Chapter 837: Hatred
As the Lantern Festival approached, Yanshui City bustled with activity.
The streets were packed with carriages and people, cultivators of every kind weaving past one another. The markets were dense and clamorous with noise.
Mo Hua and his companions found a small tavern and booked a private room. After ensuring no one was eavesdropping, they began to speak in hushed voices.
"At a time like this, it seems like the sect's higher-ups aren't too eager to launch the boats…"
"But there's been a lot of pressure from below. Everyone's counting on this for extra income."
"Besides, the heat has passed. The Dao Court has already backed off. Haven't seen any major moves."
"As for the higher-level Dao Court… they've always just put on a show. If something happens, they take some spirit stones and smooth things over—it's brushed under the rug."
"Other clans are pressuring too. After all, it's not just us… not just the Yin Water Sect making a living off this. Others want their piece of the meat too…"
"So this time, the boats will still set sail—just more discreetly."
…
Wang Chen shared everything he knew with Mo Hua.
Mo Hua nodded. Seeing Wang Chen looking worried, he said:
"Don't worry. I've filed a report for you with the Dao Court. You're being coerced by your sect. As long as you don't waver and don't make any big mistakes, once the Yin Water Sect gets exposed, you'll be cleared of responsibility."
Wang Chen was overjoyed and cupped his hands.
"Many thanks…"
He glanced at Mo Hua, unsure how to address him.
Hao Xuan gave him a nudge.
"Call him Little Senior Brother."
"Oh," Wang Chen mumbled and followed along, "Many thanks, Little Senior Brother."
Mo Hua gave a small nod, silently accepting the title.
"All the Yin Water Sect boats will stay docked during the day. After sunset, around the time of You hour (5–7 PM), they'll all set out together into the Yanshui River."
"Some of the boats are normal pleasure boats for tourists to release lanterns and enjoy the view. But others—though they look the same on the outside—have different destinations… and very different purposes."
Wang Chen explained to Mo Hua.
"We have to wait till sunset…" Mo Hua murmured.
Wang Chen nodded.
"But you can board early. I've already spoken to the senior brother in charge. He'll let you all aboard in advance. You can hang out on the boat a while, get a feel for things. Once You hour hits, you'll naturally depart with the rest toward the real destination."
"That senior brother of yours… is he reliable?" Cheng Mo asked.
Wang Chen hesitated.
"Honestly, not really. But he's greedy. I gave him some spirit stones. As long as the money's good, he should be trustworthy enough."
"Good." Mo Hua nodded.
With the plan settled, Wang Chen led the group to a large, elegant cruise ship.
Disciples of the Yin Water Sect stood guard at the boarding point, checking tokens to allow guests on.
"Little Senior Brother, wait a moment," Wang Chen said, then ran ahead to speak with a senior brother guarding the boat.
That disciple glanced over at Mo Hua and the others, gave a slight nod, then waved them forward.
"Follow me," he said brusquely, leading the way.
But he didn't take them directly onto the ship. Instead, he brought them to a quiet, isolated storage house nearby and said bluntly:
"100,000 spirit stones per person."
Mo Hua was stunned.
"That expensive?!"
The Yin Water Sect disciple sneered.
"Do you know what kind of place you're going to? That's a paradise of ecstasy! 100,000 is already discounted—only because of Brother Wang. Normally it'd be at least 110,000."
Mo Hua hesitated, but finally clenched his teeth and agreed.
"Fine…"
This was all for the investigation. If it were up to him, not even a beating would get him to spend that kind of money.
And anyway, he planned to get it reimbursed by Uncle Gu later.
Hao Xuan and the others winced too, but as scions of noble families, they could afford it—and Mo Hua had said this was an official mission from the Dao Court. There was merit to be earned.
Merit couldn't be bought with spirit stones.
So spending some for the sake of merit? Worth it.
Those short on spirit stones could use high-grade spiritual artifacts of equivalent value instead.
Everyone handed over storage bags filled with either spirit stones or spirit tools.
But when it was Mo Hua's turn, the Yin Water Sect disciple looked him up and down, paused, and then suddenly refused.
"Not him."
"Why not?" Wang Chen asked, confused.
The disciple turned serious.
"You guys know what kind of place I'm taking you to, right?"
He pointed at Mo Hua and lowered his voice.
"He looks like… the type to visit a brothel to you?"
Mo Hua had had it.
Getting rejected once was bad enough—now twice?!
He snapped,
"What do you mean I don't look like the type?!"
Situ Jian quickly tugged at his sleeve, half-laughing, half-crying.
This wasn't something to be proud of…
No need to get hung up on this insult.
But the Yin Water Sect disciple wouldn't budge. No matter what they said, even if they offered more spirit stones, he refused to let Mo Hua on the boat.
Even Wang Chen pleading didn't help.
"Sure, I love making a little money on the side," the disciple admitted, "But there are still rules. I can't be too obvious about bending them."
"His face is too fresh. Just no. No way."
In the end, there was no persuading him.
Mo Hua had no choice but to watch helplessly as Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Hao Xuan boarded without him.
He was frustrated—and worried about them too.
But thankfully, he'd prepared in advance.
Each of them carried arrays he'd crafted for protection, just in case something went wrong.
He also gave them water-resistant armor and taught them spells for repelling water and aquatic beasts—if anything seemed off, they were to jump ship and escape immediately.
Situ Jian even carried a message talisman—an official Dao Court item Mo Hua had begged off Gu Changhuai.
Yanshui City was far from the Great Void Sect, and without a Primordial Magnetic Core Relay, regular talismans might not work well on the river.
So a talisman that didn't rely on those relays and could transmit one-to-one within a certain range was critical.
As for Mo Hua himself—he'd have to figure out another way to sneak aboard.
He wandered the city for a while.
Yanshui City was crisscrossed by branches of the Yanshui River, so there were many docks—and at every one, elegant cruise ships lined up, waiting for the evening launch at You hour.
The problem was: from the outside, all the ships looked the same—colorful and ornate. You couldn't tell which were regular boats and which were the hidden Rouge Boats.
And even if he spotted one, he still had to get on it.
Mo Hua tried a few different ways—but couldn't find the Rouge Boats, nor a way to blend in.
With the sun nearing noon, he decided to eat first and see if a full belly might spark a new idea.
He picked a nearby food stall in the market for convenience, chose a few of his favorite side dishes, and ate his fill with some noodles.
The bill came to five spirit stones.
The shop owner held the five stones with a beaming smile, showering Mo Hua with compliments.
But Mo Hua suddenly froze.
Five spirit stones…
For ordinary cultivators working hard just to get by, spirit stones were earned one by one—and spent the same way.
But on those pleasure boats…
A single ticket cost one hundred thousand.
Mo Hua turned and glanced around.
Between the market stalls, most were just small vendors. Their trades rarely involved more than a spirit stone or two.
Yet despite that, they toiled on without complaint, struggling just to live.
In this world, some cultivators scraped by on a few measly spirit stones…
While others, for a moment of pleasure, could burn through hundreds of thousands without blinking.
Yanshui City's lantern festival was filled with traffic and color, giving an air of prosperity.
But was that prosperity… even real?
Beneath the surface, who among this so-called "flourishing world" truly saw these struggling, impoverished cultivators?
Mo Hua's pupils contracted slightly, a bitter emotion rising in his chest.
"The path of man is to rob the lacking to serve the excessive…"
So-called prosperity might just be the result of exploitation—once it reaches a certain degree.
And when things go to extremes… they always reverse.
A prosperity built on exploitation was, in truth, just another form of decay.
Unbidden, Mo Hua thought of the Qian Clan Patriarch from Mount Black, and the master uncle who raised Dao Aberrants for power.
He let out a soft, silent sigh.
After finishing his meal, Mo Hua continued wandering Yanshui City.
But there was still no progress regarding the Rouge Boat.
"Should I go find Uncle Gu and sneak in with his people?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Uncle Gu's group from the Dao Court had too many eyes. For something this covert, he definitely couldn't move with them.
Never put all your eggs in one basket.
Besides… he absolutely could not let Uncle Gu find out he was rejected from boarding just because he "didn't look like someone who'd visit a brothel."
"Then what do I do?"
Mo Hua racked his brain but came up with nothing—so he decided to try divination.
He went to a teahouse, asked for a private room, ordered a pot of cloud-mist tea, and as the steam swirled around him, pulled out three copper coins.
"What should I divine? The Rouge Boat?"
He hesitated for a moment, then prepared to toss the coins—but in that instant, a powerful tremor shook his heart.
He suddenly saw a swirl of dark purple karmic threads… a giant opium poppy opening its maw to devour him whole—
Mo Hua's pupils constricted. He clenched the coins tightly and stopped the reading.
"I can't divine it…"
The name Rouge Boat itself seemed soaked in heavy karma.
It felt like if he divined it, something hidden would stir… and someone would notice. He might draw danger down upon himself.
That moment's vision—it was a premonition. A karmic warning.
"If I can't divine that, then what do I divine?"
Mo Hua thought again. His divine sense flickered.
Maybe it wasn't that he couldn't divine—just that the words "Rouge Boat" couldn't be used as the focus.
Divining Rouge Boat brought karmic risk—but that didn't mean everything was off-limits.
He'd just need to go at it sideways.
What else could he use?
Water Yama? Yin Water Sect? The Yanshui River altar?
Each of these felt soaked in heavy karma too…
He thought for a moment—then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Senior Sister Ye!"
Senior Sister Ye might've just been an insignificant victim in the Rouge Boat incident—but her karmic connection could still serve as a thread.
Mo Hua opened his palm once more, silently muttered "Ye Jin's death," then tossed the copper coins. When they landed, he examined the pattern.
Two heads, one tails.
But the two heads were stacked atop each other.
"What does that mean…?"
Mo Hua frowned in confusion.
He hadn't inherited any proper Heaven's Secrets technique. Basic copper coin divinations were already a stretch.
"Does that mean there were two culprits?"
One head, one tail.
But why were those two heads overlapping?
Unable to figure it out, he decided to simplify the question even more.
"The killer who caused Ye Jin's death…"
No, wait. She committed suicide.
"The person who forced her to suicide?"
Possibly more than one. Too messy to ask.
Then maybe…
"Someone related to Ye Jin…"
He tossed the coins again.
This time, the result was clearer—three coins in a straight line, with a soft white karmic current drifting over them.
A direction?
He wasn't sure, but guessed he'd gotten it right.
He put the coins away, paid for the tea, and followed the karmic thread's pull out of the teahouse.
He crossed streets, passed through marketplaces, and reached a ferry dock. After weaving past rows of colorful spirit boats, the karmic current finally lingered around a smaller, somewhat shabby-looking pleasure boat.
It stood out for how unremarkable it was.
Mo Hua looked up and studied it carefully.
There were no visible insignia on the boat. It wasn't clear if it belonged to a sect or a noble clan.
And the vessel clearly had some years on it. The design was outdated. Whatever it had been used for before, it had now been hastily converted into a tour boat.
Among the many extravagant pleasure ships, this one barely drew attention.
People were boarding and disembarking freely—but all entry required a token.
"So this boat… carries Ye Jin's karma?"
Mo Hua furrowed his brow.
The ship had an illusion-concealing formation, and without a token, he couldn't sneak aboard.
For now, he found a nearby tea stall and sat down to observe.
After about half an hour, as he was sipping tea, a sudden jolt ran through his heart.
He looked up.
A blue-robed cultivator had just disembarked.
Middle-aged, aura at the peak of Foundation Establishment. His hair was half-white, his expression calm, gaze indifferent—but deep within his eyes, there lingered a hint of grief and stubbornness.
As he walked, passing cultivators greeted him with respectful nods.
He returned each greeting with solemn courtesy.
"Water Yama?" Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, then he muttered inwardly, "No… that's not him."
Water Yama had lost an arm to Uncle Gu—not a light injury.
And this blue-robed cultivator bore no such wounds.
The aura around him was also completely different from Water Yama's.
As Mo Hua was still thinking, the blue-robed man disembarked and headed straight for a nearby tavern.
Mo Hua hesitated a moment, then followed. He saw the man head upstairs alone and enter a private room, seemingly for a meeting. Not long after, two other cultivators exited.
These two were dressed in plain clothes, but Mo Hua could sense a strong presence of water spiritual energy on them.
"People from the Yin Water Sect…"
Moreover, the two were muttering as they walked:
"That old man didn't even haggle when hiring his boat…"
"…We fleeced him good…"
Sounded like they had just done a deal.
Though they kept their voices low, Mo Hua still caught the words.
After they left, Mo Hua fell into brief thought—and soon a plan took shape in his mind.
He got up and headed upstairs, walking right up to the blue-robed man's room and pushing the door open without ceremony.
Inside, the cultivator was frowning in contemplation. Upon being interrupted, his expression turned annoyed.
But the moment he saw Mo Hua's face, he froze slightly.
"Young master… I don't believe we know each other?"
His eyes darkened as he spoke.
"That's fine. You know me now."
Mo Hua got straight to the point. "I'd like you to do me a small favor."
The man frowned deeper. "What favor?"
Mo Hua said slowly, "Take me aboard your boat. Wherever you're going tonight—I want to go too."
The cultivator's expression immediately changed. He sneered coldly:
"You must be joking, young master. Ye's boat is full. I'm afraid there's no room."
He gave a curt wave of his sleeve and rose to leave.
Mo Hua raised a brow and spoke in a deep voice:
"Ye Hong."
The cultivator froze, turned to Mo Hua with a grave expression. "You… know me?"
After a moment's thought, realization dawned.
If this youth didn't know him, how could he have walked in so brazenly?
He looked Mo Hua over once more.
The boy wasn't wearing any sect robes, just simple traveling clothes. Yet his looks were striking—his face like carved jade, his gaze clear as water, and his bearing extraordinary. Even as a long-time clan elder himself, Ye Hong found the youth's presence not inferior to his own.
He could tell the young man wasn't someone to mess with.
"Even if you know me, it makes no difference. The boat's full. I can't take on another. Please see yourself out."
Ye Hong offered a perfunctory cupped-fist salute and walked past him, eyes straight ahead, not sparing Mo Hua another glance.
But just as he reached the doorway, Mo Hua's cold voice echoed behind him:
"Your children… both dead, aren't they?"
Ye Hong's body jolted violently. He spun around, eyes red, and asked in a trembling voice:
"Who… who are you?"
Mo Hua's tone was calm. "Don't you want revenge?"
Ye Hong tried to suppress his emotions and replied flatly:
"Birth, aging, illness, and death—such is the way of life. Death is inevitable. My children merely left before I did…"
But Mo Hua continued, each word like a dagger:
"Your son died on the Yanshui River. His boat was capsized, his throat slit, and his body torn apart by water demons."
"Your daughter died in the sect. She set herself on fire—burned herself alive—just to become a wrathful spirit, to seek vengeance on those who wronged her…"
Each word stabbed deep into the man's heart.
His fists clenched tightly, nails digging into flesh. In the end, he let out a low sigh and said numbly:
"They're dead. What's the use of talking now? I'm just surviving… waiting out my remaining years."
"No," Mo Hua shook his head, locking eyes with him. "You want revenge."
He could clearly sense it—the deep, suffocating rage in the man's soul. The immense hatred.
A middle-aged man. Both children gone.
The blood-red fury of a father with no outlet.
Having his true emotions exposed, Ye Hong's expression changed drastically. A trace of killing intent even surfaced in his eyes.
But Mo Hua remained calm.
"If you don't trust me, you'll never get your revenge."
Never…
Never ever!
That phrase lit a fuse.
Ye Hong's face twisted in fury. All the resentment he had buried began to boil over. His mind teetered, almost losing control.
In an instant, blood filled his eyes as he glared at Mo Hua like a sworn enemy.
But just then—a faint golden sword-light flashed in Mo Hua's eyes.
For a single moment, their gazes locked.
And then—like an avalanche—the killing intent and rage that had surged within Ye Hong collapsed into dust.
His divine sense screamed with pain, his mind turned cloudy.
But Mo Hua had held back, merely brushing the edge.
A moment later, Ye Hong recovered. His killing intent faded. His mind cleared.
He glanced at Mo Hua, eyes filled with wariness—and a deep sense of dread.
"You… who are you?"
Mo Hua said nothing. His expression was as calm as still water.
Ye Hong understood the boy wasn't ready to reveal his identity.
So he stopped asking.
After a long silence and a deeply furrowed brow, he let out a sigh and said in a low voice:
"Fine. So long as I can avenge my children, I'll do anything…"
(End of Chapter)