Chapter 29: The Cooking Furnace
The shopkeeper went upstairs and soon returned, politely inviting Mo Hua up.
When Mo Hua entered, An Xiaopang was drinking with a group of richly dressed young cultivators. The table was laden with vibrant, juicy spirit fruits. Maidservants gently fanned them with fragrant breezes, while a singer performed nearby, her song echoing sweetly through the room.
The room was cool and pleasant, completely untouched by the summer heat. The carved screens bore ice-element formations used for cooling and ventilation.
Mo Hua couldn't help but think of the street vendors outside braving the sweltering sun, sweating just to make a living.
They were all just Qi Refining cultivators living in the same Tongxian City—but it felt like two completely different worlds.
"Mo Hua! It really is you!"
An Xiaopang brightened upon seeing him and waved enthusiastically. "Come, come, drink with us!"
His cheeks were flushed with drink, though given his age, he was probably only drinking fruit wine—harmless even when drunk.
Mo Hua had no interest in drinking. He got straight to the point. "Young Master An, I came to ask for a favor."
"Oh?" An Xiaopang blinked, then waved the others off. "You guys go on ahead, I've got something to take care of."
The shopkeeper then guided them to a quiet private room. Mo Hua didn't beat around the bush. "Young Master An, I'd like to ask for your help with something."
An Xiaopang, still slightly tipsy, pounded his chest heroically. "If it's something I can help with, just say the word!"
Mo Hua glanced around at the opulent furnishings and asked, "This restaurant—it's your family's, right?"
An Xiaopang grinned proudly. "That's right!"
"Does your kitchen cook with cultivators supplying fire through spiritual energy, or do you use a cooking furnace?"
An Xiaopang looked blank. He thought about it for a while but clearly had no clue, so he shouted, "Shopkeeper!"
Soon the shopkeeper came in. An Xiaopang pointed at him and said to Mo Hua, "You should ask him."
So Mo Hua repeated the question to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper answered, "In the past, we used cultivators to provide fire with their spiritual energy, but it tended to damage their lungs and hearts over time, and the heat wasn't stable. So the owner decided to stop that practice. Last year, we hired an artifact refiner to custom-make a furnace, and brought in a formation master to inscribe an array onto it. Since then, we've been using the furnace."
Mo Hua asked curiously, "Isn't a furnace more expensive than hiring cultivators?"
The shopkeeper replied honestly, "In the long run, the furnace is more efficient. But short-term, hiring cultivators is cheaper. And you can bargain their rates—when the market's down, you can get a Qi Refining rogue cultivator for half a spirit stone."
That made Mo Hua a little uncomfortable.
Even after becoming cultivators, people could still be exploited.
"Can I take a look at the furnace?"
The shopkeeper hesitated and glanced at Young Master An—this wasn't something he could approve on his own. Usually, outsiders weren't allowed in the kitchen.
An Xiaopang sobered slightly. "Isn't that allowed?"
The shopkeeper said, "Only the recipe counts as a trade secret. Cooking furnaces are pretty common in larger restaurants. Those who don't have one just didn't want to spend the spirit stones. It's not a secret."
"Then let's go see it! I haven't seen it myself yet," said An Xiaopang.
"Very well. I'll take the young masters over now."
The shopkeeper was relieved—if anything happened, with Young Master An present, he wouldn't take the fall alone.
He led them into the kitchen and pointed to a massive device the height of two men. "This is the cooking furnace. You insert a spirit stone here, and the array inside converts it into firepower. That fire then channels through the array to each cooking station, providing the heat needed."
"There are arrays connecting the furnace to each cooking station, and each station also has its own formation for controlling flame intensity…"
Mo Hua found this all incredibly novel. It was his first time seeing artifact forging and formations used this way.
An Xiaopang was also wide-eyed—he usually only cared about the eating, not how the food was made.
The shopkeeper introduced the system with visible pride.
Mo Hua inspected the furnace carefully, peering at every angle, not even sparing the seams and fuel inlet.
The shopkeeper noticed his intense curiosity and finally asked, "Young Master Mo, are you trying to find something in particular?"
Mo Hua asked, "Do you know which formation is engraved inside the furnace?"
The shopkeeper hesitated, but then realized that just knowing the formation meant nothing—it was a different matter to actually draw it correctly. That kind of skill wasn't common.
"The formation inside is quite simple, just a 'Melting Fire Array' with five basic runes. The placement is critical, though—it must be drawn at the furnace base for even heat. There's an opening on the outer shell for inserting spirit stones, and their energy will seep into the array to activate the flame…"
He explained everything clearly to Mo Hua.
"Ohhh!" Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.
They continued chatting for a while, and Mo Hua eventually felt he'd asked everything he needed. He sincerely thanked the shopkeeper and prepared to leave.
An Xiaopang tugged on his sleeve. "No rush—come eat something good with me."
Mo Hua had other things to do and politely declined.
"What, don't want to give me face?" An Xiaopang looked a little upset.
Mo Hua grinned and praised him for being generous. Then he whispered, "Next time our instructor gives us a formation assignment, I'll draw yours for free."
An Xiaopang was overjoyed and nodded furiously. "Deal!"
He didn't care about spirit stones—he cared about face. If Mo Hua drew his formation homework, that was prestige.
As Mo Hua left, the shopkeeper asked An Xiaopang, "Young Master, who is this Young Master Mo?"
"He's a fellow disciple from my sect. Really good at formations—better than me, honestly. Truth be told, he's the one who draws all my formation assignments!"
An Xiaopang even seemed a bit smug about it.
The shopkeeper's expression didn't change, but inwardly he was speechless. That's… not really something to be proud of…
"You go back to work, Shopkeeper—I'm going to drink more," said An Xiaopang, turning to leave. Suddenly, he froze in place, clutching the shopkeeper's sleeve, eyes wide.
The shopkeeper tensed. "Y-Young Master…"
An Xiaopang lowered his voice, dead serious: "Whatever you do, you must not let my father find out about this!"
"This…?"
"That someone else is doing my homework! If my dad finds out, I'm finished!"
The shopkeeper's mouth twitched. "Yes, yes, I understand…"
An Xiaopang patted his chest in relief. "That was close. Good thing I'm sharp—almost blew my cover." He even made the shopkeeper swear to keep it secret before heading back upstairs.
The shopkeeper sighed to himself. Can the An family's fortune really survive under this kind of heir…?
Then he thought back to that Mo kid.
Didn't seem like a rich family's child. Probably just the son of an ordinary cultivator. Why was he so interested in the cooking furnace?
The shopkeeper took a few steps, then remembered what An Xiaopang had said—and suddenly stopped.
"Good at formations?" Don't tell me he's planning to recreate the furnace's array?
But An Xiaopang is only at Qi Refining Stage 3, so if they're fellow disciples, that Mo kid must be at most Qi Refining 3 too. Where would someone at that level get the spiritual sense needed to draw an array?
He shook his head and went off to find a quiet spot to enjoy some tea.
(End of Chapter)