Mo Hua, with equally cold eyes, watched the swaggering water bandits and silently thought:
"Don’t worry, soon you won’t see the morning sun again..."
...
After the water bandits entered the island, Mo Hua and the others waited a while longer, and seeing no movement around, quietly rowed away.
The Little Silver Fish led the way, guiding Mo Hua and the others safely to the shore.
As he stepped onto solid ground, feeling the "ground beneath his feet," Mo Hua’s heart inexplicably felt much more at ease.
He turned his head, approached the bank, and waved to the Little Silver Fish by the river, saying:
"Thank you this time, go back early, next time I come to visit, I’ll bring you something tasty."
The Little Silver Fish cheerfully twirled twice, said "Goodbye, benefactor," and transformed into a silver light, swimming into the depths of the Mistwater River, melding with the waves, disappearing without a trace.
Gu Changhuai followed Mo Hua’s gaze, seeing nothing, frowned, and couldn’t help asking:
"Were you talking to the River God? Why does it sound like talking to a ’pet’?"
Mo Hua replied, "I have a good relationship with the River God. Besides, Uncle Gu, your words are disrespectful to the River God. Be careful next time you’re on a boat; the River God might capsize it."
Gu Changhuai shook his head, somewhat helpless.
Later, they returned to Qingzhou City and discussed matters in a private room at the Gu Family teahouse.
Since returning, Xia Canonical Official had an unpleasant expression, her gaze icy as she coldly said:
"Not a single bandit cultivator should be spared!"
"And that Water Yama is also deserving of death!"
"I’ll go gather people now and capture these villains within three days!"
Gu Changhuai, having no objections this time, merely reminded her:
"Though your Xia family is a Great Family, here is the Qian Learning State Boundary, and three days may not be enough."
"And hurriedly gathering people, some may not be reliable..."
Gu Changhuai’s gaze was slightly focused.
Xia Canonical Official replied: "No problem, leave the manpower to me."
Seeing her composed demeanor as if confident, Gu Changhuai said no more.
"Also, concerning the Formation..."
Gu Changhuai continued: "It needs to be discreetly stripped off from the island’s Formation without alerting anyone..."
"Furthermore, preferably set Formations around the island to trap the water bandits. Otherwise, at the time of a mixed battle, the bandits might escape in all directions, and we won’t be able to handle it all, potentially letting some slip through."
"If other water bandits escape, it’s not too problematic, but if Water Yama escapes, it’ll all be for nothing."
Xia Canonical Official pondered for a moment, frowning as she said:
"It may not be that simple..."
"I’ve observed the island’s terrain before; it seems barren and crude but contains a layout of the Eight Trigrams. Its embedded Formation is divided into Eight Gates."
"This Eight Gates, instead of being for defense, is more for escape. As long as the water bandits are on the island, unless completely blocked, there will always be a Life-gate for them to flee."
"How do you plan to break the Formation or blockade it?" Xia Canonical Official turned to Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai fell silent.
How could he know how to break the Formation or blockade it?
His knowledge system of Tao Cultivation was almost "insulated" from Formations.
Of course, not entirely "insulated." He could still recognize the Formations commonly used by most cultivators and knew some basic principles of Formations.
In the past, he thought he "knew a little" about Formations.
But that was all in the past.
Gu Changhuai silently glanced at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua accepted Gu Changhuai’s "plea for help" and nodded, saying:
"Sister Xia, rest assured, leave the Formation matter to me!"