Chapter 463: Secrets
Chapter 464: Secrets
Mo Hua asked, “What kind of person was your mother?”
Shui Sheng’s expression grew cautious. He glanced at Mo Hua, and seeing his eyes clear and his demeanor gentle—without mockery or ridicule—he slowly said:
“My mother… her… her status wasn’t good…”
For a girl from a brothel, this was hard to speak about.
“I know that. Born poor, she had no choice in the matter…” Mo Hua continued, “Besides that?”
Shui Sheng paused, then relaxed, a smile and a sense of attachment appearing on his face:
“My mother treated me very well!”
“She made Baihua pastries, and crystal pork elbows for me to eat.”
“She had a beautiful smile, spoke gently, liked to pat my head…”
…
Shui Sheng rambled on, recalling many little details of life with his mother.
These were probably the only warm memories from his childhood.
So when he spoke of his mother, his eyes smiled, innocent and fond.
“And your father?”
Shui Sheng’s face instantly fell, tinged with a hint of disdain, as if his father couldn’t compare to his mother.
“My… master…”
He didn’t even want to call Elder Su “father.”
Shui Sheng said, “He pretends…”
“He knows everything, but tells me nothing, thinking I don’t know.”
“I actually know everything, but since he doesn’t say, I don’t say anything either…”
Mo Hua thought to himself:
You two really are father and son…
Both pretending ignorance, knowing the truth but saying nothing.
“My master also wants me to learn formations…”
Shui Sheng bowed his head, “But I… I come from a bad background, have no talent—formations aren’t meant for people like me…”
“And formations are hard. I simply can’t learn them.”
“Among my master’s disciples, I learn the slowest. What they know, I don’t; what they understand, I don’t; the formations they can draw, I can’t…”
“My master scolds me. The worse I learn, the angrier he gets.”
“But he also values me, keeping me close. The worse I learn, the more effort he puts in.”
“The other disciples look at me with jealousy and exclusion…”
“I don’t like being here…”
Shui Sheng looked somewhat dejected.
Mo Hua nodded sympathetically and asked, “Do you want to learn formations?”
Shui Sheng hesitated, then nodded, “I do.”
“I don’t mind personally, but I want to make my mother happy. Her wish was for me to become a proper formation master, just like… my master.”
“That way, no matter my background, no one would look down on me.”
“My mother is gone; I’ll never see her again. But whenever I study formations, whenever I want to be a formation master, I feel like my mother’s spirit is silently watching me, accompanying me…”
Shui Sheng choked up, his eyes reddening.
Mo Hua thought of his own mother.
Even though he wandered afar, couldn’t taste her cooking, and couldn’t be by her side, his mother always waited for him.
After traveling and mastering formations, he could still return to see her.
But Shui Sheng… he would never see his mother again in this lifetime.
Mo Hua felt a pang of emotion and patted his shoulder, encouraging:
“Don’t worry, you can learn formations well.”
Shui Sheng felt grateful, yet somewhat unworthy of the encouragement, stammering:
“I… my talent is too poor…”
“Elder Su’s talent wasn’t much better than yours,” Mo Hua whispered.
Shui Sheng’s eyes widened. “No way… my master is a first-rate formation master!”
Mo Hua lowered his voice, “You’re father and son. Talent can’t be that different. If he can be a first-rate formation master, so can you.”
Shui Sheng wouldn’t normally believe it.
Even for father and son, talent could differ greatly.
But hearing it from Mo Hua, who became a first-rate formation master in his teens, it sounded highly credible.
Shui Sheng’s eyes shone with hope, stammering:
“R-really… I can become a first-rate formation master?”
Mo Hua nodded: “Yes. But your foundation is weak, so you’ll need to work harder, spend more time…”
“If twenty years isn’t enough, then thirty; thirty isn’t enough, then fifty; fifty isn’t enough, then a hundred…”
“As long as your mind is focused and you persist, you will become a first-rate formation master. Your mother’s spirit will be pleased too.”
“First-rate formation master…”
Shui Sheng’s eyes gradually gleamed.
“Yes,” he nodded solemnly.
Mo Hua smiled with relief.
Shui Sheng’s talent was indeed weaker than Elder Su’s, but not so poor as to be unable to learn formations.
Besides, he had a Foundation Establishment cultivation level. With a first-rate formation master as his master and father, inheritance and guidance were there. With effort and diligence, becoming a first-rate formation master was not too difficult.
Elder Su’s issue was wanting the best for his son, placing high expectations, which led to impatience and improper guidance.
Shui Sheng’s issue was being somewhat solitary and stubborn. With a weak foundation and a rote attitude, naturally, he struggled to learn.
Father and son complicated a simple problem, so they were at odds.
Elder Su was otherwise clear-headed, but when it came to his only beloved child, he was unknowingly trapped in the situation.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and then advised:
“Just focus on learning formations. Nothing else matters.”
“Whether your master praises or scolds you, ignore it.”
“If you don’t understand something, ask. If he refuses, keep asking until you understand. Don’t be embarrassed—keep asking until clear.”
“His nagging, complaints, and scolding—treat them as the wind passing by.”
“The only important thing is: you must learn formations!”
Shui Sheng suddenly felt enlightened, looking at Mo Hua and nodding seriously.
Mo Hua, seeing his understanding, squinted and smiled.
After a moment, Mo Hua remembered something, put away his smile, and slowly said:
“Shui Sheng, I want to ask you a question.”
Shui Sheng smiled, “Little Sir, ask anything you want.”
Mo Hua, slightly apologetic, asked:
“How did your mother die?”
Shui Sheng paused. His smile vanished, pain etched on his face, then he said firmly:
“My mother was murdered!”
Mo Hua frowned slightly. “Have you told your master this?”
Shui Sheng nodded: “I have, many times. I’ve always told him, my mother was murdered.”
“At first, he believed me. Later, he gradually didn’t…”
Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know who did it?”
Shui Sheng shook his head, disappointed: “I don’t know…”
Then his gaze hardened with anger: “But I know for sure—it was the Lu family!”
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback. “The Lu family?”
“Yes, the Lu family!”
Shui Sheng’s expression grew sorrowful: “Baihua Tower was opened by the Lu family. Not just my mother, but many aunts and sisters there sold themselves to the Lu family.”
“They do as they please. Even if someone is tortured to death, the Dao Court Division won’t intervene.”
“My mother, like the other aunts and sisters, surely died at the hands of the Lu family!”
Shui Sheng’s eyes were bloodshot, his anger mounting.
Mo Hua, feeling uneasy, asked: “Did you see it with your own eyes?”
Shui Sheng shook his head.
“Do you have evidence?”
Shui Sheng lowered his head, silently shaking his head as well: “I have no evidence, and no ability to gather it. My master forbade me…”
Elder Su probably feared he would be in danger.
Mo Hua frowned in thought.
The Lu family built Jinhua Street, forced miners to sell their daughters, and built Baihua Tower—not only for pleasure and profit, but also to use women as bribes to win over other cultivators.
Those cultivators included the Dao Court Division, Nanyue Sect, and other families and sects.
This way, everyone was aligned.
Shui Xian was a bargaining chip.
Elder Su, a powerful Nanyue Sect elder, Foundation Establishment level, first-rate formation master, was naturally a target for such bribery.
Yet unexpectedly, Elder Su had deep feelings.
Shui Xian was also beautiful but doomed.
But was it really just that?
Could Shui Xian have died because she discovered a secret of the Lu family?
Mo Hua thought for a moment and produced several portraits.
These portraits were of the people Mo Hua suspected as traitors of the Little Lingyin Sect:
Lu Huaiyi, Lu Huaisheng, Lu Huaide, Shen Cai, and Jiang Long.
“Do you know these people?”
Shui Sheng looked, furrowing his brow. “They seem familiar, but I don’t know them…”
“Any that left a strong impression?”
Shui Sheng looked again and shook his head. “No…”
He asked with some doubt:
“Little Sir, is there something wrong with these people?”
Mo Hua said, “They’ve done bad things. These people are all suspects. I want to investigate.”
Shui Sheng whispered, “What bad things?”
Mo Hua said, “Very dangerous. I can’t tell you.”
“Oh,” Shui Sheng nodded.
Suddenly, he asked in confusion: “These people don’t seem to be the same type. Why are they all suspects?”
Mo Hua thought a moment:
“Basically, they all understand formations, married into the family, have power, hold status in the Lu family, and have overseen mines…”
Shui Sheng nodded, whispering:
“Oh… like the Lu family head…”
Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat.
Like the Lu family head?
He hurriedly asked: “How so?”
“They’re… almost all the same,” Shui Sheng counted off, “understand formations, married in, have status, control mines…”
Mo Hua inhaled sharply, disbelief on his face:
The Lu family head… was married in?!