Chapter 1309: Little Senior Brother
Chapter 1308: Little Senior Brother
Both True-Person Huá and True-Person Zhuge turned to look at Mo Hua.
“Bai Zisheng.”
True-Person Huá repeated the name once more, then his gaze flickered slightly as he asked, “Why… does little friend Mo know him?”
Mo Hua shook his head. “Who is Bai Zisheng? I don’t know him.”
But then Mo Hua felt that saying it so bluntly seemed a bit too deliberate, so he probed instead, “Could he be… someone from the Bai Clan of Qian Province?”
True-Person Huá nodded. “You know the Bai Clan?”
Mo Hua nodded as well. “The Bai Clan is a great clan, of course I know them. To be honest, the Sect Master of our Great Void Sect is also surnamed Bai.”
True-Person Huá grew thoughtful.
Mo Hua then said coldly, “Back when I was at the Great Void Sect, the Sect Master often lectured us earnestly, telling us not to get smug just because we had joined Great Void Sect, or to think of ourselves as geniuses.”
“He also said that there are always greater heavens beyond the heavens, stronger people beyond people. That we so-called geniuses are nothing at all in front of the true prodigies of the Sixth-Grade Ancestral Dragon Bai Clan. Therefore, we must remain humble and eager to learn, and never grow arrogant…”
Mo Hua added fuel to the fire and slandered the Great Void Sect Sect-Master without blinking.
Only the Great Void Sect Sect-Master himself knew that he had never said any of these things.
Yet both True-Person Huá and True-Person Zhuge believed it.
Because these words really did sound like the sort of admonitions a sect master would give his disciples.
And in a certain sense, they were indeed true.
A great sect from a Fifth-Grade prefectural realm would naturally be at quite a disadvantage compared to the top-tier Sixth-Grade great clans like the Bai Clan.
When Mo Hua spoke, his face was full of indignation.
True-Person Huá then understood why Mo Hua was so sensitive to the name “Bai Zisheng.”
A disciple of a great sect like Great Void would naturally be proud and arrogant at heart. Being used by his sect master as a foil for comparison like this, he would surely feel unconvinced.
Now that he heard of another disciple surnamed “Bai,” such a reaction was only natural.
Although this kid Mo Hua acted a bit strangely, geniuses were like that, young and competitive by nature. True-Person Huá didn’t suspect anything further.
Mo Hua asked curiously, “So what happened to this Bai Zisheng? Did he do something bad? Commit a crime? Is he being hunted down?”
“Well…” True-Person Huá was originally unwilling to say much. But then he thought that the Dao Court had already issued a wanted order, and that this matter would spread sooner or later anyway, so it wasn’t really a secret.
He said, “Reportedly, this Bai Zisheng originally came to the Great Wilderness for training. But during the frontier campaigns, he developed feelings for the Great Wilderness Royal Court’s number-one beauty, and ended up engaging in some private exchanges, leaking military secrets. That’s why the Dao Court ordered his arrest…”
Mo Hua froze. “The Great Wilderness Royal Court’s number-one beauty, who?”
True-Person Huá said, “Her name seems to be Dān Líng.”
“Dān Líng?!”
Mo Hua was shocked again.
True-Person Huá looked at him oddly. “You know her?”
Isn’t Dān Líng Dan-Zhu’s elder sister?
Mo Hua shook his head. “How could I know her? The number-one beauty of the Great Wilderness, what does that have to do with me…”
Then Mo Hua asked again, “So that… useless Bai Zisheng was blinded by lust?”
True-Person Huá nodded and sighed lightly. “This Dān Líng is a bewitching woman of the Great Wilderness Royal Court, stunningly beautiful and adept at seducing others with her looks. And this Bai Zisheng is a once-in-a-generation genius prodigy. Add youthful recklessness to temptation by beauty, and a momentary misstep is, regrettably, not uncommon…”
Mo Hua nodded.
A clan prodigy paired with a Great Wilderness enchantress, it did sound plausible.
“Then is Bai Zisheng’s crime very serious?” Mo Hua asked.
True-Person Huá pondered for a moment, then spoke honestly. “After all, he’s a descendant of the Ancestral Dragon Bai Clan. His status is there, and the Dao Court doesn’t want to make things too ugly. So the order is merely to capture him, question him about the circumstances, and then hand him over to the Seven Pavilions, or return him directly to the Bai Clan for them to deal with…”
Mo Hua nodded.
That wasn’t too bad, then…
But soon, he grew puzzled again and asked, “What cultivation realm is this Bai Zisheng at now?”
True-Person Huá replied, “Peak-Stage, Foundation Establishment.”
Mo Hua froze. “How is he only at Foundation Establishment peak?”
True-Person Huá looked at Mo Hua strangely.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said, “He… isn’t he a prodigy of the Bai Clan? How is he still only at Foundation Establishment peak?”
True-Person Huá said slowly, “Reportedly… this young master of the Bai Clan encountered a great calamity when he was young, which damaged the Dao-protecting origin. That’s why his progress was delayed…”
A great calamity, damaging the Dao-protecting origin…
Mo Hua’s heart trembled.
Little Senior Brother’s Life-Bound Longevity Talisman had shattered…
And in a certain sense, it shattered precisely to save him.
A sense of guilt rose in Mo Hua’s heart.
Then he noticed something off and asked, “A mere Foundation Establishment peak cultivator, does it really require a True Person like you to personally go and arrest him?”
True-Person Huá frowned. “The trouble is precisely that he’s at Foundation Establishment peak.”
“What do you mean?” Mo Hua didn’t understand.
True-Person Huá explained, “The royal capital region of the Great Wilderness is rather special. Aside from the Royal Court’s major Fourth-Grade realms and a small number of transitional Third-Grade ones, most of the surrounding mountain realms are all Second-Grade…”
“This kind of unbalanced layout—Second-Grade realms encircling Fourth-Grade ones—is rare in the Dao Court’s Nine Provinces, but here in the Great Wilderness, it’s the norm. This is also one of the main reasons why the Great Wilderness Royal Court is ‘easy to defend and hard to attack.’”
“If one were to attack the Royal Court, the main force would instead have to be Second-Grade Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
“And this Bai Zisheng, the moment things were exposed, directly burrowed into the Second-Grade royal capital region. Trying to catch him is like fishing for a needle in the sea. And even if you catch him, no one can really hold him down.”
Mo Hua asked, “Is this Bai Zisheng very strong?”
True-Person Huá sighed softly. “There are very few weak ones among the Bai Clan. And this Bai Zisheng is among the best of the best even within the Bai Clan, so strong that it’s honestly a bit… absurd.”
“Earlier, the Dao Court had already issued orders. Forces from the Nine Provinces sent their own clan prodigies to capture him.”
“But so many prodigies… and none of them could capture him.”
“Even Golden Core cultivators went. But in Second-Grade mountain realms, Golden Core cultivators are heavily restricted, and they were actually beaten by Bai Zisheng until they couldn’t even lift their heads…”
Mo Hua nodded, feeling a bit gratified.
Worthy of my Little Senior Brother, at least he didn’t embarrass me.
But then again, being so blinded by lust over a woman that he ended up wanted by the Dao Court and besieged by everyone… that was really stupid.
(TN: Why does this feel like the author is foreshadowing something here?)
Sure, Mo Hua himself was also wanted by the Dao Court… but how could that be the same thing?
He had become the Divine-Shaman in the Desolate Wilderness, unified the barbaric tribes, and “established great merit.”
Completely different leagues.
Mo Hua shook his head inwardly. I can’t let others know this idiot is my Little Senior Brother, otherwise he’ll drag me down with him…
Mo Hua then asked True-Person Huá, “Since even prodigies couldn’t handle this Bai Zisheng, that’s why a True Person like you has to personally go and capture him?”
True-Person Huá nodded. “It’s not that I’ll capture him myself. In Second-Grade mountain realms, it’s inconvenient for me to act directly. I’m just going to oversee things and set up arrangements, in case anything unexpected happens.”
“Oh…” Mo Hua nodded, thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Then how about I go too?”
“You?” True-Person Huá was taken aback.
True-Person Zhuge felt a headache coming on.
This little ancestor… why does he rush toward every bit of excitement?
Mo Hua nodded firmly. “Yes! I’ll go too. I’m worried you won’t be able to catch that Bai… Bai Zisheng.”
True-Person Huá smiled faintly. “Oh? And if you go, you’ll be able to catch him?”
“Of course,” Mo Hua stopped pretending altogether, wearing a full ‘cards-on-the-table’ expression. “These past days, you’ve surely looked into my reputation. You know I’m the Little Senior Brother of the Great Void Sect, a two-time Formation Dao champion, the number one in the Qiánxue Sword Debate. Looking across the Great Void Sect—no, looking across the entire Fifth-Grade Qiánxue Greater State Realm—I’m among the absolute, top-tier prodigies…”
Mo Hua’s boasting was so grand that a single Qián Province couldn’t contain it.
True-Person Huá and True-Person Zhuge were both stunned into momentary speechlessness.
“I was able to suppress so many prodigies and dominate the Sword Debate Competition, crushing my contemporaries. My strength speaks for itself…”
“Those others can’t defeat, I can; the little thieves others can’t catch, I can catch casually; this Bai Zisheng that others can’t handle, I can pinch down with one hand. True-Person Huá, trust me—give me a chance, and I’ll definitely help you nab this Bai Zisheng!”
Mo Hua spoke with solemn conviction, brimming with indescribable confidence.
True-Person Huá’s mind was in utter disarray.
He even started to doubt whether this kid was really the same person he’d captured from the Desolate wilderness.
How could he say such boundlessly arrogant words with such a humble expression?
Didn’t he feel embarrassed at all?
At least look at your intermediate-lower grade spiritual roots. Take stock of that frail, breeze-could-knock-you-over body of yours. How did the phrase “one of the top geniuses in the entire Qiánxue Greater State Realm” even come out of your mouth?!
True-Person Huá looked toward True-Person Zhuge.
True-Person Zhuge felt inexplicably ashamed. Being stuck with such a little ancestor… there was really nothing he could do.
He could only blame the Huá clan. “Your Huá clan’s golden needles stabbed his brain stupid…”
For once, True-Person Huá found himself unable to refute that.
Mo Hua, meanwhile, stared intently at True-Person Huá. “Take me with you. I’ll help you catch this Bai Zisheng.”
True-Person Huá fell silent and glanced at True-Person Zhuge.
True-Person Zhuge shook his head.
So True-Person Huá replied tactfully, “Allow me to… think it over.”
True-Person Zhuge also pulled Mo Hua along. “We’ll take our leave for now.”
Mo Hua was somewhat unwilling, but he also knew this wasn’t something he could decide himself. So, begrudgingly, he followed True-Person Zhuge out of the Huá clan’s encampment.
…
After returning to True-Person Zhuge’s cave abode, Mo Hua said to him, “True Person, this Bai Zisheng let lust cloud his judgment, violated the Dao Court’s laws, and his crime is unforgivable. Let’s go capture him.”
True-Person Zhuge felt it was strange. “You really want to go capture this Bai Zisheng that badly?”
Mo Hua told the truth. “The Sect Master is always telling me how powerful and amazing the Bai Clan’s disciples are. I want to go meet one myself…”
Although True-Person Zhuge also felt that Mo Hua’s insistence on capturing Bai Zisheng carried a hint of incongruity, after thinking it over, he realized that prodigies were usually like this, amiable most of the time, but once competitiveness flared up, no one acknowledged anyone else.
Especially someone like Mo Hua, clearly doted on by the ancestor, yet openly ‘stepped on’ by the Sect Master.
Though, in truth, the Great Void Sect Master was completely innocent.
He was the laid-back, Buddhist-style type. He really hadn’t stepped on Mo Hua at all—this was entirely Mo Hua slandering him.
True-Person Zhuge still shook his head. “This matter is led by the Huá clan. You can’t follow along.”
Mo Hua asked, “True Person, isn’t your relationship with True-Person Huá pretty good?”
True-Person Zhuge replied, “That’s because it’s me. I’m at the Feather Ascension realm, so he shows me courtesy. But you’re only at Foundation Establishment. If I can protect you, fine—but if I can’t, you’ll be in great danger.”
“Besides, at the Feather Ascension realm, unless there’s a dispute over Great Dao’s interests, people generally won’t tear things apart.”
“But if they really do tear things apart…” True-Person Zhuge’s expression grew grave. “Then the situation could become extremely severe.”
Mo Hua nodded.
But when it came to his Little Senior Brother, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
He really, really wanted to go capture his Little Senior Brother.
Mo Hua said seriously, “The golden needle issue in my head is very serious. Lately my mind is often muddled, and the things I say come out all wrong. It might be a sign that the aftereffects are worsening.”
“If True-Person Huá were to run off at this time, and my golden-needle illness just happened to flare up, wouldn’t there be no one left for me to consult? Wouldn’t I be finished?”
True-Person Zhuge frowned. That really was a tricky problem.
Mo Hua’s safety was still the most important thing.
“So,” Mo Hua said, “we have to stick with the Huá clan, stick with True-Person Huá. Wherever they go, we go. If something goes wrong, we go find them, so the Huá clan doesn’t end up getting me killed without paying for it.”
True-Person Zhuge frowned, then sighed.
This kid, he had no idea how he’d trained that silver tongue… Everything he said sounded so reasonable.
After thinking it through carefully, True-Person Zhuge realized that Mo Hua was indeed right. For now, they really did need to stick with the Huá clan.
But this matter… was still far too troublesome… completely at odds with his lazy nature.
“I’ll think it over some more…” True-Person Zhuge said.
“Mhm, mhm.” Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.
…
After that, Mo Hua spent his time weaving straw dogs while waiting for True-Person Zhuge to decide.
But True-Person Zhuge was naturally carefree, unrestrained, and indolent. Mo Hua was afraid that if he lazed around too much, he’d just brush the whole matter aside. So every day he went to drink tea with True-Person Zhuge, doing his utmost to persuade him to follow the Huá clan on this capture mission.
True-Person Zhuge was really hounded to the point of having no choice.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have bothered to acknowledge them at all.
Up to this point, there had never been a single person who dared to wear him down like this, day after day.
But this one was a little ancestor.
He couldn’t hit him, couldn’t scold him, couldn’t drive him away, couldn’t even reason him down.
If the kid went and “courted death” on his own, the one who’d end up unlucky would still be him.
True-Person Zhuge’s scalp tingled. In the end, with no alternatives left, he could only agree:
“Fine. I’ll take you with me, but you have to agree to these conditions first…”
True-Person Zhuge gave careful instructions:
“You must listen to me. You can’t act recklessly, you can’t leave my sight, you can’t offend the Huá Clan, and you can’t compete or fight with disciples from other great clans. If you really run into Bai Zisheng, don’t fight him either, don’t let things escalate into a major conflict.”
In his entire life, True-Person Zhuge had never instructed anyone this meticulously.
But he still wasn’t done.
His gaze darkened as he continued, “That Bai Zisheng is, after all, from a Sixth-Grade Ancestral Dragon Land, a direct descendant of the Bai Clan… and the Bai Clan rose to power with blood on their hands. Their earliest ancestor rendered meritorious service by following the Dragon—Dao Lord—his battle achievements were overwhelming, corpses lay everywhere, and he was known as a ‘Slayer of Immortals’ among men. If you truly offend the Bai Clan and draw down a killing calamity, even the Great Void Sect might not be able to shield you.”
A chill ran through Mo Hua’s heart. He hadn’t expected the Bai Clan’s “ferocious reputation” to be this formidable.
He had thought the Bai Clan was the kind of great clan that was refined, elegant, and steeped in propriety…
Mo Hua said carefully, “I understand… Please rest assured, True Person.”
Seeing that Mo Hua had taken it to heart, True-Person Zhuge sighed again, suddenly feeling very tired.
Ever since encountering this “little ancestor,” his former leisure seemed to have vanished forever…
“Tomorrow, we set out,” True-Person Zhuge said.
“Alright!”
Mo Hua nodded, unable to suppress a feeling of excitement.
Setting out tomorrow… to arrest Little Senior Brother!