37: Chapter 37 Using Both Kindness and Strictness

When Mo Shoutian finished these words, the room instantly fell silent.

All ten people looked at Mo Shoutian, none of them expecting him to suddenly say such words.

Mo Shoutian glanced at everyone's reactions and shouted toward the next room:

"Xiaochuan, come here."

Although Mo Xiaochuan was staying in the next room, he had already reached the Early Stage of the second layer, Pulse Opening, of the Refining Essence to Transform Qi realm, and he could hear the commotion in the main room clearly.

Hearing his father call him, he quickly walked in.

"Dad."

Mo Shoutian nodded, stood up, and walked into the courtyard.

The remaining ten people did not know what he was going to do, so they followed him out with puzzled expressions.

When everyone arrived in the courtyard, Mo Shoutian said to Mo Xiaochuan:

"Show these uncles the results of your recent Cultivate."

"Yes, Dad."

Mo Xiaochuan did not step forward; he simply turned his head to look at the large stone placed against the wall.

He clenched his left hand, raised his right hand, and flicked his index finger toward that stone.

A wisp of Spiritual Qi shot out from his fingertip, striking the stone directly.

The next moment, with a bang, that large stone split into four or five pieces on the spot.

Everyone, who had been full of doubt just a moment ago, froze in place.

Mo Xiaohu widened his eyes, and Mo Shoucheng opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time.

Even the usually steady Uncle Changlin stared at the rubble on the ground for quite a while.

Mo Shoutian was very satisfied with everyone's reaction.

Without explaining, he turned around and went back into the house.

Everyone had a belly full of questions they wanted to ask, but no one spoke first, so they could only follow Mo Shoutian back into the house.

Mo Xiaochuan walked at the very back, and after entering, he casually closed the door.

Mo Shoutian first glanced at his son and then looked at everyone.

"We are all people from Mo Family Village. Among us are my cousin Shouyi, Shoucheng, and Uncle Changlin, who watched me grow up since I was a child."

"I won't hide it from you anymore either."

"Xiaochuan accidentally encountered an Opportunity, and now he is able to Cultivate. You all witnessed his ability just now with your own eyes."

Everyone's gazes fell back onto Mo Xiaochuan.

Mo Shoutian continued:

"I bought heavy crossbows and led everyone to hunt large beasts, firstly to make money, and more importantly, to look for beast cores."

"Beast cores can be exchanged for Spirit Stone."

At this point, Mo Shoutian glanced at the silver on the ground.

"To tell you the truth, the Iron-horned Cyan Ox we killed this time had a beast core in its belly. I brought the beast core to Jiuzhou City and exchanged it for a total of five Spirit Stone."

"Spirit Stone is very important to Xiaochuan. To be precise, anyone who engages in Cultivate cannot do without Spirit Stone."

Mo Shoutian paused and looked at each person in the house one by one.

"You can choose to continue following me to hunt large beasts; the previously established distribution method remains unchanged, and not a single cash of the silver you should get will be less."

"However, all beast cores hunted from now on must belong entirely to me."

"If anyone feels they are at a disadvantage and is unwilling to continue working, it doesn't matter. Later, after finishing the meal and wine, and after dividing this time's silver, everyone will go their separate ways."

Speaking to this point, Mo Shoutian's voice also turned cold.

"However, no one is allowed to speak outside about Xiaochuan's Cultivate."

"Whoever dares to spread this news, don't blame me, Mo Shoutian, for not remembering today's ties and making him unable to see the sun of the next day."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent again.

After a while, Uncle Changlin spoke first.

"Shoutian, I, Mo Changlin, have lived for the better part of my life, always hoping that our Mo Family Village could produce an Immortal who can protect the old and young in the village."

Saying this, he turned his head to look at Mo Xiaochuan, who was standing at the door.

"Not to mention that Xiaochuan needs beast cores to exchange for Spirit Stone for his Cultivate, even if you wanted this old life of mine, I would be willing to hand it over."

Mo Xiaohu also followed up by saying:

"Brother Shoutian, I will definitely continue following you to work."

"Not to mention anything else, just with the silver right in front of us, I, Mo Xiaohu, might not be able to earn it in a lifetime."

"Whoever dares to speak out about Xiaochuan's matter, Brother Shoutian won't even need to make a move; I will be the first to hack him to pieces."

Mo Shouyi glanced at Mo Shoucheng beside him.

"Brother Shoutian, we are all close relatives, the two of us brothers have nothing to say, we will definitely follow you."

Mo Shoucheng also nodded immediately.

"My brother is right. From now on, all beast cores will be handed over to you, and we will only take the silver that should be divided."

Mo Chenghai sat to one side and said:

"In the past, when we risked our lives, at most we only exchanged it for a few taels of silver."

"Now we can both make money and Cultivate an Immortal for the village, I'll do this."

Mo Mancang hesitated for a moment and also nodded.

"I still have a wife and two children at home; it would be fake to say I'm not afraid of death."

"However, if Xiaochuan can truly achieve success in his Cultivate, he will also be able to protect the children in the village in the future. Count me in on this matter."

Mo Dashan, Mo Xiaoshan, and Mo Qingshi also expressed their stances one after another, and not a single person chose to withdraw.

After everyone finished speaking, Mo Xiaochuan walked up in front of them and knelt heavily on the ground with a thud.

Everyone was stunned by his action.

Mo Xiaochuan looked up at them.

"Uncle Changlin, and all uncles, I, Mo Xiaochuan, swear to the heavens today."

"If I achieve success in my Cultivate in the future, I will definitely protect the old and young of Mo Family Village."

"If I violate this oath, may I, Mo Xiaochuan, be struck by lightning while alive and descend into the eighteenth layer of Hell when I die."

If Mo Shoutian used a mix of benevolence and severity toward these ten people, then Mo Xiaochuan's kneeling forced these ten people to submit completely.

They were willing to follow Mo Shoutian to hunt beasts, firstly because they could earn silver, and secondly because Mo Xiaochuan might protect their families in the future.

But now, seeing Mo Xiaochuan kneeling before them, they realized that this child did not feel it was only natural for everyone to risk their lives entering the mountains for him.

Uncle Changlin hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Mo Xiaochuan up from the ground with one pull.

"Xiaochuan, I believe you. In the future, you will definitely be able to protect the people of our Mo Family Village."

The brothers Mo Shouyi and Mo Shoucheng also spoke up:

"Xiaochuan, you just focus solidly on your Cultivate. We will be responsible for going to the back mountain to hunt large beasts and figure out ways to exchange more Spirit Stone for you."

The others also chimed in:

"That's right, Xiaochuan, you just mind doing your Cultivate well; leave the other matters to us."

Hearing this, Mo Xiaochuan wanted to kneel down again, but was stopped by Uncle Changlin's outstretched hand.

"Xiaochuan, you are going to become an Immortal in the future, you cannot just kneel down casually."

Mo Xiaochuan said earnestly:

"Even if I truly become an Immortal in the future, I am still the Junior of all the uncles."

Hearing this, everyone felt even happier inside.

Seeing his son's actions, Mo Shoutian was also somewhat surprised.

Originally, he only had ninety percent confidence in tonight's matter, but his son's kneeling completely put his mind at ease.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Mo Shoutian said:

"Since everyone has decided to continue working, let's sit at the table, eat meat, drink wine, and divide the money."

Mo Xiaohu had been hungry for a long time. Hearing this, he reached out, picked up a piece of meat from the plate, and shoved it into his mouth.

"Brother Shoutian, I've been waiting for these words of yours."

Seeing this, everyone laughed and successively took off their shoes to climb onto the heated brick bed.

Mo Shoutian originally wanted to let Mo Xiaochuan stay and pour wine for everyone, but was stopped by Uncle Changlin.

"Let Xiaochuan go back to Cultivate; where would a matter like pouring wine ever need him?"

Mo Shoutian had no choice but to let Mo Xiaochuan return to the room first to continue his Cultivate.

By the time everyone had gone through three rounds of wine and tasted five dishes, Mo Shoutian stated his subsequent plans.

"Everyone, this time I bought another five heavy crossbows."

"Right now, there are quite a few people in the village signing up to follow us in hunting large beasts. Starting tomorrow, I plan for every two of you to lead a group of people and practice with the heavy crossbows for a few days first."

"After everyone is familiar with the practice, we will enter the back mountain together to hunt beasts."

After hearing this, the brothers Mo Dashan and Mo Xiaoshan looked at each other.

Mo Dashan spoke up first:

"Brother Shoutian, there is something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"A few days ago, too many people signed up, and you hadn't returned for a long time. Xiaoshan and I took two people and moved that heavy crossbow hidden at the edge of the back mountain back."

Mo Xiaoshan also chimed in:

"We have already practiced at the west end of the village for several days."

Hearing this, the smile on Mo Shoutian's face instantly vanished, and he stared at the two brothers as he said:

"I won't hold you accountable this time, but this is the only time. You know how dangerous the back mountain is. If you dare to sneak in behind my back again next time, the two of you won't need to participate in beast hunting matters anymore."

Seeing that he was truly enraged, Mo Dashan and Mo Xiaoshan hurriedly admitted their mistake.

"Brother Shoutian, it was our fault."

"In the future, without your word, we will never enter the back mountain without authorization again."