44: Chapter 44 leaves two

Just as everyone was preparing to leave, Mo Shoutian spoke again:

"In the future, the business of hunting beasts, collecting herbs, and the various shops cannot stop. We must also find ways to grow even larger. We need to obtain more cultivation resources for the children."

After hearing this, everyone nodded seriously.

After lunch the next day, seventeen children aged six to ten stood in Mo Shoutian's courtyard.

The children's parents stood behind them, while opposite them were Mo Shoutian and his wife, Mo Xiaochuan, Mo Shoucheng, and Mo Shouyi.

Mo Shoutian first cupped his hands to the crowd.

"I called everyone here today because I want to pick a few from these children to train from a young age, to form a Beast-hunting Team in the future."

"For anyone selected, their family can receive one tael of silver every month. The children's future food, clothing, and housing will also be fully provided by the Mo family."

As soon as he finished speaking, the children's parents began to discuss in low voices.

Most people were worried that the children were too young and would be in danger facing large beasts in the future.

There were also some who were reluctant to let their children go, unwilling to let them leave home at such a young age.

Mo Shoutian listened for a while and said with a smile:

"We are all people of Mo Family Village; if we trace back a few generations, we are all more or less related. I am only letting the children train in advance, not sending them into the back mountain to hunt beasts right now."

"Whenever you miss your children, you can come to my house to see them at any time."

The sound of the crowd's discussion slowly quieted down.

A villager asked:

"Shoutian, do you mean that once a child is selected, they will live in your house?"

"Yes."

Mo Shoutian nodded.

"The selected children will eat and live together with Xiaochuan in the future."

Another villager said with a smile:

"Then you can't have your Xiaochuan eating meat while our children follow along just to drink the soup."

As soon as this was said, everyone in the courtyard burst into laughter.

Mo Shoutian also asked with a smile:

"Do you think I, Mo Shoutian, am that kind of person?"

Someone in the crowd immediately said:

"Our village can only have what it has today because Shoutian led us. Where did the silver for the blue-brick and tiled houses you're living in now come from?"

The villager who had just joked hurriedly said:

"I was just speaking casually. We all know what kind of person Shoutian is."

Mo Shoutian glanced at Mo Xiaochuan.

Mo Xiaochuan understood his father's meaning and walked to the first child.

"Don't be nervous, stretch out your right arm."

The child responded and obediently stretched out his arm.

After Foundation Establishment, Mo Xiaochuan was no longer like he was a year ago, relying on Spirit Stones to mobilize Spiritual Qi.

He gathered a wisp of Spiritual Qi at his fingertip and tapped it on the child's right arm, sending it into the child's body through the flesh, then waited for that wisp of Spiritual Qi to come out of the child's body.

The faster the Spiritual Qi came out, the better the child's Aptitude. The slower it came out, the worse the Aptitude.

Only Mo Xiaochuan himself was clear about these matters.

In the eyes of others, he was just pressing on the child's arm with his finger for a while.

Even Mo Shoutian and the others standing behind did not know exactly how Mo Xiaochuan checked their Aptitude.

For today's matter, Mo Shoutian had thought for most of the night.

Those who knew Mo Xiaochuan could Cultivate were only the original ten people and Chen Wanshan.

If too many people knew, it would only bring danger to Mo Xiaochuan.

Therefore, he came up with the pretense of forming a Beast-hunting Team to first pick out the children with good Aptitude.

It took about the time for an incense stick to burn for all seventeen children to be checked.

Mo Xiaochuan picked two from among them and brought them before Mo Shoutian.

"Father, these two are fine."

Mo Shoutian nodded and said to the other children and their parents:

"We will select these two children first this year. Don't worry if you weren't chosen; the Mo family has already become a subordinate of the Xuanyang Sect. In eight days, the Xuanyang Sect will come to the village to select children with Aptitude to Cultivate."

The people in the village didn't know at all what kind of place the Xuanyang Sect was, and someone immediately asked:

"Shoutian, what does the Xuanyang Sect do? What will the children Cultivate there? Why does our Mo family have to be their subordinate?"

Mo Shoutian gave a general explanation of the Xuanyang Sect being an Immortal cultivation Sect and the Mo family becoming a Subordinate Family.

Hearing that their own children also had a chance to Cultivate, the courtyard suddenly became lively.

If selected by the Xuanyang Sect, their children would have a chance to become Immortals in the future.

In the eyes of these villagers, Immortals were people they had to kneel to upon meeting, and people who could fly in the sky on Flying Swords.

After hearing this, the parents of the two selected children felt some regret.

One of them quickly asked:

"Shoutian, can our child still participate in the Xuanyang Sect's selection in eight days?"

The other parent also followed:

"Yes. Following Xiaochuan, the child will be a Hunter at most in the future; how can that compare to an Immortal?"

The smile on Mo Shoutian's face disappeared.

"Of course you can."

"However, if you regret it now and want to take your child back, today's selected spot will be void. In eight days, if the child is not selected by the Xuanyang Sect, the Beast-hunting Team will not take them again."

"Also, don't even think about your two families participating in any of the Mo family's businesses in the future."

Seeing that he was not joking, the parents of the two children hurriedly put on smiling faces.

"Shoutian, look at you, we were just asking casually."

Mo Shoutian looked at the two and said:

"What do you think the Beast-hunting Team is? A place you can enter as you please and leave as you please?"

"If you regret it now, you can take the child away; I won't stop you."

The parents of the other children also couldn't stand it and began to criticize the two.

"How can your two families be so ungrateful? Shoutian not only takes care of the children's food and housing, but even their clothes, and gives one tael of silver every month. What more do you want?"

"Exactly. Our own children weren't selected, and we didn't say anything, yet you're the ones acting dissatisfied."

"You've only had a few days of good life and already forgotten how it used to be?"

The parents of the two children were criticized until they couldn't lift their heads and could only look at Mo Shoutian again.

"Shoutian, we really were just asking casually. From today on, the children are in your care, and we will definitely not go back on our word."

Hearing this, Mo Shoutian's tone softened.

"As long as the children are handed over to me, I will not let them suffer."

After saying that, he looked at the other people in the courtyard.

"In eight days, if the children are not selected by the Xuanyang Sect, send them to the newly built School to learn to read and write."

"The Mo family's business will surely grow larger in the future, and we'll need people who can read and keep accounts everywhere. Also, all the costs for the children to attend School will be covered by me."

After the villagers present heard this, someone spoke up:

"Shoutian, in the future, no matter who it is, if anyone dares to say a single bad word about you, we people of Mo Family Village will be the first to disagree."

Other villagers also followed:

"Yes, how much has Shoutian helped us this year? If anyone says Shoutian is no good, we will never agree."

Mo Shoutian looked at everyone, cupped his hands again, and said:

"I thank you all in advance. I've taken up quite a bit of your time today; everyone, please go about your business."

Hearing this, everyone nodded to Mo Shoutian.

Only then did they leave with their children.

As they walked away, their conversations were all about the arrival of the Xuanyang Sect people in eight days.

Finally, only the parents of the two children who were selected first remained.

Mo Shoutian whispered to Mo Shouyi and Mo Shoucheng:

"Arrange some easy work for them and comfort them well, but not a single word must be said about cultivation."

Mo Shouyi and Mo Shoucheng nodded, then each led a set of parents away.

At this time, only Mo Shoutian's family remained in the courtyard.

Along with the two selected children.

The two children were not old; watching their parents walk out of the gate, they wanted to follow but didn't dare.

Liu Chunmei walked over and took each of them by the hand.

"Come, Auntie will first show you where you'll be living. Tomorrow I'll have a tailor come over to make a set of new clothes for each of you."

Once the three went into the house, Mo Shoutian closed the courtyard gate and said to Mo Xiaochuan:

"Let them settle in first. As for cultivation, we'll talk about it after the people from the Xuanyang Sect have left."

"Okay, Father."