Chapter 429 - Disappearance

Chapter 429: Chapter 423 Disappearance

The mine was showing abnormalities, we couldn’t stay long.

So Mo Hua and the others left the mine and reached South Yue City, where they found a place to rest for a while.

Wang Lai was covered in wounds, looking miserable, but he was still breathing.

Mo Hua woke him up and took the chance to ask him some more questions.

As dawn was breaking and no further information could be extracted, Mo Hua handed Wang Lai over to Situ Fang.

At the same time, he recounted all the actions of Wang Lai and these ruffians.

Old Yu and the other two stood by as witnesses.

Situ Fang was both shocked and enraged upon hearing this.

She had never imagined that Wang Lai and these scoundrels could do such heinous things.

Killing for Spirit Stones and then trying to swindle compensation.

Situ Fang’s brows furrowed with anger as she said:

“Leave the rest to me. I’ll take Wang Lai to the Taoist Prison first, extract the names of his accomplices, and then round them all up!”

“The Taoist Court… there won’t be any problems, right?” Mo Hua asked.

The Taoist Court in South Yue City was different from the one in Tongxian City; its workings were murky, and the Court Leader was not necessarily a good person either.

Situ Fang frowned, pondered for a moment, and then sighed:

“I’ll just be careful. If I follow the procedures strictly, even the Court Leader shouldn’t be able to object.”

Mo Hua nodded, “Okay, then be careful, Sister Situ.”

“Don’t worry.”

Situ Fang nodded and then looked at Mo Hua and his companions with a sense of gratitude:

“We really owe you big this time.”

Mo Hua waved his hand dismissively, “It was nothing, no trouble at all.”

Situ Fang gave his shoulder a pat, “I’ll treat you to a meal someday.”

Then she left with Wang Lai in custody.

Old Yu and the other two expressed their heartfelt thanks to Mo Hua.

“Thank you, all three young masters, thank you!”

“Many thanks to our benefactor!”

“There’s no need for thanks. Go home and take care of your injuries,” Mo Hua said.

After another round of deep bows, they finally left, feeling the fortune of surviving such an ordeal, their hearts unburdened.

They had narrowly escaped death in the mine.

And they had also narrowly avoided being eternally separated from their families…

After the trio departed, Bai Zisheng asked Mo Hua:

“What do we do now?”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, “I need to go back to the mine.”

Bai Zisheng was startled, “Have you lost your mind? Are you going back to court death?”

Mo Hua pointed towards the sky.

The sun was hanging high in the sky.

It was then that Bai Zisheng realized it was daylight.

Even if the mine was “haunted,” that would be an issue during the middle of the night.

“What are you going to do in the mine now?” Bai Zisheng inquired.

Mo Hua’s gaze grew deep, “I want to see… what has become of the corpses of those scoundrels…”

Bai Zisheng’s expression grew solemn, “Then we should go together.”

Mo Hua shook his head, “No need, I can go alone. You don’t know the Concealment Technique, and although our cloaks have the Concealment Formation, the formation isn’t perfect. It’s fine to use at night, but in daylight, there will still be faint traces, making it easy to be discovered.”

Bai Zisheng was somewhat indifferent, “So what if we’re discovered? It’s no big deal…”

No one in this mine could stop him.

But Mo Hua said, “This mine belongs to the Lu Family. There could be Foundation Building cultivators stationed here during the day. If we’re discovered by them, even if we escape, we’ll alarm others and expose our whereabouts…”

“Once the Lu Family becomes vigilant, anything else we need to investigate will become inconvenient.”

“But if you go alone and encounter a Foundation Building cultivator, won’t you be in danger?” Bai Zisheng countered.

Mo Hua shook his head, “The Lu Family’s Foundation Building cultivators won’t detect me.”

He knew the Concealment Technique and had the Concealment Formation, and with his Divine Sense of the Foundation Building twelve patterns, the Lu Family’s Foundation Building cultivators couldn’t find him.

“Oh, right.” Bai Zisheng nodded but still looked worried.

Bai Zixi then said, “You go in alone, and we’ll cover you from the outside.”

Mo Hua wanted to protest, but Bai Zixi just looked at him calmly, her voice gentle but firm:

“I am your senior sister.”

Mo Hua had no choice but to agree.

So after a bit more rest, they set off again and returned to the Lu Family mine.

By then, the sky was fully bright, with the morning glow filling the heavens.

The mine had already started its operations.

Mining cultivators came to the mine one after another, enduring the heat, gripping their mining picks, and harvesting ore with each successive strike.

The mine was once again a bustling and noisy place, devoid of the sinister quiet of night.

Mo Hua, with his figure concealed, boldly walked into the mine.

Indeed, there was a Lu Family Elder, a Foundation Building cultivator, sitting to one side in the shade drinking tea, watching the mining cultivators toil.

Next to him was an attractive servant girl fanning him.

Mo Hua passed by him leisurely.

The elder was completely unaware, his eyes darting lasciviously over the curves of the servant girl.

Mo Hua shook his head at this disgraceful sight as he passed by.

He moved through the crowd, entered the mine, and walked deep inside, arriving at the spot where Wang Lai’s murder attempt had taken place the night before.

The area was deserted, not a mining cultivator in sight.

There was no sign of anyone’s presence.

The disturbances in the mine from the night before, along with the ruffians Mo Hua had left there, had all vanished without a trace.

No mining cultivators were around because this was a deep, secluded and quiet part of the mine, with no ore to be mined, so cultivators seldom came this way.

But what about those scoundrels?

Dead? No remains?

They committed so many evils, their death is of no consequence, let alone the absence of their remains.

But Mo Hua wanted to know, how exactly did they die…

Mo Hua released his Divine Sense, in the void-like white vision, sensing everything around him.

The stone walls were cold, showing a faint blackish-grey color.

There was Blood Qi around, thin and weak, left from last night, and it had almost dissipated all but completely.

Amidst the various traces of Blood Qi, some mingled with pitch-black Qi of death, meandering on the ground, extending along the stone walls into the distance.

Mo Hua silently opened his eyes, his Divine Sense locked onto this trace of Blood Qi, following it along the stone wall, step by step.

After walking the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the trail of Blood Qi ended.

In front was a stone wall.

A sweep of his Divine Sense and Mo Hua knew that there was a Formation on the stone wall.

And behind the stone wall, surely, were the mine tunnels dug by the Lu Family.

Mo Hua’s gaze became focused.

“From the traces… these scoundrels were dragged by something, all the way into the mine tunnels…”

What happened inside the mine tunnels, Mo Hua did not know.

But with high probability, these scoundrels and those five missing Mining Cultivators were eaten by something…

Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, wanting to unlock the Formation and take another look inside the mine tunnels.

But as soon as his brush touched, he stopped.

His Divine Sense twitched slightly, he calculated for a moment, then slowly put away the brush.

“They have actually… reinforced the Formation…”

The stone wall wasn’t just sturdier, but there were also layers upon layers of Early Warning Formations drawn inside it.

Mo Hua could unlock these Formations, but he wasn’t sure if doing so would cause any disturbances, which might alert the Lu Family’s Cultivators.

Or perhaps, the Lu Family deliberately created Formations with the intention of setting a trap?

Mo Hua weighed his options and decided it was better not to take any risks.

If he were caught by the Lu Family inside the mine, it would be quite problematic.

Mo Hua sighed and turned to leave, yet his mind was shrouded with doubt.

What exactly were the Lu Family using these mine tunnels for?

And what secrets truly lay within those mine tunnels…

Frowning, Mo Hua couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the conversation of nearby Mining Cultivators as he left.

But he didn’t hear anything useful.

Moreover, the Mining Cultivators nearby had not noticed those scoundrels either.

Those scoundrels had just vanished, just like those five Mining Cultivators, disappeared into the depths of the mine…

After leaving the mine, Mo Hua met up with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.

“Found anything?” Bai Zixi asked.

Mo Hua spoke of the scoundrels’ affair.

Bai Zisheng snorted, “They got what they deserved!”

Then he also wondered, “Is the Lu Family up to some shady business?”

Mo Hua shook his head, “It’s still unclear.”

“If not the Lu Family, then someone else?”

“Didn’t that Wang Lai mention a grey-clothed Cultivator?”

Mo Hua nodded, “At this point, we can only start from that grey-clothed Cultivator.”

The three of them then made their way back.

On the way, Mo Hua’s expression still seemed somewhat disheartened.

Bai Zixi asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Hua sighed, “I’m worried about Instructor Yan…”

“Sister Situ said that after Instructor Yan entered the mine, he disappeared without a trace, and since then no one has seen him again…”

“I’m afraid he might have been harmed by Wang Lai and the others…”

Bai Zisheng couldn’t help but nod, “It’s possible…”

Upon hearing this, Mo Hua’s worry intensified, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

Bai Zixi gave her brother a light glare and said softly to Mo Hua:

“The righteous man will be protected by heaven, Mr. Yan may not have necessarily met with harm.”

Bai Zisheng, realizing his blunder, scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly:

“I was just speaking off the cuff, don’t take it to heart. Mr. Yan might have found other clues and left South Yue City to investigate on his own.”

Mo Hua knew his siblings were trying to comfort him, and although he thought what they said didn’t make much sense, he still felt a little better.

“Let’s hope Instructor Yan is indeed blessed by heaven…”

Mo Hua silently sighed.

Seeing that Mo Hua was still not cheerful, Bai Zisheng changed the subject:

“That grey-clothed Cultivator, shall we investigate him?”

Mo Hua nodded, “We must.”

Without trade, there would be no slaying.

It was the grey-clothed Cultivator who wanted to buy the bodies, thus he led Wang Lai and the others to kill the Mining Cultivators.

The root of the problem lay with that grey-clothed Cultivator.

Even if Wang Lai were taken out of the picture, there would be others—Zhao Lai, Qian Lai, Li Lai…

As long as the grey-clothed Cultivator remained, other Cultivators would, for the sake of Spirit Stones, murder Mining Cultivators and sell their bodies.

To eradicate evil, one must go to the root.

Bai Zisheng nodded vigorously in agreement.

Then he thought of another issue: “Wang Lai said, he met with the grey-clothed Cultivator at a Brothel, so…”

Bai Zisheng asked seriously:

“Do we need to go to the Brothel?”

This question also stumped Mo Hua.