The Quest for Immortality

Elder Su had even become skilled at saying ”I’m not familiar.”

Mo Hua expressed understanding and nodded, saying,

”Don’t worry, Elder Su, I understand.”

Elder Su sighed helplessly, feeling as if he had no way to defend himself.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before a group of young female cultivators fluttered in like a flock of swallows.

Elder Su breathed a sigh of relief.

It was good to have young girls around.

With young girls present, Mo Hua wouldn’t keep staring at him.

Elder Su then asked Mo Hua with a smile, ”What do you think?”

Mo Hua began to size up the group of female cultivators.

Indeed, as per Elder Su’s instructions, they were all young, their makeup faint, with no pretense or coquettish gestures, standing in a row prim and proper.

As Mo Hua sized them up, the group of young girls was also taking in Mo Hua and his companions.

They were used to seeing Elder Su, nothing out of the ordinary there.

What surprised them were the three little cultivators with Mo Hua.

Their eyes shimmered as they looked at Mo Hua and the others.

Mo Hua’s features were picturesque, Bai Zisheng had sharp brows and starry eyes, and Bai Zixi possessed stunningly beautiful phoenix eyebrows.

The female cultivators’ gaze towards Mo Hua was filled with affection; towards Bai Zisheng, it held admiration;

But when they looked at Bai Zixi, their faces would blush, and they even lowered their eyes, not daring to look directly, only casting furtive, rippling glances at her.

This baffled Mo Hua.

Mo Hua also stole a glance at Bai Zixi.

Bai Zixi sensed it and turned to look at Mo Hua, asking with confusion,

”What’s wrong?”

Mo Hua frowned and muttered,

”Something’s not right...”

Despite wearing men’s clothes and possessing an androgynous allure, one could still tell she was a woman from her eyebrows and eyes.

Why were these female cultivators staring at their junior sister so intently?

And even blushing at that.

Mo Hua didn’t understand.

Bai Zixi saw Mo Hua frowning, thinking he felt unwell, so she moved closer. Side by side, Bai Zixi reached out her delicate hand and touched Mo Hua’s forehead. After a moment, she said with slight concern,

”Your forehead is a bit hot.”

Upon looking down, she asked in confusion, ”Why is your face also red?”

Mo Hua’s fair cheeks were flushed.

”It’s... a bit stuffy,” Mo Hua replied evasively.

Bai Zixi glanced around at the lush surroundings, thinking Mo Hua was overwhelmed by the scent of rouge, and said,

”We shouldn’t come to such places next time.”

”Mhm,” Mo Hua nodded softly in response.

The sight of Mo Hua’s blushing face was witnessed by Elder Su.

Elder Su was pleased to nod his head.

That was more like it.

That was the way a young boy should look.

Mo Hua, this little gentleman, was usually too shrewd, his speech watertight, his eyes lively and profound, making him inscrutable.

Being stared at by him, even Elder Su felt a bit guilty.

Now this shy and blushing appearance was much more comfortable to look at.

Then again, Elder Su recalled that he, too, had been flustered and even redder than Mo Hua when he first came here.

As Elder Su reminisced about the past and felt nostalgic, he remembered something and asked,

”Young Master, didn’t you want to ask about something?”

Mo Hua then remembered, stealthily took a sip of tea to calm his nerves, and began to speak,

”Ladies, I’m trying to inquire about someone.”

The female cultivators looked at each other.

Those who come here are guests, and according to the rules of the establishment, they couldn’t reveal the identities of guests.

Elder Su said, ”If he asks, you just tell him, it won’t cause any trouble.”

After speaking, Elder Su placed a jade bracelet on the table and said, ”Whoever answers correctly will get this bracelet.”

The bracelet was luxurious and exquisitely smooth, with the flow of spiritual energy around it, clearly a fine item.

The eyes of the female cultivators lit up, and they all nodded their heads.

”Please ask, Young Master, if we know, we will surely tell you,” they responded.

Mo Hua then asked, ”Have you seen a gentleman who looks like a Formation Master among your patrons at the Hundred Flower Tower before?”

The female cultivators paused, then all silently turned their gaze towards Elder Su.

Elder Su exclaimed angrily, ”It wasn’t me!”

The female cultivators looked away bashfully.

After reflecting quietly, a female cultivator in green spoke up,

”Although there are not many cultivators like that, there are still a considerable number. Does the Young Master have any other clues?”

Mo Hua gave a brief description of Instructor Yan’s appearance and demeanor.

”...His expression is serious, somewhat rigid, but conscientious and responsible.”

The female cultivators all shook their heads.

Mo Hua frowned and glanced at Elder Su again, apologizing as he spoke,

”Elder Su, may I ask them some questions alone?”

Elder Su was slightly taken aback, realizing that there might be some secrets that required his absence, and nodded, saying,

”All right, I’ll go next door to listen to some music. Take your time asking.”

Mo Hua smiled and said, ”Thank you, Elder Su.”

Elder Su got up and left.

Mo Hua then wanted to inquire about the grey-robed cultivator, and began to say,

”You... ”

```

Halfway through his questioning, Mo Hua sensed something and suddenly stopped. He rose to his feet, ran over to the screen, poked his little head around it, and called out to the room next door:

”Elder Su, no eavesdropping.”

Elder Su was shocked. ”How did you know that?”

He had been preparing to eavesdrop, but after having heard just two words, he was discovered by Mo Hua.

He himself was a Foundation Building Cultivator, with a Divine Sense adequate for Foundation Establishment. Could it really be that even a brief instance of eavesdropping would be detected by Mo Hua?

That Divine Sense of yours is somewhat outrageous, isn’t it...

Or does Mo Hua have other methods?

Nonetheless, being caught eavesdropping was quite embarrassing.

Elder Su’s face turned red, and too embarrassed to deny it, he coughed and said sheepishly:

”Go ahead and ask, I’m not listening anymore.”

Mo Hua nodded in satisfaction.

After returning to his seat and confirming that Elder Su was no longer eavesdropping, and that no other cultivators were either, Mo Hua then asked:

”Have you seen any strange cultivators at the Hundred Flower Tower?”

The female cultivators were all somewhat startled.

”What do you mean by strange?”

The cultivators who frequented brothels varied widely, and although some might be considered strange compared to ordinary cultivators, within the brothel, such oddities were not particularly unusual.

After all, this kind of place harbored all kinds of filth and degeneracy, so peculiar and bizarre cultivators were hardly a rare sight.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said:

”One with a strange scent.”

”What kind of strange scent?”

Mo Hua’s gaze tightened, ”Cold, faint, like rot, as if...the smell of a dead person.”

Hearing this, the crowd of female cultivators jumped in alarm.

They hadn’t expected that Mo Hua, at such a young age, would ask such a strange and eerie question.

But a cold scent of decay, the smell of death...

What kind of cultivator was this?

The female cultivators all furrowed their brows but shook their heads one after another.

Mo Hua looked somewhat disappointed and said:

”Thank you, sisters. You can go now.”

Afterward, he warned them, ”But don’t talk about our conversation with anyone else, okay? It would be very dangerous.”

The female cultivators’ hearts chilled, and they all nodded their heads.

Mo Hua then gave each of them a Spirit Stone.

They couldn’t help but smile warmly, thanking him in unison: ”Thank you, Young Master,” and then filed out.

As the female cultivators left, Mo Hua stopped the one dressed in green.

”Sister, could you brew a pot of tea for me?”

Mo Hua asked with a smile.

The woman in green was taken aback, but then she also smiled and said:

”I dare not refuse a command from the Young Master.”

So the woman in green sat at the table, lit the fire, started the stove, poured the water, steeped the tea, and gently simmered it.

Mo Hua then quietly asked her:

”You know about that cultivator, don’t you?”

The woman’s expression turned frantic, then she composed herself and said with a smile:

”Young Master must be joking.”

Mo Hua whispered, ”It’s just us here, no one is eavesdropping, and your sisters don’t know what you’ve said. You can just tell me quietly.”

The woman in green hesitated.

Mo Hua then stuffed Elder Su’s jade bracelet into her hand, ”This is for you.”

The woman in green was startled, her face lighting up with happiness, and then she struggled with her emotions. After a moment of hesitation and a determined look in her eyes, she nodded and said:

”Alright.”

”Sister, what’s your name?”

”Qinglan.”

Mo Hua asked, ”Sister Qinglan, have you ever seen that cold, rot-smelling cultivator?”

Qinglan’s expression became solemn, and she nodded.

Mo Hua waited for her to continue.

Qinglan then said, ”That person is a regular at the Hundred Flower Tower, always dressed in grey, often with his face covered, his features unclear...”

”He stays here often but vanishes like a ghost; I don’t know when he comes in, nor when he leaves.”

”He carries an odd odor with him. At first, I only found it strange and couldn’t identify it, but now that you’ve mentioned it, Young Master, I realize that the scent does resemble...the smell of the dead...”

Qinglan’s face showed both fear and panic.

Mo Hua poured her a cup of hot tea.

After drinking the tea, Qinglan felt somewhat better.

Mo Hua pressed on, ”How did you come to know him?”

Qinglan stammered, ”I’m close to Sister Yulan, and he used to stay with her. I’ve seen him several times.”

”But he’s somewhat eerie, so I was afraid and didn’t interact with him much.”

Mo Hua asked further, ”Does he always stay with Sister Yulan each time?”

Qinglan nodded, ”He used to.”

”He used to?”

Qinglan lowered her head, gripping her clothes tightly, her fingers turning white, ”Yes.”

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, ”Did something happen?”

Qinglan pursed her lips, trying to hold back, but tears still ran down her cheeks, ”Sister Yulan... she’s dead...”

Mo Hua was taken aback, ”Dead?”

Qinglan turned pale, ”Not just Sister Yulan. It’s said that all the sisters who once served him died mysteriously in the end...”

”Sister Yulan is dead...”

”And next, it’ll be my turn...”