Chapter 1557: Chapter 827: Night Assassination Gu Changhuai, slightly displeased, said coldly: "Aren’t you afraid that these people from the Xiao family, while ostensibly siding with the Xia family, are secretly colluding with the Gui Water Sect, ruining this plan?" Xia Canonical Official shook her head, replied calmly, "It’s not up to me. Uncle Gu knows what he’s doing." "Uncle?" Gu Changhuai’s eyes narrowed, "Are you referring to... Master Xia?" "Yes," Xia Canonical Official nodded, "This time, the Xia family came to the Qianxue State Boundary, and all matters are solely handled by Uncle." Gu Changhuai remained silent. Involving a Dao Court Inspector, as a Supervisor, he could only keep quiet. Gu Changhuai turned his head, no longer looking at Xia Canonical Official, but instead gazed at the dark river water, with furrowed brows, pondering something. Xia Canonical Official also stopped looking at Gu Changhuai. She appeared calm, looking straight ahead, her gaze firm. The two seemed to have a falling out, refusing to look at each other. Mo Hua sighed slightly, but at the same time, he was also silently pondering. Master Xia... Who on earth is this? Inspector... It seems their status should be higher than a Supervisor, able to suppress Uncle Gu. Their cultivation must at least be Feather Transformation, and it seems their authority is also vast. "This Master Xia, received intelligence from the Xiao family, and using the incident at the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons as an excuse, citing the lack of scholarly atmosphere at the Qian Learning State Boundary, extended his influence into the Taoist Court of Qianxue State Boundary..." The first step is to investigate the Gui Water Sect. But what is the reason for investigating the Gui Water Sect? To show loyalty to the Taoist Court, to uphold the Taoist Law? Mo Hua shook his head. And after investigating the Gui Water Sect? What will the Xia family, or rather, this "Master Xia" do? Mo Hua furrowed his brows, feeling the situation becoming increasingly chaotic. Everyone wants to interfere, and the Qianxue State Boundary is about to become a mess. "Think about it slowly later..." For now, the immediate priority is to capture the Water Yama. Originally, Mo Hua was quite confident, but with the Xiao family mixed in, he felt a vague sense of unease. Things are getting more and more complicated. And, does Master Xia really trust the Xiao family that much? For such a crucial matter as eradicating water bandits, capturing the Water Yama, would he really let the Xiao family interfere? Mo Hua found it a bit hard to believe. He couldn’t figure it out, and at this moment, he remembered the words Elder Master Xun had taught him before: "Don’t only consider things from your own perspective, or you will inevitably be short-sighted and have limited understanding, getting caught in dead ends without realizing it." "Learn to stand at a high vantage point and look down from above." "Put yourself in the shoes of an ’Ancestor’ and think about how they see things..." "Consider yourself an Ancestor..." Even if Master Xia isn’t an Ancestor, they hold a high position, and naturally view matters from a top-down perspective. Mo Hua put himself in their shoes for a moment. The Water Yama is important to him. But to a cultivator of Master Xia’s level, it probably doesn’t even matter to him. The Water Yama is just one of his pawns. Even the Xiao family and Gui Water Sect are his pawns. This time, he drove a tiger to swallow a wolf, letting the Xiao family consume the Water Yama pawn while also using it to grab a handle on the Gui Water Sect, and perhaps... Testing the Xiao family? If the Xiao family obediently kills the water bandits and captures the Water Yama, it would show their allegiance is sincere. If the Xiao family schemes behind the scenes, it would reveal their ulterior motives. If the Xiao family indeed harbors ulterior motives, feigning compliance while acting against orders, then once Master Xia finishes dealing with the Gui Water Sect, he might turn his hand and take care of the Xiao family as well... Driving a tiger to swallow a wolf, and then killing both the tiger and the wolf. The more Mo Hua thought about it, the more it made sense, and he couldn’t help but mutter to himself: "These people, so many schemes, and such dirty minds..." ... Under the night sky, the river was murky, and the fleet continued forward. Mo Hua sat at the bow of the ship, pointing the direction. And at the bow, a silver line swam freely in the water, it was the Little Silver Fish. It happily led the way for Mo Hua. However, no one else could see it. After crossing the wide river area, they reached the natural marsh "Maze," where the waterways narrowed, mud accumulated, making it difficult for the ships to advance. Xia Canonical Official ordered all the ships to connect stern to bow, forming a long snake-like line, proceeding through the "Maze" so they wouldn’t get lost or stuck in the mud. After an unknown period, they arrived in front of the island. Mo Hua looked up, the moon cool and wind high, the night deep, the small island remained as quiet as that day, silently lurking in the Mistwater River, like a dormant beast. Xia Canonical Official waved her hand, "Conceal." All Spirit Boats trembled slightly, emitting a faint humming sound; a light veil rose, covering the ship bodies, concealing them. Mo Hua was taken aback at the sight. Concealment Spirit Boat! These more than thirty ships are actually Spirit Boats with concealment capabilities! Concealment Spiritual Artifacts are expensive, not to mention for such large-sized Spirit Boats. The Xia family surely has deep pockets. Mo Hua silently sighed to himself. Once all the ships were concealed, they hid among the water grasses surrounding the small island. Xia Canonical Official gathered some leading Enforcement Leaders, then informed them of the more detailed encirclement plan: "This is the Formation Diagram of the small island, created by..." Xia Canonical Official glanced at Mo Hua, said quietly, "...a highly skilled Formation Master, who personally examined and designed it..." "On the Formation Diagram, the layout of the island’s formations is drawn, with the positions of the Eight Trigrams Eight Gates marked..." "At approximately 10 p.m., we will take action. At this time, the water bandits will go out to plunder, the village gates open wide, and we will intercept them halfway as they leave, first killing a batch, then breaking open the gates and storming inside." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶 "Once inside, it becomes crucial." "The gate used by the water bandits to exit the village is the Kan Gate. If the plan goes smoothly, then our time to crash through the Kan Gate would be 1 p.m." "After 1 p.m., once we rush onto the island, the water bandits will surely activate the formation, then, about every hour, the eight gates within the formation will rotate once."