After the rain, Mo Shan returned, but with a serious expression. He ate a few bites of food, packed some dry rations, and then had to leave again.
Mo Hua couldn’t help asking, “Dad, what happened?”
Mo Shan originally did not want to say, but thinking that Mo Hua could now survive on his own on Big Black Mountain and was no longer the frail child he had been, he said gravely:
“Old Zhao is missing.”
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback, “Is it the medium-height Uncle Zhao with thick eyebrows who knows the Mountain Splitting Palm technique?”
Mo Shan was surprised, “You know him?”
“Mm,” Mo Hua nodded.
That was the late-stage Qi Refinement Cultivator Uncle Yu had called “Old Zhao” and asked to look after him.
Mo Shan nodded, “That’s right.”
“Where did he go missing?”
“Big Black Mountain.”
“I’ll go have a look too.”
Mo Shan was about to refuse, but after a moment’s thought, he said, “Follow me and don’t get separated.”
“Mm.”
Liu Ruhua prepared some more food for them to take, and with a worried face, she advised, “Be careful on the road.”
Mo Shan left the house with Mo Hua. Instead of heading straight for Big Black Mountain, they first went to Elder Yu’s house.
Elder Yu’s house was more spacious but furnished simply. The room was filled with quite a few Monster Hunters.
As Elder Yu’s gaze swept over Mo Shan and landed on Mo Hua by his side, he showed a slight surprise but still nodded at Mo Hua with a kind smile.
Afterwards, he said with a serious tone, “Old Zhao is missing. I’ve already sent Chengyi to lead a search, but there’s been no news so far.”
“Could it be that he’s just been blocked on the mountain by the heavy rain, found a camp to take shelter, and will come down when it’s light tomorrow?” one of the Monster Hunters speculated.
Elder Yu shook his head and said, “Old Zhao’s wife came over and said her husband is missing.”
Elder Yu explained the situation.
Old Zhao’s wife was pregnant, already five or six months along.
Old Zhao learned from a Pill Master about a medicinal herb called Baishu Ginseng, which could nourish Qi and stabilize a pregnancy. He found one on the mountain, picked it, planning to bring it down to his wife.
But that day’s Monster Hunting took longer than expected; when he was coming down, he realized his Storage Bag was broken, and the Baishu Ginseng was missing.
Guessing it might have fallen out during the fight with the Monster Beasts, he told his wife he’d go back to the mountain to look for it and that he would return shortly.
As soon as Old Zhao entered the mountain, a downpour began. Even after the rain stopped, he still hadn’t returned.
It was common for Monster Hunters to spend a night in the mountains if needed.
But Old Zhao’s wife felt an unexplainable sense of panic and palpitations, as if she might never see her husband again.
She couldn’t pin down this intense feeling, and in desperation, she had no choice but to ask Elder Yu to send someone to look for him in the mountains.
Elder Yu sighed, “Better to err on the side of caution. It’s better to tire ourselves out than to have Old Zhao lose his life. Otherwise, how would his widow and orphan live on.”