Despite having had guesses, Mo Hua’s heart still felt a thread of coldness.

Mo Hua’s gaze slightly lowered as he asked, “How were those two children lost?”

Gu Changhuai said, “According to the nearby fishing cultivators, those two children were playing in the village in the evening. As night fell, they suddenly disappeared…”

“Old Yu Tou’s family initially thought the two children were just playing and didn’t want to come home. But as the night grew deeper and they still didn’t see their two little grandsons, they realized something was wrong. They searched the village all night but found nothing…”

“They searched by the river edge too and found nothing.”

“It was as if they had vanished into thin air…”

“The fishing cultivators in the village suspected the two children were playing and carelessly approached the edge of Yan Shui He, and were dragged into the water and eaten by a water demon from the river…”

“But looking at it now, these two children were likely kidnapped by Guo Jiang Long.”

“If we don’t find a way soon, once these two children are sold off by Guo Jiang Long, it will be difficult to save them back… difficult as ascending to heaven…”

Gu Changhuai’s gaze was heavy.

No… not sold off.

A cold intent arose in Mo Hua’s heart.

It’s also possible… that they were used as sacrifices by Guo Jiang Long and sent to the evil god.

If that’s the case, they might never come back.

“Has the Dao Ting Si sent people to search?” Mo Hua asked.

Gu Changhuai hesitated for a moment, somewhat helpless, “The small fishing village is a mixed residence of scattered cultivators, not within the Immortal City. Many cultivators here don’t have cultivation registration, and the jurisdiction is loose. The Dao Ting Si is generally not too willing to intervene because even if they help unregistered cultivators, it doesn’t count as merit…”

“I’ve only sent the Gu family members to search the area near Yan Shui He and around the small fishing village…”

“But in these places, there are no clues at all.”

“If they’re not outside, then they must still be inside the small fishing village.”

“Looking at it this way, it’s very likely that Guo Jiang Long just grabbed those two children and took them into the base you mentioned. Now we need to find the entrance to that base as soon as possible…”

“Mm.” Mo Hua nodded.

He actually knew early on where the “base” entrance was, but he couldn’t say it yet.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and decided, “After two days, during the ten rest days, I’ll go to the small fishing village again.”

Gu Changhuai: “I’ll also find some time to go…”

Mo Hua was about to say okay, but suddenly paused and thought deeply:

“Uncle Gu, you are a Grade Three Dian Si, and you are busy every day. Don’t come over for now. Wait until I find the entrance, and then I’ll tell you.”

Gu Changhuai was silent for a moment, then also said,

“That’s also good.”

Although he was a Jin Dan cultivator, when it came to finding people, he wasn’t necessarily much more “professional” than Mo Hua.

Given Mo Hua’s cleverness and quick wit, if he couldn’t find it, Gu Changhuai didn’t feel that he could necessarily find a clue either.

Having experienced various things, Gu Changhuai wasn’t too worried about Mo Hua’s safety.

Unless he encountered a peak foundation-building or almost invincible demon cultivator like Huo Fo, in the Grade Two realm and within a small fishing village, Mo Hua should not be in great danger.

Even if he did encounter danger, with this child’s skills, self-protection should be more than enough.

Gu Changhuai didn’t doubt him, so he just followed the usual admonishment:

“Then be careful.”

“Mm.”

After finishing his chat with Gu Changhuai, Mo Hua thought of Old Yu Tou, who was heartbroken and searching for a way for his two grandsons, and couldn’t help but sigh.

The hemp rope always breaks in the thinnest place; misfortune especially bullies those with bitter fates.

In this world, the more bitter people are, the more bitter their lives will be.

“I hope Yu Daye’s two grandsons aren’t really taken by Guo Jiang Long to the bottom of that blood-fog-covered well…”

During the ten rest days, Mo Hua went to the small fishing village again.

Originally, during these ten rest days, he planned to go to Qian Shan first, visit his old friend Huang Shan Jun in the Broken Temple, chat with him, and then probe around to ask if there was a way to deal with evil gods or things to note.

But now there was no time.

If it was a little later, Old Yu Tou’s two little grandsons might not even have their bones left.

He would go to Huang Shan Jun later.

Mo Hua left Tai Xu Men early, rode a carriage, passed through Qing State City, then drove along the main road towards the bank of Yan Shui He. By the time he reached the small fishing village, it was exactly noon.

In the small fishing village, there was much less cooking smoke. Most fishing cultivators weren’t bothering with meals but were scattered around, shouting “Little Shun Er” and “Little Shui Er”…

Little Shun Er and Little Shui Er were the nicknames of Old Yu Tou’s two grandsons.

These fishing cultivators were all helping Old Yu Tou search for his two little grandsons.

Although the small fishing village was poor, within one village, everyone ate and lived together, got along day and night, and the human feelings were stronger.

Some fishing cultivators, even though they had grudges with Old Yu Tou every day, would still help search.

Children were innocent.

They would lose two days of work, which would just make their stomachs hungry for a while.

But if a child was lost, they were two living lives, born of flesh and blood. If they were never seen again in this life, no one’s heart would feel good.

Mo Hua sighed.

He thought for a moment and decided to go to Old Yu Tou’s house first.

At Old Yu Tou’s house, there were several elderly cultivators, all looking very old, with white hair and bones thin as firewood. They should be the elders in the village.

Old Yu Tou sat under the roof eaves, his entire person’s gaze was numb, lost in spirit.

His shoes were already worn out. Clearly, he was a foundation-building cultivator with a strong physical body, but he didn’t know how long he had walked, nor where he had walked. The soles of his feet were cracked, even worn to the point of bleeding.

“…You rest for a while…”

“Search slowly… no need to rush.”

Several elders were comforting him.

But Old Yu Tou was like a piece of wood, hearing but not hearing.

It wasn’t until Mo Hua entered the door that Old Yu Tou’s numb eyeballs moved a bit. On his ashen face, various expressions of regret and hatred emerged.

“I… was wrong…”

Old Yu Tou looked at Mo Hua, tears flowing out.

“Little Young Master, I was wrong, ah, I shouldn’t have not listened to your words…”

“I was too greedy.”

Old Yu Tou fiercely slapped himself, “How could I… be so insatiably greedy?”

“I deserve to die, ah…”

Old Yu Tou’s eyes were full of redness, his expression full of regret.

The surrounding elders heard his words, their expressions astonished, all looking at each other.

Mo Hua’s gaze slightly condensed, and he asked softly,

“Yu Daye, what exactly is the matter?”

Old Yu Tou’s gaze was lowered, his expression tangled. Finally, all the strength in his body seemed to be drained. He no longer insisted and sighed dispiritedly:

“That day I listened to your words, Little Young Master, and felt they were very reasonable. People should know contentment and should not endlessly seek from the River God adult.”

“I then planned to no longer raise blood fish, no longer throw sacrifices to the River God, and no longer seek wishes from the River God.”

“I clearly planned everything well, and also made up my mind… but that night I had a dream. In the dream, my two little grandsons, clearly already entered a sect, but because their origins were low, they were mocked, humiliated, and oppressed by those worldly family disciples, and were forced to do things for them, acting as their lackeys…”

“Finally, Little Shui Er couldn’t bear the humiliation and quietly… self-immolated.”

“And his brother Little Shun Er wanted to avenge his younger brother, but he wasn’t a match for those worldly family disciples and was beaten to death alive…”

“After being beaten to death, his corpse was corroded by black poison, completely changing his appearance…”

Hearing these words, Mo Hua’s scalp went numb, and he suddenly understood in his heart.

“Could this be…”

Old Yu Tou didn’t know what Mo Hua was thinking in his heart and continued:

“My pair of little grandsons… just like that…”

“After I woke up, I was covered in cold sweat from fright. Only then did I realize that I thought too simply. The water within the sect was too deep, and I, a scattered cultivator, knew nothing at all.”

“Eight thousand spirit stones, for us scattered cultivators, is not a small amount. But for worldly families, for sects, it’s just a drop in the ocean.”

“These spirit stones are far from enough to give my two little grandsons a good future.”

“But I am useless. I have built this foundation, but I am already old. I was lucky to break through, but I have no cultivation inheritance, nor any other skills…”

“I can only… go and seek the River God.”

Old Yu Tou’s expression was bitter.

Mo Hua had a guess in his heart and sighed, “Then?”

“Then…” Tears flowed down Old Yu Tou’s eyes again, “Then, I just suffered retribution. I was too greedy…”

“The River God blamed me.”

“It took away my two little grandsons, and punished me with this.”

“My two little grandsons… are gone forever.”

Old Yu Tou’s expression was completely ashen.

Mo Hua frowned.

Suddenly, an elder exclaimed, “Sacrifice to the River God? You…”

His pupils widened, and he asked with a trembling voice, “You… with what sacrifice?”

The elder’s reaction startled everyone around.

Old Yu Tou didn’t know why he reacted like that, and his voice was hoarse, “A kind of blood-red small fish…”

The elder’s face instantly turned pale, and he exclaimed, “Great disaster…”

Mo Hua was startled and quickly asked the elder with white hair,

“Grandfather, what is the origin of this blood-red small fish?”

The elder’s gaze was panicked, “This is a sign of village extermination, ah…”

The expressions of the other several people were somewhat blank.

“You all don’t know…” The elder’s eyelids trembled uncontrollably, and his voice was chilling:

“I have lived for three hundred years. A long time ago, I once heard people say that before us, in this area, there was also a fishing village…”

“That fishing village was bigger than ours, and the fishing cultivators in the village were also quite a few more than ours.”

“At first, the weather was good and the harvest was smooth. Although that fishing village wasn’t rich, being well-fed was not a problem.”

“Later, for some reason, there were always people dying in the river, and the fishing cultivators were panicked and uneasy.”

“Afterward, someone passing by told them that they had angered the River God, and the River God had sent them divine punishment.”

“They had to dig a well, raise blood fish with human blood, and then throw them into the well as offerings to the River God.”

“This way, the River God would receive faith and forgive everyone.”

“Everyone was half-believing and half-doubting, so they followed suit. Sure enough, no one died in the river anymore.”

“But as they continued to raise the fish, everyone discovered that the people in the village all seemed to have problems. Their gazes were dull, their reactions were slow, a bit like ‘walking corpses’…”

“Just like… being eaten away by something…”

The elder’s voice trembled slightly, with a look of lingering fear.

“Even later, for some reason, the entire village… disappeared…”

Mo Hua’s pupils shrank, “Disappeared?”

The elder nodded, “Yes, they all disappeared. The people were gone, the entire village was gone. No one knew what happened…”

“At the same time, this area within a radius of ten li would have heavy fog at night, making it impossible to see five fingers when you reached out.”

“But anyone who dared to walk into the heavy fog never came out.”

Mo Hua’s expression became heavy, as if he was thinking of something.

“Oh, that’s not right,” the elder suddenly paused, then said, “I remember, one person did come out…”

Mo Hua was startled, “Who?”

The elder shook his head, “I was also young at the time, and I heard some elders say it. How would I know who it was?”

“I just heard that that cultivator carried a sword, had long eyebrows, and disregarded everyone’s advice, walking straight into the heavy fog.”

“Everyone thought he was sure to die, but unexpectedly, near daybreak, he walked out alive.”

“It was just that although his body had no wounds, his face was pale, as if he had experienced a bitter battle and was not lightly injured.”

“After coming out, he admonished two things: one was to tell everyone not to enter this blood fog again, otherwise life and death would be hard to say; the other was not to raise a certain kind of blood-red small fish, otherwise there would definitely be a village extermination disaster…”

“It’s just that his words were also a bit strange.”

“Heavy fog is just heavy fog, it has no blood color. How could it be blood fog?”

The elder shook his head and continued, “However, this sword-carrying cultivator, although his cultivation and origin were unknown, was definitely not an ordinary person. Everyone passed down his words…”

“After that, the heavy fog gradually receded, and the former fishing village was already completely gone.”

“Another nearly one hundred years passed before this small fishing village was built.”

“And the former cultivators, the dead are dead, the old are old. The two sentences left by that sword-carrying cultivator are already known to very few people, and they basically don’t know the terrible taboo within…”

The elder’s expression was sighing.

The other people who heard his words were all panicked.

But some people didn’t believe it, “Exterminating a village? Where is it that mysterious?”

“Who knows where these rumors came from…”

“Exactly, where are there so many gods and disasters? Little Shun Zi and Little Shui Zi probably just fell into the water and were carried away by a water demon…”

“Nonsense! If they were carried away by a water demon, could they still be alive?”

“I think they were kidnapped by human traffickers. Maybe they’ll be found in a few days…”

“If they were kidnapped by human traffickers, how could they still be found?”

“Old Yu Tou, don’t worry. It’s probably just the two children playing and getting lost. Maybe they’ll walk back on their own one day…”

The surrounding cultivators were all comforting Old Yu Tou.

Old Yu Tou, however, shook his head sadly, certain, “It’s the River God…”

“I was greedy and angered the River God adult. My two little grandsons were taken by the River God adult, and they will never come back.”

“I have nothing in this life,”

“Not a single thing to miss,”

Old Yu Tou’s gaze was numb, his expression despairing, as if all the hope in his life had been exhausted and instantly crushed by cruel reality.

Mo Hua’s pupils were shocked.

He discovered that Old Yu Tou’s wish power seemed to be being drained.

At the same time, in the fish tank in the room, something seemed to be rapidly expanding and twisting…

Mo Hua’s gaze turned cold. He condensed a streak of golden light with his finger, which broke through the air and rushed straight into the room, instantly shattering the small fish tank that Old Yu Tou used to raise blood fish.

The fish tank shattered, and the river water flowed all over the ground.

A red demonic creature directly jumped out.

It had sharp teeth and a sharp mouth, a body covered in scales, gills that had turned into hands and feet, and two empty and numb eyes. It stood and walked like a person.

It was exactly the blood fish that Old Yu Tou had raised.

Mo Hua said to Old Yu Tou and the others, “Step back!” He then raised his hand and sent several fireballs, which exploded on the body of this blood-colored fish demon.

The power of the fireballs wasn’t great; hitting the evil fish demon’s body only made it stagger.

The blood-colored fish demon laughed madly, its appearance deformed and arrogant.

Mo Hua pointed his finger, and several more fireballs howled towards it.

The fish demon seemed to gradually get used to this body and moved more agilely. It dodged the fireballs one by one, then looked at Mo Hua with a fierce and contemptuous expression.

Mo Hua’s expression was calm, and he continued to cast the fireball technique.

These several fireballs were also dodged by the fish demon, but they exploded on the ground, stirring up some smoke and dust.

Mo Hua used the smoke and dust as cover, pointed his finger virtually, controlled ink with his divine sense, drew arrays on the ground, and quickly displayed several Grade Two ground fire arrays near the fish demon.

Mo Hua’s technique was both fast and hidden.

By the time the smoke and dust dispersed and the fish demon detected the dense fiery red array patterns under its feet, its ugly pupils suddenly glared wide.

But it was already too late.

Fierce flames burst up, directly engulfing the fish demon.

A wailing sound rang out. The newly born fish demon was directly exploded into a pool of blood fog by several ground fire arrays.

The several elderly cultivators around were shocked. They basically didn’t know what happened, or how this fish demon had just been killed by Mo Hua.

But although the fish demon was dead, the blood fog still existed.

Mo Hua took a step forward, approaching the blood fog. As Mo Hua expected, this blood fog directly drilled into Mo Hua’s mouth and nose.

After swallowing the blood fog, Mo Hua immediately sat down in meditation on the spot, sinking his divine sense into his Sea of Consciousness.

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the blood-colored fish demon reappeared.

It laughed madly in Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, its dead-fish-like pupils constantly turning, revealing hunger and thinking it had come to its home ground.

But in the next instant, Mo Hua’s figure appeared.

The fish demon was stunned, and before it could react.

Mo Hua’s body emitted golden light. He stretched out his small hand and wrung the fish demon’s throat. Then, with a bare hand, he pinched it. In just an instant, he pinched this small fish demon to death.

After Mo Hua exited his Sea of Consciousness, he opened his eyes.

The courtyard was very quiet.

Those elderly cultivators were both panicked and blank.

They didn’t know what had happened, let alone what Mo Hua had done.

And in Old Yu Tou’s gaze, in addition to panic and blankness, there was still the dead silence of despair that remained from before.

Mo Hua’s expression couldn’t bear it. Only at this moment did he understand.

In a bitter life, give people a glimmer of hope, and then completely extinguish this glimmer of hope, thereby creating greater despair.

This kind of despair, which instantly drains people’s “hope” to live, is extremely strong and bitter wish power.

This is also the best sacrifice for the evil god.

Mo Hua looked at Old Yu Tou, who was like a “walking corpse,” sighed, and said, “The River God is fake.”

Old Yu Tou’s gaze woodenly moved a bit.

Mo Hua said, “There is fundamentally no River God. You weren’t offering sacrifices either. The fish you raised actually had no use at all. This kind of fish is just an ordinary ‘water demon’…”

“Your grandsons weren’t taken by the River God, but were kidnapped by ‘human traffickers’.”

“The Dao Ting Si has been pursuing and investigating these human traffickers for many days.”

Only then did Old Yu Tou slowly come back to his senses, “Dao Ting Si?”

Mo Hua nodded, took out his bronze waist token from the Dao Ting Si, “Actually, I am from the Dao Ting Si. I came to this small fishing village precisely because human traffickers are hiding in your village, you just haven’t detected it…”

“Your two grandsons are just casualties of the human traffickers.”

“The Dao Ting Si already has clues and is sending people to pursue and investigate. You don’t need to worry, there should be results very quickly.”

In Old Yu Tou’s eyes, a light gradually reappeared.

He used all the strength in his body to climb up and kowtowed to Mo Hua, “Thank you, please, Little Young Master…”

It’s just that his wish power had been drawn away, and his divine sense had been swallowed too much. His entire face was pale, and he was extremely weak.

Mo Hua helped him up and admonished him softly:

“This matter is being secretly investigated by the Dao Ting Si. We cannot tip off the enemy. You must not mention it to anyone…”

Old Yu Tou nodded seriously.

His two little grandsons were kidnapped by human traffickers, not taken by the River God. Then there was still hope, still hope…

In his eyes, there was again a glimmer of thirst and hope for life.

Mo Hua sighed in his heart.

Although it was said that they were kidnapped by human traffickers, in reality…

It wasn’t much different from being taken by the evil god.

After Mo Hua left Old Yu Tou’s house, he walked in the small fishing village, thinking deeply in his heart, and began to ponder the next step of his plan.

He had to go to the bottom of this well no matter what.

And listening to what those elders in the small fishing village just said, he now generally knew what was at the bottom of the well.

Mo Hua’s heart felt slightly cold, and his expression gradually became heavy.

If the rumor he just heard wasn’t wrong, then this well should just be an entrance.

It led to the fishing village that disappeared completely hundreds of years ago after being polluted by the evil god…

(End of this chapter)