Chapter 826: River Pirates

The Dao Ting's influence is vast and its connections intricate; its intelligence network is extremely powerful. Though it may not penetrate the deepest secrets, at least through "official" means, it uncovers overt clues in great detail.

This also saved Mo Hua a great deal of trouble.

If he had to find these things himself, investigating each one by one, it would take months before he saw any progress.

"Indeed, one must be flexible with methods—sometimes one must learn to take shortcuts."

"Even the Dao Ting's leg isn't beyond embracing…"

Mo Hua nodded, then began studying the map of the Yan Water River in his hand.

The map marked locations where the Water Yama had appeared and possible regions he had operated in along the Yan Water River.

Mo Hua didn't know how Xia Diansi had uncovered these.

But since Xia Diansi was backed by the Dao Ting, being able to uncover these things didn't seem strange—at least, it was within Mo Hua's expectations.

The Water Yama was a big fish.

Now, they could cast the net and catch this big fish.

The map of the Yan Water River had many circles and dots marked on it.

These might look like small patches on the map, but on the vast expanse of the Yan Water River, they represented large stretches of waterway.

"The area is still too broad—we need to narrow it down further."

Mo Hua's mind conjured his knowledge of the Yan Water River, judging the locations of ferries where the Water Yama had appeared, deducing the Water Yama's temperament and habits, while simultaneously integrating all the clues he had previously uncovered…

All these became the causes.

Mo Hua's gaze grew deep; his spiritual sense flowed, deducing the "effects" from these various "causes."

On the Yan Water River map, threads of cause and effect appeared and vanished, weaving into a net.

Without the Heavenly Mechanism Scripture, without elder guidance, Mo Hua could only, like this, rely on objective facts, his intuition, and experience, to slowly figure out the use of Heavenly Mechanism techniques.

After a moment, the threads of cause and effect stretched along the river, overlapping with certain marked locations.

Mo Hua recorded all these places, then sent them to Xia Diansi.

"Xia sister…"

"Call her 'Xia Diansi.'" came the reply.

"Oh, Xia Diansi," Mo Hua said, "based on my intelligence, these places on the map are highly suspicious."

In the Dao Ting Si, Xia Diansi, still working by candlelight, frowned slightly. "How did you know about these places?"

I calculated them…

Mo Hua thought silently.

Of course, he couldn't say that.

Mo Hua evasively replied: "I don't know—someone told me."

Xia Diansi shook her head slightly and sent back a message: "Alright. I'll make time to go see the Yan Water River myself."

One line on the map equals a stretch of river in reality.

Without seeing it firsthand, it's truly hard to grasp the truth.

"Xia Diansi, you should go the day after tomorrow," Mo Hua suggested.

"Why?" Xia Diansi asked, puzzled.

"Because the day after tomorrow is my day off," Mo Hua replied frankly.

Xia Diansi fell silent for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "You want to come too?"

"Yes!" Mo Hua said.

"But… you're only at Foundation Establishment mid-stage—it's still dangerous," Xia Diansi said, concerned.

"It's fine," Mo Hua said, "I'll bring Uncle Gu—he'll protect me."

Xia Diansi's expression turned strange.

The way this child spoke, it sounded like Gu Diansi was his bodyguard…

Gu Changhuai, bodyguard…

Xia Diansi imagined Gu Changhuai's cold demeanor and, strangely, found him quite suited to being a "bodyguard."

"Alright," Xia Diansi said.

"Thank you, Xia Diansi," Mo Hua exclaimed with delight.

Thus, two days later, it was his day off.

Early that morning, Mo Hua packed up, hired a carriage, and went to Qingzhou City.

To avoid drawing attention, he didn't go to the Gu household but waited at a teahouse in Qingzhou City.

This was the agreed-upon meeting place.

At the teahouse, Mo Hua looked up and saw that Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi had already arrived.

Both were experienced Diansi, both decisive by nature; when not delayed by Dao Ting Si duties, they were always punctual.

Though they had arrived early and sat at the same table, each had ordered a pot of tea and drank alone, saying not a word.

They looked like two complete strangers.

Mo Hua shook his head and sighed.

Even stones don't open up.

Even iron trees don't bloom.

It's truly worrying.

Mo Hua walked over, greeted the two, took a sip of tea and a few pastries, then rose to leave with them.

After confirming no one was following, the three hired a discreet carriage and left Qingzhou City, heading downstream along the Yan Water River.

Near a riverside ferry downstream, Gu Changhuai rented a small boat.

The three boarded a small boat and rowed into the depths of the Yan Shui River.

The Yan Shui River basin was vast, branching into numerous tributaries from top to bottom, with complex water patterns.

The riverbed concealed many vicious water demons.

Mo Hua had only ever stayed along the banks of the Yan Shui River; this was his first time sitting in a small boat, rowing to its very center.

The boat's edge pressed against a pool of emerald water; as far as he could see, waves stretched endlessly, shimmering and vast, merging sky and water into one, with no land and no path.

Mo Hua found it novel, yet as the boat rocked upon the water, he felt an odd discomfort.

The three rowed along several river lines Mo Hua had traced on the Yan Shui River map through causal divination, moving downstream while extending their spiritual senses to search for traces.

The sun rose higher, its light growing bright, glinting off the river like a mirror, almost blinding.

After searching for a while, they indeed found something.

"There are shallow shoals in the river with footprints on them."

"There are corpses of water demons floating in the water, already rotten, but their wounds were strangely sinister—as if pierced through the chest by a powerful dark artifact…"

"The bloodstain here is especially strong…"

"Some broken spiritual artifacts lie sunken at the riverbed."

…

"A group of heretic cultivators must have passed through here, but…"

Gu Changhuai frowned.

But the Yan Shui River was vast and turbulent, its currents obscuring most traces, making it impossible to track down these individuals' exact whereabouts.

And the nearby tributaries were extremely complex, crisscrossing in all directions, stretching endlessly before them—no clear direction to investigate.

As they puzzled over this, a small boat approached from afar.

On it were several fishing cultivators, wearing conical hats, enduring the sun as they cast their nets.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Ask them?"

Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi paused, then nodded.

As the fishing boat neared, the three rowed toward it.

When the two boats met, Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi exchanged brief greetings, then asked:

"Have you seen any suspicious cultivators nearby?"

Four fishing cultivators were hauling fish; seeing Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi, they grew tense and shook their heads rapidly.

Xia Diansi asked a few more questions, but learned nothing.

Then the fishing cultivators bowed slightly, said nothing more, and rowed away with wary expressions.

Mo Hua sighed. "Gu Uncle, Xia Diansi, you won't get anything asking like that. Even if they knew, they wouldn't tell you."

Both were Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si, naturally exuding authority, and were Jin Dan cultivators.

Mo Hua, having grown familiar with them, might not notice.

But to these ordinary fishing cultivators, Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi were "profoundly inscrutable" figures—encountering them alone on the boundless Yan Shui River, they naturally feared them and dared not speak freely.

Gu Changhuai's expression remained indifferent.

He had always been this way; he would never change.

Xia Diansi also frowned slightly.

She came from the Xia Clan and rarely interacted with these lowly hermetic cultivators.

Mo Hua sighed. "I'll ask."

After a while, another fishing boat arrived.

Mo Hua stood at the bow, greeted them, and when the boat drew near, he leapt aboard, smiling warmly: "Hello, big brothers," then pulled out some spiritual wine and dried meat to give them, saying he and his companions were traveling to visit relatives but had lost their way and needed directions on the water routes.

His gaze was clear, his features handsome, his frame unimposing, his demeanor gentle and approachable—easily winning goodwill.

Moreover, he had offered spiritual wine and spiritual meat.

To these fishing cultivators, these were precious items.

Instantly, the fishing cultivators treated Mo Hua with great warmth.

Mo Hua sat with them, drank wine, ate meat, chatted pleasantly, and by the time they parted, the fishermen were already calling him "Little Brother" and inviting him to visit their homes.

Mo Hua gave them another flask of wine, then waved farewell.

Returning to their own boat, Mo Hua nodded and said:

"I've asked everything!"

Xia Diansi and Gu Changhuai were momentarily stunned.

Mo Hua recalled their conversation and pointed ahead at the river:

"The river splits here—impossible to see with the naked eye—but among these dense aquatic plants, there are four or five separate channels, perfect for hiding traces."

"There are indeed suspicious cultivators nearby."

"According to these big brothers, it's a band of murderous water pirates who lurk in these waters, killing anyone they see."

"But these water pirates only appear at night; thus, local fishing cultivators finish fishing early in the day and return before sunset."

"Once night falls, traveling the waterways means risking death at the hands of these pirates."

Xia Diansi frowned. "Don't they report these pirates to the Dao Ting Si?"

Mo Hua sighed. "Reporting does no good. This isn't Xiancheng—many fishing cultivators don't even have cultivation registration. The Dao Ting Si doesn't care to intervene, and even if they wanted to, the river's complexity makes action nearly impossible."

Xia Diansi was taken aback.

Daozhou was almost entirely composed of Xiancheng, where cultivation registration was strictly controlled—this kind of situation simply didn't occur.

She turned her head and silently glanced at Gu Changhuai, then said coldly:

"This shows clearly that the Dao Ting Si of Qianxue Province is negligent and inefficient."

Gu Changhuai said coldly: "Don't forget, you're now the Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si in Qianxue Zhou realm."

The two regarded each other with cold gazes.

Mo Hua nodded.

Correct.

These two's relationship has improved—they've learned to bicker.

After exchanging a few more barbs, Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi each ceased hostilities.

They were Gu Diansi, after all—they couldn't possibly fail to distinguish importance.

The immediate priority is still to find Water Yanluo.

Xia Diansi looked at the tangled waterways before her, pondered for a moment, then her gaze sharpened as she said:

"I'll send for more personnel. Starting from here, we'll search every waterway one by one. We'll survey the entire stretch of water."

But Gu Changhuai said: "Not so fast. Too many people will scare off the prey."

Xia Diansi's gaze turned hostile as she asked Gu Changhuai:

"Then what do you suggest?"

Gu Changhuai fell silent for a moment, his eyes flickering slightly as he gestured toward Mo Hua with his chin:

"Ask this kid."

Xia Diansi froze, her expression puzzled. "Mo Hua?"

Mo Hua had originally wanted to keep a low profile, but now the situation no longer allowed it.

Catching Water Yanluo was urgent.

"Is there still any fragment of the broken knife left on the water demon?" Mo Hua asked.

Gu Changhuai handed Mo Hua a deep crimson broken knife.

Mo Hua placed the broken knife on the prow of the boat, then sat cross-legged, focusing intently.

Xia Diansi watched silently beside him, unsure what Mo Hua intended to do—until suddenly, his aura shifted abruptly, from clear and sunny to profound and eerie.

It was as if…

He had transformed from an amiable boy into an unknowable demon.

At the same time, a mysterious energy spread from Mo Hua.

Moments later, all strangeness vanished. Mo Hua's expression returned to normal as he pointed to one of the waterways: "Turn right in the middle—you'll find the owner of the broken knife…"

Xia Diansi's expression trembled slightly.

"That's it… you found the path?"

Her face showed confusion; after a brief thought, her pupils shrank and she cried out:

"Heavenly Mechanism Art?!"

Gu Changhuai, upon hearing this, was startled and snapped his gaze toward Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua asked, puzzled: "What is Heavenly Mechanism Art?"

Xia Diansi stared at Mo Hua's clear eyes, astonished. "You don't know what Heavenly Mechanism Art is?"

Mo Hua nodded.

He actually knew a little.

But what he knew was all guesswork, pieced together from experience.

It was a back-alley method—not worthy of the scholarly hall.

He had no idea what true, systematic, academic Heavenly Mechanism Art actually was.

So saying he didn't know what Heavenly Mechanism Art was wasn't a lie.

Xia Diansi frowned. "Then what did you just use?"

Mo Hua blinked. "I learned it from an old Daoist Priest in my hometown in Li Province—a man with tattered clothes, a kind heart, and a gentle face, who passed through."

"It's a divination method for finding paths—using spiritual awareness to 'divine' the correct route, helping locate people or objects lost in the mountains."

Mo Hua spoke with convincing seriousness.

Xia Diansi herself knew nothing of Heavenly Mechanism Art—only scraps she'd heard—and after brief consideration, she found Mo Hua's explanation plausible.

The so-called "divination-for-paths" method was likely a folk technique, a low-tier offshoot of Heavenly Mechanism Art, passed among low-level cultivators.

It could occasionally glimpse minor karmic threads, but compared to true Heavenly Mechanism Art, it was as different as clouds from mud.

As for the tattered-clothed, kind-hearted, gentle-faced old Daoist Priest…

That didn't seem implausible.

The cultivation world did have many wandering sages and eccentric mystics.

It was normal for them to possess strange methods.

Xia Diansi secretly exhaled in relief.

She'd thought: how could anyone, mere Foundation Establishment realm, possibly learn Heavenly Mechanism Art…

Still, Xia Diansi warned Mo Hua:

"Don't use this method lightly before others, and don't recklessly divine…"

"Why?" Mo Hua asked.

Xia Diansi spoke with a solemn expression:

"Though it's only a minor karmic technique, it still touches on 'karma'—it drains spiritual awareness excessively, disturbs your own fortune, and worst of all, if you 'divine' the karma of a powerful cultivator, you risk provoking a high elder and suffering karmic backlash—and you're only Foundation Establishment…"

Xia Diansi looked at Mo Hua, her face filled with concern: "... this violent karmic backlash is something a child like you cannot bear."

There was karmic backlash too…

Mo Hua's heart tightened slightly; he nodded solemnly, his expression grave.

He then realized that, along his journey, he had indeed settled many karmic debts, but none had ever angered any "high cultivator" or drawn karmic backlash.

He didn't know whether it was his own good fortune, or if his master had secretly arranged protections, silently guarding him.

Regardless, he would have to be more careful from now on.

As for the Water Yama matter, it should still be fine for now—at least karmically, there wouldn't be too many concerns.

The three of them then rowed their boat, silently advancing along the waterway Mo Hua had divined.

The further they went, the more complex the river became, and the harder it was to discern direction.

This was the lower reaches, where silt had accumulated, occasional shoals sprouted waist-high weeds.

So their small boat had to stop frequently as it moved forward.

Mo Hua took out his broken knife, performed another "divination," then reconfirmed their direction.

Xia Diansi watched Mo Hua in silence, growing more and more puzzled.

All celestial secrets, karmic calculations, and spiritual perception techniques consumed spiritual awareness—especially those involving celestial destiny and karmic algorithms, which drained it even more.

Yet this young boy had performed "divination" so many times along the way, and his spiritual awareness hadn't been exhausted.

Just how deep was his spiritual awareness?

Xia Diansi was startled.

Of course, no matter how strong Mo Hua's spiritual awareness was, it couldn't be used endlessly.

Moreover, such computational divinations involved two celestial destiny algorithms—extremely difficult.

After calculating a few more times, Mo Hua's spiritual awareness was nearly depleted.

But before him still lay clusters of waterweeds, the surroundings hazy, no figures visible, no other clues.

Mo Hua then steadied his resolve and began meditating to restore his spiritual awareness.

About half an hour later, Mo Hua opened his eyes; his spiritual awareness had recovered more than half.

But he couldn't calculate again.

Using celestial tricks to amplify celestial divination damaged the mind sea.

He had already calculated too many times; his mind sea was already faintly throbbing.

Spiritual awareness could be restored through meditation, but damage to the mind sea could not.

Moreover, waterways were not like land routes—especially such complex waters—finding paths via celestial divination was far more difficult.

Mo Hua sighed.

This Wang Ba, the Water Yama, really knew how to pick a hiding place.

Gu Changhuai noticed Mo Hua's face had slightly paled and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Mo Hua nodded. "I'm fine, but…"

He looked at the waterweeds, mudflats, shallows, and uneven water channels all jumbled together, helplessly said:

"It seems we won't make it today…"

Xia Diansi looked up at the sky and added:

"It's getting late. If these river bandits are nocturnal, we'll be easily spotted if we delay until nightfall."

"And at night, it's pitch black, the river is treacherous, water spirits roam—it could be dangerous…"

The two Jin Dan cultivators didn't mind much.

The danger was to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua was only Foundation Establishment mid-stage, his blood qi weak; if danger struck at night, he'd likely not survive.

Gu Changhuai said, "Let's return for now and come back tomorrow."

Mo Hua nodded.

But inwardly, he felt a pang of reluctance.

They had come this far, and now they were turning back.

Even though they could return tomorrow, some matters benefit from prompt action—who knew what changes might occur after a day?

As Mo Hua was pondering this, Gu Changhuai had already turned the boat around; the small vessel drifted slowly back.

After drifting for a while, Mo Hua suddenly froze—he sensed something unusual, quickly closed his eyes, extended his spiritual awareness to its utmost, sensing everything around.

Soon, a faint, intermittent voice reached his ears.

"Savior…"

Mo Hua paused, looked down toward the sound.

Only then did he notice, beside the boat's edge, a tiny silver fish was frantically thrashing its tail, chasing their boat.

"…Little Silver Fish?"

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