Chapter 15 – Bundles Of Repair_1
The Sect opened its Outer Gate to recruit disciples and to impart the knowledge and skills of cultivation. To become a disciple, to study and practice cultivation, one needed to pay a tuition fee.
The tuition fee varied depending on the grade of the Sect; the higher the grade, the more expensive the fee.
Tongxian Gate was only a first-grade Sect within the Tao Cultivation World, but in Tongxian City, where only first-grade Sects existed, it was the largest Sect. The annual tuition fee was a hundred Spirit Stones, and this did not include other miscellaneous charges.
A hundred Spirit Stones were not too expensive, but neither were they cheap. It was approximately what an ordinary Qi practicing Loose Cultivator could save in a year, assuming there were no injuries or other significant Spirit Stone expenses.
Once afflicted by illness or disaster, or encountering difficulties that required spending Spirit Stones to resolve, it was possible to end up with a year with no harvest.
The New Year had been joyous, but as it passed, the heavy burden of the cultivation life seemed to press down once again.
Mo Shan placed a Storage Bag on the table with a bit of guilt, “I borrowed some Spirit Stones from a few brothers, plus what I had saved up before, there are a bit over eighty…”
Liu Ruhua comforted him, “Tomorrow, I will also go see the steward of the Food Building to ask him to advance me some Spirit Stones…”
Before Mo Shan could say anything, he noticed Mo Hua eavesdropping at the crack of the door.
“Huar!”
Having been spotted, Mo Hua could only offer a sheepish smile and sat down next to his mother.
Liu Ruhua affectionately pinched Mo Hua’s ear and scolded, “At such a young age, you already know how to eavesdrop!”
“Dad, Mom, are we still short of Spirit Stones?”
Mo Shan said, “Yes, we are short some, but your Uncle Ji said yesterday that he would lend me some and kept reminding me thousands of times to have you study hard at the Sect.”
“Uncle Ji?”
“That’s right, your Uncle Ji says you’re smart and always sings your praises,” Liu Ruhua said as she stroked Mo Hua’s head.
“But Uncle Ji’s family doesn’t have an excess of Spirit Stones either,” Mo Hua said.
Mo Shan sighed softly, “After the New Year I’ll pay him back early. These days, whose pockets are overflowing with Spirit Stones?”
“I have them!” Mo Hua said with a chuckle.
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua were taken aback.
Mo Hua trotted back into the house and then ran out again with a Storage Bag in his hand.
He opened the Storage Bag, and within it, fifty Spirit Stones glimmered and interlaced, their lustrous reflections strikingly beautiful. But the expected scene of his parents moved to tears and praising him for his understanding did not happen.
Mo Shan looked grave, and Liu Ruhua’s brows furrowed slightly as well.
Feeling uneasy, Mo Hua asked, “What’s wrong?”
In as calm a tone as he could muster, Mo Shan asked, “Huar, who gave you these Spirit Stones?”
“They weren’t given to me; I earned them myself!”
Mo Shan was stunned for a moment, “Earned them… yourself?”
Liu Ruhua’s expression eased as she gently embraced Mo Hua, “Then tell Mom, how did you earn them?”
“I painted Formations for Fated Gathering. They’re only the simplest ones, but I earn one Spirit Stone for every completed painting.”
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua exchanged looks, remembering how their son had spent most of his time indoors before and after the New Year, rarely playing outside, and returning shortly after going out. He had been painting Formations to earn Spirit Stones.
They looked again at the Spirit Stones in the bag. One Spirit Stone for one Formation Painting, nearly fifty in the bag, meant he had to paint at least fifty…
Liu Ruhua couldn’t help but hug Mo Hua even tighter.
Mo Shan started to speak several times but stopped himself, unsure of what to say. In the end, he simply stretched out his hand and gently touched Mo Hua’s head.
“These Spirit Stones are the fruit of your hard work. You keep them. Save them for cultivation or buy something tasty to eat. Dad will find a way to handle Tongxian Gate’s tuition fees.”
Mo Hua knew his father was reluctant to use these Spirit Stones. His eyes twinkling, he said, “Then Mom and Dad can keep these Spirit Stones for me. I’m just a kid; I don’t need that many. And they could be stolen or snatched away.”
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua looked at each other, at a loss for words of refusal.
Finally, it was Liu Ruhua who said, “Alright, your Mom and Dad will hold onto them for you.”
“Mhm, mhm!” Mo Hua nodded vehemently.
“Okay, it’s getting late, and you have school tomorrow. Go to sleep early.”
“Mhm, goodnight Dad and Mom!”
Mo Hua got up to go back to his room but then turned back and said, “Dad and Mom, if you need to use them, go ahead. Don’t save on my account.”
Mo Shan and his wife were at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
“`
Watching Mo Hua return to the room and close the door, Mo Shan let out a sigh and said with a wry smile, “As a father, I’m not even as good as my child.”
Liu Ruhua consoled him, “What are you talking about? It’s a good thing that Huar is considerate of his parents. We should be happy that he can earn Spirit Stones with his own abilities. It’s just that…”
Liu Ruhua looked down at the Spirit Stones in front of her and then raised her head to her husband with concern, “He’s so young, can he really earn Spirit Stones for others by drawing formations? And earn so many… I’m afraid someone might see his young age and want to…”
“I’ll go take a look tomorrow.”
Mo Shan said, his eyes gradually sharpening.
The next day Mo Hua got up on time, cultivated for a while, and then went with his mother Liu Ruhua to the Outer Gate of Tongxian Gate to pay the tuition and register for school.