Chapter 416: Ruffians

Mo Hua quietly voiced his doubts to Sister Situ.

Sister Situ blinked in surprise, then frowned, realizing something was off; she recalled the scene and said slowly:

"Those big men wore miner's clothes, their palms rough, skin pitch-black—I assumed they were relatives of the missing miners, at least close friends or family."

"Before, they were always causing trouble, making outrageous demands for compensation from the Lu family."

"But now that the matter is settled and the Lu family has paid, they suddenly vanished—even failing to show up for burial rites. That's highly suspicious…"

Sister Situ considered and said, "I'll go ask the miners' families again."

Mo Hua shook his head. "They may not dare speak."

Just now, their demeanor was submissive—they were clearly afraid of retaliation and dared not say much.

Sister Situ then said, "Then I'll ask the local miners about their identities."

"The miners won't tell the truth either," Mo Hua said.

After all, they held little affection for Dao Ting Si.

"Then…"

Mo Hua's eyes flickered. "Let me handle this, Sister Situ. Draw me portraits of those big men…"

"Give it to you?" Sister Situ blinked.

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded. "I know who to ask."

Sister Situ hesitated. "You've never been to Nan Yue City before… how do you know so many cultivators?"

Mo Hua replied modestly, "I've got decent connections…"

Sister Situ had no retort.

"Fine."

Sister Situ sighed and sketched the appearances of those big men from memory, though her brushwork was clumsy.

Mo Hua took it and refined a few strokes according to her description.

Sister Situ's eyes lit up: "That's them—you drew them perfectly."

Mo Hua smiled.

Array masters deal with array patterns daily; drawing portraits was quite simple for them.

Mo Hua tucked the portraits away, then sneaked to the Lu family mine, concealed his form, and sat atop a boulder, waiting patiently.

At dusk, the overseers changed shifts.

A mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator from the Lu family strode out of the mine with an arrogant air.

Mo Hua called out: "Lu Ming."

The Lu family cultivator named Lu Ming froze slightly, glanced around, saw no one, frowned, and muttered:

"Weird… who called my name?"

He kept walking.

Not a few steps later, he heard someone call him again.

It was a young, clear, childlike voice.

Lu Ming froze, looked around—still no one.

The arrogance on his face faded, replaced by profound solemnity and tension.

"This is impossible…"

All the cultivators guarding the mine knew the mine was dangerous and eerie at night.

But it was still dusk—night hadn't fallen yet…

Could it be…

Cold sweat slowly seeped from Lu Ming's back.

Terrified, he turned and ran—but stumbled after only a few steps and suddenly found himself immobilized.

Blue, water-shaped spiritual energy chains bound him, leaving him utterly still.

The sensation was familiar—he instantly understood.

He turned his head and indeed saw a young cultivator lounging casually atop another boulder.

The young cultivator waved a small hand at him.

Lu Ming wanted to cry.

He was only mid-stage Qi Condensation; this boy was late-stage Qi Condensation.

Worse, this boy knew array techniques, and his spells were bizarrely potent.

Lu Ming knew escape was impossible. Reluctantly, he walked toward Mo Hua, stood before him, and forced a smile:

"L-Lord Young Master, what brings you here?"

Mo Hua said, "I came to find you."

Lu Ming's eyelid twitched. "Find me… for what?"

Mo Hua smiled faintly.

"Didn't you tell your family head about me?"

Lu Ming turned pale. "No, I didn't!"

"Tell the truth."

Lu Ming stayed silent.

"Tell the truth, and I won't make things hard for you," Mo Hua said.

Then he gave a cold, sinister chuckle. "But if you lie… tonight, the things in this mine will have another hearty meal…"

Lu Ming thought of the miners' corpses and shuddered violently, then blurted out honestly:

"I didn't want to say anything, but the clan master asked me, and I… I dared not withhold it…"

"What did you say?"

Lu Ming replied weakly: "I only said you know array techniques, discovered the mine tunnel, and found the corpses of the mine cultivators. I didn't mention anything else…"

"I didn't dare say anything either…"

Because the rest of it concerns the Lu family.

These things were leaked by him.

If the clan master finds out he revealed the information—especially about the mine tunnel—he will surely not let him off.

Mo Hua nodded.

The fact that you know array techniques and discovered the mine tunnel can't be hidden anyway; it doesn't matter if the Lu clan master knows.

As long as he doesn't know you're interested in the mine tunnel.

"Alright, let's talk about the real matter."

Mo Hua took out the portraits drawn by Sister Situ and asked:

"Do you recognize these people?"

Lu Ming examined all the portraits, then shook his head and said:

"I don't know any of them."

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly.

He picked out three of the portraits and said to Lu Ming:

"You're lying. You recognize these three."

Lu Ming's mouth opened wide. "This… this…"

How did he figure it out?

Could this young cultivator possibly read minds?

Mo Hua couldn't read minds.

But when Lu Ming looked at these three portraits, though his expression remained calm, his spiritual sense had subtle ripples.

These faint spiritual ripples escaped none of Mo Hua's perception.

Expression can deceive, but spiritual sense cannot.

Therefore, Lu Ming definitely knows these three.

In Mo Hua's crisp voice, a chill ran through:

"I may be young, but I have a bad temper."

"You lied to me once—I'm keeping a record. If you lie to me again…"

Mo Hua smiled brightly, "I'll make sure you never get another chance to lie!"

Mo Hua's smile was innocent, yet carried a hint of malice.

Like an immortal's attendant, yet also like a hellish soul-snatching imp…

Lu Ming shuddered again, his heart bitter:

What exactly is this Xiaozu's identity?

Mo Hua tapped the three portraits with his small hand. "Speak. Who are these three?"

Lu Ming sighed, defeated. "They're mine cultivators…"

"Mine cultivators?"

"They're called… mine cultivators, but they aren't really mine cultivators…"

Lu Ming explained: "They're actually thugs from the city. Usually, they either serve as henchmen for young masters of noble families, bullying others; or extort small merchants, oppressing the countryside; or rob travelers outside the city to earn a few Spirit Stones to spend…"

"With Spirit Stones, they squander them on wine, women, and gambling."

"Only when they have no Spirit Stones left do they go to the mines and dig for a day or two…"

"So they're mine cultivators, yet not really mine cultivators…"

Mo Hua frowned. "Do they also help stranded mine cultivators demand Spirit Stones?"

Lu Ming was surprised. "How do you know?"

Seeing Mo Hua ignore him, Lu Ming continued on his own:

"When a mine cultivator is in trouble, they notify his family, then volunteer to demand Spirit Stones on his behalf."

"They keep the majority of the demanded Spirit Stones for themselves; only the remainder reaches the miner's family."

"Doesn't anyone control them?" Mo Hua asked.

"It's useless," Lu Ming said. "They're numerous and ruthless. Once you're tangled with them, they cling like leeches—you can't shake them off…"

"The higher-level cultivators are too lazy to care, and the lowly mine cultivators dare not speak out."

Mo Hua pondered, then asked:

"How do you know them?"

Lu Ming hesitated to speak.

Mo Hua said: "Tell the truth. I won't blame you."

Lu Ming then mumbled: "I took their Spirit Stones and gave them some conveniences here at the mine…"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened. "What kind of conveniences?"

Lu Ming hurried to say: "Nothing much—just that they can come and go as they please, and when something happens, I pretend not to notice…"

Mo Hua frowned, a hint of confusion in his mind.

These thugs barely ever dig mines—why would they bribe him?

What exactly are they doing that requires the mine overseer to "turn a blind eye"?

Mo Hua vaguely formed a hypothesis, and his gaze turned cold.

In Xiancheng, wandering cultivators may be poor, but those at the bottom help each other.

But in Nan Yue City, some wandering cultivators, though themselves at the bottom and weak, freely trample those weaker than them.

"What are the names of these three cultivators?" Mo Hua said coldly.

Lu Ming said: "This tall one is Wang Hu; the one with half his hair burned off is Tang Huzi…"

"The leader, the one with the scar on his face, is Wang Lai; behind his back everyone calls him 'Wang Laipi'…"

(End of Chapter)