Mo Hua asked, "What kind of person was your mother?"
Shuisheng looked somewhat defensive, glanced at Mo Hua, saw his clear eyes and gentle demeanor, no ridicule, no mockery, then he slowly said:
"My mother, she... she had a low status..."
It was somewhat difficult for him to talk about his mother being a woman from the brothel.
"I know that, born in poverty, she had no choice..." Mo Hua continued, "What else?"
Shuisheng was caught off guard, then he relaxed, and his face showed a smile mixed with yearning:
"My mother treated me very well!"
"She made Hundred Flower pastries and crystal pork hocks for me to eat."
"She had a lovely smile, spoke very gently, liked to stroke my head..."
…
Shuisheng talked about many bits and pieces from life with his mother.
This might have been his only warm memory from childhood.
So when Shuisheng spoke of his mother, his face was smiling, innocent and full of longing.
"And your father?"
The expression on Shuisheng's face instantly fell, and there was a trace of disdain in his look.
It was as if his father couldn't even be compared to his mother.
"I... my master, he..."
He didn't even want to call Elder Su "father."
Shuisheng said, "He was pretentious..."
"He knew everything, but he never told me, thinking I didn't know."
"I actually knew everything, but since he didn't say anything, I didn't say anything to him either..."
Mo Hua thought to himself:
These two really are father and son...
Both pretending to be confused when they understood everything, each knowing in their heart but refusing to speak.
"Master also wants me to learn Formation..."
Shuisheng looked down and said, "But I... with my low status and no talent, Formation isn't something people like me should learn..."
"Moreover, Formation is very difficult, and I simply can't learn it well."
"Among Master's disciples, I am the slowest learner, what they know, I don't; what they understand, I don't; the Formations they can draw, I can't draw..."
"Master would scold me, the worse I learned, the angrier he became."
"But he values me highly, always keeps me by his side, the worse I learn, the more effort he puts in."
"The other disciples, when they look at me, there is envy and rejection in their eyes..."
"I don't like staying here..."
Shuisheng's expression was somewhat downcast.
Mo Hua nodded, showing understanding for Shuisheng's difficulties, and asked:
"Do you want to learn Formation?"
Shuisheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "I do."
"It doesn't matter to me personally, but I want to make my mother happy. Her wish was for me to become a dignified Formation Master like my... master."
"That way, no matter my background, no one would look down on me."
"My mother is gone, I can't see her anymore, but whenever I am learning Formation, whenever I think of becoming a Formation Master, I feel like my mother's spirit in heaven is silently watching over me, being with me..."
Shuisheng choked up a bit, his eyes reddening.
Mo Hua thought of his own mother as well.
Even though he was now drifting, unable to eat the meals made by his mother or stay by her side,
His mother was still waiting for him.
After his journey, after mastering Formation, he could still go back and see his mother.
But it was different for Shuisheng; he would never see his mother again in this lifetime...
Mo Hua felt a little emotional, then patted his shoulder, encouragingly saying:
"Don't worry, you can learn Formation well."
Shuisheng was grateful and felt undeserving of such encouragement, stammering:
"I, my talent is too poor..."
"Elder Su's talent wasn't much better than yours," Mo Hua whispered.