Mo Hua’s presence exuded a clear and tranquil aura.
With satisfaction, Yu Er gradually closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
This time he slept soundly.
In his dreams, there were no memories of fear from being trafficked.
No greedy, unsightly faces of adults.
No heart stung by the malice of the world.
No terror or despair.
And none of...
Those nightmares that had occasionally surfaced in his dreams since his earliest memories...
In the Barbaric Mountains, where living people were sacrificed, flesh and blood were fodder, and countless lives mere chattel, filled with pure malice, bloodthirsty and cruel, bizarre and varied, nourishing the evil spirits of the world...
...
The night was still.
Yu Er slept undisturbed.
At dawn the next day, Mo Hua took Yu Er and arrived at Qingzhou City.
Outside Qingzhou City, an Enforcement Leader from the Taoist Court was on patrol.
Mo Hua wanted to enter the city but was stopped.
Mainly because he was too young, and it was very peculiar for someone his size to be leading a child even younger among a group of cultivators.
The Enforcement Leader couldn’t help but ask:
"How... old are you?"
"Fifteen..."
"What are you doing entering the city..."
"Going to the Qian Learning State Boundary to study..."
"Just you?"
"I have my younger brother too!" Mo Hua patted Yu Er.
Yu Er immediately stood up straight, puffed out his chest, nodded continuously, showing the Enforcement Leader that what his brother Mo Hua said was correct.
The Enforcement Leader was somewhat troubled. Discover stories with freewebnovel
The command he had received was, "Any cultivator leading young cultivators and appearing suspicious must be thoroughly investigated."
But could a young cultivator leading another young cultivator be considered suspicious?
He had heard rumors that a young master from the Gu Family had been kidnapped by child traffickers.
But curiously, the portrait of this young master could not be disclosed.
They could only search by age...
The Enforcement Leader glanced at Yu Er, "This little boy does look like a young master."
He then looked at Mo Hua and started to wonder.
Child traffickers... surely wouldn’t be so young, right?
Moreover, if he were a trafficker, he would be trying to leave the city, not making such a grand entrance...
"It seems I was too concerned..."
Seeing the Enforcement Leader muttering to himself, Mo Hua asked, "Is there... something going on?"
"Mm, the Gu Family..."
The Enforcement Leader nodded, started to say something, then realized he had slipped up and promptly set his face in a stern expression:
"Child, don’t ask what you shouldn’t!"
"Oh..."
"Go on in!"
"Oh!"
And so, Mo Hua pulled Yu Er through the city gate and into Qingzhou City with dignity.
Qingzhou City was full of life.
Reaching Qingzhou City was akin to having one foot already in the Qian Xue State Boundary.
He could find a way to visit the Qian Taoist Sect and pay his respects.
But before that, he needed to safely place Yu Er, this "little burden," into his parents’ hands, or he wouldn’t be at ease.
Qingzhou City was rather bustling.
The streets were noisy, with people coming and going, and stalls on both sides offered medicine, talismans, equipment, and an array of goods, dazzling to the eyes.
Mo Hua and Yu Er walked and browsed at the same time.
Yu Er looked around curiously.
But Mo Hua was pondering:
"How to find Yu Er’s parents?"
"The Gu Family..."
Mo Hua had heard several people mention the "Gu Family" along the way...
The traffickers, including Boss Jiang, had mentioned it, and the Enforcement Leader before entering the city, too...
Could Yu Er be the young master of the Gu Family?
Mo Hua asked Yu Er, "Yu Er, is your last name Gu?"
Yu Er’s gaze drifted from the string of candied hawthorns on the side of the road, and after some thought, he replied after a pause:
"I’m not surnamed Gu."
"Then is your mother surnamed Gu?"
Yu Er shook his head.
Mo Hua frowned.
If he’s not surnamed Gu, then there is no connection with the Gu Family...
Seeing Mo Hua, Yu Er said with a look of remorse, "Brother, I’m sorry, my mother told me not to disclose our last name..."
"It’s alright." Mo Hua reassured him with a smile, "When you are out and about, you must be vigilant, even with me."
Yu Er still felt guilty.
Mo Hua then bought Yu Er a string of candied hawthorns.
Yu Er immediately cheered up, biting and chewing, his little mouth turned red.
"First time eating it?"
"Mhm." Yu Er nodded, "Mother won’t let me eat it."
Mo Hua sighed.
He was getting confused.
Who exactly were Yu Er’s parents?
Not allowing him to eat candied hawthorns...
Was it because the family was too poor to afford it, or too rich and worried about him getting sick from it?
"Yu Er, is your house big?"
"Mhm!" Yu Er stretched out his tiny arms, making a big circle, "Very big, very big!"
Mo Hua nodded, "Then he must be a child from a large noble clan..."
But that didn’t seem certain either...
A child’s perception of big is different from an adult’s.
When he was little, he thought Tongxian City was very large, and the road from the south to the north of the city seemed long...
But now that "very long" road, he could finish walking in half an hour...
"Do you have any recollection of Qingzhou City?"
Mo Hua asked again.
Yu Er, licking his candied hawthorn, tried hard to recall and then shook his head, "I don’t know, I think they’re all pretty much the same..."
Mo Hua was taken aback, then nodded.
That indeed was true.
After seeing many large and small Immortal Cities, they did seem all quite similar.
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But this made things difficult...
Without any clues, it was hard to search...
Yu Er thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "Brother! I remember now! I have relatives in Qingzhou City, my mother said she brought me here to look for relatives!"
"What sort of relatives?"
Yu Er shook his head.
"What’s their last name?"
Yu Er still shook his head.
Mo Hua sighed.
Well, at least it was a clue.
Afterwards, Mo Hua inquired further and soon found a noodle shop at the entrance of Qingzhou City to sit down.
He had asked around, and the Gu Family was the most powerful clan in Qingzhou City, no, and even in several other cities around the Qian Xue State Boundary.