Chapter 88: Inquiry

After a day of troubles, Mo Hua wanted to sleep early but couldn't. After some thought, he decided to practice array formations on the stele within his Sea of Consciousness throughout the night.

When drawing the arrays, his mind was completely focused, which also made it easier for him to calm down.

The next day, Zhang Lan found Mo Hua.

He was sitting at an Eight Immortals table in the corner of an eatery, with several dishes for pairing with drinks and a pot of wine on the table.

Zhang Lan poured himself a cup of wine and said, “Tell me, what happened yesterday?”

“What happened?” Mo Hua asked.

Zhang Lan curled his lips slightly, “Don't play dumb with me, it’s about Qian Xing.”

“He bullied me, and then Brother Da Zhu and the others helped out, and a fight broke out, and then you guys showed up,” Mo Hua said, downplaying the incident.

Zhang Lan couldn’t help but interject, “Don’t try to evade the issue. It was that array you used, wasn’t it?”

Mo Hua was startled, “Uncle Zhang, you saw it?”

“I didn’t see it,” Zhang Lan took a sip of his wine, “If I had seen it, how could I let them carry on like that?”

Mo Hua was puzzled, “Then how do you know it was an array and not a spell?”

After the Earth Fire Array exploded, the spirit paper turned to ash, leaving no trace unless witnessed. Nobody should have known that Mo Hua injured Qian Xing with an array.

“Traces remain after the rain, sounds linger after a goose passes. Whatever a cultivator does, leaves a trace. You might not see them, but that doesn't mean others can't,” Zhang Lan explained.

“What kind of traces?” Mo Hua earnestly asked.

“The ash of the spirit paper, when burned, disperses with the wind and dissolves in water, or you can draw another array using a different array medium; that way, no ash remains. After an array explodes, the lingering aura of spirit power is also distinct; those who know their stuff can even tell which array was used. Besides, there aren’t many spells that a Qi-cultivation stage four could use, apart from spells, only talismans and arrays have such power. Talismans are expensive and easier to identify, so that leaves arrays…”

Zhang Lan, sounding very confident, continued, “That’s how it is,” Mo Hua suddenly realized, “Then how can these traces be erased?”

“Spirit paper’s ash scatters with the wind and dissolves in water, or directly using another array medium for drawing arrays leaves no residual ash; after an array explodes, the lingering spirit power can be deliberately obscured, though that’s not too important since regular cultivators can't distinguish between the spirit power of an array and that of a cultivator. There’s also…”

Zhang Lan suddenly realized something wasn’t right as if he was teaching Mo Hua how to cover up misdeeds…

“What else?” Mo Hua asked, intrigued.

Zhang Lan coughed, “That’s not important. Tell me, was it you who injured Qian Xing?”

“It wasn’t.” Mo Hua wasn’t foolish enough to admit something that could bring trouble upon him.

Zhang Lan looked skeptical.

“Uncle Zhang, think about it, I’m only at the fourth level of Qi cultivation, how could I possibly draw such a powerful array?”

“Hmm, that’s a good excuse,” Zhang Lan said noncommittally.

“Exactly,” Mo Hua said, then realizing, he corrected, “It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth!”

Zhang Lan chuckled, “Okay, okay, I get it. Don’t worry, I just wanted to know what happened. I’m not actually going to send you to the Dao Court for interrogation.”

“Doesn’t the Dao Court care?”

“The Dao Court acts if there’s a complaint, investigates if there’s a clue, and convicts if the evidence is conclusive. Otherwise, they can’t intervene, or even if they do, it ends with no results, eventually leading to nothing.”

So the things Qian Xing did would probably lead to nothing…

Many people are criticizing me…

This plot isn’t that bad, right?

It’s like being suddenly cornered by a school bully on the way home from school, clearly, no matter what you say, they won’t let you go, so the protagonist doesn’t feel like wasting words either.

Compared to his peers, the protagonist’s level in array formations is already strong. Although he doesn’t seek trouble, it doesn’t mean he’s afraid of it.

The protagonist solved his own problem, won the fight, and the adults will handle what follows.

Among the demon hunters, there’s unity, and they defend their own, fighting with

demonic beasts daily and possessing a spirited nature; naturally, they won’t stand by and watch a child of a demon hunter be bullied.

Not only the protagonist, but this also applies to other children.

Moreover, the protagonist has already made many connections—an alchemist, an artifact crafting master, the Dao Court, and his father is also influential among the demon hunters. Plus, there are masters like Aunt Xue and Mr. Zhuang.

In such circumstances, why should he tolerate being bullied?

When powerless, enduring is cautious; when powerful, not enduring is merely cowardly...

Despite the criticism, the subscriptions and follow-ups are actually okay, at least for a newcomer, it’s quite good and within expectations.

I’ll leave it at that, I’m going to focus on writing now, and I’ll look at comments less. Being criticized too much really makes you not want to write a single word...

Lastly, thanks for everyone's support, ten more updates today.