But in his heart, he was actually apprehensive.
If one day these people discovered he wasn't the kind of noble scion they imagined, would they kill him?
So he wasn't very at ease with his idleness and repeatedly suggested to Guo Huai Li that he be allowed to join the refining process.
Guo Huai Li understood his intentions perfectly. People like this pampered young master, who had never seen the world, were curious about everything and wanted to try their hand at everything.
Once they tried, they would discover they were all talk and no action.
If it were other things, he might let him try, but refining was not something that could be tried casually; it could be fatal.
Therefore, every time Mo Qi proposed to refine something, Guo Huai Li would sternly refuse, "If you're really that bored, just pick your toes. We can tolerate it, but it's best not to attempt refining. This is not something ordinary people can do."
Mo Qi was helpless and had to continue being idle.
Drinking tea, resting, picking his toes…
After a few days, he also became familiar with everyone, meeting a young man named Long Fu Shan, a胖子 (pàngzi - fat man) named Zeng Cui Shi, and an ugly man named Ai Ren.
The others had no distinguishing features, so he didn't remember them.
These people were very busy every day, and their mouths were never idle, chatting about everything under the sun, from refining methods to battlefield dynamics, to whose wife was prettier, to how the Cold Princess of Sky City had smiled again.
Mo Qi suddenly became very interested in Sky City and asked them what it was.
Ai Ren found it incredible, "You're from a prominent family, aren't you? How could you not know about Sky City?"
Mo Qi casually brushed it off, "Your conversations are very interesting. I want to hear you tell it again."
Ai Ren actually believed him.
He told Mo Qi that Sky City was created by the City Lord Shui Wan Cheng, who was the previous Heavenly Emperor. During the last heavenly tribulation, due to his advanced age and fear of not surviving it, he had descended to the mortal realm for rebirth.
After his rebirth, he awakened by chance and was once again advancing towards the throne of the Heavenly Emperor. It was at that time that the demon realm invaded, and he led the great army to repel the Black Demons, who were at the height of their power.
However, at this point, Marshal Zhu, who was originally the commander of the Heavenly Realm, had firmly controlled the Heavenly Court and secured the position of Heavenly Emperor.
With a great battle seemingly inevitable, the Holy Heavenly Realm descended to oversee the situation.
They reasoned that since Marshal Zhu had already occupied the Heavenly Court and was deeply popular, he should serve as the Heavenly Emperor. Shui Wan Cheng was not mistreated either; he was enfeoffed as the Northern Heavenly Emperor.
However, Shui Wan Cheng did not appreciate this. Preferring to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, he voluntarily descended to the mortal realm to permanently guard the border of the demon realm. Above it, he rebuilt a Sky City, inhabited by the Shui family.
And below Sky City was where we were stationed.
Mo Qi couldn't help but walk out of the cave and look up, but there was no Sky City to be seen.
Could they be lying?
Just then, a team of fully armored and armed men walked over angrily and went straight into the cave.
Judging by the situation, the arrivals were not friendly. Mo Qi followed them in.
The leader surveyed the scene and asked, "Where is Guo Huai Li?"
Guo Huai Li, not understanding what was happening, poked his head out from behind the refining furnace. Upon seeing Captain Gu, he smiled and said, "What is it, Captain Gu?"
Captain Gu waved his hand, "Take him down!"
The others stepped forward, grabbed Guo Huai Li with their hands and feet, and pushed him outside.
This was truly misfortune from the heavens, but if one had to die, shouldn't it be a death with understanding?
As Guo Huai Li struggled, he shouted at Captain Gu, "Captain Gu, what crime have I committed that you treat me like this?"
Just then, the men had pushed Guo Huai Li in front of Captain Gu.
Captain Gu gestured to pause, and the men stopped.
Captain Gu said indignantly, "What did you refine from the batch of spirit stones we gave you yesterday?"
Guo Huai Li replied without hesitation, "We refined a batch of flying stone magical treasures. They emit red light, and once they hit a target, they have a destructive and corrosive effect, turning people into ashes. Moreover, they pursue the opponent, making them unavoidable."
Captain Gu immediately interrupted, "Emit red light, my foot! They're just a pile of rotten stones. Do you know how many brothers we lost because these magical treasures failed?"
Guo Huai Li's eyes widened, "How could they fail? The magical treasures we refine never have problems. If you can't win, don't blame us."
"You truly won't shed tears until you see the coffin," Captain Gu suppressed his anger and took out a stone from his embrace, holding it before Guo Huai Li's eyes, "Try it yourself. See if it emits red light."
Guo Huai Li, half-believing, summoned the flying stone into the air and then performed various hand seals. As expected, it had no effect and did not emit any light.
Guo Huai Li was still unwilling to give up. He tried several more times, but there was still no change, as if it were a corpse.
"How is this possible?" Guo Huai Li was about to cry. He threw the flying stone around, on the verge of collapse.
"We also think it's impossible," Captain Gu said, his anger still unquenched. "In the past, your refined magical treasures never had problems, so we trusted you unconditionally. We took them to the battlefield without even testing them, and this is the answer you gave us? Are you perhaps spies from the demon realm?"
Guo Huai Li was so scared that he immediately knelt on the ground, "Captain Gu, don't talk nonsense. How could we be spies? We have always done our best and given our all. If we wanted to tamper with anything, we would have done it long ago."
"Perhaps you were just waiting for an opportunity to catch us all in one go?" Captain Gu said coldly.
Seeing that he couldn't explain himself, Guo Huai Li couldn't help but shed tears of old age.
Captain Gu glanced at him sideways, "Who else participated in this refining?"
Some of the people below shivered in fear and involuntarily lowered their heads.
Guo Huai Li raised his head and said, "I refined it myself."
"Heh heh," Captain Gu sneered, "You're quite loyal, but I'm telling you, this matter is a big deal. Sky City is waiting to see the outcome of the handling. It's impossible to get away with it. I'm telling you, you'd better honestly tell me who participated, otherwise, everyone will die, not a single one will escape."
He suddenly stepped forward and whispered in Guo Huai Li's ear, "Last time I asked you to refine a magical artifact for me alone, and you refused. If you hadn't been so stubborn and obstinate then, perhaps I could have pleaded for you today. But you dared to refuse me then. How indifferent you were then, how tragic you are today. You are doomed today."
Then he stepped back two paces as if nothing had happened, watching him so sinisterly.
Guo Huai Li knew that it would be difficult to resolve this today. He could only hope to involve fewer people.
Guo Huai Li looked at Captain Gu, as if begging for mercy yet stubbornly, "I really refined it alone, and they are not involved."
At this moment, Ai Ren stepped forward and said proudly, "And me."
Zeng Cui Shi also stepped forward, "And me."
"And me!", "And me!"…
Following that, other voices emerged like bamboo shoots after rain.
Each stood tall and straight, facing death as if it were their destiny.
Guo Huai Li sighed, unable to bear to watch this bloody scene, and closed his eyes.
Captain Gu's eyes revealed a sharp killing intent, "Good, very good. It's best if everyone comes forward."
He scanned the surroundings and felt that it seemed like everyone from the refining room was present. He nodded with satisfaction, preparing to take them all away.
The sky was overcast, and the air was filled with a murderous aura.
Everyone felt that the refining room could not escape disaster today.
Just then, a weak voice sounded, "If these magical treasures were all refined by one person, then it would be understandable. If so many people participated and the same problem occurred, then it is very likely an issue with the spirit stones or other raw materials."
The voice was very small, but it exploded like thunder on a clear day in everyone's ears.
Everyone turned their heads in unison towards the direction of the voice.
To their surprise, the speaker was none other than the dissolute and irresponsible young master, Mo Qi.
However, upon careful consideration, his words seemed to have some logic.
Many people's eyes lit up as if they had seen a glimmer of hope, and then they began to speak in a rush.
"Yes, it must be a problem with the raw materials."
"It's a problem with the recipe."
"If the recipe is flawed, how can it be blamed on us? We won't take this blame."
…
Captain Gu roared, "Silence!"
After silencing the clamor, Captain Gu looked at Mo Qi with a condescending expression, "Who are you? Are you new?"
He couldn't say he knew everyone in the refining room, but he had seen them all. However, this person before him was clearly a stranger.
"I am Mo Qi," Mo Qi cupped his hands, "I am indeed new."
"Did you participate in the refining?" Captain Gu asked condescendingly.
"No," Mo Qi shook his head decisively, "I'm just here to do odd jobs."
"Odd jobs?" Captain Gu couldn't help but laugh, "What do you know about odd jobs? You're just talking nonsense here. Do you have any right to speak?"
Just as Mo Qi was about to retort, Guo Huai Li quickly interjected, "Although he didn't participate in the refining, what he just said is all reasonable."
"I demand that your raw materials and recipe be verified again, otherwise we will not go with you."
Upon hearing this, others also chimed in, their spirits high, "Yes, we must be given a reasonable explanation. We can't just go to our deaths without understanding why, can we?"
Captain Gu looked at the surrounding people, who were like beasts struggling in their death throes. He felt that it wouldn't be good to use force. Even a cornered rabbit would bite, and being bitten by a rabbit wasn't worth it. So, he cleared his throat and said, "The recipe was passed down from Sky City. As for the raw materials, they were given to you. Whether there's a problem, you can check yourselves. If you refuse to accept fate, we'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you can't find the problem then, you'll obediently come with us. Struggling will be useless."
The problem was thrown back!
Guo Huai Li felt a dark cloud hanging over him, but at least there was a sliver of hope. He immediately took out the recipe from his sleeve and meticulously examined every ingredient and its quantity from beginning to end.
Meanwhile, Ai Ren and the others tacitly moved to the pile of raw materials to inspect them.
Captain Gu watched with an expression of amusement, sitting calmly on a nearby chair, which was Mo Qi's usual seat. This made Mo Qi furious.
The soldiers he brought with him also lined up neatly behind him, each with a serious expression and their gaze fixed forward.
Those who were inspecting the raw materials muttered and exchanged words, but they couldn't find any problems. Some said the raw materials were too dry, while others said they were too wet.