Chapter 1548: Chapter 824: River Bandits The power of the Taoist Court is immense, the relationships are intricate, and the intelligence network is very strong. Although for the truly hidden secrets, it may not reach such depths, at least by utilizing "official" means, the surface clues are investigated in great detail. This also saved Mo Hua a lot of trouble. If he were to search for these things himself, investigating one by one, there likely wouldn’t be much progress in a few months. "Indeed, the methods must be flexible, and occasionally one must learn to take shortcuts." "Clinging to the Taoist Court’s thigh is not necessarily impossible..." Mo Hua nodded and then began to focus on the map of the Mistwater River he held. The map marked the locations where the Water Yama had previously appeared, as well as the areas along the Mistwater River he might have been active in. Mo Hua didn’t know how Xia Canonical Official had managed to find out. But considering Xia Canonical Official’s backing by the Taoist Court, uncovering these things didn’t seem surprising, at least it was within Mo Hua’s expectations. The Water Yama is a big fish. Next, a net can be set up to catch this big fish. On the Mistwater River map, there were many places circled and dotted. These spots may just be small areas on the map, but placed upon the vast Mistwater River, they represented a large stretch of the river territory. "The area is still too large; it needs to be narrowed down more." In Mo Hua’s mind appeared his understanding of the Mistwater River, judging the locations where the Water Yama had appeared at ferry crossings, pondering on the Water Yama’s personality and habits, and at the same time, merging all the clues previously found... All these became the causes. Mo Hua’s gaze was deep, his Divine Sense flowing, deducing the effects from these various "causes." On the Mistwater River map, strands of cause and effect lines faintly appeared, sketching into a net. Without the Heavenly Secret Skill or any guidance from predecessors, Mo Hua could only use objective facts and his intuition and experience to explore the use of the Heavenly Secret Technique bit by bit like this. After a short while, cause and effect lines stretched along the river, overlapping with some markings. Mo Hua noted down all these places and then forwarded them to Xia Canonical Official. "Sister Xia..." "Call me ’Xia Canonical Official.’" came the Transmission from the other side. "Oh, Xia Canonical Official," Mo Hua said, "according to my information, these places on the map are very suspicious." In the Taoist Court, Xia Canonical Official, who was busy with tasks by candlelight, slightly frowned, "How did you know about these places?" I calculated it... Mo Hua silently thought. Of course, he couldn’t say that. Mo Hua vaguely said, "I don’t know either, someone else told me." Xia Canonical Official shook her head slightly, sending a Transmission, "Alright, I’ll find a time to personally go to the Mistwater River for a look." A line on the map is a stretch of river in reality. Without personally seeing it, it indeed is difficult to understand the inside story. "Xia Canonical Official, it would be best to go the day after tomorrow," Mo Hua suggested. "Why?" Xia Canonical Official was puzzled. "Because the day after tomorrow is my rest day," Mo Hua said frankly. Xia Canonical Official was silent for a moment, raising her brows slightly, "You want to go together too?" "Mm!" Mo Hua said. "But... you’re only in the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage; it’s quite dangerous," Xia Canonical Official had some concerns. "No worries," Mo Hua said, "I’ll bring Uncle Gu along, he will protect me." Xia Canonical Official’s expression turned strange. This child spoke as if Supervisor Gu was his bodyguard... Gu Changhuai, bodyguard... Xia Canonical Official thought of Gu Changhuai’s cold demeanor and inexplicably felt he was quite suitable for being a "bodyguard." "Alright," Xia Canonical Official said. "Thank you, Xia Canonical Official," Mo Hua said joyfully. So two days later, it was the rest day. Early in the morning, Mo Hua had already packed up, hired a carriage, and went to Qingzhou City. To cover his tracks, he didn’t go to the Gu Family but waited at a teahouse in Qingzhou City. This was the agreed-upon place. At the teahouse, Mo Hua looked up and found that Gu Changhuai and Xia Canonical Official had already arrived early. Both were experienced Supervisors, and both were decisive in action. If it were not for being delayed by Taoist Court affairs, they were always very punctual in their actions. But although they had arrived early and sat at the same table, each of them had ordered a pot of tea, drinking on their own without saying a word. They looked like two strangers who were as unfamiliar as passers-by. Mo Hua shook his head and sighed. Stone doesn’t get it. The iron tree doesn’t bloom either. It’s really worrisome. Mo Hua walked up, greeted the two, had a simple drink of tea, ate some pastries, then all three stood up and left. After confirming no one was following, the three hired a discreet carriage, left Qingzhou City, and headed downstream along the Mistwater River. Near a downstream ferry, Gu Changhuai rented a small boat. The three took the small boat and paddled toward the depths of the Mistwater River. The Mistwater River basin is broad, with many branches diverging from top to bottom, the water formations are also intricate and complex. Many ferocious water demons lurk below the riverbed. Mo Hua had previously only stayed by the banks of the Mistwater River; sitting on a small boat paddling to the middle of the Mistwater River was a first for him. The boat’s edge pressed against a patch of emerald green river water, and looking around, there were waves as far as one could see, stretching endlessly, without land, without roads. Mo Hua found it novel, but as the boat swayed on the water, he also felt a peculiar sense of discomfort. The three, while paddling, followed the river lines sketched out by Mo Hua’s cause and effect Calculation on the Mistwater River map, drifted downstream, and at the same time released their Divine Sense, searching for clues. The sun slowly rose, and the sunlight became gradually brighter, casting the river water into a dazzling mirror-like brilliance that was somewhat blinding. The three searched for a while and indeed discovered something. "There are some shallow shoals between the rivers, with footprints on them." "There are some water demon corpses soaking in the water, already rotten, but the wounds on the bodies are very strange, as if pierced through the chest by someone using a powerful Evil Artifact..."