Hou heard this and thought of one thing,
"So does this mean that now the Solar Tomb will become a huge expanse of alchemical ingredients?"
Mo Huai nodded,
"Not only will we be training the people and using the space, like you say there will be loads of ingredients found here too."
Hou nodded and started to think of the Solar Tomb. It went from a harsh apocalypse to a complete make over, now it's going to be a prosperous land. He almost started to tear up.
"Okay, thank you" Hou continued after a slight bow, "I'll go visit the main part now, I'll explain everything. Everyone will be delighted to join, though I will hide one thing"
Mo Huai raised his brows,
"Hide one thing? What one thing?"
"That you are the person who caused all their suffering with miasma. Everyone has lost family and friends or parts of themselves because of that, I don't think they can accept you too soon as the ruler."
"That does make sense, I'll make sure to keep that in mind when I introduce myself"
Hou nodded then flapped his wings and started to fly down. He didn't have the disguise or camouflage spirit this time. He had to go in while being spotted, so he flew in directly. He did not go directly to where he wanted to go, but instead to the town square.
'I wouldn't want to scare anyone, I'll just land here,'
As I landed, I was instantly attacked from behind. Not from an enemy though, from Arm. He had seen Hamar run into the sky and also then spotted Hou flying around. Even though he was different, Arm could still recognise him.
It wasn't visually, he looked a new man. New facial and body structure, clothes, hair; everything was changed yet Arm could still feel it was Hou.
It was something deep in his consciousness, an intuitive guess that told him,
"This is Hou"
A resonance between their consciousness', like a handshake to recognise each other. And as soon as Hou landed, Arm's conviction rose, he though,
'it really is... He's.... He's back!'
Arm had thrown his arms around Hou from behind and leant his head on Hou's shoulders. Hou turned and reciprocated the hug,
"I'm fine, don't be scared"
Arm started to chuckle and then he squeezed even tighter,
"As if I'm scared, let's go inside!" Though Arm was saying this his eyes were watering and face was red.
"Yes... Let's" Hou followed Arm into the main house and sat down with him in a living room.
Once they were comfortable, Hou caught him up on everything. How he met people from outside. How he became weaker right now but will become much much stronger in the future. How he became Mo Huai's student.
He omitted that Mo Huai was the controller of the Solar Tomb and of miasma. Hou knew Arm would be able to handle it but... He wasn't sure whether he could handle it perfectly.
He might changed his opinion on Mo Huai and be resistant in the changes that were going to follow. For that reason, he did not tell him this detail.
Hou told him all about what he's experienced. From the small to big, meeting Xiao Ye and having date was especially embarrassing for Hou to tell.
"Good on you! I want to give this piece of advice, don't only focus on your goal. You're too focused on your goal, and it is a good goal, but here's the advice, focus on the journey to get there"
"The journey...."
"If there's two paths, a thorny and a normal one, what would you choose? If course you choose the normal path, why go onto thorns if you don't have to. But the thorny path here, it's so much shorter than the other one. So you might be tempted to ensure the thorns."
Hou nodded and Arm continued,
"But if you keep following the thorns, you might studying to them. It's about striking balance, if you choose the thorny path alone, you die. If you choose the normal path alone, you would never get there. So strike a balance, walk the thorny path. But. When it gets too much, step into the normal path. Heal, then when your stronger, go back into the thorny path."
"I see... Balance... Balance"
Hou thought to himself, 'This reminds me of the concept Mo Huai talked about. The Yin and Yang. They are two opposites but they must be in perfect balance, too much of either causes problems. The thorny path can be the "Yin" path, and the normal one a "Yang" path. I need to follow them in perfect harmony, focus on the goals while having moments of rest. Strike a balance between the journey and the goal, focusing on neither'
Hou was enlightened and let out a quiet chuckle,
"Thank you Arm, thank you. You've helped me figure something out..."
Hou decided to do that, strike that balance. He's going to be aware of his goal, to become strong and protect others. But he's also going to try to make the journey enjoyable.
He's going to go to the sect, the academy like sect, and he's going to enjoy himself. He'll try his best while maintaining his friendships and connections.
As Hou wrapped up talking with Arm, Mo Huai appeared in a burst of light. In consideration of what he's done to these people, he his his miasma. Instead he used light laws to obfuscate the miasma.
"It is nice to meet you, I am Mo Huai. And I am your 'son's' master" Mo Huai nodded a slight bit.
Even though he was an elder and a cultivator, he would give his respects. These were new people unaware of anything, he would not expect them to know anything. Instead he would treat them well until they treat him the opposite.
He was also considerate of any power, they may not be simple people. Though they aren't cultivators, they could be 'swordmasters'.