Chapter 640: Clues
Chapter 640: Clues
These "spirit beasts" are actually people? Chickens, ducks, cattle, horses, and even sows and cranes, are all code names for different cultivators?
Mo Hua's pupils narrowed.
The message scroll contained an account book.
The book recorded a large number of entries.
This implied that the Vultures...
Their activities weren't just simple kidnapping and trafficking; they were likely engaging in large-scale cultivator trafficking behind the scenes.
Treating people as commodities, selling them like spirit beasts! Mo Hua's eyes turned cold. That bastard Vulture deserved a slow and painful death for his crimes...
Looking at the long list of "spirit beast accounts" that had been restored, Mo Hua furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
While the Vultures were powerful, they weren't strong enough to carry out such large-scale forbidden dealings on their own.
They were probably just a small part of a bigger organization.
A link in the entire trafficking chain.
There must be other evil cultivators involved in this chain.
Moreover, with such a large number of cultivators being trafficked, it was surprising that things seemed calm on the surface, with no signs of any trouble.
This indicated that the Vultures had a well-established and stable criminal process.
A deep-rooted chain of interests.
Perhaps they even had "dark umbrellas" protecting them from the shadows...
It was highly possible that they had a powerful cultivator backing them, helping them conceal their tracks.
Mo Hua pondered for a moment, sighed, and quietly put the message scroll away into his storage ring.
This matter would have to wait...
For now, he didn't have the strength, connections, or knowledge to deal with it. Later, when he had gained more power, built a network of allies, and understood the inner workings of this scheme, he would find a way to get to the bottom of it.
Until then, this message scroll must be kept a secret from everyone.
Otherwise, he would only be inviting trouble.
As a small cultivator, alone in the Qian Xue State, he had no one to rely on. If he recklessly involved himself in this matter and attracted the attention of the hidden forces behind it, he might not be able to protect himself.
Even if Elder Xun and Wan'er wanted to protect him, they might not be able to.
He couldn't depend too much on others.
Nor could he cause them too much trouble.
Mo Hua nodded slightly.
His master had warned him about the dangers of standing out.
Even his powerful master, with his profound skill in divination, had been schemed against and trapped in a desperate situation, his life hanging in the balance.
Since he was weaker than his master, Mo Hua knew that to ensure his survival, he had to learn to "hide".
To hide from the chains of cause and effect.
Even if he had to make a move, he would position himself in an "insignificant" role.
With his decision made, Mo Hua put away the Vulture's message scroll and temporarily set the matter aside.
For now, his priority was to capture the Fire Buddha.
...
The next day was a rest day.
Mo Hua, holding Yu'er's hand, and accompanied by Wen Ren Wei, boarded a luxurious horse carriage and left the ancient and elegant Tai Xu Gate, heading towards the Gu family in Qingzhou City.
Upon arriving at the Gu family residence, Yu'er went to report her cultivation progress to Wen Ren Wan.
As a strict and prestigious family, the Gu family had rigorous requirements for their direct descendants' cultivation.
Yu'er had been weak and frail due to the nightmares that plagued her, so naturally, she had fallen behind in her cultivation.
But now, with Mo Hua by her side, she was eating and sleeping well, and her vitality had returned. Naturally, she had to make up for the cultivation she had missed.
Mo Hua greeted Wen Ren Wan and exchanged a few pleasantries before going to find Gu Chang Huai.
A Gu family disciple led Mo Hua to Gu Chang Huai's study.
The study was immaculately clean and elegant, with a touch of luxury.
It was clearly the study of a well-bred young master from a prestigious family.
On the nearby screen, a colorful peacock was embroidered, its neck craned and its tail feathers proudly displayed, looking rather flamboyant.
It matched Mo Hua's "stereotyped" impression of Uncle Gu.
The disciple who had led Mo Hua to the study bowed and retreated after reaching the door.
Mo Hua stood at the door and glanced into the study, curious about what Uncle Gu was doing.
Gu Chang Huai, aware of Mo Hua's arrival, sighed, "Come in."
Mo Hua entered without hesitation.
Gu Chang Huai sat behind a redwood and gold desk.
Mo Hua looked around and, seeing no other chairs, moved a stool from the side and placed it in front of the desk, sitting down opposite Gu Chang Huai.
Gu Chang Huai sighed again.
This kid really didn't treat him like an outsider...
Mo Hua then brought up the main topic. "Uncle Gu, have you found any clues about the Fire Buddha?"
Although Gu Chang Huai's expression clearly showed that there were no new leads and not much progress, Mo Hua still asked out of courtesy.
Gu Chang Huai shook his head, but he didn't seem inclined to say more.
"Then..." Mo Hua asked, "Have you been able to restore Hua Langjun's message scroll?"
Gu Chang Huai's expression turned unpleasant. "No, I couldn't restore it..."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, but he still expressed his disappointment.
Gu Chang Huai silently observed Mo Hua, his brows furrowed. "You seem... rather happy about it."
"No, no..." Mo Hua's response seemed a bit forced.
He had been studying the Yuan Magnetic Array specifically to restore the magnetic patterns and recover the erased text in the message scroll.
If someone else had already restored it, his efforts would have been in vain.
Gu Chang Huai was perplexed, unsure what to make of Mo Hua's reaction.
Mo Hua lowered his voice and tentatively asked, "Uncle Gu, why don't you let me try?"
Gu Chang Huai was taken aback. "Try what?"
"Restoring the message scroll!"
Gu Chang Huai looked at Mo Hua with suspicion. "Are you telling me that in these few days, you've already learned how to restore the magnetic patterns on the message scroll?"
Mo Hua nodded confidently.
Gu Chang Huai fell silent.
He wanted to believe it, and he was willing to believe, but his rational side found it hard to accept.
The Yuan Magnetic Array was a confidential array technique. Most cultivators wouldn't bother learning it, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to master it.
Even for those who could master it, most would only be able to construct the array, not reverse-engineer it.
Array techniques were diverse and boundless, and even some great array masters couldn't claim expertise in every type of array.
Specialization was key.
The same was true for arrays.
Mo Hua was too young. It would be impressive enough if he could solidly grasp some basic arrays, let alone magnetic pattern restoration, a rather niche and highly specialized field. How could he possibly have the spiritual sense and time to delve into such a complex area?
Gu Chang Huai shook his head. "I don't believe it."
"Uncle Gu, why don't you trust me?" Mo Hua asked.
"Nonsense..."
Mo Hua was puzzled. "What's so unbelievable about it?"
"Do you expect me to believe everything you say?" Gu Chang Huai glared at Mo Hua, slightly annoyed. "Why don't you tell me that you've also constructed a grand array before?
"If I say I can, will you believe me?" Mo Hua asked.
Gu Changhuai stared at him expressionlessly. "I'm not an expert in formations, but I'm not completely clueless about them either..."
You're talking about building grand formations...
You little rascal, what are you thinking?
You're blowing your own horn to the skies...
"I really have learned how to restore magnetic patterns!" Mo Hua asserted.
But Gu Changhuai still didn't believe him.
Mo Hua sighed.
Well, if that's the case, then actions speak louder than words. It seemed he would have to show off his skills.
Mo Hua took out the message scroll and handed it to Gu Changhuai. "Uncle Gu, send a secret message on this, without letting me see, then erase it, and I'll 'restore' it for you to see..."
Before Mo Hua could finish, Gu Changhuai's expression changed drastically as he stared at the message scroll, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Thi...This..."
Gu Changhuai pointed at the message scroll, which was now covered in cracks and looked dilapidated, his hand shaking slightly as he spoke with anger in his voice. "Is this the message scroll I gave you? How did you manage to break it so quickly?!"
Mo Hua felt a bit guilty but corrected him anyway. "It's not broken!"
Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua coldly, his expression clearly saying, "Go on, keep talking, let's see how you try to wriggle out of this one."
Mo Hua blinked and explained, "I accidentally took it apart, and it got a few cracks, but it's not that bad. I've fixed it already!"
"Although the exterior looks a bit shabby, its functions are intact and it can still be used," Mo Hua said seriously. "As cultivators, we should not be blinded by appearances but focus on the essence and utility of things..."
Gu Changhuai replied coldly, "You know quite a lot. You can even come up with a bunch of excuses after breaking something..."
Seeing that Gu Changhuai was still angry, Mo Hua quickly said, "That's not the point... I did it to learn magnetic pattern restoration..."
"The sacrifice of this message scroll was worth it!" Mo Hua said earnestly.
"Okay, okay..." Gu Changhuai was still seething with anger. He took the message scroll, sent a few messages, erased them, and then threw the scroll back to Mo Hua.
"Restore it and see what words I just wrote," he challenged.
"Sure," Mo Hua agreed confidently.
He took out his compass and meticulously imprinted the base formation pattern. Then, using his spiritual sense, he observed and recorded the secondary lightning pattern.
Through the formation plate, he superimposed the secondary lightning pattern onto the base pattern and began to deduce the original message.
Gu Changhuai watched as Mo Hua worked with a calm expression and skillful movements, drawing a bunch of formation patterns that he had never seen before. The anger in his heart gradually turned into astonishment.
Although he couldn't understand what Mo Hua was doing, he knew that such a method of deduction was extraordinary...
On the formation plate, the magnetic ink condensed and gradually revealed a few words:
"Little rascal..."
Mo Hua was delighted, but then his expression turned sour as he glared at Gu Changhuai. "Little rascal... Are you talking about me?"
However, Gu Changhuai didn't pay attention to Mo Hua's unhappiness. He was completely stunned, staring at Mo Hua in disbelief. "You... You really restored it?"
This was a technique known only to grand formation masters in the Celestial Pivot Pavilion...
How could you, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, have learned this?
Mo Hua ignored Gu Changhuai's astonished expression and the fact that he had called him a "little rascal." He was proud of his accomplishment.
"I've been learning formations from Elder Xun," Mo Hua boasted.
"Elder Xun..."
Gu Changhuai was taken aback, and then he bowed slightly out of respect.
Although he didn't know who this Elder Xun was, the fact that he was teaching formations in the Tai Xu Gate, one of the Eight Great Sects, and was addressed as "Old Master" meant that he must be extremely experienced and skilled in formations.
If such a formation master was teaching Mo Hua, then everything seemed plausible...
Gu Changhuai's gaze toward Mo Hua changed once again.
However, the idea of letting Mo Hua attempt to restore Hua Langjun's message scroll still made him uneasy.
As if reading Gu Changhuai's mind, Mo Hua asked, "Uncle Gu, where is Hua Langjun's message scroll now?"
Gu Changhuai hesitated for a moment before replying, "It was returned to the Celestial Pivot Pavilion..."
He frowned, "The formation masters there are either too high in status for me to ask for their help, or they don't have the time or simply find it troublesome... In short, no one wants to get involved with the affairs of the Path Court."
"So you can only rely on me, huh?" Mo Hua's eyes sparkled.
Gu Changhuai sighed and nodded. "Come with me to the Path Court, and I'll give you the message scroll. You can try to restore it."
"Okay!" Mo Hua nodded eagerly.
Gu Changhuai shook his head. He never imagined that he, a respected Golden Core cultivator and head of the Path Court, would have to rely on a newly initiated junior cultivator to find clues.
But when you're under the eaves, you have to bow your head...
Gu Changhuai informed Wen Ren Wan of their departure and then set off with Mo Hua back to the Path Court.
After taking care of some formalities, Gu Changhuai retrieved Hua Langjun's message scroll.
It was a jade plaque with a hint of emerald color amidst its luminous white surface.
Mo Hua examined it briefly before infusing it with his spiritual sense to inspect the scroll. Indeed, all the content had been erased, leaving it blank.
After scanning it for a while, Mo Hua noticed that there were no signs of "sealing" or "encryption." Only then did he hand the message scroll back to Gu Changhuai.
"Uncle Gu, help me take it apart," he requested, afraid that he might damage it again.
Gu Changhuai wanted to do it himself, but he hesitated before taking action. He was worried that Mo Hua's inadequate skills might ruin the formation within the message scroll.
However, he soon realized that even if he sent it back to the Celestial Pivot Pavilion for restoration, it would still be damaged. There was no foolproof method to ensure a successful restoration.
If they didn't take this chance now, the message scroll would be useless even if they managed to restore it after Fire Buddha escaped.
With this thought in mind, Gu Changhuai steeled his resolve.
He quickly disassembled the message scroll, his movements deft and skillful. Once the scroll was open, it revealed the underlying formation patterns, which Gu Changhuai then handed over to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua immediately began to imprint the base formation pattern.
Each message scroll had a unique base formation pattern.
This one was quite different from the one on the vulture's scroll.
Mo Hua imprinted the base formation pattern onto the formation plate and then compared it with the annotations in the "Base Magnetic Pattern Annotations" that he had studied. He soon grasped the meaning of these magnetic patterns.
The functional magnetic patterns were mostly the same.
It can only receive messages unilaterally and cannot send text outward."
"Fire Buddha and his crew are indeed quite cautious..."
Mo Hua then proceeded to follow the same steps, using the fixed magnetic pattern as a baseline and the secondary lightning pattern as the "contract" trace of the magnetic flow, to start deducing anew.
Soon, words began to appear on the formation plate...
Gu Chang Huai's heart skipped a beat.
"He actually... really did restore it..."
He glanced at Mo Hua again, his thoughts in turmoil, then turned his head to focus on the words that had been restored on the formation plate.
Because the secondary lightning pattern was ever-changing, no matter how keen Mo Hua's observation was, there would always be some oversights.
Thus, there were some errors in the text.
Moreover, the order of the words was jumbled.
But for the most part, it was still comprehensible...
...
"Lao Liu (Old Six)
... Where are you now?"
"If you mess this up, we're all dead..."
"You son of a bitch..."
"November 1st..."
"The whole family will be wiped out..."
"Everything is ready, and no one is the wiser..."
"Bishan City, Rouge Shop..."
...
"What's so fun about those worn-out flowers?"
"After the deed is done, the young master will reward you with a top-notch beauty, one that you could only dream of licking in your lifetime..."
"Lao Liu, don't miss the timing."
"Lao Liu?"
"If you let your lust get in the way and ruin everything this time, I'll castrate you..."
...
"Big brother is very angry, and the consequences will be dire."
"You're doomed..."
...
Mo Hua and Gu Chang Huai looked at each other after reading the text, both furrowing their brows.
"This tone doesn't sound like Fire Buddha..."
"It's possible that it was sent by one of Fire Buddha's subordinates..."
There didn't seem to be many clues within the message.
For the most part, it contained information they already knew.
It confirmed that Flower Gentleman and Fire Buddha were working together, and they had planned to meet up in Bishan City to wipe out the Xie family.
Aside from that, there were two points that caught Mo Hua's attention.
One was the mention of "young master."
"After the deed is done, the young master will reward you with a top-notch beauty..."
Who was this "young master"? Suddenly, Mo Hua recalled the "account" text he had restored from the Vulture's message scroll, which included an entry: "On the 20th, received a crane from Bai Hua (Hundred Flowers)
and presented it to the young master..."
A crane presented to the "young master."
Was this "young master" the same person in both instances?
Or was it just a coincidence?
After all, this was the Qian Xue State, and there were too many sect disciples with the title "young master."
Even Mo Hua himself was addressed as "Little Young Master..."
Mo Hua glanced at Gu Chang Huai and asked in a low voice, "Uncle Gu, is there any notorious evil cultivator nicknamed 'Young Master'?"
Gu Chang Huai frowned in thought and shook his head, "I've never heard of one..."
Mo Hua nodded.
If Uncle Gu hadn't heard of anyone, then it was likely that this "young master" was someone operating in the shadows...
Currently, the only other clue that caught Mo Hua's attention was the mention of "Rouge Shop."
This was the only explicit location mentioned in the entire message scroll.
It was either a meeting spot.
Or there was a lookout stationed there.
It was even possible that it was their hideout...
Gu Chang Huai seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"Uncle Gu, is there a Rouge Shop in Bishan City?" Mo Hua asked.
Gu Chang Huai pondered, "There are a few..."
"How about we go take a look?" Mo Hua suggested tentatively.
Now that things had come to this point, they had to go check it out no matter what.
Gu Chang Huai nodded and stood up to leave, but he had only taken a few steps when he realized that Mo Hua was following him like a "little tail," keeping pace with him. Clearly, Mo Hua intended to tag along.
Gu Chang Huai didn't want to bring him along, but he also knew that he probably couldn't shake Mo Hua off, so he didn't bother wasting his energy and simply emphasized, "Don't forget our agreement!"
"Mm-hmm." Mo Hua nodded.
Gu Chang Huai sighed and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. His expression turned solemn as he said, "Don't tell anyone else about the magnetic pattern restoration."
"Especially not the people from the Path Court..."
Mo Hua was taken aback, then he understood and nodded slightly, "Rest assured, I know how to keep a secret."
Only then did Gu Chang Huai feel relieved.
The two of them then boarded a horse carriage and set off for Bishan City.
For this trip, Gu Chang Huai didn't bring along any other members of the Path Court. He wanted to keep a low profile.
The horse carriage sped along, bumping along the way, and soon they arrived at Bishan City.
Within Bishan City, there were a total of four rouge shops.
Two of them were larger and more lavishly decorated, with a strong scent of cosmetics. The shops were bustling with male and female customers coming and going.
Another one was doing poorly and was on the verge of closing down.
These three shops didn't seem suspicious.
The questionable one was the last one.
The shop was named simply "Rouge Shop," located in an alley, neither too big nor too small, and it had very few customers, giving off a quiet atmosphere.
The shop indeed displayed various rouge and powders, but they looked old and clearly hadn't been restocked in a while.
Moreover, the entire shop exuded a strange sense of dissonance.
Occasionally, a cultivator would enter, but after a while, they would leave.
Mo Hua and Gu Chang Huai sat in a nearby teahouse, drinking tea and eating sunflower seeds while keeping an eye on the rouge shop's movements.
They didn't act rashly but wanted to observe the situation first.
After watching for quite some time, Mo Hua let out a soft "oh?"
Gu Chang Huai raised an eyebrow, "Did you notice something?"
Mo Hua picked up his teacup and took a sip before quietly lowering his voice and saying, "This shop doesn't have any customers..."
"Although there are men and women coming and going, their appearances are different, but they are actually all the same person..."
Gu Chang Huai revealed a hint of surprise and nodded.
Seeing that Gu Chang Huai didn't seem too shocked, Mo Hua couldn't help but ask curiously, "Uncle Gu, did you also notice that?"
Gu Chang Huai gave a soft hum, "It's just an elementary disguise, how could it escape my eyes..."
Mo Hua felt a bit displeased at his arrogant tone and asked, "Then do you know who this cultivator disguised as a customer is?"
Gu Chang Huai was slightly taken aback.
How would he know that?
He glanced at Mo Hua, "Do you know?"
Mo Hua proudly raised his eyebrows.
Gu Chang Huai frowned in confusion, "How do you know?"
Mo Hua said, "Because not long ago, I was the one who captured him and threw him into the Path Prison!"
I was busy today, so the update is a bit late.
Sorry about that~
(.)
(End of Chapter)
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