Chapter 825 Little River God
"Uncle Gu, stop."
Mo Hua shouted immediately.
Gu Changhuai stopped the boat and turned his head in confusion. He saw Mo Hua lying on the edge of the boat with his head in the water, wondering what he was looking at.
At the same time, Mo Hua lowered his voice and shouted quietly:
"Little whitebait~"
The Yanshui River is full of blue waves, with no bottom visible.
After a while, a ray of silver flashed across the water, and a thin, almost imperceptible little fish swam up.
"My benefactor, I am..."
It wagged its tail happily.
It’s really a little whitebait!
Mo Hua looked happy, and then asked doubtfully: "Aren't you in a small fishing village? Why are you here?"
The little whitebait said something, but the voice was very weak and could not be heard clearly.
Mo Hua moved his head closer to the water surface again, and then he heard the soft voice of the little whitebait:
"...Thanks to my benefactor...I have a shrine to live in, offerings to satisfy my hunger, and incense to nourish my spirit. I am much better now."
"The authority of the River God has also been restored to some extent, and it can be integrated with the Yanshui River, but the authority is still very weak, and the scope of its activities is also very small..."
"This river is near a small fishing village."
"I was eating incense in a small fishing village and felt my benefactor's breath, so I swam over to see you..."
The little whitebait was swimming around in the water in front of the ink painting, with a few splashes appearing from time to time, which made it look much more joyful.
Mo Hua nodded.
I see……
The nearby Yanshui River was complicated and difficult to locate. He did not expect that this place was not far from a small fishing village.
But thinking about it, it seems reasonable.
Shui Yanluo led this group of evil cultivators to destroy the Yu family's water village. Also near a small fishing village, he was chasing down an elder.
Then the place where he is stationed should not be too far from the small fishing village.
Xia Diansi saw Mo Hua lying on the side of the boat with his head on the water, muttering and not knowing what to say, so he couldn't help but wonder:
"Mo Hua, who are you talking to?"
Her consciousness has not yet been enlightened, so she cannot see the figure of the little whitebait.
Mo Hua turned his head, raised his fingers and said "shush", and whispered: "Sister Xia, keep your voice down, I'm chatting with the River God..."
The little whitebait's voice is very small, and if it's a little noisy, he won't be able to hear it.
Xia Diansi: "..."
Her thoughts were a little out of line for a moment, and she didn't understand what Mo Hua was talking about.
What little river god?
Xia Diansi glanced at the water, but there was nothing in the water.
She looked at the ink painting again and frowned.
He is such a good child, why is he suddenly so nagging...
On the contrary, Gu Changhuai was no longer surprised.
only……
Gu Changhuai's eyes narrowed slightly.
He couldn't tell whether Mo Hua was telling the truth or just making up a random reason to fool them.
Based on his knowledge of ink painting, both scenarios were possible.
Gu Changhuai was not surprised that Mo Hua knew some things that ordinary monks didn't know and could see things that others couldn't.
If Mo Hua was lying and talking nonsense, he wouldn't be surprised.
Of course Mo Hua didn't lie.
At this time, he was lying on the side of the boat and asked in a low voice: "Little whitebait, do you know the way?"
The little whitebait in the water nodded, "I know all the nearby waters."
"Then do you know that there is a group of water bandits nearby?"
"What is the water bandit?" The little whitebait shook its tail and asked curiously, "Is it a water demon?"
"No," Mo Hua thought for a while and said, "He is a human being, and a bad one, with blood on his body and murder on his hands."
When Mo Hua said this, Little Silver Fish became excited and nodded repeatedly.
"There are some people whose breath is very dirty, fishy and smelly, and they are prone to murder... They gather together, and I am afraid of being dirty, so I dare not go there."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, "Take me over there and I'll help them wash away their sins."
"Yeah," the little whitebait nodded repeatedly, "I'll take you there right now."
Although it didn't know how to wash away its sins, since its benefactor gave the order, it was naturally willing to agree.
It's a rare opportunity to repay your benefactor's kindness.
The little whitebait was very happy.
It waggled its little tail, swam forward, and whispered: "My dear friend, come with me quickly."
Mo Hua nodded, then pointed in the direction where the little whitebait was swimming, and said to Gu Changhuai: "Uncle Gu, go this way."
Gu Changhuai was silent for a moment.
Mo Hua said: "The river god knows the whereabouts of the water bandits, and he will lead the way for us."
River God...
Gu Changhuai turned his head, glanced at the empty water surface, and sighed silently.
"Okay..."
I hope this guy isn't kidding.
Gu Changhuai habitually punted the boat forward in the direction pointed by Mo Hua.
Xia Diansi saw this and did not stop him.
However, the confusion in her heart became deeper and deeper, and the look in her eyes at Mo Hua became more and more confusing.
The little whitebait swayed its little body and led the way in the water.
The ink painting followed the faint silver light to guide Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai rowed the boat, Xia Diansi remained silent, only the boat broke through the water, and the water gurgled under the boat.
Little Silver Fish is the river god. Although he has only regained a small part of his authority, he still knows the waters under his jurisdiction very well.
No one knows the Yanshui River better than it does.
Naturally, no one is more suitable to lead the way.
After a period of time passed, and after entering a new area of water, Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi suddenly noticed something, and their expressions changed.
They let go of their consciousness, scanned it once, and then couldn't help but look at each other, with expressions of surprise.
I actually found it...
On the other side, the little whitebait also stopped, turned around and said to Mo Hua:
"My benefactor, here we are."
Mo Hua looked up and saw a large river beach in front of him.
On the river beach, weeds grow wildly.
But Mo Hua knew that this was not a simple river beach, but more like a small island formed by the downward flow of the river and the accumulation of silt over the years.
The surrounding swamp is like a natural maze, isolating the island.
If it weren't for the little silver fish leading the way, it would be impossible for other monks from outside to see this island.
Mo Hua looked around again and took stock of the island.
The outside of the island is overgrown with water and grass. It looks very desolate and uninhabited, but Mo Hua can sense that there are many monks on the island.
These auras are bloody and evil, and they are obviously not good people.
In addition, there is also the aura of the formation.
As expected, many formations were set up near the island, including early warnings and traps, as well as many water and soil defense formations.
"A group of water bandits most likely don't know how to build formations. So these formations should be built for them by... Guishuimen?"
Mo Hua frowned, then turned around and asked:
"The water bandits are found, what should we do now?"
Xia Diansi pondered for a moment, glanced at Gu Changhuai, and said slowly:
"According to the intelligence, there is no golden elixir among this group of water bandits. The two of us join forces to try to take them down?"
Gu Changhuai thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "I can't take it..."
"This is the second-grade state boundary. It is a small place. It is different from the big state boundaries in your Daozhou where there is no need to worry about cultivation."
"When fighting against people in the second-level realm of the Golden Core Realm, you must strictly suppress your own cultivation. You cannot be negligent at all."
"Do you have any experience suppressing your cultivation to fight with others?"
Gu Changhuai asked.
Xia Diansi was startled, frowned, and said reluctantly: "No..."
"That's it," Gu Changhuai said, "If you suppress your cultivation and tie your hands, you can't use your cultivation to just a few percent. It's impossible to take down this group of water bandits. If you're not careful, you might even fall into their trap."
"Golden elixir suppresses foundation building, but that is without restrictions."
“When you actually start working, all aspects must be taken into consideration, and the result will be difficult to predict.”
"What's more, Water Yama is not as simple as you think."
"This person is different from ordinary foundation builders. His abilities are unpredictable. When his cultivation is not dominant, it is not an easy task to find a way to restrain him and catch him..."
After Gu Changhuai finished speaking, he pointed to the small island, "There is also this small island, which is surrounded by water. Once these water bandits are defeated, they will dive into the water. I am not practicing water-based skills. How can I catch them?"
"This is their home base. If the plan is right, it will be a good opportunity to catch this group of water bandits. On the contrary, if they act recklessly and make omissions, this great opportunity will undoubtedly be ruined..."
"It's easy to ruin an opportunity, but after it's ruined, it's probably going to be extremely difficult to find this opportunity again..."
Gu Changhuai looked indifferent and his tone was not polite at all.
I don't know if it was to anger Xia Diansi, but Gu Changhuai, who had never been very talkative, started talking a lot.
Xia Diansi's face was indeed covered with a layer of frost.
She also understands some of the truth.
But after all, she had little experience in handling cases in this low-grade state border, so she didn't notice for a moment, and she happened to be caught by Gu Changhuai, who ridiculed her openly and secretly.
Xia Diansi was indeed a little angry. He looked at Gu Changhuai with a very unkind look, but he quickly calmed down and said matter-of-factly: "Then what should I do, Gu Diansi?"
Her tone was calm, with no other emotions, she was simply asking.
Gu Changhuai's eyes were slightly stunned, and he looked a little surprised. After a moment of silence, his tone became calmer unconsciously:
"First inquire about the enemy's situation, know how many people they have, confirm whether there is any golden elixir, and verify all the terrain nearby, then go back to mobilize manpower and make a proper plan..."
"The more critical the moment, the less greedy for temporary success." Xia Diansi's eyes flashed slightly, he glanced at Gu Changhuai, and nodded slightly.
Mo Hua was beside him. He looked at Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi for a while, and nodded happily.
After the discussion was completed, it was time to investigate in detail.
It was already evening, twilight was falling, and the sky was getting darker.
The three of them took a small boat and sailed around the island under the cover of thick aquatic plants.
Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi are golden elixirs with powerful spiritual consciousness.
Although the ink painting is a foundation building, the spiritual consciousness is also approaching the peak of foundation building, and it is only one line away from the golden elixir.
Although this pattern is currently out of reach.
But that is also compared with Jin Dan.
Compared with this group of foundation-building water bandits, Mo Hua is naturally "way ahead".
Therefore, the three of them were careful and were not afraid of being discovered.
There are scattered sentries around the island, but because of the large gap in consciousness, Mo Hua can detect these sentries, but these sentries cannot detect Mo Hua and them.
Plus, there are little whitebaits leading the way.
The formations that stay in the water for early warning are identified by ink paintings.
So until the three men completed their reconnaissance more than an hour later, they did not alert the water bandits on the island.
By this time, it was already dark.
The night blended into the water, and the sky and water were all pitch black, with only a few stars twinkling in the sky.
On the originally silent island, there was sudden movement.
A little green fire lit up.
Then there was a lot of noise, some people were laughing and cursing, and the sound came from far to near, coming from the inside of the island and approaching the shore.
After that, there was the sound of boats launching.
The sound of people and water mixed together, making it very noisy.
"Damn, it's finally night..."
“I don’t know what I can grab.”
"I haven't killed anyone for several days, and the knife is rusty."
"I haven't touched a woman for a month, and I'm rusty..."
"Fuck you, there is no formality..."
…
A group of people clamored, boarded the boat and launched into the water, lighting green will-o'-the-wisps, like yakshas at night, patrolling the Yanshui River.
Gu Changhuai counted the heads silently.
After this group of water bandits took the boat away, the surroundings became quiet again.
Gu Changhuai said: "There are about two hundred people who are going out. According to the habits of water bandits, they usually go out half and stay half. It is estimated that there are still about 200 water bandits left on the island."
"In total, it should be about four hundred."
"At present, there is no golden elixir. Of course, it is possible that the golden elixir is not on the island."
On Mo Hua's side, he also roughly drew the island's formation topography.
"Do you want to go back now?"
Gu Changhuai pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Don't worry, wait until daybreak. These water bandits are wandering on the Yanshui River. If you go out now, you will easily run into them."
"When the time comes, it won't matter if you kill, or if you don't kill."
Killing will alert the enemy.
If he didn't kill them, it would be impossible for this group of water bandits to give up just because of their temperament.
So the three of them waited in the boat.
Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi took turns to be on guard.
Mo Hua took out a small blanket, wrapped himself well, and lay down in the cabin to sleep. His consciousness sank into the sea of consciousness, practicing formations on the Taoist monument.
The way of formation requires that every drop of water penetrates the stone, so you must be diligent and unremitting.
Nothing can interrupt your habit of practicing formations unless you really have to.
As for safety issues.
At the border of the second-level state, there were two Jindan realm Diansi acting as bodyguards for him, which made Mo Hua feel relieved.
Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi looked at Yanshui River with wary expressions. They turned around and saw Mo Hua curled up in the bed cabin, sleeping peacefully like a cat. They couldn't help but sigh.
This kid has a really big heart.
How could he sleep in this situation?
The two of them stared at the ink painting silently for a moment, then raised their heads together, and their eyes happened to meet. They were both stunned for a moment, and then without saying a word, they both silently looked away.
In this way, Mo Hua practiced the formation all night.
When it was almost dawn, Mo Hua opened his eyes, folded the small blanket carefully, put it into the storage bag, then took out a pot of fruit wine and ate two pieces of dried meat.
While eating, he found two eyes looking at him.
Mo Hua grabbed another handful of dried meat and handed it over, "Uncle Gu, Sister Xia, do you want to eat?"
"You can eat..."
The two people had complicated expressions.
"oh."
Ink painting is not forced either.
After he finished his breakfast on time, the sky was already turning white, and there was movement in the distance. The water bandits who had gone out were back again.
Their faces couldn't hide their excitement, and there was blood on their bodies, whether it was human blood or the blood of water monsters.
Dozens of ships returned fully loaded.
Some contained the corpses of water monsters, which were bloody.
Some of the ships had deep drafts and were filled with gold-inlaid storage boxes, which seemed to have been robbed from merchant ships.
The other boats contained fresh corpses, both male and female, stacked together like dead fish. It was unclear what they were used for.
Xia Diansi's face turned pale, his eyes were cold, and there was murderous intent surging in his eyes.
Gu Changhuai glanced at her silently and said softly: "Don't be impulsive."
Xia Diansi didn't answer, but his fingers were clenched until they turned white.
In this way, Mo Hua and the others took advantage of the cover of water plants and silently watched the group of water bandits return to the island.
They seemed to still have some unfinished business.
"It's dawn again, damn, we haven't had enough fun yet."
"I didn't even do anything..."
"It would be nice if the damn Dao Tingsi's lackey died one day, and we don't have to hide around like this."
"Maybe it's okay if there's no sun. There are twelve hours a day, all at night, so there's nothing to worry about..."
"The damn sun has come out again..."
Mo Hua also looked at the group of arrogant water bandits with cold eyes and said silently in his heart:
"Don't worry, you won't be able to see the morning sun in a while..."
…
After the water bandits entered the island, Mo Hua and the other three waited for a while and found that there was no movement around them, so they quietly rowed away.
Little Silver Fish led the way and led Mo Hua and the others to the shore.
Stepping onto the shore and touching the earth, one feels "down to earth", and Mo Hua feels inexplicably more at ease in his heart.
He turned his head, came to the shore, waved to the little whitebait by the river and said:
"Thank you this time. Go back early. I will see you next time and bring you delicious food."
The little whitebait happily turned around twice, said "Goodbye, my benefactor", then turned into a silver light, swam to the depths of the Yanshui River, merged with the blue waves, and disappeared.
Gu Changhuai followed Mo Hua's gaze, but still saw nothing. He frowned and couldn't help but ask:
"Are you talking to the River God? Why are you talking to a 'pet'?"
Mo Hua said: "I have a good relationship with the River God. Also, Uncle Gu, your words are so disrespectful to the River God. Be careful next time you take a boat, the River God will capsize your boat."
Gu Changhuai shook his head, feeling helpless.
Afterwards, everyone returned to Qingzhou City and discussed in the private room of Gu's teahouse.
Xia Diansi's face has not looked good since he came back. At this time, his eyes were also cold and he said in a deep voice:
"No one of these bandit cultivators can be spared!"
"And that Shui Yanluo also deserves death!"
"I'm going to mobilize people right now, and we'll kill all these villains in three days!"
Gu Changhuai didn't have any objections this time, but just reminded her: "Although your Xia family is a big family, this is the border of Qianxue State after all, and you may not be able to make it within three days."
"And if you transfer people in a hurry, some of them may not be reliable..."
Gu Changhuai's eyes narrowed slightly.
Xia Diansi said: "No problem, leave the manpower matter to me."
Seeing her calm expression, Gu Changhuai obviously knew what she was doing, so he said nothing.
"Also, there is the issue of formation..."
Gu Changhuai continued: "We need to keep secret and break the formation on the island in secret..."
"Besides that, it would be best to set up formations around the island to trap this group of water bandits. Otherwise, there will be a melee and the water bandits will run left and right. We will be overwhelmed and some fish will definitely slip through the net."
"If the other water bandits escape, the problem won't be too big. But if the water bandits escape, then the success will be in vain."
Xia Diansi pondered for a moment, frowned and said:
"I'm afraid it's not that simple..."
"I've seen it before. The terrain of this island looks desolate and rough, but it actually implies the Bagua pattern. The formations inside are divided into eight categories."
"The eight gates are not so much for defense as for escape. These water bandits live on the island. As long as they are not blocked, there will always be an escape door for them to escape."
"How do you want to break the formation? How do you block it?" Xia Diansi looked at Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai stopped talking.
How does he know how to break the formation and how to block it?
His monastic knowledge system is almost "insulated" from the formation.
Of course, it is not considered "insulated". He can still recognize the formations commonly used by most monks, and he also knows some basic common sense of formations.
In the past, he would have felt that he "somewhat understood" the formation.
But that was all in the past.
Gu Changhuai silently looked at the ink painting.
Mo Hua accepted Gu Changhuai's "ask for help" and nodded: "Sister Xia, don't worry, leave the formation to me!"
(End of chapter)