Chapter 1326: Reunion
Chapter 1325: Reunion
After a long separation and sudden reunion, the usually steady Situ Jian excitedly wrapped his arms around Mo Hua, this little senior brother of his.
Everyone present was stunned.
The Situ Clan’s Grand Elder, clad in black robes with stern brows, let out a cold cough at the sight.
Only then did Situ Jian snap back to his senses. Reluctantly, he released Mo Hua and said with some embarrassment, “I lost my composure…”
He truly hadn’t seen his little senior brother for a very long time. Ever since leaving the Great Void Sect, he had received no news of him at all.
Situ Jian had never imagined that in the barren and chaotic Great Wilderness, he would actually run into his little senior brother again.
Mo Hua smiled gently.
The Situ Clan’s Grand Elder glanced at Mo Hua and asked Situ Jian, “This young gentleman is…?”
Situ Jian replied, “This is my little senior brother from the Great Void Sect.”
The Situ Grand Elder’s pupils shrank slightly.
A little senior brother… of the Great Void Sect.
Back then, the clan head had mobilized countless connections and pulled innumerable strings just to send Young Master Jian—who possessed outstanding talent—into the Great Void Sect. As the Grand Elder, he naturally knew this better than anyone.
The Situ Clan was a fourth-grade aristocratic clan.
But the Great Void Sect was a fifth-grade grand sect of Qianxue Prefecture, brimming with countless prodigies.
And yet, this youth before him could actually become a “little senior brother” there…
The Situ Grand Elder looked at Mo Hua once more.
Although on the surface, Mo Hua didn’t seem to possess much of the bearing of a “senior brother,” the Grand Elder still accorded him due importance, his attitude noticeably gentler.
“This old man is Situ Wei, temporarily serving as the Situ Clan’s Grand Elder.”
Mo Hua cupped his hands in return. “Great Void Sect, Mo Hua.”
The Grand Elder named Situ Wei nodded, then said,
“Since you are Young Master Jian’s fellow disciple, and also an outstanding disciple of the Great Void Sect, you are naturally an ‘honored guest’ of our Situ Clan. As for the remaining matters, we elders will take care of them. Young Master Jian, please represent our Situ Clan and entertain Young Master Mo.”
Situ Jian felt as if he had suddenly been “granted leave.” Overjoyed, he cupped his hands and said,
“Yes, Elder Wei.”
Situ Jian then led Mo Hua away.
After taking a few steps, Mo Hua turned back and pointed at Situ Jin. “This Elder Jin is my… friend.”
Situ Jin was instantly overwhelmed by the favor.
Grand Elder Situ Wei glanced at Situ Jin and nodded. “Elder Jin, since you are Young Master Mo’s friend, you are naturally not the same as others.”
“Thank you, Grand Elder,” Situ Jin hurriedly bowed, his emotions surging.
Sometimes, a single sentence was all it took to become an opportunity.
What Mo Hua had done—mentioning Situ Jin’s name and letting those in power remember it—was already enough for him.
After that, Mo Hua left the main hall.
Situ Jian guided Mo Hua around the Situ residence, strolling past pavilions and towers, reminiscing about old times. Eventually, they found a quiet reception hall and began drinking tea.
The hall was very quiet, isolated by formations, specifically meant for honored guests to discuss confidential matters.
Situ Jian personally poured a cup of tea for his little senior brother and said,
“Little Senior Brother, please have some tea.”
Mo Hua nodded, lifted the teacup, took a sip, then raised his eyes to look at Situ Jian, his expression somewhat strange.
Noticing this, Situ Jian asked attentively, “Little Senior Brother, what’s wrong?”
Mo Hua lowered his voice. “Situ… your status in the Situ Clan is really that high?”
He had originally thought that Sister Situ Fang was also part of the clan’s direct line, so she should know Situ Jian. Yet the difference in their status was worlds apart, they hadn’t even met before.
Such a vast disparity caught even him, an “outsider,” completely off guard.
Situ Jian looked a little bashful. “I’ve made you laugh, Little Senior Brother…”
In the Great Void Sect, he could only be considered a slightly above-average prodigy. Yet back at the Situ Clan, his little senior brother had even had to come mixed in with the retainers just to pay a visit. Situ Jian felt genuinely ashamed.
Mo Hua didn’t mind much.
“We’re all fellow disciples, no need for such formality. But honestly speaking, when you walk among the crowd, looking dignified and heroic, you really do have the bearing of an aristocratic heir. Ten years apart, and you’ve truly become someone people have to reassess…” Mo Hua praised without restraint.
Being praised like that, Situ Jian’s face reddened slightly. “Little Senior Brother, you flatter me.”
“Drink tea, drink tea…” Situ Jian hurriedly poured him more.
Mo Hua took another sip and nodded.
The Situ Clan’s tea was indeed excellent.
Of course, it might also be because it was poured by his own little junior brother.
As Mo Hua drank, Situ Jian thought for a moment. Seeing no one around, he lowered his voice and asked,
“Little Senior Brother… how did you end up in the Great Wilderness?”
“Well, that’s a long story…” Holding his teacup, Mo Hua said slowly, “I originally came to the Great Wilderness for training, thinking that with such vast lands, there’d be great opportunities. Then the Great Wilderness rebellion broke out, so I wanted to establish some merit. But through a twist of fate, I got separated from the Dao Court’s main army, went through quite a bit of hardship, and ended up like this, running all the way to the front lines…”
Situ Jian nodded.
Having spent so much time with Mo Hua back in the Great Void Sect, he knew his temperament well.
He also knew that this little senior brother of his often described earth-shattering events as if they were nothing at all.
So within those few casual sentences must have been a rather grand and harrowing journey.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be Little Senior Brother.
Situ Jian glanced at Mo Hua again and asked, “Little Senior Brother, you haven’t formed your Golden Core yet?”
“I did. It failed.” Mo Hua said with some pain, then asked in return, “What about you?”
Situ Jian shook his head and said solemnly, “The clan is extremely cautious about my Golden Core formation. They’d rather wait longer and prepare everything thoroughly than let me attempt it rashly. If something goes wrong and my core drops in grade, the consequences would be… very serious.”
Mo Hua nodded, deeply understanding.
For someone with his aptitude, forming a Golden Core and dropping a grade would feel bad, but not unbearably so.
After all, his upper limit was more or less set, his core quality was average to begin with. If it dropped, so be it.
What’s more, as a loose cultivator, if he managed to form a Golden Core at all, he’d likely become the first Golden Core cultivator in Tongxian City’s history.
His parents would be ecstatic and wouldn’t care in the slightest about core grade.
But Situ Jian was different.
Seeing how everyone revolved around him, it was obvious he’d lived under the gaze and expectations of others since childhood. Naturally, his demands on himself had to be extremely high.
If he failed to be perfect in everything, he’d invite criticism and disappointment, from many, many people.
Mo Hua looked at Situ Jian. When the topic of “grade drop” came up, the tension on his face was plainly visible, even carrying a trace of fear. It was clear that the burden he bore was immense.
“Geniuses enjoy the halo of admiration,” Mo Hua thought silently, “but they also shoulder pressure that ordinary people can hardly understand… Unlike me, when the jar’s already cracked, you might as well smash it. I’ll cultivate into whatever I become. My mental resilience is excellent…”
Thinking of this, Mo Hua patted Situ Jian on the shoulder and comforted him,
“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Those who seem to place high hopes on you might not truly wish you well. Plenty of people are probably jealous behind the scenes. If your Golden Core drops a grade, it might actually suit their wishes better.”
Situ Jian: “……”
After holding it in for a long while, Situ Jian finally said quietly, “Thank you, Little Senior Brother. You’re still… very good at comforting people…”
Mo Hua smiled.
Those who place high hopes on you may not truly wish you well.
After hearing this, Situ Jian oddly felt much less pressure and couldn’t help but smile as well.
Mo Hua then asked, “So you’re also planning to go to the Dragon Pool to temper your core?”
Situ Jian was a bit surprised. He was about to say, Little Senior Brother, you know about this too?
But then he thought again, his little senior brother had extraordinary connections. Back in the Great Void Sect, many merit missions had been pulled in by Little Senior Brother from the Dao Court.
Something as important as Dragon Pool core-tempering, how could Little Senior Brother not know?
After some thought, Situ Jian shook his head. “Not necessarily.”
Mo Hua was a bit surprised. “You’re not going?”
“I want to,” Situ Jian said, frowning, “but the Dragon Pool of the Great Wilderness is a forbidden land of the Royal Court. It’s said to have once been the Golden Core formation ground of the Great Wilderness’s imperial lineage. It’s absolutely not something ordinary bloodlines can touch.”
“The imperial family’s core-formation ground?” Mo Hua was slightly startled.
“Yes,” Situ Jian nodded. “Moreover, right now it’s not just the Situ Clan. The Dao Court—and indeed all of the Nine Provinces—so many great powers, so many pairs of eyes, are all fixed on the Royal Court of the Great Wilderness. A treasure like the Dragon Pool… it won’t be my turn.”
“And the Dragon Pool is extremely dangerous. Even if there’s a chance to form a Golden Core, there’s also a risk of perishing. The clan’s upper echelons might not agree to let me go…”
Mo Hua was puzzled. “Then why did you come to the front lines of the Great Wilderness? If not for the Dragon Pool, then for what?”
Situ Jian replied, “It really is just training, leading troops, commanding people, seizing territory, suppressing rebellions, fighting, and earning merit for the Dao Court… As for anything else, we’ll just have to see what fate brings…”
Mo Hua slowly nodded.
Situ Jian then asked, “Little Senior Brother, are you planning to go to the Royal Court’s Dragon Pool to form your Core?”
Mo Hua didn’t hide it. “I do want to…”
Under normal circumstances, with so many people coveting the Dragon Pool and dangers everywhere, just to secure an “Intermediate-Lower Grade” core, he might not be willing to take the risk and fight for it.
But now it seemed that, for him—whose life-bound foundation was the Taotie Spiritual Skeleton—there was still a possibility of “raising the grade.”
This was truly a chance that could be called “defying heaven and changing fate.” No matter what, he had to try.
“Let’s see how things go.” Mo Hua said casually.
Situ Jian nodded. “If there’s anything I can help with, Little Senior Brother, just say the word.”
“Thanks.” Mo Hua smiled.
After that, the two reminisced for a while longer. Reuniting after a long separation, they had much to talk about, and before they knew it, the sky had grown dark.
When it was time to part, Situ Jian said reluctantly,
“Little Senior Brother, come stay at the main residence. When I have time, I’ll take you around the surroundings.”
“Won’t that be troublesome?” Mo Hua asked.
“Not troublesome, not troublesome,” Situ Jian hurriedly said.
Little Senior Brother coming to find him was something he even couldn’t ask for, how could it possibly be troublesome?
Mo Hua said, “Then that works.”
He still had many things to ask the Situ Clan, and some matters couldn’t be handled by him alone.
Situ Jian was overjoyed.
Thus, Mo Hua brought Bai Zisheng and moved into the Situ main residence.
Situ Fang had another place to stay outside and didn’t follow them, but Mo Hua still introduced her to Situ Jian:
“This is Sister Situ. Back in Tōngxiān City, she took great care of me. All things considered, it means I really do have some fate with your Situ Clan.”
Situ Jian bowed to Situ Fang. “Sister Fang.”
Situ Fang froze for a moment, then hurriedly returned the bow. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”
Even now, she was still a little dazed, unable to believe that the small cultivator she had casually befriended back in Tōngxiān City had, in the blink of an eye, become the senior brother of the most renowned genius young master of the Situ Clan.
Situ Jian then looked at Bai Zisheng at the side, a trace of solemnity flashing through his eyes.
He could sense the unfathomably deep aura on Bai Zisheng—something only top-tier peerless geniuses could possess.
Back then, he and Mo Hua had fought the Four Peerless Prodigies of Qianxue together at the Sword Debate Tournament.
And although Bai Zisheng was injured, his aura weak, and chains still bound his body, the faint pressure he gave off was no less than that of the Four Peerless Prodigies of Qianxue back then.
“Little Senior Brother, this person is…?” Situ Jian asked gravely.
Mo Hua replied as usual, “This is my defeated opponent, my ‘prisoner.’ I’ve suppressed him, no need to mind him.”
Situ Jian’s expression turned a bit strange.
But whatever Little Senior Brother said went. He was already used to it.
Afterward, Situ Jian settled Mo Hua in and said, “Little Senior Brother, rest early. Tomorrow I’ll take you around the area and properly play the host.”
“Mm, alright.” Mo Hua nodded.
Situ Jian left. In the spacious guest room, only Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng remained.
This had been Mo Hua’s request. He said he needed to keep an eye on Bai Zisheng, this “prisoner,” so he specifically asked for a large guest room.
Following his usual routine, Mo Hua inspected the entire room, replaced all the formations with his own, and only then felt at ease.
After finishing up, Mo Hua flopped onto the large bed and squinted his eyes.
Bai Zisheng, meditating on the carpet, glanced at Mo Hua and couldn’t help asking, “That Situ Jian calls you Little Senior Brother?”
Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zisheng looked amazed. “You’re a Little Senior Brother too now?”
Mo Hua was somewhat pleased. “Naturally.”
Bai Zisheng pondered. “Then by that logic… this Situ Jian counts as my little junior brother too?”
Mo Hua cut him off decisively. “No.”
“Why?” Bai Zisheng asked.
Mo Hua said with full conviction, “Don’t you know? Your little junior brother’s little junior brother is not your little junior brother.”
In other words: don’t even think about stealing my little junior brother.
Bai Zisheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and could only sigh. “Alright…”
After thinking for a moment, he asked again, “Have you decided what to do about the Dragon Pool?”
Mo Hua pondered briefly and shook his head. “The Royal Court hasn’t been breached yet. Even if it is, entering the Dragon Pool won’t be easy. And after entering it, whether it’s truly safe to form a core, that’s also hard to say…”
“And what exactly is inside the Royal Court…” Thinking of this, Mo Hua’s pupils shrank slightly, an inexplicable tension rising in his heart. “…we don’t know that yet either.”
“At present, the overall situation isn’t in our hands. We can only wait. Wait until the war between the Great Wilderness Royal Court and the Dao Court makes clear progress. That day…” Mo Hua guessed, “…shouldn’t be too far off.”
Bai Zisheng nodded.
“Alright, rest early.” Mo Hua said. After that, he lay down on the soft bed. After lying there for a bit, he looked down and saw Bai Zisheng lying on the floor with only a blanket, and quietly called out,
“Little Senior Brother, how about you sleep on the bed and I take the floor?”
Bai Zisheng glanced at Mo Hua’s small frame and shook his head. “You’re the junior brother.”
As the senior brother, it was only right for him to take care of his junior.
Mo Hua didn’t insist. He lay back down, sank his Divine-Sense into his Sea of Consciousness, and began practicing formations there.
Seeing Mo Hua fall asleep, his breathing steady, Bai Zisheng finally let out a slight sigh of relief. Then, while meditating to recover from his injuries, he also stood guard over his little junior brother.
…
The next day, Situ Jian took Mo Hua out to stroll around the streets.
Mo Hua had originally wanted to bring Little Senior Brother along as well, but considering that Little Senior Brother was still, strictly speaking, a “wanted person” of the Dao Court, it was better for him not to show his face too much.
Thus, Mo Hua and Situ Jian set off to wander about together.
As the son of the Situ Clan Head and the strongest genius of the Situ Clan, Situ Jian usually cultivated diligently, with a tightly packed schedule. Being able to come out for a leisurely stroll with Mo Hua today was entirely thanks to Mo Hua’s status as the Little Senior Brother of the Great Void Sect.
The two wandered through the Situ Clan’s camp, making a full circuit.
Along the way, Situ Jian—normally steady and not very talkative within the clan—enthusiastically explained everything to Mo Hua.
Through this, Mo Hua learned a great deal about the current situation in the Great Wilderness.
He even picked up two maps of the Great Wilderness frontline from the market.
After walking around for a while, Mo Hua suddenly asked, “Situ, is this your main family’s camp?”
Situ Jian nodded.
Mo Hua asked again, “Are there any other camps nearby?”
Situ Jian fell silent.
Mo Hua found this strange. “What’s wrong?”
Situ Jian slowly said, “Little Senior Brother… do you really want to see it?”
Mo Hua nodded.
Situ Jian remained silent. After a moment, he shook his head. “How about… Little Senior Brother, you don’t go see it. I…”
He seemed unsure how to continue.
Mo Hua looked at Situ Jian in confusion. “Is there something inconvenient about it?”
Situ Jian only shook his head.
“Then take me there,” Mo Hua said.
Situ Jian looked at Mo Hua, his gaze flickering. After a moment, as if resigning himself to fate, he sighed. “Alright. Little Senior Brother, follow me.”
Situ Jian didn’t bring many people, only two Golden Core elders of the Situ Clan. Together with Mo Hua, the four of them left the Situ main clan’s camp.
They headed southwest, entered a mountain hollow, crossed several mountain paths, and after about an hour, arrived at another camp.
This camp was completely different.
It wasn’t newly built. It was a local tribal settlement of the royal domain, temporarily converted after being conquered and occupied.
From far away, Mo Hua could already see a deathly gray aura drifting above the camp, dark and oppressive.
After entering, there were likewise sounds of clamor and bustle, yet they carried an air of unrestrained brutality.
The dilapidated, backward tribal buildings were in ruins, devastation everywhere.
One after another, barbarian cultivators, raggedly dressed, were enslaved and forced to perform various tasks.
At the very center, there was even a plaza. In the plaza, rows of barbarian cultivators—some sturdy, some slender—had their upper garments stripped off and were displayed there.
Someone shouted from above, describing these barbarian cultivators’ “types,” “years of cultivation,” or praising their tall, well-shaped, and attractive physiques.
Some Nine Provinces cultivators below would occasionally point, pick, and haggle over prices.
It looked like a kind of “liveliness” utterly at odds with humanity.
And this was the primitive and savage trade of “barbarian slaves.”
This scene was not unfamiliar to Mo Hua. Yet his expression turned icy.
Mo Hua turned his head and looked at Situ Jian, speaking slowly, “This is the business your Situ Clan is doing in the Great Wilderness?”
His voice was as cold as his expression.
Under Mo Hua’s gaze, Situ Jian’s scalp went numb. He lowered his head in shame and let out a sigh.