixed an odd stare on him.

Tuoba, feeling jealous, looked to Shi and asked coldly, “Young Master Shi, is anything amiss tonight?”

Shi returned to himself and smiled faintly. “Nothing.”

He discreetly averted his gaze from Mo Hua.

Tuoba’s brow tightened but he said nothing.

Mo Hua breathed easier. If Shi had seen something but did not act on it in public, that was fine. Once the feast ended and he slipped into the arena, Shi would hardly be able to cause trouble on Tuoba’s turf.

Not long after, Shi spoke to Tuoba. “Young Master Tuoba, I have an impertinent request.”

Tuoba’s eyes narrowed but he nodded, “Speak.”

Shi pointed at Mo Hua with one finger. “May this servant be given to me as a gift?”

Tuoba frowned.

A servant was expendable; giving one away was no big deal. What he could not understand was why Shi would suddenly, at this important banquet, ask for a lowly male servant. What did he intend?

Tuoba looked toward Mo Hua and paused. He suddenly remembered something: the black-and-white beast he had painstakingly tried to tame but failed — the beast had shown a strange reaction one day. When the tiger had stared off, its attention had not only fallen on the other nobles and desert cultivators… there had also been a servant.

And that servant… Tuoba’s heart sank. He realized the servant and the one Shi now requested might be the same person.

He felt a chill and said sharply, “No!”

Shi was taken aback. He had merely asked as a precaution — to catch the servant in case of a grudge — but Tuoba flatly refused without saving face.

Shi’s expression hardened.

Tuoba realized his refusal might have been rude, but his pride would not allow explanations. He asked instead, “Why do you care so much about a worthless servant, Young Master Shi?”

Shi’s eyes were sharp. “This servant looks familiar. He resembles someone I hate, so I wish to capture him, refine him into a corpse, and have him serve me day and night.”

Tuoba’s face remained cold.

Shi retorted, “A mere servant — and you won’t give him to me?”

Tuoba’s thoughts raced. If the servant had some link to the black-and-white fierce tiger he had captured, using the servant as bait might tame that unmanageable beast and give him a unique war mount, a king-tier tiger that would outshine others. Even if the chance was slim, he could not let it pass.

“A servant is lowly and not worth gifting,” Tuoba said. “Giving him to Young Master Shi would offend the proprieties of hosting.”

Shi said, “It matters not. I fancy this servant. If you gifted him to me it would be like giving me a thousand gold…”

The two quarreled.

Mo Hua felt speechless.

Then Miss Hua suddenly pointed at him and said, “I want this servant too.”

Her nature had always been like this: she did not care for things others rejected, but if others desired something she must have it — even if she discarded it later like trash.

Tuoba and Shi’s faces shifted. Neither had expected Miss Hua to intercede.

When a noble lady was involved, the rules changed.

Tuoba bowed stiffly, “A mere lowly servant.”

Miss Hua replied, “I don’t care. If I want something I get it.”

Tuoba remained silent. Shi frowned inwardly.

At that moment Elder You stepped forward from the crowd and cupped his hands to Miss Hua. “Miss, this is a matter of consequence. A servant is not worth discussing on the table.”

Elder You’s words seemed to sway Miss Hua a bit. She considered and nodded, “Fine. After the banquet, send the servant to my mansion.”

Tuoba made no objection and waved toward Mo Hua, ordering, “Take this servant away.”

They would decide how to deal with him later. He could not remain at the banquet and cause further dispute.

A steward came over and led Mo Hua away.

From beginning to end Mo Hua kept his head bowed, timid and frightened, too afraid to speak.

The steward led him out of the hall.

Halfway down the corridor the steward glanced back and snorted inwardly.

“Lucky young one…”

Or, put another way, very unlucky.

For servants and slaves, silence kept them alive.

Those who tried to rise and showed themselves off for noble favor were often toyed with, discarded, and ruined.

The steward had seen it all.

He guided Mo Hua into a dark corner and said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. A servant’s fate is to serve. Once you try to get out, you’re on your own…”

He trailed off and then froze.

He turned and found the place where Mo Hua had been was empty — Mo Hua’s figure had vanished.

The steward stood stunned, pupils contracting.

…

An incense stick later, a footman approached Young Master Tuoba and whispered in his ear. Tuoba’s expression darkened and frost settled over his face.

“There’s a trick… they’ve been played.”

Tuoba’s voice grew cold. “Seal the Demon-Fighting Arena. Catch him. Don’t let him escape, or I’ll hold you responsible.”

The footman trembled, “Yes…”

Young Master Shi’s face also sank into a frightening gloom.

Miss Hua, unimpressed, thought to herself: “Obviously, things other people fight over are always good. You little brat — if I catch you again I’ll show you what happens to escaped ‘toys’…”

A nasty amusement shone in Miss Hua’s eyes.

…

Outside the Demon-Fighting Arena, in a narrow alley, Mo Hua began to materialize.

No one in the arena's ranks could pierce his concealment; they could not catch him there. But now the situation had changed — he could no longer linger in the arena.

If he left now, he could not rescue the big tiger for the time being.

If he tried to take the tiger with him, the beast would not make it; even if Mo Hua escaped, the tiger might die in flight.

Mo Hua sighed and felt a prick of anger. Those three fools — Shi, Tuoba, and that inexplicable Miss Hua — had ruined his plan.

If they had not been so suspicious and meddlesome he could have stayed longer.

He wanted, in that moment, to cut them down with one sword.

Now rescuing the tiger had become more difficult.

Mo Hua furrowed his brow and pondered when suddenly he heard a disturbance. He looked up and saw a powerful surge of blood qi and a harmonized clang of metal and gold filling the air, shaking the heavens.

“What is that…”

His eyes narrowed. “Dao soldiers?!”

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