Into the Mountains

"Laying traps for demons is perilous. Originally, I didn't want you involved in this matter, but now that you've learned body techniques and have some self-defense capability, I'll teach you everything about demon hunting."

Mo Shan looked at Mo Hua and said, "These are lessons accumulated over tens of thousands of years by demon hunters at the cost of their lives and blood. Learn them well. Even if you don't become a demon hunter in the future, they will surely be useful."

Mo Hua's young face turned serious, and he nodded solemnly.

"The first principle of demon hunting isn't about killing demons but understanding the terrain."

"The Great Black Mountain is complex, with intertwining peaks and valleys. You must first familiarize yourself with the mountain paths, know where the peaks are, where there are cliffs, caves, where demons appear, where the miasma is strong, which spirit herbs are poisonous..."

"If you are familiar with these, even if your cultivation is insufficient and you encounter danger, you'll know how to evade it and avoid losing your life."

"On the contrary, if you're unfamiliar with the terrain, you might inhale miasma or consume poisonous herbs, or even stumble into demon lairs. In such cases, even if your cultivation is high, it'll be difficult to survive the Great Black Mountain."

"I'll take you around the outer mountains today. Pay attention to the terrain, locations of streams, miasma, poisonous swamps, dense forests..."

Mo Shan finished speaking and continued walking along the mountain path.

Mo Hua followed closely behind, memorizing the path under his feet and the surroundings along the way.

When encountering dangerous spots, Mo Shan would intentionally stop and explain carefully to Mo Hua.

For example, where the miasma was light, where it was dense on certain peaks, places with intense miasma that shouldn't be lingered in for more than half an hour, or some dense forests that produced thick fog. If one were unfortunate enough to enter, they would lose their way and could only find their way out after noon when the mountain fog dispersed.

There were also some poisonous swamps harboring demons with potent toxins, whose skin colors changed with the surrounding vegetation, requiring careful vigilance.

And where major demons were known to appear, the signs when they did...

...

From dawn until dusk, they only covered a small part of the outer mountains of the Great Black Mountain.

As darkness fell, Mo Shan led Mo Hua to a small campsite halfway up the mountain.

The campsite was a small cave, its entrance covered with grass and wood, sealed with an iron gate. A simple array was drawn on the gate to prevent attacks by demons.

The campsite wasn't large, but it had some dry rations, herbs, and a few rudimentary stone beds.

"This is where demon hunters rest or spend the night temporarily. It's simple but enough for shelter," Mo Shan pointed at the iron gate and said, "There's an array on the gate. It's not great, but it works. If you're chased by demons and have nowhere to hide, you can enter the campsite and activate the array. Most demons won't be able to get in."

Mo Hua nodded.

Father and son spent the night at the campsite.

The next day at dawn, they got up and continued down the mountain path.

Mo Shan explained as they walked all the way.

In this manner, they spent seven days and nights in the Great Black Mountain before Mo Shan finally led Mo Hua through the outer mountains.

Upon returning home, Mo Hua was sore all over, his calves swollen, and he felt dizzy from inhaling too much miasma. Despite taking anti-miasma pills, his head still throbbed faintly.

Liu Ruhua invited Mr. Feng to prepare a refreshing soup for Mo Hua and applied some herbal medicine to reduce swelling. Seeing Mo Hua's pale face, she couldn't help but feel distressed and complained to Mo Shan, "You should have taught him slowly. There was no need for him to endure so much hardship in the mountains for seven days."

Mo Shan, seeing his wife angry, explained softly, "He'll have to endure this kind of hardship sooner or later. It's better to endure some now so that it'll be easier later."

Liu Ruhua understood this reasoning, but she was still angry. That evening, she only gave Mo Shan some plain porridge and steamed buns, without any side dishes.

Mo Shan was at a loss.

Two days later, Mo Hua recovered, his body mostly fine.

Realizing he hadn't visited the Zuowang Residence in about ten days, Mo Hua brought some wine and meat to pay respects to Mr. Zhuang while explaining the situation.

Mr. Zhuang noticed that Mo Hua's complexion was still somewhat pale, so he advised him to go rest, assuring him that there weren't so many formalities to worry about here.

Mo Hua also brought some crispy snacks and pine nuts for Old Kui, and later, he took some food and fruit wine to the Bai siblings.

Bai Zisheng was extremely jealous when he heard that Mo Hua could go demon hunting in the Great Black Mountain. "He's strictly supervised by Aunt Xue. It's hard for him to wander around, let alone hunt demons."

Mo Hua sympathetically patted his shoulder, feeling helpless.

A few days later, Mo Shan took Mo Hua back into the Great Black Mountain.

This time, without needing to explain every detail, they focused solely on familiarizing Mo Hua with the terrain. Consequently, they completed the outer mountains in just three or four days.

From then on, whenever Mo Shan had free time, he would take Mo Hua into the mountains for a walk.

Mo Hua became increasingly familiar with the outer mountains of the Great Black Mountain.

Mo Shan felt it was about time, so he brought Mo Hua to a cliff in the outer mountains.

The cliff was steep and rugged, offering a panoramic view of the scenery below.

After confirming the area was safe, Mo Shan said to Mo Hua, "You're now quite familiar with the outer mountains. I'll now teach you how to confront demons. Pay attention to what's important."

Mo Hua sat cross-legged on a rocky ledge, listening attentively.

"The principles of a demon hunter's approach are: know yourself and know your enemy, and plan ahead."

"Know yourself and know your enemy means understanding your own strength. Know your cultivation level, your spells, martial arts, spiritual tools, etc. At the same time, you must understand the demons, including their realm, vitality, demonic power, and habits. Where are their strengths, weaknesses, whether they are sinister, or if they feign death, etc."

"After assessing each other's strengths, if you can kill, then act; if you can't, refrain from reckless action."

"If halfway through a battle, circumstances change and the demon you could have killed can no longer be defeated, you must plan early and retreat promptly. Otherwise, when your spiritual power is depleted, it will be your life at stake."

...

"Planning ahead emphasizes being prepared for every eventuality. Especially when facing powerful demons, you must consider whether you can kill them, how to do it, and what to do if something unexpected happens."

"If you don't plan ahead and act recklessly, mistakes will inevitably lead to casualties."

...

Mo Shan went into great detail.

Mo Hua listened intently, trying to understand every detail.

"For now, just listen. As you engage with demons more, you'll naturally grasp it."

Mo Hua nodded.

"Also, remember this," Mo Shan added seriously, "Whatever the situation, if you can avoid taking action, do so. But once you act, be ruthless!"

"Ruthless?" Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

"A demon hunter is pitted against demons. If you're not ruthless, they will be. If you don't kill demons, you'll be killed by them."

"How do you define being ruthless?"

Mo Shan raised an eyebrow and said, "When not taking action, don't reveal any killing intent. When you must act, don't hesitate at all."

"Once the opponent exposes a weakness, strike first to seize the advantage and aim to kill with one blow, not giving the opponent a chance to retaliate."

"An opponent who doesn't act is a worthy opponent!"

Mo Hua was taken aback by his father's earnest words.

After hesitating for a moment, Mo Hua couldn't help but ask, "Wouldn't that be considered... unhonourable?"

Mo Shan's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "For a demon hunter, there's no victory or defeat, only life or death. Winning without honor means survival; losing with glory still means death."

After saying this, Mo Shan patted Mo Hua's head.

"Surviving as a rogue cultivator isn't easy. If you can survive, try your best to stay alive."

(End of the Chapter)