Chapter 473 - Clues

Chapter 473: Chapter 462 Clues

Mo Hua finished gathering information and returned to the cave abode of the four disciples and their master.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi had also come back, and they shared the clues they had discovered with Mo Hua.

Bai Zisheng had visited the bustling places like the market towns, teahouses, and restaurants, where he mostly heard about the Lu Family’s misdeeds and scandals.

Bai Zixi, on the other hand, had visited some female cultivators and cultivator’s wives in South Yue City, and she mostly learned about the Lu Family’s gossip and rumors.

Mo Hua began to summarize the information and then listed the suspects.

And he calculated, within the Lu Family, who was most likely to be the traitor?

But the Lu Family was large, and the clan relationships were complicated and intertwined, making them difficult to investigate in a short time.

There were not only native elders of the clan but also guest elders from outside.

Some of the clan’s native elders were not actually considered part of the clan, while some external guest elders might be distantly related by marriage…

Mo Hua looked at the bewildering array of relationships and couldn’t help saying,

“This is so chaotic…”

Bai Zisheng nodded and said, “That’s how clans are, the larger the family, the more complex the bloodlines, interpersonal relationships, and affections…”

“The Lu Family is still manageable, but if it were our Bai Family, it would be even more complicated.”

“Even during festivals and holidays, the rituals and gift-giving involved a whole lot of etiquette.”

Mo Hua felt tired just listening and shook his head helplessly.

Bai Zisheng glanced at the pile of Lu Family relationships in front of him and asked, seaʀᴄh thё Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Do you have the Lu Family’s genealogy? If you have their genealogy, it would be clearer to understand. Otherwise, it would be just a wild guess regarding who is related to whom, who was born to whom, and who shares the same father…”

“The Lu Family genealogy… Outsiders should not be able to get their hands on something like that…”

Mo Hua frowned, then suddenly paused.

He remembered that the Family Head of the Lu Family, Lu Chengyun, seemed to have given him a special “genealogy”.

It was a genealogy that Lu Chengyun had secretly given to Mo Hua in an attempt to lure him into marrying into the family.

Mo Hua opened his Storage Bag and searched through a pile of Formation Books and Formation Diagrams before he found the “genealogy.”

Bai Zisheng exclaimed in surprise, “You actually have it?”

“Yes,” Mo Hua nodded, “it’s only a part of it, but it might help us sort things out.”

Mo Hua spread out the genealogy.

The three of them gathered close together and looked at it.

As they examined it, Bai Zixi realized something was amiss and looked up at Mo Hua with puzzled eyes, saying,

“Why does this genealogy only list young girls?”

Bai Zisheng also nodded in agreement, “And they all seem rather beautiful…”

Mo Hua’s face turned slightly red, “Lu Chengyun gave it to me; I didn’t know.”

Bai Zixi’s gaze became skeptical, “Really didn’t know?”

“Yes, yes,” Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.

Bai Zixi scanned Mo Hua’s face, saw the honest look in his eyes as he met her gaze, and slightly nodded, not pursuing the matter further.

For some reason, Mo Hua felt relieved.

Afterward, the three began sorting through the relationships within the Lu Family.

This genealogy was quite simple, only introducing the main lineage, collateral branches, and other women related to the Lu Family, detailing their blood relations and degrees of closeness.

It also included portraits of the women.

At the same time, it briefly introduced their Spiritual Roots and talents.

These details would likely be considered family secrets.

Had Mo Hua’s talent for formations not been so exceptional, already achieving the rank of a first-grade Formation Master at a young age,

Lu Chengyun would probably never have given him this genealogy.

The genealogy was not complete; it only contained part of the Lu Family’s clan relationships.

But even this part was enough for the three of them to unravel the thread by thread, simplifying the clan’s relationships among the cultivators.

From it, Mo Hua eventually isolated five names:

Lu Huaiyi, Lu Huaisheng, Lu Huaiyi, Pei Cai, and Jiang Long.

The three with the surname Lu were all men who had married into the family.

Moreover, each had at least a basic understanding of formations.

They were quite valued within the Lu Family, wielded real power, and had all managed mines at some point, even occasionally overseeing them to this day.

Pei Cai and Jiang Long, both with differing surnames,

one a revered contributor and the other a guest elder,

both held distinct positions within the Lu Family.

One had married a woman from the Lu Family but was not considered to have married in,

while the other taught formations within the family.

All five appeared very much like the traitor from the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect.

Mo Hua said, “Let’s start by thoroughly investigating these five individuals.”

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi both nodded in agreement.

Thereafter, they spent a month shadowing, following, and inquiring with no significant results.

Lu Huaiyi, Lu Huaisheng, and Lu Huaiyi, despite the fact they had married into the family, had clear and traceable backgrounds before their marriage.

There hadn’t been much change in them, either.

They had been meek before marriage but became arrogant and domineering afterward.

This type of change was consistent with human nature and was not considered abnormal.

As for Pei Cai and Jiang Long,

one practiced cultivation quietly, minding his own business without concerning himself with worldly affairs,

while the other taught formations by day and enjoyed himself on Jinhua Street at night, corrupted by the Lu Family’s decadence yet indulging willingly.

These men did not seem like the type to have deep schemes.

There were no strange or bloody signs to detect.

Mo Hua grew puzzled, “Could I have guessed wrong?”

In the days that followed, there were no further developments.

Until this day, Elder Su sent another invitation, asking Mo Hua to have tea.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, felt a slight stirring in his heart, and agreed.

Elder Su was on good terms with the Lu Family and had a deep relationship with Lu Chengyun.

Before uncovering the traitor of the Lu Family, it was better to have fewer dealings.

But with no progress at the moment, Mo Hua thought, why not go have tea with Elder Su and see if any clues might emerge.

Mo Hua had an inexplicable intuition.

He felt that Elder Su might be vaguely hiding some critical information.

Mo Hua furrowed his brows.

Ever since he learned Divine Sense Calculation and used it to deduce Formation principles, occasionally he’d get a premonition that something would emerge within the depths of his mind.

There was also an indescribable intuition in his heart.

This intuition was very clear.

But when he pursued it in detail, there was no thread to follow…

It felt similar to when Mo Hua grasped the Taoist Meaning within Formations.

It was like touching upon something faintly but separated by mountains and rivers, hazy and elusive, difficult to comprehend.

Mo Hua remembered Mr. Zhuang once said that all things in heaven and earth converge with the Tao.

If Formations conform to the Tao, and all things conform to the Tao, do Cultivators’ actions and deeds also conform to the Tao?

If so, by comprehending the Heavenly Dao, could one perhaps predict the future to a certain extent, attract fortune and avoid disaster?

Mo Hua believed that Mr. Zhuang occasionally acted in a profoundly unfathomable manner.

It seemed like a kind of premonition of the Heavenly secret.

But how could one achieve such a thing?

Keep studying Formations, keep understanding Formation Principles, keep using Calculation to penetrate the Great Dao?

To discern the nature of things, predict fortune and misfortune, seek benefits and avoid harm…

If he truly learned it, wouldn’t he become a “little religious con man”?

Mo Hua mulled over it continuously in his heart.

It wasn’t until he arrived at Su Mansion, took a seat in the pavilion, and sipped Elder Su’s fine tea that he was still somewhat lost in thought and not entirely present.

Elder Su poured tea thoughtfully and asked, “Young gentleman, are you troubled by something?”

Mo Hua snapped back to reality and nodded, “Just a bit, thinking about something.”

Elder Su nodded in approval:

“Whether you walk, stand, sit, or lie down, whether you eat or drink, you never forget to ponder and meditate on Formations… it’s no wonder you, at such a young age, possess such profound expertise in Formations. Truly admirable…”

Mo Hua felt that Elder Su’s praise was a bit awkward.

And it wasn’t quite right.

But after all, he was praising him, and Mo Hua didn’t want to say so outright.

Moreover, even if the praise was off, being complimented still made him very happy.

So Mo Hua returned the compliment:

“Elder Su’s Formation skills are also very impressive! And moreover…”

Mo Hua thought of a word, saying, “…very in tune with life.”

Mo Hua still remembered his dalliances at the brothel, treating Hundred Flower Tower as if it were his home…

But Elder Su, unaware of what Mo Hua was thinking, stroked his beard, exceedingly pleased, and kept insisting:

“Drink tea, drink tea! This tea is a treasure I’ve kept hidden away for a long time, I wouldn’t offer it to just any guest…”

The tea indeed was excellent.

The two drank for a while, and even when the tea was finished, they still felt a sense of longing.

Elder Su then asked his disciple to brew another pot.

The disciple who brewed the tea was the one who always followed Elder Su closely, a youth with a handsome appearance and a certain gentle elegance, though still carrying a touch of youthful stubbornness.

Having visited frequently, Mo Hua was quite familiar with him.

But this time, Mo Hua felt he looked even more familiar.

After the disciple prepared the tea, Elder Su nodded and instructed:

“Shuisheng, you may leave now.”

Shuisheng?

Mo Hua was startled.

He scrutinized the disciple more closely.

The disciple’s talent for Formation was actually mediocre, and he didn’t show much respect to Elder Su, sometimes even being clumsy, so why did Elder Su always keep him by his side?

Mo Hua looked at him a few times more.

It was then he realized that the disciple bore some resemblance to Elder Su’s features, and their Spiritual Power auras seemed to have some connection.

Shuisheng…

As Shuisheng walked away, Mo Hua continued to stare at his retreating figure.

Elder Su noticed Mo Hua gazing at his disciple, his eyes growing brighter and brighter, and felt a bit jittery inside.

“Young gentleman, what… are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at your young disciple.”

Elder Su laughed awkwardly:

“Just a young disciple, what’s there to see…”

Mo Hua silently gave Elder Su a glance, then quietly asked:

“This young disciple, he wouldn’t happen to be your illegitimate son, would he…”

Elder Su choked on a mouthful of tea, coughed a few times, and hurriedly feigned composure with a self-deprecating smile: “You jest, young gentleman.”

Mo Hua whispered quietly:

“Shuixian…”

Elder Su’s hands trembled, knocking over his cup, and he looked incredulously at Mo Hua:

“How… how did you know?”

Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed slyly like a little foxs, thinking to himself that it was indeed so.