The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua had made up his mind.

Since Hundred Flower Tower was equipped with the Expose Dust Formation, hiding oneself would reveal flaws, then why not just not hide at all and go in openly and aboveboard?

Only, given his young age, others might not let him enter.

In that case, he needed to find a leader.

In South Yue City, the person he was most familiar with was Situ Fang.

But he couldn’t possibly go to Sister Situ and ask her to take him into a brothel.

She would definitely refuse.

Moreover, she would probably think that he had been led astray, damaging his reputation.

Though he was young, he was already a first-grade Formation Master, considered to be a reputable Cultivator, so the reputation was still very important.

Apart from that, the one who was most familiar with Mo Hua was Elder Su, whom he often drank tea with.

Also, whenever Elder Su talked about brothels, it was always in a jovial manner as if he was quite familiar with them; it was likely that he often visited them in private.

Asking him was definitely the right move.

Mo Hua watched Elder Su with a bright and intent gaze.

Elder Su stiffened.

Mo Hua’s simple and direct response allowed all of Elder Su’s conjectures about secretive schemes to collapse.

This wasn’t what he had expected...

He had thought that Mo Hua was calculating, aiming for something secretive, unwilling to be known by others, and unspeakable.

Yet, this matter turned out to be about going to a brothel—how should he approach this...

It was actually reasonable...

Elder Su was momentarily stunned and stroked his beard, then thought about it again.

Seemingly... there were no problems with it.

It indeed was something secret, unwilling to be known by others, unspeakable, and required subtle inquiries...

Only, this...

Elder Su looked at Mo Hua, whose eyes were clear and innocent, and said tactfully,

”Isn’t this matter a bit too ’early’ for you...?”

Mo Hua’s face remained stern as he solemnly said,

”I have serious business.”

Elder Su felt somewhat distressed.

You say such a serious matter with such a serious face, it’s hard for me to remain serious too...

Elder Su thought for a moment then said, ”Why don’t you look through the genealogy that Lu Family Head gave you, see if there’s any girl that catches your eye, secretly tell me, and I’ll go speak with Lu Family Head for you, to set an engagement early?”

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, ”I really have serious business!”

Elder Su was taken aback, ”Really?”

”Yes,” Mo Hua earnestly nodded.

Elder Su felt a bit embarrassed and quietly asked,

”Can you tell me what the matter is? Of course, this is a private matter, you don’t have to say.”

Mo Hua thought for a moment and then said,

”Wasn’t I asking you to help me find a Gentleman with the last name ’Yan’?”

Elder Su was surprised, ”Is he into that sort of thing too?”

Mo Hua silently looked at Elder Su.

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Elder Su became somewhat flustered and quickly corrected himself,

”This Mr. Yan, is he also a fellow practitioner?”

Mo Hua’s gaze towards him grew even more complex.

Elder Su lightly tapped his mouth, realizing the more he spoke, the more mistakes he made, so he simply stopped talking about it and instead asked,

”Is there really a clue about this Mr. Yan in the brothels on Jinhua Street?”

Mo Hua wasn’t too sure himself; there might be clues, but then again, there might not be.

Mr. Yan had gone missing without a trace, and he didn’t have any clues yet.

Mo Hua’s main purpose this time was to look for that gray-clothed Cultivator who had hired someone to kill and buy corpses.

Mr. Yan had disappeared in the mines, and those mines were connected to the gray-clothed Cultivator.

There could be a connection between the two.

Of course, these things were not appropriate to mention plainly.

So Mo Hua simply said, ”There should be.”

”I see...”

Elder Su looked at Mo Hua and gradually felt relieved.

So he was worried about his mentor and looking for clues.

He really had misunderstood the kid before...

Then Elder Su said, ”No problem, I’ve got this covered. I’ll take you there!”

Mo Hua said, ”And my elder martial brothers and sisters that you’ve met.”

Elder Su hesitated for a moment but then also nodded,

”No problem.”

”Thank you, Elder Su!” Mo Hua said with a smile and then added with some concern, ”We’re young, so there’s no problem with you taking us there, right?”

Elder Su laughed and said, ”It’s alright, a brothel isn’t only for romantic affairs, there are also performers; listening to songs and watching dances are quite enjoyable too.”

Mo Hua nodded his head in agreement, feeling grateful in his heart.

Elder Su had really helped a lot this time.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then decided to repay Elder Su’s kindness, and whispered to him:

”Elder Su, the Formation you drew before had a slight issue, which I didn’t mention to you, fearing you would feel embarrassed. However, acknowledging mistakes allows for improvement in Formation, so I will now secretly tell you where you went wrong…”

Elder Su was stunned, his emotions incredibly complex, uncertain of how to react.

He listened with a mix of amusement and disbelief as Mo Hua pointed out the problems with his Formation.

As he listened, Elder Su’s expression grew serious.

Every word from Mo Hua was accurate; he had indeed made a mistake.

Elder Su frowned slightly.

But the issue was that the Formation he drew seemed to have been given only a fleeting glance by Mo Hua, who had not looked at it in detail.

Just a glance, and the problem was found?

Elder Su couldn’t help feeling secretly alarmed.

How profound must this young gentleman’s mastery of Formations be…

…

After Mo Hua left, he shared about the favor Elder Su had promised to him with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.

”We’ll dress up as scholar boys and accompany Elder Su to the Hundred Flower Tower.”

”Alright.”

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi nodded in agreement.

Three nights later, as the lanterns were first lit, Jinhua Street glowed brightly.

Mo Hua and his companions followed Elder Su to the Hundred Flower Tower.

All three of them were dressed in the light cyan clothes of scholar boys.

Mo Hua was delicately good-looking, Bai Zisheng tall and heroic, while Bai Zixi tied up her long hair, donning the guise of a young boy.

Her complexion was fair, and while her appearance was more subdued than before, it was still exquisite. With a cool temperament and slender eyes, there was a captivating beauty to her nobility.

Both Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng watched her with admiration.

Elder Su was also momentarily taken aback, inwardly certain that Mo Hua’s fellow disciples must have remarkable backgrounds.

Such appearance and poise could not be ordinary.

Elder Su treated them with much more respect.

Jinhua Street bustled with opulence and indulgence.

The trio followed closely behind Elder Su along Jinhua Street towards the Hundred Flower Tower.

There was more than one brothel on Jinhua Street.

Whenever they passed other establishments like Red Happy Courtyard, Yicui Tower, or similar places, there were always female cultivators smiling flirtatiously at Elder Su, exclaiming:

”Elder Su, it has been so long since you’ve graced this one with your presence.”

Elder Su felt excruciatingly embarrassed, wishing he could hide his face.

It would have been one thing normally, but now he was in the company of these three youngsters; if he tainted his image in Mo Hua’s eyes, it would be disastrous.

All the way, Elder Su tried to appear composed, but his old face reddened with embarrassment.

However, the lights of the street were also red, casting everyone’s faces in a rosy glow, so Elder Su’s discomfort went unnoticed.

After a torturous walk, Elder Su finally brought Mo Hua and his companions to the grand entrance of the Hundred Flower Tower.

Indeed, a thinly-clad woman came out to meet them, frowning woefully:

”Elder Su, you haven’t visited in so long...”

Elder Su coughed, ”Today, I’m just here to listen to music and watch the dance.”

Upon hearing this, the woman quickly composed herself and greeted them with a pleasant smile:

”Very well, this way please, Elder Su.”

Elder Su handed over a pouch of Spirit Stones, ”Prepare a pot of the best State Color Fragrant Wine, brew a furnace of fresh Emergent-Lotus Tea, and a box of the finest assortment of pastries from Hundred Flowers…”

The woman beamed with joy, ”Certainly.”

Elder Su glanced at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua nodded in acknowledgment.

Elder Su then led Mo Hua to a spacious and refined private seat in front of the flower hall, separated by a Shuixian and Hibiscus screen.

Once they were seated, Mo Hua couldn’t help complimenting him:

”Elder Su, you’re quite adept at this.”

Elder Su smiled and was about to nod, but halfway through, he realized what he was doing and immediately shook his head:

”I’m not, really not, this is only my first… second time coming here.”

He was too embarrassed to exaggerate too much.

”Oh.”

Mo Hua clearly didn’t believe him.

Under Mo Hua’s gaze, Elder Su felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles and tried to change the subject, saying:

”Young gentleman, weren’t you looking for someone? You could ask the ladies here.”

Mo Hua nodded and questioned:

”How should I go about it?”

Elder Su coughed a few times, and a woman approached, smiling and bowing respectfully:

”Does the Elder have any instructions?”

”Summon some ladies who are well-mannered, discreet, lightly made-up without excessive powder, not too flamboyant, and younger…”

Elder Su ordered with practiced ease, and the woman went to carry out his command.

Composed and nodding, Elder Su turned to Mo Hua and saw a look of awe on his face, with those big eyes blinking admiringly.

Just as Mo Hua was about to speak, Elder Su hastily said:

”I heard… heard it from someone else, I’m really not familiar, not at all…”