Chapter 464: Secret

Mo Hua asked, "What kind of person was your mother?"

Shuisheng's expression grew wary; he glanced at Mo Hua, saw his clear gaze and gentle demeanor, no mockery or sarcasm, and slowly said:

"My mother… she… her status was low…"

He found it hard to speak of such a thing as a courtesan.

"I know that—she came from poverty, she had no choice… " Mo Hua added, "But what else?"

Shuisheng froze, exhaled in relief, then a smile and fondness appeared on his face:

"My mother treated me very well!"

"She made me flower cakes and crystal pork hocks to eat."

"She had a beautiful smile, spoke softly, and loved to stroke my head…"

…

Shuisheng spoke in fragments, recounting countless small moments from his life with his mother.

This might have been the only warm memory of his childhood.

So when he spoke of his mother, his eyes and brows smiled, innocent and yearning.

"And your father?"

Shuisheng's face instantly darkened, a hint of disdain on his expression.

As if his father was unworthy to be mentioned alongside his mother.

"I… my master…"

He wouldn't even call Elder Su "father."

Shuisheng said, "He puts on an act…"

"He knows everything, yet tells me nothing, as if he thinks I don't know."

"I actually know everything—but since he won't speak, I won't speak to him either…"

Mo Hua thought to himself:

You two really are father and son…

Both pretending ignorance while fully aware, knowing everything but saying nothing.

"My master wants me to learn arrays…"

Shuisheng lowered his head, "But I… my background is low, and I have no talent—arrays aren't for someone like me…"

"And arrays are extremely difficult; I simply can't learn them well."

"Among my master's disciples, I'm the slowest—I don't know what they know, I don't understand what they grasp, I can't draw the arrays they can draw…"

"My master scolds me; the worse I learn, the angrier he gets."

"Yet he also values me deeply, often keeps me close— the worse I learn, the more effort he puts in."

"The other disciples look at me with envy and rejection…"

"I don't like being here…"

Shuisheng's expression grew melancholy.

Mo Hua nodded, deeply understanding Shuisheng's hardship, then asked:

"Do you want to learn arrays?"

Shuisheng hesitated, then nodded, "I do."

"It doesn't matter to me personally, but I want to make my mother happy—her wish was for me to become a proper array master, just like my… master."

"Then no matter my background, no one would look down on me."

"My mother is gone, I can never see her again—but whenever I study arrays, whenever I dream of becoming an array master, I feel her spirit watching over me, accompanying me…"

Shuisheng choked up, his eyes reddening.

Mo Hua thought of his own mother.

Though he now wandered far away, unable to eat her cooking or stay by her side,

his mother had always waited for him.

After his travels, after mastering arrays, he could still return to see her.

But Shuisheng was different—he would never see his mother again in this lifetime…

Mo Hua felt a pang of sorrow, patted his shoulder, and encouraged him:

"Don't worry—you can master arrays."

Shuisheng was grateful, yet felt unworthy of such encouragement, stammering:

"I… I have such poor talent…"

"Elder Su's talent wasn't much better than yours," Mo Hua whispered.

Shuisheng widened his eyes, "No way… my master is a Rank One array master."

Mo Hua whispered, "You're father and son—how different could your talent be? If he became a Rank One array master, so can you."

Shuisheng would never have believed this.

Even father and son could have vastly different talent.

But coming from Mo Hua—who had become a Rank One array master by age ten—this claim suddenly carried immense weight.

Shuisheng's eyes lit with hope, he murmured:

"I… could I really become a Rank One array master?"

Mo Hua nodded, "You can—but your foundation is weak, so you must work harder, spend more time…"

"If twenty years aren't enough, try thirty; if thirty aren't enough, try fifty; if fifty aren't enough, try a hundred…"

"As long as you stay focused and persevere, you will surely become a Rank One array master—and your mother's spirit will be glad."

"A Grade-One Array Master…"

In Shuisheng's eyes, a light gradually kindled.

"Mm." Shuisheng nodded seriously.

Mo Hua smiled with relief.

Shuisheng's talent, compared to Elder Su, was indeed somewhat inferior.

But not so inferior that he couldn't learn array techniques.

Moreover, he had a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a Grade-One Array Master, who was both his master and his father.

With lineage and guidance, as long as he devoted serious effort and worked hard, becoming a Grade-One Array Master wasn't truly difficult.

Elder Su's problem was that he loved his son too much, placed too much hope on him, and thus lost his composure, inevitably pushing too hard and mishandling his education.

As for Shuisheng, his personality was a bit reclusive and stubborn.

With poor fundamentals and rigid study without asking questions, he naturally couldn't learn well.

This father and son had made a simple problem complicated, which was why they were at odds.

Elder Su's disposition was still fairly clear-minded, but when it came to his only beloved child, he inevitably became entangled in the situation without realizing it.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then added:

"Just remember this: you must learn array techniques; nothing else matters."

"Whether your master praises you or scolds you, you don't need to care."

"If you don't understand something, go ask him. If he refuses to answer, keep asking—don't feel embarrassed, keep asking until you understand."

"If he nags, complains, or berates you, treat it all as wind passing through your ears."

"The most important thing, the only thing, is that you must master array techniques!"

Shuisheng's eyes brightened; he looked at Mo Hua and nodded solemnly.

Seeing that he understood, Mo Hua smiled with half-closed eyes.

After a moment, Mo Hua remembered something, his smile fading as he said slowly:

"Shuisheng, I want to ask you a question."

Shuisheng smiled, "Little Mr., ask whatever you wish."

Mo Hua asked with a hint of apology:

"How did your mother die?"

Shuisheng froze; his smile vanished, his expression gradually turning painful, then firm:

"My mother was murdered!"

Mo Hua frowned slightly. "Have you told your master this?"

Shuisheng nodded. "I've told him many times. I've always told him my mother was murdered."

"At first he believed, but gradually, he stopped believing…"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened. "Do you know who killed her?"

Shuisheng shook his head. "I don't know…"

Then his eyes blazed with hatred. "But I know it was the Lu family!"

Mo Hua paused. "The Lu family?"

"It was the Lu family!"

Shuisheng's expression turned sorrowful. "The Hundred Flowers Pavilion is owned by the Lu family. Not just my mother—many aunts and sisters there were sold to the Lu family."

"The Lu family could beat them or curse them at will."

"Even if they were tortured to death, Dao Ting Si wouldn't intervene."

"My mother, like the other aunts and sisters, was certainly killed by the Lu family!"

Shuisheng's eyes turned bloodshot; his anger grew with every word.

Mo Hua felt a pang of pity and asked, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

Shuisheng shook his head.

"Do you have proof?"

Shuisheng lowered his head and silently shook his head again. "I have no proof. I have no ability to find proof. My master won't let me…"

Elder Su feared he might be endangered.

Mo Hua frowned in thought.

The Lu family built Jin Hua Street and forced mining cultivators to sell their daughters to establish the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Beyond their own pleasures and profit from spirit stones, their greatest aim was likely to use beauty as bribes to court cultivators from all factions.

The factions they courted included Dao Ting Si, Nan Yue Sect, and other clans and sects.

Thus, all parties ended up on the same boat.

Sister Shuixian was the pawn.

And Elder Su, a real-power elder of Nan Yue Sect, a Foundation Establishment cultivator and Grade-One Array Master, was naturally a target for their courting.

But no one expected Elder Su to love so deeply.

Yet Sister Shuixian's beauty was fleeting, her fate cruel.

But was it really just that?

Could Sister Shuixian have died because she discovered some secret of the Lu family?

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then took out several portraits.

These portraits were of the people Mo Hua suspected to be traitors of the Little Lingyin Sect.

Lu Huaiyi, Lu Huaisheng, Lu Huaide, Shen Cai, and Jiang Long.

"Do you know these people?"

Shuisheng looked, frowned, "They seem a little familiar, but I don't know any of them…"

"Any that stand out?"

Shuisheng looked again for a while, then shook his head, "No…"

He asked, puzzled:

"Mr. Mo, what's wrong with these people?"

Mo Hua said, "Someone did something wrong. These few are all suspects. I want to investigate."

Shuisheng asked quietly, "What did they do?"

Mo Hua said, "It's too dangerous to tell you."

"Oh." Shuisheng nodded.

Suddenly Shuisheng asked again, puzzled, "These people don't seem alike at all—why are they all suspects?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said:

"Basically, they all understand arrays, are married into the family, hold real power, have status in the Lu family, and have overseen mines…"

Shuisheng nodded, murmuring quietly:

"Oh, just like the Lu family head…"

Mo Hua's heart trembled.

Just like the Lu family head?

He hurriedly asked, "What do you mean—how are they alike?"

"It's just… pretty much the same," Shuisheng counted off, "Understands arrays, married into the family, has status, controls mines…"

Mo Hua drew in a sharp breath, his face filled with disbelief:

The Lu family head is a son-in-law?!

(End of Chapter)